Hua Yi heard the steady, even breathing of the person on his back. He thought, That little brat had better not drool all over my back, but he still could not help slowing his steps.

The Elder could no longer stand Old Blind’s pathetic, timid behaviour, as though he would tremble with fear at the sight of a mere grasshopper. He stepped forward, signalled to him with his eyes to move aside, then approached Hua Yi himself. After glancing at Chang An, he lowered his voice and said, “The Ghost Tribe has been very active lately, and the Chief cannot get away. He sent me to escort you back. I hope you will forgive us, Brother Silver Fang (NT: xiongdi, a respectful, friendly address). Please do not think we have neglected you.”

Although Hua Yi sneered inwardly, his expression remained unchanged. He gave a slight nod without saying anything.

These northern beastmen were big, stupid, and clumsy. Whenever they had nothing better to do, they liked to hatch schemes and tricks, convinced that they were the cleverest people in the world and that everyone else was just a bunch of idiots who knew nothing but hunting and risking their lives. They would have to be thoroughly outwitted by Suo Laimu before they realised what was happening. That man was the true master of schemes and tricks.

Chang An knew nothing about any of this. To understand it, we must start from the beginning.

Hua Yi’s employer for this mission was none other than the chief of the largest tribe in this region: the Giant Mountain Tribe.

The chief of the Giant Mountain Tribe was named Luo Tong. He was a man in his prime, yet he had married only once in his entire life, to a sickly woman, and had loved her with all his heart.

Hua Yi and the others had never been fortunate enough to see just how beautiful this wife had been. They only knew that she had died of illness at a young age several years earlier, leaving Luo Tong with a sub-beast son.

Luo Tong had suffered terribly after his wife’s death. From then on, he could never look at another woman, and he and his young son had relied on each other for company. Unfortunately, the boy had inherited everything from his deceased mother. He had been born sickly, and both his temperament and appearance were as delicate as a little girl’s. His father spoiled him terribly, yet he was still constantly falling ill, often to the point of death.

Luo Tong’s son carried on like this until he was eleven or twelve. He could neither chop wood nor hunt. He had no skills of any kind, and could barely write or speak clearly. He was useless at everything. Then, for some reason, he caught a chill, and this time he really was on the verge of death.

Luo Tong panicked. Even the physicians said there was nothing they could do. But, as it turned out, the boy’s life was not yet meant to end. It just so happened that this was the season when the Divine Herb bloomed.

There was only one Divine Herb plant on the entire continent. It grew at the summit of Sacred Snow Mountain. According to legend, Sacred Snow Mountain was the burial mound that had been dug when the Great Heavenly God descended to earth.

The plant growing on the grave of the Great Heavenly God was unique and extraordinary. It was so precious that it bloomed only once every thousand years.

The flower had just one use: if it was dried, ground into powder, and swallowed, it could transform a naturally born sub-beast into a beastman, giving a them the strength of the King of All Beasts.

Beastmen had an extremely strong ability to heal themselves. If a sub-beast could become a beastman, the minor illnesses and ailments they had been born with would no longer matter at all.

The devoted Chief Luo Tong, therefore entrusted this task to the group known as the Exiled Travellers, Silver Fang and his companions. For this one mission, he offered an extraordinarily generous and unprecedented price. He promised Hua Yi that if they could save his son’s life, he would hand over the wealthy and powerful Giant Mountain Tribe to their band of outlaws.

Naturally, the Great Elder of the Giant Mountain Tribe was unwilling to accept such an arrangement. He feared that a new chief would jeopardise his own interests within the tribe. Not only did he oppose the deal, but he also grew bold enough to harbour thoughts of rebellion. The Great Elder secretly colluded with a Ghost Tribe and incited them to attack the small tribes nearby, hoping to keep Luo Tong occupied. He then took a group of men and intercepted Hua Yi before he could reach his destination, intending to nip the deal in the bud.

When he saw Hua Yi following them without the slightest suspicion, he had already relaxed halfway, convinced that everything would go exactly as planned.

Silver Fang might not look particularly impressive apart from his white hair, but the Great Elder of the Giant Mountain Tribe had heard of his ability to risk his life in a fight. Otherwise, how could he have managed to obtain something that the entire continent was fighting to get?

The Great Elder decided not to alert him. It would be best to wait for an opportunity, perhaps when the man lowered his guard, and then deal with him without spilling blood.

Once Silver Fang was taken care of, the few underlings travelling with him would be easy to handle. They could simply be eliminated with the help of the Ghost Tribe. He could let Luo Tong’s people and the Ghost Tribe fight among themselves for a while, then lead his own men in to reap the benefits. He would also get rid of Luo Tong and his sickly son, and become chief himself.

