Under the light of the campfire, the four werewolves murmured, and the down on their bodies faded away, revealing smooth skin.
Dean and Caiden saw clearly their human forms.
Two men and one woman, both in their twenties, with well-defined facial features, high noses, and black stripes... The hairstyle is very strange. Most of the hair has been cut off, leaving only a narrow strip of hair in the middle of the head. Use animal skin hairbands to lift it up in an exaggerated way to form a unique ponytail.
Dean shifted his gaze.
They wore stretchy aprons, long leggings, and shawls all made of animal skins.
The man bares his upper body, and the woman wears a tube top. Because of their regular exercise, their bodies are toned and their streamlined muscles are like those of a cheetah. In addition, their arms are painted red...
Green, blue, and amber eyes stared at Dean, defiant and angry.
"Who are you, and what have you done to us? Why can't you heal on your own?" A girl with a slightly softer face, a mixture of wild and sweet looks at Dean and asked, her voice as clear as a lark, unusually Beautiful, but the English pronunciation is very awkward, like a child who has just learned to speak.
Dean looked down from a high position, "Don't your tribe know how to respect the strong? If you fail in the battle, you should obey me and answer my questions."
"You have violated the rules!" A strong and capable man glared at Dean and said in unfamiliar English, "Intruded into the coyote tribe's territory without permission, ignored the wolves' repeated warnings, and launched a sneak attack first! "
The third lady with a long, narrow face and a hot body took over the conversation in a cold voice, "If you want to communicate, undo the witchcraft immediately."
Dean shook his head, "Have you figured out the situation? Now it's my turn to make a request."
The four young men looked at him with wide eyes, expressionless faces, like statues. Although they had lost their resistance, they still held their chins high, showing the pride and impulsiveness of the young werewolves.
A slight cough broke the deadlock. Kaiden came over and squatted in front of several people while maintaining his werewolf form. His amber pupils scanned the four people.
"Please calm down, we have no ill intentions, we are here only for negotiation and exchange."
"I'm Kayden, this is Dean, what are your names?"
The four of them exchanged glances and looked at Dean stubbornly.
"First remove the witchcraft."
Dean stared at several people for a while, shrugged, and reached out to touch the joints of several people's hands and feet in turn.
Their life strength is similar to Kaiden's, and their tibial joints are thick and strong. After Dean eliminated the influence of life energy, he healed quickly.
The sweet girl stood up with difficulty, nodded her strong chest, "Flying bird."
A sexy woman with a long and narrow face, "Black Fox."
A strong, rugged-looking man, "Red Wolf."
A man with a well-proportioned figure and long arms and legs, "Willow."
This image but strange name made Dean frown.
Real name or nickname?
Kaiden continued, "Four of you, we entered the mountains to investigate some situations. Can you take us to the tribe to meet your leader?"
"Chief?" Asuka's emerald eyes flashed with confusion, as if he didn't understand the meaning of the word.
"Alpha wolf." Dean added in a deep voice,
"There's nothing we can do. The tribe hasn't given birth to an alpha wolf for several years..." Red Wolf shook his head, his eyes dim.
Dean asked, "If there is no Alpha Wolf, then who will lead you."
"The priest closest to Alpha." Willow replied, his voice as rough and cold as tree bark.
Caden said, "Please take us back to see the priest. We have important things to inform him."
Feiniao looked at the black fox, red wolf, and Yangliu who were climbing up next to him with questioning eyes. The three nodded and gave a stern warning.
"You have defeated us and are qualified to meet the priest. But you must abide by the rules in the mountain. It is forbidden to fight, quarrel, attack wolves and other wild animals without any reason, and it is forbidden to destroy plants... Otherwise, the entire mountain will become yours. Enemy, understand?”
Dean and Caiden exchanged a look and nodded, but there was a strange feeling in their hearts. Protecting animals and plants, how could it sound like a legendary druid.
But they are werewolves.
At this time, Feiniao walked to the campfire with two round and slender thighs, reached out and touched the head of the unconscious alpha wolf.
The alpha wolf opened his eyes, licked her palm meekly, nodded and growled at Caiden, dug up dust with his claws to put out the bonfire, and woke up the unconscious subordinates one by one.
"Follow me!"
The four young men transformed into werewolves again and ran quickly towards the mountains and forests ahead. Kaiden picked up his mountaineering backpack and followed behind like beasts on all fours.
Dean jumped onto the crown of a pine tree, knelt down, and jumped to another branch with ape-like agility, repeating the process forward.
The jumping movement is smooth, flexible and extremely graceful - the figure flickers between the treetops.
Under the moonlight, five werewolves were running through the undulating forest as fast as the wind, and from time to time they looked up to the sky and let out a long wolf howl.
A dark shadow moved ghostly through the air above them, climbing up slopes, jumping over fallen dead trees, and flying over sticky mire.
