Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 2: Human Cattle

"Now!! Give it over!" the wolf demon snarled impatiently. Tang San's mother shook with unconcealed fear, tears overflowing. The wolf demon could not care less, stepping forward and snatching Tang San single-handedly.

"Child! My child!" While the woman wailed and cried uncontrollably, she made no attempts at retrieving her child. She took the only blanket in the room and tried to cover Tang San with it. Tang San felt a painful squeeze in his heart. This was the first time he had felt heartache in this new world.

Suddenly, Tang San's mother realized her baby had turned to face her, not crying despite the circumstances. His eyes glimmered with a newfound light, captivating her enough to pause her actions.

"Get lost!" snarled the wolf demon, pushing her roughly.

As she tumbled onto the hay-covered ground, Tang San was yanked out of the small hay hut, clasped firmly in the creature's mighty paw. Out in the open, Tang San was assailed by the biting winds. The wolf demon, perhaps aiming to keep his prey from succumbing to the cold, draped the shabby blanket over Tang San.

At that moment, darkness enveloped everything, momentarily shielding Tang San from the biting cold wind. Despite the struggle to breathe, Tang San endured for the time being.

He fought to steady himself, silently imploring, Don't leave this world, Mother. Please, stay alive. As long as I survive, I'll find you and make sure you live well. Wait for my return.

After composing himself, Tang San decided the wolf demon hadn't abducted him for a meal. His reasoning was simple: firstly, compared to the meager bits of flesh on his body, his mother held far greater value as a meal; secondly, the wolf demon's covering him with a blanket indicated a concern for preventing him from freezing to death. If he were merely food, his survival wouldn't matter. However, the grim possibility of them preferring to devour him alive still lingered, impossible to dismiss entirely.

However calm he was, what could a one-month-old baby possibly do but adapt to the circumstances? He could only take each day as it came.

Faintly, the wind whistle was the only audible sound from the outside world. This place was known as the Daemon Continent, something Tang San had discovered after barely grasping some of the language.

As he had expected, humans in this realm were regarded as not only slaves but also the lowliest of slaves. Their fragile bodies rendered them useless.

Of course, there was also the possibility of them becoming their master's dinner. It was only expected to treat the lowliest slaves as food.

As for any other details, Tang San remained ignorant. Communication between his mother and the other humans was infrequent. A month had slipped by without a glimpse of his father, signaling a dreadful conclusion.

How dreadful! Unbearably dreadful! Even if I start from scratch, give me a chance to begin again, Tang San mourned silently. He had previously contemplated the challenges of rebirth, but the reality surpassed his expectations in its sheer difficulty.

At last, the wolf demon appeared to stop, and Tang San faintly heard him say a few words. He couldn't decipher the world's language because he was hindered by both the blanket and his scant comprehension of the world's language. Soon after, he sensed himself being passed to another being.

As the blanket was lifted, Tang San instinctively curled his body defensively. Contrary to the anticipated chill of the wind, he was met with warmth. However, along came an unpleasant odor that accompanied the newfound warmth.

That said, this was the first moment since his birth that he experienced warmth surrounding him from every direction. With his eyes open, he meticulously observed his surroundings.

"Another child that looks like one of those baby monkeys," a muffled voice whimpered.

Just then, Tang San came face to face with the creature holding him. Is that a....pig head?!

Upon further contemplation, he decided this was, indeed, a being with the head of a pig. The pig creature looked closer at Tang San and then carried him inside.

A crying cacophony began, and Tang San realized he was not the only baby in this place.

He was placed in a soft, cushiony haystack. Well, it could be called a haystack...or it could be called a nest. All around him, the sounds of crying got louder.

A shadow cast over him, and his mouth was forced open. Once his lips were apart, a large, soft object that smelled sweet and raw was stuffed into his mouth. Tang San's eyes opened widely when warm milk gushed directly into his throat. Nope, it wasn't because he was moved by being appropriately fed; his surprise came at almost choking to death. If his birth mother's milk were to be described as a trickling stream, this feeding would be likened to the impossibly wide Yangtze River[1]!

To save himself from drowning in the incoming milk flood, Tang San subconsciously tried to tighten his toothless gums to regulate the flow of the milk. Once he did this, he could swallow the milk, albeit with difficulty. Breathing hard with his nose, he did his best to get his weak, small body to adjust to the feeding.

Finally, he could breathe normally again. He didn't care about anything else and did his best to drink the milk. Nutrients! Much-needed nutrients! Was this a ray of hope shining upon him? He didn't care if it was human milk or pig milk; as long as it kept him fed, he was satisfied.

His satisfaction didn't last as the dark shadow moved away from him. Even though he was fed to a point where he felt bloated, he wanted to have more. After all, this was the first time he had felt like he had a good meal since he had arrived in this world. As his hunger was sated, his energy levels improved, and Tang San started observing the world around him.

The structure he was in looked like a house with hay on the floor. Tang San was weakly moving his head around since he was not yet strong enough to turn himself over on his stomach. He could only peek at the things around him.

Right next to him were three or four children who looked about the same age as him. All of them looked just like him, skinny and weak. Everyone lay on a kind of soft hay. The room was warm, a respite from the usual cold weather. The pig nurse who had just fed him also fed the others simultaneously. Tang San thought, Is this what it's like to be raised like cattle? Are we slaves being raised uniformly?

Tang San did his best to comfort himself. At least he wouldn't be eaten; that was good enough. After being fed earlier, he felt like the odds of his survival had increased.

The days went by.

The pig nurse came by thrice every day to feed them. Initially, Tang San was not used to the abundant milk he was fed. However, he quickly got accustomed to the feedings and did his best to drink more to get the nutrients for his growing body. With a healthier physique, he could grow and eventually have the chance to cultivate. Through cultivation, he could gain strength and seize control of his own fate.

No matter what kind of world he had ended up in, staying alive and surviving was paramount.

As the days flew by, Tang San hit his hundredth day. His chubby cheeks and fair complexion stood out among the other kids. It seemed several pig nurses were around, and there were many kids. After a hundred days of eating well and growing, he was already able to turn over by himself. And so, he was able to see more things. Listening to the pig nurses chatting, he began to grasp their language and learn more about the world around him.

The Fairy Continent was vast in land mass, so large that the pig nurses could not describe it. Tang San was reborn in a small town in the northeast belonging to an upper-class member of the Wolf Demon Clan.

The land known as the Daemon Continent gained its name from its predominant residents, comprising two distinct races: the demons and nymphs. Collectively, they were often referred to as daemons.[2]

1. , The most massive river in China. ☜

2. The word translated here as "daemon" consists of two characters: 妖 (from 妖怪, monster/demon) and 精 (from 精怪, also nymphs/supernatural beings). ☜