Under One Person: Rebuilding the Glory of the Beast Master

In the evening, Liu Hua cooked a table full of dishes.

A table was laden with dishes including stir-fried cured pork with garlic sprouts, braised pork belly, stewed pig's trotters, pickled cabbage with glass noodles, cabbage and tofu soup, and sausages.

If Zeng Su hadn't told his grandmother not to cook, Liu Hua would have cooked another table of dishes; she was willing to give up anything for her grandson.

"My grandson has left, and I don't know when I'll see him again. What if we don't eat well? What if we eat bad food outside?" Liu Hua muttered as she cooked, her words filled with affection.

Zeng Su was helping his grandmother with her work, occasionally making her laugh. That's life.

Zeng Qingan opened a jar of old wine, which he had saved for his 80th birthday. However, he couldn't resist opening it, and today is the perfect day to drink it.

Originally, the plan was to gather all the clan members together to send Zeng Su off in a lively ceremony, but unfortunately, something happened in the village, so it was kept simple and only family members were present.

"Runguo, please take good care of yourself on the journey." Zeng Qing'an picked up his wine glass, looked at Zeng Runguo, and said, "I'm entrusting Su'er to you."

Zeng Runguo also picked up his bowl and clinked it against his: "Uncle, don't worry. Even if I lose my life, I will make sure Su'er is safely delivered to Sanyi Gate."

The two of them tilted their heads back and downed the wine in their bowls.

Liu Hua wiped away her tears while piling food into Zeng Su's bowl, making it look like a small mountain.

"Grandma, I can't eat anymore," Zeng Su said.

"You have to eat, even if you can't!" Liu Hua picked up another piece of meat with her chopsticks. "You won't find such good food on the road. You have to eat your fill before you go."

Zeng Runzu sat at the corner of the table, drinking silently with his head down. He was usually the most talkative, but today he was the quietest.

Zeng Su glanced at him but said nothing.

He knew why Uncle Runzu was like this—Dahua was dead, and he was heartbroken, and as her nephew, he was leaving tomorrow, which made him even more heartbroken.

"Uncle Runzu," Zeng Su suddenly spoke.

Zeng Runzu raised his head, his eyes a little red.

"I remember about Da Hua!" Zeng Su said. "When I come back from Sanyi Gate, I'll get you a beast just like Da Hua."

Zeng Runzu was stunned for a moment, then laughed, his eyes reddening even more.

"Alright." He picked up his wine bowl. "Uncle will be waiting for you."

"Auntie, after I leave, you'll be the one taking care of everything at home." Zeng Su then looked at the woman beside him, who was Zeng Runzu's wife.

"What are you saying? We're a family!" The aunt's eyes were also red and teary.

Zeng Su did not sleep that night.

He called Baijiahei out of its den and took it for a walk around the village.

The moonlight was beautiful, and the snow shimmered with a silvery-white light, illuminating the entire village.

Bai Jiahei walked beside him, his massive body like a moving mountain, but his footsteps were very light, making only a soft rustling sound on the snow.

They walked past the ancestral hall, past the threshing ground, past the low wall surrounding the village, and past the battlefield stained with blood and then covered by snow again.

Baijiahei suddenly stopped, sniffed the air, and let out a low hum.

"You remember this place too." Zeng Su patted its head. "What happened yesterday won't be forgotten."

Bai Jiahei nudged his hand with his head.

Zeng Su leaned against the warm, cozy body of Bai Jiahei, looking up at the starry sky. The winter night sky over Daqingshan was exceptionally clear, with countless stars covering the entire sky like a handful of diamonds scattered on a black velvet cloth.

He suddenly remembered something.

He has been in this world for eight years, and he has been busy practicing his skills, raising pigs, and accumulating trump cards. He has never really looked at this starry sky.

It's not that I don't want to watch, it's that I'm afraid to watch.

He was afraid that if he looked at it, he would be reminded of those days in his past life that he could never go back to.

But it's different now.

He has a grandfather, a grandmother, a family that works day and night, and the entire Zeng family village. He is no longer the corporate slave who sits in an office building working overtime until late at night; he is Zeng Su, Zeng Su of Zeng family village, the successor of the beastly master.

"White plus black." He patted the giant beast beside him. "Tomorrow we're going on a long journey. To a place called Sanyi Gate, where there are many powerful people, far more powerful than that Golden Light Master."

Baijiahei snorted, indicating that he didn't care.

"Once we get there, you must behave and not scare people. We can't cause trouble."

Bai Jiahei snorted again, this time with a hint of resentment. Bai Jiahei was no good; he loved bullying people in the village, especially the children, who had suffered at his hands many times.

Zeng Su laughed and patted its belly: "Alright, alright, I know you're amazing. But there are always people better than you, and there's always something beyond that. You need to understand that."

Baijiahei stopped snorting, closed its eyes, and rested its head on its front hooves, looking like it was saying, "You're right, but I just won't listen."

