Chapter 331

In the blink of an eye, the Yin Yue Wolf Clan from the hills had completely surrounded the Cangquan people.

The white wolf loosened its fangs and coldly swept its gaze across everyone.

"You knew about our plan from the beginning."

At this point, how could Cang Xi not realize? Their entire operation had been under Hei Yao’s surveillance from the start.

No—looking at Qi Bai’s composed expression, Cang Xi corrected herself: it wasn’t just surveillance. Hei Yao had cooperated with them.

Now that she thought about it, everything had gone too smoothly—from their transfer from the middle of the convoy to the very back. And as for the Yin Yue Wolf Clan who had come to chase them, Cang Xi looked closely. She was certain—these people had never appeared in the Hei Yao convoy before.

In other words, by the time Lang Ze had agreed to let Cang Xie leave, the Yin Yue Wolf Clan had already been lying in ambush behind the Cangquan beastmen.

Qi Bai said, “Leader Cang Xie, this time, there is no Le Li—only the Cangquan and the Yin Yue Wolf Clan. You still lost. Do you submit or not?”

Cang Xie transformed into his humanoid form. “A loss is a loss. I have nothing to say.”

All these days, they had never once detected the presence of the Yin Yue Wolf Clan. What was harder for Cang Xie to accept was that even when he risked his life for a full-force strike, he still couldn’t injure Lang Ze—who wasn’t even wearing armor.

He had lost completely. He wasn’t as strong as Lang Ze. His tribe wasn’t as strong as Hei Yao. That was the bloody truth, and no amount of stubbornness could change it.

“But” Cang Xie raised his head to look at Lang Ze and Qi Bai, “though we’ve fallen into your hands, the Cangquan people will never be anyone’s slaves. If you want to kill us, then go ahead.”

“Hei Yao has no slaves. We don’t need them,” Lang Ze said flatly. “And as for killing you—there’s no need for me to do it personally.”

Cang Xie frowned. Lang Ze was right. If Hei Yao had wanted to kill them, he and his people would’ve already died many times over. Why bother capturing them alive?

“What is it that you want?”

Qi Bai smiled. “It’s not about what we want. It’s about what you want.”

Cang Xie’s eyes widened slightly as he heard Qi Bai continue.

“The City Lord and I once promised you: if you surrendered and pledged eternal loyalty to Hei Yao, I would appoint you as a Hei Yao   and grant you land and wealth. That offer still stands.”

Qi Bai raised his hand. “Not only that—your people can also become citizens of Hei Yao. You will be granted land to settle and live in peace.”

“You…” Cang Xie stared at Qi Bai in disbelief, at a loss for words.

Hei Yao had offered him such a generous deal back when he had over 30,000 people as the leader of Le Li. But now, he was a defeated general, and his people numbered only a little over five hundred. And yet, the Hei Yao Great Priest not only hadn’t changed the offer—he was even willing to treat his tribe kindly.

“One tribe, one city. To live in peace and prosperity, you must plan for the long term,” Qi Bai looked toward Cang Xie and the beastmen behind him. “Your tribe has been blessed by the Beast God. That power shouldn’t be used to plunder other innocent beastmen.”

“Come to Hei Yao, my children. There, you’ll have homes to shield you from the wind and rain, pastures to graze peacefully, and clans who live quietly just like you. Don’t you long for that kind of stable life?”

Heavy breathing echoed from the canine pack—some even let out sobs that sounded like weeping.

The Cangquan people had once lived in the perpetually dark Outer Realm. Back then, they had no idea what the outside world looked like. But things were different now—they had seen the bright skies of the Yi di Wasteland and the abundant water and grasslands of Hun Rong’s Northern Wastes.

Their skin was dark, but no one failed to yearn for light. They, too, wanted to live openly under the sun, like the other tribes of the beastman continent.

Lang Ze said coldly, “Great Priest may be merciful, but I don’t have that kind of patience.”

Cang Xie clenched his fists. It had been five years since he led his tribe away from the Outer Realm. And now he had to admit—the City Lord and Great Priest of Hei Yao were the only beastmen he truly admired and respected.

Cang Xie looked deeply at Cang Xi, the shaman of the Cangquan.

Then, turning, he knelt firmly on one knee and bowed his head. “City Lord, Great Priest—the Cangquan Tribe pledges eternal loyalty!”

Since he had already violated the ancestral god’s command to never leave the Outer Realm, he would continue down this path. And if there was punishment, he would bear it alone.

Lang Ze looked up at the Cangquan behind him.

Cang Xi knelt first, and the rest of the Cangquan lowered their heads in unison.

“Eternal loyalty!”

By the time they returned to the main force, dawn was already breaking. From a distance, they could see the patrolling warriors—clearly, the Cangquan’s “escape” had only been possible thanks to the Hei Yao soldiers deliberately letting them go.

Lang Ze ordered, “Ya shou and the children return to your original groups. If anyone stirs up trouble again, the punishment will be doubled.”

Cang Xi immediately responded, “City Lord, Great Priest, rest assured—the Cangquan are the most hardworking of all tribes.”

As for the remaining Cangquan jiao beastmen—they were all left in the troublemakers’ squad. Whether they could improve their living conditions would now depend on their own effort.

