Chapter 340

Ma Ling interrogated Bao Jing overnight, and the result was somewhat unexpected.

Ma Ling said, “It doesn’t look like he’s pretending. Bao Jing infiltrating Luo Shu’s group should have been his own idea.”

During the great flood, the Fengbao Tribe chose to migrate southward. However, just after escaping the flood zone, they encountered a large tribe. All the adult horned beastmen in the Fengbao Tribe were slaughtered, leaving only the young and the sub-beastmen as slaves.

Later, the Huaiyi region suffered from drought and locust plagues. Without sufficient food, the large tribe sold off these slaves. Bao Jing didn’t even know how many times he had changed hands. Before Luo Shu took him away, he had been hauling stones in a mountain ravine.

“The last ones to buy them were a cannibal tribe. Bao Jing said people there were crushed or smashed to death by stones every day. The dead beastmen became the food of the cannibal tribe. He was so terrified that, when questioned by Luo Shu’s people, he lied and claimed to be from the Ye Bao Tribe.”

As long as he could leave that place, he was willing to go anywhere.

Bao Jing's beast form is a cheetah, which is also the most common beast form in the Fengbao Tribe, and quite different from the leopards of the Ye Bao Tribe.

But for the camels of Qingchi, it was already impressive that they remembered the name “Ye Bao Tribe.” They couldn’t possibly distinguish between cheetahs and leopards. So they just checked that Bao Jing was indeed a feline beastman and brought him along. Even if they made a mistake, it wouldn’t have a big impact.

Lang Ze asked, “Does he know the whereabouts of the other Fengbao beastmen?”

Ma Ling replied, “The cannibal tribe that bought them seemed to be carving out a large territory in the mountains. They purchased many slaves in the area. Apart from some sub-beastmen who were singled out, most of the Fengbao people are still there. But from what Bao Jing described, there probably aren't many still alive.”

Qi Bai frowned. Although the Fengbao Tribe was a small tribe without a priest, they had once lived comfortably in their old territory. Who could have expected them to fall into such a tragic situation?

“We can’t just rely on Bao Jing’s account.”

Lang Ze looked at Ma Ling. “You should know by now that the Fengbao Tribe was the Great Priest’s original tribe, right?”

Ma Ling nodded. He had vaguely suspected this even before interrogating Bao Jing. Though he didn’t know exactly what happened between the Fengbao Tribe and the Great Priest, that didn’t stop him from proceeding with caution. During the interrogation, Ma Ling hadn’t let anyone else interfere from beginning to end. Even now, the room holding Bao Jing was still guarded by his older brother, Ma Shu.

Although Qi Bai hadn’t told Lang Ze much about Mao Bai’s past, just thinking of the small, abandoned youth from before made Lang Ze disinterested in the fate of the Fengbao Tribe.

However, since the Fengbao Tribe held clues to the whereabouts of the Yushen Envoy, they couldn't be ignored. If they stayed hidden, that was fine. But once they appeared, they posed a threat to Qi Bai’s safety. Lang Ze would not allow such an uncertain element to exist.

“You go,” Lang Ze ordered, “find a way to bring the Fengbao beastmen back to Beizhou—especially the older ones. If necessary,” his eyes turned cold, “you may act as the situation requires.”

The excuse was ready too. Ma Ling would bring along Niu Xi, Quan Lie, and a few others, claiming they were personally escorting their tribesmen back to the city. As long as they paid enough, Luo Shu wouldn’t mind doing them this favor.

Ma Ling nodded. “Don’t worry. I know what to do.”

After Ma Ling left, Qi Bai rested his chin on the table. “Do you think Bao Xi really didn’t know anything about this?”

To be honest, Qi Bai found Bao Xi difficult to read.

He was from the Lingbao Tribe, yet he seemed indifferent to Heiyao withholding Bao Tan to exchange slaves. He worked for the Central Temple but appeared to only care about accomplishing tasks.

Lang Ze ruffled Qi Bai’s hair. “Whether he knows or not, he’ll pretend he doesn’t. Since the Central Temple put in so much effort to send Bao Xi here, they won’t risk falling out with us now.”

In the following days, Bao Xi indeed ignored the matter with Bao Jing, devoting himself to the trading district. He even ordered an entire set of furniture from a furniture store, planning to pick it up next time he visited.

Luo Shu was baffled by all this. He couldn’t figure out how Bao Xi planned to transport all that furniture.

Luo Shu soon finished his deal with Heiyao and gladly accepted Ma Ling’s request to accompany him.

Qi Bai and Lang Ze went to the city gate to see them off.

Bao Xi said, “After the autumn hunt, I’ll send someone to Heiyao to guide your way.”

Luo Shu tightened the straw ropes around his cargo. “No need to trouble yourself. Qingchi City is participating in the Great Assembly this year too. Let’s travel together. The Attendant just needs to wait at the temple. I’ll make sure the City Lord and Great Priest arrive safely.”

Qi Bai happily agreed. Compared to Bao Xi, he naturally trusted Luo Shu more.

Bao Xi hesitated, then finally nodded. “If you run into any trouble, come to Qi City. I’ll be there until the Great Assembly.”

