Tavern of the Spear: Desire for Pleasure

The group quickly arrived at the vast grassland. The boundless prairie instantly relaxed them. Cheng Yu, in particular, felt a strong urge to run because of the unique feeling the grassland gave him. Unlike Xing Luo and Bai Yu, Cheng Yu, being a wolf-beastman, had running on the grassland as a natural instinct for wolves. Although not all wolves lived on the grassland, the ancient instincts developed from hunting there instilled in Cheng Yu a desire to run freely across the grassland.

In the end, Cheng Yu couldn't control the feeling. He spread his arms and rushed forward, feeling the wind rushing towards him. As he ran, he went from running on two feet to running on all fours, his wolfish nature fully manifested. He only stopped when he was exhausted, lying down on the soft grass to rest, panting heavily.

Xingluo and Baiyu followed slowly behind Chengyu. It took them several minutes to catch up after Chengyu stopped. Looking at Chengyu lying on the ground, looking quite content, Baiyu sighed helplessly. Judging from the situation, they would probably have to rest again and continue their journey in the afternoon.

Afterwards, Bai Yu and Xing Luo set up their tent on the grass to rest, lit a campfire, and lit a pot. Just a short distance from where Cheng Yu lay down was a very shallow stream; streams on the grasslands are usually the source of large rivers. However, at this moment, the stream was the only place on the grassland where they could obtain water and food. If they wanted, they could try hunting on the grassland. But these three weren't particularly fond of hunting; catching a few fish was enough to satisfy their nutritional needs.

"Cheng Yu, are you alright?" Bai Yu walked over and asked with concern.

"Haha, I'm fine, I'm just a little tired from running," Cheng Yu said with a smile. "This grassland is so beautiful, it made me want to run around."

"You're always so impulsive," Bai Yu shook his head. "But seeing you so happy makes me happy too."

"Hehe," Cheng Yu sat up, "Xingluo, what do you think of this grassland?"

“It’s beautiful and magnificent,” Xingluo said. “I’ve been to many grasslands before, but I’ve never seen such a vast and beautiful grassland.”

"Right?" Cheng Yu said smugly, "This is the vast grassland near the northern wolf tribe, of course it's different."

“Speaking of the northern wolf tribe,” Cheng Yu asked, “how much longer until we get there?”

“At our current pace, it will probably take another day or so,” Xingluo said. “However, we’re not in a hurry now; we can take our time to enjoy the scenery along the way.”

"Yes, that makes sense." Bai Yu nodded. "Then let's rest here for a bit and continue our journey this afternoon."

“Okay,” Cheng Yu said. “I’m tired from running and need to rest.”

So the three of them rested on the grass. Bai Yu and Xing Luo prepared lunch, while Cheng Yu continued to lie on the grass, enjoying the sunshine and the gentle breeze.

"By the way, Xingluo," Bai Yu asked while cooking fish soup, "besides singing and playing the piano, what else can you do?"

“I can also tell stories,” Xingluo said. “A bard is someone who travels around, collects all sorts of stories, and then tells them to others.”

"Then tell us a story," Bai Yu said. "We don't have anything to do right now."

“Great! We’re going to the Northern Wolf Clan anyway.” Xinglu thought for a moment and said, “Then I’ll tell you a legend about the Northern Wolf Clan.”

"Okay, okay!" Cheng Yu perked up immediately when he heard there was a story to hear and sat up from the grass.

“Legend has it that long, long ago,” Xinglu began, “the Northern Wolf Clan was just a small tribe, often bullied by surrounding tribes. One day, a young warrior from the tribe, while hunting, accidentally discovered a wounded giant wolf. This wolf was enormous, pure white, and looked very majestic. Seeing its pitiful state, the young warrior took it back to the tribe and cared for it carefully. After the giant wolf recovered, it did not leave but stayed in the tribe and became friends with the young warrior. Later, when other tribes attacked again, the young warrior and the giant wolf together led the tribe's warriors in a valiant battle and ultimately defeated the enemy. From then on, the giant wolf became the guardian deity of the Northern Wolf Clan, and the tribe gradually grew stronger, becoming one of the most powerful tribes on this grassland.”

"Uh, this story feels a bit... never mind, I'd better not talk about it." After listening, Cheng Yu immediately noticed the problem, but he didn't want to mention it. After all, stories often have fabricated parts, and who knows which are true and which are false? However, he still commented on the snow-white giant wolf, "That giant wolf must be very powerful!"

“Yes, very powerful,” Xingluo said. “It is said that He was a god, and later he also bestowed unparalleled power upon the Northern Wolf Clan, which allowed the Northern Wolf Clan to dominate the region for a period of time.”

"I really want to see it with my own eyes, don't you think? Haha." Cheng Yu smiled somewhat awkwardly.

“There’s a chance,” Xingluo said. “When we get to the Northern Wolf Clan, we might be able to see Him. Although the Northern Wolf Clan has been completely destroyed, that giant wolf is a god. What if he hasn’t left yet?”

"Perhaps?" Cheng Yu's eyes flickered, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

“Alright, the story is over,” Xingluo said. “The fish soup is ready, let’s eat.”

"Alright!" Cheng Yu was already hungry, so he immediately picked up his bowl and chopsticks, ready to enjoy the delicious fish soup.

