After the others left, Linde took out some scent-masking powder from his pocket and rubbed it on his exposed skin, especially his face. To prevent the rain from washing the powder off his face, he put on the hood of his cloak. Then, using his powerful sense of smell, he followed the lingering scent of the shadow lynx.Lynd wasn't tracking the shadow lynx alone because of some ten hunting trials to become a legendary hunter, but because he saw artifacts on the shadow lynx: several carefully woven vines that were tied to the shadow lynx in a way that didn't hinder its movements, but whose position and shape would help someone sitting on the shadow lynx's back to stabilize themselves.While shadow lynxes are enormous, they're not quite big enough for an adult to ride. A child's size would be perfect, but an ordinary child would be lucky enough not to be eaten by a shadow lynx. Even a legendary shapeshifter couldn't control a shadow lynx as a child.
In the forest, the ability to control a shadow lynx, combined with a child-like stature, instantly made Linde think of one possibility: the owner of this shadow lynx is actually a Child of the Forest, a legendary race thought to be completely extinct in the south.Driven by a strong curiosity about the Children of the Forest, Linde traversed the forest for about half an hour. The scent of shadow lynxes grew stronger, mixed with a large number of other extremely peculiar aromas.
Linde couldn't discern any specific plant characteristics from these aromas, yet he felt they were related to all plants. If he had to give it a name, the aura of nature would perhaps be the most fitting.Linde slowed his pace, minimizing the sounds of his movements. Using the rain as cover, he almost perfectly concealed his tracks, approaching the target location.
There, in the dense forest, a small lawn appeared somewhat abruptly. On the lawn was a mound covered in turf.
Calling it a mound, it was actually a small house made of branches, stakes, lichen, and dirt, but it had been camouflaged on the outside. Unless one looked closely, they would completely mistake it for a mound.The shadow lynx that Linde had been tracking was just outside this mound house, its kill, a fawn, already dismembered. At the lynx's feet were three or four shadow lynx cubs, the size of kittens, feasting on the carcass.
However, even more captivating to Linde than the lynxes was the unfamiliar human leaning against the mound, completely shrouded in a cloak. The shadow lynx showed no desire to attack the human, as if the person were its master.However, Linde could still discern some instinctive actions from the shadow lynx that indicated it retained some aggression towards the human. For example, it would carry its cubs back when they tried to approach the human, and bare its teeth and claws at the human as a warning, which was clearly not the attitude towards a master.
Moreover, what puzzled Linde even more was that although he hadn't seen the human's face, he had a vague sense of familiarity, as if he had seen someone similar somewhere.Just as Linde was recalling when he had seen that strange human before, a patch of turf on the mound suddenly loosened, followed by a small, disguised wooden door being opened, and a diminutive humanoid emerged, carrying a wooden bowl, and approached the strange human, offering the bowl.This childlike humanoid was the spitting image of the children of the forest from legends, with deep chestnut skin, large ears and eyes, three fingers, clothing woven from bark and leaves, a crown of flowers on its head, and a stone-honed dagger at its waist, appearing somewhat frail.If you judge the strength of the Children of the Forest by their appearance, you're sure to suffer a great loss. You must remember that the Children of the Forest fought the First Men to a standstill back in the day. They are not only proficient in weapons like spears and daggers, possessing excellent close combat skills, but they also understand a great deal of magic. It's no exaggeration to say that if an ordinary army of a hundred men were to enter the forest and fight the Children of the Forest, a single Child of the Forest could easily kill all hundred of them.The human seemed to have a very good relationship with the Children of the Forest and trusted them immensely. After taking the wooden bowl, he removed the hood from his head, revealing the face of a middle-aged man, and then swallowed the contents of the bowl without hesitation.
As the human revealed his face, Linde felt a sense of unease in his heart, because the man's appearance was unfamiliar. It was the first time he had seen this human, but the feeling of familiarity only intensified.Just as Linde's mind was filling with doubts, he suddenly felt something rubbing against his feet. He looked down and saw a shadow lynx cub rubbing back and forth against his calf, as if it were mistaking him for a passive scratching post.This shadow lynx cub is clearly from the same mother as the shadow lynx in the clearing, but unlike its siblings, this one isn't black, but white, and its stripes aren't gray, but deep black, making it look even more imposing. However, among the beasts of the forest, this albino shadow lynx is at a great disadvantage for survival, because it's very conspicuous whether it's hunting or being hunted.As the albino shadow lynx cub nuzzled against Lind's leg, it also emitted comfortable purring sounds, which, although not loud, were enough to attract the attention of the mother shadow lynx in the lawn.
In this situation, although Lind had tried his best to hide his figure, he still couldn't escape the shadow lynx's wild instincts.
Immediately, the shadow lynx changed direction and let out a threatening growl towards Lind's location, while sweeping several cubs to the feet of the Children of the Forest.The strange movements of the shadow lynx immediately alerted the humans and the Children of the Forest. The human sitting on the ground immediately stood up and drew a longsword, while the Child of the Forest drew an obsidian dagger from their waist and instinctively placed their other hand on a pouch at their side, which seemed to contain something dangerous.Seeing that his whereabouts had been exposed, Linde naturally couldn't continue hiding. He didn't draw his weapons, merely placing his hands on the hilts of the two swords at his waist, and then walked directly out from behind the concealing bushes. Interestingly, as he emerged, the albino shadow lynx cub followed closely, sticking to his feet, and despite hearing its mother's calls, it still didn't leave.
However, Linde didn't have the mind to pay attention to the cub's movements at the moment. As he walked out, he immediately stated his position: "You don't need to be afraid, I'm not your enemy, and I won't hurt you."Saying this, he pointed to the shadow lynx that was ready to pounce and said, "I followed it here. It snatched some prey that I had hunted."
