The Blacktooth Tribe

Three Blackjaguars raced wildly across the desolate plains. Ji Ning and his two companions could barely conceal the joy on their faces. No matter what, they had finally returned from the remote borderlands of the Eastmarsh Swamp, drawing closer to the West Prefecture city with every passing moment.

“Young master,” Qiuye called out.

“Mm?” Ji Ning looked over.

Qiuye quickly said, “Since we’re passing by the area around Winged Serpent Lake on this trip, we’ll be going right past Chuncao’s Blacktooth Tribe. How about we stop and visit? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Chuncao, and I miss her dearly.”

“Chuncao…” Ji Ning paused, a wave of longing washing over him. Chuncao and Qiuye had grown up by his side, like elder sisters to him. Although he had been deeply reluctant to let her go back then, he had only allowed her to reunite with her father because he didn’t want to cause her pain. Now, speaking of her, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of excited anticipation. “Alright. We’ll make a detour to see her.”

“Thank you, young master,” Qiuye said gratefully.

“I want to go too.” Ji Ning smiled faintly, then patted his Blackjaguar on the head, making it veer slightly off course.

Strictly speaking, the route to Winged Serpent Lake did not naturally pass by the Blacktooth Tribe; it was a detour. But the journey was worth it.

…

Beneath a rocky cliff face, several caves had been chiseled out, surrounded by tall wooden palisades. Armor hung inside the caves, and long-haired beasts were tied to wooden posts nearby. A group of burly men, most stripped to the waist, sat around a campfire roasting meat and laughing boisterously.

At the entrance stood ten guards in black armor.

“Someone’s coming,” one of them called out. The feasting men turned to look. A bare-chested man rose and walked forward, frowning slightly as he peered into the distance.

Three dark shapes burst through the forest and quickly came into view. Seeing three riders on Blackjaguars, the guards relaxed.

But the bare-chested man’s expression changed dramatically. He barked, “The young master is here! On your knees! Now! Everyone, get up!” With that, he dashed forward and knelt on one knee before the gate, his voice full of reverence: “Young master!”

All the men—bare-chested and armored alike—dropped to their knees in unison. “Young master!”

“Rise.” Ji Ning dismounted from his Blackjaguar and smiled at the leader of this Black Armored Guard outpost. “You recognize me?” He had been about to pull out his token.

“This lowly one was fortunate enough to spar with you back then, young master,” the rough, scar-faced man replied. He was tall and powerfully built. “When you were selecting Nine-Fang Warriors for practice, I had the honor of crossing blades with you. I recognized you at once. And behind you should be Miss Qiuye, your maidservant. I know her as well.”

Ji Ning chuckled. So that was it. He had frequently sparred with the Nine-Fang Warriors among the Black Armored Guards back then. Running into one who had been posted out here wasn’t strange.

“I have some questions for you,” Ji Ning said. “About Winged Serpent Lake. Let’s talk inside.”

“Yes, young master. Please, follow me,” the squad leader, Wu Zhan, replied attentively.

Wu Zhan led Ji Ning into a spacious stone house.

“Not long ago, the great demon Winged Serpent ran amok in the area. Our outpost isn’t far from there, and we even felt the ripples,” Wu Zhan said with a rueful smile. As he spoke, a Black Armored Guard entered with a basin of fruit. Ji Ning casually took one and took a couple of bites. “Did it reach your outpost?”

“No. If it had, we’d all be dead.” Wu Zhan shook his head. “But at the time, we were terrified. Facing the great demon Winged Serpent, we Black Armored Guards wouldn’t have stood a chance. We survived, but many tribes were devastated. It was a true bloodbath. I prayed that the Ji Clan would slay that old serpent… but unfortunately…”

Ji Ning nodded.

In the end, the Poison Toad Ridge had stepped in to negotiate with the Ji Clan, resulting only in the Winged Serpent being confined to Winged Serpent Lake for a hundred years.

“Has the Winged Serpent been staying at the lake the whole time?” Ji Ning asked. “And is it at the bottom of the lake, or on the island in the middle?”

“At the bottom, of course,” Wu Zhan answered quickly. “It wouldn’t dare stay on the island—it’s afraid the Ji Clan might strike.”

“The bottom…” Ji Ning nodded thoughtfully.

It seemed killing the Winged Serpent wouldn’t be so easy.

“Wu Zhan,” Ji Ning continued, “do you know of a small tribe around here called the Blacktooth Tribe?”

“Blacktooth Tribe?” Wu Zhan nodded. “Yes, of course. Their chief is a man with real skill—he built a tribe from nothing. That takes ability. Unfortunately, the Winged Serpent’s rampage destroyed many tribes, and the Blacktooth Tribe was among them.”

“What!” Ji Ning’s face went pale. His heart clenched.

Could it be…

According to what he had learned, before the Winged Serpent had acted against him, it had already wiped out one small tribe—killed every last person. The only reason they knew it was the Winged Serpent was the brutal state of the corpses.

