After the others left, Lynd took out some odor-masking powder from his pocket and applied it to the exposed parts of his body, especially his face. To prevent the powder from being washed away by the rain, he put on the hood of his clothes, and then, relying on his powerful sense of smell, tracked the lingering scent of the Shadowcat.
The reason Lynd tracked the Shadowcat alone was not because of some 'Ten Hunting Trials to Become a Legendary Hunter,' but because he noticed man-made objects on the Shadowcat: several carefully woven vines.
These vines were tied to the Shadowcat in a way that wouldn't hinder its movements, but their position and form could help someone riding on its back to stabilize their body very well.
Although the Shadowcat is enormous, it is still not large enough for an adult to use as a mount; a child's size would be more suitable.
Ordinary children would be lucky enough not to be eaten by a Shadowcat, and even a Skinchanger couldn't control a Shadowcat when they were young.
In the forest, the ability to control a Shadowcat, combined with a child-like stature, instantly made Lynd think of a possibility: the owner of this Shadowcat was actually one of the Children of the Forest, a race believed to be completely extinct in the South.
With a strong curiosity about the Children of the Forest, Lynd traveled through the forest. After walking for about half an hour, the scent of the Shadowcat around him became much stronger, mixed with a large amount of other very peculiar fragrances.
Lynd couldn't discern the characteristics of any plant from these fragrances, yet he felt that these scents were connected to every plant.
If he had to use a name to describe them, 'the breath of nature' would perhaps be the most fitting.
Lynd slowed his steps, making his movements as quiet as possible. Using the sound of the rain, he almost perfectly concealed his whereabouts and approached the target's location.
He saw a small, somewhat abrupt patch of grass appear in the dense forest, with a grass-covered mound on it.
What appeared to be a mound was actually a small house made of branches, logs, lichen, and soil, simply disguised on the outside so that if one didn't look closely, it would be mistaken for a mere dirt mound.
The ShadowcatLynd had been tracking was now outside this mound-house. The fawn it had brought was already dismembered, and at the Shadowcat's feet were three or four Shadowcat cubs.
These cubs were about the size of small cats and were currently feasting.
However, what attracted Lynd's gaze more than these Shadowcates was the strange human sitting next to the mound, completely covered by a cloak.
The Shadowcat showed no desire to attack this human, as if this human were its master.
But Lynd could still tell from some of the Shadowcat's instinctive actions that it retained some aggression towards this human, for example, picking up its cubs when they tried to approach the human and baring its teeth and claws at the human as a warning, which was clearly not an attitude towards a master.
Furthermore, what made Lynd even more puzzled was that although he hadn't seen this human's face, he had a vague sense of familiarity, as if he had seen this human somewhere before.
Just as Lynd was recalling when he might have seen that stranger, a patch of turf on the mound suddenly loosened, and then a small, disguised wooden door opened.
A short, humanoid creature, like a child, emerged holding a wooden bowl and walked over to the stranger, handing him the bowl.
This child-like humanoid creature was exactly like the Children of the Forest from legends: deep chestnut skin, large ears and eyes, three fingers, dressed in clothes woven from bark and leaves, wearing a flower crown on its head, and a dagger made of polished stone tucked into its waist, appearing somewhat frail.
If one were to judge the strength of the Children of the Forest by their appearance, they would certainly suffer greatly.
It should be known that the Children of the Forest once fought back and forth with the First Men.
They were not only skilled with weapons like spears and daggers, possessing exquisite close-combat techniques, but they also understood many forms of magic.
It's no exaggeration to say that if a hundred-man ordinary army entered the forest to fight the Children of the Forest, one Children of the Forest could easily kill all one hundred of them.
That human seemed to have a very good relationship with the Children of the Forest and trusted her implicitly.
After taking the wooden bowl, he removed his hood, revealing the face of a middle-aged man, and then unhesitatingly swallowed the contents of the bowl.
