Blood Moon

Qian Yun stumbled and nearly lost his balance. The sudden flood of information overloaded his brain, leaving him completely stunned.

After quite a while, he hurried to catch up with the village chief and the others, who were already walking off into the distance. As he ran, he thought, This is Douluo Continent?! Then that thing just now must have been a Spirit Beast. No wonder I've never seen anything like it before.

"Wait..." Qian Yun braced his hands on his knees and panted a few times before suddenly realizing something. His eyes fixed on the village chief's back as he talked with A-Qiang. "If that thing just now was a Spirit Beast, then the only people who can hunt Spirit Beasts are..."

"Spirit Masters." Qian Yun softly let the words tumble from his lips. On Douluo Continent, they represented a prestigious status.

Before long, they finally reached their destination: the village chief's home.

As expected of the village chief. Unlike the other ordinary villagers' homes, built from thatch and piled stones, the building before him was clearly a wooden house with a small courtyard. A fruit tree grew in the middle of the courtyard, its branches bearing a pretty swing that looked as though it had been made for a girl. The courtyard wasn't exactly grand, but it was certainly charming.

"We're here, Xiao Yun. This is our home. You can stay here for now. A-Qiang, take him to the guest room." With a grand wave of his hand, the village chief arranged the first stop of Qian Yun's life in another world.

"Yes, Master."

Xiao Gang led Qian Yun into the courtyard, then took him to a room and handed him a key. "Keep this safe. This is the room you'll be staying in. Xiao Na's room is right next door. You're both kids, so you should have plenty to talk about. I'm across from you. Take a look around first. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you." Qian Yun clutched the key, feeling a little touched.

A-Qiang laughed heartily. "Heh, what are you thanking me for? The village chief said it himself: guests who've come from far away are always welcome."

At that, he suddenly crouched down to meet Qian Yun's eyes. "The village chief told me to look for your parents, but he and I both understand that you'll probably be staying here. Right?"

"Uh, I wasn't planning on freeloading here forever," Qian Yun explained.

"Hey!" A-Qiang glared at him. "That's not what I meant. You can stay as long as you like. Today's the Harvest Festival, a day of celebration, and you just happened to appear before us. I'd say that's fate—just like with Xiao Na."

Qian Yun immediately caught the implication. Just like with Xiao Na—did that mean she'd been found and taken in, just like him?

"And..." A-Qiang glanced around, then lowered his voice. "Xiao Na seems to like you. If possible, I hope you two will get along and become friends. Don't let her feisty side fool you. She really wants a friend."

Without waiting for Qian Yun to respond, he patted him on the shoulder, stood up, and walked away as if nothing had happened. As he left, he called back, "Don't forget to come out for dinner later!"

Watching the sturdy young man's back and recalling his earnest words, Qian Yun smiled.

He opened the door. The room was simply furnished, but clean and tidy. After stepping on the animal pelts laid across the floor, he nodded. He was quite pleased with the room.

After familiarizing himself with the room's layout, he grabbed the animal-skin chair nearby. At last, Qian Yun had time to sit quietly and consider what he would do next.

He'd never thought he'd be the one to transmigrate. He'd assumed he might end up in some parallel world, but now Heaven had given him an unexpected surprise.

Qian Yun had naturally heard of Douluo Continent, and he'd been a die-hard fan of the novel. The dazzling Martial Souls, the impressive Spirit Skills, and the friendship between the Shrek Seven Monsters had all left a deep impression on him when he was young.

Of course, that had been a long time ago.

As he grew older and revisited the story, more and more of its flaws had started to bother him. Still, there was no denying that he loved the original.

He was full of questions about his transmigration, but since it had already happened, there was no point dwelling on it.

Qian Yun searched through his long-forgotten memories. On Douluo Continent, Spirit Masters were revered, and every resident dreamed of becoming one.

This greatly admired group possessed powers beyond the common folk's imagination and had a near-monopoly on the continent's resources. The most powerful among them were often as elusive as dragons.

Yet, two of them had already appeared right beside Qian Yun—or rather, one of them was still only a child!

"Hu Liena..." The face of the pretty little girl appeared in Qian Yun's mind.

She was still just an ordinary, pretty girl from the village, but Qian Yun knew that a powerful Martial Soul lay within her. She would become a Spirit Master, one of the leading figures of the Spirit Hall Golden Generation, and someone with the potential to reach the very pinnacle of the world.

What about him?

At the thought, Qian Yun pulled up his pant leg and stared at the three moles there, his feelings tangled.

The mark made him almost certain that this was still his original body, only shrunk down. That was a relief; no one wanted to play the part of someone else.

