Chapter 160: A Li, Holding Me

"Your family's Beast Husband was formerly a wandering Beastman?"

The Silver Eagle Priest hesitated for a while, then couldn't hold back the doubt in his mind; otherwise, why had he kept probing about the wandering Beastmen?

"Is it the Snake Beastman Mu Qing in your family?"

He guessed again.

Ji Xuan, of all people, asked why the wandering Beastmen outside are generally of what race, even though the Beastmen outside don't discriminate against Snake Beastmen as much as those in the Heiyan Shanmai region; yet, because some Snake Beastmen wield poison too fiercely and are feared, the reputation of Snake Beastmen among other Beastmen outside is also not very good.

If the Snake Beastman in his family was once a wandering Beastman, it's no surprise that Ji Xuan's female can come up with so many good ideas; perhaps it was taught by her Snake Beast Husband.

"How did you come to think that?"

Ji Xuan furrowed his brows, did not deny at once, but instead, puzzled, asked back, "I was asking about the wandering Beastmen outside; what does that have to do with Mu Qing?"

The Silver Eagle Priest wondered, "So those things were all thought up by that female herself?"

Ji Xuan thought for a moment, then nodded; Mu Qing indeed seemed unaware of these.

The Silver Eagle Priest sighed, "Then it seems I was mistaken."

Ji Xuan gave a "Hmm", realizing the doubt about Mu Qing had been dispelled, and continued, "Are there many Half‑Beast beings among the wandering Beastmen outside?"

Half‑Beast?

The Silver Eagle Priest's line of thought was successfully diverted by Ji Xuan; he recalled that Ji Xuan had recently been investigating that the wandering Beastmen near the Tribe were Half‑Beasts.

But he quickly shook his head at Ji Xuan, "Half‑Beasts outside are generally like Beast Slaves."

Their status is even lower than that of wandering Beastmen.

Ji Xuan lowered his eyes slightly, and after a while gently nodded, saying, "So that's how it is. If they wish to be seen as wandering Beastmen by others, a Half‑Beast would have to disguise themselves as a Beastman of another race and appear before others…"

The Silver Eagle Priest asked in puzzlement, "Why do you think that Half‑Beast came from outside? If he can disguise himself as a Beastman of another race… For a Half‑Beast to disguise as another race's Beastman, he must also consider whether his own flaws allow him to take on that other race's form."

"What if he can't transform at all?"

Ji Xuan told the Priest.

The Silver Eagle Priest thought about it for a long time, "Among the land Beastmen, Lion Beastmen and Tiger Beastmen are the strongest; if he disguises himself as one of those two races, his deterrent effect on other wandering Beastmen would be greater."

He didn't learn the outside Beastmen's view of Snake Beastmen, but Ji Xuan was not discouraged; if not today, then tomorrow.

It turned out that a Half‑Beast must disguise as one of those two races to ensure other wandering Beastmen don't question his Beast form, which was a piece of good news.

Seeing no chance to ask further, Ji Xuan took his leave.

The Silver Eagle Priest, seeing him depart, reminded him, "Don't forget that the Tribe's Sacrificial Activity requires you to personally hunt down several ferocious beasts and bring them back; this is the Sacrificial Activity held for your Pairing Ceremony with your female."

The ferocious beasts should be kept as intact as possible; the Beastmen of the Youbuluo are also present, and your father's intention is to let them see the strength of the Silver Eagle Tribe during this ceremony.

Ji Xuan replied, "Understood."

Then he left, leaving the Silver Eagle Priest sitting there, pondering deeply.

But Ji Xuan's behavior was as usual; he thought for a long time but couldn't come up with anything more useful, so he gave up.

In any case, Ji Xuan is the Young Master of the Tribe and would not harm the Silver Eagle Tribe.

……

In the afternoon, Yun Li's family left Leng Xiu at home to look after the cubs, while the other Beastmen all followed Ji Xuan, taking a detour down the cliff from the back of the Tribe.

After descending, the four entered the cliff base via a narrow path, then began crawling through tunnels and climbing slopes.

Yun Li, who had been forcing herself onward, gave up the idea of climbing up after halfway; although there is a path upward at the cliff base, it is truly dangerous. She was being pulled by two Beast Husbands, one ahead and one behind, and dared not look back for fear that a glance would make her legs go weak and unable to move.

Seeing this, Leng Xiao handed Yun Li a bamboo tube filled with water, saying, "A Li, take a sip slowly, then let Ji Xuan carry you up."

As for him and Mu Qing, they didn't consider this danger at all.

Yun Li didn't push herself, nodded, and drank about half of the water from the tube.

Then Ji Xuan lifted her and moved forward; his wings unfolded, and he flew upward.

"Is this your Half‑Beast form? Why does it differ from Ah Mei and the others?"

After landing, Yun Li only stared at Ji Xuan's wings behind him, forgetting to ask whether he left a trail marker for Mu Qing and the others, and instead was concerned about how his Half‑Beast form differed from other Eagle Beastmen.

Because when Gong Mei and others undergo Half‑Beast Transformation, their hands become their wings, but for Ji Xuan, the wings can sprout directly from his back.

Yun Li even leaned toward his back to see whether his wings, once grown, would tear his beast‑skin clothing.

However, the male beast‑skin garment has a deliberately left gap behind for the wings to spread, so Yun Li swallowed the comment she had prepared about whether his wings would strain the clothing, and instead focused on feeling his wings.

Ji Xuan did not stop her touch, but Yun Li's body was pressed against his as she felt his wings, and the wings would be affected by his emotions to some extent.

It's like now; she is too close, touching his rather sensitive wings, and when he shifts his thoughts, the wings naturally droop, conveniently enclosing her whole Beastman body.

"Ji Xuan?"

Yun Li noticed the view suddenly darkened; although she knew the Beastman beside her was her Beast Husband, the darkness made her body reflexively tense.

Ji Xuan gave a "Hmm", said "I'm here", then, following his own will, embraced the person, lowered his head to kiss the female's forehead, and said, "When you call Mu Qing and the others, you never address them by their full names."

Unless you're angry.

Yun Li buried her head in his chest, nudging twice, "I've gotten used to calling you like this. If you don't like it, I'll use another name. Axuan?"

"Hmm"

Ji Xuan's eyes dimmed slightly, "A Li~"

He suddenly lowered his voice and called her, "Do you want to try it here?"

"Ah?"

Yun Li, whose body had just relaxed after being embraced, instantly tensed again, "Here? They'll notice."

She didn't want to later be regarded by Leng Xiao with a callous, scornful look, nor did she want Mu Qing, when he later is with her, to greedily claim the sweet experience they missed together.

Yun Li thought she would end up with kidney weakness.

"No, the cave where I store things isn't this one."

Ji Xuan clearly had prepared in advance, but the only somewhat troublesome thing was that this place, usually just a temporary resting spot, had nothing that could make someone rest more comfortably.

But Ji Xuan also didn't want to go down to that lower cave to fetch it; the time was too short, and he only wanted to focus his attention on more meaningful matters.

A Li, hold me.

Yun Li sensed that the already dark space became even more tightly sealed, wind could not pass through.