Book 2

 

“It's you! Your name is Hua Yi.”

 

The man was tall and broad-shouldered, with a narrow waist, making him look strong and powerful without appearing clumsy or dull. He wore a raincoat and a conical bamboo hat, and swiftly made his way through the dense forest from within the torrential rain and darkness of night.

Despite having rain gear, he was still soaked through by the rain, chilled to the bone, and a faint trace of blood could be seen on his chest, suggesting that he was injured. Yet the man did not seem to care in the slightest. He casually swept aside the dense bushes blocking his path. The thorn-covered plants could not cause him the slightest harm; in his hands, they seemed as soft as willow branches.

The lower halves of the man’s palms were covered by strips of cloth, making it impossible to tell whether he bore beast markings. However, judging from his build and his pace, it was clear that he was unquestionably a beastman—and perhaps a very powerful one at that.

His face looked very young, no more than twenty-five or twenty-six. His features were well-defined, and his brows and eyes were handsome. Yet perhaps because of the torrential rain, his entire person seemed shrouded in a layer of gloom. His eyes were as black as bottomless pools, adding several degrees of coldness to the man’s expressionless face.

Deep within the forest stood a small hut, hastily built from large stones, with a simple thatched roof. A straw mat woven from three-leaf clover hung over the entrance. When the man caught sight of it, his hurried steps nevertheless faltered for a moment. Although he was anxious to continue on his way, he could indeed feel that his strength was beginning to give out.

Such little huts standing alone in the forest were generally called “guest shelters”. A three-leaf clover sign was hung at the entrance to distinguish them from ordinary dwellings. They belonged to no one, but indicated that a beastman tribe was nearby.

The environment on the northern continent was harsh. The land was vast and sparsely populated, and unlike the south, there were no city-states. Instead, scattered tribes were spread throughout the various regions, each governing its own territory.

These little huts were mostly prepared for travelling merchants or wandering beastmen, providing them with shelter from the wind and rain. On the one hand, they demonstrated that the tribe was warm and hospitable; on the other, they also served as a warning to travellers from afar: you have already entered our territory. If you are not a well-intentioned guest, then it would be best to keep your distance from us.

As the man approached the guest shelter, he caught sight of a faint glow of fire inside. Clearly, he was not the only traveller seeking somewhere to shelter from the rain on this stormy night.

He hesitated for a moment. The guest shelter did not even have a door, and inside it was completely empty except for a ground fireplace. Every household in the north had such a fireplace: a hole was dug into the floor of the house and lined with stones. Firewood could be placed inside it, allowing it to be used both for cooking and for keeping warm. It was an excellent thing to have during winter.

However, the stove pit in this guest shelter was exceedingly crude. It was simply a hole, and there was not even a cover over it.

Standing at the entrance, the man could clearly see that beside the stove pit, someone was leaning against it and dozing. A huge conical hat covered the person’s face, revealing only a pale, pointed chin.

His slightly protruding Adam’s apple showed that he was male. His limbs were long and slender, making him appear somewhat frail. One hand rested to the side, suspended over the stove pit as though he were warming himself. The back of his hand happened to face the entrance, allowing anyone to see at a glance—clean and completely unmarked. He was a sub-beast.

The man standing at the entrance hesitated. He had always been cautious and careful, yet the fatigue accumulated over many days of travel finally overcame his other instincts. Moreover, the young and slender sub-beast inside the guest shelter made it difficult for anyone to feel much additional wariness.

At last, the man gave a light cough and adjusted his expression, revealing a sincere and simple-minded smile. The deeply rooted coldness on his face vanished in an instant, completely transforming his demeanour, as though he had become an entirely different person in the blink of an eye.

He spoke very politely, with a hint of caution in his voice: “Little brother, would you mind if I borrowed your roof and sheltered from the rain here with you?”

The youth was startled awake. He lifted one corner of the conical hat covering his face. More than half of his face remained in shadow as he swiftly glanced at the man. He then said nothing, merely making a broad, casual gesture of invitation and moving aside a place beside the stove pit for him.

The stranger seemed to arouse not the slightest sense of caution in him. Looking as though he had not yet fully awakened, he quickly curled himself up into a ball again and sank back into a hazy sleep.

The man finally stripped off the soaked raincoat. Beneath it, his thin cloth garments clung tightly to his body, outlining his lean and powerful physique. It was still sticky and uncomfortable, but with another person sharing the room, it would hardly be appropriate to take them off as well.

He therefore sat down, tossed a handful of firewood into the nearly extinguished stove pit, and stirred it around, causing the fire that had been neglected for so long to blaze up again.

He warmed himself by the fire and comfortably breathed out a sigh. Only then did he turn his attention to the stranger beside him.

The man was deeply puzzled. Generally speaking, unless an sub-beast was born into the family of a chief or elder, ordinary sub-beasts held relatively low status within their tribes. Most worked as craftsmen or labourers. Some were exceptionally intelligent and could become physicians, in which case they were also highly respected. But regardless of their status, they rarely left their own tribe to wander about elsewhere.

For a youth to appear in such a remote wilderness and look so completely at ease was rather strange.

The man guessed that he might belong to the tribe that had built this guest shelter. Perhaps he had quarrelled with his family and run out in the middle of the night to make trouble.

