Under One Person: Rebuilding the Glory of the Beast Master

The kerosene lamps in the train carriages were jolted by the gunfire, their dim light casting wild, flickering shadows on everyone's faces.

The gun in Zeng Runguo's hand emitted a faint blue smoke, and his marksmanship was astonishingly fast—from drawing the gun to firing, it took only a breath.

He had been awake for a while, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He would show no mercy to anyone who wanted to harm his nephew.

The short, fat man and the tall, thin man each received a bullet wound between their eyebrows, from which dark red blood slowly seeped. The two corpses fell straight down in the passageway with a dull thud.

The short, stocky man wasn't hit in a vital area, but the bullet passed through his shoulder, leaving a bloody hole.

He screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his wound and convulsing. The dagger flew out of his hand and slid a long way across the wooden floor.

The carriage instantly erupted in chaos.

The awakened passengers screamed and crawled under their seats. Some cried, some cursed, and some ran to other carriages, creating complete chaos.

Zeng Runguo ignored the panicked passengers. He shielded his nephew behind him, his gun still pointed towards the aisle, his eyes scanning the entire carriage warily.

"Uncle Runguo, it's alright." Zeng Su's voice came from behind him, calmer than an eight-year-old child. "There's another one who escaped."

Zeng Runguo then noticed that a window at the back of the carriage had been smashed open, letting in a biting cold wind that was making the curtains flutter loudly. The green-eyed man was gone, leaving only a pool of red blood on the window frame.

"He jumped out of the window." Zeng Runguo frowned, peered out the window, and saw only white darkness outside the car. "At this speed, if he jumped, he'd be crippled if not killed."

Zeng Su did not respond. He pulled his right hand out of his pocket, holding the wooden plaque in his palm, his fingertips slightly white.

He turned to look at the young couple opposite him.

The man—Du Fusong—remained seated, his smile even more pronounced than before. His wife—Tang Tongbi—had her clear, cold eyes fixed on Zeng Su, or more precisely, on the wooden plaque in his hand.

Their eyes met, and Zeng Su did not look away.

"Young man," Du Fusong spoke, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, carrying a relaxing gentleness, "this wooden plaque of yours is quite interesting."

Zeng Su gripped the wooden plaque even tighter, without replying.

Du Fosong didn't care. He tilted his head, and a meaningful light flashed in his curved eyes: "I was just thinking, a seven or eight-year-old child, encountering robbers in the middle of the night, doesn't cry or make a fuss, and doesn't even blink—either he's naturally brave, or he has something to rely on."

He paused, his gaze shifting from Zeng Su's face to Zeng Runguo's, and then back to Zeng Su's face.

"It now appears to be the latter."

Zeng Runguo slightly deflected the muzzle of his gun, not pointing it directly at Du Fosong, but the sense of vigilance was already very obvious.

"Gentlemen," Zeng Runguo's voice was deep, "when you're out in the world, you each go your own way. I thank you both for your help earlier. However, there are some things I hope you won't ask too many questions about."

Du Fusong raised his hands in a "surrender" gesture, his smile undiminished: "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. I am Du Fusong, and this is my wife, Tang Tongbi. We simply thought the child was adorable and couldn't bear to see him being kidnapped—we meant no other thing."

"Du Fosong, Tang Tongbi?" Zeng Su felt that these two names were somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember them for a moment.

Tang Tongbi didn't speak, but her gaze never left Zeng Su.

Her eyes were cold, but not in an uncomfortable way; rather, they held a scrutinizing quality—like looking at an uncut piece of jade, assessing its value.

Zeng Su felt a little uneasy under that gaze, but he didn't show it. He turned to Zeng Runguo and said, "Uncle Runguo, the person who jumped off the train isn't dead yet."

Zeng Runguo was taken aback: "How did you know?"

"Baijiahei told me that," Zeng Su said.

As soon as he finished speaking, a dull thud came from outside the car window, like something enormous crashing to the ground. A huge figure appeared outside the car, followed by a rapid, angry roar—it was Bai Jiahei's voice.

Du Fosong and Tang Tongbi's expressions changed simultaneously.

It wasn't because of that roar, but because they sensed—a kind of energy from the darkness that didn't belong to humans.

"Strange beasts." Tang Tongbi finally spoke, his voice clear and crisp like a mountain stream, without any unnecessary embellishment, just two words.

Du Fusong's smile faded. He looked out the window and saw that the massive figure had disappeared beyond the train. He slowly turned his head and looked Zeng Su over again.

