Chương 71: A Wonder Beast

Ren followed from behind on the way to the ship. Demoness was carrying the Pup on her shoulder like a sack of potatoes as she jumped from branch to branch like an agile monkey, sometimes crushing a few white serpents along the way. Those muggers were everywhere. And their blood smells like shit. Ren shook his head. His eyes shifted to Wenhai. The boy was awfully silent, a slight frown occupying his bushy brows. He hadn't uttered a word other than a thank-you, and even that was nothing but a whisper.

"It's not fun in person, is it?" Ren asked at last, breaking the silence. Wenhai didn't answer. His eyes focused on nowhere in particular. His pupils trembled at a low frequency, as though they couldn't anchor themselves in reality. Ren sighed. He stomped harder on the branch. It broke up with a crisp crack, but he had already propelled himself, catching up with them. Ignoring Demoness' side eye, he snapped his fingers in front of the boy's face. That got his attention, for sure.

"Ah?" Wenhai flinched, face blank, then he raised his head.

"Huh, Senior Brother? What happened?" Time to be a good teacher.

"You good, Pup?" Ren said, keeping his face as stoic as the wind allowed. The bastard was harsh on the eyes.

"You can talk to us if you are worried about what you heard. The Curse… can be quite peculiar."

"Ha, that? My brother called for help. It was stupid as hell, like hell I would believe my brother sobbing my name?" Wenhai answered and scratched his head, adding, "I was just thinking how even these unawakened beasts were so strong in much lower realms. They are truly blessed with mighty bodies." Ren raised a brow.

"How do you think girls would do against one?" he asked.

"Um… I don't think they would struggle as much as I did, especially Ruolan… These beasts seem… kinda stupid, you know, even I easily tricked them." Wenhai snickered, though it was obviously a forceful one.

"Oh, that sounds rather cocky." Ren flashed a grin.

"Thought you'd maybe learn some caution after a wretched pursuit, not contempt for their intelligence." Wenhai waved a hand.

"It is perhaps true for me, but for those two? Heh. If Ruolan takes the field, she'd sell the beasts at dirt-low prices, then have the poor bastards count the money for her."

"You aren't wrong," Ren said, chuckling slightly as he imagined the scene. He could even picture the silly grins on the gorillas' faces as they used their four arms to count faster while Ruolan lay on a soft couch, making them fan her with their empty hands.

"Those gorillas are quite dumb. But don't think every beast will be like them. Most are all about brute force, yes, but they can still rival humanity. Their civilization isn't a bit weaker." Wenhai nodded. He had questions; it was written on his face. Yet he remained silent. Ren gave him a straight look before sighing.

"You want to ask if they are considered sapient beings on the same level as humans, why are we killing them, right?" He subtly stared at his hands. They were, for lack of a better word, as clean as they could be. Or did they?

"That's the thing with 'different' races. Their values don't fit into our worldview. For humanity, not even Ascendants can ignore the rules and hurt mortals right and left. Beasts wouldn't hesitate to do the same if it could help them advance, and they are already doing that in a sense. For them, these beasts are no different than common animals. Even if a million, a billion of them were slaughtered, the beast race wouldn't bat an eye." He paused, the words struggling through his clenched teeth.

"They might be happy, even. It's hard to support such huge populations." He thought about Serene, the kind dinosaur, and added, "Heck, even within the same race, if a beast hasn't awakened its ancestral bloodline, it would be seen as inferior and unfit to bear the name of a spiritual beast. They might even hunt them, with no repercussions."

"Why do you think they raise beast tides from time to time?" Demoness chimed in, her tone breezy.

"They even got a deal with humans, letting us create outposts in their regions and hunt whatever beast we can as long as we don't touch any of their nobleblooded bastards, of course. Though they taste the best." Wenhai's eyes lingered on the serpents crawling. Some were fighting with each other, the winner devouring the loser. A blank look crossed his face, then he nodded briskly and closed his eyes in silence, allowing Ren to focus on the still-growing warmth in his chest.

It had appeared all of a sudden, and he had no idea why. The hot sensation slowly seeped through his skin, but it wasn't the same as the words burning. It was more like a detector triggered by a certain, dirty presence. Ren threw a quick look at the countless serpents once more, keeping his face emotionless. The sensation faded not long after, just as the ship that set sail on the ever-encompassing canopy came into view. He noticed there was no trace of any beasts around.

