He Follows

The trio left in a hurry, in fear of having to face the combined might of countless beasts, but after they were long gone, there were still no wild creatures in sight... Instead, a humanoid figure stepped out from behind a tree, wearing dark grey robes with accents of black.

The silhouette looked around for a few moments, as if meaning to confirm that the three individuals were gone, and only then did the figure step up to the bloodless husk of the enlightened Raging Bull.

The person sighed.

“What a shame that such a magnificent specimen met its end so abruptly”

It was a young man.

He was wearing grey robes alongside gloves. The collar of his attire reached high, completely covering his neck, and despite his boots seemingly crushing the grass beneath his feet, he left no traces whatsoever when walking, without using any specific techniques.

His hair was a bit long–As was common with Leynlorndian men–And also raven black. His eyes were obscured by red-tinted round glasses that hugged very closely to his face, but the pattern that became visible upon his robes as moonlight reached him made his origins clear.

Beautifully embroidered in black upon his robes was the hydra symbol representative of the Elt family as a whole.

He placed his hand upon the head of the dead Raging Bull.

“Rest now”

After a few moments of stillness, the cadaver seemed to be engulfed in red sparks, vanishing entirely.

‘Father should be pleased with this. He'll be able to extract a bestial cultivation technique without much problem, but…’

The young man stared at where the trio had headed off to, a frown forming on his face.

“You fuckers are lucky. If it were just me… You would already be dead”

Taking off his glasses for a moment, he revealed green eyes with hints of pitch blackness. Indeed, Langxiong Elt bore it on his face that he was an illegitimate offspring. In the clan, this warranted him being called a ‘Valli’, which was the replacement for the word ‘cousin’.

It wasn’t exactly accurate to the word it replaced, but all of the younger generations that weren’t of the main line were called as such. Some main-line descendants might even be called ‘Valli’ if they showed disappointing performances or results.

Of course, Langxiong was doing his best to earn himself a spot as a notable member of the younger generation… In this regard, he was better off than most Vallis, as his Valdre was Wenxiong. His old man was an Elideue of the clan, and since Langxiong had shown some promise, he benefited from a bit of assistance.

While he lacked talent in beast taming, he strangely did have a connection with beasts. He could innately communicate with beasts to the point that it was basically the same as having a conversation with a fellow human. This made him excellent at finding out the traits of specific beasts and whether they could be a good match for a beast tamer’s personality.

He had a future in this domain, but he wanted to be a more integral part of the clan’s future. The sort of resources required for this were quite demanding, and his Valdre would rather invest in his illegitimate Allino’s innate ability.

A smile broke the frown.

Whilst hearing the death struggle of the old Raging Bull had spoiled his mood due to his inability to intervene, he could console himself with the fact that he was taking on a very high-earning job.

Langxiong had tried to butter up to some of the ‘elite’ members of the clan’s young generation–Who were his peers in terms of age–But it had never worked out... Even if he had a fairly good reputation with most of them.

It all changed when Edrick approached him.

Langxiong hadn’t had the occasion to speak with the returning scion even though he had been meaning to. The former wretch coming back as a powerful, charismatic man was an inspiring story. He hoped to hear some insights, but he had been battling a bottleneck in seclusion at that time.

He had come out unfruitful, and surprisingly, it was Anoteros who found him first instead of the other way around.

As frightening as the imposing scion was, he had come with quite the friendly demeanour and alluring offer…

“I can better put my trust in a fellow clan member over some supposed professional hired through shady means. I've heard that you have an innate connection to beasts, and perhaps nature at large…”

Indeed, alongside the many contacts of Shu, Langxiong was also amongst those tailing Linfeng around. Even if he wasn’t an expert at stealth, he could easily follow the trio from a distance, as he could just ask any insects or birds for directions. It also allowed him to nearly always know exactly what they said to one another, which he would take note of.

It didn’t seem necessary, but Shu was quite insistent that all information was good information. But, considering how much Edrick seemed to trust that maid of his, he obliged.

So far, he had learned that Linfeng was a horndog, that Mala was very obviously in love with Linfeng, but was in denial about it, and also… That Yen'mila was an absolute freak, but a freak he needed to be wary of.

With her powerful nature-based technique, she might be able to be a great obstacle in Langxiong’s mission.

Though he had to admit that due to her being a fellow in terms of closeness to nature, he couldn’t help but wish that he could find a girl like that for himself–But not Yen'mila. She really was too much of a freak for him.

One reason why–Despite his talent–He wasn’t that close to his Valdre was because he felt absolutely no ‘special’ attraction to beasts or animals. Even though he was the most likely to have such thoughts. He could converse with them even if they were supposed to be as dumb as bricks.

Unfortunately, he just didn’t feel it. He didn’t feel much drive in that area in general, actually.

He had gone to a few Paradisos, and even to Invefno, but be it women, twinks, and even a Foppoof once, he could hardly get excited about lying in bed with them.

‘Maybe I should ask Edrick about it. He does seem like a professional in the domain’

Langxiong dusted his shoulders and stretched his arms before beginning to calmly walk through the dark forest, and after a dozen minutes of walking, he began tapping lightly against a tree until a millipede came crawling upon his arm.

“Did you see three humans pass by? Humans look like me”

“They went this way”

“Were they running?”

“It looked like they were slowing down”

“Thanks for the tip”

“You’re welcome”

‘They seem to have stopped and settled down for the night. I’ll get the help of a nocturnal bird or bat to get a better idea of their location…’