Chapter C – Crater exploration
“Oi.” Liu Zhenhan waved his hand in front of Hailun’s face to bring her back to reality. She was looking at him with an incredible look in her eyes.
“It was such a pleasant song and you sang it so well!” Hailun suddenly grabbed his hand and submitted her entire body into his arms, “Although I do not understand what it meant, I feel the power of your battle song surging within me. What you sang is probably a love song dedicated by a brave knight to a beautiful lady who is also his lover. Your song has stirred my emotions which are now just like an eternally raging fire.”
Liu Zhenhan then realized that he had sung the folk version of this romantic song.
“This is the power of a psychic battle song!” Hailun said in an excited manner: “I did not expect you to comprehend the essence of battle songs so soon. You are on the correct path of understanding and as long as you stay focused on this path and continue to pour your emotions into your singing, you will be able to summon high-level magical beasts with ease.”
“Really?” Liu Zhenhan felt strange, “Even without singing an actual Beamon battle song, I can have such an effect on others? Then I should change the songs written in Beamon language in order to suit my convenience and then give it a try.”
If he replaced the lyrics written in commonly used Beamon language then singing a battle song should become a lot easier for him.
Hailun shook her head doubtfully.
“In spite of not understanding the lyrics of your song, it still managed to stir up a variety of emotions in my heart like other battle songs, but why and how?” Hailun tightly knitted her beautiful eyebrows to showcase an elegant frown.
“d.a.m.n it!” Liu Zhenhan was also puzzled by this.
“An inborn soul singer is always accompanied by miracles.” Hailun said and looked a little jealous of him.
“Dog fart!” Liu Zhenhan sniffed loudly and his ultra-large nostrils made him feel refreshed in one breath. He realized that now that he had such big nostrils, he was able to breathe in a large amount of air and more quickly, not to mention this was also going to help him sing in a louder voice and with more clarity. Hailun talked about inborn soul singers being accompanied by miracles, so was this also a miracle?
“Dear Li Cha!!” Hailun showed her discontent as she would always tell him not to use foul language. She had corrected him numerous times in the past several days, stressing on the point that sacrifices held n.o.ble status in the Beamon Kingdom, and even if it was an honorary t.i.tle, use of vulgar words was not justifiable. If he continued to keep speaking this kind of foul language then he would end up becoming a laughing stock for others. Liu Zhenhan sensed her anger as soon as he saw her complexion changing for the worse.
“My girl.” Liu Zhenhan noticed that he f.u.c.ked up real bad and began to apologize, “Come on, Hailun, don’t be so angry. I am willing to accept that I was at fault. I am not a human, I am a beast! See, I accept my mistake so cheer up.”
His usual cool demeanor was thrashed by himself in the most pathetic way possible.
Hailun could not even force a smile at such a comic remark.
“Listen, Li Cha.” Hailun said: “People of Beastman race do not criticize each other by using the word ‘beast’, it is not powerful enough to serve the purpose in the context. A beast cannot abuse another beast of being a ‘beast’, get it? If you really want to scold someone, just use the terms ‘shameless’ or ‘despicable’.” Liu Zhenhan realized his blunder a bit late and made a fool out of himself.
“Alight then, I am shameless!” Liu Zhenhan proudly said since he did not feel that there was a single bit of lie in his statement.
(TL Note: #Thuglife)
“You are a vegetable seed and a farm chicken.” Hailun covered her mouth and giggled.
“I am a vegetable seed and a farm chicken.” Liu Zhenhan solemnly repeated the whole sentence after her, however, in reality, he was laughing in his own heart. If the level of swearing was really so low among the aristocrats then he really was going to have a hard time in the future. How would he survive even a single day without swearing?
Hailun was laughing and seemed very happy. There was a beautiful smile decorated on her elegant face that looked very tempting and seductive.
Liu Zhenhan looked at her face and felt hypnotized. His nose suddenly picked up a fragrance coming from her and his hands began to perpetrate mischief.
“No, Li Cha!” Hailun was struggling and tried to push him away to get out of his strong clutches but was unable to do so when she noticed that his strength was actually on the level of magical beasts.
“Aristocratic etiquettes do not allow treating a woman in such an obscene manner!” Hailun felt like slapping him on the face to bring him back to his senses but she unexpected seemed reluctant to do so.
When she scolded him in a loud voice, he sobered up a bit.
“What’s going on! What happened just now?” Liu Zhenhan thought that his own willpower was getting worse, and going on like this, he might end up committing a crime and would regret it forever.
“I’m sorry, Hailun.” Liu Zhenhan was aware of his impulsive action and knew that what he did was wrong, after all, she was four years younger than him.
“Actually, it’s my fault.” Hailun reorganized her ritual robe and wiped the tears off her face, though some pearls were still latching onto her long eyelashes: “Fox women are always extremely beautiful and most men show this tendency of being subconsciously attracted towards their bewitching charm. I do not know why war-G.o.d Campas has granted us such beauty and charm. In the end, Fox women are just females who are trapped within a beautiful yet enticing sh.e.l.l. This appearance is the reason why we are targeted by those shameless and evil humans. In reality, our Fox clan and especially its female members hold great loyalty and family values.”
Liu Zhenhan heard her and broke out in a cold sweat. He realized that he almost behaved the same way as those evil humans.
