Chương 6: Leaving the Village for the First Time

Giant Willow Village. Under the chilling overcast sky, Song Que was sweating profusely by Mirror Lake. This was the very same Ghost Lake that had nearly claimed his life, but now, he treated it as his own private territory, even conveniently renaming it. One had to admit, living in the remote mountains and desolate valleys had its perks. If you took a fancy to a piece of land, as long as it had no owner, you could reclaim it at will.

Song Que had set up several wooden stakes and straw dummies here, turning it into his personal training ground. Just then, a fist-sized sparrow flew over, circled once, and perched on a nearby wooden stake. Song Que sheathed his wooden blade and closed his eyes in concentration. An image materialized in his mind: the villagers were bustling about, gathering under the old willow tree at the village entrance. By now, Song Que had become quite proficient at using his Split Soul.

He could attach his split soul to an animal, control its movements, and synchronize with its vision—essentially forming a symbiotic link. The effect was excellent on small animals, but larger beasts possessed strong mental resistance. He could only attempt possession if they were injured, had weakened souls, or if the host voluntarily accepted his soul fragment.

He could freely toggle his perspective to see what the split soul saw, no longer suffering the dizzying nausea of processing two distinct fields of vision simultaneously like when he first started. Using this method, he knew the village and the outer perimeter of the Great Ridge Mountains like the back of his hand; even the slightest rustle of grass couldn't escape his notice. Furthermore, Song Que discovered that during symbiosis, he could channel the Tesseract's energy to strengthen the host.

Take this mountain sparrow, for instance. After being possessed multiple times, it had grown increasingly sentient. It started relying on him, refusing to leave, and could even understand a few of his commands and gestures. I was born to be a Beast Tamer. Song Que often thought to himself with glee. His curiosity was piqued. It had been a long time since the village was this lively; usually, it was completely dead and lifeless. Decisively, Song Que headed into the village to find out what was going on.

Entering the village, he spotted Li Tie leading his two children. After asking around, he learned that early tomorrow morning, the Village Chief would lead a caravan to Yellow Leaf Town to trade for supplies. The villagers were currently flocking to register what their families needed to trade for the upcoming New Year. The trek from the village to the town took nearly two hours on foot. The mountain roads were treacherous, occasionally prowled by desperate bandits.

Therefore, the escort detail was naturally comprised of the village's hunting team. In the past, Song Que's father and Li Tie would frequently go to town and bring back gifts for the kids. But ever since the accident, no one from either family had set foot in Yellow Leaf Town for years. Song Que was deeply curious about this world. Recognizing a rare opportunity, he turned to Old Li and asked:"Uncle Li, can I join the team?"

Li Tie looked at him and shook his head:"Traveling to town to exchange supplies is grueling work. Not only is there the risk of combat, but we also have to take turns pulling the carts. You're too young, A'niu; they won't accept you."

"Uncle, you know I have great strength now. Could you please ask them for me? I've never stepped outside Giant Willow Village. I want to see the outside world." Li Tie furrowed his brows deeply, then sighed:"I'll give it a try. Follow me." Saying that, he sent the two little ones home and led Song Que toward the center of the village. A short while later, they stopped before an imposing house. Song Que knew this place well—it was the residence of the Village Chief, Zhao Cairong.

They were the wealthiest family in the village and the only ones with a tile-roofed house. They knocked for quite a while before someone came to open the door. Standing at the threshold was a burly, bear-backed man with a distinctly arrogant expression.

"Cripple Li, what are you knocking for?" The man scrutinized the uncle and nephew before turning to Old Li with visible annoyance. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Li Tie's expression remained unchanged as he piled on a courteous smile:"Captain Zhao, seeing as the supply team is heading to town tomorrow, this is Song Gen's boy. He wants to go to town to broaden his horizons, so I brazenly came to ask if you could let him tag along."

It turned out this man was the Village Chief's son and the captain of the hunting team, Zhao Hu. He let out a contemptuous scoff:"Ah, Cripple Li. Normally, if you ask, it's hard for me to refuse. But you should know this is heavy manual labor. This brat will only get in the way. I really can't help you with this."

"Captain Zhao, this child is exceptionally strong and very sensible. Please, just do us a favor." Zhao Hu looked impatient. He rolled his eyes and said:"Fine, don't say I didn't give you a chance. Kid, there's a bundle of ironwood in the courtyard. If you can lift it, there's a spot for you on the team tomorrow." Song Que kept his head down, hiding any trace of anger. He simply nodded and walked straight into the courtyard. Standing before the bundle of wood, he estimated it weighed nearly a hundred catties.

Without a word, he bent down and hoisted it up. Looking straight into Zhao Hu's bulging eyes, he calmly asked:"Captain Zhao, is this satisfactory?" Hearing his voice, Zhao Hu snapped out of his daze. He scrutinized Song Que for a moment before nodding:"Good lad, truly born with innate divine strength. What's your name?"

"Song Que."

"Good, Song Que. Gather at the willow tree tomorrow morning at the Hour of the Tiger. Don't be late."

