Legend of The Young Master

Chapter 103: The Usual Way

"How did the beast manage to get here?" Wuyi questioned. Despite shielding his eyes with a gloved hand, he couldn't discern the boundary of the Wild Area. There wasn't a cluster of trees large enough to conceal even a deer for miles.

Far to the north, beyond the misty horizon and the mountains, lay the Wall that separated the kingdom from the Wild Area. Although the Wall had been breached in several places, allowing demonic beasts to roam freely into the kingdom, the Mistweaver Mountains had never been fully tamed. Yet here, in this region, wealth and power were supposed to keep such threats at bay.

"The usual way," Zhen replied softly. "Someone must have foolishly invited them in."

Wuyi pondered for a moment before speaking. "Well, they wouldn't have summoned brotherhood if there wasn't an issue. And we could use the work."

"It tore them to pieces," Jia interjected.

Though new to bloodshed and gore such as this, Wuyi admired how quickly Jia had regained his composure. Still, the young man had much to learn.

"It devoured them," Jia added, his eyes distant.

Wuyi nodded, acknowledging his attendant's partial recovery.

He gently pulled the reins of his spirit beast, Haruki, guiding him a few steps back. The intelligent creature sensed the scent of blood and something else unsettling. Haruki was a Level one lower spirit beast, and his unease could easily escalate into chaos for Wuyi's warriors.

Wuyi signaled to Dong, who was now sitting at a distance, engrossed in his meal—his default activity when left to his own devices. Wuyi then turned to his banner holder and enforcers, who were astride their restless horses in the rain, awaiting his orders.

"I'll leave Meiying and Baijian here. They'll remain vigilant until we send reinforcements," he declared, leaving two Qi masters seemed overkill but he did not need to take risk on unknown location which was so close to Zhuzi forest. Where many powerful demonic beasts resided this their mission was to clean the outer area of this forest only. .

The gruesome discovery at the estate had interrupted their muddy journey to the stronghold to interact with employer before they begun with the mission. They had been riding since the wee hours, following a frigid night and an equally cold meal. The atmosphere was far from cheerful.

"Summon the Beast Master," Wuyi instructed, turning to his attendant who acted more like his apprentice ever since Wuyi had helped him reach Qi adept. When met with silence, he looked around. "Jia?" he inquired softly.

"Young Master?" Jia's gaze was fixed on the steading's door. Made of sturdy oak and reinforced with iron, the door had been shattered in two places. The iron hinges had been bent, forced off their pins. Parallel sets of claw marks marred the wood, even slicing cleanly through an ornate iron spiral.

"Do you need a moment?" Wuyi asked. Zhen had already attended to his own mount and was now cautiously eyeing Haruki.

"No, Young Master," Jia replied, still visibly shaken as he stared at the door and the scene beyond it.

"Then don't hesitate. Go fetch the Beast Master. Now," Wuyi commanded, handing Haruki's reins to Zhen. Over the years, Zhen had evolved from merely being Wuyi's guard to becoming his most trusted personal guard and trusted man just like Yun Ming and Tumu. He even had his own attendant now—Dong.

Dong took the reins, looking up at Wuyi with eyes full of admiration, momentarily forgetting the winter apple in his hand.

Wuyi appreciated a bit of hero-worship. "Haruki is agitated. Don't give him too much slack, or he'll cause trouble," he warned. After a pause, he added, "You might offer him your apple core, though," eliciting a smile from the boy.

Wuyi then entered the steading through the damaged door. Up close, he could see that the darker stains were not part of the wood's finish. They were blood.

Behind him, Haruki snorted, a sound eerily resembling human disdain—though whether it was directed at the servant or his master was anyone's guess.

A dead body of a woman lying just inside the threshold was an elder from the Lotus Blossom Pavilion, the all-female pavilion that ruled Yushan Fortress and their future employer. Her body was horrifically mutilated, torn open from neck to lower abdomen. Her long, dark hair lay unbound, framing the gruesome void where her face should have been.

She lay in a large pool of her own blood, which seeped into the gaps between the floorboards. Tooth marks marred her skull, and the skin near one ear had been shredded, as if something had gnawed at her face for an extended period. One arm had been torn off, its skin and muscle devoured, leaving only tattered remnants of bone and tendon.

Yet, oddly, her white hand—adorned with a jade ring and the Lotus Emblem—remained untouched.

Wuyi studied the scene intently. Just beyond the horrifically mutilated elder, a distinct footprint was visible in the congealing blood. The footprint was as large as a war horse's hoof, if not larger, and had three toes. Wuyi was so engrossed in the scene that he didn't even turn when Jin, now known as the beastmaster of the group, dismounted outside.

Wuyi decided to ignore the distraction Jin brought and went back to trying to figure out what had transpired here.

It was as if he was at the set of some horror film. An unknown demonic creature mercilessly killed everyone.

Another, less distinct print was further inside the room, showing where the creature had shifted its weight to move under the low archway leading to the main room. The creature's talons had gouged the floor and left a matching mark on the baseboard. For a second, Wuyi mused maybe it was a dinosaur.

Seeing Jin coming close, Wuyi mused aloud, "Why did she die here when the others perished in the garden?"

Jin, like most beastmasters, carried a short staff made of special spirit wood. He used it to point and then to extract something shiny from the floorboards—a jade talisman.