Tavern of the Spear: Desire for Pleasure

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

The three of them turned around abruptly and saw a short figure standing not far away, looking at them curiously.

The group turned sharply, following the sound. They saw a small figure standing not far away, curiously observing them with large, watery eyes. It was a young wolf-human, about six or seven years old, dressed in coarse linen clothing, with messy, short gray hair like a bird's nest. Children are naturally curious and fearless; even facing a sudden stranger, he showed no fear, but rather widened his eyes, looking eager to try.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" The little wolf beastman tilted his head and asked in a childish voice, clear and melodious like a mountain spring.

Just then, a tall figure swiftly stepped in front of the little wolf-beastman, shielding him behind him. It was an adult wolf-beastman, burly and muscular, dressed in rough cloth similar to a child's, but noticeably more worn, covered in mud and bits of grass—clearly a hardworking farmer. His eyes were sharp, fixed intently on the three who had suddenly appeared, filled with the same vigilance he had shown with that heavy punch.

"Who are you? Why are you in my field?" the adult wolf-beastman asked in a deep, hoarse voice, tinged with a hint of threat. He gripped a hoe tightly, as if ready to attack at any moment.

"We..." Cheng Yu was about to explain when Bai Yu spoke first.

“Our name is Cheng Yu, this is Bai Yu, and this is Zhong Quan.” Bai Yu pointed to himself and the two people beside him and introduced them one by one. “We have no ill intentions. It’s just that the situation was urgent, and we entered a spatial array, which is why we came here.”

"A spatial magic array?" The wolf-beastman dressed as a farmer frowned, clearly not believing them. "I've lived here for decades and have never heard of any spatial magic array."

“It’s true!” Heavy Punch said. “We have no reason to lie to you.”

The peasant wolf-orc remained vigilant, cautiously calling to his child, "Alo, you go back first, leave this to me."

“But, Dad…” The little wolf beastman Alo was somewhat reluctant; he wanted to continue observing these strange strangers.

"Listen to me, go back now!" The peasant wolf-orc's tone became stern.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, a gentle yet divine voice suddenly rang in everyone's ears, like a spring breeze, bringing them immense comfort and peace.

"Alo, you go back first, leave this to me."

Upon hearing this voice, the peasant wolf-beastman immediately abandoned his hostility, respectfully stepped aside, and bowed his head, saying, "Yes, Lord Ao Cheng."

The little wolf-orc Alo obediently nodded and ran away.

A pure white wolf-orc slowly approached. He was tall, but not as burly as the peasant wolf-orc; instead, he appeared slender and elegant. He wore a long white robe, simple in style yet exquisitely made, embroidered with delicate, subtle patterns that shimmered softly in the sunlight. His steps were light yet steady, each one seemingly imbued with a certain rhythm, giving him an otherworldly air.

Cheng Yu looked at the white wolf and felt a strange sense of familiarity welling up inside him, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it. He scratched his head and muttered to himself, "Could it be a character from some comic book I read in my past life?"

The white wolf approached the group, first gesturing for the peasant wolf-beastman to leave, before turning its gaze to Cheng Yu and his companions. Its eyes were gentle yet profound, as if they could see through everything.

"Hello, I am Ao Cheng," the white wolf said, his voice gentle yet magnetic. "Welcome to the werewolf tribe."

"Ao Cheng?" Cheng Yu and the other two felt a little puzzled when they heard this name.

"Why is your surname 'Ao'?" Bai Yu couldn't help but ask. "Isn't that a surname only dragons have?"

Ao Cheng smiled slightly and explained, "Because my partner is a dragon, I changed my surname to 'Ao' as well."

"I see." The three of them suddenly realized.

"You just said you came here using a spatial magic array?" Ao Cheng asked. "Could you explain in detail?"

“Of course.” Cheng Yu nodded, and then told Ao Cheng in detail how they met Bo Wen, how they searched for the “fragment”, how they entered that mysterious underground space, and how they finally arrived here through the teleportation array.

Ao Cheng listened quietly, his eyes flashing with thoughtful light.

"So, you came here to leave some void realm?" Ao Cheng asked.

“Yes,” Cheng Yu said. “We must find three fragments of time—the ‘past,’ the ‘present,’ and the ‘future’—in order to have any chance of leaving that hellhole.”

"Have you found the 'future' fragment?" Ao Cheng continued to ask.

“Yes.” Cheng Yu said, taking out the fragment that was shimmering with a faint light from his pocket.

Ao Cheng looked at the fragment, his expression turning serious.

“This is indeed a fragment of time with the aura of the ‘future’,” Ao Cheng said. “But do you know where the fragments of the ‘past’ and ‘present’ are?”

