Chapter 21 - Boundaries

In the forest, a man flew through the brush like a shadow in the night. With his dark wooden bow and black clothes he blended into the darkness.

His demeanor was that of a Nocturnal Predator, out on the hunt. His eyes sweeping the ground as he moved. He followed the minute traces in his surroundings and the smell of blood in the air, following his prey.

A large beast, akin to a hybrid deer-camel, stumbled as it weaved it's way through the woods not far from him. It's speed, despite it's injuries, was nothing to scoff at. The movement of this bulky animal was comparable to the fastest Cheetah, and it's endurance was clearly superior to them as well.

...

I had journeyed for almost two days, tracking a Guanpok as it moved about the forest.

We clashed briefly on the first encounter before it ran, I managed to catch up twice after, but neither time could I land a killing blow.

The animal was nimble, in the chase, we approached the Demon's border a number of times. Thankfully, it never crossed over.

Most animals never dare cross the border due to the aura, but one can never be certain what they might do in desperation. We had again drawn near to the border, I could feel the Demonic Aura in the air, but I had no choice but to continue the chase.

A single Guanpok could supply the entire village with meat for a few days, the equivalent of months of work to your average gatherer, passing up the opportunity to get one would be to let both oneself and others go hungry. I could not simply let it go due to a little risk.

Looking down on the ground, I saw the Guanpok's fresh and bloodied tracks.

'Rustle rustle rustle'

It seemed to be nearby, good.

I rush towards the direction of the noise, quickly drawing an arrow.

The enormous body of the Guanpok surged out of the brush in front of me, it's large pointed antlers lowered and ramming towards me.

'fwit'

The arrow pierced the Guanpok's ribs, piercing directly towards it's heart. The creatures eyes betrayed a hint of despair and it stumbled, allowing me the chance to dodge past it.

'Finally!'

I ran through the brush to catch up to it in excitement, my blade drawn to finish it. When I found it, it had already fallen still on the ground. My blade flashed through the air and buried itself into the Guanpok's eye. The beast seized for a moment then fell limp again.

I stepped up to dismantle the body of the beast, but as I hovered over it, I stopped dead in my tracks.

'The Demon marks!'

On each of the trees around me, peculiar Marks began to appear upon their surface as a Demonic Aura arose rapidly in the surroundings.

Seeing these Marks, the hairs on the back of my neck rose up. I felt the Symbol on my forehead heat up slightly, as it reacted to the evil nature of the Demon Marks.

I backed away hastily, any person who crosses or leaves the borders was destined to die. The mark heating up, meant a Demon would come for you.

When your training, they remind you often, and you remind yourself often, to never ever cross that border.

No one could ever forget the scene of the Demon dragging those they knew into the village, the sight of them slowly torn to pieces and eaten alive.

Sweat ran down my back, I instinctively looked towards the shadows, feeling as if it were staring back at me.

Panic took over and my mind went blank for a moment before I calmed myself down.

I already crossed the border, should I just keep going?

If I am going to be pursued either way, I might as well try to escape.

Or should I go back to the village, hoping I wasn't noticed?

..If any human were to cross the Demon's border in the forest, they would soon find themselves in the hungry mouths of a Demon.

Everyone knew it was their destiny to eventually be eaten by the Demons, both in body and soul, but none would be willing to rush to this fate! I for one wished to stay away from that eternal fate for as long as possible.

Though, there was likely no longer a choice for me to avoid that fate any longer.

If I was going to die, might as well give something to the others before it happens.

There was a chance the Demons would simply ignore my trespassing here if I turned back, but if I ran out past the border, I would certainly be dead.

I wouldn't even know where to go.

So long as I pretend nothing wrong had happened and head back, perhaps they would not notice it was me who crossed the border. Perhaps the Demons would be too lazy to follow up, or perhaps they would think it was a mistake.

All I know is.. even if I escaped by some miracle, I still wouldn't survive outside.

I dragged the Guanpok back behind the border once again, skinning and taking what meat I could quickly and putting it away in my ruck. Then I promptly buried what remains were left over, covering up my tracks as best I could.

Securing my ruck and the rest of my belongings, I quickly left towards the village.

No one could ever know when a Demon was truly following them, the Demon would wait and drive their victims into a spiral of negative emotions before going in for the kill. Sometimes they would simply

Because of this, when hunted by a Demon, keeping a calm mind will allow you to live longer, everyone knows this.

I had seen Demons torment, murder, and eat people in the village before.

They would put on such demonstrations from time to time, to make certain no one forgets them.

