Chapter 2, Huayi

However, they seemed to completely ignore him, passing by with a flourish, splashing mud from their hooves and beast's feet onto his face. Zheyan hurried to check on the baby, confirming that he had not sustained any injuries, and then raised his head to gaze in the direction of the departing caravan, his eyes, clouded by a high fever, revealing a layer of lifeless confusion.

Please, I beg you..." he said in a faint voice, "Please, save us... save us..."

The young man stood up, looking down at Zheyan's muddy face with a sense of regret, and said: "I advise you to give it up; what use is there in this little sub-beast? Even if it grows up, what can it achieve? Besides, just look at him; he might have some congenital issues, and it's unlikely he will survive to adulthood—though I don't see you being much better off. Stop struggling; it's better to return to where you came from and die there. Go find that god you believe in; if he is pleased, perhaps he will grant you a strong and healthy new life."

Please, just a little bit of food...

Their home is no longer there, and he himself cannot even catch a wild rabbit

Ah! The young man seemed somewhat surprised, raising his eyebrows and muttering to himself, "A cripple and a little one?"

He did not know what he had been rambling on about to this little fellow, nor did he care whether the child understood him. He was not expressing anything; perhaps it was merely a few nonsensical words spoken at the end of his road

Yet this little creature is so quiet, neither crying nor making a fuss, curled up in his arms, even the sound of its breathing is so soft, only occasionally opening its eyes to glance at him when Zheyan stops to feed it water or the sauce of wild fruits

A kind of essence can be extracted from the venom of this poisonous snake, which is said to enable women to maintain eternal youth, and it is highly favored by the women and young girls kept by the powerful beastmen.

The young man clearly had no experience in taking care of others; a leaf's worth of water splashed half onto Zheyan's face. The cold water jolted Zheyan back to some semblance of consciousness. He clung to the tree trunk, struggling to sit up, revealing the infant he was cradling in his arms, and he fed the child the water mouth to mouth.

The orc goblin, on its first journey away from home, stared at the baby without blinking, feeling a sense of novelty.

The proverb suggests that he might be hungry. During the rainy season, the fruits in the forest often rot due to excessive moisture, resulting in very little sweetness. But where can he go to find food for the child

He silently left his jerky behind and turned to walk into the forest

He knew that it was the road to the farther north, where it is said that there are packs of wild wolves. Every winter, it is covered by heavy snow that blocks out the sun. Except for the most formidable warriors, no one dares to venture into such a perilous place

Zheyan raised his head and, with a hoarse voice, pleaded with the orc youth, saying: "Young master, do you have any food? I beg you to spare a little and save us"

The antelope is highly skilled in combat and moves swiftly, making it difficult for even the most formidable hunters to capture it

The orc boy watched silently for a while, pondering to himself: Can this little fellow survive

The young boy did not take it seriously; what use could a disabled beastman and a small creature no larger than his forearm possibly have? However, since they said it, it was a kind gesture, and he did not show any disdain. He merely smiled, revealing two small canine teeth and the innocence that still belonged to childhood.

At first, Zheyan thought that he had already left, as leaving food behind was already a very kind gesture. However, after a while, he heard the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground. Zheyan was startled and hurriedly turned around, only to find that the orc child who had quietly walked away earlier had returned, and with a "thud," dropped an adult antlered deer.

Suddenly, the giant beast transformed into a young man. He carried a simple backpack, resembling someone who lived by hunting. He skillfully cut off the flesh tumor of the venomous snake and placed it into a specially made small pouch before standing up and glancing at the disheveled man beside him

"Alright, come on, let me take a look at this little thing," the young man squatted down, uncovered the rag on the baby, leaned in for a closer look, then pulled out the baby's small hand, examined it carefully, but could not find any beast markings, thus a hint of disappointment appeared on his face, "He is not a beastman."

At this moment, the baby finally made a sound, crying like a kitten

this world ... ... this world that is so ugly, so filthy ... ...

This colossal beast is covered in hard scales, resembling armor, impervious even to the fangs of the most formidable venomous snakes, which soon perish. The beast raises its head and roars loudly in the dawn light, standing proudly beside its trophy

This animal has very tender and delicious meat, with little to no fishy taste, making it delightful whether grilled or eaten raw

However, that proud knight, lightly equipped and unadorned, did not even turn his head, and simply departed into the distance.

