Chapter 33: Take a break

The sixth day of traveling north from Dusk Gathering Town, the sky was gray and overcast.

“Up ahead, there’s a ranch.”

Jin gazed into the distance.

“Should we go take a look? Our supplies are running low.”

Xue Yin glanced at Ailia beside her.

Her steps had slowed considerably over the past two days, her flaxen-gold hair tousled by the wind, faint dark circles under her eyes.

These days of roughing it outdoors, though no one complained, had left their exhaustion plain on all three faces.

“We should find a place to stay for the night and get some proper rest,” Xue Yin said.

Jin nodded, and the three headed towards the pasture.

A crooked wooden fence enclosed a large expanse of grassland, scattered with dozens of creatures Xue Yin had never seen before.

They were tall, with slender necks, two fleshy humps on their backs, and bodies covered in downy fur.

They moved with a slow, leisurely gait.

Several young ones ran and played among the adults, their four legs still uncoordinated, stumbling as they ran only to get right back up and continue as if nothing happened.

“Windclear Beasts,” Ailia said softly, her eyes shining.

“I’ve read about them in texts. Creatures unique to the Demon Realm. They can be ridden, and produce milk and down.”

“They look so strange,” Xue Yin said, staring intently at those towering humps.

“Like camels.”

“Camels?” Ailia hadn’t heard that term.

“An animal from my hometown,” Xue Yin said vaguely, but her gaze never left the Windclear Beasts.

Their walking posture was elegant, their downy fur glowing softly in the sunlight.

Occasionally, one or two would lift their heads and look in their direction, their eyes holding a gentle, docile light that made one’s heart soften.

Jin also stopped walking, observing with keen interest.

Ailia was already leaning on the fence, her chin resting on the back of her hands, staring unblinkingly at the largest male beast.

A whistle sounded from the distance.

On the pasture, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen was waving a long pole, herding the Windclear Beasts.

She wore a faded, coarse cloth dress, her boots worn through at the toes.

Her movements were skilled, but her steps were unsteady, clearly lacking in strength.

A few playful Windclear Beast young ones rubbed against her feet, but she didn’t get annoyed, just gently nudged them aside with the pole.

“Hello,” Xue Yin walked forward.

“We’re travelers passing through. We’d like to find lodging nearby for the night. We can pay.”

The girl turned around, revealing a face tanned a wheat color, with large eyes that held the weariness of chronic sleep deprivation.

The girl looked over the three of them and nodded.

“Come in. There’s an empty room. You don’t need to pay for lodging.”

“We should still pay,” Xue Yin insisted.

The girl didn’t respond further, just pushed open the gate and led them inside.

As they passed through the pasture, several Windclear Beasts lifted their heads, looking at them curiously.

One light gray-furred female approached, its damp nose nuzzling Ailia’s hand.

“She likes you,” the girl said.

Ailia crouched down, gently stroking its neck.

The down was soft and dense, the texture wonderful.

The Windclear Beast half-closed its eyes, making a purring sound, like a cat.

“What are they like when they run?”

Jin was also getting interested.

The girl glanced at him.

“Want to see?”

She put two fingers to her mouth and blew a sharp whistle.

The Windclear Beasts, as if hearing some command, all lifted their heads in unison.

Then, the largest male took the lead, stepping out, followed immediately by dozens of Windclear Beasts all breaking into a run.

The grass rippled like waves as they charged from one end of the pasture to the other, their manes flying in the wind, their humps rising and falling with the rhythm of their gallop.

The young ones followed at the rear, their four legs churning desperately, running crookedly but refusing to fall behind.

Xue Yin held her breath.

Jin’s eyes lit up.

Ailia opened her mouth but no words came out.

“They run so fast, so magnificently,” Ailia finally whispered.

The corner of the girl’s mouth lifted slightly, a rare expression of pride on her face.

Deep within the ranch stood a wooden cabin.

Pushing open the door, a mix of medicinal herbs and mildew assaulted their senses.

Half a loaf of black bread and a bowl of cold, thin porridge sat on the table.

The pot on the stove was rusted.

“Mother, we have guests,” the girl called towards the inner room, then turned to Xue Yin.

“Please sit. I’ll go boil some water.”

A fit of coughing came from the inner room, heavy, as if trying to cough up the lungs.

Ailia had already walked in.

On the bed lay a woman in her forties, her face haggard, eyes sunken, lips pale.

Her fingers were thick-knuckled, her palms calloused all over, marks left by years of hard labor.

The quilt was embroidered with crude patterns, probably the girl’s handiwork.

Ailia sat down by the bed and asked softly, “How long have you been ill?”

The woman opened her eyes with difficulty, looked at Ailia, then at Xue Yin and Jin who had followed in, her voice almost inaudible.

“…It’s nothing… just… tired… cough cough…”

“Mother has been coughing for a month,” the girl said as she walked in carrying a wooden basin, her voice calm but carrying a restraint that didn’t match her age.

She placed the basin by the bed, wrung out a cloth, and gently wiped the sweat from her mother’s forehead.

“She’s been handling everything on the ranch alone. Herding, milking, shearing the down, mending the fence… busy from morning till night, never resting a day. The doctor in town said she needs tonic medicine. One dose costs dozens of silver coins, needs to be taken for half a month straight. We can’t afford it. The lord says the Windclear Beasts are property of the Demon Realm, we’re just tending them. If we can’t pay the tax, they’ll be taken back. The ranch tax is already two months overdue.”

Xue Yin was silent for a moment, then rummaged in her pack and pulled out a vial of medicine.

Pale golden liquid shimmered slightly within the bottle, and through the glass, one could see tiny silver stardust suspended inside.

