Chapter 411 - 271: It’s Really Him...

Xiaolan was confused. "Why?"

Su Zhi patted Xiaolan’s shoulder. "Because... your brother is a Beastmaster."

"A Beastmaster?" Xiaolan seemed thoughtful. "Is that someone who can stop people from being eaten?"

"Yes, that’s right."

"Brother, you’re amazing!" Xiaolan clapped her hands, an excited smile spreading across her face.

Su Zhi watched her smile, but he found it hard to smile back.

...

The night grew deeper.

The villagers had all returned to their homes to rest. Xiaolan, however, had gone to a house on the west side of the village—according to Wang Yichuan, the family there had just lost their child a few days ago.

Late at night, every household had fallen into a deep sleep.

Unable to sleep, Su Zhi took Yu Bao to Xiaolan’s house and stared blankly at the empty courtyard and shattered doorway.

Xiaolan’s mother’s body had already been buried by the villagers in the public cemetery. Dried bloodstains still marked the ground, a silent testament to the bloody scene that had transpired.

A child as young as Xiaolan was already accustomed to such sights...

"Fucking bastards."

Su Zhi couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

"WOOF!" Yu Bao immediately asked if it was time to serve those Earthquake Beasts their just desserts.

Su Zhi nodded. "Of course."

It wasn’t just about his personal feelings. The Earthquake Beasts were also the only clue he had encountered so far that linked Yu Bao and the Secret Realm. For both personal and practical reasons, he had to get involved.

Recalling the scene, Su Zhi still found himself at a complete loss.

During the fight, the Earthquake Beast had shown extreme resilience. Even after being severely wounded by a Furious Sand Blade and a Golden Sand Battle Saber in succession, it had remained combat-effective.

Su Zhi hadn’t really had a good plan. He could only have his three Pet Beasts take advantage of the creature’s massive, clumsy body to knock it over, and he had even been prepared for a protracted battle.

He never expected that it would just take one fall and... die.

’What kind of new-age insurance scam is this?’

"CHIRP?" Shan Bao tilted its head curiously. ’Are those Earthquake Beasts really that fragile? Does that mean we can take out a couple more next time?’

Su Zhi glanced at Shan Bao. "It’s not that simple. You saw it yourself—two of Yu Bao’s Furious Sand Blades weren’t enough to take that Earthquake Beast down."

"WOOF!" Yu Bao corrected him. It was one Furious Sand Blade and one Golden Sand Battle Saber.

Su Zhi: "..."

’Whatever makes you happy.’

"WOOF." After its moment of showing off, Yu Bao didn’t forget to get back to business.

’Is it possible that making an Earthquake Beast fall is some kind of special technique for fighting them?’

Su Zhi’s eyes lit up. "That’s actually very possible. The evolution of Exotic Beasts is often orderly and interconnected. The Earthquake Beasts have very stable body structures, perhaps to compensate for a fatal weakness to falling. After all... they aren’t as heavy as you’d think!"

Of course, to be honest, all of the above was just Su Zhi spitballing... but Luo Sen had once said that many long-unsolved mysteries were ultimately cracked by the power of spitballing.

Worst case, you just spitball first and verify later.

"I suddenly feel like finding a couple of Earthquake Beasts to test this on..." Su Zhi mused, propping up his chin.

But the ones that had entered the village were out of the question. Never mind whether the villagers would agree to his experiment—if something went wrong, the consequences would be irreversible.

’I’ll go out and find some Earthquake Beasts tomorrow...’

While lost in thought, Su Zhi heard footsteps behind him.

He turned his head to see Wang Baichuan approaching with Xiaolan.

Wang Baichuan wore a troubled expression. "Sir, Xiaolan refuses to sleep. She insisted on getting up to find you..."

"Oh, it’s no bother."

Su Zhi smiled faintly, walked over, and stroked Xiaolan’s head. "But good children sleep on time at night."

"Mm, Mommy used to say that kids who don’t sleep will be eaten by Earthquake Beasts."

Xiaolan blinked her eyes. "But now I have you, Brother. So if I don’t sleep, I won’t get eaten, right?"

Su Zhi wanted to smile in response, but he found it difficult.

After a moment of thought, he patted Xiaolan’s shoulder and sat down beside her.

"Yes. I won’t let anyone here be eaten again. But you’re still little, and you need to sleep to grow up."

Xiaolan looked thoughtful. "If I sleep, can I become an amazing Beastmaster like you, Brother?"

Su Zhi laughed heartily. "Maybe!"

Then he looked over at Wang Baichuan and waved him closer. "No need to stand so far away. You said you had to accompany the child, but you really came out to find me for yourself, didn’t you?"