Ma Ling’s journey to Qingchi went more smoothly than expected. Led by the locals, the group soon found the tribesmen of Niu Xi, Quan Lie, and Niu Yong.

Coincidentally, Niu Yong’s tribesmen happened to be in the very cannibal tribe Bao Jing had mentioned.

When the team arrived at the valley where the cannibal tribe lived, they saw a beastman tied to a wooden post. Another beastman, wearing a grass ring around his neck, was kneeling and repeatedly kowtowing toward the sky. Behind him, a few filthy beastmen hacked at the wooden post with blunt stone axes in sync with the priest’s kneeling.

Ma Ling stood at the edge of the valley. Although the sun was blazing, he felt cold winds blowing straight at him.

Luo Rong, who came along, clicked his tongue and reminded him, “The Gehan Tribe is known as the most barbaric tribe on the plains. No one wants to live near them. Who knows why they moved here? They only care about goods—don’t bother trying to reason with them.”

“Hey!”

Just then, some Gehan beastmen spotted Ma Ling and Luo Rong and shouted fiercely at them.

The Gehan were larger than ordinary beastmen, their exaggerated muscles and dead-fish eyes made them look more like irrational beasts than men.

Luo Rong stepped forward and gestured for quite a while before they finally understood they were here to trade for slaves.

The one they negotiated with was a burly man with a face full of fat. Ma Ling guessed he was the chieftain of the Gehan Tribe.

This beastman looked Ma Ling and Luo Rong up and down, as if realizing they couldn’t be easily turned into livestock. He grunted, “Salt!”

Ma Ling patted the animal-skin pouch at his waist. “We’ve got salt! But I want to pick the slaves one by one.”

The slaves were tossed out of the valley like chicks. They were already tortured beyond recognition, standing in a daze on the open ground, surrounded by Gehan beastmen twice their size.

Niu Yong’s eyes turned red, his clenched fists trembling. He couldn’t show his anger—otherwise, not only would he fail to rescue his people, he’d also endanger the whole group.

Ma Ling patted Niu Yong’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

The Gehan traded in a rough and direct manner. Ma Ling and Niu Yong picked the slaves they wanted, while the Gehan exchanged them for salt.

The previously lifeless crowd stirred slightly when they saw Ma Ling and Niu Yong’s actions.

“Take us with you...” “Sir... have mercy on us...”

One plea after another rang out. The nearby Gehan guards didn’t understand the beastman language well, but their faces showed signs of irritation.

Ma Ling and Niu Yong ignored them, instructing the slaves to come forward one by one. While they appeared to be checking their health, they were actually verifying identities.

Just as Ma Ling found the Fengbao people and was about to quietly blend them into the group, the Gehan chieftain suddenly reached out and rudely stopped him.

Ma Ling tensed. “What is it?”

Fortunately, the man hadn’t noticed anything unusual. He just pointed at Ma Ling’s pouch. “Salt. More salt!”

Ma Ling didn’t want to argue. There weren’t many slaves left anyway, so he gave him a bit extra.

Unexpectedly, the Gehan chief kept pushing, grinning as he reached out again. Only after Ma Ling added two more scoops of salt did he finally let them go.

Ma Ling gritted his teeth. These Gehan people couldn't be provoked now. It was just a bit of salt—he could endure it.

In the end, Ma Ling selected nearly two hundred slaves—over sixty were from Niu Yong’s tribe, more than thirty were Fengbao people, and the rest were chosen as cover.

When Luo Rong returned to Qingchi, he joked to Luo Shu, “Those Heiyao folks are fools. If it

were me, I wouldn’t trade that many slaves with Gehan. If you want slaves, just come to Qingchi—ours are stronger and cheaper!”

Luo Shu didn’t go out again after returning. He left the trading with Qi City to Luo Ren and stayed in Qingchi to build a house. He wanted to gift his parents a grand mansion like the one in Heiyao. He even paid a high price to get a house blueprint from Qi Bai.

Of course, dreams are beautiful, but reality is harsh. After nearly a month of effort, the young city lord hadn’t even finished laying the foundation.

Frowning at the blueprint, he looked up as if struck by a thought and said, “Before we go to the City of the Beast God, stay by my side. Don’t leave me even for a moment.”

When Ma Ling returned to Heiyao with the slaves, it was already mid-September—the peak of the autumn harvest season.

The arrival of the slaves didn’t attract much attention in the city. Aside from being welcomed by fellow tribesmen, the city made no special arrangements. They were directly assigned to the workers’ teams.

After the Yidi beastmen entered the city, the Public Works Division planned fifteen new residential wards on the open land between the housing quarters of Heiyao’s five tribes and the city wall. Each ward could accommodate around two thousand people.

Bao Jing, along with Niu Guo and Niu Er, was settled here. Previously, they had been assigned to work with the Yidi laborers.

The Fengbao slaves never imagined they would see Bao Jing again. But the greater shock came afterward.

“Who did you say?” an older sub-beastman shouted in disbelief. “Mao Bai? Mao Bai is the Great Priest of this city?”

Impossible!

A horned beastman about Bao Jing’s age shook his head furiously. “You must be mistaken. How could Mao Bai become a Great Priest? He doesn’t even know any priestly rituals!”