In the face of life and death, many people abandon all dignity and conditions, choosing to live.
The wind howled, lashing against Chi Aotian's ashen face. His thick eyebrows, dusted with snow, were tightly furrowed, and beneath them, his large eyes were narrowed to slits. Resolutely, he patted the small black dragon beside him, saying, "Xiao Hei, live and die together."
With that, he untied the small black dragon behind a small, forward-leaning ice wall. He gathered some broken ice nearby and stacked it slantingly on both sides of a snow mound. Then, he scooped up loose snow and patted it over the broken ice, breathing on it as he worked. The snow melted and refroze instantly, quickly sealing the gaps in the broken ice. The ice wall and two walls of broken ice formed a gourd-shaped shelter with a small opening. Finally, he used the remaining loose snow and ice fragments to block the front halfway, and the wind gradually subsided.
Chi Aotian couldn't imagine how, in such exhaustion, he still had the strength to complete these tasks.
The air temperature inside the gourd-shaped shelter gradually rose, at least it wasn't as cold as outside. He and the dragon huddled tightly together, with Chi Aotian holding the small black dragon's head close to his chest, allowing its breath to circulate within his clothes, returning quickly to the dragon's body, thus conserving heat.
The night grew deeper.
Snowflakes swirled and danced in the wind, blanketing the small snow gourd with an increasingly thick layer of snow.
In his dreams that night, Chi Aotian saw himself and Xiao Hei entering the mythical Beast Sanctuary. Strangely, there were many houses, something his uncle never mentioned about the sanctuary. Everything was dark and silent, with Xiao Hei appearing lively, tugging at his clothes and running forward. Ahead, a hall appeared, and upon entering, he saw a tall figure dressed in black, standing with his back to the door, facing the hall's only skylight. Moonlight poured in, casting a long shadow on the ground.
Apart from the stark white moonlight, the hall was engulfed in darkness.
Suddenly, the figure in black let out a cold laugh, "Oh, who would have thought, after thousands of years, a human dares to challenge death here. Not bad, young man."
The black figure swiftly turned around, his blood-red eyes flashing like lightning in the dark hall. Chi Aotian felt a chilling aura descend upon him, freezing him from head to toe, as if needles pierced his feet.
He jerked awake from the dream, discovering a hole in the snow wall where the wind had blown through, chilling his feet. He quickly stuffed the hole with his wool cap and stepped over it.
Feeling the small black dragon, he was startled to find its head cold. He quickly turned over, cradling its icy head, noticing a faint breath at its nostrils. Panic set in as he recalled the lessons on ground dragons from the knight school: Ground dragons are mostly cold-blooded, with a few being warm-blooded. The warm-blooded ones are small and unsuitable as mounts, hence all service dragons are cold-blooded. To maintain normal blood flow, ground dragons require exercise, sunlight, or consuming high-energy animals. Without new heat sources, they would perish.
Despite the freezing weather, sweat poured from Chi Aotian's forehead. Since yesterday, Xiao Hei had neither exercised nor eaten anything warm, let alone sunbathed. If this continued, it would succumb to the cold by morning.
He had a few pieces of beef jerky left, but they were as cold as ice.
"Heat, where can I find heat?" Chi Aotian clasped his hands tightly, pondering.
Suddenly, inspiration struck him. He drew a dagger from his boot, bared his left forearm by removing the glove and sleeve, clenched his fist, and gritted his teeth as he pierced the dagger along his artery. Blood spurted out as he quickly moved his arm to Xiao Hei's mouth, feeling his blood slowly trickle into the dragon's throat. Its tongue twitched slightly. After a while, as the blood flow slowed, Chi Aotian withdrew his hand and made a deep cross cut on another artery.
Time passed unknowingly, his arms now covered in wounds, feeling disoriented and detached from the ground. Seeing Xiao Hei's breathing stabilize, Chi Aotian barely had time to tie a silk ribbon before collapsing onto the snow.
After an unknown duration, Chi Aotian awoke again, his vision filled with golden stars. He blinked hard, and upon reopening his eyes, found that daylight had arrived, and the snow seemed to have stopped. He felt Xiao Hei's breathing was steady, realizing his blood hadn't been in vain.
After chewing the last two pieces of beef jerky, he hoisted Xiao Hei and followed the trail markers, soon finding the campsite. He refrained from using magical energy, instead lighting a fire with the campsite's tent and blankets, warming Xiao Hei as much as possible.
Having missed a campsite once, he knew that if he didn't press on, he might miss the opportunity to enter the Beast Sanctuary. It didn't matter anymore, Chi Aotian thought as he lit his last piece of hide. After eating, he stored his magical energy and continued with Xiao Hei on his back.