Then he probably felt that there was nothing more to say, so he took down his bundle, emptied all the jerky inside, and stuffed it into Zheyan's arms: "Take this, I'm leaving"

Zheyan stared at the peculiar little beastman for a while, and finally lowered his voice to ask: "What is your name? I will repay you— even if I do not live to see that time, when this child grows up, I will make sure he remembers to repay you."

A disabled beastman, along with a child on the verge of death whose cries cannot even be heard, is a sight that only a person with a damaged mind would stop on such a perilous road

Not knowing how far he had walked, Zheyan felt that he was on the verge of exhaustion, when he finally saw a narrow path lying at the edge of the forest

It is important to note that this is the North, where the mountains and forests are filled with various savage tribes, and such occurrences are not uncommon

He still appears to be a youth; although he is not short, his face still bears the unique innocence of childhood. Typically, young orcs reach the height of an average adult male of their kind by the age of 8 or 9.

Oh, I will go and hit again," the young man said nonchalantly as he cleaned the dagger on the tree trunk and returned it to his waist

Having spoken, the young orc turned away indifferently. Zheyan's grip on the corner of his clothing was no stronger than that of an ant—this hunter was not cold-hearted; rather, he had seen too much. Food was such a precious commodity, how could it be wasted on useless sub-beast children?

The man curled his body up, futilely trying to wipe away the tears from the baby's face with his fingers

"Don't cry," he said, yet his own tears fell, landing on the baby. "We all have to live, you know? Even if we are all useless people—does that mean useless people cannot live?"

A roar exploded in his ear, and a giant beast transformed from an orc suddenly pounced from the side, biting down on the seven inches of the venomous snake, dragging its body away.

The young boy produced a small metal bowl filled to the brim with blood and handed it to Zheyan, nodding towards the baby in his arms: "Give this to him. My father said that children who grow up drinking blood will become the strongest warriors in the future"

Hua Yi. He stamped the mud off his feet and continued on his way, saying, "I am leaving now, take care of yourselves."

Zheyan stared at him blankly

Complaining cannot sustain a person's life

The baby, with eyes closed, let out a weak groan.

At that moment, a pair of sinister little eyes fixed on the man and the child in his arms. On the large tree behind Zheyan, a colorful venomous snake flicked its tongue, raising the tumor on its head.

The poison in that creature's mouth induced a certain illusion of dizziness in him

Who knows if they are some kind of bait for robbing orcs

Living year-round in a migratory tribe within the jungle, even if he lacked the strength to hunt, he was sufficiently keen to sense the dangers of the wild. At the moment a giant snake lunged at him, Zheyan caught a whiff of the foul odor emanating from its mouth. He hurriedly attempted to dodge to the side, but his already weakened limbs hindered him, causing the man to fall awkwardly to the ground. He could only instinctively raise his remaining arm to shield himself and the infant in front of him

However, even so, jerky is still too tough for infants, and his reaction was quite straightforward; he spat the food out

The philosopher collapsed to the ground, struggling to lift half of his body. With trembling fingers, frozen and pale, he cradled this tiny life, awkwardly shaking him. However, the little baby, who had just been so well-behaved, began to cry incessantly, his voice weak, tears streaming down his face, his small features contorted in distress

"Eat, eat it up." Zheyan forcefully stuffed the regurgitated meat paste back into the child, "Please eat it, I beg you, you can only survive if you eat it!"

Since a very young age, Zheyan has always had a question: why was he born as a sub-beast? Why did those once omnipotent deities allow people to be born into different ranks, creating such a vast chasm between him and his fellow citizens, who differ from him by only a single character?

And... who doesn't want to live

The orc youth expressionlessly raised his hand to wipe away the bloodstains on his cheek, then knelt on one knee on the ground, unfastened the dagger from his waist, skillfully dismembered the stag, and then pushed it in front of Zheyan, softly saying: "Eat."

Please...