Zeng Su smiled and shook his head, then took the wooden plaque out of his pocket.

He tried to infuse his Qi into it, and the fluorescent light on the surface of the wooden plaque lit up. A blurry space unfolded in his consciousness—not large, probably only the size of a room, but big enough to fit White Plus Black inside.

He tried it, and with a thought, Bai Jiahei's enormous body transformed into a beam of light and disappeared into the wooden sign without a trace.

Then, with a thought, Bai Jiahei reappeared on the snow, shook its head, and let out a dissatisfied groan, as if to say, "It's too cramped inside."

"Bear with it, once I've gathered enough Qi, I'll get you a big house," Zeng Su said with a smile.

The space of the wooden plaque is related to the strength of one's own Qi; the stronger the Qi, the larger the space that can be opened.

He tried a few more times, going in and out, until Bai Jiahei got a little annoyed. After the last time he came out, he simply lay down on the ground and didn't move, turning his back to him in protest.

Zeng Su laughed twice, put the wooden sign away, and patted Bai Jiahei's bottom: "Alright, that's enough, let's go back to sleep."

Baijiahei stood up, flicked its tail, and walked back.

After his attempts, he found that only beasts could be placed in the space of the wooden plaque; other things could not be put in, not even clothes covered Bai Jiahei's body.

However, if Bai and Hei bite or swallow the item, it can be stored in the wooden plaque. This is a small bug, but it's quite valuable to exploit.

When Zeng Su arrived at his doorstep, he saw that the light in the main room was still on.

He pushed open the door and went in. Zeng Qing'an was sitting in a grand chair, holding a pipe with the tobacco already extinguished.

"Grandpa, you're still awake?"

"I can't sleep." Zeng Qing'an put his pipe on the table, looked at Zeng Su, and said, "Come, sit down."

Zeng Su sat down opposite his grandfather.

The grandfather and grandson stared at each other for a moment, neither of them speaking.

The charcoal fire crackled and popped inside, warming the room and casting two shadows on the wall, one large and one small, one tall and one short.

"Su'er," Zeng Qing'an spoke first.

"Um."

Are you scared?

Zeng Su thought for a moment, then shook his head: "I'm not afraid."

"Why aren't you afraid?" Zeng Qing'an asked. "You're only eight years old. You're going to go to such a far place by yourself, to a place where nobody knows you, to learn skills from a group of strangers. Any other child would have been terrified and crying by now."

Zeng Su was silent for a moment, then said, "Because I know that Grandpa is more afraid than I am."

Zeng Qingan was stunned.

"Grandpa was worried about my safety staying here, worried that the Quanxing people would come again, worried that something might happen to me." Zeng Su looked into his grandfather's eyes, his voice not loud but steady, "That's why Grandpa wanted to send me away. Since Grandpa has already worried for me, then I don't need to be afraid anymore."

Zeng Qingan's eyes immediately reddened.

He turned his head and quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, afraid that his grandson would see.

"You child..." His voice choked up, and he couldn't continue.

After a while, he calmed down, picked up a pipe from the table, stuffed in a pinch of tobacco, lit it, and took a deep drag.

Smoke rose slowly under the lamplight, like a thin veil separating the grandfather and grandson into two different worlds.

"Your father passed away early," Zeng Qing'an said in a low voice, as if talking to himself. "Your mother didn't make it through the birth of you either. Over the years, your grandmother has treated you like her own life, and so have I. Sometimes I dream that you've grown up, that you've become the most successful person in the Zeng family, that the Zeng family has turned its fortunes around in your hands—but when I wake up, I see that you're still this young."

He stretched out his hand to indicate that it was not much higher than the edge of the table.

"I wondered, was I too hasty? Should I not have let you start practicing martial arts at such a young age? Should I have let you run around and play like the other children in the village, climbing on roofs and having a few years of peace and quiet?"

Zeng Qingan took another drag of his cigarette, the smoke blurring his face.

"But I dare not. This world is not peaceful, and neither is Daqingshan. The bandits' guns can be fired at any time, and even the Quanxing Sect has come. I'm afraid that if I let go, you will be gone. I'm afraid that before I have a chance to teach you anything, you will be gone—"

He paused for a moment, then didn't continue.

Zeng Su didn't speak, but just quietly looked at his grandfather.

"That's why I'm sending you away." Zeng Qing'an tapped his pipe, letting the ash fall into the charcoal fire with a hiss. "The Sanyi Sect is a prestigious and righteous sect with strict rules and countless masters. You'll be safer there than at home. You'll also learn more skills there than at home."

He raised his head and looked at Zeng Su, his eyes filled with an almost resolute determination.

"Su'er, remember this," he said, enunciating each word clearly, "The Zeng family's beastly arts are at the bottom of the supernatural world, not because the skills themselves are inferior, but because the Zeng family members are incompetent. But you are different; you are the biggest variable in the Zeng family's two hundred years. That wooden plaque, the white and black, and your innate supernatural ability—all of these combined are the Zeng family's hope for a comeback."

