Chapter 497

And during Ying Fei's tense high‑altitude moments, time simply passed day by day.

At this moment, the East Sang Tribe's people sat before their homes, continually gazing toward the garrison gate.

"Bulun, are you sure you told the meeting time to Shaman Yue?"

Ying Fei gazed sharply at the half‑beast folk who had become increasingly conspicuous in recent days.

Facing Ying Fei's questioning, Bulun was somewhat displeased, his gaze turning a bit indifferent: "I've already said what I needed to say; as for why Shaman Yue went out near the time of departure, I don't know."

"I don't mean to blame you; this is the task given by the chieftain. If we fail, both of us will be punished—it's not aimed at you."

Ying Fei also noticed Bulun's recent aloofness and dissatisfaction toward him; though displeased, he let out a soft sigh and softened his voice to persuade.

After that, the two stopped speaking; Ying Fei suppressed his anxiety. Since the last time, when Bulun inadvertently asked by the river whether he had done something bad, discovered by the Snow Moon Tribe, his heart has been filled with unease these past days.

The urge to leave here grew ever more urgent; he even wanted to go to the gathering early, but was refused by Shaman Yue and several Beastman Warriors.

To be precise, it was Wu Yue who refused him; she only said she still had things unprepared, and the next day she left the tribe with that tall, stern Beastman Warrior.

"Beast God! What kind of beast is this?"

Just as he felt restless and uneasy, a sudden exclamation came from the garrison gate.

Ying Fei, Bulun, and the others hurriedly rose to look, but when they saw the vigorous beast standing at the gate, their pupils contracted sharply.

The beast, as tall as two Beastman Warriors and resembling an antelope, stood there with its head held high, its entire body snow‑white; this fur was far more beautiful than the snow‑beast pelts favored by the super‑tribes outside the forest.

Just...

When Ying Fei, Bulun, and the others saw the beast's scarlet eyes and sharp hooves/claws, they quietly buried their earlier admiration deep inside.

Good grief, while the great horned deer and antelope have hooves, yours down there are claws—who knows if it sensed their gaze, those sharp claws just happened to extend and wiggle, full of threat.

Ying Fei turned, silently extended his large hand; after a tremor of his palm, his sharp claws sprang out—but...

The gap was obvious; compared to theirs, his own claw's edge made him feel quite inferior.

He silently retracted his claws, turned, and looked toward the beast's back, where a petite figure sat.

"Is that Shaman Yue sitting on the beast's back?"

Bulun exclaimed, even unconsciously reverting to the honorific "Shaman Yue" again.

Seeing the astonishment of the East Sang Tribe's people in his peripheral vision, Wu Yue's lips curled slightly; she then patted the beast's back and said, "Treadcloud, shrink."

Her voice did not waver; as the clear words fell, the mountain‑sized beast shook its snowy white mane and began to gradually shrink.

Until it became the size of a wolf beast, Wu Yue leapt from its back; the mountain‑sized beast instantly turned into a fluffy, adorable white ball that hopped into her arms.

At this moment, Treadcloud was practically beside itself with excitement; after returning from the deep forest, Wu Yue had not let it out, and the beast was almost growing fur from boredom—if it weren't for the adorable Tongzi feeding it tasty snacks, it would have become a perpetually depressed beast.

"Ow—!"

Its watery eyes looked pitifully at its irresponsible master, its fluffy little head constantly rubbing against Wu Yue's palm.

"Irresponsible master, you've neglected me for so long—won't you first give me some kisses, hugs, and lifts?"

Thanks to the Beast‑Tamer Ring, Wu Yue naturally sensed the little one's thoughts; she extended her fair, tender hand to scratch its chin, then smoothed its sleek fur, rubbing one fluffy spot until it was utterly comfortable.

It kept making a "purr‑purr‑purr" sound, like a cute little kitten.

"Shaman Yue, is this the precious beast you intend to bring to the gathering? Have you tamed it?"

Ying Fei's gaze toward Treadcloud now shone like two little suns; although he didn't yet know the beast's combat power, its scarlet eyes and sharp hooves/claws already made it extraordinary.

Moreover, this beast can change size, and its juvenile form is this adorable; if our tribe could obtain it, even requesting to live in the forest across the river would pose no problem.

