Chapter 8 Human Traces

  Can't help but admit, this black leopard's speed is indeed fast, Gan Ping's advancing speed compared to it is like a cow standing next to a galloping horse, or even a snail. The wind rushing past made Gan Ping's face as dry and rough as orange peel, the headwind made it hard for him to breathe. He wanted to ask Huo to slow down the black leopard's speed, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the strong gust of wind filled his throat, forcing his words back in.

  Gan Ping's face turned pale with fear, afraid that this black leopard would accidentally crash into a tree. He had already developed a psychological shadow of crashing into trees. What made Gan Ping even more depressed was that under Huo's guidance, the leopard ran off course. Originally heading due south, it was now running southwest, but he could only watch, unable to say a word. His two hands grasped the leopard's fur tightly, lest he fall off this speeding black leopard and crack his head open.

  They ran wildly for the whole afternoon, only stopping when it was almost dark. Along the way, Gan Ping looked gloomily at Huo sitting on the big head of the black leopard, this little thing was actually swinging its butt back and forth, extremely carefree, even running in the wrong direction without knowing it, which made Gan Ping's teeth itch with anger.

  The leopard stopped, and Gān Píng reached out to grab Huǒ, who was still proudly standing there. He put the monkey's face in front of his own and scolded, "You idiot, we've gone off track, do you know that? We've strayed so far, you numbskull." Huǒ immediately froze, looking at Gān Píng with confusion, as if wondering why his master was so angry.

  Guan Ping, defeated by its innocent expression, could only lower his head and follow it to one side, pointing first at the south direction they were originally heading, then at their current location, and finally at the leopard. Huo'er's face lit up with sudden understanding, and it immediately mimicked Guan Ping's actions from yesterday, using its small paws to create a makeshift canopy and looking around in all directions, completely unaware of where they actually were.

  Watching its human-like movements, Gan Ping couldn't help but laugh and feel annoyed at the same time. This leopard's speed was indeed impressive, having traveled several hundred miles in just one afternoon, only to run off course. Suddenly, the little monkey in front of him looked around cautiously, then let out a loud shriek, jumped onto the leopard's head, raised the branch in its hand and started beating it fiercely while jumping up and down.

  Gan Ping couldn't help but feel both angry and amused by Huo Er's actions, so he quickly picked him up and poked his nose, saying: "You little scamp, you're clearly in the wrong but won't admit it." Huo Er struggled free from Gan Ping's arms and jumped down to stand in front of him, chattering and gesturing away. Gan Ping was at a loss, so he gave up trying to tell him off.

  When Gan Ping stopped speaking, Huo Er immediately became complacent and heavily slapped the leopard, then jumped up and leaped onto a branch, disappearing in an instant. Gan Ping looked at the black leopard with a guilty conscience, fearing that this massive creature would turn around and swallow him whole. Without Huo Er present, who knew if this guy would suddenly become violent and take a bite out of him? Unexpectedly, the leopard didn't move or react at all, still lying there, filled with grievances, having been treated as a laborer for so long, yet being brutally beaten. If the leopard could speak, it would surely cry to Gan Ping about its own innocence.

  Just as Gan Ping was sitting nervously on the leopard's back, not daring to move, a fiery red shadow leapt down from the tree and threw him a wild fruit. After running for an entire afternoon, Gan Ping was already starving, so he hastily devoured the fruit in big mouthfuls, stuffing it into his belly. Huo also picked up a wild fruit and sat opposite him, gnawing at the pulp with big bites. The two of them, one human and one monkey, were having a great time on the leopard's back, while the black leopard still looked wronged, not even daring to move its body slightly.

  After eating the fruit, Huo Huo randomly wiped the juice on his paws onto Bei's back a few times. He grabbed a branch and suddenly sprang to the top of the black leopard's head. Looking back at Gan Ping, he let out a few "squeaks" and Gan Ping quickly tightened his grip on the leopard's fur. The black leopard immediately took off again, this time heading due south.

  The forest was dark and terrifying at night, a giant beast was running wildly in the woods, bringing up a gust of wind that blew the fallen leaves flying everywhere. Occasionally, a wild wolf would let out a mournful howl, but under the pressure of the ferocious aura emitted by this fierce beast, it was like a duck having its neck pinched, and the shrill howl came to an abrupt end. The wolf tucked in its tail and fled with its urine flowing.

  Gan Ping leaned forward and lay on the back of this leopard, tightly grasping the smooth fur as the giant beast galloped wildly. This wild run didn't stop until dawn, although this gigantic black panther was also a rare species, with an incredibly strong body, after a night of galloping, it was also drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

  Gan Ping jumped down from the leopard's body, looking at the panting beast in front of him. To his surprise, he saw a hint of pleading in its deep blue eyes. Seeing that the leopard was exhausted and couldn't run anymore, Gan Ping's heart stirred. He picked up the little fire spirit that had been sleeping on the leopard's head, patted the sweaty leopard's head, and said, "Alright, go ahead, you don't have to follow me." The black leopard in front of him didn't move or react, only staring at the fire spirit in Gan Ping's arms. Seeing no reaction from it, Gan Ping put the sleeping little monkey into his chest, covered it with his clothes, and turned around to walk away.

