Chang An said, “I want to learn the blade.”

 

Chang An hung there in a precarious situation, extending one little bare foot to cautiously probe the slippery wall around him. His straw sandal was pierced through immediately, and the scorching digestive juices of whatever had swallowed him quickly corroded a thin layer of skin from his toes. Chang An jerked his foot back at once and remained suspended there miserably, not daring to move.

Before long, his skinny, reed-like little arm grew sore and began trembling uncontrollably. Chang An knew that no matter what, he absolutely could not fall. If he did, he would soon become nothing more than a pile of bones. He had finally escaped the big-headed monsters, the giant bird, and the two-headed snake.

If he ended up becoming a heap of bones without even seeing what kind of creature had swallowed him, he simply could not accept it.

Besides, he still had his knife. Thinking this, Chang An felt reassured.

And whenever this child felt reassured, he was liable to do something outrageously reckless.

Gritting his teeth, Chang An suddenly took a deep breath of the foul, putrid air. Then, astonishingly, he thrust out his already mangled little hand and grabbed the digestive tract around him, dripping with corrosive digestive fluids.

It was not particularly hard. Instead, it was somewhat soft, covered with tiny hairs. Chang An clung tightly to those fine hairs, sacrificed one of his feet as well, and climbed onto the slippery surface.

His palms quickly stuck to it. At first, the pain was like being roasted over an open fire, piercing straight to the heart. It hurt so badly that his vision darkened. Using that agony to fuel his determination, Chang An yanked the knife embedded in the digestive wall free with one violent pull, then stabbed it back into the same spot with all his strength. Every time he thrust the blade in, the creature convulsed violently. Beneath him, the dangerous digestive fluids rippled into small waves, while the scattered bones bobbed unsteadily.

Gradually, Chang An could no longer catch his breath. His chest felt as though it were splitting apart. A vein in his head throbbed relentlessly. His hands and feet, pressed tightly against the creature's digestive tract, had lost another layer of skin to the corrosive juices. The pain had become so intense that it finally gave way to numbness.

But there was only one thing in his eyes—to stab through that spot.

At last, unable to endure the pain any longer, he screamed heart-wrenchingly, yet even while screaming, he never stopped driving his knife forward. Much of the rust on the blade had been dissolved away by the digestive juices, leaving it even sharper than before. This beautiful little child now looked like a vengeful ghost come to claim a life, terrifying.

He was exhausted. He was in agony. How much strength could a tiny arm that could easily fit inside someone's grasp possibly have?

Every time he drove the knife forward, Chang An felt certain he would never be able to lift his arm again. He had lost so much blood that it seemed as though every drop in his body was draining away. Wave after wave of cold swept through him. Yet, grinding his teeth, he thought: It's not over.

Between him and the thing that had swallowed him—it wasn't over.

Unless it digested him into a pile of bones until he drew his last breath, or unless he stabbed it to death, it would not be over.

Finally, the creature was the first to lose its nerve. It had probably never before swallowed prey that continued causing havoc after ending up inside its stomach. Wracked by excruciating stomach pain, it vomited Chang An back out.

The world around Chang An shook violently. Suddenly he was flipped over again, and fresh air rushed into his lungs all at once. He was thrown heavily onto the ground, landing flat on his face...

Yet in his bloodied little hand, he still gripped the small knife, which had been washed clean by the digestive fluids until it gleamed like polished silver.

Only then did he see what had swallowed him. It was actually a flower.

The flower bud alone stood as tall as two fully grown beastmen, not to mention its enormous stem. Yet this giant confronted Chang An from above for a moment. Then, perhaps recalling the violent turmoil he had caused inside it, it slowly shrank back. With his sharp eyes, Chang An spotted a tiny, inconspicuous hole inside the flower bud, from which liquid was steadily gushing.

"I stabbed a hole in it." Despite the pain wracking his entire body, Chang An beamed with satisfaction, filled with a profound sense of accomplishment.

"It only looked impressive."

"So big for nothing—completely useless."

That was his evaluation of the opponent with whom he had narrowly escaped death. Then, baring his teeth in pain, he struggled to his feet, limped onward while leaning on his knife, and kept walking forward.

