Chapter 116: The Persuader

The interior was dim; although the stone house, which tended to the female (who was not a female snake), had specially opened a window for her, when Yun Li and the others entered, the window was covered by a broad leaf.

The female sat on the bed, perhaps exhausted from prolonged hardship, and now lacked even the strength to cry.

She merely sat weakly on the bed, head bowed, lost in thought.

And her two Beast Husbands dared not leave this place, nor approach her.

Upon seeing Yun Li and Lu enter, one of the males even frowned.

"Could you open your household's window? It's rather dark in here."

Hearing Yun Li's words, the female's Beast Husband thought it was no difficult request, replied "Sure," and walked over to lift the leaf covering the window.

But Yun Li reached out to stop him; she kept her gaze on the female on the bed and asked, "Is it okay? A Yi."

The female still did not answer, yet Yun Li, pulling Lu along, sat inside the house and did not leave.

Finally, the female, feeling disturbed by Yun Li and Lu, got up from under the bed, ripped the leaf from the window and flung it to the ground, then glared viciously at the two unfamiliar females who had appeared in her home.

Unexpectedly, Yun Li at that moment squinted at her and burst into laughter.

Her already great beauty, combined with Yun Li's smile, instantly struck the female's heart.

Thus the ensuing conversation proceeded surprisingly smoothly; Yun Li never once urged her not to leave the Tribe, and simply talked with her about her past.

The female's past was no secret; Zhang Yue said A Yi came from a small Tribe, and because the cold season lacked sufficient food storage, many Beastmen died, attracting the covetous eyes of wandering Beastmen; she was rescued by Snake Beastmen who came out from Youbuluo to hunt, and thereafter remained in Youbuluo.

At first, the female acted cautiously in Youbuluo, even fearing the Snake Beastmen, but to stay there she forced herself to accept one or two Snake Beastmen as her Beast Husbands.

As time passed in the Tribe, she grew accustomed to its affluent life, yet the Tribe's favoritism toward female snakes caused a psychological imbalance; she not only competed with the Tribe's female snakes for males of other races, but also neglected the snake offspring after giving birth.

In the end, she quarreled unhappily with her own snake Beast Husband, and now the Beast Husbands caring for her are one leopard and one cat.

Under the suppression of A Yi's First Beast Husband, the two Beast Husbands dare not let their female bear their offspring; otherwise they both would suffer.

As they talked, A Yi couldn't help asking why she let a Snake Beastman become her First Beast Husband.

It wasn't the first time Yun Li had been asked that, yet she felt somewhat depressed, because even if she said it, others might not be able to accept it.

"A Qing is excellent and strong, so him being my First Beast Husband is fine for me, and my other two Beast Husbands are fine as well."

"Then why haven't you conceived his offspring yet? You don't really like him, do you?"

A Yi persistently pressed, as if seeking the answer she wanted from Yun Li.

"I like him, I love him. A Qing and I don't think we need to bear our offspring to prove that."

"And we've been together for a long time; in the future we'll have offspring of our own."

"Now it's you, A Yi—did you bear offspring for your Beast Husband because you liked him back then?"

Yun Li isn't a pushover; since she began to maliciously speculate about her, she has no need to hold back her words.

Sure enough, hearing that, A Yi snapped, "I don't like him at all; who would like a Snake Beastman? If it weren't for him, A Yi and his companions would have had offspring long ago."

"Instead of bearing those two snake offspring, every time I see them I recall how he once abused me."

"Abuse? Did he beat or scold you? That does seem a bit excessive?"

Yun Li smiled lightly and echoed her words, and A Yi, as if seeking a vent, poured out years of grievances to Yun Li.

Yun Li listened quietly; when she sensed Lu was about to speak, she promptly held her back, signaling with her eyes for her to stay silent.

A Yi's discontent was no longer solely about her Beast Husband being a Snake Beastman; she also harbored resentment toward Youbuluo, a prejudice so deep that saying more seemed useless.

Thus, according to Yun Li's thinking, she should release A Yi and her two Beast Husbands, letting them truly taste days without Youbuluo's protection.

If that request could be approved by their First Beast Husband, Yun Li wouldn't have been summoned as a negotiator.

Headache!

…

For four consecutive days, Yun Li was meeting people.

When she could make sense, Yun Li tried her best to convince the other that Snake Beastmen were no different from other Beastmen; when she couldn't, she acted as a sounding board, letting the other vent a torrent of negative emotions to her.

On the fifth day, all the females to be seen had been met, and Yun Li directly had Zhang Yue send them away.

"You are leaving today? But the Beastmen of the Silver Eagle Tribe have already departed."

Zhang Yue smiled faintly, his tone laced with a teasing amusement, "So you have to trek such a long way back to the Tribe on your own?"

"Don't forget they're also taking four females with little self‑defense ability back this time."

Because Lu and Ya ultimately volunteered to stay, but besides A Yu, three other females originally from the Silver Eagle Tribe also have to go with them this time.

Those three females, being elderly and at odds with their own snake Beast Husbands, learned that Yun Li's party was rescuing people back, so they came forward.

As a reward, they also supplied Yun Li with considerable information about Youbuluo.

"No need for you to worry; someone will meet us."

Yun Li, unmoved by his schadenfreude, glanced at him and then continued waiting for the people to arrive.

But the wait only brought bad news: a female eagle who was supposed to go with them and her Snake Beast Husband perished together.

One didn't want her to leave, the other insisted she must go.

In the end, it's unclear who poisoned whom, but both Beastmen died.

According to the two elder females who went to find her, the female still had a breath when they arrived, but in the end she clutched her Beast Husband's hand and told the two, "I'm not leaving; my whole life is ruined by his hand. What's the point of returning?"

Yun Li felt a lingering heaviness in her chest, an inexplicable sorrow.

She remained silent for a while; before leaving she still sought You Ruo, though she said nothing, only conveying a method.

The rainy season and the cold season are prime times for a Beastman to hunt, and the most difficult times for a Beastman to hunt.

They can, during these two seasons, undertake certain actions to shape public opinion favorable to Snake Beastmen, thereby dispelling external Beastmen's prejudice against them.

With time accumulating, eventually when Heiyan Shanmai mentions Snake Beastmen, the first reaction won't be that they are cold‑blooded beasts to be avoided, but rather their formidable combat strength and their good quality of keeping promises.