BTTH: Death Letter From The Future

My name is Wang Yan, a citizen of the Jia Ma Empire and a three-star Dou Spirit. I currently serve the royal family.

Recently, my not-so-bright partner, Wang Dalang, and I were given a secret mission by the eldest princess. Well, it's not much of a secret now—we were just tasked with secretly protecting a boy.

The eldest princess instructed us repeatedly: if necessary, we were to protect him at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing ourselves.

After leaving the Holy City, Wang Dalang and I trailed the boy named Chen Guan. Wang Dalang, being a loudmouth who can't keep things to himself, kept murmuring about the boy's identity the entire way. I quietly distanced myself from him.

To be honest, I was curious too. I studied the boy numerous times, trying to figure out why I was chosen for this task. Sure, he's younger and better-looking than me, but what made him so important to the princess?

Maybe Wang Dalang's speculations weren't entirely wrong.

Of course, I would never voice such thoughts. I've maintained my rational and calm image for forty years, and I don't want anyone to know that I actually have a flamboyant side.

I'm glad I didn't act out of line because, over the next month, I realized this boy was a monster!

One day, he ventured into the Magic Beast Mountain Range and came back covered in blood. Wang Dalang and I were terrified, but fortunately, he was fine.

The next day, he went back again. Wang Dalang and I followed him quietly and discovered that the boy was picking a fight with a third-tier magical beast.

This kid is crazy!

But we also found out that his skills allowed him to fight the third-tier beast without getting into real danger. He took some hits but always managed to get away.

Damn, it was shocking. How old was he? Fourteen, fifteen at most? I was beginning to understand why he was so highly regarded.

In the following days, he went after the beast every day, and his combat experience grew at an astonishing rate. Gradually, he even started gaining the upper hand!

It was unbelievable.

Knowing that he was fighting the beast daily without much risk, Wang Dalang and I relaxed and stopped tailing him all the time. After all, the princess's orders were to ensure his safety, not follow him everywhere.

But then, fate played a joke on us. One evening, while Wang Dalang and I were playing chess to pass the time, night fell, and the boy still hadn't returned.

I began to panic, a sense of foreboding settling in my chest.

———

"Old Wang, something's not right. Even on his latest night, Chen Guan came back by now," Wang Dalang said, unable to sit still as he threw down his chess piece, the night sky already fully dark.

Wang Yan thought to himself, You're only realizing this now?

"Yes, something's off. Let's go check. With his strength, as long as he doesn't go deeper into the mountain, he shouldn't be in any real danger."

The two of us rushed off into the pitch-black Magic Beast Mountain Range, which loomed like a massive, primitive beast.

We headed straight for the spot where Chen Guan usually "met" the Scarlet Ice Snake King. We knew the way, and with our skills, we quickly reached the destination.

The scene was a mess. Following the tracks on the ground, our expressions grew more and more grim.

He had gone in.

He really went in!

Deeper into the mountain was the territory of third-tier magical beasts. How could he dare? One beast might not be a problem, but an entire group? That's a different story!

The only comfort was that, based on his displayed strength, as long as he wasn't surrounded by third-tier beasts, he should be fine in one-on-one combat. And since he's so highly valued, perhaps the royal family had given him some life-saving items.

Following the tracks for a few minutes, we reached a small lake where the trail and all signs of his presence disappeared.

"Let's split up and search!" Wang Yan quickly instructed and headed off in one direction.

The Magic Beast Mountain Range was vast, and even the area where third-tier beasts roamed was no small place. It took us the better part of the night to roughly comb through the area.

The result was obvious—no sign of him.

Wang Yan glanced deeper into the mountain with a grim expression. He couldn't have gone into the fourth-tier beast territory, could he? Even we don't dare venture that deep.

"Dalang, you head back and immediately report this to the eldest princess. I'll go in and search. He might really have gone deeper."

"No, I'll go search. You go report. I'm smaller and better at hiding, especially at night. It's settled—there's no time to argue."

We bickered briefly, our deep friendship evident in every exchange. We both knew in our hearts that the boy was likely in serious trouble. We just didn't say it aloud.

We were sure to be held accountable, but neither of us uttered a word about abandoning the mission. The fact that the eldest princess entrusted us with this task showed her absolute trust in our loyalty to the royal family.

Once everything was settled, we quickly took action.

———

In Qingshan Town, at the Thousand Medicine Pavilion.

It was long past closing time, but tonight the shop stayed open much longer.

Little Fairy Fairy Doctor stood by the bamboo window, gazing in the direction of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, her brows slightly furrowed.

She hadn't had fox meat today, and her stomach was still growling. But that wasn't important.

What puzzled her was that the boy who visited every day hadn't shown up yet. Was he delayed, or had he run into trouble?

She couldn't help but worry.

With hands clasped, she prayed for her only friend's safety, then shook her head and returned to her seat, resuming her study of a medical journal by lamplight.

She couldn't sleep, her thoughts unsettled.

Plus, her stomach was still growling, but she was too embarrassed to go downstairs for food, so she just endured it.

Please come back safely.

My friend.

(End of Chapter)