Chapter 323

Rustling came from the branches above. Shu You pushed aside the leaves and leapt down from the tree.
“You’ve got a decent eye.”

The Cang Quan beastman’s gaze grew more interested when he saw him.
“So it’s actually a sub-beastman.”

Shu You raised his hand crossbow, aiming straight at the Cang Quan beastman.
“Don’t underestimate a sub-beastman. Otherwise, you won’t even know how you died.”

The Cang Quan beastman’s dark-golden eyes flickered.
“So this is the thing that injured my men? And that other device you just used to make sounds—what are those?”

Standing between the towering Yun Jing and Xiong Qi, Shu You kept his weapon loaded and ready.
“Why would I tell you?”

At that moment, the horned beastmen of the Xu Shan tribe spotted the intruding Le Li men inside their camp, and quickly began pulling their warriors back toward the tribe.

Knowing there was no way to gain more spoils today, the Cang Quan beastman gave a subtle signal to retreat.

“There are no tribes like yours in Hun Rong. Who are you? Where are you from?” The beastman curled his lips. “Or don’t tell me you don’t even dare speak your tribe’s name?”

Black Yao’s arrival in Hun Rong, and their trade with its tribes, would spread sooner or later. His questions were nothing but stalling tactics.

Shu You glanced toward the battlefront, which was nearly concluded, and chose not to keep tangling with the Le Li man.

Fighting them head-on wasn’t wise. If the Le Li were willing to pull back voluntarily, that was a blessing—especially for the Xu Shan tribe, which had little defense for its sub-beastmen and cubs.

Shu You shouted:
“We come from the great, the invincible Hei Yao City!”

At the name, many of the horned beastmen behind the Cang Quan warrior lashed their tails restlessly.

The Cang Quan beastman arched his brows.
“So you’re the ones from the northern continent—Hei Yao people.”

Shu You snorted coldly.
“So you’ve heard of us. Seems you’ve got a little sense after all.”

“Of course I’ve heard of you. I’ve also heard you’re very rich.” The Cang Quan beastman sighed, spreading his arms. “The tribes of Hun Rong have little left worth taking. Once I’ve plundered Luo Ri City…”

His dark-golden eyes locked fiercely on Shu You and the Hei Yao warriors behind him. He said arrogantly:
“The next one will be your Hei Yao City.”

“Hou hou!” “Ao ao!”

The Le Li men, who had just been fleeing Yun Jing and Xiong Qi with tails between their legs, now howled excitedly at his words.

“Go back and tell your city lord—I, Cang Xie of the Cang Quan tribe, will soon come to the northern continent! I’ll seize all your wealth, and take away your sub-beastmen and cubs!”

Whoosh!

Shu You’s arrow finally loosed, flying straight toward Cang Xie’s face.

But at the instant it should have struck, Cang Xie reached out and caught the arrow firmly in his palm.

“Cang Xie.” Shu You lowered his crossbow. “That arrow was your warning. If you want to die, then come.”

Cang Xie felt the chill of the arrow shaft in his grip.
“Who lives and who dies—we’ll know when the time comes.”

“Chief!”

Cang Xie raised his hand to silence them.
“Inform everyone—we withdraw!”

Yun Jing shifted into human form and praised Shu You:
“Well done. That Cang Xie looks even stronger than me or Xiong Qi, yet you didn’t flinch at all. Truly worthy of being Hei Yao’s warrior!”

The clansmen crowded around Shu You.
“Exactly! You said it so well. If it had been me, I’d never have come up with such bold words!”

Someone jostled Shu You in their excitement. The next moment, his legs buckled and he plopped onto the ground.

With a wry face, Shu You muttered:
“Stop already. If I had to hold on any longer, I’d have collapsed.”

“Hahahaha!” Laughter rang out around him.

The Le Li’s retreat was as sudden as their appearance, leaving only blood-soaked ground and a wrecked camp behind.