This time, the way he looked at Zeng Su was different from before—not the way he looked at a cute doll, but the way he looked at a "fellow traveler".

"Yours?" he asked.

Zeng Su did not deny it and nodded.

Du Fusong was silent for two seconds, then suddenly laughed, this time with a genuine admiration: "Incredible. Absolutely incredible."

---

The train continued to speed forward, the clanging of its wheels on the rails carrying far in the night wind.

About half a mile from the train, below the railway embankment, was a harvested field, now covered in snow, looking like a vast expanse of white.

The green-eyed man tumbled down the roadbed, landing on his left shoulder first with a thud.

He gritted his teeth and got up, glancing down at his left arm—his forearm was bent outward at an odd angle, broken when he jumped out of the moving vehicle.

"Damn it!" he cursed, his voice hoarse, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

But he dared not stop.

He is an extraordinary person, but not the kind who can fight head-on. He cultivates "Shadow Cloaking Technique"—a movement technique that allows him to hide in the dark and move quickly. It's good for petty theft and picking locks, but in a real fight, several ordinary people can beat him, and he'd be even less likely to win if the opponent has a gun.

Another thing is that the couple were also supernatural beings, and they gave him a very scary feeling.

"Damn it!" he cursed as he dragged his severed arm toward the woods beside the railway. "I was just thinking of making a quick buck and leaving, but who knew I'd run into those guys—"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly sensed something.

A massive, oppressive aura was rapidly approaching from the direction of the train.

He turned around abruptly, his pupils suddenly contracting.

Under the moonlight, a huge dark shadow was rushing along the railway embankment.

The dark figure moved with incredible speed, its four hooves tumbling across the snow, each landing kicking up a cloud of snow. As the distance closed, its form gradually became clearer in the moonlight—a round body covered in black mane, with muscles on its shoulders and back bulging like two small mountains, a snow-white head, and fangs that protruded forward like swords, gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

White plus black.

The green-eyed man's face instantly lost all color.

"What the hell is that thing!" he cried out, quickening his pace as he ran desperately into the woods.

The forest is his territory; once he enters it, he can use Shadow Cloak to shake off the monster.

But Baijiahei didn't give him that chance.

When they were still a dozen or so feet away from the forest, Bai Jiahei suddenly accelerated, its massive body leaving a black afterimage on the snow, and the force of its hind legs slamming into the ground created two deep craters.

Then it leaped up, soaring high like a cheetah, drawing an arc in the air, soaring over the green-eyed man's head, and landing heavily in front of him, cutting off his escape route to the woods.

The ground shook violently from the impact, and snow flew everywhere.

The green-eyed man stopped abruptly, his shoes carving two long furrows in the snow, and he almost slipped and fell.

He looked up and met Bai Jiahei's gaze.

Those pig eyes carried a hunter's calm and cruelty.

"Where did this beast come from—" the green-eyed man spat out the two words through gritted teeth, reaching into his robes with his right hand to pull out a talisman, a [Golden Knife Talisman], his most prized possession.

But Bai Jiahei didn't give him time to cast the talisman.

It let out a low growl, and its mane stood on end like a row of steel needles in the moonlight. Immediately afterwards, dozens of hairs shot out from its back in unison, whistling as they enveloped the green-eyed man.

【Iron Mane Kill】

The green-eyed man had never seen such a move before, but he reacted very quickly. He suddenly rolled to one side, rolling twice in the snow, avoiding most of the mane.

However, two of the daggers still pierced his right leg, penetrating half an inch into his flesh. He screamed in pain and almost dropped the dagger.

He looked down at his legs; two black hairs were embedded in his muscles like steel needles, and blood was seeping out along the hair shafts.

"Damn it!" he cursed, gritting his teeth as he plucked the bristles from the wound. Black blood gushed from the wound—not poison, but the bleeding wouldn't stop; it was the black and white qi invading his body.

Bai Jiahei did not continue its attack.

It stood there, looking down at the green-eyed person sprawled in the snow, exhaling two puffs of white breath from its nostrils, and its eyes even carrying a hint of... mockery?

A pig's eyes held a mocking look?

The green-eyed man thought he might be hallucinating due to excessive blood loss.

But whether it was a hallucination or not, he didn't want to die here.

He took a deep breath, channeled his Qi throughout his body, made a hand seal with his right hand, and chanted incantations.

His body began to blur, as if it were melting into the moonlight.

Shadow Cloak Technique: Stealth Movement

This is his trump card for survival; it allows him to blend into the darkness in a very short time, making it impossible for the enemy to lock onto him.

