Chapter 117

Since Ba Ke Er's wound has already healed, Zhang Fan's life should, by rights, slowly return to normal.

However, that night after Zhang Fan had treated guests to a meal and got drunk from drinking too much, he had a dream.

Dreaming in itself isn't strange, but what's strange is that Zhang Fan actually dreamed that he suddenly grew wings, and moreover, leaving Ba Ke Er behind, he flew alone to the front of a splendid, gold-and-bright palace.

Furthermore, upon arriving there, his legs seemed to have a mind of their own, moving of their own accord toward the palace; upon entering, he saw a man in white robes, handsome and graceful, seated on a high place, as if looking down upon the world.

Before Zhang Fan could even open his mouth to ask, the man let out a light laugh, as if he already knew what Zhang Fan was about to ask; seeing this, Zhang Fan felt even more puzzled and frowned tightly.

And the man on the high place, seeing Zhang Fan's tightly furrowed brows, burst out laughing loudly, which only deepened Zhang Fan's doubts in his heart.

Just then, the man on the high place suddenly spoke to Zhang Fan.

"Are you Zhang Fan? The Earthling who suddenly came to Shouren Xingqiu about half a year ago?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan's heart suddenly rang with alarm bells! Who is this person? How does he know my background? Is he also from the Heaven Lion Tribe? But no way! I know all the members of the Heaven Lion Tribe—I've never seen anyone like this before!

What on earth is going on! Could it be that those females who married in from outside betrayed me? But that seems unlikely too—those females have no survival skills in the wild; how could they leak information? Thinking this, Zhang Fan suddenly had a bold guess: Could there already be an insider from an outside tribe within the Heaven Lion Tribe?

At this moment, Zhang Fan merely guessed silently in his heart, without voicing his thoughts.

However, the man on the high place seemed to know Zhang Fan's thoughts crystal clear. He gave a grin, barely avoiding falling from his high seat, then pressed his hand heavily against his brow, as if making a great decision, and said to Zhang Fan:

"All right! Stop guessing wildly! I am certainly not an insider of an outside tribe, nor am I a member of your Heaven Lion Tribe!"

When Zhang Fan heard the man on the high place call himself "this god," he was so astonished he could hardly contain himself, and inwardly he muttered: "God? What god? He claims to be a god? Have I gone mad? Or has he? Or is this world gone mad?"

Seeing Zhang Fan's dazed, vacant expression, the man on the high place couldn't help but rub his forehead; and upon "hearing" Zhang Fan's inner thoughts, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

"All right! You're not crazy, I'm not crazy, and this world isn't crazy either! To tell you the truth, I am actually the god of Shouren Xingqiu, and everyone calls me the Beast God."

When Zhang Fan heard the man on the high place say he was the Beast God, his thoughts gradually returned. He looked at the Beast God with some puzzlement, and finally spoke his first words.

"Beast God? You're the Beast God? Since you know my background, you should also know that I was living just fine on Earth—why did you bring me to this primitive planet?"

After hearing Zhang Fan's question, the Beast God gave an embarrassed smile, then lightly coughed twice, and spoke to Zhang Fan in a somewhat ingratiating tone.

"Well, uh… the thing is, originally you were supposed to live freely and alone on Earth, growing old by yourself. But… one day, I had nothing to do, so I went to the Old Man Under the Moon's place to drink with him, planning to get him drunk and then… do some improper things."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan felt the Beast God was deliberately changing the subject, so he quickly interrupted, urging him to get straight to the point.

The Beast God also noticed Zhang Fan's impatience and hurriedly got to the point.

"The point is, when I was preparing to do something improper to the Old Man Under the Moon, that damned Supreme Old Lord suddenly showed up. In my panic, trying to hide myself, I accidentally touched the red string of marriage that the Old Man Under the Moon had set up, and in the tugging that followed, somehow your red string and Ba Ke Er's red string got tangled together, and no matter how I tried, I couldn't untie them."

Saying this, the Beast God somehow produced a cup of tea, took a sip, then continued: "But it's also fortunate that Ba Ke Er, like you, is destined to live alone all his life; thus, by a twist of fate, your red strings got tied together. Since you two are in different times and worlds, I secretly brought you from Earth to Shouren Xingqiu."

Upon hearing the Beast God's words, Zhang Fan couldn't help but chuckle inwardly: "Haha… so the Beast God is actually a petty opportunist who likes to take advantage of openings! And he's even interested in that white-bearded, flowery old man, the Old Man Under the Moon—quite the taste! …Though, it seems being together with Ba Ke Er is also thanks to the Beast God's doing."

The Beast God "heard" Zhang Fan thinking that about him, and he almost couldn't help but want to cry! But, fortunately, he remembered he was a god—a great god! Although he was indeed a bit petty, he definitely didn't have such heavy tastes! Thinking this, the Beast God spoke up to rebut.

"The Old Man Under the Moon is certainly not the white-bearded, flowery old man of your earthly legends! He's actually a tall, imposing silver-haired handsome man—and moreover, he's a cute, moe shota type!"

