Yu Jin looked at the young man in front of him, stroking his chin.
Messy, ash-blonde short hair, wild red eyes, and scars everywhere. Though human, the wildness about him was no less than any of the wolves behind him.
"I know! You're a primitive man!" Yu Jin suddenly realized, pointing at Razor.
Then he walked around Razor, observing him. How rare, how rare! He never expected Mondstadt to still have primitive men!
"…"
"…"
"…"
"I am, Razor," Razor said haltingly, looking at Yu Jin who was circling him and looking around.
"Hello, primitive man Razor. I am modern man Yu Jin." Yu Jin grasped Razor's scarred hand and shook it vigorously.
Xiangling, not far away, watched Yu Jin enthusiastically shaking Razor's hand and suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.
Wasn't this how she and Yu Jin first met? Xiangling realized. So Yu Jin treated every stranger this way?
"Primitive man, no. I am, wolf…" Razor paused. He recalled the fiery red figure and the master who had always meticulously taught him. He then added, "Also, human."
"I never thought the legend was true."
"I told you, but you didn't believe me."
"I never thought the wolves of Wolvendom were really so spiritual?"
…Seeing Razor stammering and talking to Yu Jin, the hunters behind Draff all began to whisper among themselves.
They looked at Razor with either surprise or curiosity, wanting to see what was different about this legendary "wolf-child."
A rumor had always circulated in Springvale, saying that deep within Wolvendom, there was a child raised by wolves.
Although the story was vivid, most hunters had only seen the wolves of Wolvendom a few times, let alone the extremely cautious Razor.
"Mr. Draff, what is everyone talking about?" Xiangling listened to their conversations for a while but couldn't make anything out, so she simply asked Draff directly.
"They are discussing the legend of the 'wolf-child.' I never thought the wolves of Wolvendom would really raise a human child." Draff looked at the fierce Razor not far away, his eyes also showing a hint of shock.
"A child raised by wolves?" Xiangling looked at Razor, dressed in a worn-out coat, wondering what she was thinking.
Razor was very sensitive to gazes, which was both developed during hunting and because he cared about how others looked at him.
Whether human or wolf.
When he was young, he noticed that the other wolves in the pack looked at him differently than they looked at other wolves. He was afraid of that kind of gaze.
Fortunately, through repeated hunts, he gained the pack's approval. That fearful gaze became a memory.
But now, that gaze was back on him. Razor retreated a few steps, somewhat scared. He only wanted to return to the pack, to his Lupical.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
Loud clanging of metal interrupted everyone's conversation. They came back to their senses, looking at Yu Jin, who was constantly slapping his chest plate, with some confusion.
"What are you looking at? Haven't you seen someone scratching an itch?" Yu Jin slapped his chest plate, completely disregarding everyone's gazes.
It was then that Razor realized that the peculiar fellow in front of him was no less strange than himself.
Completely encased in armor, the darkness within the gaps revealed nothing. He was like a knight statue that had walked out of an ancient ruin.
This was the impression Yu Jin gave Razor. Perhaps, those gazes weren't directed at him, but at Yu Jin?
Thinking this, Razor's retreating steps halted.
"Draff, do you not need me anymore? I think it's more convenient for you to talk directly with Razor." After sizing up Razor's "primitive man" attire, Yu Jin said to Draff behind him.
It seemed he was a bit superfluous for this commission?
While Yu Jin was lost in thought, Draff had already walked up to Razor.
"Hello, Razor. I am Draff, the leader of the hunters of Springvale." Draff looked at Razor and introduced himself first.
"Hello." Razor nodded and said nothing more. To be honest, he wasn't good at dealing with humans.
"I came this time to discuss the boundaries between us and the wolf pack. To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings." Seeing this, Draff no longer procrastinated and went straight to the point.
"Roar…"
A low wolf growl came from Razor's mouth, and then the quiet wolf pack became lively again.
However, the wolf pack reached a consensus quite quickly. Before long, the noisy wolf howls subsided.
Then, a white wolf with somewhat dull fur came out of the pack and began to communicate with Razor.
The latter kept nodding, so it seemed that the white wolf should be a leader-like existence in the pack.
After the white wolf finished speaking, it nodded to Razor, indicating that he could go and talk to Draff.
"Okay. However, the elder asked, who set the fire?" Razor looked at Draff and relayed the white wolf's words.
"Fire?" Draff subtly glanced at Xiangling, then waved his hand and said with a smile, "We don't know either, maybe it was struck by lightning?"
"We are all hunters, we wouldn't do something that could damage the forest ecosystem." Saying this, Draff emphasized their identity.
How could experienced hunters set fires?
Razor listened to Draff's words, then turned his head and started talking to the white wolf again.
The white wolf listened to Razor while narrowing its eyes, as if it was about to fall asleep.
A subtle wave of consciousness rippled from the forest. Yu Jin reached out his hand and felt the source of this consciousness.
Then he smiled. He didn't expect this commission to be quite fruitful. He had found all three forms of the defeated God.
The insane, the violated, the sealed. Two of the three fates of Gods that Osial mentioned were here.
"No, you are, lying." Razor looked at Draff with burning eyes, saying each word distinctly.
"No need for that, Mr. Draff. It was me! I set the fire!" Xiangling waved her hand at Draff, then generously admitted her mistake.
But it wasn't Xiangling who set the fire, it was Guoba.
The white wolf shook its head. The Wolf King's consciousness told it that Xiangling was not the true arsonist either.
"Actually, it was me!"
Yu Jin raised his hand, then a fireball spell was thrown into the scorched forestland.
"Boom!" Violent flames surged. When the heatwave and flames dissipated, a deep pit appeared on the distant ground.
"So… so terrifying."
"The Great Adventurer lives up to his name!"
"Hey! It's on fire again!"
"Damn it, why didn't you say so earlier?"
Yu Jin took a great leap and flew over, then used his invisible feet to stomp out all the scattered flames.
"How about it? Whatever compensation you want, just say it!" He ran back and said with a grand gesture.
The white wolf's gaze now became hesitant. It occasionally opened its eyes, then slightly closed them, as if communicating with something.
However, this state of the white wolf quickly disappeared. It let out a few low growls at Razor.
"Yu Jin, and, this girl. Come with us." Razor pointed at Yu Jin, then pointed at Xiangling.
"What do you want to do? Fight?" Yu Jin pulled out a shield from somewhere and held it in front of Xiangling.
If they really wanted to fight, Yu Jin would allow them to strike him first. After all, it was his fault, and if others wanted to take action, it wasn't unacceptable.
However, whether they could hurt Yu Jin depended on their own abilities.
"No. It, wants to see you." Razor shook his head. They weren't unreasonable wolves and wouldn't randomly hit people.
"Who?" Yu Jin put away his shield with some disappointment. If there was a real fight, he would have been quite looking forward to it—guiding the wolf pack would serve as their compensation.
As for combat experience, Yu Jin never lacked it. No matter what race he fought against.
"The lord of this land, Boreas."
Neuvillette sprayed so well, just draw, draw the Hydro Dragon King for me!
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