The Child of the Forest seemed to understand the Common Tongue that Lind spoke. She realized that the shadow lynx had been followed, and she angrily roared at her mount in a language never heard before. The shadow lynx shrank its neck and grunted twice, as if feeling wronged by the scolding, then bared its teeth at Lind with an even fiercer expression.As the Children of the Forest were preparing to question Linde's identity and whether there were others around, the human beside them relaxed his guard, sheathed his longsword, and gestured to the Children of the Forest, saying, "Don't worry, he's not an enemy." Turning to Linde, he said, "I didn't expect to see you here. You're moving too slowly; it's taken you so long to reach the Kingswood. I thought you'd be in King's Landing by now."Hearing this person's words, Linde was stunned. Although what he said seemed to indicate they knew each other, the person's appearance and voice were still unfamiliar to Linde. The problem was that the feeling of familiarity hadn't faded because of the unfamiliar appearance and voice, but had remained constant.
It was precisely because of this stark contrast between unfamiliarity and familiarity that Linde quickly thought of a possibility and tentatively asked, "Are you the Faceless One from New Barrel City?"
"Truly keen perception and observation. If your name had appeared on the list, I definitely wouldn't have taken the job."The middle-aged man nodded and said with a smile.
Linde sized up the Faceless One, who now wore a different face, his gaze lingering on the several gashes across the man's chest and abdomen that nearly disemboweled him, and said, "Looks like your mission is complete."
The middle-aged man looked down at the wounds, nodded, and said, "Although the process was a bit tortuous, it was finally completed."
As the middle-aged man spoke, the Child of the Forest tugged at his clothes, as if reminding him of something.
"Oh right, I forgot to introduce you."The middle-aged man seemed very kind and said, "This is Spark, an old friend of mine. I owe my life to her this time." Then, he pointed to Linde and said, "He's called Linde, known as the Bear Hunter."
"You're the Bear Hunter Linde?" Spark, the Child of the Forest, looked at Linde with slight surprise after hearing the Faceless One's introduction, and spoke in fluent Common Tongue. It was clear from her words that she knew Linde.
Linde bowed to Spark and said, "I didn't expect my name to be known even to the Children of the Forest?"""I was in a village outside the forest, and I heard bards singing the Bear Hunter's Song," Spark explained, then hummed the Bear Hunter's Song in that language, although it was the same tune, the effect Spark hummed out now far exceeded humming it in Common. "I really like this song, but you are really different from the bear hunter in the song." Saying that, she turned to look at the Faceless One and asked doubtfully, "Is he really a bear hunter?""""Yes, he is the Bear Hunter," the Faceless One replied. "You must understand that all legends have elements of exaggeration and cannot be completely believed."
Spark no longer concerned herself with the truth of the Song of the Bear Hunter. Instead, she became interested in how Lind could attract a shadow lynx cub. She walked up to Lind, looked him up and down, circled him twice, and asked with confusion, "You are not a skinchanger, nor a Green Prophet, and you have no magic. Why is this shadow lynx cub so affectionate towards you?""While Spark was speaking, the albino shadow lynx cub was clinging to Linde's leg with its claws, trying to climb onto him, but no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't manage it. Eventually, Linde bent down and picked it up, and the cub, held in Linde's arms, immediately became quiet, showing a strong affection for him.
In contrast, the other normal shadow lynxes, both adult and young, showed a strong resistance and vigilance towards Linde. Even with the suppression of the Children of the Forest, the hostility originating from the instinct of the beasts did not diminish in the slightest.
"I don't know what's going on either?"Linde stroked the cub in his arms, equally bewildered. Although he didn't know what power he possessed that made the albino shadow mountain lion cub so affectionate, he was certain that this power definitely didn't come from the Peacemaker. In the Peacemaker's combat experience, there was nothing related to beasts, so the problem could only lie with his predecessor.Having failed to find a reason, the Child of the Forest, Spark, quickly lost interest in the matter. She turned around and scolded the shadow lynxes and cubs a few times. The shadow lynxes glanced at the cub held in Linde's arms, then, one by one, picked up their cubs and the food on the ground, and disappeared into the hill tree house from which the Child of the Forest had emerged.
Seeing this, Linde grabbed the scruff of the shadow lynx cub in his hand and handed it back to the Child of the Forest.
However, the Child of the Forest did not reach out to take it, but said to Linde, "Since it has chosen to follow you, you should raise it!"Having said that, she turned back to the Faceless One and said, "The medicine will take effect soon, and your body will recover quickly. Now you and I are completely even, don't you think?"
"Yes, we are even." The Faceless One nodded, then added, "But, we're still friends, right?"
The Child of the Forest said with a very firm expression, "Friends don't bring danger to friends. Don't come looking for me again. You have too much trouble, and I'm worried I'll get caught up in it."Having said that, the Child of the Forest turned and disappeared into her treehouse, while a wry smile appeared on the Faceless One's face.
Just as the Child of the Forest was about to close the door, she added, "Next time something like this happens, when you come again, you'd better prepare a gift attractive enough to me, otherwise I won't come out to see you."
With that, she slammed the wooden door shut.
Hearing the Child of the Forest's addition, a smile appeared on the Faceless One's face.At this moment, Linde suddenly felt the ground tremble slightly, as if it were an earthquake. Immediately after, he saw the raised earthen mound treehouse in front of him begin to slowly sink. Soon, the arched ground began to gradually flatten out, eventually turning into a flat meadow. Then, the grass on the ground began to grow wildly, reaching waist-high before stopping. The deep grass completely concealed any trace of the Children of the Forest's dwelling.
...
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(End Chapter)