Chapter 275

“We are wandering beastmen from the North, searching for the legendary Beast God’s City.” Qi Bai struck his right fist against his shoulder in a traditional beastman’s greeting.

At the words Beast God’s City, the female beastman’s expression shifted slightly. She whispered a few words to the antelope-horned beastman beneath her, then said:

“There is no Beast God’s City here. The Wild Wastes are extremely dangerous—it is not a place outsiders can simply pass through.

“But since you have slain the Venom-Serpent, I can permit you to rest for a time in the Holy Antelope Tribe, and I will point out a path for you to leave the Wild Wastes.”

Her words were both a warning and an invitation—a gesture of goodwill.

Whether or not that goodwill was deep didn’t matter for now. What mattered was that someone here knew the routes. That was far more reliable than wandering blindly. Naturally, Qi Bai and Lang Ze had no reason to refuse.

“Then we thank you for your kindness,” Qi Bai smiled. “But our packs are still at our camp. We’ll need to return and gather our belongings first.”

“Of course.” The female sub-beastman also smiled. She then looked at the corpse of the serpent and asked, “What do you plan to do with it?”

Qi Bai had felt the name Venom-Serpent sounded familiar ever since she’d spoken it. Wasn’t this what Hou Su had once mentioned—the source of “Venom-Spittle”?

Clearly, she was very interested in the carcass.

“We only need its venom,” Qi Bai said.

Serpent hide made inferior armor compared to Dire Beast hides, and he had no interest in eating the meat. If these people wanted it, better to grant the favor.

As expected, her eyes lit up. “If you don’t want it, then give it to us. The Holy Antelope Tribe will give you enough supplies in exchange.”

Qi Bai agreed, and she looked truly pleased.

The arrows in the serpent’s head Qi Bai had already pulled free, so there was no risk of her noticing anything odd. Lang Ze escorted Qi Bai back to their shelter.

When they returned, about thirty Holy Antelope clansmen had already gathered around the woman.

Unlike other tribes’ hunting parties, which were mostly horned beastmen, here fully half were sub-beastmen. They wore ragged hides and each carried a battered long bone-blade, the edges stained dark red.

Their faces were fierce, several even drawing their blades until the woman barked them back. With ill-contained anger, they returned to their task.

Their work was efficient. Producing thick vines from somewhere, they bound the serpent tight, then mounted their horned companions, gripping the vines to drag the carcass.

Clearly, they were practiced at transporting prey like this.

Lang Ze emerged from the trees.

When the woman, Ling Ping, noticed the crafted saddle on his back, she studied it with curiosity and admiration. “That’s well-made.”

Then she waved her hand. “Return to the tribe!”

The Holy Antelope’s territory was not far. Heading opposite the swamp, they traveled for over two hours before reaching it.

Along the way, Qi Bai learned why Ling Ping was so friendly. This group had actually been out to hunt the serpent themselves.

“Half a month ago, the serpent appeared in our territory. Many sub-beastmen gathering herbs were bitten, some killed.” Ling Ping explained. “Our hunters fought it many times but could not slay it.

“Yesterday another sub-beastman was injured. We tracked its signs through the night, and that’s how we came upon it.”

Qi Bai frowned. “But aren’t Venom-Serpents supposed to live in the heart of the swamp? Why would it wander into your lands?”

Ling Ping shook her head heavily, offering no answer.

At last, a settlement of tents came into view.

The weather was frigid. Beastmen sat before campfires outside their tents, their hair unkempt, bodies grimy with filth, features obscured.

Yet their spirits were high. Seeing Ling Ping’s party return, dragging prey, they rose with joy.

Two opened the wooden gate. One ran to Ling Ping, exclaiming, “You killed the Venom-Serpent! I knew you were the strongest!”

The man’s lips were purple from cold, bare feet in the snow, with only a hide around his shoulders. Yet he seemed unbothered.

Qi Bai hadn’t left his own tribe for two years. He had nearly forgotten what life in the beastman continent’s native tribes was like. But this scene reminded him—this was the true norm.

Yet these tribesmen seemed unusually robust. Qi Bai doubted he could run barefoot in minus thirty or forty degrees like they did.

Another beastman eyed Lang Ze and Qi Bai warily—Lang Ze’s huge wolf form was impossible to ignore. “Who are they?”

“They’re new friends of mine,” Ling Ping dismounted, answering. “Tai, where are the shaman and the chieftain? I need to see them.”

“Looks like they’re in the shaman’s tent,” Tai said, pointing inward.

The camp’s narrow paths couldn’t fit horned beastmen in full form, so the antelope warrior carrying Ling Ping shifted into a tall, dark-skinned man.

Qi Bai slid from Lang Ze’s back, letting him also revert to human form.

That meant Lang Ze’s saddle couldn’t be carried. Ling Ping suggested, “Why don’t you leave your packs in my tent? It’s safe there.”

“Alright.”

The antelope man, Ling Ta, motioned them to follow him.