Although it didn't last long, it was enough for him to escape into the woods.

His figure grew fainter and fainter, almost blending into the surrounding night.

Then--

The "white plus black" (referring to a product or service) has been activated.

It didn't use its fangs or its mane; it simply strode over to the figure that was almost completely gone, raised one of its front hooves, and slowly stomped down.

"Pfft."

A muffled thud.

A dark red flower bloomed on the snow.

The black and white hooves stomped on the green-eyed man's chest with just the right amount of force—enough to make his ribs crack, but not enough to kill him outright. This was a skill it had honed while playing with the village children.

At the same time, the steel-attribute Qi invaded the green-eyed man's body, disrupting his own Qi and making it impossible for him to complete the spell.

The green-eyed man screamed as his Shadow Cloak technique was abruptly interrupted. His form reformed, and his face turned a deep purplish-red. He struggled desperately and pulled out a short knife to stab Bai Jiahei's leg, but the blade struck Bai Jiahei's skin without leaving even a white mark.

Bai Jiahei looked down at him, his clear eyes filled with even more mockery.

Then it lifted its hoof and stomped again.

This time, I stepped on the right hand.

"Click—"

The sound of bones cracking was particularly crisp in the empty snowy night.

The green-eyed man nearly fainted from the pain; the dagger slipped from his hand and fell onto the snow.

Bai Jiahei snorted with satisfaction, then loosened its hooves, took two steps back, and stared at him menacingly.

The meaning was clear—you run, try running again.

---

On the train, the commotion in the carriages gradually subsided.

Several brave passengers helped drag the two bodies to the connecting area between the carriages and covered them with a cloth. The short, stocky man was pinned to the ground by two passengers, his hands and feet were tied with rope, and a rag was stuffed in his mouth, making him moan incessantly.

Zeng Runguo put the gun away, but his hand never left the handle.

Du Fosong leaned back in his seat, looking at Zeng Su with increasing interest.

"Young man," he said, "where did you get that strange beast from?"

Zeng Su glanced at him, thought for a moment, and didn't hide anything: "I raised them myself."

"You raised it yourself?" Tang Tongbi raised an eyebrow. "How old are you?"

Eight years old.

Du Fosong and Tang Tongbi exchanged a glance, a hint of surprise in their eyes.

Tang Tongbi withdrew her gaze from Zeng Su, lowering her eyes as if deep in thought. After a moment, she spoke, her voice still cold: "Beast Master."

It's not a question, it's a statement.

Zeng Su did not deny it.

"Beast Master!" Tang Tongbi continued, his tone as flat as if he were reading a report. "It's been a long time since we've seen such an extraordinary person as the Beast Master in the martial world. Who is your master?"

"It's a family tradition," Zeng Su said.

"Once?" Tang Tongbi asked.

Zeng Su's heart skipped a beat. This woman was too perceptive; she had guessed his surname without him saying a word. Moreover, the Zeng family had declined for so many years, yet someone still remembered him.

But he remained expressionless and simply nodded.

After getting the answer, Tang Tongbi didn't ask any more questions and sat back down.

Du Fosong became interested and moved closer, lowering his voice to ask, "What kind of creature is that? I sensed its Qi just now, and it's quite unusual. The texture of that Qi—how should I put it—is somewhat like metal."

Zeng Su did not answer this question.

Du Fusong wasn't annoyed that he didn't speak; instead, he smiled and said, "Fine, if you don't want to talk, then don't. I was too abrupt."

Zeng Su looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"These days, the world of supernatural beings is far from peaceful." Du Fusong's smile faded, and he became unusually serious. "People from the Quanxing Sect are running around everywhere, righteous people are running around everywhere, and officials are running around everywhere. If your beast gets targeted, you'll be in big trouble."

He paused, then glanced meaningfully at Zeng Runguo: "Your uncle is a good marksman, but against superhumans, a gun has limited effectiveness."

Zeng Runguo's expression darkened, but he did not refute.

He knew that Du Fusong was telling the truth.

"So?" Zeng Su asked.

"So—" Du Fusong's eyes crinkled, and he resumed his smiling demeanor, "Young man, where are you headed?"

Zeng Su paused for a moment, then said, "Ningde."

"Ningde?" A hint of surprise flashed in Du Fosong's eyes. "That's in eastern Fujian, quite far away. What are you going there for?"

"I'll go stay with relatives," Zeng Su said.

Du Fusong glanced at him but didn't press the matter. He was a smart man and knew what to ask and what not to ask. If others wouldn't answer his questions, then he shouldn't bring it up.