The “Sleep well, eat well” inn was the most reputable establishment in all of Xiaren Ghetto, also known as the slums. This isn’t saying much, but it’s the best a mixed-breed traveler can hope for to rent in this city. For Fengli and Annu, who spent almost three days traveling and sleeping under the open sky, the spacious room that featured double bedding… a separate bathroom…and last but not least, a functional, heat and cold-proof window that could actually open and close without much issue was not unlike an undeserved luxury.

However, the area the inn was located in was much less reputable.

The Xiaren Ghetto was on the eastern side of the city, and that’s where all the yaren and other “impure” people lived in. Some of those who were fortunate enough to merely have some furry ancestor many generations ago and thus couldn’t be visually distinguished from humans too easily lived in wealthier, western parts nearby the fortress, and usually didn’t associate with those whose animal traits were too prominent. However, even these “almost pure” families rarely produced a cultivator and had to resign themselves to being second-class citizens before the privileged, sectarian elite. For their plight, they blamed not the system, but whatever beastman tainted their bloodline in the past.

If humans who couldn’t cultivate were second-class citizens, then the inhabitants of the slums were 3rd, if not 4th. Poverty was rampant, and every time they left, there were always some less then reputable individuals eyeing them up. The owner ensured them that no one would dare to try breaking into his business and stealing their stuff when they were gone, but anything outside the limits of the building is free game.

Which, of course, made Annu a nervous wreck. Fengli assured him that her stick swinging skills are top-notch, but he hadn’t seen her in action in quite a while, and frankly speaking doubted one girl with a wooden weapon can protect them if they were encircled by a group of determined thugs. And besides…he didn’t want to be protected by her, of all people.

And this is where Fuhei, their new friend, came into play.

The very first day they arrived in the city, Fengli got way too drunk on cheap wine(the owner of the inn didn’t care about the age of his patrons) and was spending money left and right like candy. Some older foxman saw that, and attempted to convince them to stay the night at his workshop, offering low rent and a spacious attic. To Annu’s terror, she almost agreed!

But then, a younger fox, who was apparently his nephew, intervened. He informed them that his uncle is in the business of inviting tourists to his place and then robbing them. Apparently, a recent raid by the guards shut down his illegal moonshine distillery, and the old geezer had “temporary financial problems” ever since then. He was willing to even steal from “fellow yaren” to meet ends, which earned him quite a tirade from his younger, feisty relative.

But wait a minute, pondered Annu. If stealing from other yaren isn’t ok, does it mean stealing from people who aren’t yaren is good? Just as he was about to connect the dots, Fengli interrupted him.

“Done! Your move!”

It was a dice-based game with some additional rules and mechanics that made it interesting.

The board depicted a battlefield, divided into grids. Each player had one piece they moved along the selected route, traveling exactly the number of tiles designated by the number on the dice. Some grids were neutral, some were impassable, some bestowed buffs and debuffs upon the piece that landed on them. Since there were multiple pathways a piece could take, the challenge was in deciding which route to take. In other words, it was a luck-based risk management game.

And frankly speaking, Annu was losing.

He wanted to complain, drop this stupid game, and offer a match of xiangqi instead, where he considered himself unmatched. True, his opponents so far were Fengli, Zhanzhan, and an occasional older servant who was brave or foolish enough to face him, but nonetheless, he didn’t lose a match in almost a year. It was a great, logical game of skill and wits, unlike this…this…

Ahh, he rolled one.

Just as he was about to start ripping off patches of virgin wool growing on his face in a bout of resigned frustration, the door swung wide open, and Fuhei came inside, a triumphant stupid look on his stupid face.

“Oooh, a game!”

Fuhei eyed the game up and sat to the side of the table immediately. Well, suit yourself, you were the one who wanted to play it the most, thought Annu, and offered to switch places with him. Let’s see how you fare in my position, I’ve pretty much lost!

The fox agreed immediately, impatient to try the game out as soon as possible. Being constantly broke, most of his expenses went into food and basic commodities. He was overjoyed to make some new friends who were wealthy enough to fund him such an interesting pastime, even though they were just some tourists, and this happiness is as fleeting as the time they decide to stay in Kiyi.

