Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 1: Opening of the Zhou Wasteland
Xia Lian saw Ji Zichen looking anxious and said, "It's great that you want to learn, but it also depends on whether you have the fate for it."
Ji Zichen was taken aback. "What does that mean?"
"It means it's simple; we need our clan leader's approval," Xia Lian replied.
Ji Zichen asked in surprise, "You still have clan members?"
"Whether I do or not, you'll find out if you come with me," Xia Lian said.
"Then let's set off now," Ji Zichen declared.
Xia Lian hesitated for a moment and said, "I can't take too many people with me."
Her words were clear; their clan did not welcome outsiders.
Meng Haidao said, "Then Bifan, you and I will return to The Divine Alliance Under the Covenant. Lin Chuyu, you should come with us as well."
Lin Chuyu had lost her memory. Although there were leads regarding the Divine Dawn Ruins, they had not been fully revealed yet. Many still coveted the Divine Dawn, and if Lin Chuyu returned to The Divine Alliance Under the Covenant, it would undoubtedly bring unnecessary trouble.
Ji Zichen fixed her gaze on Xia Lian, showing no signs of pleading. "She is coming with us."
Xia Lian could see the joy in Lin Chuyu's eyes and sighed, "I can only take her; this isn't a marketplace where we can haggle."
Shen Bifan's eyes turned red, and Ji Zichen stepped forward. "I will come back as soon as possible."
Ji Zichen then turned to Meng Haidao. "This time, make sure she doesn't get captured by someone else."
Meng Hai chuckled. "This isn't the Desolate Central Plain. If someone else captures her again, where would I put my old face?"
The next day, everyone set off on their respective journeys.
Two days later, Ji Zichen and the others arrived at the Opening of the Zhou Wasteland.
The Opening of the Zhou Wasteland was a place filled with lush cypress trees and greenery, where amidst the overgrown weeds, a winding path could be faintly seen.
This was a wild land, inhabited by various Monsters. Ji Zichen frowned and asked, "Your people live here?"
Xia Lian replied, "Yes, there is a Kaizhou Mountain here, and my people live on top of it."
The mountain path was rugged and exceptionally difficult to traverse. Ji Zichen had spent years selling magical artifacts, so this kind of terrain was quite challenging for him. However, Lin Chuyu was already struggling. Noticing Lin Chuyu bent over and gasping for breath, Ji Zichen asked Xia Lian, "How much farther? Should we take a break here?"
Xia Lian looked at the sky and said, "The sun is about to set. It's best not to linger in the Opening of the Zhou Wasteland. If we push on a bit further, we'll reach the mountain's ridge."
Lin Chuyu wiped the sweat from her forehead. Not wanting to be a burden, she said, "I'm fine; I can still walk."
After they climbed over the ridge, a village came into view. The village was surrounded by a wall made of Black Stone, and outside the wall flowed a river with a black wooden suspension bridge crossing it. The three crossed the bridge and approached the Black Stone wall, which was heavy and thick enough to withstand many Demon Beasts' invasions.
Once through the gate, they found themselves on a straight street lined with houses. The village wasn't large but appeared quite imposing. Ji Zichen couldn't imagine how the villagers had built such a wall by hand or why they chose to live in such a place.
At the end of the street was a square where many villagers had gathered. They seemed to be watching something intently, pointing and gesturing with their hands. Some villagers were cursing while others were making sarcastic remarks. Both Lin Chuyu and Ji Zichen were curious and wanted to see what was happening.
As outsiders, they should have stood out, yet the villagers' attention was entirely focused on whatever they were watching. Seeing the crowd tightly packed together without knowing what they were looking at, Xia Lian kindly tapped one villager on the shoulder. The villager turned around to look at Xia Lian with an expression of surprise.
Though he didn't say anything, his expression clearly indicated that outsiders were rare in this place; to him, they must have seemed like exotic animals.
The villager stepped aside to let them through, allowing the three of them to squeeze into the center of the crowd. In the middle stood a cage that was taller than two people. However, this sturdy cage wasn't made of iron bars or wooden sticks; it was formed from a Formation and colored blue, resembling a birdcage. But inside it wasn't a bird; it was a Gu Diao.
This Gu Diao looked similar to what Ji Zichen had seen at Corner Lodge, but it had a tuft of red feathers on its head. The Gu Diao appeared very agitated, baring its teeth at the surrounding villagers while occasionally letting out provocative roars that prompted some villagers to step back in fear while others remained unafraid.
In Lin Chuyu's memory, she had never seen a Gu Diao before; she felt somewhat scared yet also curious. Unable to contain herself, she blurted out, "What is that...?"
Ji Zichen sighed. If Lin Chuyu hadn't forgotten, she would remember that a Gu Diao had sacrificed itself to save them. Kiko had not witnessed the Gu Diao's sacrifice, but given the circumstances at the time, it was likely that the creature had met a grim fate.
