Chapter 332: We Won't Leave

The carriage stopped, and the chanting stopped.

Several people got off the carriage, and all the Azure Wolf Tribe members turned their heads to look at them simultaneously.

On each face weathered by wind and sand lay heavy sorrow and a clearly rising vigilance.

A man about fifty, his face full of wrinkles, walked over slowly.

Qing Qing whispered, "This must be the chief of the Azure Wolf Tribe, Hasen."

Hasen's gaze swept over the carriage and then examined each person's face in turn.

"Who are you? Where do you come from? Where are you headed?"

"Outsiders are not welcome at the plains' funeral."

Xiao Ningxun placed his right hand over his chest and performed the plains greeting: "Greetings, chief. We were entrusted by a friend and have come from the Fierce Kingdom."

Xiao Ran interjected, "We're just passing through; we didn't mean to disturb you."

"The Fierce Kingdom?" Behind Hasen, a young man shot up his head, his eyes bloodshot, "Central Plains people!"

He stepped forward, his hand resting on the hilt of his waist saber: "Father! Last night the wolf pack met with disaster, and today Central Plains people happen to pass by—what a coincidence!"

As his words fell, dozens of young men sprang to their feet, their hands simultaneously gripping their sword hilts, and slowly closed in.

Xiao Er pulled Tuan Tuan behind him, and Lu Qi rested his hand on his waist dagger.

Harichagai gripped the horsewhip tightly, and Qing Qing clenched her fists.

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

"Wuen," Hasen barked, cutting off the young man who had spoken first, and scrutinized Xiao Ningxun.

"You've come at a bad time. Last night thirty-seven wolves were unfortunately killed. Now I cannot trust any outsiders, especially Central Plains people."

"Father!" Wuen pointed at the wolves' corpses, "The Central Plains people are treacherous—I think they did it!"

"Wuen!" Hasen snapped, "Without evidence, you must not speak recklessly!"

Although that was so, the hostility in the eyes of the other tribespeople did not lessen in the slightest.

Tuan Tuan darted out from behind Xiao Er, pattering toward the giant wolves on the ground.

Xiao Ran shouted urgently, "Tuan Tuan!"

"Miss!" Xiao Er hurried after her.

Tuan Tuan slowly squatted, reached out her little hand, and touched the head of the wolf nearest to her.

Even though it was dead, the wolf's body remained massive, its silver-gray fur gleaming dully in the sunlight.

The fur was icy cold.

Her eyes rimmed red as she whispered, "Wolfie, it doesn't hurt anymore…"

The Azure Wolf Tribe members looked at her, their expressions complex.

Many eyes flickered with a hint of reluctance.

Tuan Tuan's little hand stroked gently, sliding down the wolf's neck to touch a forepaw.

Huh, what is this?

A speck of brown powder clung to her hand.

She lifted the wolf's paw, scraped between the claws, and more powder clung to her hand.

The powder was almost the same color as the wolf's claw; without it sticking to her hand, it would have gone unnoticed.

She lifted her hand to her nose and sniffed; her little face scrunched up: "It really stinks!"

Hasen hurried over.

He crouched down and said, "Child, what's in your hand?"

Tuan Tuan held out her powder‑stained finger and said, "Grandpa, look, this is from inside the wolfie's claw!"

Hasen carefully pinched a bit of powder, sniffed it, and his face changed abruptly: "Ghost Eye Grass!"

He snapped his head toward Wuen and asked, "When you inspected, did you notice this?"

Wuen's face changed as well: "No! We only checked the wolves' mouths and bodies, not the claw grooves."

Wolf mouths?

Tuan Tuan tried to pry open the wolf's big mouth, but she wasn't strong enough.

"Uncle Second! Help me!"

Xiao Er hurriedly helped her pry open the wolf's mouth.

Tuan Tuan strained to look inside for a moment.

Suddenly she let out a "huh," slipped two little fingers deep into the wolf's mouth, and scraped beneath the tongue's base.

A small dark‑red chunk of meat was pinched out by her fingers.

The meat chunk was tiny—about the size of Tuan Tuan's little finger—and had an eerie purplish‑black hue.

Tuan Tuan held up the meat chunk and said to Hasen, "Grandpa, the wolfie got sick from eating this!"

The Azure Wolf Tribe members stared at one another, then fell completely silent.

Hasen took the meat, sniffed it, and his face turned ashen: "This meat also has Ghost Eye Grass!"

Xiao Ningxun said, "It looks like the wolf pack was poisoned while feeding—someone fed them tainted meat."