  The black leopard carried only one person and a monkey, running nearly a thousand miles, was already unable to run anymore. Gan Ping couldn't bear to let it continue galloping, and most importantly, when the leopard stopped earlier, he saw a wisp of smoke in the distant forest, which made him extremely delighted. Although anxious, Gan Ping also knew that riding a leopard into the presence of ordinary people would be too shocking, so he got off the leopard and proceeded alone. The black leopard watched as Gan Ping's figure walked further and further away until it was out of sight, then turned around and left to rest on its own.

  Gan Ping hastened his pace, as if he wanted to grow a pair of wings and fly to where there was smoke from cooking. As he walked, he suddenly had a familiar feeling, so he quickly stopped in his tracks and examined the grass in front of him. He picked up a branch from beside him and parted the messy grass, revealing a large iron beast clip inside. Although he wasn't clear why he knew there was a beast clip here, when he arrived at this place and saw the layout on the ground, he still had a familiar feeling.

  Gan Ping has been living in the mountains with his father since he was a child, watching him set traps and catch wild beasts every day, so he is very familiar with this setup. Although he has forgotten his original memories due to the fusion of Xuan Mingzi and Huo Long Yuanshen into his soul, erasing his past experiences, these instincts developed from childhood are impossible to erase.

  Carefully avoiding the traps, he continued on his way and soon discovered several more of these contraptions. He became increasingly convinced that there must be people living nearby. After passing through a sparse thicket of trees, he came upon a low hill and hastily ran up it, barely containing his excitement from shouting out loud. In the distance beyond the hill was an open plain, and further still were rows upon rows of fields, with a village appearing before him.

  Most of the crops in the fields have been harvested, leaving only a few scattered ones that haven't been harvested yet, shining with a golden glow in the sunlight. After rushing around in the mountains for nearly a month, seeing such a village suddenly made Gan Ping extremely delighted.

  He rolled and crawled down the mountain, rushing towards the village. He stumbled all the way to the entrance of the village, looked up, and saw rows of thatched cottages emitting wisps of smoke from their kitchens, wafting the aroma of cooked meals, making Gan Ping's mouth water as he had been living on wild fruits for days. Just as he stretched his neck to peek into the village, a group of children appeared from around the corner, laughing and playing, and discovered the shabbily dressed little Gan Ping.

  "Beggar, look quickly, there is a little beggar over there!"

  "His face is so dirty, it must stink to death. Look at that hair, it's such a mess and he doesn't even bother to fix it."

  "Don't talk nonsense, my grandfather said so, can't mock others, I'll go take a look."

  "Hey, don't go!!!"

  The children laughed and looked at Gan Ping from a distance, their words made Gan Ping's face flush red. These days of traveling in the mountains, he hadn't even thought about washing his face, and the clothes on his body were also picked up, originally loose and baggy, after several days of rushing around, they had long since become tattered rags, if the wind was a bit stronger, you could see the flesh inside.

  Just as Gan Ping was blushing, a little girl in a red dress ran over from the group of children. The dress was obviously made from an old adult's clothes, with several small flower-shaped patches on it. The little girl stopped not far from Gan Ping and looked at him warily.

  "What's your name? Where are you from?" A clear voice rang in Gan Ping's ears, and he stared blankly at the little girl in front of him, speechless. The little girl had round eyes and a small nose, with skin as white as snow, obviously a beautiful child. Gan Ping wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say, and remained silent for half a day, making only faint sounds.

  "Alas, it's just a little fool who can't even speak." Before Gan Ping could explain himself, the little girl turned around and ran back, "I'll go find Grandpa, you guys stay here and don't bully him." After saying that, the little girl looked back at Gan Ping and hurriedly ran towards home, looking like she was the leader of this group of kids.

  The little girl walked away, and the children in front of her slowly gathered around Gan Ping, staring at him for a long time. More than ten curious eyes stared at Gan Ping, making his face turn bright red as he lowered his head deeply. Seeing that Gan Ping was showing weakness, this group of children became more reckless, getting closer to him, occasionally touching him, and eventually surrounding Gan Ping in a circle, jumping up and down while clapping their hands, shouting: "Little beggar, little lazy ghost, doesn't wash face, shameful, shameful, shameful!"

  Just as the village entrance was in an uproar, a voice came from afar, "My dear granddaughter, slow down, slow down! Grandpa's old bones can't take your antics. This girl is so reckless and impulsive, how will she get married in the future?"

  In the distance, a little girl in red clothes pulled an old man and ran to the village entrance. Seeing this group of children surrounding Xiao Ganping and bullying him, she couldn't help but glare at them with wide eyes, rushed forward, blocked Xiao Ganping's way, and shouted loudly: "If you bully people again, I'll go tell Old Master, let him slap your palms."

  When the group of children saw the little girl in red rush out, they immediately became honest and shrunk their necks, not daring to make a sound. Upon hearing this, they dispersed with a commotion, apparently they were quite intimidated by this old man.