“I don’t know. We have absolutely no idea where the fragments of the ‘past’ and the fragments of the ‘present’ will appear,” Cheng Yu said.

"The 'future' fragments you collected before were from the sealed land, right? If that's the case, the 'past' should be in the River of Oblivion," Ao Cheng muttered to himself. "That's an extremely dangerous place."

"How dangerous is it?" Bai Yu asked.

"The River of Oblivion is a branch of the River of Time. It is said that forgotten history is sealed there, and the environment there is in an uncertain state; its existence is also its non-existence." Ao Cheng turned his head and saw Bai Yu nodding. He asked with some curiosity, "Do you know about that place too?"

"Why can't we know? My master may be unreliable, but he is the God of Time. I've been to places like this before," Bai Yu said nonchalantly. "If you want to go, I can take you."

“That’s true,” Cheng Yu said. “It seems that the search for the fragments will have to be left to you from now on.”

“I will help you,” Ao Cheng said. “After all, you have more important things to do besides this.”

"Really? Thank you so much!" Cheng Yu and the other two were overjoyed to hear this.

“However, you need to rest before you set off,” Ao Cheng said. “You all look exhausted.”

"I am indeed a bit tired," Cheng Yu said, stretching.

"Then let's rest at my place for a while," Ao Cheng said. "I have some spare rooms there."

"Then I'll have to trouble you," Cheng Yu said.

"You're welcome." Ao Cheng smiled, then turned and walked towards the village. "Come with me."

Cheng Yu and his two companions followed Ao Cheng toward the village. Along the way, they saw many wolf-beastmen working in the fields. They were all dressed in coarse cloth clothes similar to those of the farmer wolf-beastman, with dark skin and muscular builds.

"Are all the people here wolf-beastmen?" Bai Yu asked curiously.

“Yes,” Ao Cheng said. “These wolves have lived here for generations, for hundreds of years.”

"So, what's the name of your village? Is there anything special about it?" Cheng Yu asked.

“Let’s call it the Wolf Clan Tribe. In our village, there’s a huge tree that can give people strength. That must be what makes it special,” Ao Cheng replied. “I planted that tree. It’s the main source of strength for these werewolves. Without it, the werewolves here would have a much harder time living. Perhaps you don’t know the situation here.”

"How could they lose so badly?" Cheng Yu and the other two were very curious upon hearing this. "Can you take us to see for ourselves?"

“Of course,” Ao Cheng said. “However, let’s go and rest first. I’ll take you to see it after you’ve rested.”

"Okay." Cheng Yu and the other two nodded.

Soon, they arrived at Ao Cheng's residence. It was a small house built of stone and wood, but it was very clean and tidy.

"This is my home," Ao Cheng said. "You can find a room to rest."

"Thank you," Cheng Yu and the other two said.

"Don't mention it." Ao Cheng smiled. "You guys rest first, I'll go prepare some food for you."

After saying that, Ao Cheng turned and walked into the kitchen.

Cheng Yu and the other two found a room and lay down to rest. After a fierce battle and a long journey, they were indeed very tired and soon fell asleep.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Cheng Yu was awakened by an enticing aroma. He opened his eyes and found Ao Cheng standing by his bedside, holding a steaming bowl of food.

"You're awake?" Ao Cheng said with a smile. "Come and have something to eat."

"What is this?" Cheng Yu sat up and asked.

"This is a specialty dish of our wolf clan, called 'Roasted Meat Stew'," Ao Cheng said. "It's made by stewing fresh animal meat and vegetables together, and it tastes incredibly delicious."

"I'm sorry, this is already the best food our tribe has. There aren't many land resources here, so it's very difficult to grow vegetables well. Therefore, vegetables are very precious here. I hope you don't mind." Ao Cheng didn't actually need to think about all this, but that's just his personality.

Cheng Yu took the bowl, smelled it, and indeed, it smelled delicious. He couldn't wait to take a bite, and immediately felt a warm current flow through his body, and his fatigue dissipated considerably.

"It's delicious!" Cheng Yu exclaimed. "Thank you, Ao Cheng."

"You're welcome," Ao Cheng said. "I'm glad you like it."

“By the way, Ao Cheng,” Cheng Yu asked while eating, “how much do you know about the ‘River of Oblivion’?”

“I don’t know much either,” Ao Cheng said. “After all, that place is too dangerous, and very few people dare to go there. Moreover, my grasp of the laws of time is almost zero, so it’s impossible for me to come into contact with these things. I’ve only learned about them from books.”

"Then can you tell us the exact location of that place?" Cheng Yu asked.

