Chapter 1, Chang'an

At this moment, a small domino fell from the baby with a "pop" sound, on which the characters "Chang'an" were engraved with a knife. The edges had become smooth and white from countless rubs by its previous owner, and it was quite old

The night sky on this day was astonishingly clear, without a trace of haze, the Milky Way stretched across the sky like satin, quietly flowing as it always does.

The old man confirmed that he had not attracted the attention of those beasts before cautiously lowering his head again to look at the infant

The man stumbled to his feet, as if stirred by a survival instinct that had been on the verge of death, clutching the baby and swiftly darting into the dense jungle.

The full extent of their disgrace is revealed

Then he suddenly jumped up from the ground in a neurotic manner, shaking every person around him frantically, calling out their names, yet receiving no response

His movement startled the giant beast not far away. The creature lifted its head and glanced at the old fellow, then its blood-red eyes revealed a complete disdain, showing no interest as it shifted its gaze away.

Extreme fear and despair can render a person speechless

Hurrying and bustling, trembling and anxious

Perhaps she is already dead

Her chest was clawed open by the beast, exposing the bone beneath, half of her body submerged in blood, and her long black hair clung to her bare body.

The true deity descends into the void, and the principles of morality collapse into decay

The scalpel wielder howls, while the herbivores flee

After an unknown period of time, a frail young man crawled out from the pile of corpses. He bore no beast markings on his hands, appearing merely as a sub-beast who toiled in the tribe, unable to transform into a beast.

The colossal beast let out a wail, withdrawing from the woman's cold body. Its bones creaked as it slowly curled up, the armor-like, hard fur receding. In just a moment, it transformed into a man with a scarred face and slightly slanted eyes. As his pupils shifted, the crimson hue of blood seemed not yet to have faded, and he soon revealed a sinister smile: "When did even this small pleasure of the victor have to be stripped away?"

How unfortunate it is that the baby, born after a long and arduous period, is destined to be a little one who will not live long

The final note of his singing seems to linger in the air, like a haunting soul that refuses to depart

The child seems to have gathered all their strength to emit that cry, with an abnormal bluish-purple hue on their face, and their breathing is so weak that it is barely perceptible

Tears suddenly flowed from the old man's already parched eyes, coursing down the deeply etched lines at the corners of his eyes, murky and unclean. He abruptly turned his head away, as if unable to bear the sight any longer

His parents have not even had the chance to give him a name

Alas, the way of heaven allows humans to become beasts

The claws tore through the night, and the old man's chilling and eerie tone suddenly ceased, his body severed, leaving behind a stubbornly upright, broken form.

The elderly man strained to reach into the difficult-to-cover folds of his clothing, pulling out a small bone tile and tossing it in the direction of the infant

gradually taking on the momentum of a torrential downpour

Just as he lay on the ground, barely alive, a faint cry of a baby suddenly emerged from the bushes. The sound was so small, resembling the mew of a kitten just waking up, yet it struck the man’s ears like a clap of thunder.

However, apart from the initial sound, a hoarse cry that resembled the screech of rusted metal grinding against coarse animal hide, she has not made any sound since.

He seemed to have accomplished something remarkable, revealing a bittersweet yet relieved expression—foolishly believing that the small, old domino possessed some magical power that could persuade the Grim Reaper to spare this child

The invaders have departed

He felt that he was about to die as well, and this heavy rain would bury him along with his former neighbors and relatives.

The wound on the shoulder of the beastly man revealed faintly visible white bone. He staggered a few steps and then fell heavily to the ground, coming face to face with the head of the old man in the mud. Looking at that pale face, he could no longer hold back and collapsed on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

He was stunned for a moment, suddenly unsure where the strength came from, and he got up, rolling and crawling. With the only hand he had left, he pushed aside the bodies near the bushes, clearing away the blood-stained, lush branches and leaves, and there he found a small baby.

However, at that moment, he saw a pair of eyes in a nearby bush, staring intently at him. The old man was taken aback for a moment, and then recognized that it was a baby.

The monstrous beast bore a terrifying scar on its face, its eyes glowing red, and its hideous body writhed incessantly. The sharp, backward-facing hooks on its claws could not help but leave one bloody gash after another on the woman, while drool dripped from its mouth, emitting a foul, wheezing breath.

The man began to vomit violently

The old man parted his withered lips, yet a chilling smile emerged.

The old man felt it was very strange that such a small child seemed to understand the intentions of the adults. The child quietly curled his delicate body in the deep bushes, silently observing everything. If it were not for those distinctly black and white big eyes, even the old man in the corner would not have noticed him

The man finished speaking, turned around, and let out a beast-like roar. As he moved, he dropped to all fours, transforming into an even larger creature. With each step he took, it seemed as though he would leave a deep footprint in the ground, causing the very earth to tremble.

