Translator: mianbao Editor: Aelryinth
Edited by RED
In the end, Zhang Che still didn’t get to eat a meal of piping hot roasted meat.
When the wolf pack attacked, the bonfire was burning strong.
By the time all of the Grassland Brown-Furred Wolves were killed, at least twenty minutes had passed, and the meat above the bonfire was burnt to a char.
“Forget it. I don’t have salt and other seasoning this time, anyway. There’s probably not much flavor just eating it like that.” Zhang Che could only console himself this way, looking at the block of burnt meat above the bonfire, displaying the spirit of Ah Q¹ to the fullest.
However, it was really vexing!
A meal was delayed just like that; even obtaining the twenty-odd beast cards didn’t feel so exciting anymore.
The night gradually arrived. The helpless Zhang Che could only eat compressed biscuits along with clear water in the end. As he chewed on it with his brow knitted, he consoled himself inwardly, -When I bring the seasonings next time, I can find some weak exotic beast and get Hanxue to kick it to death. That way I’ll be able to eat delicious roasted meat.-
After finishing his disappointing dinner, Zhang Che pitched his tent by the bonfire. The sky was fully dark by then.
——
This place was deep into the beast world. For safety’s sake, Zhang Che summoned all of his subdued beasts, guarding around the tent. Even Hanxue wasn’t spared. This fellow had acute senses for danger; it would be stupid not to use him as a sentry.
After staying in Zhang Che’s spiritual sea for over an hour and having a good meal of seven-colored fog, Hanxue was very unsatisfied with Zhang Che for forcefully kicking him out.
Hanxue’s mood turned for the better only when Zhang Che asked the seven-colored crystal to open up a path and keep sending seven-colored fog to him.
——
At midnight, Zhang Che was deep in sleep when Hanxue’s restless low neigh suddenly rang out from outside. Zhang Che was jolted awake and quickly sat up, hurriedly putting on his shoes, and came out to take a look. However, he didn’t discover anything amiss.
The other three subdued beasts responsible for guarding the other directions were still standing silently at their respective posts. Obviously there weren’t any signs of danger.
However, Hanxue was clearly upset. It immediately came running with short strides to Zhang Che after seeing him, whimpering. “Oh you little… What happened? Could there be some exotic beasts around us in hiding?”
Seeing Hanxue acting so distressed, Zhang Che turned nervous, too.
After all, this guy had a sharper sense for danger. Did it really sense some danger approaching them that the Fiery Scorpion and the others didn’t?
At Zhang Che’s questioning, Hanxue blinked repeatedly and shook his head, looking up at the night sky from time to time. “You mean, some aerial beast just flew by?”
Zhang Che went to full alert. If it truly was so, then it would be troublesome…
No matter how powerful the exotic beasts on land were, he could rely on Hanxue’s exceptional speed to escape. But if the danger was from the sky, facing those aerial beasts with astonishing speed, how was he supposed to escape successfully?
A suffocating sense of crisis suddenly loomed over Zhang Che’s heart, bringing panic with it. He felt that the sky was filled with the presence of an unseen enemy.
However, Hanxue’s reaction left Zhang Che even more confused.
Seeing Zhang Che not understanding what it was trying to convey, Hanxue decided to bite on the corner on Zhang Che’s clothes, and it started walking in the direction the foot of the mountain range extended toward.
“You’re telling me to quickly hide into the mountains?” Although its master still didn’t understand exactly what it was trying to convey, at least he understood his intention. Hanxue immediately nodded profusely.
Zhang Che seemed to understand now. Hanxue was saying that it was more dangerous if they stayed here, and they needed to hide in the mountains?
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Che decided to trust in Hanxue’s senses. He immediately turned around and stowed his tent, stuffing it into his backpack.
Seeing the anxiety on Hanxue’s face becoming more apparent, Zhang Che didn’t have time to care about his three subdued beasts. He directly recalled them back into his spiritual sea with a wave of his hand, and he quickly flipped himself over Hanxue’s back. “Come on, go to a place where you feel safe.”
“Xilvlv…” Hanxue immediately let out a long neigh and started galloping at top speed.
From the very start, Hanxue’s speed erupted to the limit, running along the mountain’s foot like a bolt of lightning.
Zhang Che noticed the severity of the matter from Hanxue’s actions. He leaned forward on his mount’s back, his brow tightly knitted, thinking about what possible danger was upon them.
Hanxue had probably come by this area in the past. It was rather familiar with the topography here, and took no time at all to run to the entrance of a narrow gap between two mountains, lowering its speed.
-Does this fellow want to bring me in here?- Looking at the dark, narrow slit in front of him, Zhang Che couldn’t help but feel conflicted. It was so freaking dark in there; who knew what danger lay beyond?
Right at this moment, the sky suddenly lit up, as if it was daytime.
Using that light, Zhang Che saw a little of what was in the narrow ravine in that split second.
In the time it took for a spark to ignite, Zhang Che only managed to see that the ravine seemed to extend up towards the mountain. It was unlike what he had imagined, that it would be a bottomless abyss.
“Honglonglong…”
A few breaths after the light faded, the rumblings of thunder were heard. The entire world seemed to be shaking along to the rumblings.
-Is a storm approaching?- Zhang Che couldn’t resist turning back to take a look. He saw silver snakes of lightning dancing in the sky, the brilliant light stung his eyes, forcing him to close his eyes.
Immediately afterwards, an unending wave of thunder rang out, like the concentrated firing of cannons, nearing causing Zhang Che to lose his hearing. -The force of nature on this side of the gate is actually this horrifying!-
The concentrated rumbling of thunder was only the beginning, however. Even more lightning bolts flashed, illuminating the sky to the point it seemed like daytime. The wilderness in all directions could be seen clearly.
Making use of the lightning flashes, Hanxue moved out once more, travelling along the narrow ravine between the mountains.
Zhang Che didn’t care about Hanxue’s destination. Instead, he kept looking back towards the grasslands he was at previously. He discovered that the area was nearly devoured by the lightning, as countless bolts of lightning rained down. It looked like a scene from Hell.
A layer of cold sweat seeped out from Zhang Che’s back. He felt immensely grateful. Fortunately Hanxue realized something was amiss and brought him away immediately. Otherwise, wouldn’t he have been struck to death by lightning and turned into a block of burnt coal?
Zhang Che had no way of knowing whether that scenario would have come true, but to his astonishment, he saw a black figure in the sky going back and forth within that area filled with concentrated lightning bolts!
Zhang Che was sure that he didn’t see wrongly. That black figure was swimming in lightning, as if it was taking a bath!
Bolts upon bolts of gaudy lightning struck on that black figure, sending countless mini lightning snakes spiraling away. They were actually unable to hurt it in the slightest! -As a beastmaster who aspires to reach great heights, this kind of exotic beast should be what I strive for!-
Zhang Che was dazzled by the sight, and his mind drifted away in fascination…
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Translator’s Note:
1 – Ah Q(阿Q): Ah Q is a fictional character in a novella written by Lu Xun in the 1920s, The True Story of Ah Q.
