After the others left, Linde took out some odor-masking powder from his pocket and applied it to the exposed parts of his body, especially his face. To prevent the powder from being washed away by the rain, he put on the hood of his clothes, and then, relying on his powerful sense of smell, tracked the lingering scent of the Shadow Lynx.
The reason Linde tracked the Shadow Lynx alone was not because of some 'Ten Hunting Trials to Become a Legendary Hunter,' but because he noticed man-made objects on the Shadow Lynx: several carefully woven vines.
These vines were tied to the Shadow Lynx in a way that wouldn't hinder its movements, but their position and form could help someone riding on its back to stabilize their body very well.
Although the Shadow Lynx is enormous, it is still not large enough for an adult to use as a mount; a child's size would be more suitable.
Ordinary children would be lucky enough not to be eaten by a Shadow Lynx, and even the legendary Shapeshifter couldn't control a Shadow Lynx when they were young.
In the forest, the ability to control a Shadow Lynx, combined with a child-like stature, instantly made Linde think of a possibility: the owner of this Shadow Lynx was actually one of the Forest Children, a race believed to be completely extinct in the South.
With a strong curiosity about the Forest Children, Linde traveled through the forest. After walking for about half an hour, the scent of the Shadow Lynx around him became much stronger, mixed with a large amount of other very peculiar fragrances.
Linde couldn't discern the characteristics of any plant from these fragrances, yet he felt that these scents were connected to every plant.
If he had to use a name to describe them, 'the breath of nature' would perhaps be the most fitting.
Linde slowed his steps, making his movements as quiet as possible. Using the sound of the rain, he almost perfectly concealed his whereabouts and approached the target's location.
He saw a small, somewhat abrupt patch of grass appear in the dense forest, with a grass-covered mound on it.
What appeared to be a mound was actually a small house made of branches, logs, lichen, and soil, simply disguised on the outside so that if one didn't look closely, it would be mistaken for a mere dirt mound.
The Shadow Lynx Linde had been tracking was now outside this mound-house. The fawn it had brought was already dismembered, and at the Shadow Lynx's feet were three or four Shadow Lynx cubs.
These cubs were about the size of small cats and were currently feasting.
However, what attracted Linde's gaze more than these Shadow Lynxes was the strange human sitting next to the mound, completely covered by a cloak.
The Shadow Lynx showed no desire to attack this human, as if this human were its master.
But Linde could still tell from some of the Shadow Lynx's instinctive actions that it retained some aggression towards this human, for example, picking up its cubs when they tried to approach the human and baring its teeth and claws at the human as a warning, which was clearly not an attitude towards a master.
Furthermore, what made Linde even more puzzled was that although he hadn't seen this human's face, he had a vague sense of familiarity, as if he had seen this human somewhere before.
Just as Linde was recalling when he might have seen that stranger, a patch of turf on the mound suddenly loosened, and then a small, disguised wooden door opened.
A short, humanoid creature, like a child, emerged holding a wooden bowl and walked over to the stranger, handing him the bowl.
This child-like humanoid creature was exactly like the Forest Children from legends: deep chestnut skin, large ears and eyes, three fingers, dressed in clothes woven from bark and leaves, wearing a flower crown on its head, and a dagger made of polished stone tucked into its waist, appearing somewhat frail.
If one were to judge the strength of the Forest Children by their appearance, they would certainly suffer greatly.
It should be known that the Forest Children once fought back and forth with the First Men.
They were not only skilled with weapons like spears and daggers, possessing exquisite close-combat techniques, but they also understood many forms of magic.
It's no exaggeration to say that if a hundred-man ordinary army entered the forest to fight the Forest Children, one Forest Child could easily kill all one hundred of them.
That human seemed to have a very good relationship with the Forest Child and trusted her implicitly.
After taking the wooden bowl, he removed his hood, revealing the face of a middle-aged man, and then unhesitatingly swallowed the contents of the bowl.
