IRM Chapter 117

Ji Chi looked at the Snow Wolf Tribe’s chieftain with some difficulty. In truth, he had guessed very early on that the best way to gain the recognition of these simple-minded beastmen was to speak with fists—preferably beating them until they howled and obediently listened, only then would they accept you from the bottom of their hearts.

However, this didn’t mean he could bring himself to strike the old chieftain!

The old chieftain before him seemed to bear too many responsibilities. His hunched back made his beard nearly drag on the snowy ground. At this moment, his posture resembled more of an aged wolf, laboriously moving about on the rocky cliff using all four limbs.

Ji Chi scratched his fingertips and turned to look at the indignant youth beside him. “I just defeated him, oh, plus a very large snow wolf. Can’t that prove anything?”

The old chieftain lifted his wrinkled eyelids, glanced at the youth, and snorted disdainfully. “What is he? He’s just in charge of chopping wood in the tribe. Is defeating him something remarkable?”

“……Me? Chopping wood?” The youth’s eyes widened. He pointed at Ji Chi, then at himself, and finally, under the old chieftain’s threatening gaze, had to say humiliatingly, “……That’s right, I’m just a wood chopper.”

The Snow Wolf Tribe’s rarely seen prodigy of monstrous strength swallowed his bloody tears and humbled himself.

Ji Chi nodded and asked good-naturedly, “Then perhaps you could find someone in charge of hunting to fight with me?”

The old chieftain waved his hand. “Enough, enough. Don’t look down on me either, or you’ll be crying later and won’t know how to save face.”

Ji Chi: “……” Sorry, but that’s also what I wanted to say.

He helplessly raised his longsword horizontally. “Alright then…… shall I begin?”

“Wait!” The old chieftain suddenly stopped him. The old man tremblingly bent down, picked up a broken hammer handle from the ground, and stuffed it into Ji Chi’s hands. “You, you use this to fight me.”

Ji Chi held the tattered iron rod. “……” Fine, whatever you say, whatever you say.

Seeing that Ji Chi was about to start, the youth also became somewhat worried and reminded the old chieftain/ “Chief, be careful, he’s also a mage!”

“Wait again!” After hearing this, the old chieftain immediately stopped Ji Chi again, warning him shakily, “You, you also can’t use magic.”

Ji Chi: “……” If you can’t do it, don’t push yourself, grandfather. I’m even more panicked than you!

Ji Chi raised the iron rod and put it down again, speaking before the old chieftain could. “Do I still need to wait?”

The old chieftain slowly shook his head and looked at him with surprise. “What else are you waiting for? Do you want to eat a meal and sleep before fighting? If you’re afraid, just say so directly. I won’t laugh at you.”

Ji Chi: “……” Damn, this old man is so annoying!

He was practically worn down by the old chieftain to the point of losing his temper. Mentally and physically exhausted, he raised the iron rod, drew in his chest, and directly faced the frail old man before him.

“Swoosh——” Ji Chi suddenly widened his eyes. A strand of black hair from his forehead slowly drifted down before his eyes and scattered on the white snowy ground, particularly striking.

Ji Chi slowly raised his hand and touched the small tuft of hair that was now only half its length. He looked up at the old chieftain in disbelief.

He hadn’t seen any of his movements clearly, not even his weapon… wait, the old chieftain did have a weapon in his hand—it was his crooked walking stick——but how could a walking stick about to fall apart cut his hair so precisely and sharply?

Ji Chi realized that the one who had been underestimating the opponent all along was himself.

The old chieftain tapped his walking stick and shook his head with a sigh. “This generation of young people is no good. Can’t even withstand a drawn sword, yet foolishly dreams of saving the world? When I was your age, I never had such arrogant dreams.”

The old chieftain left just like that while lamenting, leaving Ji Chi gripping the iron rod, standing in place with his legs half-bent.

Reize didn’t even understand what had happened. From his perspective, the old chieftain just muttered a few words, the two stared at each other in silence for a while, then the old chieftain left Ji Chi behind and walked away.

He stepped forward and asked Ji Chi in confusion, “What happened? You’re not continuing?”

Ji Chi straightened his body and silently stared at the few broken strands of hair on the snowy ground. After a while, he finally said, “It’s over. I lost.”

Reize was stunned and became even more confused, opening his mouth without knowing what to say.