Dean clearly felt that these four guys wanted to intimidate him and make him fall behind exhausted in revenge for being beaten up before.
It's a pity that they are too young and have not received enough lessons. They have no idea who is following them.
It took half an hour to fly along the complex terrain in the forest.
Asuka suddenly slowed down, his chest heaved violently under his animal skin vest, his breathing was heavy, and there was a slight sweat on his forehead above his blue eyes.
Dean easily jumped down from the treetop, landed next to them, and smiled at the stubborn wolf girl. The sweat on her body did not smell like the expected body odor of carnivores, but had the fragrance of plants. ,
"Actually, it doesn't matter if you walk slower."
The four of them released their werewolf form in silence and marched at a steady pace with Bi Zhiqi, no longer intending to get rid of them.
"Tell me a few words, everyone... you look like you are not much older than us," Kaiden couldn't help the boring atmosphere, "Did you live in the mountains since you were born?"
Red Wolf nodded and said angrily, "This sacred soil nourishes our lives, and we must spend our lives taking care of this land that nurtures us."
Caiden asked again, "Then your parents are both werewolves."
"They are not called werewolves, they are warriors of the patron saint." Black Fox corrected seriously,
"You can become wolves and warriors from birth?"
"The Patron Saint gave us the warrior form, which is passed down through the blood, but it does not awaken immediately after birth." Asuka pursed his lips, "Starting from about five or six years old, we will learn from the wolves...see things like them, hunt. , run, smell the smell of the forest, listen to the sound of the forest, and integrate with nature every day. Nature will guide us in the direction, train us into powerful warriors, protect this land, and maintain the order of the forest."
As Caiden understood what she was describing, his eyes gradually lit up. This was much more civilized than some werewolf that drank blood and lived in fur.
And Dean was 100% sure that this kind of werewolf was different from the werewolves that he thought were smuggled into the United States from Europe. They were two different species.
"What does the patron saint mean?"
Asuka was very satisfied with the two people's amazed expressions and said proudly, "The patron saint is the belief of our tribe. When you see the priest, he will tell you."
"But you didn't lose control when you first transformed into the wolf... warrior form?" Kaiden asked nervously, "You didn't get carried away by the desire to kill and eat?"
"The chance of losing control is very small." Chilang seemed to have thought of something and looked at Kaiden with pity. "Before we transformed for the first time, we had already begun to run wildly in the mountains and forests, cultivate wildness, stimulate wildness, and get used to wildness. Learn to control the wild nature, so after transformation, we will not be driven by it, we let it run wild, carve it into the bone marrow, turn it into a talent, use it to hunt and survive as we like, and kill those who threaten the companions and animals we love. The existence of land. We are the most secretive race on this green planet!”
"Your tribe never taught you control?"
Kaiden lowered his head after hearing this, a trace of bitterness and sadness flashed in his eyes.
What kind of tribe does he have?
If he had accepted these training and training, would he have accidentally killed his adoptive parents?
Dean found that the progress had jumped to 60%, and changed the topic, "What was your ability when you were hiding in trees and grass before? Can you cast magic in the warrior form?"
"This is an instinct." Feiniao did not hide it. "The hidden instinct that we have lived in the mountains and forests for a long time can hide it from most animals, plants, and humans, but it cannot hide it from you. How did you discover it?"
"Intuition." Dean answered cleanly and concisely, "How do you control the crow?"
"Those are the eyes of the priest."
…
Under the night, the pace of the six people was still quite fast, walking along the hidden and winding paths in the mountains and forests, passing through a meadow dotted with sparse trees and a mist-filled valley.
Along the way, I saw dozens of werewolves hiding in trees, shrubs, and soil. I looked at the unfamiliar faces of Dean and Caiden with vigilance, and conducted a lot of repeated interrogations, as if they were interrogating prisoners.
Finally, they were released after explanations from Asuka and others.
Early in the morning.
After running hundreds of kilometers in the mountains, the six people arrived at the end of the trip.
Get past the tight werewolf defense.
A small open space is exposed in the forest, and more than a dozen pieces of farmland are divided. Golden corn, heavy pumpkins, sweet potatoes... and other crops are planted to inherit the starlight falling in the night sky.
A vigorous stream flowing from the top of the mountain slides down the cliff and irrigates the ditch beside the farmland.
"You still farm?" Kaiden was surprised. "Aren't you a predator?"
"Not all tribe members are brave and good at fighting, and can become warriors, hunting for the tribe and defending against enemies," Feiniao showed the black and red tattoos on his face and hands, "Some are more suitable for breeding and logistics..."
She pointed to the beehive and saw an old woman wearing a broad shawl and woven animal skin coat.
She was not dressed as simply as the four young men in Asuka. Instead, she was wearing various earrings and necklaces made of bones.
