"I was born on the day when the clouds in the sky descended.
"My mother told me that there was a fire in the sky that burned the clouds and plunged the entire world into a sea of fire.
"On that day, more than half of my tribe died. It was also on that day that I was born.
"I don't have a name. In my tribe, names don't seem to be of any use. The only thing that matters is how to survive in this cruel world!
"I don't know why, but we, who never kill, always become the prey of others. Humans like to hunt us down and peel off our skin to make their clothes.
"The blood on our skin can be washed off, but can the aura of death on it be washed off?
"They cut off our horns to make them into souvenirs.
"But how can we, who are weak, be worthy of being souvenirs?
"They drink our blood raw because it seems to be able to cure some of their diseases.
"But the dagger that pierces our hearts releases warm blood. While it's healing, it consumes all of our lives!
"That's why, from the moment I was born, I was always afraid, always hiding, and always vigilant." But that's obviously not enough … because this world belongs to steel, to humans, and to the majestic city walls that were built.
"It's also because I seem to be a little special. My skin is white, different from all my tribe members. My horns are also white, and even my eyes are white!
"And this difference brought me endless calamity after I was discovered by others …
"It's also because of this calamity that I learned about the origin of the fire in the sky that my mother mentioned on the day I was born. It's a weapon, a weapon that … is said to be able to destroy this world.
"The reason I know this is because I can't escape fate. In this calamity, my tribe abandoned me, my mother abandoned me, because my existence seems to be the source of the entire tribe's destruction.
"I want to run, I want to chase after them, but I don't dare … Since I was born, I've been very careful. That's why I don't dare to shout loudly or run quickly. Because the sound of running would cause me to fall deeper into danger.
"Then, after I was abandoned, I became the spoils of war of a person whose name I don't know.
What he needed was not skin that carried the aura of death, nor blood that had lost its temperature, but a living me. That was a gift, a gift for the City Lord.
"And so … after starving for a long time, I was sent to the city and became one of the so-called mystical beasts in the city lord's backyard.
Sometimes, I think that I am lucky. Even though I lost my freedom, lost my race, and was reared here, I don't need to hide, I don't need to be afraid, and I don't have to run. Besides … I have some friends here.
Among my friends, there is the wise Elder Ape, the aggressive Little Tiger, and the charming Fox. As for the others … I don't like them because they are too fierce.
The Old Ape was a very strange fellow. It was very, very old, so old that its entire body was covered in wrinkles. It liked to sit cross-legged on a small mountain, like to put some stones around it, and like to call us to celebrate its birthday on a fixed date every year.
It said that this was called a birthday celebration.
It seemed to have been here for a very, very long time, so long that it seemed to know a lot of things, and became an omniscient existence in the backyard.
Little Tiger was different from it. Little Tiger liked to fight, and seemed to be working hard to become the overlord of the yard. It was also because of him that I could not be bullied here. At the same time, he had a hobby, and that was to like water. He once said that when he was old, it would be very nice if he could be buried in a waterfall or a pool.
"As for Fox … although we were friends, I didn't like some of the things about her. She was sent here after me, and after she came here, she liked to give her fur to other mystical beasts. Every mystical beast that received her fur seemed to be very happy.
"But I was worried that one day, she would become bald. Also, I discovered a secret about her. Those who received the most fur would often die not long after.
"But no matter what, we were friends, so I would not accept the fur she gave me.
"I originally thought that I would spend my life in this yard until I reached the end of the world. Perhaps one day, I would become a wise man like the old ape. That was until I met … her."
"She was a little girl who seemed to be only three to five years old. Her expression was a little cute, and she tried her best to pretend to be a little adult. The only thing was … that she had a little baby fat.
"But her eyes were very bright, as if they were stars.
Next to her was a middle-aged man with a head full of white hair. Their clothes were different from everyone else in this world. I didn't know how to describe them, but the old ape, who was the wisest in the backyard, told me that they were called immortals.
"I didn't know what immortals were, but I knew that when the white-haired man came, even the City Lords, who were like gods in my eyes, trembled and knelt down, as if they were servants.
"Perhaps that didn't mean much, but if the people kneeling there were all the City Lords in this world, then the meaning … was different.
"My daughter wants to write a book, so I brought her here to look for material." This was what the white-haired man said to the countless City Lords who were kneeling down.
"I knew what a book was, but I didn't understand what material meant. But it didn't matter. The wise old ape explained everything to me, but unfortunately … no matter how hard I tried to look at the little girl, she didn't notice me when she passed by the backyard.
"This was the first time we met, and it was also the beginning of my lifelong companionship … because the little girl who I thought would disappear from my sight fell down while jumping and running happily.
"Her father didn't help her up. Instead, he looked at her gently and watched as she got up on her own. But at that moment, I didn't know what kind of force pushed her forward. Perhaps it was the innocence of the little girl, or perhaps it was the way she looked when she got up and tried her best not to cry, but tears flowed down her face.
"So, I walked over. Amidst the shock of all my friends and the panic of the surrounding City Lords, I came to her side and licked away the tears at the corner of her eyes.
It seemed like my tongue tickled her, so the little girl giggled. There was some curiosity in her eyes as she used her small hands to stroke the hair on my head.
It was very comfortable.
"Daddy, can you give me this little white deer?" The little girl turned her head and looked at the white-haired man. I also turned my head and looked at him.
I saw my own figure in the white-haired man's eyes, a white young deer.
That was me. Perhaps it was the influence of the weapon I was born with, but … after I grew to a certain extent, I stopped developing, and I would forever remain in the state of a child.
But for some reason, there seemed to be some other meaning in the white-haired man's eyes. I didn't know what it was, but it didn't matter, because he nodded.
This was the first time I left the backyard since I entered it.
When I left, I bid farewell to the old ape. I told it that I might not be able to return for the next birthday celebration. The old ape said that it didn't matter, and that we would meet again.
When the old ape said those words, its gaze became even more profound, as if it could see the future very, very far away … but I didn't care, because I knew that its eyesight wasn't very good.
As for Little Tiger, he went to fight again, so my farewell didn't succeed. However, Fox was crying. It seemed that it was because I didn't accept the hair it gave me when we parted, so it was crying very sadly.
But I wasn't sad, because after leaving the City Lord's Mansion, I, who wandered this world with the little girl and her father, had a name.
"Little white deer, I'll give you a name. You'll be called … Little White!"
I liked this name very much, and was about to nod when her father spoke up.
"You can't."
"Why, Daddy?"
"…" The middle-aged man didn't say anything, but the little girl kept asking. In the end, he seemed to have no choice but to speak.
"Because Daddy doesn't like the word white."
"Then let's call you Bao Bao." The little girl pouted, but soon thought of a new name. She hugged my head and kept talking.
And so, I had a name. This name was Bao Bao.
— — -
Time to catch up on the update, and while I'm at it, let's see how many fellow daoists are still awake.
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