CHAPTER 288: CHAPTER 8: MY NAME IS LORD

The winter sun emitted a feeble warmth, shining over the borders of Fengdan County at the Xuan Beast Ridge.

The snow had been falling for a full half-month, finally ceasing today. A thick layer of snow covered the ground, and looking down towards the ridge, one could see a thoroughly frozen Ice Lake.

By the lake grew rows of Arrow Bamboo Forest. With winter’s arrival, the bamboo’s leaves had all fallen, leaving behind only the bare and leafless stalks. By this time, the stalks had frozen into Ice Crystals, casting colorful halos under the sun’s rays.

"Squeak--" On the tranquil snowy ground, four crooked lines of footprints appeared. A little boy wearing a tattered felt hat, carrying a basket, followed behind a hunched-backed old man.

The old man looked to be around seventy or eighty years of age, wearing a thin winter coat so worn that the cotton filling was visible, with his dark bluish flesh peeking out from beneath. He circled around the bamboo forest, his murky old eyes brightened, pointing to the outskirts of the forest.

"There are winter bamboo shoots, Erwang, come help grandpa dig them up," The little boy’s face was also frozen blue and purple, with two frozen icicles of snot hanging from his nose.

Upon hearing that grandpa found winter bamboo shoots, Erwang hastily took out a hoe from the basket, and the grandfather and grandson duo began to dig ardently around the bamboo forest.

The winter soil was nearly as hard as ice, and the grandfather and grandson hadn’t had a full meal in a good while; they worked slowly, and it took almost an hour to dig up a bamboo shoot as thick as an arm.

In such extreme cold, the bamboo shoot had frozen into a dark brown color, and looked no different from a piece of deadwood.

Yet, both the grandfather and grandson’s eyes simultaneously filled with joy.

After uncovering the bamboo shoot, the old man swiftly peeled off the skin. Taking out a kitchen knife, with force, he split the hard frozen bamboo shoot into two halves.

A plump bamboo stick insect hibernating within the hollow bamboo shoot—Erwang, who hadn’t tasted meat in three to four months, couldn’t help but snuffle, but the cold air that rushed into his nostrils made him shiver uncontrollably.

"Keep digging, perhaps we can find a few more bamboo stick insects, then you and your brother won’t have to go hungry," the old man said, touching Erwang’s hand with his desiccated hands.

This year’s winter arrived particularly early, and the snowstorms were unexpectedly fierce. Nearly nine-tenths of the county’s barley hadn’t been harvested in time before they were buried by the blizzards.

The people had paid all of their surplus grain meant for winter as taxes. For commoners like Erwang’s family, they had long run out of barley to cook.

"Grandpa, when will we ever get a lord?" Erwang carefully packed the winter bamboo shoots into the basket while innocently asking the old man.

"Silly boy, we have a lord; our Young Lord Yue is in Wo Hua Imperial City receiving training at the Dragon Rider Camp. Once he becomes a great Dragon Rider Warrior, he will come to our lands," the old man gently stroked Erwang’s head, his old gaze drifting towards the bunch of Arrow Bamboo Forest on the sunny side of the lake.

"But others in the village say we don’t have a lord. If we had a lord, we wouldn’t go hungry. When winter comes, we would have clothes to wear, and we wouldn’t be bullied by people from other counties," Erwang pouted, feeling disheartened.

To most commoners in the imperial fief, the lord was their sky, their shelter from the storm; other counties’ lords would visit their lands at least once a year.

Fengdan County’s lord hasn’t appeared in three years. Some newly born children in the county have never even seen the lord of Fengdan County.

The old man coughed dryly, wanting to explain.

Suddenly, from over the mountains a melancholy sound of animal horns resounded. It was like the galloping of warhorses mixed with the roar of tigers in deep mountains, echoing incessantly beside the vast snowy fields and the icy lake.

The old man’s expression abruptly changed.