“You know what? I do not blame you.” Hailun rested her head against his chest, sobbed a little then said: “In Beastman race, love between two different beast species is rarely seen, but I really do not know the reason why I am madly in love with you.”
“It is my fault! I am the one who touched you without your permission then how is it your fault?” Liu Zhenhan earnestly said: “Hailun, my girl, I pledge to you, no, I pledge to the supreme war-G.o.d Campas that I will protect you forever! Even if evil thoughts are to invade my humble heart, I will fight back and make sure not to tarnish your purity and holiness. ”
Hailun was deeply moved by this and teared up once again.
Although Liu Zhenhan was very much attracted to her but that was not only because of her beautiful appearance. He was actually in love with her loving and caring side. He had already decided to make her his wife in the future, so he would never ever think about attacking her in any manner.
“How do we go down?” Hailun finally mentioned the real problem at hand. The crater was about 20 meters deep and a few miles in radius. Going down was not going to be easy since there were only steep cliffs in the vicinity instead of gentle slopes. Also, these cliffs were covered with slippery moss to make things even worse.
“That’s no big deal, let me show you how it’s done.” Liu Zhenhan said with a smile.
This cliff was just 20 meters deep, during his training days, he once descended a 100 meters deep cliff and that too within a set amount of time, calculated by a stopwatch.
He gathered several vines and tied them together to create a makeshift rope. He made sure to check whether it could really bear his weight then tied the rope to a coconut tree that was on the crater’s edge. He tore off two long strips of cloth from his white robe and wrapped it tightly around his hands. Then, he took some dry dirt and soil from the ground and rubbed it over the white cloth gloves.
(TL Note: Cloth gloves + Dirt or Soil = More friction coefficient and better grip on the rope)
“Please be careful.” Hailun’s face was dominated by fear and worry. Sacred sacrifices generally had weak bodies and even if she knew that Liu Zhenhan was stronger than most sacred sacrifices, she still could not help but worry.
“Don’t worry.” Liu Zhenhan thought about something and said: “You gather some vines and tie them together to prepare two or three ropes. Afterward, tie the ropes to this coconut tree and drop them into the crater. I will chop down some bamboo shoots and fasten them onto the ropes. Remember, you do not need to pull up the bamboo shoots, we will do it together after I come back.”
“I cannot help but worry. I think we should go back.” Hailun grabbed his hand and said, “Let’s make a good wooden raft with coconut trees.”
“Coconut trees are very heavy so it will be difficult to drag the logs.” Liu Zhenhan said then pulled his hand back and gently patted her shoulder.
“I’m worried about you, cannot you see?” Hailun’s bloodshot eyes were clearly showing her present state of mind: “If something happened to you down there in the crater, I will immediately jump down to help you.”
“No, you cannot do such a risky stunt.” Liu Zhenhan’s heart was moved but he was now a little worried about her, “I am going down with this rope tied to my body to protect me. Jump and you will plunge to your death. So, better not think about such a ridiculous thing.”
“But what if the rope accidentally breaks?” Hailun was still not a.s.sured.
“I have checked its strength multiple times, so relax.” Liu Zhenhan pulled out his machete and his sock then cut a long strip of cloth from his sock. He couldn’t help but remember the day when he first woke up in this world and was in a completely bewildered state, with only a pair of socks remaining on his body.
There were bloodstains on the sock even though Hailun had washed it several times but still couldn’t remove the stains.
He gently held her beautiful red hair and carefully tied her hair up with that strip of cloth.
“Hailun, this is the only thing in this entire world that truly belongs to me, and now I give it you.” Liu Zhenhan said in a serious tone.
Hailun could not restrain the tears rolling down her face. She leaped into his arms and hugged him tightly.
Fruit, who was sitting on his head all this time, suddenly jumped on his arm. Its small eyes were staring at the sock in Liu Zhenhan’s hand.
“Ha ha, you also want a souvenir?” Liu Zhenhan had almost forgotten about the first treasure he discovered in this world. He cut a small piece of cloth out of his sock and tied it around Fruit’s neck. Fruit seemed proud and used its small claws to fiddle with that bloodstained piece of cloth.
“I will go now.” Liu Zhenhan put Fruit on his head and heroically waved his arm.
Fruit tightly gripped his hair and made him grimace in pain.
“Grab tightly, Fruit!” Liu Zhenhan grabbed the rope and jumped down. Hailun was frightened by this scene so much that her face turned pale. She immediately rushed to the edge of the crater and looked down. She saw Liu Zhenhan clutching the rope with his feet supported against the cliff. He was slowly sliding down the rope while constantly using his feet to get support from the cliff.
Hailun felt dizzy and suddenly closed her eyes. She could not bear to see him in such a risky situation and held her breath.
Hailun felt her heart beating like a drum and felt as if her heart would jump out of her mouth.
When Liu Zhenhan safely landed on the ground, she finally heaved a sigh of relief.
“Be careful out there!” Hailun shouted.
Liu Zhenhan waved at her and made a funny face.
Hailun suddenly thought of something and began to sing her own unique battle song, basically the first half of psychic battle song that was used to appease the souls of the dead. Liu Zhenhan was listening to her delicate and delightful voice and felt an indescribable strength surging within his body.
Hailun’s red hair, which was tied up by a bloodstained piece of cloth, was fluttering in strong winds and looked just like a bunch of burning flames of love.