The endless night finally came to an end. The first rays of sunlight pierced through the depths of the forest, bathing the perpetually snow-covered summit of Yufeng Mountain in a layer of golden light. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Unfortunately, not everyone had the chance to appreciate the beauty found at the edge of despair.

When Bei Shi found the unusual child he had met at the foot of the mountain before, he almost failed to recognize him.

By then, Chang An had wandered through the mountain for who knew how many days. Whenever he was thirsty, he drank from streams. Whenever he was hungry, he ate animal carcasses and wild fruit.

He now lay barely alive beneath the corpse of a carved wolf.

Bei Shi checked his chest. There was still a faint trace of life. But only just.

The middle-aged man thoughtfully rolled the wolf's body over and found a ruined knife with a chipped edge lodged in its throat.

He recognized that move. He had taught it himself.

Only, after delivering that strike with the force of ten thousand jun, the blade was supposed to be withdrawn immediately afterward. The little fellow's knife had curled up and got stucked inside. It seemed he had been unable to pull it free.

Yet at precisely that moment, the foolish child had stubbornly refused to let go of the hilt. Unable to pull the knife out, he simply kept gripping it, until the eagle wolf's corpse collapsed onto him and knocked him unconscious.

Fortunately, his luck had not completely abandoned him. The wolf possessed only sharp fangs and claws and was not considered an especially formidable beast. At the very least, it had not crushed him to death on the spot.

Using the tip of his foot, Bei Shi casually kicked the wolf's corpse aside before trying to pry the child's fingers open.

He couldn't. The grip was too tight.

Nor did he dare use force. The little fellow's hand was so tiny that even with all five fingers fully extended, it still would not fill Bei Shi's palm. It was covered with wounds large and small. He feared accidentally breaking one of the child's fingers.

Instead, he pinched the middle of the battered knife with two fingers.

Crack.

With a crisp snap, he effortlessly broke the blade in two, cleanly separating it from the hilt. Then he bent down, picked the child up, and carried him toward the depths of the mountains.

How had such a tiny thing, one that looked as though it could be crushed with a single squeeze, managed to struggle through so many days?

No one knew.

Bei Shi walked very steadily, making almost no sound with each step. A small basket filled with medicinal herbs rested on his back.

Among adult beastmen, his build could even be considered rather slender. Were it not for the faint beast mark on the back of his hand, he could almost have passed for a gentle healer sub-beast. Faint lines marked the corners of his eyes. His coarse linen sleeves and trouser legs were casually rolled up, and his long hair was neatly tied behind him. Apart from looking somewhat impoverished, there was nothing particularly remarkable about him.

Yet on Yufeng Mountain, where danger lurked at every step, he strolled as leisurely as though walking through his own garden, never once glancing to either side as he headed toward a small wooden cabin halfway up the mountain. The monsters and giant beasts whose cries rose and fell throughout the forest all avoided him as though evil spirits fleeing from a divine beast. Along the way, apart from the sounds of animals fleeing through the low bushes, nothing dared show itself.

Even the two-headed snake that ruled the mountain.

By the time Chang An awoke, more than ten days had passed. Had he remained unconscious any longer, Bei Shi had already decided to throw him back outside.

The man had never encountered such a troublesome child. The fever came in relentless waves. Every time he finally managed to bring the temperature down, it would rise again before long.

Whenever the fever struck, Chang An unconsciously rub against the bed, curling himself into a tight ball while clutching his chest desperately, as though he could not breathe. Weak whimpers escaped his lips, and no one could tell whether he was unconscious or trapped in nightmares.

Sometimes, tears would suddenly stream down his face without warning. Even his crying was peculiar. He made no sound at all, so no one noticed until they reached out and found his deathly pale face already wet with tears.

He looked pitiful.

For perhaps the first time, Bei Shi felt not only curiosity toward him, but also a trace of pity.

The moment Chang An opened his eyes, he knew he was no longer in the forest. He was inside a small wooden cabin.

Beside him sat the mysterious middle-aged man he had come looking for. The man had his back turned to him and seemed to be dozing by the window.

