ISWTDB Ch61

Chapter 61: The Primal Beastman World (2, 3)

Beastmen worshipped the Beast God and were bound by certain divine powers and contracts. Ying Zhao realized this was what Xiao Bai had mentioned about the existence of gods. In this world, Ying Zhao’s identity was Ying, a transmigrator.

In his original world, Ying was just an ordinary university teacher, diligently teaching and educating, and was an exemplary person in every way.

However, he fell off a cliff during an accidental hike and then transmigrated to the current world, born in a beastman village of the Tianma tribe.

Although the original owner had transmigrated, since it was a soul transmigration and he grew up in the Tianma tribe, Ying considered the memories before transmigration as a past life, and the current tribe as his home.

Ying was born with a physical defect as a beastman. Although he was male, he couldn’t fully transform into a beast, only barely achieving a half-beast form. Because of this, the village’s high priest deemed him unlucky.

After Ying’s first failed transformation upon reaching adulthood, seeing his mother’s saddened eyes, he never transformed again and remained in human form.

However, possessing a wealth of modern knowledge in his mind, he grew up using his knowledge to help the Tianma tribe.

He taught them to cultivate rice and fruit trees, set traps for hunting, and build proper houses with stones, greatly improving the lives of the beastmen in the Tianma tribe.

Thus, despite his physical defect and being deemed unlucky by the high priest, he was still respected by everyone.

Ying’s gentle personality, patience, and contributions to the village made everyone overlook his physical defect over time. Many beastmen even competed to be his friends, and everyone adored him.

Originally, Ying could live a calm and happy life in the Tianma tribe. However, one day while he was out in the forest, he saved a person who would push him into hell—Bai Lan.

Bai Lan was also a transmigrator, but unlike Ying, he was still wearing modern clothing. Before his transmigration, Bai Lan was an ambitious mercenary in his original world, very cunning and resourceful.

He had fallen unconscious due to an injury before his transmigration, so Ying took care of him for two days. Once Bai Lan’s injuries improved slightly, Ying brought him back to the Tianma tribe’s village.

However, when Bai Lan arrived at the Tianma tribe, he found the village’s environment to be much more developed than he had imagined. At the very least, many of the tools required a certain level of knowledge to design, which should not exist in this primitive, stone-age continent.

Due to this, Bai Lan became suspicious and asked the beastmen in the village. All of them told him that these were taught to them by Ying. Therefore, Bai Lan found Ying and asked if he was also a transmigrator.

At the moment Ying saved Bai Lan, he knew they came from the same world. After living in the beastman world for so many years, Ying wouldn’t deliberately bring it up. However, facing Bai Lan’s doubts, he didn’t hide the truth.

He revealed the truth of his soul transmigration and, feeling a sense of familiarity with Bai Lan for coming from the same place, took extra care of him.

However, Ying didn’t realize that this would be the start of his misfortune. Unknowingly, Ying noticed that the villagers began to look at him with strange and evasive glances.

Sometimes, strange items appeared in his house. Later, he was accused of theft due to these items. The beastmen of the Tianma tribe, unable to endure the constant loss of items, came to him, accusing him of being a habitual thief.

Ying didn’t know how these items appeared in his home and couldn’t deny it, so rumors about his poor character began to spread.

Moreover, the high priest, who previously deemed him unlucky during his failed transformation, once again brought up old matters, causing the villagers to recall past events. As a result, Ying’s popularity in the village plummeted.

People no longer trusted Ying, and even most of his past friends distanced themselves from him, which made him very sad. However, the misfortune didn’t end there.

One day, Bai Lan invited Ying to his home for a meal. For Ying, Bai Lan was one of the few friends still willing to befriend him, so he naturally didn’t refuse.

However, after arriving at Bai Lan’s home and having a meal, he lost consciousness. When he awoke again, he found himself by a river next to the village.