As the human removed his cloak and revealed his appearance, Linde felt a murmur in his heart, because the other person's face was unfamiliar; he had never seen this human before, yet that sense of familiarity became even stronger.
Just as Linde was filled with questions, he suddenly felt something rubbing against his leg.
Looking down, he saw a Shadow Lynx cub leaning against his calf, rubbing back and forth, as if it were treating him as a passive scratching post.
This Shadow Lynx cub was clearly also from the mother Shadow Lynx in the clearing, but unlike its siblings, this Shadow Lynx was not black, but white, and its stripes were not gray, but deep black, appearing more majestic.
However, among forest beasts, this albino Shadow Lynx was very disadvantageous for survival, because whether hunting or being hunted, it was very obvious.
As the albino Shadow Lynx cub rubbed against Linde's calf, it also let out soft, comfortable purrs.
Though these sounds were not loud, they were enough to attract the attention of the mother Shadow Lynx in the grassy area.
Under these circumstances, although Linde had hidden his figure as much as possible, he still could not escape the Shadow Lynx's primal instinct.
The Shadow Lynx immediately turned and let out a threatening growl towards Linde's position, while sweeping its cubs to the side, at the feet of the Forest Child.
The Shadow Lynx's unusual behavior immediately alerted the human and the Forest Child.
The human sitting on the ground instantly stood up and drew a longsword, while the Forest Child drew the obsidian dagger from her waist, and her other hand naturally rested on a pouch at her waist, indicating that the pouch likely contained something dangerous.
Seeing that his whereabouts were exposed, Linde naturally didn't hide anymore. He didn't draw a weapon, merely placed his hands on the hilts of his twin swords at his waist, and then walked directly out from behind the concealing bushes.
Interestingly, as he walked out, the albino Shadow Lynx cub followed closely, sticking to his feet, and even after hearing its mother's calls, it never left.
However, Linde had no mind to pay attention to the cub's movements at the moment.
As he stepped out, he immediately stated his intentions: "You don't need to be afraid, I am not your enemy, I will not harm you."
He then pointed to the Shadow Lynx, which was ready to pounce at any moment, and said, "I followed it here; it took a prey I hunted."
The Forest Child seemed to understand the common tongue Linde spoke.
She knew that the Shadow Lynx had been tracked, so she furiously roared two sentences in a never-before-heard language at her mount.
The Shadow Lynx shrunk its neck, snorted twice, seeming to feel wronged at being scolded, and then showed a fiercer expression, baring its teeth at Linde.
Just as the Forest Child was about to question Linde's identity and if there were others around, the human beside her lowered his guard, sheathed his longsword, and then gestured to the Forest Child, saying, "Don't worry, he's not an enemy."
Then, he looked at Linde and said, "I didn't expect to see you here.
You walked too slowly; it took you so long to reach Kingswood. I thought you would already be in King's Landing by now."
Hearing the man's words, Linde was stunned.
Although his words sounded as if he knew Linde, the man's appearance and voice were still very unfamiliar to Linde.
But the problem was that the sense of familiarity did not fade due to the unfamiliarity of the appearance and voice; instead, it persisted.
It was precisely because of this extreme contrast between unfamiliarity and familiarity that Linde quickly thought of a possibility and tentatively asked, "Are you the Faceless Man from New Barrel City?"
"What keen perception and observation! If your name were on the list, I definitely wouldn't have taken the job," the middle-aged man nodded, smiling.
Linde surveyed the Faceless Man, who had changed his appearance, and his gaze fell on several scars on the man's chest and abdomen that had almost disemboweled him.
He said, "It seems your mission is complete."
The middle-aged man looked down at his wounds, nodded, and said, "Although the process was a bit convoluted, it's finally done."
As the middle-aged man spoke, the Forest Child tugged at his clothes, seemingly reminding him of something.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce you two," the middle-aged man said very amiably.
"This is Spark, an old friend of mine.
Thanks to her, I was able to survive this time."