The youth actually hadn’t understood either, but it didn’t prevent him from feeling strangely satisfied. His face even carried a bit of sympathy as he stepped forward and patted Ji Chi’s shoulder. “You’re better than me. In the tribe, you should be able to be in charge of moving stones. Keep working hard, young man!”

The beastmen’s emotions came quickly and dissipated just as fast. The youth had already forgotten he’d been angry. He whistled, mounted his running snow wolf, and humming a tune, swayed down from this layer of rocky cliff.

Natasha also walked to Ji Chi’s side, hesitating on how to comfort the shocked young man. “Don’t look at the chieftain’s aged appearance. In the Snow Wolf Tribe, only the strongest warrior can be elected as chieftain. Let’s go. You’ll need to stay here for a very long time. I’ll show you around the tribe.”

Ji Chi walked silently and suddenly said, “He definitely didn’t move his feet, nor did he rely on pure strength. That was his sword technique—a sword technique that could produce the effect of a sharp blade using just a walking stick.”

Ji Chi looked up and asked Natasha, “I remember you’re also a lightning mage, but when you killed the berserk beasts earlier, you seemed to have been using warrior abilities the whole time… Is it because you practiced sword techniques? You’re using sword techniques to compensate for insufficient speed and strength.”

Natasha looked at him with surprise. “Your observation is very sharp. That’s right. The restrictions on mages on this snowy mountain are too great. We can only learn sword techniques and force ourselves to survive as warriors.”

“And now you’ll need to take this path too. Aqi is the teacher in charge of teaching sword techniques in the Snow Wolf Tribe. Starting tomorrow, you can go learn from him.”

“However, yours and your father’s magic power is still very useful.” Natasha turned to Reize and said, “Your light magic can help people recover from wounds. It’s a very scarce ability here. You also can’t give up practicing your magic power normally. At critical moments, it can save lives.”

Natasha continued to tell them about matters within Snow Wolf Valley. Life in the Snow Wolf Tribe was very simple—only three things: eating, fighting, and sleeping.

On this snowy mountain, there were actually many other plants and animals. While slaying berserk beasts and searching for invaders, the Snow Wolf Tribe’s warriors would also bring back captured prey as provisions for the tribespeople.

The beastmen of the Snow Wolf Tribe were very special. Their relationship with the Northland snow wolves was inseparable. Every warrior, from birth, would grow up together with a young snow wolf. The warriors couldn’t transform into beasts, but they shared life and death with the snow wolves, sharing joy and pain together.

The warriors of the Snow Wolf Tribe, regardless of gender or age, were all passionate about combat. They feared nothing, and every inch of the Beast God Peak’s valley had been explored by tribespeople.

However, bold as they were, they wouldn’t go to the Beast God Peak’s ridge and summit. These places were forbidden lands of no return, and the dangers within were engraved in their very genes.

“So don’t run around carelessly. Even after you master sword techniques, don’t casually leave the valley.” Natasha instructed. “Also, it’s best not to get injured. There are very few medicinal herbs on Beast God Peak. If you accidentally get injured, you can only rely on your own recovery, or use your light magic to heal.”

“But……” Natasha’s expression darkened. “The magic power here is greatly restricted. Even the most powerful light magic can only heal wounds, but cannot regenerate severed limbs…… So you must be very careful. Warriors who lose limbs often also lose part of their souls.”

Natasha seemed determined to make up for decades of missing nagging. She talked nonstop from beginning to end along the way. Ji Chi and Reize rarely had a chance to interject and could only accept the mother’s loving care wholesale.

They passed several connected suspension bridges and arrived at a relatively wide rocky ridge. On the cliff face, there was an opening the height of a person. A thick animal skin curtain hanging at the entrance blocked the cold air from outside.

Indistinct sounds of conversation came from inside.

Natasha couldn’t suppress her constantly upturning lips and said to Reize, “Because your father can use powerful light magic, he became the healer here, responsible for healing warriors’ wounds. He has very high prestige within the tribe.”

“He’ll be so happy to see you……” Natasha’s eyes curved. “Back then, to leave this place, he even cut off his own wings, thinking he could pass as human and get out. Unfortunately, the mark that the Angel Kingdom leaves on its people doesn’t disappear with the wings. He could only continue staying in Snow Wolf Valley, and he was depressed about it for a very long time……”

Hearing this, Ji Chi looked at Reize rather peculiarly. Is cutting off wings some kind of family tradition for you all?

Naturally, Reize also recalled the determination and severe pain when he cut off his wings. He sighed, and the last trace of resentment toward his parents dissipated.

