WBICDPH Chapter 5 Part 1

Chapter 5: Kindred Misery

The senior sister’s words, carried by spiritual power, spread clearly in all directions and reached everyone’s ears. The surroundings fell into silence at once. Dozens of eyes fixed on Lin Jin, probing gazes that seemed ready to pierce straight through him.

In the deathlike stillness, even the faint sound of someone in a corner pushing a sword halfway out of its sheath was clearly audible.

Xiao Lanqi, hidden inside Lin Jin’s robes, ground his teeth softly in vigilance.

Idiot. He just exposed me like that.

The situation was extremely tricky. This human, surnamed Lin, was ignorant enough to treat him like a dog, but the others were not so foolish. If he revealed himself, his identity might be discovered, and that would only lead to a chain of endless trouble.

Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be anyone around who was particularly difficult to deal with. He had spent the entire night yesterday recuperating his meridians and had accumulated a bit of spiritual power. Dealing with this group of small fry would be more than enough. He could simply finish them off and escape afterward—though it would be a pity to abandon this “furnace.” If he had to carry such a useless burden, he might not be able to leave Yanyu Mountain unscathed.

After a brief calculation, Xiao Lanqi narrowed his eyes slightly.

He could sense that, at this very moment, some humans were already unable to restrain themselves and were probing with spiritual energy…

A flash of blue-green light flickered in Xiao Lanqi’s eyes as he prepared to strike. But just then, he suddenly heard a foolish voice say something earth-shattering right in front of everyone:

“Yes! Yes, it’s a demonic beast! Because—I—am a beast tamer!”

He said it forcefully and clearly, his voice even echoing faintly.

After a few seconds of silence, the area erupted in astonished murmurs. The looks directed at Lin Jin shifted from suspicion and vigilance to admiration.

Beast taming was an extremely rare ability. Beast tamers did not control gentle spirit beasts, but ferocious demons and monsters with terrifying combat power. This path required immense cultivation, an extraordinarily steady mind, and an affinity far beyond ordinary people. One wrong step, and the result would be utter ruin.

Compared to swords, talismans, or formations, this path was far more dangerous. Anyone daring to choose it was a once-in-ten-thousand genius with both body and mind of exceptional resilience.

“Beast taming?! I heard those words! Where’s the beast tamer?!”

On the Green Jade Platform of Yanyu Mountain, several elders were gathered together, watching the training grounds through a monitoring formation.

A slovenly old man arrived late. His Daoist robe was filthy and torn, and he held a roasted chicken leg in his hand, grease sizzling and dripping.

He squeezed right up to the spirit mirror, plopped down cross-legged, and took a huge bite of the chicken leg while watching, mumbling through a mouthful of meat,
“Good, good. I haven’t seen a beast tamer among the entry disciples in decades. If I don’t take in a disciple soon, once I kick the bucket, the beast-taming path of Yanyu Mountain will die out.”

Smacking his lips, the old man slapped his thigh decisively.
“I want this kid!”

A young woman sitting on a bench, holding a round fan, covered her mouth and laughed.
“Old man, he hasn’t even entered the trial realm yet, and you’re already calling dibs. Isn’t that a bit hasty?”

“Hasty?” the old man snorted.
“Then you find me someone willing to learn beast taming! Go on, go on! It’s already impressive that the kid has this kind of resolve. Even if he’s only at the third level of Qi Refinement, I’m taking him!”

The woman curled her lips. “You beast tamers don’t only look at cultivation anyway. Stop trying to scare me. If you ask me, you should first see what kind of contracted beast he’s carrying.”

That remark reminded the old man—and the other elders as well.

For a moment, the Green Jade Platform fell silent. Everyone watched the spirit mirror with anticipation or curiosity. Then they saw the much-anticipated youth pull out from his robes a…

“Oh? A Green-Eyed Dog. And it’s a pup?”

The woman laughed so hard she nearly shook, waving her fan without commenting further.

The old man’s mouth twitched twice. When he bit into the chicken leg again, his movements were noticeably rougher, yet he still stubbornly comforted himself:
“No matter, no matter. What kind of top-grade demonic beast could a kid in his teens possibly tame? A Green-Eyed Dog… uh, a Green-Eyed Dog pup is still impressive! I believe in him!”

Outside the training grounds, Lin Jin sneezed.

Holding Qiuqiu, he nervously watched the senior sister’s expression, only to see it shift from vigilance to admiration, then to anticipation, and finally to disdain. In the end, she said nothing, merely waving her hand to signal that he could continue.

“?”

What was that look supposed to mean? Why were you looking at my kid like that?

Lin Jin rubbed Qiuqiu’s head and only then realized that laughter was ringing out all around him.

“I thought this beast tamer would be something amazing, and he pulls out a Green-Eyed Dog pup. Isn’t he embarrassed?”

“Yeah, isn’t that the lowest-tier demonic beast? Even the sixty-year-old men in our village can beat a full-grown Green-Eyed Dog with their bare hands and carry it home to raise as a dog.”

“Huh? People actually raise Green-Eyed Dogs? What are they even good for? The ones in our village get chased and bitten by mutts all day.”

“So what’s the difference between a Green-Eyed Dog and a regular mutt, anyway?”

“Probably just the green eyes. That’s the only sign of the tiny bit of demonic blood in their ancestry.”

“Hahaha…”

Huh?

Listening to all this, Lin Jin was dumbfounded.

He really didn’t understand the whole demonic beast and spirit beast setup in this novel, but could a demonic beast really be worse off than a village mutt?

But that day on the barren slope, that big Green-Eyed Dog had been pretty fierce—it nearly crushed him to death. So in this world, even sixty-year-old villagers could defeat such beasts barehanded? That was amazing!

But if that was the case, didn’t it mean that he himself—who had nearly been killed by a Green-Eyed Dog—was worse off than a mutt?

A wave of shared misery and sympathy rose in Lin Jin’s heart. He lovingly patted Qiuqiu’s head.

At that moment, all the worldbuilding seemed to click into place, and Lin Jin suddenly felt enlightened. Of course—no wonder this kid couldn’t understand human speech. Expecting a mutt to understand people really was asking too much.

Still, even knowing Qiuqiu couldn’t understand him, Lin Jin went through the motions and whispered comfortingly,
“It’s okay, baby. Even if you’re worse than a mutt, Daddy still loves you just the same. What mutt could ever be as cute as our Qiuqiu? You’re Daddy’s only treasure.”