Chapter 121: Chapter 121 - I'll tame you.
Her hair waved with the wind, opening up her sharp face, her big eyes staring exactly where he stood. Instead of lamellar armor, she now wore a white dress with red nomadic ornaments traveling down her bare feet. Her steed stood calmly, as if in trance, as she played her exotic instruments in a captivatingly rhythmic symphony of sounds.
What's the meaning of this? Xin squinted his eyes in suspicion. No one else is here, I would have noticed. Should I ask the totem for its smell powers? No.
The girl switched from throat singing to a gentle, soothing lyric voice, but breaking into a tremble sometimes, as if worried. Xin's heart jumped.
She came for you! That's a plot of some sort, be careful!
Xin gulped, it was hard to distinguish his inner voice from the totem's now, it weaved its plots much more masterfully after absorbing so much of his human qi.
Should I chase her away, Xin asked himself this question, but he craved human contact. If she comes, she has to at least pay tribute, otherwise the totem will lash out at me. Right?
Breed! Breed! Breed! The totem's opinion on the matter was rather clear.
Xin sighed. What a sophisticated creature this totem is.
The girl kept singing, clearly looking at the bushes Xin hid in.
Fine. Xin put his leather "sack" with a waterskin and some mushrooms down.
Roar! He emerged from the bushes, sending the birds around flying, then walked towards her, growling gutturally. The girl's horse barely reacted to his presence, but the girl herself looked quite scared, her pupils widening.
"Si beile sarkū niyalma gisun i tesehe de sembi?!" She shouted out. "Meni?"
Xin ignored her question and kept walking towards her. The girl felt a strong urge to pull the reins and flee, but composed herself.
"Speak Clay Folk?" She shouted out with an accent.
Xin stopped and nodded, then kept walking.
"I don't want to fight, stranger! I wanted to talk! Please hear me out!" She pleaded.
When Xin almost approached the girl, her horse finally snapped out of its trance and started backing away, it looked like a compressed spring, eager to run away if spooked.
Xin pointed for the girl to unsaddle and stared into her eyes. She's terrified. What's her game?
"Do you speak? You understand me, but don't speak… Correct?" Her accent was quite funny, she spoke well, but Clay Folk language was tonal, and her intonations were completely off. Xin smirked.
Unsaddle, he pointed to the ground again. The girl reluctantly obliged. She knew that as soon as she unsaddled, she'd be at his mercy.
He walked up closer, his sore muscles still pumped from the morning workout, and looked her up and down. It's clear that she came as an ambassador, not as an invader. Need to be careful, she might be plotting something.
"So… You don't talk?"
Xin shook his head.
"Why?"
Xin raised his eyebrow. With the girl's question unanswered, an awkward silence emerged.
"It's your way to tame the totem, I guess? A vow of silence?"
Impressive. Xin lowered his eyebrow and looked at the girl suspiciously. She was clearly embarrassed, trying to look at him, but not into his eyes or at his genitals, and being the only one who is able to talk made it twice as awkward.
"When you attacked me, I felt a strong presence of a bestial totem in you. When I saw you look conflicted, I repressed the totem a bit. Hope it helped." She looked like she was carefully picking her words.
What have I told you, idiot?! I would have bested you, this girl saved your life!
Hush! Xin roared out loud and slapped his thighs, enraged. The girl jumped and backed away.
"No! I am friendly. Friendly." Her voice trembled. She thought it was her words that made Xin angry, not his internal dialogue.
Xin remembered the buzz cut monk he chased through this very forest, ten minutes away from here. How he pleaded for mercy and how he ended up biting his throat off instead of hearing him out. How is this girl any different? Am I giving her special treatment because she's a woman?
Of course you are! Who cares! She is too weak to be an invader, capture her as your concubine!
Xin sighed, his internal monologue was too muddled by the totem. He just stared at the girl intensely, waiting for her to continue.
"I also wanted to thank you for resisting the totem to try and save me. I know how painful it is, to have your soul assaulted like that."
Painful? Frustrating. Disgusting. Revolting. Xin stared at his feet.
"You might be wondering why I came. My tribe is struggling to collect certain herbs, and I need a bunch that don't grow in the steppe areas. So I ventured here, but was interrupted by… The incident. Thing is, I assume you have no need for the herbs here, perhaps we can come to an agreement?"
"You assumed wrong", the shake of his head said. Still, a curious feeling gripped his chest. She's somewhat well-spoken, and it takes some guts to return like that. Xin knew that from her perspective he was a bloodthirsty monster, whatever she wanted, she was clearly motivated.
Xin furrowed his eyebrows. That spirit leaf bush was the first high quality material he found in this forest. Is she delusional and thinks the whole forest is like that? Is she so desperate she needs the mundane herbs? Or is she just lying? He became suspicious.
"I see." She stared at her feet, embarrassed. "Seems there is nothing I can offer you. Can I at least water my horse and replenish my flask in the lake?"
Xin got annoyed. What's that with her?
Fine. He waved for her to follow him, and led her into the bushes he hid in. He procured the boar bladder, filled with water, and handed it to her. Moments later, he also procured his leather waterskin. Should be enough to water the horse a bit.
"Master… That's not enough for me and my horse, the ride back home is quite long. The steppe is hot in the afternoon."
So why hadn't she come prepared? Bullshit excuses, typical woman. Xin rolled his eyes. He pushed the boar's bladder into her hands. Take it or leave it.