Next to him lay a dead female, who had clearly been assaulted before her death. In a moment of panic, Ying didn’t know how to react, but before he could do anything, the villagers arrived at the scene.

Upon seeing this, everyone concluded that Ying must have forcibly killed the female. In the beastman world, females were incredibly precious, and any male committing such a crime could never be easily forgiven.

After reading through the entire plot, Ying realized the tragic reason behind his fate. In this world, fate had designated Bai Lan as the protagonist.

Bai Lan, after transmigrating, always felt superior to the indigenous barbarians and wanted to use his advantage to dominate the continent. However, Ying’s selfless dedication to the tribe and his pure kindness obstructed Bai Lan’s ambitions. Thus, Bai Lan plotted against Ying, successfully framing him and ultimately burning him alive in front of the entire Tianma tribe.

With Ying gone, the Tianma tribe struggled without his knowledge of modern technology. Bai Lan, using his partial knowledge and some manipulative tactics, appeared to perform miracles and was revered by the villagers as a messenger sent by the Beast God.

Not content with just that, Bai Lan allied with the Winged tribe, the most martial and powerful race, sacrificing the Tianma people to gain their support. With the aura of a chosen one, Bai Lan and the Winged tribe leader, Lin, became allies and conquered the entire beastman continent together.

Once Bai Lan gained immense prestige among the Winged tribe, he betrayed Lin, eliminating him to become the sole ruler of the entire continent.

Having finished the storyline, Ying Zhao furrowed his brow deeply. Ambition wasn’t inherently bad, but Bai Lan’s ruthless willingness to sacrifice others for personal gain, especially after Ying had saved his life, was unforgivable. 

Turning the Tianma people into slaves of the Winged tribe and his overall selfish cruelty were qualities that, in Ying Zhao’s personal judgment, were far from deserving to be the ruler of a continent.

Ying Zhao thought for a moment and asked Xiao Bai in his mind, “Xiao Bai, what is Ying’s wish?”

Xiao Bai immediately replied, “Ying’s wish is for the Tianma tribe’s beastmen not to be enslaved and to live peacefully and happily. He also senses Bai Lan’s cruel and selfish nature, so he doesn’t want him to dominate this continent.”

Hearing this, Ying Zhao lowered his eyes, thinking that Ying was truly excessively kind. However, since the Tianma tribe was where he had grown up, where his closest friends and family were, it made sense that Ying would have such a wish to protect his loved ones.

Reviewing the original owner’s memories, Ying Zhao realized that he had arrived at the timeline just after meeting Bai Lan, who had saved him. At that moment, Bai Lan was already in a cave, and Ying was fetching water for him.

It annoyed Ying Zhao to think that he had fallen into the water just to get this scoundrel some water to drink. Fortunately, his own man happened to pass by; otherwise, he didn’t know what would have happened. But given that this little world was a beastman world, he wondered what his man’s beast form was like.

Curious, Ying Zhao opened his eyes and pretended to wake up, sitting up and moving closer to the campfire. He looked at the man who was focused on roasting meat and softly said, “Thank you for saving me. My name is Ying. What’s your name?”

The man turned to look at him, picked up a piece of meat, cut it with a stone knife to check if it was fully cooked, and wrapped it in leaves before handing it to Ying. Then he spoke one word, “Yan.”

Ying Zhao blinked, realizing that the man was telling him his name was Yan. He nodded and smiled brightly at Yan, saying, “Thank you, Yan!”

Then, Ying Zhao lowered his head and took a big bite of the meat in his hands. It was only after tasting it that he realized Yan had given him plain roasted meat with no seasoning.

The Tianma tribe members were omnivorous, so they ate both fruits and meat. Before Ying could go outside, the tribe only knew very simple cooking methods.

It wasn’t until Ying grew older that he found salt crystals and some plants that could be used as seasoning in the forest, and only then did the beastmen of the Tianma tribe begin to enjoy food with various flavors and seasonings.

