The Strongest Beast-Tamer (Transmigration)(GL) - Chapter 18

When the group finally slowed their pace, Yi Xian could clearly see the full view of Yada Canyon. The center of the canyon looked as if it had been cleaved by an enormous axe. Jagged, irregular rocks lined both sides of the mountain stream, and the shallow waters reflected the blue sky and drifting clouds above. Occasionally, small stones rolled down from the cliffs, splashing tiny droplets into the stream below.

At the canyon’s mouth, Lan Tong and the others reverted to human form. Yi Xian was pulled forward by Lan Tong, her feet striking against sharp stones. She had to jog to keep up with the beast’s long strides.

“First, we find the Transformation Grass.”

“All right.”

Transformation Grass grew at the highest point of the canyon. It absorbed the essence of the sun and moon, nourished by the canyon’s winds. Most importantly, every three months Yada Canyon would be shrouded in a great mist. It was said that grass touched by that mist could not only help cubs transform smoothly but also strengthen their bodies.

Yi Xian cast a sidelong glance at the tall, muscular Lan Tong beside her. That little cub can take beatings and fall from trees without crying. Why would she need to strengthen her body?
She thought bitterly. “I’m the fragile human here. I should be the one doing that.”

Of course, to Yi Xian, such sayings from beastmen were just empty superstition. “Sun and moon essence and canyon wind sounded like nonsense straight from the mouths of those deceitful Taoists,” she muttered internally, silently mocking the primitive thinking of beastmen.

Even so, Yi Xian still followed, step by step, though struggling to keep pace.

“Wait.”

“What is it, Lan Tong?”

Lan Tong crouched low, her palm pressed against the ground. Yi Xian’s gaze caught the faint trembling of the small stones around them, a subtle movement that was almost imperceptible. Even the shallow water nearby rippled in widening circles.

Yi Xian swayed, realizing that the ground itself was quaking.

Lan Tong rose swiftly, grabbed Yi Xian with ease, and shouted, “A beast herd is coming. Split and hide!”

In an instant, everyone moved like lizards scaling the cliff walls with their bare hands. Yi Xian was the only one who didn’t need to climb. Apparently, Lan Tong never intended for her to do it herself. The beast held her tightly around the waist with one arm as she climbed with the other. The grip was so strong that Yi Xian thought her waist might snap in two.

A thunderous roar echoed in the canyon like a thousand galloping horses. Yi Xian looked back, and her legs nearly gave out. A massive herd of horned beasts was charging through the canyon. They resembled rhinoceroses but were far larger and stronger. They charged madly as if racing each other, crushing the slower ones beneath their hooves. The weaker beasts were slammed against the cliffs, their bodies bursting open in splatters of bl00d before being trampled into pulp.

Yi Xian’s pupils contracted sharply. She had seen documentaries about the brutality of the animal world, yet witnessing it in person was something entirely different. The sound, the bl00d, and the vibration beneath her combined to make her heart race uncontrollably.

If we fell… would we end up like them, trampled into mud?

For the first time, Yi Xian felt the vastness and cruelty of nature. She felt small and insignificant, as though she were nothing more than an ant crushed beneath the feet of a god.

“Hold on to me,” Lan Tong ordered.

Yi Xian instinctively wrapped both arms and legs around her, clinging tight. The iron chain around her neck pressed against Lan Tong’s throat, almost choking her.

Lan Tong glanced at her sidelong, catching the sheer panic on Yi Xian’s face. “Still thinking about escaping?” she asked quietly.

This beast… taking advantage of my fear? Yi Xian thought angrily. She suspected that if she nodded now, Lan Tong would throw her off without hesitation. So she hugged her tighter to show compliance.

Lan Tong seemed satisfied with her submission. She climbed upward quickly, her movements agile and fluid. Yi Xian gasped when a sharp stone brushed past her ear. If Lan Tong had not dodged in time, she might have been maimed or blinded.

“Careful.”

“Shi Liu!”

A rock larger than Yi Xian’s entire body came crashing down, smashing into a beastman. Midair, he transformed into his beast form, slashing the boulder apart with a single paw. Yet his momentum drove him downward, his claws scraping the cliff face and carving deep gashes into it before he finally halted his descent. Everyone froze in fear. Yi Xian held her breath, terrified. The strength of a beastman was immense, but that rock… if it had hit her, she would have been crushed instantly.

When they finally reached the canyon’s summit, Shi Liu’s arm was bleeding down to the bone.