Wang Baichuan scratched his head, embarrassed. "As expected of a Beastmaster, sir. You saw right through me."

Su Zhi chuckled. ’Your thoughts are written all over your face. There’s nothing to see through.’

"Sir, I—"

"Stop with the ’sir’ this and ’sir’ that. I told you to just call me Su Zhi." Su Zhi waved his hand dismissively. "What brings you to me so late at night?"

"Su... Su Zhi..."

Wang Baichuan struggled to change his form of address.

Just as Su Zhi nodded in satisfaction, the young man suddenly dropped to his knees with a loud THUMP.

"Su Zhi, could I ask you to accompany me to the Golden Stone Forest tomorrow? I know this is a sudden request, but the other sir isn’t here, and you’re the only one I could think to ask!"

"Don’t panic, speak slowly!"

Su Zhi, who had never been in a situation like this, quickly helped him up. "What is this Golden Stone Forest? What’s the emergency?"

"It’s... it’s my grandfather..."

"Grandpa Wang Yichuan? What’s wrong with him?"

Wang Baichuan fought back the urge to cry. "Every night, Grandfather is in so much pain he can’t sleep. The town Physician said he has a severe case of Gold Vein Disease and doesn’t have much time left. He needs... he needs a Radiant Gold Vein Opening Stone from the Golden Stone Forest as a medicinal catalyst."

"But the Golden Stone Forest is crawling with Earthquake Beasts... We tried to find the catalyst elsewhere, but we’ve spent days searching to no avail. Grandfather couldn’t even get out of bed tonight. He’s already arranging his final affairs with my father."

"He told us not to tell the Beastmaster, sir, that we shouldn’t trouble him. But I still had to ask you..."

"I think I understand the situation."

Su Zhi inquired further. "You just said the Golden Stone Forest is where the Earthquake Beasts gather?"

"That’s right... The Golden Stone Forest is northwest of our village, about a mile or two away. The Earthquake Beasts that enter the village all come from that forest..."

A flicker of instinctual fear crossed Wang Baichuan’s face, but he quickly suppressed it.

"But there aren’t many Earthquake Beasts on the outskirts of the forest, and they aren’t very big! You only run into Giant Beasts if you go deep into the caves in the forest. Plus, you can find Radiant Gold Vein Opening Stones on the outskirts, too! We don’t have to go deep!"

"Alright, I get it."

Su Zhi snapped his fingers. "As it happens, I have business there myself. Don’t worry. I’ll help you out on the way."

A delighted look appeared on Wang Baichuan’s face. "Thank you, Sir—"

Su Zhi crossed his arms.

"...Thank you, Su Zhi!"

Su Zhi nodded in satisfaction and patted his shoulder.

’Young people are so teachable. He changed his tune just like that.’

"Um, Su Zhi..."

"Something else?"

"No, I was just curious." Wang Baichuan scratched his head. "Why is it that you’re also a Beastmaster, but your clothes are so different from the other Beastmaster I’ve seen?"

Su Zhi didn’t answer. Instead, he gave Wang Baichuan a slight, testing smile.

Wang Baichuan blinked, and then his eyes widened in realization. "I’m so slow! Different Beastmaster outfits must symbolize different things!"

"Precisely."

Seizing the opportunity, Su Zhi spoke with deep meaning.

"A Beastmaster’s attire can take many forms, just as each of us pursues our own ’Dao’. Even if our philosophies are different or even conflicting, we are still fellow travelers on the path of the Dao."

Wang Baichuan’s eyes sparkled. "I see! You truly are a Beastmaster."

Su Zhi took the chance to ask a question of his own. "Speaking of which, what kind of outfit did that Beastmaster wear?"

Wang Baichuan answered without hesitation. "That sir’s style of dress wasn’t much different from ours, but the patterns were much more exquisite... Oh, right! He usually wears a beige robe! It’s a little old, but he keeps it in very good condition."

Su Zhi froze on the spot.

’A beige robe... isn’t that the uniform for a Flying Shadow Alliance Member from the Classical Era? Could the Beastmaster the villagers talk about really be Tuoba Jing?’

’He’s actually here too. It seems those Restrictions really are related to him!’

"Where is this Beastmaster? Can you take me to see him?" Su Zhi couldn’t help but ask.

Wang Baichuan shook his head. "The Beastmaster, sir, is very elusive. We can rarely find any trace of him. He’s usually the one to appear and find us. But ever since he showed up, the number of Earthquake Beast attacks has dropped significantly. Everyone here respects him a lot."

"I see... alright." Su Zhi could only nod with some regret.

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