Then, he pointed to Linde and said, "His name is Linde, known as Bear Hunter."
"You are Bear Hunter Lind?" The Forest Child Spark looked at Linde with slight surprise after hearing the Faceless Man's introduction, and spoke in fluent common tongue.
It was clear from her words that she knew Linde.
Linde bowed to Spark and said, "I didn't expect my name to be known even by the Forest Children?"
"I heard a bard sing the hunter of bears song in a village outside the forest," Spark explained, and then hummed the hunter of bears song in the same language she had just used.
Although it was the same tune, the effect of Spark humming it now far surpassed the effect when hummed in the common tongue.
"I really like this song, but you and the Bear Hunter in the song are really very different."
Then, she turned to the Faceless Man and asked, "Is he really the Bear Hunter?"
"Yes, he is the Bear Hunter," the Faceless Man replied, "You should know that all legends have exaggerated elements, and cannot be entirely believed."
Spark no longer concerned herself with the authenticity of the hunter of bears song.
Instead, she became slightly interested in the fact that Linde could attract a Shadow Lynx cub.
She then walked up to Linde, looked him up and down, and then circled him twice, asking curiously, "You are not a Shapeshifter, nor a Green Prophet, and you have no magic on you.
Why is this Shadow Lynx cub so affectionate towards you?"
As Spark spoke, the albino Shadow Lynx cub was tightly wrapping its claws around Linde's leg, trying to climb onto him, but no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't.
Eventually, Linde bent down and picked it up.
The cub, held in Linde's arms, immediately became very quiet, showing a strong affection for Linde.
In contrast, the other normal Shadow Lynxes, both adult and young, showed strong resistance and wariness towards Linde.
Even with the Forest Child's suppression, the hostility stemming from their wild instincts did not diminish in the slightest.
"I don't know what's going on either?" Linde caressed the cub in his arms, looking equally bewildered.
Although he didn't know what power within him could make the albino Shadow Lynx cub so affectionate, he was certain that this power definitely did not come from the Peace Envoy, because there was nothing in the Peace Envoy's combat experience related to wild beasts.
Therefore, the problem could only stem from his previous self.
As for the Forest Child Spark, after failing to find a reason, she quickly lost interest in the matter.
She turned around and scolded the other Shadow Lynxes and cubs a few times.
The Shadow Lynxes glanced at the cub Linde was holding, then one by one, picked up their cubs and the food on the ground, and entered the mound tree-house from which the Forest Child had emerged.
Seeing this, Linde also gripped the scruff of the Shadow Lynx cub's neck and handed it back to the Forest Child.
However, the Forest Child did not reach out to take it, but instead said to Linde, "Since it chose to follow you, you can raise it!"
After speaking, she turned to the Faceless Man and said, "The medicine will take effect very soon, and your body will recover quickly.
Now, our accounts are completely settled, don't you agree?"
"Yes, our accounts are settled," the Faceless Man nodded, then added, "But, we're still friends, right?"
The Forest Child said with a very firm expression, "Friends do not bring danger to friends.
Don't come looking for me again in the future.
You have too much trouble on you; I'm afraid I'll be implicated."
After speaking, the Forest Child turned and entered her tree-house, while the Faceless Man's face showed a bitter smile.
However, as the Forest Child was about to close the door, she added, "Next time something like this happens, when you come, you'd best prepare a gift sufficient to attract me, otherwise I will not come out to see you."
With that, she slammed the wooden door shut.
Hearing the Forest Child's additional words, a smile also appeared on the Faceless Man's face.
At this moment, Linde suddenly felt the ground tremble slightly, as if there had been an earthquake.
Immediately after, he saw the raised mound tree-house in front of him slowly sink.
Soon, the arched ground began to gradually flatten, eventually becoming a flat grassy area.
Then, the grass on the ground began to grow wildly, stopping only when it reached waist-high, and the deep grassland completely covered the traces of the Forest Child's dwelling.