As the human removed his cloak and revealed his appearance, Lynd felt a murmur in his heart, because the other person's face was unfamiliar; he had never seen this human before, yet that sense of familiarity became even stronger.
Just as Lynd was filled with questions, he suddenly felt something rubbing against his leg.
Looking down, he saw a Shadowcat cub leaning against his calf, rubbing back and forth, as if it were treating him as a passive scratching post.
This Shadowcat cub was clearly also from the mother Shadowcat in the clearing, but unlike its siblings, this Shadowcat was not black, but white, and its stripes were not gray, but deep black, appearing more majestic.
However, among forest beasts, this albino Shadowcat was very disadvantageous for survival, because whether hunting or being hunted, it was very obvious.
As the albino Shadowcat cub rubbed against Lynd's calf, it also let out soft, comfortable purrs.
Though these sounds were not loud, they were enough to attract the attention of the mother Shadowcat in the grassy area.
Under these circumstances, although Lynd had hidden his figure as much as possible, he still could not escape the Shadowcat's primal instinct.
The Shadowcat immediately turned and let out a threatening growl towards Lynd's position, while sweeping its cubs to the side, at the feet of the Children of the Forest.
The Shadowcat's unusual behavior immediately alerted the human and the Children of the Forest.
The human sitting on the ground instantly stood up and drew a longsword, while the Children of the Forest drew the obsidian dagger from her waist, and her other hand naturally rested on a pouch at her waist, indicating that the pouch likely contained something dangerous.
Seeing that his whereabouts were exposed, Lynd naturally didn't hide anymore. He didn't draw a weapon, merely placed his hands on the hilts of his twin swords at his waist, and then walked directly out from behind the concealing bushes.
Interestingly, as he walked out, the albino Shadowcat cub followed closely, sticking to his feet, and even after hearing its mother's calls, it never left.
However, Lynd had no mind to pay attention to the cub's movements at the moment.
As he stepped out, he immediately stated his intentions: "You don't need to be afraid, I am not your enemy, I will not harm you."
He then pointed to the Shadowcat, which was ready to pounce at any moment, and said, "I followed it here; it took a prey I hunted."
The Children of the Forest seemed to understand the common tongueLynd spoke.
She knew that the Shadowcat had been tracked, so she furiously roared two sentences in a never-before-heard language at her mount.
The Shadowcat shrunk its neck, snorted twice, seeming to feel wronged at being scolded, and then showed a fiercer expression, baring its teeth at Lynd.
Just as the Children of the Forest was about to question Lynd's identity and if there were others around, the human beside her lowered his guard, sheathed his longsword, and then gestured to the Children of the Forest, saying, "Don't worry, he's not an enemy."
Then, he looked at Lynd and said, "I didn't expect to see you here.
You walked too slowly; it took you so long to reach Kingswood. I thought you would already be in King's Landing by now."
Hearing the man's words, Lynd was stunned.
Although his words sounded as if he knew Lynd, the man's appearance and voice were still very unfamiliar to Lynd.
But the problem was that the sense of familiarity did not fade due to the unfamiliarity of the appearance and voice; instead, it persisted.
It was precisely because of this extreme contrast between unfamiliarity and familiarity that Lynd quickly thought of a possibility and tentatively asked, "Are you the Faceless Man from New Barrel?"
"What keen perception and observation! If your name were on the list, I definitely wouldn't have taken the job," the middle-aged man nodded, smiling.
Lynd surveyed the Faceless Man, who had changed his appearance, and his gaze fell on several scars on the man's chest and abdomen that had almost disemboweled him.
He said, "It seems your mission is complete."
The middle-aged man looked down at his wounds, nodded, and said, "Although the process was a bit convoluted, it's finally done."
As the middle-aged man spoke, the Children of the Forest tugged at his clothes, seemingly reminding him of something.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce you two," the middle-aged man said very amiably.
"This is Spark, an old friend of mine. Thanks to her, I was able to survive this time."