Lan Tong handed him some Bleeding Vine Grass. “Can you continue?”

Shi Liu gritted his teeth. “I can.”

Yi Xian suddenly recalled that this beastman was part of Zhu Yu’s family, the one who had consistently regarded her with a hostile glare. No wonder he had treated her so coldly. Perhaps he had joined the expedition because Zhu Yu was poisoned, and he feared the cub would be born unhealthy. He was probably here to gather Transformation Grass to ensure a safe birth.

Her suspicion grew as she spotted a bright red plant growing from the cliffside. Its leaves were long and pointed, swaying in the wind as if about to fall. That flash of crimson reminded her of the first rays of dawn, vivid and impossible to miss.

Seeing the gleam in everyone’s eyes, Yi Xian realized this must be the Transformation Grass.

Lan Tong set her down and approached cautiously, her movements deliberate, almost reverent. The other beastmen spread out defensively, scanning the surroundings. Yi Xian mirrored their tension, though she was clearly the least experienced among them.

Just as Lan Tong reached for the grass, a red snake shot out from a crevice in the cliff. Thankfully, Lan Tong reacted instantly, grabbing it in one motion and tying it into a knot. She swiftly extracted its gall and sealed it inside a small bottle before reaching again for the grass.

Flutter.

Yi Xian felt a sudden rush of air behind her. She saw the beastmen’s faces twist with disgust, and heard Lan Tong shout, “Move!” She threw herself sideways on instinct. When she looked back, the spot where she had been standing now had a deep hole gouged into it by a birdlike claw.

If she had stayed there, she would be dead.

Fear tightened in her chest, but there was no time to think. From the sky, more attackers descended, five in total. They were grotesque hybrids, some with human heads and bird bodies and others with bat faces and partial human torsos.

Yi Xian had once called any flying creature a “bird,” but now she finally understood the difference. These were monsters. She almost felt bad for ever calling Lan Tong a “bird.” Compared to these abominations, Lan Tong was practically divine. Later, she would learn from Lan Tong that these were called half-beastmen. They were twisted, mutant beings of mixed bl00d.

The ambush was perfectly timed. Five of them, five of the group. Yi Xian could not help but suspect that the half-beastmen had been watching them for a while, waiting for this exact moment to strike. Lan Tong and the others transformed and engaged them in combat. The only disadvantage was that, aside from Lan Tong whose wings rarely appeared, the others were purely land fighters.
Their enemies could attack from the air, scratching and swooping away before being hit. Shi Liu, with his injured arm, was at an even greater disadvantage, his weakness quickly noticed by the enemy.

Damn it.

Yi Xian watched anxiously. If Shi Liu fell, the odds would turn five against four. With her there, Lan Tong would be forced to protect her, leaving them even more vulnerable.

She forced herself to think calmly. Birds… their weaknesses are their wings and hearts. If only she had a gun or even a bow and arrow.

Her gaze shifted to the untouched Transformation Grass. Taking a deep breath, she crouched and tugged at it. It didn’t budge. Looking closer, she saw a small rock pressing on its roots. She moved the stone aside, carefully dug around the soil, and finally freed the plant intact.

At least this trip wasn’t wasted.

Yi Xian stood, intending to call out encouragement. Even if she had no strength to fight, she could still use her voice to lift morale.

But before she could speak, a black, clawed hand gripped her ankle.

Yi Xian lost her balance and fell toward the edge of the cliff.

“Ahhh!”

“Well, well. Caught myself a woman,” a mocking voice crooned.

The sound sent a shiver down Yi Xian’s spine. She stopped screaming, her throat raw from the rushing wind. Dangling above the abyss, bl00d rushed to her head, but she forced herself to stay calm. There weren’t just five attackers. There was a sixth. It must have been waiting all along, hidden, ready to strike when Lan Tong reached for the grass.

Don’t panic. If I panic now, it’s over.

“Do you know what happens when half-beastmen catch someone like you?”

The voice in her head spoke again. It was the madwoman’s voice. Yi Xian froze. The lunatic elaborated cruelly, describing in vivid detail how captives of half-beastmen suffered fates worse than death, forced to breed endless abominations until their bodies broke or they died in childbirth.

Once caught, there was no escape.

Yi Xian’s situation had already reached that breaking point. She could feel the madwoman waiting for her to beg, just as she had before. If Yi Xian agreed to her three conditions, she would be saved.

But next time?

Yi Xian clenched her jaw. There might not be a next time.

The wind stopped.

The birdman landed.