Taking over Annu’s hopeless spot, he furrowed his brows and looked quite troubled at first. But soon, a wide grin appeared on his face as he took up the challenge. And just like that, slowly but steadily, turned the tables on Fengli.

After a while of him constantly rolling high, she too, got frustrated and accused him of foul play. He denied such accusations and called her a sore loser.

Hearing that, she quickly lost her cool and swung at him.

He dodged the punch, but failed to dodge the entire gameboard flying in his direction, which temporarily knocked him out.

Sprawled on the floor, he mumbled, a stupid grin once again adorning his face.

“Damn, she sure is feisty”

“Wanna another?”

They continued bantering and bickering for a while. Annu kept glancing nervously from one to the other. The entire situation reminded him of all the times Fengli and Zhanzhan were arguing, and he could never tell whether they are seriously having at it or not. This made him feel a bit stupid, and he was frustrated.

Wishing to change the subject, he took out both wanted posters they found this day and inquired about them.

Fuhei explained to them in short, that Yawei is a sort of urban legend. A shadow that appears out of nowhere and disappears into the night.

He was first sighted four years ago and caused quite a commotion. He would steal, rob, and vandalize, curiously enough, choosing only wealthy human targets. The guards couldn’t catch him, the human merchants cursed him, and the common yaren folk adored him. Even though no one knew neither his gender nor face nor age, he became a local symbol of resistance against human oppression.

Until a special corpse of the Wuyun was involved. Though the sect usually doesn’t interfere in what doesn’t directly concern them, it seems that the local hero became famous enough to eventually get their attention, and they tackled the matter swiftly and efficiently.

After -they- arrived in the city, grim people wearing grim black uniforms, so very different from usual sect robes, Yawei disappeared. Everyone assumed that he must have been captured or killed, but the rumors about possible sightings remained circulating the city. However, since neither the guards nor the sect seemed troubled by them, it was generally assumed they were just the fruits of the drunken imagination of local beggars, and no one seriously believed there is any truth to such wild stories.

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Until several months ago, Yawei returned. Wearing the same mask as before, same robes as before, and using similar creative and often illegal tools of trade, he once again started leaving a mark on the city. His escapades dare some of the more desperate yaren in the city to also break the law, and the crime is rising. In response to that, the city guard increased recruitment, and the slums have been raided several times already, inviting fear, anxiety, and doubt.

“So the city is on the brink of civil war?”, inquired Annu, concern painted on his face.

“No, no, no, it’s nowhere near that bad.” Fuhei laughed it off “there is no way anyone would seriously rebel against humans when that mighty fortress manned by literal superhumans stands tall above the city.”

Next, they discussed the other poster. Fuhei eyed up the bald man for a while but eventually concluded he’s never seen him before and he doesn’t know what the deal is.

“Understandable, this poster was put on the inn’s wall just as we came back from the market square. It’s probably related to that explosion…”

“What explosion?”

At first, they thought he’s joking, but apparently he really didn’t know.

“Do you work underground, or did you sleep at work?” laughed Fengli.

Annu moved to the window and pointed towards the main castle tower, which, although wasn’t fuming anymore, had a rather prominent hole in one of its walls. It’s probably visible from every eastern part of the city. He quickly narrated to their new friend what happened and asked if anything like that occurred in the past.

Fuhei furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

“Fuming, you say? It could have been a work of some qi power, but if you ask me, it sounds like an explosion of black powder…”

“Black powder…?”

“Hmm, you haven’t heard about it in your village? I’m not surprised, it’s a forbidden, demonic drug. Possession or production of it is punished by law on a sectarian level pretty much everywhere in the middle kingdom. It’s a sand-like powder that ignites fiercely when heated up. If you ask me, they probably fear its power. All demonic technologies, medicines, and artifacts are capable of doing what cultivators can…”

Suddenly, he stopped and shot a dumb grin, scratching his orange fox ears, seemingly embarrassed.