No sooner had his words ended than a chaotic, urgent thunder of hooves came from afar.

Everyone turned to see dozens of swift horses galloping from the other side of the mountain path.

The leader was a man in his forties, sturdy, wearing a deep‑red chief's robe trimmed in black, with a square face, wide mouth, thick brows, and narrow eyes.

The men behind him were all hardy, each with a longbow and Arrow quiver hanging from the saddle, and a curved blade at the waist.

They came with murderous intent, charging straight in.

The Azure Wolf Tribe members immediately turned, drawing their blades and taking up guard.

Xiao Er placed Tuan Tuan behind himself, and Lu Qi stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

U—!

The burly man rode up close, halted his horse, and the rider of the fine steed rose, letting out a long whinny that rang out.

The people behind him also stopped at the same time, their movements uniform and synchronized, clearly well trained.

From his high position, the burly man scanned the wolf corpses on the ground, a mocking smile on his face: "Brother Hasen! I'm telling you, why is your Cangwolf tribe getting weaker and weaker."

"So even the household dogs have been starved to death?"

"Chi Na!" Wu En roared, "You shut up! These are our guardian wolves, not dogs!"

Chi Na snorted, casually flicking his horsewhip at the wolf corpses: "Dead, aren't they just a pile of rotten meat? What's the difference?"

He turned his gaze to Hasen, his smile withdrawn, his expression arrogant: "Hasen, I have come today to deliver a message from the Second Prince."

Hasen's face darkened: "What orders does the Second Prince have?"

Chi Na unfurled a parchment and read aloud: "The Sacred Mountain's golden vein is a treasure bestowed by the Immortal of Longevity upon the grasslands, belonging to all grassland people, not private property of the Cangwolf tribe!"

"From now on, the Sacred Mountain will be taken over by my Chi Shan tribe."

"Every grass, tree, stone, and gold in the mountain belongs under the jurisdiction of the Royal Court."

"As for your Cangwolf tribe, you may continue to reside here, but you are not allowed to use even a single grain of the mountain's resources!"

After finishing, he casually tossed the parchment roll to Hasen.

The parchment roll fell at Hasen's feet, rolled a few times, and became dusted with dirt.

"Did you understand?" Chi Na lifted his chin, "From today onward, everything in this mountain belongs to our Chi Shan tribe."

"As for you…"

He sneered, his gaze sweeping over the grief‑stricken Cangwolf tribespeople: "Either starve to death guarding an empty mountain, or be sensible and find another way to survive—choose for yourselves."

"Chi Na!" Hasen's anger flared, "The Cangwolf tribe has guarded this mountain for centuries!"

"No Great Khan of any generation has ever said this mountain belongs to the Royal Court! On what grounds does the Second Prince…"

"Because he is the future Great Khan!" Chi Na shouted, cutting in, "Now the Second Prince is disgraced; the only one who can inherit the Khanate is the Great Prince alone!"

"Hasen, could it be that you intend to oppose the future Great Khan?"

"Your Cangwolf tribe guards an uncertain legend, thinking that as long as these wolves are here, you can forever occupy this mountain range?"

He paused, his smile growing colder: "Oh right, speaking of wolves, why did your so‑called mountain‑guardian divine wolves die so many in one night?"

"I think even the Immortal of Longevity can no longer tolerate your seizure of the Sacred Mountain, right?"

"You!" Wu En drew his sword to charge, but two tribesmen beside him held him tightly.

Chi Na didn't even glance at him, as if only now noticing Xiao Ningxun's party, he scanned them from head to toe.

"Central Plains people? Heh," he sneered several times, "Brother Hasen, do Central Plains people understand the grasslands? They can't even tell wolves from dogs!"

He turned his horse, waved his hand: "We're leaving! Starting tomorrow, we'll set up checkpoints at the mountain pass!"

He turned back and scanned Tuan Tuan's group again: "Everyone entering or leaving must be thoroughly inspected! No thieves stealing our belongings!"

"Yes!" the young men who came with him thunderously agreed, the sound of hooves rose again, kicking up dust as they rode away.

The Cangwolf tribespeople all wore faces of humiliation, standing before the field of wolf corpses in silent silence; some women even began to weep softly.

Hasen slowly bent down and picked up the parchment roll from the ground.

He looked at Xiao Ningxun, his gaze complicated: "Just now, we misunderstood, sorry. We should have offered you a cup of milk tea before you left."

"But you all saw that they will seal the mountain tomorrow."

"You should leave quickly. We can't protect ourselves, let alone host guests."

Xiao Ningxun slowly shook his head: "We won't leave."