Meanwhile Ling Ping walked straight to the shaman’s tent.

Just as she was about to call out, the flap opened.

Shaman Ling Xun beamed, patting her shoulder. “We heard the noise and guessed it was you. No one injured, I hope?”

“No. When we found the serpent, it was already dead,” Ling Ping said, voice strained. “But we discovered traces of the Bone Clan’s poison on its body. The City of Ten Thousand Bones has begun sending reinforcements.”

The air grew heavy at her words.

Ten years ago, a group of beastmen began mining the western side of the Mana Mountains.

At first, the Holy Antelope Tribe hadn’t cared. The mountains were vast—what harm could quarrying a little stone do?

But the miners dug for ten years, establishing camps inside the mountains.

And the workers changed—from enslaved beastmen, to monstrous gold-eating beastmen.

Ling Xun and Ling Qiu had seen them. Their strength was terrifying, their tempers violent, and many had golden scales as hard as bone tools.

They were no longer beastmen—monsters now.

And some of their beast forms clearly came from beastmen who had joined the City of Bones.

But by the time the Holy Antelope realized this, it was too late.

Two years ago, the City of Bones tried to persuade them to join. When they refused, the gold-eaters attacked.

Only the Mana Mountains’ natural barrier saved them. A single perilous gorge was the only passage, and the Holy Antelope had held it.

The monsters did not fear death or fatigue. Only their short lifespans, their tendency to burn out and sometimes explode on the battlefield, allowed the Holy Antelope warriors to endure.

But if the City of Bones committed fully, no matter how strong they were, eventually the Holy Antelope would be exhausted.

The serpent’s appearance seemed an omen of that coming disaster.

Ling Xun asked gravely, “You said the serpent was already dead. Was it the forest beastmen who killed it?”

Between the tribe and the mountains lay a vast Misty Forest—rumored home to powerful beastmen none had seen.

Ling Ping shook her head. “Not them. Two wandering beastmen, seeking the Beast God’s City.”

She described Qi Bai and Lang Ze.

Ling Xun and Ling Qiu exchanged a look.

“Wandering beastmen? In this bitter winter? From the North?” Ling Xun frowned. “There are few survivors left there. How could they have crossed such vast lands?

“The hunters never found the serpent, yet the moment they appear, it’s dead? Isn’t that suspicious?”

Ling Ping’s eyes widened. “You mean…?”

Ling Xun scowled. “They may not be from the North at all—but from the West.”

Not the mythical Beast God’s City—but the City of Bones.

Ling Ping considered, then shook her head. “I’ve seen City of Bones beastmen before. They don’t seem like them.”

“You’ve only seen a handful,” Ling Xun sighed.

The chieftain Ling Qiu finally spoke. “The serpent is dead. Rest tonight. Tomorrow, return. If they seek a city, let them pass.”

Ling Ping swallowed. “We can’t let them go. That horned one slew the serpent alone. If they truly are wanderers, we should keep them—have them join us to fight the gold-eaters.”

Neither elder moved. Ling Ping pressed, “Chieftain, our warriors already struggle against the miners. If the City of Bones joins them, we cannot protect our people—or the Sacred Spring.”

Ling Qiu shook his head. “You think too hopefully. What if they are spies? If we tell them our secrets, we will hasten our own end.”

Ling Ping’s eyes burned. “Then is there no hope at all?”

Of course there was hope—but unspoken: abandon their land, forsake the Sacred Spring, leave the Wild Wastes.

But no one could bring themselves to say it.

When Qi Bai and Lang Ze entered the tent, the air was heavy.

Qi Bai smiled, undeterred, saluted, and repeated his line: “We came to seek the Beast God’s City.”

The shaman shook his head. “We Holy Antelope have lived in the Wild Wastes for centuries. We’ve never heard of such a place.”

Qi Bai feigned surprise. “But we followed directions from one who swore he saw a city with his own eyes. If not the Beast God’s City, perhaps another?”

The chieftain Ling Qiu nodded. “There is indeed another city. But you are better equipped than any clansman we’ve seen—even better than the City’s envoys. Do you still wish to go?”

In truth, Qi Bai and Lang Ze’s clothing was finer than anything here.

Qi Bai only smiled. “Our lives are abundant, yes. But some always long for cities. Curiosity brought us here. We only wish to see one—and then we can return without regret.”

Before, Ling Qiu and Ling Xun hadn’t understood Ling Ping’s faith in them.

But seeing them—calm, confident, with clear eyes—they felt their own certainty waver.

After a moment’s thought, Ling Qiu said: “We can tell you where. But first—you must fulfill a request for the Holy Antelope.”

Qi Bai, who had tested so many others before, was amused at being tested himself.

Lang Ze asked, “What request?”

“You must have seen the towering Mana Mountains to the west,” Ling Qiu said. “Between us and those peaks lies the Misty Forest. Find the beastmen who live there. If you succeed, we will not only tell you the city’s location—we will even send guides to take you there.”