“Is the Blacktooth Tribe still standing?” Ji Ning asked urgently.

“Yes,” Wu Zhan confirmed. “The Winged Serpent rampaged everywhere that time. It would sweep into a tribe, kill a bunch, and then leave. It didn’t bother to exterminate entire clans—that would take too much time and risk being caught by our Xiantian cultivators. The Blacktooth Tribe wasn’t destroyed, but they lost over half their people. It was truly tragic.”

“Over half?” Ji Ning’s heart twisted.

“Do you know a girl named Chuncao?” Ji Ning pressed, his voice sharp. “My maidservant. Is she still alive?”

“Chuncao?” Wu Zhan looked confused. “I know the name. You only ever had two maidservants, young master. Isn’t Chuncao still serving you?”

Very few people knew that Ji Ning had freed Chuncao.

“No, I released her,” Ji Ning said. “She’s the daughter of the Blacktooth Tribe’s chief.”

“I wouldn’t know about that,” Wu Zhan admitted, shaking his head. “I’ve met Blacktooth, but I never learned anything about his daughter.”

Ji Ning took a deep breath.

Worry. Unease.

The Blacktooth Tribe had lost over half its people. There were so many dead… Chuncao could be among them.

“She has to be fine. She has to be,” Ji Ning gritted his teeth, then strode out of the stone house.

Outside, Qiuye and Mowu were sitting with some Black Armored Guards, sharing roasted meat.

“Young master!” Qiuye and Mowu both looked up.

“Let’s go.” Ji Ning’s command was sharp.

Qiuye and Mowu exchanged a confused glance. Why the sudden rush? But they didn’t dare ask. They quickly got up, abandoning the food, and mounted their Blackjaguars.

“To the Blacktooth Tribe.” Ji Ning’s face was dark as he kicked his Blackjaguar’s flank. The beast shot forward.

The three Blackjaguars plunged into the distant forest.

“What’s going on with him?” the other Black Armored Guards muttered, bewildered. Wu Zhan, who had just emerged from the stone house, frowned as he watched the departing figures. “Chuncao? The daughter of the Blacktooth Tribe’s chief?”

Ji Ning’s heart burned with anxiety. Chuncao and Qiuye might have been servants in name, but to him, they were like sisters. He still remembered when he was very young, pointing at characters in a book and babbling questions. Chuncao and Qiuye had been forced to patiently answer his endless queries.

“No.”

“She can’t be dead.” Ji Ning’s heart was a storm of dread.

“Young master!” Qiuye called out beside him, worried. “What’s wrong?” She rarely saw her master’s expression so dark and furious.

Ji Ning snapped, “The Blacktooth Tribe was attacked by the Winged Serpent. Over half their people died.”

“Ah!” Qiuye was stunned. “Then Chuncao…”

“We’ll find out when we get there,” Ji Ning said coldly.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The three Blackjaguars sped onward. By the time the sun was setting in the west, they had burst through a sparse forest and could faintly make out a tribe in the distance.

“Stop.” Ji Ning raised his hand.

The three beasts halted.

“Young master?” Qiuye’s face was flushed with anxiety.

“Over there.” Ji Ning pointed. In the distance, dozens of men in simple animal hides were swinging axes, chopping deadwood for firewood.

“They should be from the Blacktooth Tribe. We’ll ask them.” Ji Ning spurred his mount forward. Qiuye and Mowu followed.

Soon, they reached the woodcutters. The men grabbed their spears and knives, eyeing the newcomers warily.

“I have a question for you.” Ji Ning flipped out his token. It bore the character “Ji.”

“The Ji Clan?”

The men were startled.

“Is there a girl named Chuncao in your tribe? The chief’s daughter?” Ji Ning demanded.

“Chief’s daughter?” One one-eyed man quickly replied, “Our Blacktooth Tribe doesn’t have any Chuncao. Our chief’s daughter is called Miwa!”

Ji Ning paused, then asked urgently, “Yes, Miwa. Is she alive?”

“Dead.”

“Miwa is dead,” several of the men said at once.

Ji Ning’s face went white. Beside him, Qiuye turned ashen. Her body swayed, and she toppled off her Blackjaguar. Mowu leaped down just in time to catch her. Qiuye’s face was drained of blood, tears streaming uncontrollably.

“How did she die?” Ji Ning’s voice was tight. “Did the Winged Serpent kill her?”

“The Winged Serpent killed many in our tribe, including one of the chief’s sons,” the one-eyed man said. “A lot of our people died right then. Others were hit by flying rocks, frozen by ice… they survived at first, but later their wounds festered, and some got sick. One by one, they withered and died. Many of the badly wounded died like that. Miwa got sick later on and passed away.”

“Chuncao!” Qiuye wailed.

Ji Ning’s face was ghastly. The violent churning of his thoughts made the very ground and trees around him tremble.

“Winged Serpent!” Ji Ning’s voice was a choked snarl. “I, Ji Ning, swear by all the heavens that I will kill you. I will kill you!!!”