Saying this, the Beast God failed to notice his own drooling, fanboyish expression; yet this very demeanor made Zhang Fan feel sick to his stomach! It turns out the so-called Beast God is actually a fanboy obsessed with cute boys—and moreover, he's gone completely mad about it!

"Hey! Don't talk nonsense! I know exactly what you're thinking in your heart! You say I'm a fanboy, that I have heavy tastes, that I'm a petty opportunist—I remember all of those!"

Saying this, the Beast God suddenly recalled why he had summoned Zhang Fan: "I didn't call you here just to slack off! I have something very important to tell you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan immediately cleared his throat and asked:

"What big thing? And it's very important? Is it related to this year's Beast Tide Month? By the way, why have previous years been so normal, yet this year the rainy season is prolonged, the harvest season shortened, and supposedly even the cold season extended? What on earth is going on? Could I understand this as your dissatisfaction with me?"

Upon hearing this, the Beast God rolled his eyes, rose to his feet, brushed off his clothes, and began to walk slowly toward Zhang Fan.

Seeing the Beast God's demeanor, Zhang Fan guessed that his words might have offended him, and his heart began to pound; his breathing also unconsciously halted for a few seconds.

However, when the Beast God approached and stood before Zhang Fan, he suddenly reached out. Unbeknownst to Zhang Fan, this action frightened him so much he dared not breathe; his face filled with terror, his eyes involuntarily squeezed shut.

At this moment, seeing Zhang Fan's reaction, the Beast God silently pondered: "Could I really be that frightening? To have scared him like this? Is it because Earthlings have low stress tolerance? But no—just now he dared to curse me in his heart as a petty opportunist!"

When Zhang Fan felt his two hands hanging at his sides suddenly being grasped, he was even more terrified. Seeing Zhang Fan's state, the Beast God couldn't help but reflect inwardly, then adopted his most amiable demeanor and said to Zhang Fan:

"Actually… the irregular seasons are actually the Jade Emperor's punishment for my mistake. That… I've implicated you, and I'm really sorry about that. Hehe…"

The Beast God gave a dry laugh, then continued: "Actually… these things also count as a test for you. However, seeing that you've completed your previous tasks well, I, the god, have decided to give you some rewards."

Having said that, the Beast God suddenly produced from thin air what looked like an ordinary Yu pan zhi and slipped it onto Zhang Fan's thumb.

Zhang Fan looked at the Yu pan zhi that had suddenly appeared on his finger, feeling very puzzled.

"Beast God! What is this Yu pan zhi? It looks quite ordinary; there's nothing special about it."

But upon hearing this, the Beast God shook his head and, feigning mystery, said to Zhang Fan:

"You don't know this! It's a space that can hold things—no matter how much you have, you can store it all! I tricked this from that bastard Supreme Old Lord a few years ago! You'd better keep it safe! By the way, I haven't gotten to the main point yet—isn't the Beast Tide Month coming up soon? I've also seen the wound medicines you've developed; they're pretty good, but still somewhat lacking."

The Beast God withdrew his hand and slowly walked back toward the high place.

"If it weren't for my intervention, Ba Ke Er's wound would probably need another seven or eight days to heal, and might not even reach this state! Inside this Yu pan zhi I've already placed a number of high-grade medicinal herbs. When you go back, find a physician and study them together; perhaps you can finish them before the Beast Tide Month arrives."

Upon hearing the Beast God's words, Zhang Fan immediately asked how to use the Yu pan zhi, and the reply was: "You just need to silently recite in your heart the name and quantity of the item you wish to take out or put in, or simply think 'in' or 'out' and it will happen."

So Zhang Fan immediately gave it a try—and indeed he was able to pull something out of the Yu pan zhi! Moreover, they were all high-grade medicinal herbs, some of which he couldn't even identify. After just one try, Zhang Fan had already mastered the correct way to use the Yu pan zhi.

Afterward, the Beast God also told Zhang Fan that if he completed each assigned task on time, he would receive an unexpected reward! Upon hearing the Beast God mention a reward, Zhang Fan was instantly, shamefully, bribed.

Waking up, Zhang Fan suddenly sat up, saw that the bedding beside him had lost its warmth, and realized he had slept until nearly noon! He reached up and rubbed his hair.

But at that moment he felt something odd! His thumb seemed to have something on it! Zhang Fan immediately brought his hand before his eyes and stared—lo and behold, there was the Yu pan zhi that had appeared in his dream!

Zhang Fan instantly felt very strange. How did a Yu pan zhi suddenly appear? Could it be that last night he wasn't dreaming but it actually happened? Thinking this, Zhang Fan could no longer stay calm.

He silently began to recite in his heart the method he had learned in last night's dream—and sure enough, he saw things emerge from the Yu pan zhi! It really was the Beast God summoning him! There really is a god in this world! As an atheist, Zhang Fan suddenly felt his soul shaken.