Even the serpents had vanished at one point. Raising his head, he put a wry smile. The ship lay there like a lazy behemoth sprawled across a cozy valley on a picnic. Sadly, it took more than four colossal trees to sustain such a scene, and even they were bent, clinging to their dear life barely under its weight. I guess I'll never get the 'pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger' trope, he thought, then turned his gaze inward.

The Primordial being, aka the Little Sapling, swayed its branches joyfully without so much as a breeze. Ehh, maybe I still have a chance. This little gremlin doesn't resemble anything terrifying in the least.

"Heeey! Pup! Still alive?" A green head popped out, shouting. Yet her smile suddenly froze.

"Wait… he is… not crying. How could this be…?" A second head, this time with black hair, popped beside her.

"Hm, hm… You lost. Pay up," she said with a straight face and offered her open palm. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Face twisted, Ruolan grumbled, but she still handed half of her cookie. A smug smile surfaced on Liuxue's face, though it disappeared as fast as it appeared.

"Witch!" Wenhai uttered, his voice threateningly low as he turned his head with an incredulous expression.

"You dare to bet that I'd cry? Who are you mocking?!" He struggled to go down, though Demoness didn't care and jumped onto the hull. Only then did she dump him to the ground.

"Fight if you want, but don't involve me, little one," she said, not forgetting to smirk. He directed a resentful look, but didn't linger on her. The boy was wise in a sense, knowing not to pick a fight where he could never win. Instead, he shot to his feet and lunged at Ruolan, eyes widened.

"You Wiiii—" Ren landed at the same time, catching him by the scruff.

"Alright, alright, calm down, you imps."

"But Senior Brother! You are laughing too!" Pup immediately protested!

"I don't— pfft! Don't look at me like I wronged you. I didn't bet…" Ren suddenly trailed off as Ruolan handed him the other half of the cookie, a devilish smirk spreading across her lips. He wore a bitter smile as he watched all hell break loose. She is truly a witch. … It took a couple of minutes, plus the seizure of Ren's hard-earned winnings, before Pup finally calmed down. He slumped down on the hull, leaning against the railings with Iceberg as both nibbled their cookies.

Strangely, he hadn't touched or even mentioned her part. At least he stopped being all gloomy. Ren gave a helpless look at the gloating Ruolan, then waved a hand to Demoness.

"Let's not dawdle much. You take the Witch, and I'll take Iceberg," he said.

"Why don't we go together?" Demoness said, glancing at him.

"What's the rush?"

"That was the plan." It would be much safer with her, Ren knew that too. But he had no way to lure the snake out of its hole without pushing himself forward. The risk of getting bitten was always there, of course, yet compared to being in the light, watched constantly by the ones hiding in the dark, he would prefer shoving his fists down their throats. And if it fails, I still have that little snake's assurance. He took a deep breath.

Though if I say it like this, she would shove something down in my not-so-pretty place. So Ren offered the most reasonable excuse.

"I guess we can do it, but Iceberg will probably spend hours taking down her target. Instead of wasting time, why don't we split off so we can have a good dinner in the outpost?"" Ouch, you are breaking this poor man's heart, Young Master." The chef enforcer's soft voice reached his ears.

"You have a more important mission," Ren transmitted his answer, his gaze meeting with his for a split second, then continued, "And we are still at the outskirts, don't be such a mother hen."

"The last time I stopped being one resulted…" Demoness' complaint was cut short by his warning glare pointing at the kids. A crimson light flickered in her eyes. She stared at him with suspicion, trying to glean something from his expression, yet Ren kept his face totally solemn with an innocent look. She didn't refuse at the end of the day.

"I don't know what you're up to again, but fine. Have it your way, my dear Reny," she whispered the last part. She waved two fingers, yanking Ashthorn, who was peacefully sleeping on the green bed, into the Pup's lap. Then she curled her fingers back, this time pulling Ruolan into the air and flying off with her. She could be a great thief, a bride-stealer kind… And poor Ashthorn. The rabbit looked around blankly, but failed to find the perpetrator.