Descending the mountain was relatively easier, often sliding down large snow slopes, heedless of his clothes getting dirty.
Luckily, as they reached the sunny side of the mountain, the wind subsided, and sunlight became a daily sight. To make up for lost time, Chi Aotian traveled through the night whenever there was moonlight.
Xiao Hei remained lethargic for days, neither improving nor worsening, always asleep. At each campsite, it was forced to consume some broth and minced meat before collapsing back into slumber. This was the best outcome he could hope for, as they drew ever closer to the Beast Sanctuary, his hope growing.
Finally, they crossed the snow line, the sunlight intensifying, shedding the coverings from Xiao Hei's body. Feeling the sun, Xiao Hei opened its eyes for the first time, squinting at the sunlight, then at Chi Aotian, licking his hand with its cold tongue.
At last, they spotted the grand magical array in the spruce forest, the entrance to the Beast Sanctuary. Chi Aotian felt a surge of joy, turning to Xiao Hei, "Hey, Xiao Hei, do you see it? That's the Beast Sanctuary. We're almost there."
Hope can conjure boundless courage and strength. Despite his burning shoulders, Chi Aotian felt renewed vigor, quickening his pace, leaving the spruce trees, streams, and mountains further behind.
Finally, they reached flat ground, and through the spruce forest, he saw a crowd gathered before the magical array. Was that the gate? It meant he was on the right path.
Suddenly, a small whirlwind swept through the forest—trouble. Despite his exhaustion, Chi Aotian instantly reacted; the black sun was about to overlap with the white sun. This small, spiraling wind occurred only during an eclipse, known as the eclipse wind.
From afar, he saw the crowd stir, and the magical gate trembled as people surged through. With ten minutes to spare, Chi Aotian staggered forward, seeing two familiar girls at the gate as he burst from the forest. Distracted, he tripped but quickly scrambled up and continued running. The girls' voices echoed, urging him, "Hurry, hurry!"
More people turned at Lin Yushang and Sha Ruo's calls, watching the muddy boy in black, carrying a large mythical beast, stagger from the forest towards the gate. Clearly, he was another beast companion; remembering their own hardships, everyone began to shout, "Come on, hurry!"
Many mythical beasts lifted their heads in surprise, watching the scene unfold.
Suddenly, the magical gate of the Beast Sanctuary shuddered again as the black sun neared the white sun, the array about to close. The boy in black was just a few steps from the gate, everyone held their breath, watching his desperate run. In the last moment before the magical array stopped trembling, he crashed into the gate, a vivid multicolored halo rippling out from the impact—he and his beast fell into the magical barrier. Cheers erupted as another boy became a beast knight.
The colorful halo on the magical array flickered rapidly before closing.
Sha Ruo and Lin Yushang rushed over, helping Chi Aotian to his feet. For the first time, a genuine smile appeared on his face, "Thank you." With that, he ran towards the densest part of the crowd—where the blood pool must be.
In the center of the beast knights was indeed a vast blood pool, with a diameter of over a hundred meters, filled with liquid the color of rubies, where many beasts swam. New arrivals in the pool shone with red halos, their fur soaked through, turning blood red. Meanwhile, beasts that had lived there for years swam leisurely, emitting blue halos, their fur regaining its original color the moment they left the liquid.
A few cautious new beasts entering the pool suddenly glowed red, growing larger, shedding their juvenile features, even their fur color changing to that of adulthood. Some beasts, disbelieving this rapid transformation, let out startled cries.
Chi Aotian pushed through the crowd, kneeling by the blood pool, untying the straps on his body. Lin Yushang and Sha Ruo had followed, guessing the reason from the beast manual; the beast must be injured and needed to enter the blood pool for treatment.
One strap around his waist was tightly fastened, prompting Chi Aotian to hastily draw his dagger, slicing it open. As Xiao Hei was unstrapped and laid on the ground, all the young knights gasped: What happened to this beast? Those from the empire couldn't believe this black ground dragon was the same one that exuded a regal aura during the trial's early stages.
Blood trickled slowly from Xiao Hei's mouth and nostrils.
Chi Aotian hadn't anticipated Xiao Hei's condition after unstrapping it. He cradled its head, shouting, "Xiao Hei, Xiao Hei, we've reached the blood pool, wake up!"
Xiao Hei's head moved slightly, its eyes slowly opening, dazedly gazing at the person before it, licking Chi Aotian's hand with its tongue covered in white coating, eyes closing slowly, tears rolling down. Its once majestic head gently tilted into Chi Aotian's arms.
It had lost its breath.
"Xiao Hei—" Chi Aotian couldn't suppress his emotions, hugging Xiao Hei tightly, his swollen eyes filling with tears.