This child has a pair of jet-black eyes, imbued with the unique clarity characteristic of infants, and they are the only source of vitality on his small face, which is otherwise tinged with a bluish-purple hue

The philosopher abruptly snatched the food, tearing into it with large bites, hardly chewing at all, and swallowing it whole. Then he bit into the tenderest part of the jerky, chewed it up himself, and continued to feed it to the infant in that manner

Wait!" Zheyan suddenly called out to him, "Wait, child! You have given me everything, what about yourself? You cannot set out on a journey without food. Did your father not tell you...

"Oh, let me find it," said the orc youth without a second thought. He unfastened the backpack behind him and, without any sense of propriety, began rummaging through it in front of a stranger. After a while, he finally pulled out a pack of jerky. The youth appeared somewhat embarrassed as he held out a handful of jerky to Zheyan, awkwardly saying, "This is all that's left."

The eyes of the philosopher suddenly brightened, as if he had been inspired to unleash his potential and began to run, desperately trying to catch up with the galloping horse: "Wait! Save us! Please, save us!"

He paused beside the philosophical words, the rare feather-shaped silver beast pattern on his wrist seemed to shimmer in the slowly rising sunlight

Finally, the fourth person arrived on this desolate road

Zheyan stumbles and runs through the mud, occasionally looking down at the child in his arms—reportedly, several children were born in the tribe this year, and Zheyan finds it somewhat difficult to discern which one he is among them

He furrowed his brow, tilted his ear to listen carefully for a while, then rolled up a large leaf, collected a bit of rainwater that had accumulated on the tree, and fed it to the man

That thing had turned purple due to excitement, slowly climbing up the trunk of the tree, aiming for the neck of Zheyan, which was weakly hanging to one side

The last glimmer of light in his eyes finally faded away, and he collapsed beside the corpse of the giant serpent, his gaze vacant, only muttering indistinctly, "Save us, please..."

However, as he grew older, he learned to lower his head and work diligently, without any unnecessary talk

The young boy is dressed in a small armor, with a delicate vine belt tied around his waist. This was made by his mother, who personally wove it for him when he was going on his first journey away from home

His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, his vision fading to black in front of him. Throughout the entire night, he had not consumed anything except for some fruit; his body, weakened from blood loss, had reached its limit, and he even felt a numbness beginning to spread across his chest

Even if it means giving them a bite to eat

"What happened, a tribal war broke out nearby?" The young man calmly wiped clean the dagger he used to dissect the snake's body and casually asked, "So you escaped from the forest behind? I have heard that there is a somewhat decent tribe there... you barbaric northern people living in the woods!"

Zheyan looked at him, his lips moving with great difficulty

He had never seen such a small child before, but it was indeed a novelty; he merely observed and did not express any opinions.

What passed next was a caravan, in the center was a group of beastmen, and surrounding them were several orcs who had transformed into beast forms, carefully clearing the way with vigilance. They were pulling carts, which perhaps contained goods intended for trading furs with a tribe further north. Zhe Yan did not dare to approach—one foot of the leading giant beast could crush him. He merely knelt by the roadside like a livestock, humbly bowing his forehead to the ground, pleading for the passing adults to stop and show them some pity. The carts perhaps contained goods intended for trading furs with a tribe further north. Zhe Yan did not dare to approach—one foot of the leading giant beast could crush him. He merely knelt by the roadside like a livestock, humbly bowing his forehead to the ground, pleading for the passing adults to stop and show them some pity

Injuries, rain, and a night of fleeing had caused Zheyan to develop a fever. He exerted the last bit of clarity to rise, unsteadily making his way along the edge of the path. Each step felt as if he were treading on cotton, unreal. Insects were biting him, causing an itchy pain; scratching resulted in a line of blood, and the sweat pouring down intensified the burning sensation.

The surviving beastman was named Zheyan. He used a coarse cloth strip to bind the infant to his chest, as he was left with only one arm. Even though the enemies had retreated in the opposite direction, the jungle still harbored various dangers—after all, he was merely a beastman who had little combat capability even when fully healthy

The saying suggests that the child's quiet demeanor is not characteristic of him; it is highly likely that he is suffering from some illness, to the extent that he lacks the strength to even cry.

At last, on this lonely road, a horseman has arrived; judging by his attire, he might be a messenger or something of the sort

What are you saying? The young man discovered him and crouched down to look at this disheveled beastman.

To live is also a matter of fate