The old woman nodded respectfully to the four people returning, and looked at the two unfamiliar faces of Caiden and Dean in surprise. She used an obscure language to call Red Wolf, Willow, and Black Fox to her side for a chat. stand up.
Dean noticed that her exposed skin was painted with black and white stripes, and suddenly realized that the color of the tattoo was a symbol of the tribal identity.
The red and black are warriors and guardians, and the black and white stripes are logistics and civilians.
What about the priests?
There is no answer.
Asuka led the two people to the outside of a large cave. The guard at the cave entrance was dressed in a very special way. His cheeks were painted black with natural pigments, his arms were painted red, and he also wore porcupine quills, deer tail hair and elk deer hair on his head. The Roach headdress formed by the erect hair attached to a leather strap is like a standing beast, full of majesty.
Feiniao looked at him and explained, "Huya, they are people from outside the mountain. They entered the mountain for the first time. They have important matters to meet with the priest."
"The priest already knows, go in."
The man nodded, cast a stern glance at Dean and Caden, and looked at the hiking backpacks behind them.
"There is gunpowder in it and it must be left behind."
The two took off their backpacks and handed them to the man, then entered the cave.
The interior was brighter than expected, with torches regularly mounted on the walls. The firelight illuminated a spacious hall comparable to a football field, as well as a cone-shaped tent made of long wooden poles and twisted animal skins.
Dean looked around and saw dozens of simply dressed Indians sitting on the thick straw outside the tent, weaving clothes and blankets with animal skins, or playing Indian flutes, letting the soft, gentle, but desolate music sound. Wandering among the caves.
A picture of a wolf howling at the moon vaguely appeared in front of Dean's eyes, and he felt an inexplicable throb in his heart.
If you ignore the dazzling white light on these Indians and their wild beast-like vertical pupils, then this place is a paradise uncontested by the world.
But this place is filled with some kind of mysterious power, and Dean's God's perspective is actually unable to penetrate deep into the cave and pry into the secrets deep inside.
Caiden scanned everyone to make sure there was no man like his grandfather's description. He turned to the huge stewpot in the center of the hall, his expression dull for a moment. There were still uneaten carrots, potatoes, and corn in the stewpot. , stewed lamb.
"Most of the time we eat more nutritious and natural raw food." Feiniao noticed his doubts and blinked, with a hint of joy on his sweet face, "But times are changing, just like our language is changing. For a change, let’s try some cooked food occasionally. Let’s go, the priest is still inside.”
The two passed through the hall and the tribe members at the entrance of the cave and continued deeper.
The tunnel narrowed, and Dean counted a small group of one hundred and thirty-five tribesmen along the way.
Continuing inside, he noticed that a series of murals outlined with natural dyes gradually appeared on the walls on both sides -
The first painting shows a bird with a slender snout, big ears, slender legs, and brush-shaped tail hairs. Its body color is dark brown gray, its belly is white, its back hair is copper-colored, and it forms a black color in the center of its back. The striped werewolf stood up, planting trees, berries, strawberries and kamas garlic, while the primitively clothed humans followed behind it to study.
Follow the tunnel inward.
In the second painting, it drills wood to make fire and passes the flame to humans.
In the third painting, it made long knives for cutting and axes for felling, made canoes, and gave them to humans.
In the following murals, this humble coyote taught humans various knowledge in daily life, made quivers and blowguns, used various weapons and hunted, and helped humans survive and thrive on a land full of dangers. .
"Who is this wolf?" Dean asked Fei Niao. Fei Niao's sweet face showed a look of reverence. Before he could speak, another voice came from the depths of the cave.
"That's Cody Cody, our patron saint."
This voice is full, deep, firm and decisive, making people listen to it unconsciously and obey it unconsciously.
Asuka bowed and saluted, Dean and Caiden followed the sound.
"Your Excellency, Priest of Howling Wolf."
The priest of the tribe wears a generous gray wolf fur coat and a black feather crown that symbolizes wisdom. He is tall and strong like most werewolves, but he is not aggressive and arrogant. His expression is calm and gentle, and his amber eyes are like molten gold. Giving people the impression of a weather-beaten wise elder, his face is painted with blue stripes, and every fold between the stripes is filled with stories about this tribe.
He walked up to Dean and Kaiden, gave Asuka a look, and Asuka immediately turned and left.
Kaiden stared at the priest as if he was possessed. The call from his bloodline made his lips tremble and his eyes filled with tears.
And Dean found that the white light on his body was stronger than any werewolf he had seen before, more than half of his own, but it did not bring any sense of crisis. He was not hostile to himself.
The priest smiled heartily, and his golden vertical pupils swept across the two people's faces, as if penetrating through the flesh, bones, and souls of the two people.
"Kayden, Dean...two distinguished guests from afar, welcome to the land of coyotes."
"You are full of doubts, so come on, Ke Di will answer your questions."
(End of chapter)
