Chapter 070 – Taming Sparrows

Li Yuan spent nearly half the night searching for birds, mimicking their calls in an attempt to tame them—but to no avail.

The reason was simple. Birds were scarce, and his attempts at communication fell flat.

In a normal spring, sparrows would be abundant, but in this year of famine, desperate people were out shooting and eating them, leaving hardly any for him to work with.

As midnight passed, Li Yuan finally gave up and returned to his room to sleep in the embrace of his wives.

The next day, he resumed his quest. After waiting for a long while, he finally spotted two sparrows fluttering in and settling on a branch. He began chirping his own little call while vigorously shaking a bowl of rice.

“

Come here and eat!

”

“

Suspicious man! Dangerous!

” one sparrow replied warily.

“

I’m not dangerous!

”

Yet the sparrows still responded, “

Suspicious! Suspicious! Dangerous!

”

In truth, the fact that these sparrows were even engaging with him was a sign of his growing affinity with animals. If he could continue conversing like this every day, there was hope he might eventually tame them. But Li Yuan knew that once these sparrows flew off, they might never return.

At the same time, he was desperate to establish a way to gather intelligence. With too many secrets to risk exposing, he couldn’t rely on conventional channels. He had to put his trust in these animals.

Determined, Li Yuan gritted his teeth and glanced at his remaining 337 stat points before eyeing his

Expert Beast Taming

.

“Time to allocate some stat points!” he murmured. He tapped the

+

symbol 80 times.

Expert Beast Taming (1/80) ➔ NEW! Master Beast Taming (1/160)

New memories immediately flood his mind. He recalled his previous desperate attempts to tame ferocious beasts—a time filled with near-fatal encounters and brutal lessons learned.

After countless bruises and close calls with death, he had withdrawn for deep reflection, eventually attaining a modest but crucial affinity with wild creatures. Yet, even that was not enough.

Realizing his abilities still fell short of what was needed, Li Yuan had traversed mountains and rivers in search of a breakthrough—a glimmer of hope. At long last, he had succeeded. He encountered a mysterious stranger with a blurred visage, who offered him guidance.

Under that stranger’s tutelage, Li Yuan’s progress accelerated dramatically. By the time he returned, even the most ferocious beasts began to heed his commands.

Even without extra prompting, the fierce creatures obeyed him, and the timid ones no longer flinched in fear; a simple smile and a gesture of kindness was all it took for them to gather obediently around him.

At that moment, Li Yuan realized that his affinity with beasts had increased dramatically.

“Not bad,” he muttered. “It looks promising... I’ll keep upgrading it until I max it out. I really need to gather intelligence.”

Resolute, Li Yuan pressed

+

symbol next to Master Beast Taming (1/160).

A total of 159 stat points were instantly consumed, leaving him with 98 unallocated stat points.

Master Beast Taming (1/160)

➔

Master Beast Taming (160/160)

With that came a surge of new memories.

Under the mysterious stranger’s guidance—and through his own hard-earned insights and years of field experience—his skills in taming beasts had grown immensely.

Li Yuan felt himself improving step by step, and before he knew it, several years had passed. His methods for taming animals had become ever more sophisticated.

One day, he suddenly paused and crouched beside a small rock. In a crevice beneath the rock, he noticed soil teeming with ants. Their tiny legs moved with a curious, rhythmic grace that mesmerized him. For a long moment, he was completely entranced, as if he had discovered an entirely new world.

His eyes burned with excitement. Perhaps, he mused, the art of taming animals was only the beginning.

As the previous memories faded, his Master Beast Taming skill reached the pinnacle. Yet it was clear that this power was only the foundation for an even greater strength.

Closing his eyes, Li Yuan savored the changes within him. In addition to a much stronger affinity for wild beasts, he had now acquired an extraordinary new ability—a certain chance to understand the

language

of insects.

He absorbed and reflected on these memories until, after a long while, he finally opened his eyes, sighed, and smiled.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

At dusk, the setting sun cast a gentle, reddish glow over Silver Creek.

In the inner courtyard of estate No. 38 of the Blood Blade Sect’s inner district, Li Yuan strolled with a smile while scattering rice along the pathway. Beneath his feet, the timid sparrows pecked at the rice without a trace of fear, creating a scene of remarkable harmony between man and bird.

