The God Of Beasts - Chapter 1

Fate was always cruel to Ji Yan. That was the only thought going through his mind while he was lost in the forest that evening.

That morning had started just like any other. Ji Yan had woken up to the first ray of sunlight falling on his face through the window. He could hear their pet rooster gearing up and getting ready to let loose a loud crow, signalling the advent of a new day, and a new beginning.

Ji Yan’s house was situated on the outskirts of the Shidian village. It was a small town, located in the eastern part of the Shou continent. There were approximately 200 villagers, mostly farmers, but some were old,retired mercenaries. The entire affairs of the village were overseen by the Wen clan. The entire village lands belonged to them, and the villagers rented the lands from them on a lease, and farmed crops on them. At the end of each year, every family had to pay a tax to the Wen clan which was dependent on the amount of land they had taken for lease, irrespective of the amount of harvest.

Ji Yan’s father, Ji Yuan, held a medium sized plot of land on the outskirts of the Shidian village. His mother Liu Jie helped his father out with the farm work, while also looking after the family and the children. Both the 14 year old Ji Yan, and his sister Ji Yu, who was two years younger than him, helped their parents out with the farming work. The past few harvests had not been good at all for the Ji family, so they were under a lot of pressure this year. Already, they owed a sizable amount of debt to the Wen clan for failing to pay the tax for the past few years. The Wen clan had provided them with an ultimatum this year. If they failed to pay the tax for the current year as well as settle their debts from the previous years, they would lose their piece of land and would be forced to leave the village. Ji Yuan had been working day and night since the beginning of the season, to prevent any calamity that could befall their family.

Ji Yan had no time to relax and enjoy the beautiful view from his window, or to feel the cool comfortable dawn breeze on his cheeks. He hurried up from his bed, washed his face, and started packing his cloth bag and getting ready. After he finished, he quietly went to his mother and nudged her awake.

“Yan-er? Where are you off to, so early in the morning?” Liu Jie asked sleepily.

“Do not worry. I will be back before the sun sets”, Ji Yan whispered to her, and then closed the door quietly on his way out.

He stood in front of his house and eyed the forest. The villagers called it the Desolate forest. At the end of the forest, there was a huge mountain range called the Desolate Peaks, and it was rumored that all kinds of strong demonic beasts could be found there.

It was a pretty cold morning, and he started on his journey right away. He had found an elixir fruit deep inside the forest yesterday, but could not harvest it since it was almost evening. There was a fair chance of losing his life to some wild beasts, if he was not careful after dark. So his plan for today was to reach the spot early, harvest the elixir fruit quickly, and then reach home before evening. Elixir fruits were deemed quite valuable by the Wen clan, because it had regenerative effects and good healing properties. The young master of the Wen clan, Wen Feng, practiced Martial Arts, and his clan did everything they could to support his ambitions. So, Ji Yan estimated he could sell the elixir for at least 500 gold coins, and then give the money to his father, so that the debt would be alleviated a little.

The forest was pretty sparse near the village, but as he walked further and further, the trees started to become concentrated and the foliage dense. The thin path through the forest that he was following became almost non-existent, eventually.

It was almost mid-day when he reached near his destination. He came to a gentle rocky stream which seemed to have originated from deep within the mountain range. He bent down by the edge of the stream and gulped down a mouthful of water. Then he removed his slippers, and folded his trousers and started crossing the stream slowly. The floor of the stream was a bit rocky, and the pebbles threatened to cut the sole of his feet. Nonetheless, he continued to slowly walk across the stream, and soon reached his destination. There, below a huge tree, among the crevices of its roots, was a bright red fruit. Elixir fruit.

Ji Yan had no idea which grade the elixir belonged to or what it was called, but he had heard previously that good elixirs possessed a naturally freshening, medicinal aroma. This bright red fruit seemed to have just that, which made him confident that he would get a high price for it when he sold it. He unpacked his bag and took out the gardening tools that he had brought along with him. He needed to be very careful and harvest the Elixir intact, along with its roots. A damaged elixir fruit would be considered sub-standard and would fetch a lower price than it normally would for an undamaged one. He was just getting started on harvesting, when he was suddenly caught off-guard by a raspy, threatening voice behind him.

“If you know what’s good for you, stop right there and move away from that elixir. Otherwise, you’ll lose the hand you hold your tools with.”

Hello there, fellow Daoists. My name is Ningen, and this is my new novel: The God of Beasts. I assure you, it’s going to be a hell of a ride, so please continue reading. Cheers!