In my mind the image of my uncle who was dragged to the village trade ground surfaced. The image of him being pulled apart and slowly eaten alive as he screamed overlapped with my own image and a cold sweat went down my back.

Despite this, I continued to head back towards the village. My feet moved by themselves though my thoughts dwelled on the circumstance, despite my trying to clear them from my mind.

'Maybe they really didn't notice I had left? Or does it just take them longer to arrive? Maybe I should head back and try to escape? But could I ever make it by myself?'

As I walked into the village, my head held low, I heard a man approach me.

"Hello young man! Good day!"

My body shook as the man addressed me, his voice seemed to carry a thick layer of Qi, turning to look at him, I felt his Qi was unfathomable.

'Had I ever met anyone so strong before? Even the Village Chief never held such a presence, who is this? ..I should try my best to act normally, I don't want to stand out, it is not like I was the only one out in the forest today.'

'This.. couldn't be a demon in disguise, could it? No, Demons don't even use Qi in the way Humans do.'

"I am not of any particular tribe, but I am a Wandering Loremaster, yes."

"Ah, I see, do all Loremasters have such strength?"

The man gave me a smile which seemed all too sinister, "Of course, one must have sufficient strength to traverse the Great Circle on their own. A wandering Beast could easily lead one to death. The dangers are plentiful, but spreading knowledge of our ancestors is reward itself for the troubles."

Looking in the man's eyes, I felt as though it were a Demon staring back.

By all rights Wandering Loremasters are the most righteous and kind people one could meet. But this Loremaster felt.. wrong.

Perhaps it was my own paranoia, but regardless I did not want to talk to this man.

"Would you like to hear the words of our Ancestors, my boy?"

"Ah.. no thanks, nice to meet you Loremaster. I need to sell my fresh Guanpok meat at the market, while it is still fresh, so~ goodbye."

I made way to the market square and found Auntie Osina bartering tent.

"Auntie! Look at this haul I brought!"

Auntie looked up from the wood slate she was carving and looked over at me, her large, muscular, slightly pudgy body, was as intimidating as ever, her tired eyes exuded strength.

"Cht, just show me what you got, boy!"

I laid out all I had gathered together with the Guanpok Meat I had wrapped in the skin. Auntie looked over what I had brought over and sighed.

"It's a great haul! There are plenty of kids hungry due to all the lazy elders like myself here. This should help a lot for some of the weaker ones. The Guanpok has just a trace of Qi, but not too much that it would harm them.

Maybe some will be able to cultivate to the first layer with the help of this. More cultivators, means less food upkeep. Bahahah, good job!!

The Guanpok isn't whole, but with the current situation it is worth more.. for everything here together, I will give you a Guanpok Slate and two Gatherer's Slates. Roughly eighty servings worth. Fair?"

I shook my head, I would most likely be a dead man soon. No need to contribute my Slates to the Demon's Stomach, it would be better to just leave them with Auntie and the kids.. Still, in case it does overlook me, might be good to keep a bit.

"I only need the Gatherer's Slates Auntie, my Guanpok Slate can be a donation to the children."

Her eyes shone as I said it, yet she hollered out, "Boy, shut up and take your Guanpok Slate. Those children will get all they need one way or another, I make sure of that. Those slates are just a way to keep those old depressed bastards sitting outside the village from taking what they don't deserve."

I shook my head, "Auntie, if I were to die, then those lazy fellows would simply claim what I brought back for themselves. I don't need much with my 7th layer cultivation. I can go months on just the Gatherer's Slates."

"Why the heck are you talking about dying? We could all die at any time, that sort of thing doesn't matter. I told you take it, so take it. And while you are at it, go check in with Chief. That wandering loremaster treated him. He's just beginning to recover, yet already barking out orders. Says he has urgent orders for all able bodies~"

"Ugh. Chief? He takes up more rations than anyone, and does nothing to help anyone either! How did he get such a great cultivation? Obviously, because he stole from others and hoards all of the good food for himself. So what if he has orders, he can do it himself!"

"Shush, don't talk bad about the Chief. You may not like it, but the fact we can live here is because he is here to keep the larger beasts away!

The Chief's very existence protects us. And besides that, he could snuff out your life in an instant. That should be reason enough for you to at least feign some respect for him."

"Tcht. I speak bad to that old man all the time, he can't do anything about it. He is too scared the Demons will get mad about him wasting their food. His real job is just to watch over us, to make sure we don't die before they want us to, their Caves can't lack in our Meat after all."

"Ugh, whatever, go or don't. Don't say I didnt warn you. Just get out of here, I have things to do."

I nodded and started walking towards home when I saw something I couldn't believe.

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