Under One Person: Rebuilding the Glory of the Beast Master

It is unknown how much time passed before Zeng Su gradually regained consciousness.

When Zeng Su opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a large, black and white pig's head.

Those bright pig eyes were staring at him without blinking, and the hot breath coming out of its nose hit his face, carrying a familiar scent mixed with grass and soil.

Although Baijiahei likes to burrow in the mud, it is very clean and has no odor.

Bai Jiahei's head was so big that it filled his entire field of vision, and he couldn't even see the ceiling.

"Hmm—"

Bai Jiahei let out a low, trembling groan, a sound that contained grievance, but even more so, a joyful sense of relief.

"Master has finally woken up."

Baijiahei had been waiting for this moment for several days, unwilling to leave its owner for even a moment, and had lost several pounds due to hunger.

To express its excitement, Baijiahei stuck out its thick tongue and licked its owner's face twice.

"White Plus Black..." Zeng Su began, his voice hoarse and unlike his own, "You smeared your saliva on my face."

Bai Jiahei didn't care about any of that. He nestled his head into Zeng Su's arms gently, making purring sounds, just like a big cat.

Zeng Su reached out and touched Bai Jiahei's head.

He touched her slowly, from her forehead to behind her ears, and from behind her ears to her chin, one touch at a time, as if he were comforting a frightened child.

Bai Jiahei gradually quieted down, resting his chin on the edge of the bed, his eyes half-closed, and making satisfied humming sounds.

Zeng Su then had time to look around. This was his room, and dim light shone through the white paper pasted on the windows, indicating that it was evening.

He felt a slight soreness in his body, a normal reaction after excessive consumption of Qi. He took a deep breath and tried to circulate the Qi within his body. It was very weak, but his meridians were not damaged and his acupoints were not blocked. He would be able to recover after some meditation and cultivation.

"How long was I unconscious?" he asked.

Bai Jiahei pricked up one ear and thought for a moment, then stretched out its right foreleg and drew three horizontal lines on the ground. It was really inconvenient for pig hooves to draw numbers.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Baijiahei is just a pig; it can actually write its own name.

"Three days?" Zeng Su frowned slightly.

Bai Jiahei nodded, then nudged his hand with his nose.

Zeng Su patted its head and propped himself up to sit up. He felt a little dizzy, but not so dizzy that he couldn't stand.

He put on his shoes, walked to the table, and poured himself a bowl of water. The water was still warm and had a faint medicinal taste. Someone must have given him medicine after he passed out, as there was still some medicine left in the cup.

After drinking two glasses of water, he pushed open the door and went out. He had heard some noise outside while he was inside, but the sound became clear after he came out.

The sound came from the distant animal pen. Originally, the animal pen wasn't located here, but since he took over the pen, he had fenced off the surrounding forest to use for raising livestock.

All the livestock under his command were very obedient, which made the senior brothers who were originally in charge of the animal pen very happy to hand over the job to him.

"Yes, yes, move that feeding trough a little to the left—not to your left, but to its left!"

"Senior Brother Lu, which 'it' are you talking about? There are three pigs here!"

"The fattest end is the one directly opposite you—oh dear, you moved it upside down!"

At this moment, Lu Jin was standing outside the enclosure of the beast pen, holding a wooden stick in his hand, directing several senior brothers to move things inside the beast pen.

His white long robe had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing two clean but strong arms. There were several mud stains on the hem of the robe, it was unclear when they had been applied.

Zeng Su knew all of those senior brothers. They didn't usually interact much, but they would greet each other when they met. At this moment, they were moving the feeding trough to the designated location as instructed by Lu Jin, complaining as they did so.

"Senior Brother Lu, how come the pigs that Junior Brother raises are so obedient under his care? We have to be very careful when moving the feeding trough, for fear of being gored by them." A disciple of the Sanyi Sect said, his white robe covered in mud, which was from being gored by the pigs earlier.

"That's because you haven't gotten along with them," Lu Jin said seriously. "You have to talk to them, compliment them on how strong they are, and give them names—"

"Name them? Name all thirty or forty pigs?"

"Of course. Look at Junior Brother's hair, all white and black. He has a proper name; who in the sect doesn't call him 'Brother Bai'?"

The senior students looked at each other, then shook their heads at the same time and continued to move the feeding troughs.

Upon hearing this, Zeng Su finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Lu Jin turned around when he heard the sound and saw Zeng Su. His eyes lit up immediately. He stuck the wooden stick into the ground and ran over in three steps, looking Zeng Su up and down.