But it also raised new uncertainties. If this was his own body, then he probably wouldn't inherit some powerful Martial Soul.

Although he'd become one of the countless transmigrators, Qian Yun didn't believe he was destined to be the chosen one.

He wasn't even sure he had a Martial Soul. On Douluo Continent, a person's Martial Soul almost completely determined their potential.

All that talk about hard work guaranteeing success, or how there were no useless Martial Souls, only useless Spirit Masters—that kind of poison-laced drivel from Yu Xiaogang was something only Tang San could swallow, with his twin Martial Souls, Blue Silver Emperor, and cheat-like cultivation technique!

Even so, Tang San needed one lucky break after another to achieve immortality! Anyone else could drink that poison-laced nonsense if they wanted. Qian Yun wouldn't touch it.

But without becoming a Spirit Master, living a decent life on this continent would be incredibly difficult. People in his previous life had mocked the Douluo Plane as fragile as paper, but if Qian Yun were thrown into a pack of Spirit Beasts right now, he'd undoubtedly die a horrible death.

Besides, he didn't have Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill to make up for his lack of innate talent. He didn't have a system, either, or even a piece of jewelry on him—let alone a ring with some old man hiding inside.

This was a problem!

Just as Qian Yun was feeling lost about his future, Xiao Gang called from outside, telling him it was time to eat.

After answering, Qian Yun locked the door and headed straight for the kitchen.

Hu Liena's earlier impression of being capable hadn't been mistaken. She'd managed to prepare a sumptuous lunch by propping a stool beside the stove.

Three wooden plates had been set on the long table. In the middle sat a large iron platter holding the star of the meal: Ghost Moth meat. Its skin had been roasted to a crisp and drizzled with sweet sauce, giving it an appetizing sheen.

It was a generous meal, with meat, vegetables, and fruit.

As someone from another world who was about to taste Spirit Beast meat, Qian Yun was looking forward to it.

Before the meal, the village chief took the seat of honor. Once everyone had arrived, he invited them to sit, then closed his eyes and began to pray.

Watching them, Qian Yun was completely at a loss, but he followed suit and closed his eyes.

He didn't know which god the people here worshipped, but since the village chief was a Spirit Master, he was almost certainly connected to Spirit Hall. So they were probably praying to the Angel God.

The prayer didn't take long. Once it was over, they began serving the food.

Oddly enough, neither the village chief nor A-Qiang served the meal. Instead, the youngest, Hu Liena, did.

She handled the knife and fork with practiced ease, cutting off slices of roasted meat and distributing them to everyone. It seemed the village chief really doted on her.

From the look of things, the burly men had listened to the village chief's instruction to give the best meat to the elderly, the weak, and pregnant women—but they'd still been tactful enough to save the best cuts for the village chief.

"Thanks."

"Qian Yun, hurry up and try Xiao Na's cooking. This Spirit Beast meat is different from ordinary poultry, I tell you. Women who eat it look pretty as a picture, and men get... well, you know!" A-Qiang spoke with a knowing laugh.

"Honestly!" Hu Liena rolled her eyes.

"Heh."

Qian Yun picked up his knife and fork and took a bite. His eyes immediately lit up. Maybe Spirit Beast meat was simply much better than ordinary meat, or maybe Hu Liena was an excellent cook. Either way, the roasted meat practically melted in his mouth. Its sweet aroma shot straight to his head, and the lingering flavor left him savoring every bite.

"It's delicious." Qian Yun gave his honest opinion.

Hu Liena smiled shyly.

After they'd eaten and drunk their fill, A-Qiang and the village chief had quite a bit of alcohol and were both rather tipsy. Now they leaned back in their chairs and dozed off.

That left Hu Liena to clean up. Seeing her at work, Qian Yun stood up of his own accord. "Let me help you."

"You?" Hu Liena's small hand paused in surprise.

Qian Yun casually began tidying up on his own. Seeing how efficiently he moved, Hu Liena couldn't help taking another look at him.

As they cleaned up, Qian Yun caught a glimpse of the moonlight streaming through the window and froze.

"Is there something special about tonight? Why is the moonlight so crimson?" Qian Yun asked, staring at it.

Hu Liena, who was clearing the plates, glanced at the moonlight and froze for a moment too. Then she said, "There's nothing special about today. The Harvest Festival isn't for another three months. Once you're done, take the plates to the kitchen."

With that, she turned and left the room.

Qian Yun shook his head and followed her outside. Seeing the crimson moonlight spilling over the whole courtyard, he frowned. A strange tremor ran through him. The moonlight tonight was frighteningly red. It somehow reminded him of... blood?