Thus, even for the original owner’s taste, eating such tasteless meat wasn’t exactly delicious. However, Ying Zhao understood that, after all, the only ones receiving help from Ying were the Tianma tribe.

Other races mostly still lived a primitive lifestyle, so Yan roasting food for himself was already a significant care for Ying.

Moreover, in this primitive world, there was no pollution. While the meat’s original flavor wasn’t top-notch, it definitely wouldn’t be inedible.

Since Ying Zhao had already eaten fruits earlier, he felt full after finishing the meat in his hands. When Yan offered him more meat, he shook his head and said, “I can’t eat anymore.”

Upon hearing this, Yan frowned, scrutinizing Ying Zhao carefully and glancing at his stomach as if to confirm whether he was really full from just this much. After Ying Zhao nodded firmly again, Yan reluctantly swallowed the meat in his hands.

When Yan finished eating, he took out a few freshly picked herbs, chewed them, spat them out after crushing them, and then approached Ying Zhao.

Ying Zhao was unsure of what Yan was going to do, but he trusted his man implicitly and knew Yan wouldn’t harm him. So when Yan came closer, Ying Zhao remained still and watched as Yan applied the crushed herbs onto a wound on his forehead.

Ying Zhao couldn’t help but hiss in pain. It dawned on him that when he fell into the water, he had been hit by rocks and wood, leaving him injured on his forehead.

Normally, with the beastmen’s strong healing abilities, minor bumps and bruises didn’t require herbal treatment. However, Ying Zhao hadn’t realized his forehead had been grazed badly enough to need attention.

It seemed the herbs Yan had applied were gathered from outside. Watching Yan carefully tend to his injury, Ying Zhao was curious. He plucked a small leaf from a batch of herbs nearby that Yan hadn’t used yet and tasted it.

The bitter, tangy flavor immediately filled his mouth, causing Ying Zhao to gag involuntarily. Thinking back to how calmly Yan had chewed the herbs moments ago, and how Yan had even carefully found soft beast skin for him to rest on, Ying Zhao felt a surge of indescribable gratitude.

Blushing slightly, Ying Zhao thanked Yan, who didn’t respond much beyond silently observing him for a while before turning to sit at the cave entrance, seemingly resting with his eyes closed.

Ying Zhao smiled contentedly at Yan’s silhouette under the setting sun. Despite the rough start in this new world and the unexpected events, he was grateful to be reunited with Yan.

As he thought about this, propping his head up with his hands and watching Yan, the effects of the medicine or perhaps the exertion from struggling in the river soon made Ying Zhao feel very sleepy. He lay down on the makeshift straw bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Once Yan confirmed that Ying Zhao had fallen asleep, he quietly approached him again. He pursed his lips, gazing at Ying Zhao for a while.

Then, leaning closer, their noses almost touching, they could sense each other’s breaths. Yan sniffed lightly, taking in Ying Zhao’s scent, and a faint blush appeared on his usually stern face.

Yan lay directly on the hard stone floor, gazing motionless at Ying Zhao’s sleeping face. Seeing Ying Zhao peacefully asleep, Yan reached out and poked his finger gently at Ying Zhao’s cheek.

The soft touch seemed to lift Yan’s spirits, and the corners of his usually tense mouth curved up slightly. Before long, he also closed his eyes and fell asleep beside Ying Zhao.

Ying Zhao had no idea how long he had slept. When he finally woke up, he felt that his body had recovered significantly, especially his forehead, which no longer hurt.

This quick recovery was largely thanks to the beastmen’s astonishing healing abilities. In any other world, it would be impossible for his body to recover so swiftly after sustaining continuous injuries in the river.

However, when he woke up and looked around, Yan was not in the cave. Puzzled, Ying Zhao stood up and walked toward the cave entrance.

Just as he reached the mouth of the cave, he froze in fear and fell to the ground. He hadn’t expected the cave to be built precariously on a cliff.