From the other side of the mountain, puffs of snow mist rose accompanied by the thunderous sounds like an avalanche, dozens of uniform beast silhouettes rushing down towards the ridge like the wind, accompanied by the playful noises of young men and women.

One by one, several large-bodied leopards emerged, their fur glistening like snow. This group of Snow Spirit Leopards had small heads, snow-colored fur, nimble movements, and sharp claws. They were incredibly fast; in the moment of the grandfather and grandson’s astonishment, they had already pounced down from the ridge.

It was as if they had caught the scent of humans; the group of leopards’ irises turned a blood-red, emitting hurried panting sounds.

"It’s the Snow Spirit Leopards of Bailu County, Erwang, run quickly," the old man’s voice was urgent and filled with panic as he shoved the child.

Soon, the old man gave up the idea of fleeing. With his decades of living in Fengdan County, he knew the average person could not outrun a Third-stage Snow Spirit Leopard.

"Climb up, don’t come down until you no longer hear Grandpa’s voice," the old man urged the child. With trembling hands, he hoisted the child up by the buttocks onto the Arrow Bamboo.

Children from this region, having grown up in the Arrow Bamboo Forest, had all learned the squirrel-like skill of climbing trees.

Erwang obeyed his Grandpa’s almost anxious calls, his skinny arms clasping the Arrow Bamboo that felt incredibly smooth to most people, his legs wrapped around the stalks barely thicker than his arms, and with a push, he climbed up the several yard-tall bamboo in a few moments.

Below the bamboo, the crunching sound of Grandpa running towards the lake on the snow could be heard.

"Grandpa," Erwang called out softly.

For a long time, there was no response.

The bamboo began to shake, and Erwang looked down to see, with a fright that nearly split his guts, several leopards much larger than cats surrounding the Arrow Bamboo Forest, attempting to climb up.

After several attempts, the snow leopards realized they couldn’t climb the Arrow Bamboo and reluctantly walked away, tails swaying.

Erwang hid for a while longer before sliding down from the bamboo.

No sooner had he stepped out of the Arrow Bamboo Forest than "whoosh," a projectile hit his knee.

Erwang slipped and slid all the way to the surface of the lake.

"Hey, look what I’ve found, there’s still a little brat alive here, forget about that old one, let my darlings chew on this live one," said an overbearing teenager around seventeen or eighteen years old, with a wide forehead and a wide mouth, laughing in an ugly manner.

Not far from him stood several young men and women dressed in fine purple mink fur, each riding a Fourth and Fifth Rank Xuan Beast mount, with saddles embroidered with the two characters for Bailu.

Erwang looked ahead, and his throat suddenly felt clogged; Grandpa was "watching" him from not too far away.

A large expanse of blood spread across the ice; Grandpa’s body had been split in two, and the basket that had contained the bamboo stick insects lay scattered aside. Grandpa’s bulging eyes were fixated on him, staring in death.

"Wu wu—" Erwang began to cry, "You killed Grandpa, our Young Lord won’t let you off when he comes back."

"Young Lord, ha ha—Kid, Fengdan County has been without a Lord for a long time, what Young Lord?" The overbearing teenager raised the Beast Whip in his hand, poised to strike Erwang.

!" The teenager only felt a sudden gust of wind behind him; by the time he became aware of it, a sharpened bamboo stick had been plunged into his shoulder, and he was violently thrown off his horse. The next moment, he was struck by a heavy punch to his ear.

Boom, the ice of Ice Lake shattered open a large hole, and the teenage bully, along with his clothes and armor, was immersed in the icy water. The ice-cold water that seeped into his nostrils and mouth was bone-chilling.

Just when he thought he was going to drown in the water, he was pulled back to the surface.

"Cough cough, who are you, to dare hit me?" The teenager coughed out ice water, his eyes met by a face wearing a mask.

"My name is Lord," said the teenager with the half-mask, the corner of his mouth lifting in a wicked smile.