Xu Shan tribesmen spread out over their lands, trying to rebuild tents with beast hides and poles. Several sub-beastmen sat motionless, crying quietly.

Only then did Shu You and the others realize that more than one raiding band had bypassed the front lines to loot. Without Hei Yao’s war-horn, the other Xu Shan folk could only watch helplessly as their supplies were stolen—and even some of their cubs dragged away.

By full nightfall, Yun Jing and the others were invited into the Xu Shan chief’s tent once more.

Inside sat four people: the Xu Shan priest, two elders in their forties or fifties, and the chief himself, who was injured—though not severely. His expression, however, was heavy.

After they sat, the chief said:
“Once again, thank you—friends of Hei Yao.”

Yun Jing said:
“Rather than thanks, we want to understand—what exactly is happening in Hun Rong?”

The chief waved a hand. One of the elders spoke:
“I’ll explain.”

“You’ve seen the Le Li chief, Cang Xie. Then you’ve surely noticed he looks different from us.”

The three nodded.

Beastmen’s human forms usually reflected their beast forms, so tribes varied somewhat in appearance. But beastmen like Cang Xie, with brown-black skin and dark-golden eyes, were rare indeed.

“They’re not Hun Rong natives. With such features…” Yun Jing frowned. “Could they be beastmen of the Arid Plains?”

Hun Rong and Bei Huang were already near the edges of the beast continent. Beyond them lay the vast, desolate Yi Di Plains. Yun Jing had heard tales of the plains folk’s fearsome looks but had always taken it as myth—like the Beast God’s City.

The elder sighed.
“Yes and no.”

“Where the Cang Quan truly come from, none can say. What we do know is that it is they who wield the power to control beasts.”

“But most of the beastmen making up the Le Li tribe are Yi Di folk.”

“Famine from the arid land left them starving. The Cang Quan brought alien wild beasts into the Yi Di Plains and seized food from other tribes.”

“Those marked by them face only two ends: either join them in raiding, or be driven into migration by their harassment.”

The Yi Di Plains were barren; tribes rarely numbered over a thousand. But its sheer vastness meant ten, twenty, thirty tribes could be merged. The Cang Quan fused them into the Le Li tribe—a terrifying force whispered in dread.

Xiong Qi growled:
“With such villains running rampant, doesn’t the city you serve intervene?”

Another elder slammed his thigh.
“When they collect our tribute, they’re arrogant enough. But when danger comes, they shrink like turtles!”

“Since the Le Li appeared, many tribes have begged refuge from Luo Ri City. Yet its gates remain shut. They ignore everyone,” the chief said. “Of its five guard-tribes, the Tuo Tuo in our northwest, closest to the Yi Di Plains, have already migrated away.”

“We’d long foreseen that the Le Li would target us. We just never thought the day would come so soon.”

Yun Jing asked:
“What do you plan to do now?”

The priest sighed.
“Greed has led us here. The angry Xu Shan punishes us—punishes children who left her side. We will migrate again, back to the foot of the Xu Shan that birthed us.”

Shu You looked at Yun Jing and Xiong Qi, then said hesitantly:
“Hun Rong is not at peace. But Bei Huang may not be safe either.”

The priest froze mid-prayer, peering at him through the firelight.
“Why do you say this?”

Shu You answered:
“From Hei Yao to Xu Shan, we passed only a few small tribes in Bei Huang. Our caravan took the northern route.”

“To know Hei Yao is from Bei Zhou—only those Bei Huang tribes knew. If Cang Xie spoke that name today, then Le Li must have entered Bei Huang too. Perhaps they’ve already swallowed a tribe or two.”

Hei Yao City’s territory lay in the blank land between the Beast God’s Domain and Dong Yi. Few tribes lived there, and it had no fixed name.

On a continent without writing or maps, geography mattered more than tribal names. For example, the Sheng Ling of Mang Huang, or the Xu Shan who had migrated from Bei Huang.

Since Hei Yao was trading with others, they needed a defined geographic term.