"Junior Brother, you're finally awake!" He reached out and gently patted Zeng Su's shoulder. "Uncle-Master Si Chong said you were just exhausted and nothing serious, that you'd be fine after a nap. But you slept for three days straight! Do you know how worried Brother Bai was these past three days?"

He pointed to the white and black dog that was always close to its owner.

"For the past three days, Brother Bai has been watching over you day and night, not even eating, and his tears have never stopped."

Bai Jiahei snorted upon hearing this and turned his head away. "I didn't shed any tears!"

Zeng Su smiled, squatted down, and patted Bai Jiahei's belly: "You've worked hard."

Bai Jiahei nudged his hand with his nose.

Lu Jin followed behind Zeng Su, his mouth never stopping: "By the way, during the three days you were unconscious, Uncle Si Chong came twice, Senior Brother Cheng Zhen came once, and the senior brother from the Medicine House also came to see you. They said you have a good constitution and there's nothing seriously wrong, it's just that your Qi was too depleted. Just rest more and eat more."

He paused, then added, "Master didn't come. He left the day we entered the depths of Mount Taimu. Uncle-Master Sichong said he was going to take care of some business in another place, but he didn't tell us what it was. He said he would probably be back in about ten days to half a month."

Zeng Su nodded.

"Also," Lu Jin took out a small cloth bag from his sleeve and handed it to him, "this is what Uncle Si Chong asked me to give to you. I'll give it to you when you wake up."

Zeng Su took it and opened it. Inside was a small packet of medicinal herbs, which smelled like ginseng slices. Each slice was as thin as a cicada's wing and shimmered with a pale golden luster under the light.

He picked up a slice and examined it, sensing the Qi contained within, indicating that this was not an ordinary dried ginseng slice.

"This is..." He looked at Lu Jin.

"Golden Ginseng from Mount Taimu," Lu Jin said. "It's grown by the sect itself, and we can only harvest a few plants a year. It's a great thing for replenishing Qi and nourishing the body. Uncle-Master Si Chong said that your Qi has been depleted too much. Soak one of these in water and drink it every day to replenish your foundation."

Zeng Su carefully put the cloth bag away, a warm feeling welling up in his heart.

"Thanks!"

"There's no need to thank me. What you need to do now is to recover from your injuries quickly. The beast realm can't function without you now, and no one else can take on this responsibility except you."

After Lu Jin finished speaking, he continued running off to direct his other junior brothers to get to work.

That's how the Trinity Sect is; there's no deceit or treachery, and everyone in the sect is trustworthy.

After resting for two days, Zeng Su finally recovered. In fact, he had long wanted to return to that pool of energy, and Xuan Hei was still eagerly waiting for him!

However, Lu Jin and his fellow disciples disagreed, insisting that he must be fully recovered before they could continue.

This time Zeng Yao went alone, though Bai Jiahei accompanied him.

Xuanhei lay on the edge of the pool, its head sticking out of its shell, staring motionlessly in the direction where Zeng Su and the others had left last time.

It's been five days already.

But it just wanted to wait, and it was also very anxious inside.

"I'm not waiting for him, Ancestor," Xuanhei told himself. "I'm just... enjoying the sunshine today. I also wanted to check the road and see if any wild rabbits would wander in. I haven't eaten rabbit in a long time, and I'm craving it. Yes, that's it."

It pulled its head back halfway, leaving only its eyes showing, pretending to be dozing. But those beady green eyes never left the end of the path.

The sun moved from east to west, the shadows of the trees grew shorter and then longer again, the mist on the pool was blown away and gathered again by the wind. A water bird landed by the pool, pecked at the water twice, and then flew away, not catching a single fish.

Xuanhei cursed "useless" in his heart and continued staring at the road. For hundreds of years, he had never felt time pass so slowly.

When I used to sleep at the bottom of the pool, a lot of time would pass in the blink of an eye, it was easier than turning over in bed.

But things are different now. Various thoughts keep popping into its mind: Has something happened to that little baby? Has he changed his mind and doesn't want to come anymore? Does he think this old tortoise is useless and has abandoned him?

"No, it won't," it told itself again. "The contract is still in effect. If he didn't want me anymore, the contract would have been dissolved long ago."

But what if?

What if he just doesn't want to come?

Just like those people who used to come here, sometimes they would come every day and teach it all sorts of knowledge, but then suddenly they stopped coming.