The fire burned more vigorously. The youth seemed to feel warmer than before and could not help turning over and edging closer to the stove. He came closer to the edge of the ground pit. He slept extremely soundly, apparently completely unaware of it. His entire body was stuck on such a narrow edge that he seemed liable to fall at any moment, a sight that made the observer’s heart tighten with alarm.

The man had originally been unwilling to disturb him any further, but upon seeing this, he finally could not resist reaching out and pushing him once. He said softly, “Little brother, be careful. You’re about to fall into the pit.”

The youth’s head tilted when the man pushed him, causing the conical hat covering his face to fall completely off. It rolled straight into the ground pit. Yet the youth, already lost in sleep, suddenly reached out and snatched it back. His movement was so fast that the man could barely see it. He retrieved the hat just before the flames could singe it, and a face that looked somewhat dazed from exhaustion was revealed.

After performing this entire series of movements, he still seemed not to have fully awakened. He stared blankly at the person who had tried to wake him.

The youth’s somewhat colourless face held a pair of petal-like eyes. Because the skin at the corners of his eyes was slightly thin, a faint trace of redness showed at the outer corners. It was like a touch of colour completing a painting, and under the gentle glow of the fire, it unexpectedly gave him a somewhat lingering and tender air. He was so handsome that his appearance seemed somewhat incongruous with the torrential rain and thatched hut.

The man opposite him was startled. He stared at him without blinking for a while, then felt that he was being somewhat impolite, so he gave him a simple, honest smile before lowering his head to poke at the firewood in the pit. Yet his gaze still swept, almost imperceptibly, over the youth’s hand.

The youth lazily yawned and casually scratched his own thoroughly dishevelled hair. The man could still see only the back of his hand and still could not discern the slightest clue.

The man’s eyes flickered. He wondered inwardly: What exactly does this sub-beast youth do? How could he have such fast hands?

However, this unidentified sub-beast youth had absolutely no desire to converse. After merely glancing at the man who had awakened him, he dragged his luggage over, used it as a pillow, and went back to sleep.

No one knew what was inside that luggage bundle. It was bulging and more than a zhang long, and it appeared rather heavy.

The man thought to himself: Surely no one would go out carrying a roof beam on their back?

Thinking this, he could not help looking at the other man a few more times. There was no particular meaning behind it. There was simply nothing else to do, and when one saw someone good-looking, one could not help taking a few extra looks.

As he watched, he could not help recalling that many years ago, when he himself had still been a foolish young boy, he had followed his father to a tribe on the other side of the mountain, where he had met a little boy.

Whenever the man closed his eyes, he could recall that little fellow placing a flower into his hand, looking at him with clear eyes and smiling at him. It seemed… somewhat similar to this sub-beast youth before him. If that little cub had survived, perhaps he would have grown this big by now, wouldn't he?

This man was none other than Hua Yi, who, after the turmoil in the Snow Wolf Tribe, had left and spent ten years fleeing as a fugitive.

Thinking this, he immediately shook his head. This place was several hundred li from Yufeng Mountain. Unless the tribe had fallen apart, what sub-beast could possibly have travelled such a great distance? Yet as he looked at the youth, he nevertheless felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and affection welling up inside him.

But the longing and emotion in his heart lasted only for an instant. He soon withdrew that faint, almost imperceptible smile, cautiously leaned against the other side, and closed his eyes. While seizing the opportunity to recover his strength, he drew one hand back into his clothes and pressed it against the small knife concealed there.

For ten years, he had lived each day in this state of being ready for battle at any moment, and it had already become instinct.

It was in the middle of that night when a burst of chaotic footsteps came from afar, accompanied by the sounds of steel colliding and the roars of beastmen who had transformed into giant beasts.

A beastman’s senses were extraordinarily keen, and Hua Yi opened his eyes almost immediately. His pupils contracted sharply in an instant, making his already darker-than-average eyes resemble two deep wells from which not the slightest glimmer of light could be reflected. They were frighteningly cold.

One of his hands remained concealed inside his clothes, while the other transformed into the shape of a beast claw. Turning his head slightly, he discovered that the sub-beast youth had somehow already awakened and was staring thoughtfully at him.

Hua Yi kicked the ground pit. The earth that flew up extinguished the fire. He said in a low voice, “Sorry, little brother. I’m afraid someone is coming after me. You’d better find somewhere to hide.”

The youth did not answer. He continued studying Hua Yi’s face with a serious expression. The footsteps outside drew closer and closer, accompanied by the clamour of voices.

Seeing that the youth showed no reaction, Hua Yi used his free hand to seize him by the shoulder, lifted his entire body from the ground, then pushed him backwards and said rapidly, “Don’t just stand there staring. If you don’t want to die, hide yourself quickly!”

The youth’s gaze, however, fell upon Hua Yi’s beast claw. Beneath the snow-white fur, he saw a silver beast marking.

He suddenly raised his head, and, astonishingly, there was even a trace of inappropriate delight in his expression as he said, “It’s you! Your name is Hua Yi.”

Having his identity suddenly exposed, Hua Yi’s heart tightened, and killing intent instinctively arose within him.

Yet at that very moment, a group of beastmen surrounded the little guest shelter. A man drappedin animal skin, his upper body bare, strode inside. Without even sparing the sub-beast youth a glance, his gaze fixed on Hua Yi like a nail driven into place, as though he wanted to gouge a piece of flesh from his body.

He extended his hand and said coldly to Hua Yi, “Hand it over, and I’ll spare your life.”

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Note from the translator:

Finally they meet again !

 

Translator : DarNan