Chapter 138: The Beastman's Way of Courtship

Rongdi's brows and eyes radiated confidence; he wanted to bring Nan Qinghuan to see his domain, to let her know he was stronger than Ying, to have her stay here, to let her know he was more suitable for her than Ying.

"Impressive?"

Nan Qinghuan just shook her head, "You're wrong. In my heart, I think Ying is the most impressive man in the world."

The man Rongdi didn't understand, but he did grasp the earlier words: she said Ying is the most impressive? Rongdi didn't want to admit defeat, "You don't even look down on my vast territory?"

Nan Qinghuan understood his meaning, but gave him little face; she lifted her gaze and coldly glanced at him, "I admit your domain is quite large, but your people are still hungry and cold; what good is a big domain?"

"Nan Qinghuan, you're so bold?"

No one has ever dared say such words in front of Rongdi; the people here obey him, fear him, respect him. Only this female dares not take herself seriously, shouts at him, looks down on him.

The more she does this, the more he wants to conquer her, to make her obedient; he wants to tame her like a docile wild cat, Nan Qinghuan is not timid, "My courage has always been great; do you remember our first meeting? I gave you a bottle of Pepper Water as a greeting gift. Rongdi, let me go; my heart is not here; you cannot keep me."

"Leave?"

Rongdi sneered, "You've been here for a day already, your Ying hasn't come looking for you. Are you still unwilling to give up? He's already forgotten you. Nan Qinghuan, in his heart you are not more important than his brother."

Those words were clearly sowing discord; Nan Qinghuan didn't believe him, "Stop stirring this up. Ying will come looking for me, he definitely will."

She believed Ying had already arrived, even already appeared in the Na Shan Tribe.

"You're that confident?"

Nan Qinghuan was about to say something when, suddenly, that Ji Nü ran over, "Bad news, leader, our people were driven back by the Wolf Tribe, they didn't break through, they're all injured."

Hearing that, Rongdi clenched his fist, coldly looking at Nan Qinghuan, "Are you pleased?"

She was indeed pleased; she said the Wolf Tribe is not so easily eradicated, and Yao is not such a useless man.

"I told you early that you would fail; although on the surface it seems your people outnumber theirs, you don't understand a principle—you will certainly fail."

"Nan Qinghuan, shut up. We lost and you're smug?"

"Enough, Ji Nü, step back."

"Leader."

"Get out."

Ji Nü didn't dare linger, just glared fiercely at Nan Qinghuan. After Ji Nü left, Rongdi suddenly approached Nan Qinghuan, which startled her; she tried to step back but found no way to retreat.

"What do you want to do?"

Rongdi's gaze was very gloomy, "You just said why I would fail?"

Nan Qinghuan inhaled a cold breath, surprised that he was asking about this; she deliberately walked forward a bit to avoid the cliff, "Actually it's simple: united hearts."

"Hearts?"

Rongdi frowned, "What does that mean? The unity of a tribe is a massive energy. Indeed, the Wolf Tribe suffered great loss during the plague, but they have taken my Lotus Clear Plague Oral Liquid and recovered. Moreover, they have now found hope to live: they have planted corn and can be self‑sufficient. A tribe that has endured apocalypse and now finds hope has its people's hearts tightly solidified. Even if you send more troops, they will be repelled, because they are sworn to protect their territory, protect their home. With such resolve, how can you win?"

Rongdi actually understood those words; he seemed to have an epiphany, "You mean after Absolute Ground comes Rebirth? The Wolf Tribe not only won't be annihilated, they'll become stronger?"

"Exactly, Yao is very clever and cares for his people; your failure is understandable."

"Nan Qinghuan, do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?"

Rongdi's eyes were full of fury; this female dared say that to him? Nan Qinghuan lifted her gaze and met his eyes; though she is not tall, her aura was enough, "If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it already; why wait now?"

Sure enough, she knew herself well, which left Rongdi helpless; he glared at her. Under the golden sunlight, Nan Qinghuan's face bathed in it, the warm light making her fair skin seem to glow.

Such a perfect face made him unable to resist reaching out to touch, to touch the most beautiful face in the world.

Seeming to sense Rongdi's intention, she immediately stepped back several paces away, "I was right, wasn't I, Leader Rongdi?"

Rongdi squinted slightly, then burst into a hearty laugh, "Smart and daring, Nan Qinghuan, I captured you to keep you here, to have you teach my people to plant potatoes, plant chili, plant those foods. As long as you are willing to stay, I can promise you, whatever I have in the future you will have, everything here will be yours, how does that sound?"

He was already generous enough.

Rongdi laid out his bottom line, hoping she would stay; as long as Nan Qinghuan is willing to remain here to help him, he believes that in not many years he will become the sole overlord of this land.

Nan Qinghuan didn't expect Rongdi to be so generous, letting her stay here to teach his people farming techniques? No, she would not stay.

"The leader's offer is indeed tempting."

"Then, do you accept?"

Rongdi's mouth curled into a pleasant smile, and then, before Nan Qinghuan's astonished eyes, he stood straight and flapped his wings three times, a posture both reverent and seemingly ceremonial.

The wings were huge, and the wind they generated was strong, blowing feathers all over her face. She didn't understand his meaning, "Hey, what are you doing?"

Rongdi gave a low laugh, "Are you willing to stay?"

Nan Qinghuan kept shaking her head; that shake instantly stripped Rongdi of his smile, and he seemed to want to grab it and swallow it.

"You don't want to?"

"Of course I don't want to. My home is in the Ying Tribe; I won't stay here."

"The Ying Tribe is your home?"

What "home" meant, Rongdi didn't understand; he just took it as Ying.

That made him very jealous.

"Exactly, the Ying Tribe is my home; I will still return. Rongdi, let me go. I can agree to teach your people how to farm, to plant food that the Ying Tribe eats; I can also teach them weaving and tailoring, but I cannot…"

"Shut up, this is an order you must obey; I brought you here, I don't want to hear you say you won't."

Nan Qinghuan was very stubborn; no one could force her to do something she didn't want, at worst she would just die.

"You're wrong, I'm not your tribe member; I don't need to obey your orders."

Rongdi wanted to crush her, grinding his teeth as he chewed on her name.

"Nan Qinghuan"

"Stop shouting, I'm not deaf; I said I won't stay unless I die."

"You die?"

Rongdi squinted slightly, seeming to know that peaceful talks couldn't solve anything, he tugged at the corner of his mouth with a strange smile, "Don't speak so definitively; I'll show you a person and then you answer me."

Those words made Nan Qinghuan a bit confused, "Who?"

What she didn't expect was that she actually saw… "Youchao Xuan?"

Youchao Xuan was carried over by his tribe members, eyes tightly shut, blood streaming from his body, and it was unknown whether he was dead or alive.

She, a bit panicked, hurriedly reached out to test his breath; upon finding he was breathing she sighed in relief, and after carefully examining Youchao Xuan she was even more reassured: the kid's life was not in danger, only excessive blood loss and some external injuries.

What's going on? Shouldn't Youchao Xuan be staying in the Tribe? How did he end up here? She lifted her gaze and glared fiercely at Rongdi, "How could he be here?"