Chapter 20 - Water Buffalo

When Hei got back on the streets, he continued to follow the crowd of people. Now he had to find some food first and then ask for information. The dilemma was whether to try one of the city’s various restaurants or to buy some simple meals in the stalls.

As he walked, he suddenly noticed that the people in front of him had stopped. They were looking at something in front of them. From there, various shouts of men and animals could be heard.

Curious to know what was going on, with agile movements, he pushed his way through the crowd until he reached the front. Once there, he could finally see what was blocking the passage.

In the middle of the road, there was a series of wagons full of goods pulled by large animals of the same species: specimens of water buffalo.

These were animals commonly used for multiple uses: they ranged from the plowing of agricultural fields to the production of milk that was more nutritious than dairy cow's milk. They were also useful in transporting goods because of their size.

The water buffalo was divided into two types: river buffalo and swamp buffalo.

The first had a black skin with some specimens that instead had dark, slate-colored skin, while the latter had a gray-colored skin at birth which then became slate blue. Another difference was that river buffaloes had longer faces and bigger limbs than swamp buffalo.

The specimens that were pulling the wagons were river buffalos. They all had black skin except for one specimen in front of the others that had an albino color. In addition to the color, the buffalo in the front was also distinguished by its size. It reached about 2 meters in height at the withers. It was indeed a fantastic specimen, but unfortunately, its grandeur was contaminated by signs of lashes and burns.

It was carrying the largest wagon. But it had stopped because the weight it and its companions were moving was too much. Their strength was, in fact, failing. In order to give them the chance to recover, it decided to stop, even at the cost of being whipped for doing so. Seeing this scene, Hei immediately realized that unlike the other buffalos, the albino specimen was a spirit beast and that, therefore, it still had energy to continue, but it had stopped for the good of his companions.

This was the first time he saw a spirit beast, excluding his mother and sisters, in a human settlement and that they were used for a specific purpose. The various spirit beasts he had seen over the years were only wild ones while at Leaf Village, there were only normal animals without spirit power.

However, this first encounter, instead of generating in him a sense of surprise, created inside him a sense of disgust and anger. It was evident that the load was too heavy for the buffaloes. They were about to exhaust their forces. Moreover, instead of letting them rest, they were continually whipping the albino buffalo to make it advance as it was the leader of the other buffaloes, and they followed its leadership.

Normally Hei would not have interfered, considering that there were various variations to consider to free an animal. For example, he had done nothing for the animals in Leaf Village as they were treated well. For him, the use of animals and spirit beasts for purposes such as the transport of goods and the production of meat was permitted because it was part of the food chain, where in order to satisfy their need for food, they had to use other living beings’ life.

However, this was valid until the specimen in question was treated with care. At the same time, it should have a satisfying life before its end. Otherwise, it would have been just unnecessary suffering inflicted only for amusement, to the detriment of beings that couldn’t defend themselves.

Hei didn’t repudiate the conflict: the strict law of the forest had taught him that to live, he had to fight with all his strength. But this didn’t mean that he accepted such a scene of unnecessary torture like the one taking place before his eyes. After all, except for some rare cases, animals and spirit beasts generally killed each other solely to satisfy their primary need for food and not because they enjoyed killing.

‘Mother, Can-’

‘Go, don't worry. Do what you think is right. I will always support you in any case.’

So Hei stepped forward and pulled away from the crowd. Then he continued to move forward to position himself close to the albino buffalo. When he arrived there, it happened that another whip was coming, and it hit Hei's face instead of the albino buffalo.

The blow left a bright red mark on Hei's cheek, but he didn't back away. On the contrary, he looked into the eyes of the person with the whip who, when he saw that strange boy’s eyes, took a couple of steps back in fear. Hei's gaze was comparable to a predator waiting to bite the prey.

Seeing this twist, the surrounding people burst into various discussions with each other.

"Has he gone mad? Who's that boy?"

"Doesn’t he know who those wagons belong to? Does he want to die? "

"To whom do they belong? I don't seem to recognize the owner. "

"Idiot, they are Dong Zhen’s wagons, one of the most famous Green City’s merchants, he is also known as a slave trader. He is said to have a monopoly on this business in Green City."