"grandfather--"

"Let me finish," Zeng Qing'an waved his hand. "I don't want you to do anything for the Zeng family, nor do I want you to bring glory to the family, nor do I want you to stand out from the crowd. I just want you to live, to live well. As long as you are alive, the Zeng family line will continue. Your grandmother and I can close our eyes in peace."

The main room fell silent, with only the crackling of the charcoal fire.

Looking at his grandfather's gray hair, the deep and shallow wrinkles on his face, and his fingers yellowed from smoke, Zeng Su suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

He held back.

"Grandpa, I've got it," he said.

Zeng Qingan nodded, tucked the pipe back into his waistband, and stood up.

"Go to sleep, we have a long journey ahead tomorrow."

"Grandpa, go to bed early too."

Zeng Su stood up and walked towards his room. When he reached the door, he stopped and turned around.

"grandfather."

"Um?"

"I will definitely become very strong."

Zeng Qingan looked at him and smiled.

"I know."

The next day, before dawn, Zeng Su woke up.

He dressed, folded his blankets, and carefully put the wooden plaque away from his body. Then he went to the backyard to check on the "White and Black" sign.

Baijiahei had already woken up and was lying in its nest gnawing on a big bone. When it saw him coming, it dropped the bone, stood up, and nudged his hand with its head.

Pigs are omnivores, and Baijiahei prefers meat to vegetables. However, Baijiahei doesn't eat pork; cannibalism is a bit abnormal, no matter how you look at it. The bone it's gnawing on is a cow bone, which Zeng Qing'an specially brought back for it.

"We're setting off today." Zeng Su patted its head. "You stay in the wooden sign for now, and I'll let you out when we get there."

Bai Jiahei snorted and nodded reluctantly.

Zeng Su put the white and black plaque into the wooden plaque, then turned and went back to the main room.

Breakfast was already laid out on the table—millet porridge, pickled vegetables, steamed buns, and a plate of thinly sliced ​​cured meat.

Liu Hua stood in front of the stove with her back to him, her shoulders trembling as she secretly cried.

"Grandma." Zeng Su walked over and tugged at her sleeve.

Liu Hua quickly wiped her eyes, turned around, and forced a smile: "My dear grandson, eat your breakfast quickly, the porridge won't taste good if it gets cold."

Zeng Su sat down, picked up the bowl of porridge, and drank it spoonful by spoonful. For some reason, the porridge tasted exceptionally good today, and he couldn't get enough of it.

Liu Hua sat opposite him, watching him drink his porridge, and tears fell again. She wiped them with the back of her hand, but more tears fell; she wiped them again, but more fell.

"Grandma, don't cry." Zeng Su put down the porridge bowl and reached out to wipe the tears from his grandmother's face. "It's not like I'm not coming back."

"Grandma didn't cry," Liu Hua sniffed. "Grandma just... just got sand in her eyes."

Zeng Su did not expose her.

As dawn broke, Zeng Runguo led two mules to the gate. The mules carried two bundles on their backs, containing dry rations, a change of clothes, and valuables.

For traveling, mules are the best choice compared to horses because they have much better endurance, can carry more loads, and are more docile.

Of course, in the hands of the people of Zengjiazhuang, whether it's a horse or a mule, they are all very obedient.

"Is everything ready?" Zeng Runguo asked.

"Alright," Zeng Su said.

He turned around and looked at the main room, the stove, the cured meat and dried vegetables hanging on the wall, and the small stool he had sat on for eight years.

Then he went outside and stood in the courtyard.

Zeng Qingan stood at the gate of the courtyard, holding a pipe in his hand.

"Grandpa." Zeng Su walked over.

"Mmm," Zeng Qing'an responded, reaching out to give Zeng Su's head a firm rub.

"Listen to your Uncle Runguo's advice on the road."

"Um."

"Once you arrive at Sanyi Gate, learn diligently from your masters."

"Um."

"Write back if anything happens."

"Um."

"Eat your fill and stay warm, don't skimp on money."

"Um."

Zeng Qing'an removed his hand from Zeng Su's head, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded.

"Let's go."

Zeng Su took one last look at his grandfather, then turned and walked to the mule, where Zeng Runguo lifted him onto its back.

The mule snorted and, led by Zeng Runguo, started walking out of the village.

Zeng Su sat on the mule's back and turned around.

Zeng Qing'an stood motionless at the courtyard gate, like a stone statue. The morning light shone from behind him, casting a long, long shadow.

Liu Hua chased after him from the main room and ran to the courtyard gate, where Zeng Qing'an grabbed her.

"Stop chasing," Zeng Qingan said.

Liu Hua stood there, covering her mouth, tears streaming down her face.

And so I watched as the two figures grew smaller and smaller, more and more blurry, until they finally became two small black dots and melted into the white morning mist.