Chapter 338: with translation of chapter title

At midnight, a sudden rustling sound came from outside the cave; Wu Yue snapped her eyes open, and her shamanic power faintly gathered within her.

"Master?" a familiar voice came from outside, and she let out a breath of relief—it was Tongzi's voice.

She got up and went to the cave entrance, where she saw a dripping Tongzi leading several equally dripping little Lan Pangzi scurrying inside.

After shaking off the fur on his body, Tongzi conscientiously pulled some dry grass in Wu Yue's grass nest, made a small nest, and dragged it to the side of the fire.

His chubby little butt shifted, found a comfortable position, and he sat down.

Seeing this, the nearby little Lan Pangzi imitated him, and in just a moment, a patch was missing from Wu Yue's grass nest.

Watching the Lan Pangzi already formed a circle around the fire, Wu Yue's mouth twitched as if she had Parkinson's.

Tongzi's beady little eyes glanced at the two Beastman Warriors with pale faces: "Master, these two are the ones who tricked you into coming here?"

Wu Yue, exasperated: "What do you mean 'tricked me into coming'? To abduct me, they even whipped up hair dye—such professional disguise, how could I tell?"

Tongzi hehe-ed a few times, then hurriedly introduced the few little Lan Pangzi huddled to the side: "These are the Salt Crystal Beasts you sent me to retrieve, Master."

Having said that, he puffed out his little chest: "I've carefully gone through an assessment; these are the elite among the Salt Crystal Beasts. As long as you give orders, Master, they'll perform excellently."

Wu Yue nodded, pulled out a few chunks of salt ore from her space and tossed them to the Salt Crystal Beasts: "There will be plenty of uses for them later."

Having said that, she turned her head to the two Beastman Warriors: "I pretended to sleep earlier and heard them say they released a worm; other Beastfolk should arrive soon. I want to deal with them together, then return to hide safely from the rainy season."

Tongzi lifted a front little paw and picked his nostril: "So, Master, you really can't do without me—I was gone only a short while and you got kidnapped, sigh~"

Wu Yue chuckled: "Well, then I really ought to thank you!"

Tongzi hehe-ed while scratching his head: "You're welcome, you're welcome—we're all family."

Wu Yue looked at this shameless Tongzi and felt utterly disgusted.

While the two talked, the remaining little Lan Pangzi were already belly-up, snoring, mouths open, some even drooling.

"Master, keep meditating; I'll handle the rest from now on."

Wu Yue nodded, patched up the torn grass nest she had been lying in, and entered meditation again.

One person and one Tongzi leisurely roasted by the fire and cultivated, unaware that the Snow Tiger Tribe was thrown into panic due to her disappearance.

Qingcao helped her family move the belongings, then arranged housing for the slaves.

Because of Wu Yue's orders, the tribespeople did not excessively reject the slaves living in the caves.

After everything was settled, she then went in good spirits toward Wu Yue's cave.

After moving into the great cave, they simply waited for the rainy season to pass—no need to gather or process food, leaving them with much free time.

So she decided first to familiarize herself with Wu Yue's cave, to make future visits easier.

All along she asked the tribespeople; upon arriving at Wu Yue's cave, she found it utterly deserted, with no sign of habitation, leaving her puzzled.

Logically, that shouldn't be—Yue had arrived at the great cave earlier than she had, and there were two Beastman Warriors helping...

Suddenly, her eyes widened as she thought of the two Beastman Warriors said to have just recently taken beast form, and panic flooded her heart.

She turned and ran toward the chieftain's cave.

The chieftain, like the rest of the tribe, was tidying his own cave when he saw a plump figure dash in from outside.

"Chieftain, Yue... Yue has met with misfortune."

Qingcao's single sentence instantly shoved the chieftain's prepared question back into his gut; his heart tightened and he hurried over: "What happened?"

Qingcao felt worried, her eye sockets reddening slightly: "Today I was with Wu Yue tidying up at her place, never expecting two Beastman Warriors to barge in...."

She quickly recounted everything that had happened this afternoon.

The more the chieftain listened, the graver his expression became; finally he turned and headed straight for the shaman's cave: "I'll go ask the shaman whether he sent any Beastman Warriors to help Yue move her belongings."

Upon hearing that, Qingcao hurriedly followed behind the chieftain as they went out.

The shaman was leisurely sitting by the cave mouth roasting by the fire, while inside the cave two Half-Beast Warriors were tidying up his space.