The Great Elder considered his plan flawless. Along the way, he ordered more than a dozen men to keep a close eye on Hua Yi, waiting for him to let his guard down.

As for Chang An, who was travelling with Hua Yi, the Great Elder was not as cautious as Old Blind. He did not take the boy seriously at all.

The Great Elder thought Chang An was merely some little thing Hua Yi had picked up from who knew where. He was no different from Luo Tong’s sickly son. Apart from when he was eating, when one might occasionally see him open his eyes, he seemed to spend nearly all his time asleep.

The trouble was that Hua Yi, the man he wanted to kill, remained cautious at all times. As they drew closer to their destination day after day, the Great Elder began to grow impatient.

He did not dare to tamper with Hua Yi’s food. These Exiled Travellers had all crawled out of piles of corpses, and no one knew what abilities they might possess. Silver Fang himself refused to lower his guard. If the Great Elder alerted him, the whole plan would be ruined.

With no other choice, the Great Elder discussed the matter with Old Blind in secret.

The Great Elder asked, “We can’t find an opportunity. What should we do?”

Old Blind replied quietly, “Don’t panic. Sixty li ahead, there is a mountain hollow. I have worked it out: at our current pace, we should arrive there just in time for the Autumn Hunting Festival. We can get some fine wine and buy a few beautiful women. Let’s make sure Silver Fang has a proper festival celebration and keep him in that valley so he cannot leave.”

The Great Elder frowned and thought for a moment before asking, “Do you think that will work?”

Old Blind sneered. “He is a young man, full of vigour. What kind of man is Silver Fang? I know these Exiled Travellers. They spend their lives fighting for survival, but apart from wine and women, they have no other comforts. After travelling all this way, he will naturally let his guard down when the time comes. Rest assured.”

The Great Elder therefore accepted Old Blind’s golden advice. He secretly sent men to the nearby tribes to buy people. Clearly, they had done this sort of thing many times before, because his subordinates were remarkably efficient.

Some of those they bought were from poor families in the surrounding tribes that could no longer afford to feed them. Others were beautiful slaves. When one side lost a tribal war and was not slaughtered to the last person, this was often the fate that awaited them. There were even merchants who travelled across the entire continent whose business was selling people.

Old Blind was getting on in years and liked to think things through. Seeing that Hua Yi kept the sub-beast boy, who ate his fill and then fell asleep, constantly by his side, he decided to investigate. He discovered that the boy was mute in a rather peculiar way: he did exactly as he pleased and showed no interest whatsoever in anything around him. As for the relationship between the two of them... at least for now, there was not the slightest hint of romantic affection.

Old Blind believed that if Hua Yi had any such intentions, he had not yet succeeded. So, to make sure everything was properly arranged, he specifically instructed the Great Elder to buy not only women but also several young sub-beast men with delicate features.

When the day of the Autumn Hunting Festival finally arrived, all these handsome men and beautiful women were lined up together and made to kneel, ready for people to choose from them. Even Hua Yi was taken aback. He had not expected the Great Elder to spend so much money on him.

The Autumn Hunting Festival was a grand celebration passed down from ancient times. It was the greatest festival on the entire continent, a time of conviviality for everyone. Apart from the Great Elder’s dozen or so trusted men, who were sharpening their knives and preparing to kill, everyone else was free to do as they pleased.

So, as soon as night fell, people stopped behaving like people.

Hua Yi was being pestered by a man and a woman and had no choice but to humour them. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Chang An sitting alone beside the bonfire, yawning and looking as though he had not yet woken up properly. For some reason, Hua Yi could not resist teasing him.

He gently nudged the woman beside him and pointed at Chang An. “That’s my little brother. It’s rather boring sitting here alone. Go and keep him company for a while.”

At these words, Chang An turned his head blankly and stared at him, looking completely bewildered. The woman had not been willing to go at first, but when she saw the boy’s face illuminated by the firelight, she froze for a moment. Then she hurried over to him.

Chang An did not understand why the woman had suddenly come towards him. Seeing her getting closer and closer, he assumed she wanted to sit there, so he reluctantly moved a little to make room for her. The woman had spent several years being trained by human traffickers and was used to all kinds of people. She mistook his behaviour for shyness, so she leaned towards him with a sweet, fragrant breath and draped an arm over his shoulders. She touched the tip of his nose with her long fingers and asked with a giggle, “Little brother, how old are you?”