The food team had already started distributing meals to each squad. Marching would resume soon.

Lang Ze patted Lang Zhan on the shoulder. “You’ve worked hard out there these past few days.”

Lang Zhan laughed heartily. “It wasn’t hard. We finally completed the City Lord and Great Priest’s mission.”

There wasn’t a more experienced person in all of Hei Yao for long-term covert operations than Lang Zhan. He and the warriors who went out with him were proud of what they’d done. As for how troublesome the Cangquan had been, or how cautious they had to be—those unglamorous details weren’t worth retelling.

Qi Bai and Lang Ze could tell just by their condition. Qi Bai said, “I asked Lang Ji to set aside a few carts. Once you’ve eaten, take the warriors to rest immediately.”

Lang Zhan agreed readily—they’d need at least two full days to recover.

After making all the arrangements, Qi Bai yawned and pulled Lang Ze back to his cart.

They hadn’t lit a fire all night. The inside of the carriage was completely cold. Qi Bai added a few pieces of charcoal to the stove.

He propped up the small table in the center of the cart, making the bed as he hurriedly urged, “Hurry and take your clothes off and come over—”

“…Alright…”

Up front, the niu yong pulling the cart quickly used his long ears to cover his eyes—he thought he’d just overheard something he shouldn’t have.

But niu yong was clearly overthinking it. As the cart rolled forward slowly, a small snow leopard curled into a white ball nestled in Lang Ze’s warm arms, happily closing its eyes.

Qi Bai slept all the way until noon.

When the little snow leopard opened its eyes, it found itself lying on Lang Ze’s waist. Lang Ze was already awake, leaning against the cart wall reading some papers.

To help Qi Bai sleep comfortably, Lang Ze tried to keep his waist muscles relaxed. Still, when the little snow leopard padded him with its pink paw pads, he was very solid—some things really couldn’t be hidden, even if you tried.

“Myao~”

Recognizing the map in Lang Ze’s hands—the one Qi Bai had half-finished drawing the day before—the little snow leopard stretched lazily, rolled over, and rubbed up along Lang Ze’s chest, finally popping his head out near Lang Ze’s chin to look at the map with him.

Lang Ze rubbed the snow leopard’s chin. “Awake? Hungry?”

Little snow leopard: “Myao, myao.” Don’t ask. Of course he was hungry.

Lang Ze put a small iron pot on the stove. The snow leopard patted the left side of the cart—Lang Ze fetched a jar of pickled vegetables. The snow leopard patted the right cupboard—Lang Ze brought out some beef.

A simple pickled beef hotpot, with a few slices of milk tofu, and the little snow leopard was buried in the bowl, eating non-stop.

After eating, Qi Bai returned to human form and sat on the low cabinet, lazily burping up beef.

Lang Ze rubbed his stomach with one hand and opened the cart window with the other. He called to Hu Meng outside: “Do Cang Xie and Cang Xi know each other? Bring them here.”

“Roar~”

When Cang Xie and Cang Xi entered, the cart had already been tidied.

Their bedding had been stored in the cabinet, leaving only the thick beast skin rug on the floor. The small table was once again set up in the center.

“Sit.”

He let them sit on the cabinet and poured them each a cup of warm milk tea and entertain them.

“There are many rumors in Hun Rong and Bei Huang about your origins, but none of them seem believable. Where does your tribe actually come from?”

Cang Xi lowered her gaze. “North of Yi Di. Our ancestors called it the Outer Realm—a land untouched by sunlight.”

As Qi Bai listened to her describe the bleak land, he guessed that the “Outer Realm” was likely similar to Earth’s polar regions, but with even longer periods of polar night.

“There’s only your tribe in the Outer Realm?”

Cang Xi paused. “Only the Cangquan tribe. But beasts and plants are rare there. Our ancestors split into three groups and lived in different territories. Only during the mating day every two years would the three tribes gather.”

Though life in the Outer Realm was harsh, the Cangquan could communicate with beasts. As long as they followed the growth of grass, they could survive.

“Five years ago, the snow and ice suddenly became harsher than ever before. We kept migrating, but the frost always came first. It buried every blade of grass. Nothing could grow anymore.”

“Our beasts died. Then our people,” Cang Xi’s voice trembled. “The entire Cangquan tribe—only we remain.”

A land of endless snow, where beasts starved and tribesmen froze to death—that nightmare was something Cang Xi never wanted to relive.

Had there been any other way to survive, they would never have defied their ancestral god’s command and ventured south.

Lang Ze asked, “The Outer Realm isn’t a fertile land. Why would your ancestral god order you to stay there? What were you running from?”

A flicker of panic passed through Cang Xi’s eyes.

Qi Bai said, “Is it because of the divine bloodline in your bodies?”

Cang Xie struggled internally but didn’t deny it. He looked up at Qi Bai and Lang Ze.

“We are loyal to Hei Yao. But we must also be loyal to our ancestral god. We cannot reveal these things to tribes without divine blood.”

Lang Ze and Qi Bai exchanged a glance. Then Lang Ze reached out his hand and asked:

“Can this prove the existence of the divine bloodline?”