"Xiao Lei," Hei Gou muttered the name to himself. "Xiao Lei... I have heard the name before. There was something about him, but I do not remember what exactly it was."
"Perhaps there are some Primordial Beasts seeking revenge on him since he is a Primordial Beast Hunter, but somehow I cannot remember what exactly it was I heard about him."
Hei Gou shook his head apologetically while Xue Wei shrugged his shoulders. It was no wonder that the Primordial Beasts had their own experts to hunt down Primordial Beast Hunters, as they were the bane of many a Primordial Beast that had either not reached maturity, a high enough rank of cultivation, or both.
"How old are you?" Xue Wei asked Hei Gou suddenly, and the black dog flashed a grin at his newfound friend.
"I am still very young, only thirty-four years old by now," he said with pride in his voice. "Primordial Beasts live much longer than humans, and they are considered kids until they turn thirty. From thirty to hundred is when they are youths, so on."
"The body of a Primordial Beast takes a long time to mature, and thus it is impossible for a Primordial Beast to cultivate before it turns thirty years of age."
"It has been four years since my beast core was created, which as you might know is what allows me to cultivate In these last four years, I have done pretty well considering the purity of my bloodline and the a.s.sistance I was given by my family."
"You have lived more than twice as long as me," Xue Wei said with shock. Hei Gou just shrugged his shoulders. "I am young," he said casually. "I am a beast, so you can't compare our ages in the same frame of time. I will always have a longer lifespan than you, and thus I will age slower. In fact, if we were to look at you and me, I fear that I might be younger than you when it comes to my relative age with my own ilk compared to you and yours."
He sighed deeply before he shook his head. "Don't misunderstand though," he said sheepishly, "I am not a brat, nor am I childish. I am a true Celestial Dog!"
"Right," Xue Wei could sense that this was something that truly mattered to Hei Gou, so he just agreed with him readily. He had no reason to try and start a discussion about seniority, as all he had wanted was to know about his companion’s age out of curiosity.
"Well, now that my wounds are all healed, my energy is fully recovered, and my body is in a condition far better than it has ever been before, why don't you tell me what our plans are for the future?" Hei Gou said, cutting straight to the point.
"I am heading for Lingyun town," Xue Wei said honestly. "I need to see the village where I am likely to originate from. I have lost so much, I would like to at least know my origin."
"After that, I have no actual aim in life other than strengthening myself. I have to take my vengeance against the Ice Harpy, and I need to avenge a friend of mine who sacrificed his life to save me when we tried to escape from the capital of this rotten kingdom."
Xue Wei's eyes blazed with fury when he thought about Tie Haolong's sacrifice. He would never let this go unavenged.
"I see," Hei Gou could feel that this truly mattered to Xue Wei, and nodded his head solemnly. "So we have one more brother, and that brother is one I have never before seen, and never will. His sacrifice will forever be remembered, and his soul will live on in you."
"Although the Kingdom of Heping is rather weak, it is still a kingdom. To get vengeance against a kingdom, don't you need to be at least a Saint? Perhaps a Heavenly Knight will also be able to get the vengeance you are seeking, but this is something that is far into the future."
"The same goes for the vengeance against the Ice Harpy. Every Primordial Beast knows about the Ice Harpy Chu Huiyin."
"She is one of the most dangerous beasts alive. She hates humans with a fervor that cannot be explained, but she does not shy away from killing beasts too if they step in her way."
"Chu Huiyin is known as one of the few survivors of the Golden Age of Beasts, back when we held the world in our hands. She is an old monster who has lived for an eternity. In fact, no one knows exactly how long she has lived, and no one knows what exactly her goal is either."
"She belongs to the upper echelons in the world of the Primordial Beasts, something that I have never been allowed to understand or hear anything about. Simple Primordial Beasts like myself know nothing of what the stronger ones do, what they think, and what their aim is. We just get given orders and have to follow them."
"But Chu Huiyin is very famous. She has killed many a beast, and sometimes the parents used her as a way to scare their cubs and pups when they are small."
Xue Wei's eyes had turned solemn. He nodded his head. "So what you are trying to say is that Chu Huiyin is so strong that fighting her will be near impossible for us. That fighting her will require being stronger than even the kingdom that has killed my brother?"
Hei Gou hesitated for the first time before he spread out his arms. "I do not wish to lie to you," he said a little helplessly. "I really think that Chu Huiyin is one of the strongest Primordial Beasts that exist. To have her as your goal, you will need to become the strongest human in the world!"