Chang An had never been treated like this before. His eyes involuntarily followed the finger touching his nose, and they almost crossed.

The woman giggled and reached out to stroke his face. Her touch gave Chang An goosebumps all over.

At last, he could not bear it any longer. He leaned backwards, sat bolt upright, and frowned. One hand instinctively rested on the hilt of his knife.

But the woman had not actually done anything to him. She had only touched his face. Bei Shi and A Yan had touched his face before too, although neither of them had made him feel this uncomfortable. His face was not some precious object that no one was allowed to touch. He could not possibly draw his knife over such a trivial matter. So Chang An could only keep his whole body tense and continue retreating as the woman moved closer, staring at her with the same expression he might have worn when facing a formidable enemy.

The woman found him amusing. Giggling coquettishly, she swayed her waist from side to side and kept forcing him to retreat.

Hua Yi laughed so hard that he pounded the ground.

Chang An had no eyes in the back of his head. As he retreated in a panic, without looking where he was going, he accidentally sat down on someone’s foot. The person let out a soft “Ah.” Chang An turned around in alarm and discovered a male sub-beast so alluring that he hardly looked like a man. He was sitting on the lap of a beastman who had come with him. His face was unnaturally flushed, his clothes had slipped halfway off, and his waist was twisting like a snake.

The beastman and the sub-beast both turned to look at the handsome, clumsy young boy. A strange light suddenly appeared in the beastman’s eyes. He thrust his hips forcefully against the sub-beast on top of him, and the sub-beast let out a long, sweet, languid moan.

The sound seemed almost tangible as it brushed past Chang An’s ears. He shuddered and sprang to his feet as though his backside had caught fire, wearing an expression as if he had seen a ghost.

The woman, however, seized the opportunity to crawl closer. She grabbed his ankle and slowly began running her hand up his leg.

Chang An could no longer tolerate it. His eyelids twitched, and he was just about to kick her away when Hua Yi, who had been thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, suddenly stood up. He brushed the woman’s hand aside and came to Chang An’s rescue. With an unconcerned smile, he said, “All right, miss. He’s still young. Don’t bully him.”

Then, still smiling, he gave the beastman beside them a cold glance and pulled Chang An out of the danger zone. Having received the warning, the beastman finally, and rather reluctantly, looked away.

Hua Yi grabbed Chang An by the waist from behind and lifted him up. From where he stood, he could see the hairs on the boy’s neck standing on end. Unable to resist, he leaned close to Chang An’s ear and chuckled, “What, have you never seen anything like that? Don’t tell me you don’t even know what they’re doing?”

Chang An answered with a fair amount of common sense, “I know. They’re making babies.”

“Oh!” Hua Yi was both amused and exasperated by the answer. All he could do was praise him. “My, you certainly know a lot.”

He deliberately turned his back to the Great Elder of the Giant Mountain Tribe and used his body to shield Chang An. From behind, it looked as though he were holding the boy intimately in his arms and whispering sweet nothings into his ear. Then the smile faded from the man’s face. His lips barely moved as he whispered to Chang An, “The old ghost wants to kill me. If I’m not mistaken, he’ll make his move once tonight is over.”

Chang An’s expression immediately turned serious.

Hua Yi, however, remained calm. Still speaking so softly that his voice was barely audible, he continued beside Chang An’s ear, “I haven’t given them an opportunity all along the way, so I suppose I’ve driven the old bastard into a corner. It must have been difficult for him to find so many people to put on this show in such a short time. Most likely, that bastard Old Blind gave him the idea. But I’m not afraid. A few of my friends are in Luo Tong’s tribe, and they should already have a plan. I just don’t know whether they can get here in time. If they make their move tonight, I’m afraid I won’t be able to handle them all by myself. I’ll have to rely on you then, brother.”

After hearing this, Chang An nodded and gave a quiet “Mm.” He showed no other reaction.

Hua Yi knew that just over half a month ago, he and this boy had been complete strangers. Yet he had made the decision to place his trust in him without hesitation, with the same resolve and courage as a warrior cutting off his own arm to save his life.

Ten years had passed, yet he still remembered the clear, pure smile of that little child by the river. Hua Yi had a strange thought: if this person was not worthy of his trust either, then the first ten-odd years of his life would have been nothing but a complete joke.

“Be careful.” Hua Yi slipped an arm around Chang An’s shoulders and leaned close to his ear, speaking as intimately as though their cheeks were brushing against each other. A smile that seemed almost intoxicated remained on his face. Not a single person nearby could hear what he was saying.

 

Translator : DarNan