South lay Dong Yi and Bei Huang; north reached the icy Beast God’s Domain; west touched the Unclaimed Wastes; east stretched the vast sea that sustained Hei Yao.

So Qi Bai and Lang Ze named the land “Bei Zhou”—the Northern Expanse.

But the name had been coined only before the caravans set out. Even Xu Shan, Hei Yao’s hosts, didn’t know it. So Shu You concluded that Le Li must have entered Bei Huang already.

The priest whispered:
“Beast God above. Where does Le Li’s ambition end?”

Shu You admitted:
“I don’t know. What do they truly want?”

In Hei Yao, Qi Bai tapped the table and smiled faintly.
“Their aim isn’t hard to see.”

The caravan’s clash with Le Li at Xu Shan had been two months ago. With such an unstable threat near, the traders had hurried back nonstop.

As soon as they returned, Yun Jing, Shu You, and Xiong Qi rushed to tell Qi Bai and Lang Ze everything.

They stared at Qi Bai wide-eyed. Not hard to see? They had puzzled over it the entire road, yet still didn’t understand.

After all, to them, Le Li’s territory was already vast enough. Why keep expanding?

Qi Bai shook his head.
“Le Li’s rise and expansion is only four or five years old—the same as our city. Yet their population is several times ours. Tell me, what do they lack most?”

Hu Xiao answered:
“Food.”

“Exactly.” Qi Bai nodded. “By your accounts, many plains tribes even joined them voluntarily. Such chaotic growth can’t be fed by hunting and gathering. Even plundering other tribes can’t fill all mouths. They must raid, constantly raid.”

Once the bow is drawn, there’s no turning back. If Le Li stopped, internal strife would tear them apart.

Hu Xiao nodded grimly. He remembered how, when fleeing with slaves, he had done the same—running and robbing, taking whatever he could. But he had never thought to build a tribe.

Yang Luo frowned.
“Then Luo Ri City is no match for them. Won’t they soon fall?”

Lang Ze shook his head.
“They won’t take Luo Ri City.”

Everyone looked at him in confusion. How could they pass up a city?

Qi Bai agreed:
“Haven’t you noticed? Le Li never annihilates tribes. They don’t enslave them. They don’t even strip all their goods.”

Yun Jing murmured:
“That’s true…”

She explained:
“When we fought them, their beast men weren’t strong. Looking back, it felt less like combat and more like driving the Xu Shan beast men away.”

Shu You blinked.
“Yes—they weren’t fighting to kill, but covering their stronger warriors who looted food. Even their chief stayed at the rear.”

Xiong Qi scratched his head.
“I still don’t get it.”

Qi Bai said:
“What’s the use of wiping a tribe out? Better to leave them alive to produce more food—for Le Li to plunder again later.”

And those untouched might cling to hope, thinking maybe next time they’d be spared. Xu Shan was the perfect example.

Perhaps Cang Xie even regretted they hadn’t held out longer.

Hu Xiao swallowed. Suddenly, he was very curious about this Cang Xie.

“Of course,” Qi Bai added, “there’s another reason they won’t take Luo Ri.”

A city wasn’t just a tribe. Behind it were other cities—and the Temple. If Cang Xie had any sense, he knew: seizing a city was easy, holding it against the Temple was impossible.

Remember, Ji could only take Wan Gu because the Chi Hu and Fu Shen Si backed him. Without them, he’d never have kept Song Wu.

Yang Luo glanced between Lang Ze and Qi Bai. Both were utterly calm.
“So we just wait for them to come?”

After their analysis, this so-called terrifying Le Li tribe didn’t seem quite so daunting.

Qi Bai only smiled.
“You’ve all traveled hard for months. Yang Luo-ye, tomorrow let’s begin the Autumn Festival. Let the caravan folk rest.”

When everyone left, Qi Bai turned to Lang Ze.
“You’re interested in the Le Li?”

“As expected, nothing escapes your eyes.” Lang Ze’s mouth curved. “That Cang Quan tribe’s ability… is intriguing.”