Li Yuan chirped playfully, “

If any conflict breaks out in the county, come back and tell me.

”

One sparrow responded, “

What’s a county?

”

Another replied, “

What do you mean by break out?

”

A third added, “

What is conflict?

”

And a fourth piped up, “

What do you mean by tell me?

”

Li Yuan sighed in exasperation. He simplified his message, “

Big danger. Come back, say where.

”

One sparrow chirped happily, “

Okay~

”

Li Yuan couldn’t help but think that this system was rather unreliable.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

The next morning, three sparrows flew back and gathered atop the roof, chirping merrily.

Li Yuan rushed outside and fed them some rice.

Yan Yu watched with curiosity and asked, “Husband, these birds seem so fond of you.”

Li Yuan replied with a cheerful chirp, “

Come eat!

”

Though Yan Yu was a bit at a loss for words, she watched with keen interest.

Despite the sparrows’ natural wariness of her, a rather imposing two-legged human, they felt at ease around Li Yuan, and one by one they swooped down, chirping nonstop.

“

Danger, over there!

”

“

Danger, that way there!

”

Some sparrows flitted toward the east, others toward the west.

Li Yuan asked, “

What danger?

”

One sparrow answered, “

Danger, danger!

”

Li Yuan sighed. He began to miss Calico. Taming animals wasn’t just about the tamer’s talent. It also depended on the creature itself.

Calico had been an ideal partner; the tiger practically possessed intelligence. But these sparrows...they provided barely any useful information at all.

Li Yuan longed to tame a wild beast that could actually spy for him. Instead, with these birds, he’d be forced to teach them elementary

language

all over again. Or perhaps, he’d have to seek out beasts that were already semi-intelligent.

"Demonic beasts..." he murmured. "It seems I need the right kind of demonic beasts to help me gather intelligence. Maybe I’ll have to visit the black market again. If I’m lucky, I might find some common ninth ranked demonic beasts for sale..."

Li Yuan scattered the last of his rice and sat there for a while. He signed, “Indeed, nothing in life comes easily; you never get everything you wish for.”

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Still, even if he couldn’t extract precise information from these sparrows, at least they could help him identify extremely dangerous areas. This would lower the chances of him accidentally stumbling into a death trap. That in itself was a kind of gain.

Lost in thought, Li Yuan suddenly recalled that Xue Ning was due to come by this morning. He quickly rose and made his way to the inner district gate to await his visitor.

After a short while, the gate swung open and a strange carriage rolled in. When the curtain was lifted, a man’s face appeared.

The man’s eyes lit up when he saw Li Yuan. “Junior Brother Li! What are you waiting for?”

Li Yuan frowned slightly, recognizing the man from their meeting at the Blood Fury Hall the other day. Noticing the numbers 52~60 displayed around him, Li Yuan bowed and said, “Senior Brother...?”

The man laughed heartily. “Call me Cao Li.”

“Senior Brother Cao,” Li Yuan replied, “I’m waiting for my wife. And you? Where did you come from?”

“Your wife?” Cao Li paused, then burst into laughter. “I just bought a few maids and some female relatives from the Wei Family. They’re so fresh and lovely. Would you like to take a look?”

Only then did Li Yuan notice vague silhouettes of women in the darkness behind Cao Li. Worried, he asked, “Aren’t those Wei Family women liable to cause trouble?”

“What trouble?” Cao Li scoffed. “Their martial arts have been crippled. What use could they be? Soon, they’ll all be my maids, no longer belonging to the Wei Family.”

With that, Cao Li lowered the carriage curtain and drove off.

Li Yuan watched the departing carriage, then slowly turned his attention away. It wasn’t long before another carriage arrived. As its curtain was drawn back, the alluring face of Xue Ning appeared. Her beauty, enhanced by the gentle glow of good fortune, radiated happiness in her eyes.

Seeing Li Yuan, she couldn’t help but wave softly.

The carriage came to a stop, and a maid from the carriage laughed and greeted him. “Young Master Li!”

Li Yuan hurriedly climbed aboard. No sooner had he stepped did Xue Ning rush over with a gentle laugh. The warm air, thick with the scent of incense, mingled with the flowing fabrics of her dress, lending her an air of sensuality far removed from the cold austerity of winter.

A brief separation only deepened the intimacy of reunion. Soon, in the cozy confines of the small carriage, affection bloomed once more.