The animal skin curtain was lifted, and the conversation inside the cave became clear.

“Isaac, your wound is so shallow. If you’d come to me any later, it would have healed on its own. Stop making a fuss. My magic power isn’t as inexhaustible as the white snow on Beast God Peak.” Rechel sat by the fire, reading through historical records passed down by the Snow Wolf Tribe.

These beastmen didn’t know writing and recorded things using strange-looking drawings. Passed down to the present, no one could understand what they were trying to express.

Rechel studied the figures on the sheepskin paper with distress while having to deal with the youth pestering him relentlessly.

Isaac was the owner of the iron hammer from earlier. He pointed at a shallow scratch on his face and yelled dissatisfiedly, “No, you have to heal it! I got injured because of Sister Natasha, and my iron hammer broke too!”

Rechel’s gaze finally moved from the sheepskin paper. He anxiously grabbed Isaac. “What did you say? What happened to Natasha?”

Isaac pouted, just thinking about how to portray himself as more pitiful, when a voice interrupted him.

“I’ll help heal you, but please don’t forget you were the one who struck first.” From the moment Reize entered, all his attention was fixed on the angel with eight wings spread out in the center of the cave.

Angels were a race universally recognized on the continent as being favored by the gods. They had hair as brilliant as sunshine, pupils as blue as the sky, and wings as white as clouds. Even sitting in a crude cave, they couldn’t conceal their pure and sacred aura.

Angels had elegance and composure carved into their bloodline, but at this moment, Rechel threw them to the foot of the snowy peak. “Re-Reize?! Is that you?”

He almost stumbled forward, so shocked he couldn’t speak. He carefully touched Reize’s arms, as if afraid of shattering a dream that was too real.

Isaac retreated to Ji Chi’s side, making room for their family reunion. He pursed his lips sourly and asked Ji Chi, “Are your parents like this too? I feel like my fur is about to stand on end……”

Ji Chi answered him, “My parents would only be this happy after I die…… But do you mean goosebumps or hair? Humans don’t have something called fur on their bodies.”

Isaac: “Oh, then you’re even worse off than me. My parents died protecting me…… But is there a difference between goosebumps and hair? They’re both skin connected to hair. Why split hairs about it?”

Ji Chi: “……Never mind, whatever makes you happy.”

Isaac was very pleased and unilaterally recognized this new friend.

He didn’t want to watch the harmonious reunion scene anymore and invited Ji Chi, “Let’s go listen to Aqi’s lessons! I used to think sword techniques weren’t that important—as long as you had great strength, it was enough. But now I’ve changed my mind! I must practice sword techniques well, then like the chieftain, defeat you in one move!”

Ji Chi couldn’t help but retort, “First of all, he didn’t defeat me in one move. He only cut off a small tuft of my fur… no, hair. Secondly, he didn’t follow any warrior’s code at all. In a real fight, I’d definitely win.”

Isaac glanced at him sideways and sighed with affected maturity. “Young man——not accepting defeat is a good thing, but you must also face your failures squarely.”

Ji Chi clenched his fist expressionlessly. “Then do you want to fail again?”

Isaac whistled to summon his snow wolf companion and rode it down toward the bottom of the rift valley, laughing merrily.

Snow Wolf Valley was the most gradual section of the rift valley. The cliff faces on both sides were only a few hundred meters high. Jumping down along the rock wall from top to bottom, one could reach the valley floor in no time.

The bottom of the rift valley was level ground, not appearing naturally formed. It should have been paved by the Snow Wolf Tribe’s people moving stones to fill it in later.

So moving stones really is an actual job assignment? Ji Chi twitched his lips.

Still thirty-some meters from the valley floor, Ji Chi jumped directly down from the rocks, crouching slightly to absorb the falling momentum while observing this flat ground.

This was where the Snow Wolf Tribe’s people trained. Not far away, a seven or eight-year-old child let out a “ha” and split a boulder in half, earning encouraging applause from his father.

In the center of the flat ground, more tribespeople were gathered—all warriors between youth and young adulthood. They held short wooden sticks in their hands, concentrating intently as they faced forward to listen to the lesson.

In front was a tall man with his side toward Ji Chi. That should be the Aqi they mentioned, Ji Chi thought. Someone responsible for teaching so many people sword techniques must be a very powerful warrior——

His thoughts abruptly cut off, because that Aqi turned around, and what crashed into Ji Chi’s vision was an empty right arm and a right leg carved from tree branches.