201 Traces of Life (1/2)
”Brother, we cannot proceed further!”
Somewhere not far from the icy plains, two small figures were trotting along.
The larger figure was a boy wearing an animal's hide as a coat. He was carrying a bamboo basket and his shoes were already torn. His face was full of determination. ”If we don't enter the icy gorge, how can we obtain enough herbs to cure father's illness? Don't forget that we have to give our contribution to the city master as well!”
”It's too dangerous out there. It's uncharted territories filled with poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, and they're all out to kill you!”
A little girl was pulling on his arm, and her big eyes welled up with tears.
”LEt go!”
The young boy was decided as he licked his lips.
”I'm not letting go!”
The little girl persisted. As the girl pestered her for a while longer, the young boy could no longer hold it in. As he waved his arm away, the little girl fell to the ground.
”Of course I know about the dangers in the icy gorge. But if we don't hand in our contribution, how will our family be allowed to continue living in the village?!”
The young boy continued. ”Without the protection from the array in the village, we will all die!”
”Boohoo...”
The little girl knew this fact as well. She sat on the floor and started to wail.
”Ah Xian, don't worry. I have a rather good understanding of the Death Plains. Furthermore, I know a little martial arts, and I am rather confident about it!”
The young boy comforted the little girl. As his expression changed, he was prepared to journey into the unknown.
However, at this moment, he stopped in his tracks.
He could see a huge black shadow slowly emerging from the woods.
It was a white giant tiger from the mountains, and the black stripes on it resembled chains, giving it a mysterious feel.
”Roar! Roar!”
As it leapt, it looked around in its vicinity. The young boy and little girl froze in their positions; they were too fearful to do anything.
'It's... It's too powerful...'
The young boy's legs turned jelly, and he heard a voice from inside of him. ”This is only the boundary and there is already such an animal that I am unable to do anything about. How scary is the icy plains? No wonder the village forbade us to leave our houses after sunset and made us give up a portion of contribution every year to maintain the array...”
”Ta! Ta! Ta! Ta!”
As the giant tiger approached, the young boy started to sweat profusely. He clenched his teeth and was unable to speak a single word.
”Kekekeke!”
Although he could still stand, the little girl beside him was chattering her teeth, and there was a foul smell of urine from her legs.
At this point in time, the demonic white tiger bent over, revealing a person's silhouette. It opened its mouth and blabbered a few weird words.
Although no one could understand it, soon after it spoke, the tense atmosphere was no more.
It was as though the seasons had changed from winter to spring. The fearful thought of a ferocious tiger was long gone.
”Lord!”
Anyone who was able to tame such a ferocious beast had to be a highly skilled martial artist. With that, the young boy quickly greeted him respectfully.
”Eh? Who are you people?”
Hearing the young boy speak, Fang Yuan's eyebrows twitched.
This was not the language they used on the mainland. Instead, it sounded similar to the common language spoken in Da Qian Empire!
Why could he speak the Da Qian language?
He had already practised it before in Yang Fan's dream world.
However, even if he did not learn it before, it was still alright. To a dream master, it was only a matter of one dream-accessing opportunity to learn a foreign language quickly.
”I am a villager from the nearby Rock Village, and my name is Yu Jian. This is my younger sister, Ah Xian!”
Yu Jian hurriedly took a bow and stuttered.
”Rock Village?”
The lord on the back of the tiger became curious. ”Are there many people here? Where are they?”
Yu Jian started to become nervous and stutter even more.
After his explanation, Fang Yuan finally understood.
'There are people living nearby, and they are split into many different villages. At the heart of all the villages is the Descending Star City!'
'Furthermore, the way he speaks and his mannerism are alike to the people in Da Qian Empire. Could these people have migrated from there?'
Below, the young boy Yu Jian was secretly examining this lord.
'He is so well-dressed! He must be an important person from the city!'
From the young boy's experience, he only had the chance to interact with the people in his village. Descending Star City was the centre of the entire world to him. He would never know how huge the outside world would be.
”Bring me to your village!”
Fang Yuan thought for a moment before directly requesting him.
Seeing the young boy hesitate for a while, he continued. ”Were you preparing to pluck herbs with the bamboo basket and the hoe? I shall hire you as my guide, and this is your remuneration!”
As he said, he waved his hand. A special flower with pure white petals and a red hue in the centre of it appeared and slowly drifted to the ground.
”Snow Petal Red Pistil Flower?”
Yu Jian was shocked. He quickly but carefully picked up the flower with both his hands and was left speechless.