"Thank you, Captain Zhao," Song Que replied calmly.

"Captain Zhao, thank you so much. We'll take our leave then," Li Tie said, layering on smiles as he led Song Que away. On the way back, Song Que voiced his displeasure:"Uncle, that Zhao Hu is really something else."

"What can we do? They have the numbers and the power. In Giant Willow Village, the Zhao family is the sky. Who can do anything about it?" Li Tie replied with a bitter laugh.

"By the way, A'niu, since when did you change your name?"

"Uncle, I've been meaning to tell you. From now on, call me Song Que. The name Song A'niu sounds too rustic," Song Que laughed.

"You ah... calling you A'niu just rolls off the tongue easier," Li Tie sighed, earning a thorough eye-roll from Song Que. Upon returning home, when the two kids heard Song Que was going to town, they were entirely envious and threw a fit wanting to go too. Er'ya cried so fiercely that Song Que had to promise to buy them gifts to finally coax them into behaving.... The night passed uneventfully.

Since it was his first time leaving the village, Song Que was a bit too excited, tossing and turning for a long time before falling asleep. Fortunately, right at the start of the Hour of the Tiger, Li Tie came to knock on his door and wake him up, preventing him from being late. Arriving at the village entrance, over twenty robust young men were already bustling about under the old willow tree.

Papa Heaven was giving them face today; the weather was uncharacteristically dry, which would make the journey much less grueling. Looking over the crowd, Li Tie led Song Que to a middle-aged man in his fifties with a thick beard and a sturdy build. He called out:"Big Brother Zhong, this is my nephew. He's Song Gen's boy. He's following the team to town today, please look after him."

"Song Que, this is Uncle Zhong. Both my martial skills and your father's were taught by your Uncle Zhong. Quickly, pay your respects."

"Uncle, your nephew Song Que pays his respects to you." This burly man was Zhong Kui, the deputy captain of the hunting team, renowned as Giant Willow Village's number one archer. His prestige in the village was incredibly high, second only to Zhao Cairong and his son. He glanced coolly at Song Que and nodded:"En. Don't run around blindly once we enter the city. Stay close to me so you don't get lost."

"Yes, Uncle," Song Que nodded in compliance. Once everyone was assembled, they waited a short while before Zhao Hu and his father, Village Chief Zhao Cairong, arrived. There were eight carts in total. Three were pulled by donkeys—two belonging to the Zhao family and one for Zhong Kui to sit on. The remaining five carts were to be pulled to town by Song Que and the other young men, taking turns in shifts. Zhao Hu distributed 100 copper coins to each person.

This was their wages, paid by the village and deducted from the shipping fees charged to the villagers. Li Tie had informed Song Que about this beforehand. Zhao Cairong cast a sweeping, indifferent gaze over the crowd, nodded, and shouted, "Move out!" The caravan rolled forward, making its way toward Yellow Leaf Town. The journey wasn't entirely boring. The three leaders sat on their carts, resting with their eyes closed.

The rest of the men gathered in small groups, chatting about interesting tidbits, making the atmosphere quite lively. Initially, people curiously observed Song Que, but seeing that he could pull his weight and do the work, they soon paid him no mind. Assigned to the same cart as Song Que were three others, including a teenager named Li Hui, about sixteen or seventeen years old. Word had it he was a distant cousin of Gou'dan. He was youthful, and the two of them hit it off quite well in conversation.

Carrying the soul of a modern man, Song Que was accustomed to socializing in his past life and could talk about anything under the sun. He managed to extract quite a few juicy village rumors from Li Hui's mouth. The dry roads lacked muddy bogs, making the carts exceptionally easy to pull. By the time the sky brightened, Yellow Leaf Town finally appeared before them. Song Que stared intently ahead.

A stretch of wall spanning several hundred meters long and over five meters high stood before them, mottled with green moss. The town gates were wide open, and the guards stood scattered about. Seeing the caravan enter, they merely collected the toll out of routine, not even bothering to lift their eyelids, radiating a dead-inside, lifeless aura. It was a far cry from what he had imagined. Li Hui turned to look at him, a teasing smile on his face:"What's wrong? First time at Yellow Leaf Town, feeling overwhelmed?"

Song Que smiled bitterly and shook his head:"It's far worse than I imagined. I thought at the very least, it would be bustling with popularity and throngs of people moving in and out." Resting with his eyes closed on the cart, Zhao Hu scoffed upon hearing this:"Dream on. Who would want to stay in a desolate place where birds don't even bother to shit? Anyone with real skills went up to Qinghe County ages ago. We've long been forgotten here. Even the merchant guilds are too lazy to make the trip."

"Alright, we are entering the town. Everyone be careful, keep your eyes wide open, and don't offend any of the big shots inside. If you do, no one will be able to save you," the Village Chief scolded the group lightly, clearing his throat. These words reeked of an inferiority complex and bitterness. Song Que silently shook his head, lowering his gaze as he followed the crowd inside.