"Then I will become the strongest in the world," Xue Wei said, his eyes blazing with determination. "I will gain my revenge, or I will die trying!"
"Right now, she has not paid any attention to me, but who knows how long it will be until she returns to torture me or try to cause more problems for me? I don't know if she is acting like this because of my uncle, or if it is because of her interest or boredom, but I have a feeling that I am very far from being finished with her."
"Okay," Hei Gou acknowledged Xue Wei's goals in life, "so this is our long-term goal, what is our plan after we have visited that Lingyun Town of yours? I a.s.sume you don't plan on just hanging around before a Primordial Beast Hunter comes along to capture you?"
"No," Xue Wei grinned finally, "I am acquainted with a prophet called Lan. I plan to give him a visit."
"You know the Lan? Even the beasts are aware of this prophet and go to visit him from time to time," Hei Gou sounded shocked when he said this. "One of my family members went there once to receive a prophecy, but apparently only half his prophecies turn out to be true. Some call him a trickster, while others say that he only tells the truth to those who are genuinely sincere."
"I don't know what my family went to visit him for, but I am sure it was rather important. Rumor has it that he cares not whether his guests are humans or beasts, as long as they have some kind of treasure that can rouse his interest. He collects rarities, so it can be hard to move him."
"He and I had a short friends.h.i.+p," Xue Wei explained. "I do not know if he will hand me over to the authorities, but I don’t think he will. I need him to help me out with a few things. When that’s taken care of, I will roam the vast world, get stronger, and experience what life is truly like."
"I see you have made your decision," Hei Gou nodded his head casually, stood up, and wiped the dust off his robes. "Well then, let us start moving again," he said with a devilishly handsome smile on his face.
"But d.a.m.n, what kind of creature are you? The mixing of our blood truly managed to rebuild my entire body. Even my original shape has changed – it has mutated!"
Xue Wei was also at a loss for words. "I am just a normal human being," he said casually. "I do, however, practice a rather rare and magnificent cultivation technique. I am sure that the reason for the changes is due to that one."
Xue Wei could find no other reason, and thus he just blamed the Azure Dragon Scripture for all the doubt and uncertainties he’d had lately.
Hei Gou looked at Xue Wei with questioning eyes and a bit of curiosity, but he raised no questions.
The two, beast and human, said nothing as they walked side by side through the wilderness. No beasts or humans troubled them; they managed to get through the dense pine forest with no problems.
From time to time, they would exit the forest itself and enter a village to ask for directions. Whenever they did this, Xue Wei would have his face hidden beneath a bamboo hat, while Hei Gou would wear a brilliant smile and coax everyone into answering every question that they might have.
At the same time, he was also a master in managing to get food from the villages without having to give anything in return. His handsome features were truly marvelous when used against people, and Xue Wei had to admit that Hei Gou had learned how to use it to the fullest. He was truly a manipulative sort of person.
Xue Wei was astonished time and time again. Hei Gou looked so genuine and friendly, but the truth was that he trusted no one, other than Xue Wei. He never felt anything for humans, so he felt no guilt from tricking them with his looks and friendly smile.
Xue Wei and Hei Gou did everything they could to stay away from major cities, but they did enter one town that was larger than the average village they had visited so far.
The moment they visited the town, Xue Wei felt cold sweat bead on his back, as he saw wanted posters with a portrait of him, a description of him, and a promise of fortune for whoever could locate his whereabouts.
Hei Gou looked curiously at it; a knowing smile was on his lips, and he chuckled slightly.
"You are really famous," he said with a low voice that only Xue Wei could hear, yet the words caused the human youth to snort. "Not as famous as you. Look at every girl; they are ready to throw themselves at you if you as much as wink at them."
"They are disgusting," Hei Gou sneered, his face finally showing another expression than the friendly smile he had been sprouting for days on end.
"I don't mind that they are humans, since I have approved of you, but they don't even know me. They know nothing about me. All they know is that I am handsome and thus they think that I am a trophy they can take home with them."
Xue Wei said nothing, but he understood Hei Gou. He too had experienced that people did not spend enough time to get to know him and had judged him due to what they had heard or seen.
"We are almost at Lingyun town!" Hei Gou said excitedly, changing the subject. "We should arrive in a day or two. Then we can finish the first part of our travels, and you can hopefully regain your memories!"