“Ehehe, it’s what I heard at least~”

Never in his life has Annu seen worse acting. However, Fengli didn’t seem to notice, and instead nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

“For us, the powerless, treading forbidden paths is the only way to become stronger!”

“Exactly, the humans fear the potential of yaren!”

…Wait, aren’t these completely different statements? Why are they nodding and smiling as if they reached some deeper agreement?

………

Days kept passing by, but the quarantine wasn’t lifted. The commercial city, so reliant on the constant flow of goods, was slowly but steadily suffocating. As the basic commodities and food were growing increasingly more scarce, the tensions between the poor and the rich, the human and the inhuman, kept rising. The city guard had a lot of work on their hands, and in addition to that, Yawei, who kept silent for past weeks, attacked again.

This time his target was a wealthy merchant house. A lot of possessions were stolen, and the household suffered significant damage. The manner in which it was damaged was mostly curious-the side wall was blown up to cinders. Rather than sneaking around like he used to do, he just forced his way in, took what he wanted in face of terrified residents, and hastily left. It’s only thanks to eyewitness reports that the guardsmen knew he was the culprit.

The most obvious explanation was the use of black powder. However, a thorough investigation of the crime scene revealed no remnants of a container, nor even signature traces of the byproducts left by the accursed substance. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, an expert on forbidden drugs stated that this particular concoction is not capable of destroying a stone wall to this extend, no matter the quantity used. A morbid conclusion was, therefore, drawn-the burglar used some other, unknown method to produce similar, but significantly more powerful results.

…….

None of that was known to or interested Annu, who, early in the morning, was on the hunt for groceries in the market square. Sick with endless noodles, Fengli demanded him to make her a proper meal. Of course, she didn’t come with him herself, complaining about a nasty headache, most likely caused by the overconsumption of wine the other day. Typical!

Fortunately, Fuhei was there to help him carry all of it back to their inn. And maybe saving as ad-hoc bodyguard if some thugs thought to rob them of meat and veggies.

“You do know that’s for livestock, right?” asked Fuhei nonchalantly, as they were stacking up on hay.

“Excuse me, I’m a sheep”

“No, really, I mean it…”

Annu sighed. You’d think a guy who believed so deeply in the hidden potential of yaren people would know the basics. He raised his wool-covered hand and pointed to his face.

“Look at me. Look at my deformed facial features that almost form a snout. Look at the wool that grows on my body here and there” Fuhei looked here and there, not understanding a thing at first. Then it clicked.

“Oh, I see. You can actually digest it!”

As they kept walking down the bustling street, Annu continued. It wasn’t quite a topic he liked sharing with others, because it took him back to his unpleasant past he’d rather forget.

“Heavily deformed yaren like myself have changes not only to their external features, but also tendons, senses, nervous system, and digestive system. To say it short, I can’t eat meat, but I can get necessary nourishment from things that humans and more fortunate individuals won’t even touch.”

He stopped and pointed to Fuhei’s head, then his own.

“It’s like our hair colors, which are often based on whatever animal we take after. My white hair is not unlike sheep’s. Your orange hair resembles the color of fox’s fur. And Fengli is gray, like a wolf. She also likes to consume meat first and foremost, and I assume you are no different in this regard.”

Fuhei nodded, lost in thought.

“That’s true, meat is something I enjoy the most. Unfortunately, most of the time I can’t afford it, so I settle for vegetables and noodles.”

“It’s because, unlike me, you’re not very mixed” Annu gritted his teeth, and clenched his fist, reliving the old, suppressed traumas “I bet your family didn’t practice arranged marriages to keep the bloodline pure.”

The fox looked at him, surprised. Arranged marriage? He heard of cultivation clans doing that to increase their chances of producing more cultivators in future generations. But yaren of the north did the same!? For what purpose!?

Seeing how perplexed Fuhei was, Annu sighed, resigned. Look like it’s story time after all. Oh well, he actually wanted to get some things off his shoulders anyway.

“Over two years ago, in the season of spring, far in the north.….”