"No one knows," said a Militia member standing by the cage. He held a hunting bow and wore animal skins. "We saw this thing hunting an Azure Serpent on the southern hillside. They fought fiercely, both sustaining injuries, but fortunately, it won in the end. We exerted a lot of effort to bring it here," he finished, a hint of pride evident on his face.
Ji Zichen shot a disdainful glance at the Militia member. He felt a strong urge to rescue the Gu Diao because he knew they had captured it for the Azure Serpent Pearl. Looking around, he noticed that this was the only Militia present. It would be easy to act and save it, but doing so would inevitably create animosity with Xia Lian's tribe. Kiko hesitated.
Several villagers were pointing and discussing among themselves. "What kind of monster is this? There are many Demon Beasts here, but we've never seen one like this."
Xia Lian had also never seen a Gu Diao before and thought to herself, "What exactly is this Demon Beast? It looks somewhat like a leopard, but it has horns. It crouches like a leopard, but when it stands up, it must be very tall and its body is twice as large as that of a leopard."
The Gu Diao appeared incredibly strong; Xia Lian had never seen such a powerful Demon Beast before. Regardless of what it was, as long as it stayed obediently in the Formation Cage, that was enough.
One of the onlookers picked up a stick from somewhere and poked it through the Gap in the Formation Cage towards the Gu Diao. The Gu Diao became furious, causing quite a commotion. It charged against the blue Formation, only to be rebounded back by the illusory pillars of the Formation Cage. The Gu Diao lay on the ground, trembling in fear and looking utterly helpless.
Even though the Gu Diao was filled with rage, it found itself powerless against the Formation Cage.
Suddenly, Ji Zichen felt a surge of compassion. He wanted to slap the villager for his cruelty but knew he couldn't do that. At first glance, the Gu Diao resembled a fearsome demon; however, Kiko understood that it possessed intelligence. Now, this Gu Diao was trapped like an animal in a cage, being toyed with by people—something Kiko could not bear to witness.
He stepped closer to the cage, prompting the Militia member to glare at him. "What do you want?"
Kiko ignored him and noticed a large bowl of soup inside the Formation Cage. Someone must have fed the Gu Diao some food, but given its size, that bowl would hardly suffice for its hunger.
Kiko knew he couldn't just let them release the Gu Diao because they wouldn't do so until they obtained the Azure Serpent Pearl. The Gu Diao regarded that pearl as an honor and would not easily part with it.
Turning to the Militia member, Kiko said, "Give it some food."
The Militia member eyed Kiko skeptically. "Who do you think you are? Whether or not we feed it isn't up to you. Look at how big it is; if we feed it well enough to regain its strength, I doubt this Formation Cage will hold it anymore. We tried feeding it before, but it wouldn't eat; don't waste your efforts."
Kiko glared at him angrily. "If I'm not in charge here, then who is?"
The Militia member shrugged nonchalantly. "That's obvious; it's our tribe leader who decides what to do with it. The leader still hasn't figured out how to handle this situation. Now go away; don't get too close."
The militia coldly rejected him. Although Ji Zichen did not seem particularly pleased, he had no intention of starting a conflict. "I'm not from your village, and whether I feed it or not is none of your village chief's business," he said.
Ji Zichen glanced at Xia Lian, who was frowning at him. She couldn't understand why Ji Zichen was so concerned about a Demon Beast, but she also had no intention of stopping him.
The militia found it quite difficult to respond. "You are really strange. Why do you insist on feeding it? If you want to feed it, go ahead, but if it bites off your hand later, don't say I didn't warn you."
Ji Zichen let out a cold laugh and turned to leave.
He approached the meat stall and bought several large pieces of pork. Since Ji Zichen was unfamiliar with the village, it took him quite some time to find this stall. By the time he returned to the cage, many villagers had left out of boredom. Gu Diao watched Ji Zichen approach with the basket, showing interest in the pork inside.
It seemed that Gu Diao was hungry too.
Ji Zichen squatted down in front of the cage. He wanted to reach in with a piece of pork but hesitated for a moment. If Gu Diao indiscriminately bit his hand, it would be quite amusing. Ji Zichen secretly took out an Azure Serpent Pearl from his pocket and held it in his hand. Taking advantage of the militia's inattention, he opened his palm towards Gu Diao and imitated the tone he had heard from the Gu Diao at Corner Lodge.
"Gu Diao, adult, hunt Azure Serpent, Azure Serpent Pearl, return to Mountain Valley."
After finishing his words, Ji Zichen cautiously leaned closer to the cage and half-knelt on the ground. "Can you understand what I'm saying?"
Gu Diao looked at Ji Zichen with surprise and nodded after a moment.
Ji Zichen placed several pieces of meat inside the cage. Gu Diao showed no signs of caution towards him; its serrated teeth eagerly tore into the raw meat without hesitation. Seeing Gu Diao devour the food hungrily, Ji Zichen thought to himself, "It must be starving."
The militia observed that Gu Diao was willing to eat what Ji Zichen offered and exclaimed in astonishment, "It's willing to eat what you give it; that's quite unusual."
Comment 0 Comment Count