The three sat around the campfire, drinking fish soup and chatting in a very harmonious atmosphere.

“By the way, Cheng Yu,” Xing Luo suddenly asked, “you said you already have a boyfriend, what kind of people are they?”

“They,” Cheng Yu thought for a moment and said, “each of them is excellent, and they are all very kind to me. I like them very much.”

"Looks like you're quite popular," Xingluo said with a smile.

“Who says otherwise? I’ve met quite a few orcs who have a crush on him,” Bai Yu interjected.

"Hehe, it's alright." Cheng Yu scratched his head a little embarrassedly.

"So what kind of love do you think is the best?" Xingluo asked.

"I believe that true love should be about mutual understanding, mutual support, and mutual tolerance," Cheng Yu said earnestly. "When two people are together, it shouldn't just be to satisfy their own desires, but to think about each other and work together towards a common goal."

“What you said makes a lot of sense.” Xinglu nodded in agreement. “It seems you have a very deep understanding of love.”

"Haha, this is all based on my own experience," Cheng Yu said. "I've been through a lot, received a lot of help, and lost a lot, before I finally understood this principle."

"Then you must have experienced a lot of stories, right?" Xingluo asked curiously.

“Yes, there are many,” Cheng Yu said. “If there’s a chance, I’ll tell you about them slowly.”

“Okay,” Xingluo said, “I look forward to hearing your story.”

“Me too,” Bai Yu said.

Bai Yu hadn't wanted to speak, since the atmosphere was actually quite good. If he said that everything Cheng Yu said was mostly true and half false, it would definitely affect the atmosphere.

Bai Yu and Cheng Yu have known each other for so long that Bai Yu is very clear about Cheng Yu's understanding of love. It's not what Cheng Yu thinks. Although Cheng Yu has thought about it, it's not much. Otherwise, why would he be targeted by that kind of thing?

The three chatted for a while longer until the sun began to set, then they packed up their things and continued on their way.

The setting sun cast its golden rays across the grassland, bathing everything in a golden hue. The three walked across the golden grassland, their shadows stretching long and thin.

"Xingluo, will you always be a bard?" Bai Yu asked.

“Probably,” Xingluo said. “This is my dream and my mission. I want to use my songs and stories to share the beauty of this world with more people.”

“You will definitely become a great bard,” Bai Yu said.

"Thank you," Xinglu smiled. "I will try my best."

"Bai Yu, what about you?" Xing Luo turned to Bai Yu and asked, "What are your plans for the future? What are your plans after you finish traveling in this world?"

"Me?" Bai Yu thought for a moment and said, "I haven't decided yet, but I think I will always stay with my master and the others and live the life we ​​want."

"That's good," Xingluo said. "I hope you can all realize your dreams."

"Yes, it will, it definitely will," Cheng Yu said firmly.

The three continued walking forward, their figures appearing especially warm and beautiful in the glow of the setting sun.

Everything was so beautiful, but in the next instant, several dark figures emerged from the grass and pounced towards them. Xingluo was so startled that she stopped abruptly, almost losing her balance and falling into Bai Yu's arms behind her. Cheng Yu and Bai Yu also quickly became alert. The reason they didn't attack immediately was because they realized from the first moment that what was attacking them wasn't some magical beast, but just orcs, so there was no need to use lethal attacks directly; perhaps they could still communicate with each other.

These orcs should be thankful they weren't magical beasts; otherwise, they might already be dead in the pit, since Cheng Yu and his group had already discovered there were people beneath the grass. It was just that Cheng Yu and his group thought they had mistakenly entered the territory of a tribe, and being attacked was perfectly normal.

However, after seeing their attire clearly, Cheng Yu and his group realized that they were probably not members of a tribe, but just a group of bandits raiding the grasslands. Nevertheless, they still didn't attack. They needed to assess the situation. If the bandits just wanted some money, they could pay and leave; less trouble was always better. But if their demands were excessive, they would have no choice but to let them sleep.

This group of thugs was probably not the main fighting force of their team, because it was easy to see that they had special markings on their bodies to determine their rank. The leader of the thugs had the Chinese character "中" (zhong, meaning middle) painted on his hair in red dye. It looked rather comical to have this painted on the head of a bear.

"Who are you people?" Cheng Yu asked in a deep voice, while secretly observing the surrounding situation. He found that there were about a dozen people in this group of thugs. In addition to the bear beastman who was in charge, there were several wolf beastmen, tiger beastmen, and even a relatively rare snake beastman.

"Hmph, you don't need to know who we are!" the leading bear-beastman said viciously. "If you know what's good for you, hand over all your valuables, or don't blame us for being impolite!"

"Oh? What if we don't pay?" Bai Yu raised an eyebrow and asked with interest.

"You won't hand it over?" The bear-orc sneered. "Then don't blame us for being ruthless! Brothers, charge!"

At the bear-beastman's command, the group of thugs immediately pounced on Cheng Yu and his companions.

"It seems a fierce battle is inevitable. I was originally going to pay, but they're so agitated." Cheng Yu sighed and said to Xing Luo, "Xing Luo, be careful and hide behind us."

"Yes, you guys should be careful too!" Xinglu said, trying to remain calm despite her fear.