Wu Yue gave the Beastman Warrior with ulterior motives an indifferent glance: "This is my pet beast; I like it very much and will not use it for exchange."

She then continued walking toward her own house without stopping.

Several days ago, Yuan Lang and the others had already finished building her house; it only needed smoking and drying for a while, and some furniture still had to be made.

"Aren't we supposed to set out tomorrow? Everyone from the East Sang Tribe should go back and prepare properly."

Having said that, her figure vanished from their sight.

Ying Fei's smile also gradually faded: "Hmph! Whether it will be exchanged or not, what you say doesn't count."

Since returning from stealing herbs last time, this Shaman Yue and several Beastman Warriors of the Snow Moon Tribe have been distinctly cold toward him, making Ying Fei feel uneasy as well.

After a cold snort, he turned and went back.

The East Sang Tribe's people glanced at Ying Fei, then turned to look at Bulun, who was chattering behind Shaman Yue and the others, and still followed Ying Fei back into their own homes.

"Shaman Yue, um, could I touch this cute little beast?"

A sturdy Half‑Beast Warrior rubbed his hands with a salivating expression, his eyes full of affection as they fell on Wu Yue's fluffy white ball in her arms.

"You beast, are you still a plush‑fetishist?"

Wu Yue gave the rough Half‑Beast Warrior a speechless look, then, thoroughly disdainful, she held her Treadcloud a bit farther away.

"What's a plush‑fetishist?"

Bulun looked at Wu Yue with a puzzled expression.

"It means someone who likes fluffy things."

Bulun scratched his head, then, with a look of disdain, said, "I definitely am not."

He then, full of disdain, extended the fluffy leg beneath his beast‑skin skirt: "I just don't like my own fluffy leg."

Wu Yue gave a black‑line look: "Normal plush‑fetishists wouldn't like this."

Bulun's intellect once again updated Wu Yue's opinion of him; she could only be speechless as she continued toward her own courtyard: "My little beast doesn't like being touched by others; you just stay over there and look."

Good grief, your fluffy long leg has already wounded my little beast's tender spirit.

"Eh? Yue, come over quick!"

Teng Qian, Teng Kun, and Ying Xian, who were tinkering with something in the courtyard, saw Wu Yue hurrying over, and their eyes lit up.

"Yue, look at this table; I and my younger brother think a square shape is better, but Ying Xian insists it should be long."

Wu Yue, who had been pulled over, carefully examined the two table surfaces, then seriously measured them with her small claw; afterwards, the corner of her mouth twitched as she extended three fingers of a claw: "Is this tiny distance really worth your argument here?"

Teng Qian, Teng Kun, and Ying Xian: "..."

The three beasts glanced at their shaman's three white, tender claws, then at the two tables before them—good grief, they really looked almost identical.

We used Bulun (romanized). Not in glossary, but it's a name; we romanized.

Bulun, who was staring at the little furball drooling, suddenly heard someone call him; he jerked his head up with a whoosh, looking bewildered at the few people: "What? Did you just call me?"

Wuyue:... (glossary says Wuyue: "..." → Wuyue:...). Good.

Nothing, it's all a misunderstanding; keep looking at the little beast.

At dinner time, the mountain cave was very lively; several people wanted to follow Wu Yue to attend the gathering, and they even had a little contest.

"You all know the purpose of this gathering—it's a trade fair where the major tribes of this forest collect precious items; we've had the same goal before, so we can't rule out that after the gathering ends, a major tribe might come seize our goods, which is very dangerous."

During this period, the fighting strength of each tribe will concentrate at the gathering, so as long as we keep one Beastman Warrior here, plus the few Half-Beast warriors in our tribe now, we absolutely need not worry about other tribes attacking.

There's no danger anymore, but...

Her expression suddenly turned grave: "Those staying in the tribe must organize the people to quickly build houses, then construct defensive walls around the tribe—this concerns our tribe's future safety; the real danger lies precisely after we return to the tribe."

So we must definitely prepare in advance.

Yingyan? Not in glossary. It's a name? Yingyan likely a personal name. We need to romanize: Yingyan? Actually pinyin: Ying yan. So we output Yingyan. Also we used Shaman Yue for Shaman Yue. Good.