So...

He had actually found him?

Chang An blinked blankly, almost unable to believe it.

Bei Shi did not turn around, yet the instant the child opened his eyes, he sensed it. Muttering to himself, he said, “Little thing, your natural aptitude is poor, but you do have a bit of luck.”

He stood up, stretched lazily, glanced at Chang An, then went outside for a while before returning with a large bowl. Inside was porridge made from sprouted wheat, dark and murky from something that had been added to it.

“Eat.” Bei Shi set the large bowl beside him.

Without a second thought, Chang An picked it up, nearly dropping it. His wrists were too weak to support the weight, so he hurriedly cradled it with both hands before gulping it down in large mouthfuls. The porridge carried a fishy, unpleasant smell. Upon tasting it carefully, however, he realized it was not exactly fishy, but rather the strong flavour of some medicinal herb. Even so, it was still porridge—far tastier than the rotten meat and half-ripe fruits he had survived on in the forest.

Bei Shi knew perfectly well how foul those herbs tasted. He had already prepared himself to sit upright and sternly force the child to eat them. Who would have thought that this little fellow would treat the bowl as though it contained miraculous lingzhi mushrooms (NT: Ganoderma lucidum. Medicinal mushroom, also named reishi mushroom) and the finest delicacies from land and sea? Before long, he had drained the bowl completely.

Setting the bowl down, Chang An sat clutching his stomach in discomfort.

He had eaten too much. But he refused to vomit it back up. He had already resolved that even if the food came back into his mouth, he would swallow it again.

Once he had eaten it, it belonged to him. No one else was getting it back.

How strange. Didn't children usually like sweets and acting spoiled? Watching the little fellow, Bei Shi thought to himself, So he's a little freak.

He never got the chance to exchange many words with that little freak. The two of them stared at each other for a while, until the medicinal herbs finally took effect. Chang An immediately toppled over and fell asleep.

This time, at least, he behaved himself. Having eaten, there was finally a trace of healthy colour in his face.

Curious, Bei Shi reached out and cautiously poked Chang An's cheek. It was soft, smooth, and tender. The sensation struck him as strangely fascinating, almost as though this tiny creature were not the same species as himself.

However, once Chang An recovered enough to run and jump around, Bei Shi's curiosity disappeared completely.

The child nearly drove him mad.

Whether Bei Shi was eating, drinking, or attending to other bodily needs, the little fellow would follow him everywhere with tenacious perseverance, rushing after him like an eager puppy.

Worse still, he was like a talking mynah bird. Over and over again, he said only one sentence. “I want to learn the blade.”

Finally, Bei Shi couldn’t endure it longer. Jumping up in exasperation, he shouted, “Learn the blade, learn the blade! Can't you say anything else? Why should I teach you? You won't even be able to learn it!”

“I can learn.” Chang An lifted his head, staring straight at Bei Shi with his grape-like eyes. Stretching his neck stubbornly, he shouted back just as loudly, “I want to learn the blade!”

Suppressing his irritation, Bei Shi said, “You're a sub-beast. Why don't you properly learn how to be a carpenter? Or an accountant? If that doesn't work, you could become a physician…”

“I want to learn the blade.”

Bei Shi continued earnestly trying to persuade him. “What's the point of learning the blade? Look at me. I learned it, and I still have to eat, drink, relieve myself every day. I have no money, no status, not even a pretty wife. Little one, you're barely this big. Why are you so obsessed?”

“I want to learn the blade.”

Bei Shi scratched his head miserably. “Can you even lift one?”

With a whoosh, Chang An pulled out a little knife about the size of an adult's palm and proudly held it up for Bei Shi to see.

Bei Shi: “…”

He fell silent for a moment before asking, “Where did you get that?”

Chang An answered frankly, “From the little shed beside your courtyard. Right now, I can only lift this one. But I'll grow up. When I do, I'll be able to lift the biggest one.”

Bei Shi snorted with laughter and raised an eyebrow. “A cavalry saber? You even want to play with a cavalry saber? You really are... If you think too much, you'll never grow taller.”