Looking down at the scene below, he realized the cave entrance was at least a hundred meters above the ground. Although not extremely high, a fall would definitely be fatal.

He looked up and saw that the cliff above was even more towering. Next to the cave entrance hung many sturdy-looking vines that appeared to be manmade.

Though more than half of the beastmen in the Tianma tribe had wings, Ying Zhao knew the original host could only transform partially. So, he wasn’t clear on what the original host’s beast form was or if it had any flying capabilities.

He quickly stepped back from this dangerous spot and crouched down, peering over the edge of the cave entrance.

Wondering how Yan could have left to hunt from such a high cave, he recalled that in the original host’s memories, there was a race known for nesting on cliffs—the fierce Winged Tribe.

The beastmen of the Winged Tribe all had wings when transformed. Their beast forms were mostly akin to giant hawks, significantly larger than those in ordinary worlds.

With their broad wings, the wind they generated when flapping could serve as a weapon. Their beast forms featured sharp beaks and claws, somewhat resembling those of a Roc.

Ying Zhao suddenly realized that if Yan were indeed his lover, it stood to reason that he would possess some degree of flaw in his beast form.

But clearly, in human form, Yan seemed perfectly fine. So, if his human form had no issues, the problem likely lay with his beast form.

Given the vines he had seen earlier, if Yan were truly of the Winged Tribe, then it was likely he, like the original host, could only partially transform or had some issue with his wings.

Ying Zhao sighed at this thought. Regardless of the problem, as long as Yan was his man, he didn’t mind at all.

Looking at the towering cliff outside, Ying Zhao decided to retreat back into the cave and wait for Yan to return. He touched his forehead, where the medicinal paste had dried, and walked over to the stone water jar in the cave, wanting to splash some water on his face.

However, as he leaned closer to the water’s surface and caught a glimpse of his reflection, he was stunned. He realized that his appearance in this world bore a striking resemblance to his original form after transformation.

However, his skin was even paler, and all his hair, including his eyebrows and eyelashes, was silver-white. Despite the unsightly greenish medicine residue on his forehead, his extraordinary beauty was still evident. Especially with his silver-white long hair and pointed ears, Ying Zhao resembled an elf-like figure.

Ying Zhao scooped up some water to wash his face, rinsing off the greenish medicine residue from his forehead. He found that the wound had healed almost completely. Looking again at his reflection in the basin, Ying Zhao blushed slightly.

After all, seeing a reflection that closely resembled his transformed appearance in other small worlds, yet with his own features, was a different experience. Moreover, with this different appearance, Ying Zhao even found himself somewhat attractive.

Curious about the original host’s beast form, Ying Zhao turned to Xiao Bai in his consciousness and asked, “Xiao Bai, do you know what the original host looked like after partial transformation?”

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Bai replied, “Host, I’m not too sure about the specifics. But it seems the original host’s partial beast form was somewhat similar to your beast form.”

Ying Zhao blinked at Xiao Bai’s words, then thought about his own beast form. He furrowed his brows slightly, feeling that with his control over his own beast form, there was nothing more to worry about.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard rustling sounds from outside the cave. Shortly after, Ying Zhao saw Yan coming into the cave, holding onto vines.

When Yan saw Ying Zhao standing at the cave entrance staring at him, he paused briefly. Walking over to Ying Zhao, Yan glanced at the completely healed wound on his forehead, then gently pressed his hand against the area around Ying Zhao’s waist where he had been most injured earlier, asking, “Does it still hurt?”

Ying Zhao shook his head at Yan’s question, then smiled gently at him, saying, “It doesn’t hurt anymore. Thank you for taking care of me.”

Yan nodded, tossing the freshly caught prey onto the ground and taking out his stone knife to prepare it. Ying Zhao crouched down next to Yan and continued to ask him, “Yan, how do you live on such a towering cliff? Are you a beastman of the Winged Tribe?”

Yan turned his head to look at Ying Zhao, nodded, and did not deny his identity.