“Well…” Ao Cheng hesitated for a moment, then said, “Let’s forget about it. I think your companions know this place better than I do. But I still have to remind you to be careful and not to take any risks lightly.”

"Don't worry, we will," Cheng Yu said.

“Alright.” Ao Cheng nodded and said, “Then I’ll tell you what I know first. If you want to find the ‘River of Oblivion,’ one of you must be very familiar with the laws of time. Even if the ‘River of Oblivion’ suddenly appears in front of you, you might forget it in a short time because of its own rules, so that you don’t even know that you’ve seen this ‘river’.”

If you have a mastery of time, you can find the forgotten things buried beneath time and directly draw the 'River of Oblivion' to yourself, thus allowing you to step onto it.

"Is it that difficult?" Cheng Yu said with some surprise.

“Yes, that’s how it is with things related to time,” Ao Cheng said. “Moreover, if you’re not careful, you might fall into the ‘River of Oblivion’ and never be able to come back. You’ll be completely forgotten by the world. Even if you manage to come back, the world will have already forgotten you, and you will be attacked by the world’s will because at that point, the world’s will will have already regarded you as outsiders. So, you must be fully prepared.”

“We’ll be careful,” Cheng Yu said. “Thank you for telling me this.”

"You're welcome," Ao Cheng said. "It's what I should do."

“By the way, Ao Cheng,” Cheng Yu suddenly remembered something and asked, “You just said that your partner is a dragon. Where is he?”

“He…” Ao Cheng’s eyes dimmed for a moment, and he said, “He went to a very far place and hasn’t come back for a long time.”

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that," Cheng Yu said apologetically.

“It’s alright.” Ao Cheng shook his head and said, “I believe he will definitely come back, and I will definitely find him.”

"Yes, definitely," Cheng Yu said.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore," Ao Cheng said. "You eat quickly, and then rest well. I'll go and bring food to the others later. Once you've rested, I'll take you to the sacred tree in the village."

"Okay." Cheng Yu nodded and continued eating.

After finishing their meal, Cheng Yu and the other two rested for a while before following Ao Cheng to the giant tree in the center of the village, which possessed immense power.

It was an extremely tall tree, several tens of meters high, with a thick trunk that would require more than a dozen people to encircle. Its branches were dense, like a giant umbrella, blocking out the sky. The leaves were spear-shaped, with sharp edges that gleamed with a cold light.

“This is the sacred tree in the village,” Ao Cheng said, pointing to the tree. “It is the guardian deity of this wolf pack.”

"How magnificent!" Cheng Yu and the other two looked up at the towering tree and couldn't help but exclaim.

"The main reason I planted this tree was to protect these wolf-beastmen, and then give them strength through this tree so that they would no longer fear the threat of giant beasts. They will also fulfill their promise to me and help me find my mate in this world," Ao Cheng said.

"Really?" Bai Yu asked curiously. "Then can its power help us find the fragments of the 'past' and 'present'?"

“I don’t know either,” Ao Cheng shook his head and said, “but we can give it a try.”

As he spoke, Ao Cheng walked to the sacred tree, closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and muttered something as if he were praying for something.

Cheng Yu and the other two followed Ao Cheng's example, closing their eyes and praying silently.

After a while, Ao Cheng opened his eyes and said, "It seems that this tree cannot do it, but it is certain that the fragments of the past are hidden in the 'River of Oblivion'."

"Okay, it seems I was overthinking it. My desire to slack off is getting the better of me again. Sorry." Bai Yu felt a little disappointed upon hearing this, since he would have to put in the effort to find the fragments later.

“Haha~ This time traveler, I once had the same thoughts as you, but sometimes you have to do well enough to make up for the mistakes you’ve made. You’re bound to encounter danger on your trip to the ‘River of Oblivion.’ Although we’ve only just met, I still hope you’ll be careful. Your understanding of time is very high, and I hope you can take responsibility for it. I believe your master thinks the same way,” Ao Cheng said.

"Thanks for the reminder. I won't abandon my companions, you can rest assured about that. I believe they will be careful too." Bai Yu's eyes were full of confidence, it seemed he didn't think he would encounter any difficulties in the River of Oblivion.

“Alright, you’d better do as you say,” Ao Cheng said. “Okay, now that we’ve seen the trees, it’s time to go back.”

"When do we set off?" Bai Yu asked.

"Let's do it tomorrow morning," Ao Cheng said. "You all should get some rest today and recharge your energy."

"Okay." Cheng Yu and the other two nodded.

The next morning, Cheng Yu and his two companions bid farewell to Ao Cheng and embarked on their journey to the "River of Oblivion".