"Are those his wagons? Really? Shit, then it's really the end for that guy."

While people were arguing with each other, a fat middle-aged man suddenly came out of one of the wagons, dressed in a luxurious red robe. He wore rings with precious stones on each of his fingers as he was holding a half-bitten fruit with his left hand. His black hair was neatly combed back, and several golden hair clips held them in place. At first sight, he seemed only a fat, well-dressed merchant, but his eyes contained an evil glow that made those who watched closely disgusted.

Behind him came another person. He was a man about six feet tall with short dark hair neatly combed. He wore a light iron armor without a helmet and decorations, while two medium-sized swords were attached to his waist. He gave off a feeling of threat and violence that testified that he was a fighter who had his fair share of fighting and killing and that he shouldn’t be joked with.

"What the hell's going on? What is all this mess? I don't pay you to transport my wagons and then stand in the middle of the road.” The fat merchant scolded with an air of annoyance. While he was doing this, he waved to the man behind him who lightly drew his sword out.

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Upon seeing this, the man with the whip immediately began to panic as he tried to respond without stammering in fear. "L-lord Dong, I apologize if we disturbed you, but as you can see, the albino buffalo didn't want to move and then this boy-"

Slam!

The man with the whip received a punch in the face from the armed man behind Dong Zhen. In a moment, the merchant's guard had moved from his initial position to where the man with the whip was. Seeing this, Hei was very surprised because he had a hard time to follow his movements. The man was obviously at a level far above his own.

"As I said, I don't pay you to sit still, consider it as a warning. If, for any reason, it happens again, then consider yourself a dead man. I hate those who waste my time and money." Then with an amused look, he turned to Hei, "Boy, why did you stop the passage of my wagons. Think well before you speak because if I don't like the answer, then something will be done to you that you won't like."

Since Dong Zhen had a prominent position in Green City, especially in the underworld, he feared no repercussions from anyone. But Dong Zhen also knew when to restrain himself and not be fooled by appearances. He didn’t know Hei, and from his appearance, he seemed to be a penniless young mercenary. However, his instinct told him that the boy could hide more than what was showing. So he gave him the chance to explain himself so that he could have the right motivation if someone later looked for him in this matter.

"The albino buffalo is tired. He needs rest. Not just him, but the other buffaloes too. The load in their wagons is too heavy, especially in that of the albino." Hei observed with a forced, calm tone. With that guard present and the presence of others in the remaining wagons, it was unwise to use a forced approach.

"And why should I care? If you are suggesting to stop to let them rest or move the goods in other wagons, then we aren’t going anywhere because I have no time or money to lose to do either." Dong Zhen then expressed himself in a contemptuous smile. He couldn't understand if it was that boy was stupid or what, for stopping his convoy only for some stupid animals.

"You would lose time anyway if they don’t even have the strength to walk. Furthermore, if you continue to whip them like that, without letting them rest, there is a danger that they will get sick or even die. In that case, wouldn't you lose money like a fool?"

Hearing the boy's response, Dong Zhen's eyebrows frowned. He hadn't liked the answer and the tone used by Hei. Furthermore, it wasn’t a meaningless statement: losing the other buffaloes wouldn’t have been a big problem, but losing the albino one would have created a considerable loss of money.

The guard, feeling his master's discontent, drew his sword ready to slice the brazen brat who had dared to fight back but was suddenly stopped by his master. Even though he was angry, the boy in then didn't say anything offensive directly, and making him execute would only admit that the boy was right and he was wrong.

‘Interesting, even the descendants of the city's wealthy families wouldn’t dare to answer me that way. Or he is so stupid he doesn't know who I am, or he trusts the strength of his background. In any case, it is better not to risk for the moment and gather information and then settle the matter later, away from prying eyes.’