Seeing the chieftain and Qingcao approach, he lifted his eyelids: "Why aren't you tidying up back home, coming to my place to do what?"

The chieftain quickly stepped forward: "Shaman, did you just send any Beastman Warriors to help Yue move her things?"

Seeing the chieftain's solemn expression, the Xuehu Wu felt a sudden bad premonition, stood up and looked at him: "The only ones around me are a few Half-Beast Warriors; where would any Beastman Warriors come from?"

The chieftain's and Qingcao's hearts sank sharply.

The Xuehu Wu looked at them: "What happened? Has Yue met with misfortune?"

The chieftain could only relay to the shaman what Qingcao had just said.

Upon hearing that, the shaman's face instantly darkened; he turned to Qingcao: "Are you sure they are Beastman Warriors from our tribe?"

Qingcao frowned: "Although I've never seen them before, they claim to have just recently taken beast form, and most importantly, their hair color matches that of our tribe's Beastman Warriors."

Upon hearing that, both the shaman and the chieftain furrowed their brows; females cannot distinguish tribe from outsider Beastman Warriors by scent, so hair is the sole marker.

But where did these two Beastfolk with Snow Tiger Beastman hair come from?

The shaman glanced at Qingcao beside him: "Qingcao, go back first; don't run around recklessly."

Upon hearing that, Qingcao pressed her lips together; realizing she could do nothing, she clenched her fists and turned to leave.

"Shaman, I will now summon the tribe's Beastfolk to go search."

The Xuehu Wu nodded: "Take half of the Beastman Warriors out; the remaining Beastfolk and Half-Beast Warriors shall stay behind to protect the tribe's people."

According to what Qingcao said, not long after they left it started to rain; the downpour is too heavy for them to go far, so they are likely hiding somewhere to escape the rain—you must search carefully.

The chieftain nodded: "I know, you can rest assured."

Having said that, he turned and left, after summoning the tribe's Beastman Warriors he strode straight out of the great cave into the rainy night.

As for Yue's side, the two Beastfolk finally woke up as dawn approached.

The Beastman blinked blearily open his eyes, only to see his companion still drooling, his sleeping face turned pale.

Recalling what that guy had said last night—that he'd nap a bit then switch shifts—he flared up, slapped his companion awake: "You're sleeping like a dead boar Beastman."

That slap to the head would wake even a pangolin; the companion yelped in pain while opening his eyes.

"Who just hit me?"

Beastfolk sneered: "Of course it's me, otherwise who else would you think it is?"

After a cold snort, he turned his head toward Wu Yue's direction, only to see that beside the fire lit last night, a circle of chubby little beasts had gathered.

Looking at the layers of meat on their bodies and thinking of yesterday's roasted meat, the Beastfolk drooled, stood up, and prepared to catch one to roast and eat.

At this moment, his companion suddenly exclaimed in surprise: "Where did all these little beasts come from? Didn't the little female scatter medicine powder at the cave entrance last night?"

The Beastfolk glanced at him: "Maybe these little beasts aren't afraid of that powder; stop talking nonsense, quickly catch one to roast later, otherwise we'll have to go out hunting in the rain."

Upon hearing that, the Beastfolk's companion immediately agreed, stood up, and prepared to cooperate with the Beastfolk's capture operation.

"What are you doing?"

When the two Beastfolk woke up, Tongzi had already informed Wu Yue.

Seeing the two Beastfolk's obvious ill intentions toward the Salt Crystal Beast, she finally couldn't help but speak out.

Hearing the little female's voice, the two Beastfolk instantly looked over: "Perhaps because it was so cold yesterday, so many little beasts have come into the cave; if we roast a few, today's food will be sufficient."

Wu Yue stroked Tongzi's smooth fur in her arms and chuckled: "These little beasts aren't for you to eat."

The Beastfolk was about to say something when his companion on the side grabbed him, and only then did he notice that his companion's expression had become very solemn.

"You already know?"

Wu Yue stood up holding Tongzi, but she didn't want to pretend too hard; Tongzi's weight kept her from moving an inch.

She could only think that as long as she wasn't embarrassed, the embarrassment belonged to others; she placed the Lan Pangzi in her arms into the grass nest, then slowly rose: "I should say I already noticed something off about you yesterday."

Saying that, she touched her own head: "How did you dye your hair that color?"

The two Beastfolk's bodies tensed instantly at the words; the Beastfolk glanced at his companion: "It must have been when you were carrying her yesterday that you were discovered."

Wu Yue smiled at him: "Indeed, I guessed correctly."