Wu Yue frowned slightly: "We need you to scout the situation from the sky."

Yingyan laughed: "The forest is getting denser and denser, and there's no large open space in it; my beast form finds flying in such thick forest very inconvenient, so scouting the situation might not be as good as the little beast in your arms."

Wu Yue looked at him for a moment, then nodded and smiled: "All right, then the task of building houses and defenses for the tribe will be left to you."

No names.

Teng Qian beside them looked calmly at his younger brother.

Yuan Lang, Teng Kun.

Wu Yue, Yingyan.

Just moments ago they were fighting, heads bloody, and now, after just a few breaths, it's peacefully resolved?

"Teng Kun has made many things out of wood before; he can handle defense, he studied it before."

Wu Yue blinked, enlightened—good grief, this really is a transmigration with built-in skills; they even know carpentry!

"Ding~ Publish the 'Do Not Die If You Don't Seek Death' quest one: Please host, in a very awesome posture, snatch or directly seize two precious items from any two major tribes."

Quest reward: one top-tier lottery ticket.

No names.

"Please host, strive to court death—give it your all!"

A string of goofy sounds directly left Wu Yue, who was about to finalize the selection, bewildered.

"Well, the rest is up to you, Yuan Lang, to arrange; I'll go do a divination first to see if this trip will go smoothly."

Having said that, she stood up directly, gave the Beastman a subtle glance, then left immediately.

Yuan Lang's eyes flickered slightly, then she suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and continued arranging tribal affairs.

At that moment, Wu Yue sat in her little cave with a bun-like face, on the verge of depression.

"Dog host, can we be human?"

"Dear host, as an excellent Tongzi who is diligent and responsible for the host, I go online to serve when there's work, and when idle my physical form must hold down the distant Snow Tiger Tribe; nowadays, doing anything is not easy!"

The bit of resentment in little Tongzi's tone could be heard by anyone with a conscience; as someone who considered herself kind, Wu Yue waved her hand generously and credited ten points to Tongzi's little account.

"Can we talk about this courting-death quest now?"

"It's not a courting-death quest; it's a 'Do Not Die If You Don't Seek Death' quest!"

Tongzi, Ta Yun (we romanized). Need to ensure we treat Ta Yun as a name. We'll output Ta Yun.

"Host, don't you feel your life is too bland? You're young; young people should have passion—don't lie flat, get up and have fun!"

Wu Yue gave Tongzi, who was happily wiggling its little butt on the system panel, a look of utter disbelief: "You want me to have fun in this forest where there's hardly any personal protection and all around are beasts that could kick me to death?"

"Host, you must believe that the several major tribes in this forest are obsessed with upgrading; for you, this quest is practically like having the dishes delivered to your door."

"As long as you bring the precious items back to the tribe, a tribe will naturally come to seize them; then you'll go all out, and it won't be anything but easy pickings!"

Wu Yue's brain, a bit larger than Tongzi's, twitched; she instantly felt this made sense, so she stopped obsessing over the quest's name.

"Hehe, Tongzi, what can that top-tier lottery ticket win?"

Good grief, a top-tier lottery ticket sounds so high-and-mighty; who knows, maybe it'll directly spit out an Optimus Prime or something—then that guy, in this world I could just lie flat.

"Hehe... hehe..."

Tongzi, gnawing on an ice pop, was about to popularize knowledge of the top-tier lottery ticket to its dog host, but seeing this guy suddenly break into a lewd smile, Tongzi's face instantly filled with disdain.

"Host, hey, wake up; if you have a dream, do it later when you sleep!"

Woken from her daze, Wu Yue sheepishly rubbed her nose; deep down she still lacked a bit of confidence.

"A top-tier lottery draw means you can instantly draw any item from the system's storage, with no level limit; even if it exceeds your current level, as long as you draw it, you can obtain it."

Wu Yue's eyes lit up; she opened the system mall's inventory, and with a swish-swish-swish began flipping through row after row of gray icons.

"Guns! Airplanes! Computers!!!"

Wu Yue's eyes lit up with a whoosh, like two little suns turning toward Tongzi: "Can this computer connect to the internet?"

Off-topic line.

Friends, if you have monthly votes, please vote for Yi Yi to support a bit; the current ranking is really too hard, without a ranking you have nothing at all!