It shook its little head, stealing a bite from the cookie in the meantime. Ignoring the boy's cries, it returned to sleep. Truly a bunch of troublemakers. Ren let out an exasperated breath. He set aside his idle thoughts, grabbed Liuxue by the nape, and jumped back into the forest. Cinderborn caught him in midair as he flew toward the river Demoness had found earlier. They didn't talk on the road, and truth be told, he was grateful for her silence.

He dropped her beside the river, an assuring smile already on his face.

"Let me give you a quick rundown," he said, patting the nonexistent dust on his robes.

"Your target, Snapper Deer, is a Second Stage carnivore with delicious meat that only nobles can get. It's sleeping in that cave." He pointed toward it, then patted her small hand, furtively passing the crimson scale into her sleeve. It was cold to the touch. Her hand, of course, was scalding hot since they left the ship. Fortunately, she didn't flinch or show a reaction. Ren continued, "It only takes out its head once a day to drink water. If you miss your chance, then you fail.

Even I'm not sure if I can breach its armor. Go for a quick hit, preferably with poison, toward its neck, not its head." The line is in place. Now all I need is patience.

"That's it. Good luck." Ren jumped on the closest colossal tree's likewise enormous branch, suppressing the slight disgust he felt toward himself. He leaned back, drawing circles on his chin. He seemed as lethargic as he could be. Ugh, posing isn't easy. Below, Iceberg first crouched, her presence instantly dimming. In a moment, she was no different than a random pebble in his senses. Unlike Wenhai, who had completely disappeared, leaving a void in his place, her aura manipulation was almost ingenious.

You can notice abnormal emptiness, but nobody cares about a random pebble. Ren's lips curved. Iceberg didn't approach the cave directly. She first inspected the terrain. The river wasn't that big; it was more of a stream that even children could play in safely. Only in terms of shallowness, though. The soft soil spread over a wide area, covered by countless paw and claw marks. There weren't any trees around it, making it not as dim. Yet, strangely, shrubs or reeds didn't grow in the soil, leaving the place barren.

Iceberg carefully went over the paw marks leading from the cave to the river, then rubbed some mud she had collected around them onto her exposed skin. Just as she seemed to enter the river, Ren transmitted his voice.

"Don't. The things in there aren't something you can fool." She frowned a little, her eyes unwillingly lingering on the shallow water. Still, she listened. Right where the marks ended, she dug a pit, lay in it, and covered herself with soil. Ren couldn't help but chuckle. At the same time, he grabbed toward the stream. His silver energy passed through obstacles until he caught a slippery bastard. It flew into his hand. Resembles piranhas.

A transparent fish with egg-sized eyes and crooked teeth jutting from its mouth dangled in front of him. It snapped its jaws in a frenzy. Yep, it's definitely a fantasy piranha. He didn't even bother with it and threw it into his ring. This would kill it, but also keep it as fresh as the first moment. The minutes flowed into hours as he continued to watch, grabbing into the empty air from time to time.

He had stopped checking what they were a long time ago, the motion already perfectly practiced, only knowing that all wanted a piece of his disciple. Even his eyes were half-closed, with a random leaf stem between his lips. However, a faint, hard-to-catch crimson glimmer never faded in them. And just as he looked like he was about to drift off to sleep, the ground quaked. A strange beast loomed out of the cave, each step accompanied by a thud. Ren felt Liuxue's shiver. He was sure her eyes were as wide as saucers.

Eh, he didn't mock her when she was against such an abomination. The beast's gray fur was smooth and clear, though the strange thing was where it sprouted from— the freaking armor. Its body, including its limbs and long tail, was covered in layers of overlapping stone-like armor, and all the gaps were seamlessly sealed by its fur. It had a torso that was literally a shell shaped like an alligator snapping turtle's. And worse, it could retract its head, leaving only its huge antlers outside.

If not for the pair of purplish eyes flashing past them, nobody would believe its head was there. Unstoppable shield. That was the feeling Ren got from it. I wonder if it can stand a solid pierce from Heavenpiercer. He straightened a little, squinting down at the creature. Thud. It took a step forward, waited a bit as its antlers vibrated slightly, then it took another step. Just the simple walk to the river almost took ten whole minutes despite its long legs. Not surprisingly, it wasn't built like a turtle.

Rather than that, it was truly a deer, easily twice his size, not hers, with muscular legs no less impressive than a moose. Ren couldn't stop himself and shook his head, leaning back again. Such an impressive beast, yet still timid as a mouse. It was truly a wonder.