Beastfolk: "..."

I'm a pig!

Companion: "..."

You're a pig!

"You're Beastfolk from outside the Polar Forest tribe, right? Could it be that the Gu Shaman hasn't left our Polar Forest yet?"

The two Beastfolk instantly wore grim faces; why does this female know so much—should they kill her to silence her?

"You know too much."

The Beastfolk's companion suddenly revealed a fierce expression.

Wu Yue patted her chest with a frightened look: "You're speaking to me so fiercely, I'm really scared!"

The Beastfolk's companion's fierce expression instantly cracked; just what kind of oddball is this female?

His fierce expression just now could definitely make the neighboring tribe's kids cry, but from this female's reaction just now, it's clear she isn't scared at all.

"After talking this long, haven't you two noticed your complexions look a bit strange?"

The two Beastfolk froze at the words, then looked at each other.

"..."

"Why is your face so green?"

"You too..."

As the two spoke, they suddenly turned their heads toward Wu Yue, who stood there with a calm expression: "What did you do to us?"

Wu Yue flicked her nails: "When the Gu Shaman sent you to capture me, didn't he tell you my identity?"

"Identity?"

The two Beastfolk looked bewildered: "Isn't she just a female Shaman Disciple?"

Wu Yue smiled at them: "I... am... a Shaman!"

Just these three simple words made the two Beastman Warriors' faces turn even greener.

Meow, this isn't some Shaman Disciple at all—she's a Shaman! And looking at their two greenish faces, it's obvious she's a Poison Shaman.

His heart filled with sorrow, how beastly fate could be so harsh.

Seeing the two of them looking mournful, Wu Yue hehe-laughed, then leisurely sat back down in her grass nest.

Seeing her like that, the two Beastfolk felt even more chilled inside.

And Tongzi, who had almost been flattened by her sitting, was shocked to the point his fur stood on end: "Host, why did you suddenly sit down? My life almost ended."

Wu Yue laughed as she lifted the protesting Tongzi with his bouncing short legs: "Calm down, calm down, my legs just went weak."

Tongzi's fat bottom sat on Wu Yue's leg, feeling the host's legs still slightly trembling; although somewhat improper, he just wanted to laugh.

"Host, you're still imposing when you show off."

Wu Yue hehed: "Just shut up."

Ignoring the annoying Tongzi, she looked at the two grim-faced Beastman Warriors opposite and asked: "How many Beastfolk remain in the Polar Forest?"

The two Beastfolk glanced at each other, lowered their eyes, and kept silent.

Wu Yue saw this and lightly chuckled: "It's useless if you don't speak; your companions will be here soon anyway."

That worm child has been out all night; since you're taking action, your companions surely aren't far away.

By then I'll round them all up and bring them back to the tribe; I don't know how the tribe usually deals with Beastfolk from outside the Polar Forest.

The two Beastfolk's already pale faces darkened further, their hearts full of bitterness.

I never expected the Shaman would have them capture such a troublesome female.

The Beastfolk was immersed in the sorrow of being captured when his companion suddenly darted forward to attack Wu Yue.

He felt a flicker of secret joy: indeed, if he could control this female, she could cure the poison on their bodies.

"Bang!"

However...

Ideals are plentiful, reality is always bony; just as the Beastfolk secretly rejoiced, the companion who rushed to Wu Yue's side seemed to have slammed into the invisible wall of the mountain cave.

Their eyes rolled up and they fainted, not to mention a huge bump rose on their head, looking truly pitiful.

The Beastfolk swallowed hard, dry‑laughing as they edged over and dragged the companion, who was like a dead pig, back: "Um, please don't mind; back in the tribe he wasn't very bright—it wasn't intentional to offend you."

Wu Yue nodded: "I can tell; between the two of you, you're the sharper one, which is why the poison shaman entrusted the poison insect to you for safekeeping."

The Beastfolk gave a dry laugh and said nothing.

"Besides that poison insect from yesterday, did the poison shaman give you any other poison insects?"

The Beastfolk hurriedly shook their head: "No, no; the shaman treasures those insects and would hardly give them to us—when they first gave that insect to me, they even said the insect stays with us."

As they spoke, they actually felt a bit wronged, lowering their brows and letting their eyes droop.

"Can't you two walk a bit farther? You've made us rush all night."

Wu Yue still wanted to ask something when a chaotic burst of footsteps accompanied by the Beastfolk's furious shouts rang out.

She looked at the Beastfolk with a smile in her eyes: "Look, your companion has arrived."