Its dark head peeked out of its shell a little more, its neck stretched long, and its beady green eyes reflected the empty path.

"You brat, I already agreed to be your tamed beast, and you're just going to leave me here and ignore me?"

It mumbled something in a low voice, carrying a sense of grievance that it itself was unaware of.

A gust of wind blew by and Xuanhei suddenly felt a bit cold. Although turtles are not afraid of the cold at all, it just felt cold, the kind of cold that seeps into its heart from the cracks in its shell.

It's been five days.

Five days used to be nothing. It wasn't even a fraction of what you could sleep at the bottom of the pool for. But these five days now feel longer than all the previous hundreds of years combined.

This is because it has something to look forward to.

Before, it had no aspirations, no need to wait for anyone, no need to hope for anyone, no need to worry about whether anyone would come. It just lived in a daze, today was the same as yesterday, tomorrow was the same as today, living a hundred years was no different from living a year.

But things are different now.

Zeng Su gave it a thought. A thought of leaving this place, a thought of no longer having to guard this stagnant pool alone.

Then he disappeared.

"I wasn't thinking about him at all." Xuanhei pulled its head back into its shell, squeezing the shell into a crevice in the rocks by the pool, as if sulking. "Come if you want, don't come if you don't. I'd rather be alone than be driven crazy by that little brat."

But after it had been tucked inside its shell for a short while, it poked its head out again.

It couldn't stay inside the shell; it was too dark inside, and the darkness made it panic.

It used to love hiding inside its shell; the shell was its home, its fortress, its safest place. But now it's too quiet inside, so quiet that only its own heartbeat can be heard, slow and unsettling.

"No, this can't go on." Xuanhei shook his head, trying to pull himself out of this inexplicable state. "I'm the Xuanhei Ancestor, who has lived for hundreds of years. How can I let a little kid make me so unsettled? If word gets out, the other beasts will laugh at me to death!"

It took a deep breath, suppressed the chaotic emotions in its body, and put on an arrogant "I don't care about anyone" attitude again.

But its eyes still involuntarily glanced toward that road.

Once, twice, three times.

Every time I glance at it, I tell myself, "This is the last time," but after a while, I can't help but glance at it again, and my enthusiasm deflates again.

Just as it was telling itself, for what felt like the umpteenth time, "This is the last time"—

A rustling sound came from deep within the woods.

Its dark eyes widened suddenly, and its neck sprang out of its shell with a "whoosh," more than ten times faster than usual.

It tried to stand up, but its four paws slipped on the muddy ground, and it almost fell flat on its back.

"Ancestor, I'm not waiting for him!" it screamed frantically in its mind. "Ancestor, I just... just stood up and stretched my muscles! Yes, stretched my muscles!"

It scrambled to steady itself, quickly retracting half of its neck, leaving only its eyes exposed, and adopted an indifferent expression that said, "I didn't even notice you came."

But its heartbeat betrayed it.

My heart was pounding in my chest, so fast it felt like it was going to burst out of my shell.

The bushes at the edge of the woods were parted, and a huge black figure squeezed out from within.

White plus black.

Baijiahei is in great spirits today, its mouth still chewing. This is beef jerky that Lu Jinxin bought for it, and it tastes so good that it can't bear to swallow it.

After it left the woods, it didn't rush to the pool. Instead, it stopped and looked back at the woods behind it.

Upon seeing this, Xuanhei's heart beat even faster.

It stretched its neck to look behind Baijiahei, but the huge pig's body blocked the exit of the forest completely, and it couldn't see anything.

"Damn it, can't you move a little?" Xuanhei cursed inwardly.

As if hearing its thoughts, Baijiahei moved aside.

Then Xuanhei saw it.

A figure emerged from the woods.

Zeng Su was wearing a white shirt in the Sanyimen uniform, without a hat. His hair was a little messy from the mountain wind. His face was thinner than it had been five days ago, but his dark eyes were still as bright and steady as ever.

Xuanhei stared at the approaching figure, his mouth opening and closing.

It wanted to say something, to mock the person who had made it wait for five days, to say things like, "You still know how to come back," "I've been waiting so long my shell is about to crack," and "Have you forgotten about me?"

But the words stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single one.

It found that its eye sockets were a little hot.

Turtles don't shed tears, but they feel a warm sensation in their eye sockets, as if something is swirling inside.

"Useless," it cursed itself inwardly, forcefully suppressing the heat.