Then, he pointed to Lynd and said, "His name is Lynd, known as Bear Hunter."
"You are Bear Hunter Lynd?" The Children of the Forest Spark looked at Lynd with slight surprise after hearing the Faceless Man's introduction, and spoke in fluent common tongue.
It was clear from her words that she knew Lynd.
Lynd bowed to Spark and said, "I didn't expect my name to be known even by the Children of the Forest?"
"I heard a bard sing the Bear Hunter Song in a village outside the forest," Spark explained, and then hummed the Bear Hunter Song in the same language she had just used.
Although it was the same tune, the effect of Spark humming it now far surpassed the effect when hummed in the common tongue.
"I really like this song, but you and the Bear Hunter in the song are really very different."
Then, she turned to the Faceless Man and asked, "Is he really the Bear Hunter?"
"Yes, he is the Bear Hunter," the Faceless Man replied, "You should know that all legends have exaggerated elements, and cannot be entirely believed."
Spark no longer concerned herself with the authenticity of the Bear Hunter Song.
Instead, she became slightly interested in the fact that Lynd could attract a Shadowcat cub.
She then walked up to Lynd, looked him up and down, and then circled him twice, asking curiously, "You are not a Skinchanger, nor a Greenseer, and you have no magic on you. Why is this Shadowcat cub so affectionate towards you?"
As Spark spoke, the albino Shadowcat cub was tightly wrapping its claws around Lynd's leg, trying to climb onto him, but no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't.
Eventually, Lynd bent down and picked it up.
The cub, held in Lynd's arms, immediately became very quiet, showing a strong affection for Lynd.
In contrast, the other normal Shadowcates, both adult and young, showed strong resistance and wariness towards Lynd.
Even with the Children of the Forest's suppression, the hostility stemming from their wild instincts did not diminish in the slightest.
"I don't know what's going on either?" Lynd caressed the cub in his arms, looking equally bewildered.
Although he didn't know what power within him could make the albino Shadowcat cub so affectionate, he was certain that this power definitely did not come from the Peacekeeper, because there was nothing in the Peacekeeper's combat experience related to wild beasts.
Therefore, the problem could only stem from his previous self.
As for the Children of the Forest Spark, after failing to find a reason, she quickly lost interest in the matter.
She turned around and scolded the other Shadowcates and cubs a few times.
The Shadowcates glanced at the cub Lynd was holding, then one by one, picked up their cubs and the food on the ground, and entered the mound tree-house from which the Children of the Forest had emerged.
Seeing this, Lynd also gripped the scruff of the Shadowcat cub's neck and handed it back to the Children of the Forest.
However, the Children of the Forest did not reach out to take it, but instead said to Lynd, "Since it chose to follow you, you can raise it!"
After speaking, she turned to the Faceless Man and said, "The medicine will take effect very soon, and your body will recover quickly.
Now, our accounts are completely settled, don't you agree?"
"Yes, our accounts are settled," the Faceless Man nodded, then added, "But, we're still friends, right?"
The Children of the Forest said with a very firm expression, "Friends do not bring danger to friends. Don't come looking for me again in the future. You have too much trouble on you; I'm afraid I'll be implicated."
After speaking, the Children of the Forest turned and entered her tree-house, while the Faceless Man's face showed a bitter smile.
However, as the Children of the Forest was about to close the door, she added, "Next time something like this happens, when you come, you'd best prepare a gift sufficient to attract me, otherwise I will not come out to see you."
With that, she slammed the wooden door shut.
Hearing the Children of the Forest's additional words, a smile also appeared on the Faceless Man's face.
At this moment, Lynd suddenly felt the ground tremble slightly, as if there had been an earthquake.
Immediately after, he saw the raised mound tree-house in front of him slowly sink.
Soon, the arched ground began to gradually flatten, eventually becoming a flat grassy area.
Then, the grass on the ground began to grow wildly, stopping only when it reached waist-high, and the deep grassland completely covered the traces of the Children of the Forest's dwelling.