“This medicine can replenish vital energy,” she walked to the bedside and offered the vial.

“Drink it.”

The woman stared blankly at her, unmoving.

“I used to run an alchemy potion shop in the Seventh Ring Amber Corridor, and this one is free,” Xue Yin added, taking out and showing the documents she carried with her.

The girl finally seemed reassured, her eyes slightly reddening.

She gently helped her mother sit up, letting her lean against her shoulder.

Xue Yin took the opportunity to turn around, her back to everyone, her fingertip quickly tracing the mouth of the vial.

A drop of silvery blood seeped into the medicine, dissolving instantly.

She turned back as if nothing had happened, pulled out the stopper, and brought it to the woman’s lips.

The woman drank it sip by sip.

A moment later, the woman’s complexion visibly improved, becoming rosier.

Her breathing also steadied.

She opened her eyes, a glimmer of light appearing in her once-muddy pupils, no longer that grayish, lifeless dullness.

“I feel much better,” she said softly, her voice no longer weak, even able to form a complete sentence.

The girl finally couldn’t hold back.

A tear slid from the corner of her eye.

She quickly wiped it away with her sleeve, stood up, and bowed deeply to Xue Yin, her forehead almost touching her knees.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice trembling.

“Thank you. Really, thank you so much.”

Xue Yin suddenly felt that the fatigue of this journey seemed to have dissipated a little.

“Don’t mention it,” Xue Yin took back the vial, her tone flat.

“She’s just worn out, not seriously ill. Resting well and not overworking is more effective than any medicine.”

“Would you like to ride the Windclear Beasts?” the girl suddenly looked up, her eyes still red, but her voice steady now.

Xue Yin was taken aback.

“I saw you watching them earlier,” the girl offered a faint smile, the first genuine one since they’d entered.

“Mother is better. To repay you, I can let you ride the Windclear Beasts. They’re very docile. Riding them for a lap makes all your worries disappear.”

Xue Yin was about to say “No need to trouble yourself,” but Ailia was already pulling her hand, leading her outside as if afraid Xue Yin would run away.

“Xue Yin, let’s try! The Windclear Beasts are calling to us!” Ailia was rarely this excited, her voice noticeably lighter.

Xue Yin stumbled two steps, pulled along.

Seeing the long-absent light in Ailia’s eyes, she ultimately couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

She just sighed helplessly, which counted as silent consent.

On the pasture, the girl picked out three of the strongest Windclear Beasts.

She patted their necks, making soft whistling sounds with her mouth.

The Windclear Beasts obediently knelt on their front legs.

“This one’s called Frost Hoof, the steadiest,” she said to Ailia, pointing to a deep brown male.

“That one’s called Gray Cloud, the fastest.”

She looked at Jin, then at the light gray female.

“She’s called Snowball, the gentlest.”

Xue Yin glanced at Snowball but said nothing.

Ailia went first.

She clumsily climbed between the humps, swaying a little when the Windclear Beast stood up, then laughed out loud, her laughter echoing across the pasture.

“So high!” She waved at Xue Yin, her light flaxen-gold hair flying in the wind.

In that moment, she was just an ordinary girl, incredibly happy.

Jin went second.

His movements were agile.

He leaped up in one smooth motion.

The Windclear Beast didn’t budge.

Once seated, he reached out a hand to Xue Yin.

“Master, come up.”

Xue Yin refused Jin and walked over to Snowball herself.

She reached out and stroked Snowball’s neck.

The down was as soft as a fine blanket.

Snowball half-closed her eyes, nuzzling into Xue Yin’s palm.

A flicker of joy rose in Xue Yin’s heart.

As she stepped onto the stirrup, Snowball suddenly took a step forward, causing Xue Yin to almost miss her footing.

She tried again.

The moment her foot touched the saddle, Snowball sidestepped away, even looking back at her with a glance that clearly held disdain.

Xue Yin tried one more time.

Snowball simply stood up, snorted through her nostrils, ears pinned back, clearly refusing to be ridden.

Xue Yin’s face darkened.

Ailia laughed so hard in the distance she doubled over.

Jin held back from making a sound, but his shoulders were shaking.

“Don’t look down on me,” Xue Yin said through gritted teeth, the tips of her ears burning red.

The girl hurriedly explained, “She’s not usually like this. Maybe she feels your aura is too strong?”

“My aura is strong?” Xue Yin pointed at herself.

Ailia laughed until tears nearly came.

“Xue Yin, haven’t you always had good affinity with animals…”

“That depends on the animal!” Xue Yin snapped, embarrassed and angry.

Jin extended another invitation to Xue Yin.

“Master, why don’t you ride with me on one?”

“No,” Xue Yin turned her face away.

“If she won’t let Master ride, it’s not Master’s fault,” Jin’s tone was serious.

“She lacks good judgment.”

“Stop with that.”

“Really,” Jin reached out his hand to her.

“Come up. I’ll sit in the back, you in front.”

“Just this once,” she said quietly, placing her hand in his.

Jin grasped her hand firmly and pulled Xue Yin up.

“Hyah,” Jin gave a gentle kick once Xue Yin was seated.

The three Windclear Beasts charged forward side by side.

Ailia, riding Frost Hoof, laughed crisply.

Jin controlled Gray Cloud, following steadily behind, the speed increasing, wind whistling past their ears.

“Master,” Jin called from behind her.

“Hmm?”

“Are you having fun?”

Jin laughed, tightening his grip on the reins a little more.

“It’s alright,” she said.

“Can I really rely on you more?”

“Master, please do so without fail!”