The hunched and ragged old man curled up in the corner, one leg bitten off in the middle, with a pool of blood and pus mixed together, emitting a pungent and fishy odor—perhaps he is nearing death

The man squatted on the ground, laboriously picking up the dominoes, and then, holding the baby, took shelter under a large tree. He used his teeth to bite through the thread on the domino, tied it into a knot around the baby's neck, and then warmed the domino before carefully inserting it into the baby's chest.

Then he forced himself to look away, suddenly bursting into laughter with tears in his eyes. The sound was aged and hoarse, as he sang an off-key ancient tune recklessly, like an old madman wandering down a strange path.

The dog of the Park family. Once the other party had walked far away, the man named Mu He's expression darkened, and he spat vehemently, revealing a set of slightly yellowed teeth, his slanted eyes filled with murderous intent. Then he turned around, as if feeling a bit regretful, raised two fingers to his face, and blew a frivolous kiss towards the woman's corpse, saying, "Then farewell, my dear."

This little fellow is not even as long as his forearm, and when held in hand, he weighs less than a small dog. Unlike other children who are chubby and endearing, his little face is sunken in due to malnutrition. On a face that is not even the size of an adult's palm, his features have yet to fully develop, with the exception of a pair of eyes that are strikingly large.

What a clever child, the old man thought with a glimmer in his eyes, but... if only he could survive and grow up

The man was taken aback, clumsily and anxiously cramming the child into his arms, using his not-so-broad shoulders to shield him from the torrential downpour, attempting to preserve this fragile life with the little warmth from his chest

The previously clear night sky seemed to be suddenly shrouded by a layer of distant dark clouds, as stars disappeared one by one. Large raindrops suddenly fell from the sky, quickly forming a small pool of blood water beside the incomplete corpse on the ground

The unyielding head, unable to close its eyes, finally fell onto the muddy ground of the forest

Less than ten steps away from him, a giant beast is assaulting a woman

A woman will only scream when subjected to non-lethal intimidation or harm

This little fellow is somewhat out of time; his mother, who was originally the most beautiful and strong woman, was unable to provide her child with a similarly healthy body, causing him to be born prematurely amidst the turmoil of war between two tribes. He was born with congenital deficiencies, struggling even to suckle, and when he cried loudly, his chest would turn a shade of purple from the strain.

Who knows

The child's father or mother, until the very last moment of their life, endeavored to protect him, hiding him in the dense thicket, using their own body to shield him from the intruder's gaze

He had lost an arm, his face was marked by profound panic, and in the pouring rain, he trembled before the bodies of all his kin

He is merely a sub-beast, so cowardly that he hid away at the onset of the enemy's attack, preserving a dog's life in the hands of his detestable foes. Yet the cold raindrops striking his body are like the gazes of his kin, floating in the air and refusing to depart, falling upon him, filled with disdain

The tall man wiped the blood from his hands, and the beast's claw, which had not yet had time to retract, abruptly grew on his muscular human arm. Between the hard hairs of the claw, there was a bit of human flesh debris. Without even looking, he kicked aside the old man's corpse and coldly said to the giant beast: "Mu He, what are you still hesitating for?"

Yet his eyes shone with astonishing brightness, emitting a strange and frenzied light from the deep brown irises beneath the wrinkled eyelids marked by pigmentation. His gaze was fixed directly towards the sky.

The tall man's cold gaze swept over the corpse of the woman, whose original appearance was no longer discernible, and he did not hide his expression of disgust: "You are truly repulsive—let's go, the leader is counting the numbers, this is not the final destination, we need to leave."

Moreover, although he is a boy, he does not possess beast markings, which signifies that he cannot transform into a beast. They are also referred to as sub-beastmen, and their physical condition is not much better than that of women. Even when he grows up, he is destined to lack even the most basic combat abilities

The old man slowly turned his head, a mad and terrifying smile on his face, his gaze falling upon the giant beast... The entire tribe had already fallen, and this was their method of dealing with prisoners of war: killing all the men, beheading them, carrying their heads on their backs like a basket of rotten fruit, roasting the bodies of children on the pyre, collecting the fat from the corpses as spoils of war, and finally leaving behind the women and even underage girls to be thoroughly humiliated. And this was their method of dealing with prisoners of war: killing all the men, beheading them, carrying their heads on their backs like a basket of rotten fruit, roasting the bodies of children on the pyre, collecting the fat from the corpses as spoils of war, and finally leaving behind the women and even underage girls to be thoroughly humiliated

He discovered that the little one actually reached out its hand, using fingers so short that they were almost indistinguishable from the palm, to pull the domino closer. Perhaps due to the emergence of tooth roots, the little baby felt an unbearable itch in its mouth, and with both hands, it held the domino, instinctively shoving it into its mouth the next moment