"Master… I don't know how to say this… But you live in the wilderness, and I don't know who you are. I am not very comfortable drinking from your waterskin, what if you're sick? I'd prefer to avoid exchanging liquids with you. Can't afford to bring a disease back to my tribe…"
What a weird phrasing, it was the first non-native speaker Xin interacted with, except for Di E Go, who didn't count. He found this experience quite curious. Exchanging liquids. Hehehe.
Xin smirked, and laughed lightly. The girl, who never expected him to react like that, was taken aback and confused.
"What? Did I say something funny? Which part?" She scowled, annoyed with this charade and having to carry the conversation.
Xin made his face go blank, only the right corner of his lips twitched lightly, betraying his smile.
"Is it funny that I assumed that you might be sick? Forgive me, please. No? What then? Exchanging liquids?"
Xin laughed out again.
"What's so funny?" She furrowed her eyebrows. A minute ago, she was afraid of being killed, but now this monster was laughing at her, and she was more annoyed than scared. "Oh… I see. So this phrase also means making love in your language. I apologize for the confusion, I didn't mean it like that."
Xin smiled earnestly, and made an expression asking "You done?"
"Stop! You haven't answered! Can I water my horse in the lake? Please? I will give you dry meat."
Xin rolled his eyes, he was tired of eating dried meat at this point. He hunted plenty of fresh poultry, rabbits and hares, but also needed to eat dry boar meat to augment his physical cultivation materials.
"Fine." Xin's expression said, looking aside. He turned away and waved for her to follow.
The girl carefully observed him, trying not to stare at his buttocks too much, then carefully led the horse towards the lake. What a weird demon.
Once they arrived, Xin pointed at the lake. "Here", his expression said.
"Thank you, I wouldn't notice without you pointing."
Xin smiled. So she's sassy, like all of his friends! He remembered Lei, Ming, Xiaoyun and Zhan. Zhan… He stared into the water, becoming detached.
The girl used the moment to lead the horse closer to the water, then replenished her flask.
What's that with him? His eyes are so beautiful, filled with such deep sorrow. He seems like a very complex and mysterious person, I shouldn't be fooled by his naked barbarian act. And that physique demonstrates how strong his will is. Probably took years of training…
Xin sat down and waited for her horse to finish drinking, staring at dragonflies buzzing around.
"Such resplendent creatures, these lot." The girl said, closing her flask.
Resplendent? Xin smiled again.
"Master, my name is Erdeni, of the Hada family, Horqin tribe. I am a shaman-inheritor in training. What about you?"
Xin lowered his head and stared at her from under the forehead. "How am I supposed to chat with you?", his gaze asked.
"Here. I can read Imperial." She handed him a small sharp stone she picked up on the shore. "Please write your name so that I know what to call you."
Xin looked at the girl again, suspicious. What a forward young woman. How old is she? Twenty three? What does she want? Fine.
Xin picked up a stone from her hand, their fingers touching for a brief moment, which made both of them avert their gazes. He lowered down to the ground and wrote his on the wet mud, not bothering too much with being calligraphic.
新.
"Is it… Xin? Like… Fresh?"
Xin smirked. Probably just meant "new," as in "new beginning." A failed one. Mom picked the name, but never explained it.
"What does it mean?"
Xin shrugged and smirked lightly again. You're on your own, girl.
"This 木, mù, is 'wood.' I know that much. And this 立, lì, means 'stand.' Together... Hmm."
Xin crossed his arms and smirked again. Impressive, for a foreigner. Keep going.
"And this part, 亲, qīn, is just phonetic, right? Unless there is a deeper meaning?"
Xin nodded. Keep going, there is no right answer here.
"So, this name means 'new beginning', or 'new growth'... Interesting. I guess your parents had high hopes for whatever your birth entailed."
Xin stared at his feet, detached and gloomy. Suddenly, he noticed the 木 mu symbol, and realised that with his genitals dangling, he himself looked like it did! The second symbol, "stand", only added to the comedy. Wood. Stand. Xin laughed out heartily, but quickly stopped, embarassed.
"What? Did I say something funny? I am sorry, master!" She lowered her head.
No, it's fine! Xin gave her a thumbs up. You did great, I'm just... Whatever. He stared at the ground again.
"I'm sorry if I… Stroke a nerve. That's the phrase, right? Forgive me, master, I ventured where I shouldn't have." She looked away, as she accidentally stared at his genitals a few times. Even when she averted her gaze, they still kept popping up in her peripheral vision.
Xin waved his hand, as if saying "nah, it's fine", but his eyes were still filled with sorrow. The girl also looked thoughtful, trying to digest what she learned, connecting the dots.
"So, where are you from? How long will you be staying here?"
Xin felt a bestial impulse rise up him. She's wasting my time, trying to get into my head, and acting like she belongs here, asking these stupid questions! The tiger was whispering something sinister into his ear again, and it was much harder to resist.
Xin stood up, irritated.
"What?" The girl looked confused, she felt like their contact was rather positive, but now he's angry again?
Xin approached her horse, grabbed its reins and pointed towards the forest exit.
"You want me to leave? Of course, of course, but can we talk about the herbs first? Please?"
Xin furrowed his eyebrows, approached the girl and grabbed her by the wrist, leading her towards her horse. She clearly trembled when he grabbed her.
One more thing. He reached into her bag, hanging on the side of her saddle, and grabbed a sack filled with food. Mostly dry meat, but also some grains and fruit. Xin had food aplenty, so it was more of a power move than a genuine need to keep himself sated.
The girl was scared, but she knew that it was better to lose her food than her life, so she complied, climbed her rested horse and raced away. Before disappearing into the steppe, she turned back, and saw Xin leaning on a tree, his arms crossed, his face completely blank as he watched her leave.
I'll tame you, she thought. I will.
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