"All right, but if I let them rest, I will lose a lot of time and money at the same time. Given you are the one who launched the request to let them rest, then you'd better think of a way to reward me. Let's see, 50 gold coins, I believe, are enough to show your sincerity. "

Upon hearing this number, the various spectators suddenly jumped. Fifty gold coins just to rest some water buffaloes was an absurd amount. A poor family with that amount of money could live decades without problems. Not even wealthy families would have dared to waste such a sum of money on something so insignificant and useless. But Hei didn’t flinch and quickly threw a spirit core towards the guard who caught it while being surprised at the boy's resolve.

"This should suffice, I suppose, now let the buffaloes rest and feed them. Otherwise, it would mean that you aren’t a man who keeps his word, merchant.” Said Hei while also adding a sly smile as if he wanted to make a mockery of his opponent.

That smile only made Dong Zhen more irritated, but he tried to control himself. For a merchant, his word was the thing that mattered most. Even if they could be dishonest and try to cheat others, once an agreement was decided, they had to respect it until the end. After all, nobody wanted to do business with those who took back their word and didn’t respect their part of the agreement.

Receiving approval from his guard to indicate that the spirit core was worth about that price, Dong Zhen said. "All right then. As we have agreed, we will let the buffaloes rest. "

Then turning to his subordinates, he said, "Let the beasts rest and feed them. Once finished, move your asses to carry everything in my shop."

At that point, he got out of the wagon and started walking towards Hei with his guard. Once he reached a distance where the others couldn’t hear them, he said in a low voice. "For today, I let you go away, little boy. But try doing a stunt like that again, and I'll cut your head in two after making you swallow your balls." Once his threat was over, he started moving again with his guard.

Once he had moved away, the people around breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, they had been afraid of witnessing a murder in broad daylight, but in the end, the fat merchant had restrain himself. Some of the passers-by tried to get close to Hei. They wanted to ask him what had passed through his head to come up with such a stunt. But Hei listened to no one and approached the albino buffalo.

The spirit beast was weak but bellowed to thank him for what they had done. His tired eyes still contained light of vitality, a sign that he was still fighting.

Hei put his hand on its head, stroking it gently. Then he moved to the wounds on its body and became furious. Now that he was closer, he could see all the scars and burns that had healed over time. It wasn't the first time it had been tortured like this. With a firm step, he headed for the man with the whip, who was struggling to his feet after being sent to fly by the merchant's guard. Seeing the strange boy approaching him, he began to shake the whip madly.

But although he was capable of hitting a large, motionless target, he wasn’t so capable of hitting a moving person. While dodging down, Hei filled the gap and then punched him on the same spot where he had received the first one just now.

The man released his grip on the whip and fainted on the spot. He was still very much affected by the previous blow. At this point, however, the other men in the wagons drew their weapons, convinced that now that there wasn’t the personal guard of their leader, the boy wanted to give them a lesson.

"I'm not going to fight with you. I just wanted to hit this piece of shit here. To remedy this, I will help you feed the buffaloes. I doubt you are very enthusiastic about feeding them, right? "

Indeed, the order of their leader had left them with a bitter taste as they didn’t want to lower themselves in feeding some stupid beasts. But if the boy volunteered, it was another story; they could take advantage of it to go and have a bite while he fed the filthy beasts. As far as the attack on the man with the whip was concerned, for them, he could even go to fuck for what they cared about him. After all, it wasn't they who had been hit, even the chief guard punched him.

So, while they were going to eat, Hei fed the buffaloes while trying to examine their conditions. While doing this, the eyes of the albino buffalo never lost sight of Hei, watching all his movements. Because of its experience, he didn’t trust humans, and the only reason he obeyed without resistance was for its companions. But that human boy smelled like a spirit beast, and somewhere inside it, a strange feeling was forming that told it to obey and protect that human.

After a couple of hours, the buffaloes had partly recovered their strength. Although they weren’t at their peak condition, reaching the shop of the fat merchant wouldn’t be a problem. Before saying goodbye, Hei approached the ear of the albino buffalo, saying, "Don't worry, I'll come and save you all together with my family." And then he separated from them.

The albino buffalo was struck with such words, and a sense of rebellion soon began to form. It undoubtedly believed Hei's words and decided that it would be on the alert, preparing its companions to flee.