Chang An glared at him angrily, puffing up his cheeks until his little face became round and swollen with indignation. It looked rather amusing.

Unable to resist, Bei Shi mischievously poked his cheeks several times.

Then he crouched down, curling himself into as small a ball as possible with considerable difficulty so that his eyes were level with Chang An's. He roughly ruffled the child's hair, successfully turning it into something resembling a bird's nest.

The smile on the man's face was warm and cheerful. The words he spoke, however, were utterly ruthless.

“You little fool,” he asked, “I've been living perfectly well on my own. Why should I take in a little burden like you? On Yufeng Mountain, eagle wolves are the weakest creatures around, yet one nearly killed you. You can't even split firewood. What good are you?”

Chang An stared at him blankly for a while, genuinely considering the question. He treated it as though it were the entrance examination.

So he thought about it very seriously before answering, “If you teach me the blade, I'll be able to use it to chop firewood for you. I can also go hunting and bring you meat to eat.”

“Oh? So you're not completely stupid after all.” Bei Shi stood up, thoroughly amused. “At least you know to eat first and pay afterward.”

Chang An looked at him blankly, feeling a little uneasy. He wasn't sure whether his answer had passed the test.

“You're still so little. Wouldn't it be better just to live peacefully? Why are you so determined to get involved with weapons?” After saying that, Bei Shi shook his head at Chang An, seemingly preparing to leave.

Chang An panicked. He opened his mouth, but he was so clumsy with words that he had no idea where to begin. At that very moment, however, a melody buried deep within his memories suddenly surfaced.

He did not know where he had once heard that song. Nor did he remember who had sung it. The tune simply seemed engraved upon his soul, carrying with it the scent of blood, decay, and endless desolation.

“The true god falls into the wilderness, morality crumbles into ruin, alas for Heaven's Way, humans may become beasts.”

In his childish voice, the little boy hummed the strange song awkwardly. The child himself clearly did not understand its meaning. He merely recited it word by word exactly as he had learned it, making it sound almost laughable.

Yet Bei Shi suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“The blade-bearers roar through the land, the grass-eaters flee in panic. They flee, they flee, trembling as they struggle to survive...”

“Who taught you that?” Bei Shi turned around.

The playful grin had vanished from his face. So had his gentle, kindly expression. In their place appeared a sinister killing intent, as sharp as a blade.

Yet his voice remained astonishingly gentle. “Child... who taught you that?”

Chang An shook his head blankly. He couldn't remember.

Bei Shi studied him for a long moment before noticing the red cord hanging around his neck. Hooking it up with one finger, he revealed the old bone pendant the elderly man had hung around the child's neck years ago.

It was extremely old.

On the back were carved the two characters: Chang An. On the front was engraved a massive fang.

After pondering silently for a while, Bei Shi asked, “So you're from the Azure Dragon Tribe? Then why did you end up here?”

Chang An still looked at him blankly, clearly having no idea what the “Azure Dragon Tribe” was.

“Zhe Yan brought me here... I don't know anything else.”

“Zhe Yan? Then where is this Zhe Yan now?”

This time, Chang An lowered his head and stared expressionlessly at the tips of his shoes. After a long silence, he finally murmured softly, “Zhe Yan is dead.”

Bei Shi stood frozen for a moment. The child had called the man Zhe Yan, not Father. That meant they had not been related. A man with no blood ties had taken a young child away from one tribe to join another.

Moreover, this child was obviously no nameless orphan of unknown origin. He had even received the blessing of the tribe's Great Elder and been entrusted with the old man's only token.

There was only one conclusion Bei Shi could think of regarding their original tribe...

He suddenly let out a long, heavy sigh. His gaze drifted past the dense forests covering Yufeng Mountain, his expression becoming indescribably complicated.

Within these mountains, where dawn and dusk were indistinguishable and even the sun and moon seemed absent, the outside world had quietly completed another full cycle of life and death.

Like stroking a kitten, Bei Shi gently pinched the back of the child's neck and asked softly, “Then what's your name?”

“My name is Chang An.”

 

Translator : DarNan