Chapter 4: Mercy, Master

On the barren land, aside from the slowly burning bonfire near Du Yuan’s makeshift shelter, there was a caravan team bowing repeatedly in his direction.

Such a scene was somewhat bewildering to Du Yuan.

After watching them for a long while, he began trying to recall what he had done.

He could only remember being alone in this desolate wilderness. Although he had stayed here for several days, the night was still quite frightening.

After all, having inexplicably traveled through time and space was already shocking, so encountering something else wasn’t impossible, right?

To bolster his courage and to rehearse the story he was about to tell, he performed a classic “Fa Hai” ritual.

His spirits lifted; not only was he no longer afraid, but he also added a dramatic gesture.

Then, unexpectedly, this group suddenly appeared and immediately knelt on the ground, calling him “Master.”

Wait, wasn’t there a flash of golden light just now?

Thinking of this, Du Yuan’s eyes widened.

Even more astonishing was the enormous creature nearly twice the height of a man, rising fiercely from the forest in the faint moonlight.

At this sight, the caravan members who had been kneeling and shouting “Master” abruptly shuddered and scrambled to their feet.

They hurriedly rolled behind Du Yuan.

“Master, that demon is still there! It’s still here!”

“Please, Master, perform the ritual to subdue the demon!”

“We beg you, Master, quickly exorcise the demon and save the people!”

Among the caravan, some pleaded for Du Yuan to act, while others, emboldened by his presence, shouted directly at the beast:

“You fiend, you’ve eaten our pack horses, but now you want us too? Hah, scared now? The Master is here!”

“You cursed beast, I’m right here—come at me if you dare!”

Though no one had been harmed, those eight pack horses were their lifeline.

Losing all of them meant that the whole group had narrowly escaped death. The older ones could bear it, but the younger men, now feeling empowered, were truly unable to contain their anger.

While they felt relieved, Du Yuan was genuinely stunned.

Damn, I have no idea what's going on—don’t act recklessly!

So Du Yuan sternly commanded in a deep voice:

“Silence at once!”

When the Master spoke, naturally, no one dared to utter another word.

They all fell silent and hid behind Du Yuan again.

Among them, Old Zhao summoned his courage and said to Du Yuan:

“Master, earlier we were blind and rude to you, and we ask for your forgiveness. But please understand, this cursed beast has robbed us of the livelihood of our entire families for many years!”

“That made us unable to hold back our words. Please, Master, show mercy.”

At this, all the caravan members were deeply moved.

Indeed, surviving was already a great blessing.

But without so many pack horses and goods, how would they survive in the days to come?

Du Yuan still wasn’t clear on the full story.

However, he guessed that the giant creature in the forest must have devoured their pack horses. And most likely, his rambling words earlier had accidentally caused them to think he was some skilled expert.

But the problem was, he was just a storyteller!

No, not necessarily. That flash of golden light really did appear, and it seemed connected to him.

So…

Facing grave danger and life-or-death stakes, Du Yuan steadied his mind, briefly considered the situation, and made a choice.

The creature hadn’t charged because it was afraid of the golden light.

Now he could try to repeat the ritual to summon the golden light again, perhaps even drive the demon away with this momentum.

But there was a risk: if the first occurrence was accidental or if he missed some crucial detail, he might backfire, causing the demon to no longer fear him and endangering his own life.

Therefore…

With his thoughts turning over, Du Yuan lowered his sword, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked toward the giant in the forest.

After a moment’s thought, he was surprised to discover a possibility.

But to be cautious, he asked those behind him:

“How far did you go after leaving here?”

Though puzzled, Old Zhao hurried to respond:

“Master, we traveled about ten miles. It was night, so the road was difficult.”

Du Yuan smiled to add to his persona and said:

“Hmm, just as I thought. It matches my calculations.”

His words naturally drew gasps from the group.

And caused the giant in the forest to shiver unseen in the shadows.

Du Yuan then scanned the faces behind him and asked:

“Why is one of you missing?”

Another man quickly replied:

“It’s Little Liu. We sent him ahead to the tea house to warn the others after the creature appeared!”

After saying this, he nervously glanced at the giant.

Already towering two men high, the creature was even more terrifying in the dark.

If not for Du Yuan’s presence, he probably wouldn’t have dared to look at it twice, fleeing immediately.

Hearing this, Du Yuan became even more certain.

He turned to the giant in the woods and said:

“If you do not truly wish to kill them, then why are you so aggressive?”

At these words, the caravan members were stunned—what did he mean by not really wanting to kill them?

But on reflection, it did seem true; otherwise, why would such a giant fail to catch up with them?

But why was that?

The giant in the forest remained silent.

This made Du Yuan nervous; he feared his guess was wrong and that he might have to fight desperately.

Du Yuan disliked such uncertainty; he preferred always having a margin for error.

Especially in matters of life and death.

But he absolutely could not show weakness.

So he said firmly:

“If you do not answer, I will assume you are a foolish and incurable wild demon and strike you down now!”

There were three advantages to saying this: first, to reassure those behind him so their fear wouldn’t cause foolishness, like betrayal or treachery.

Second, to force the creature to make a choice.

Third, to show the creature that their conflict didn’t have to end in mutual destruction.

The latter two, especially the last, were critical!

Du Yuan truly feared the creature might recklessly fight him out of excessive caution, even though he himself was just a hapless fool who didn’t understand the situation.

Fortunately, Du Yuan’s gamble paid off.

Or rather, under the strike of that Buddha’s light, the creature genuinely cowered.

So when Du Yuan spoke, the caravan clearly saw the giant’s shadowy form tremble before it timidly stepped into the moonlight.

“Master, spare me! Master, spare me!”

Seeing Du Yuan had no intention to attack, it let out a huge sigh of relief, just as the caravan had done before.

“Let the Master know, I truly did not intend to harm them. On the road, it’s true I consumed much of their supplies. But I could not bear to see them continue to oppress my kind. I just never expected you to break my illusion.”

Only then did the group finally see the creature’s true form.

It was, astonishingly, a towering, upright horse!

No wonder it was so strong and nearly twice the height of two men stacked.

But why did this horse look so familiar?