Chapter 220: Beastfolk Who Resemble Captain Leng

In the Market, a few beastfolk dressed in rather luxurious and splendid attire were walking among the crowd.

Because of their outstanding looks and the refined clothing unlike the Tribe's garb, these beastfolk seemed to carry a spotlight effect, drawing the eyes of other beastfolk wherever they went.

The beastfolk, as if already accustomed to this, observed around while whispering to each other about something.

"How does that male tie his hair? It looks really nice; I wonder if we females can style it like that?"

"We should be able to, let's try it ourselves later."

"Their clothes are quite strange."

Some look rather nice, others seem odd; it's not quite beautiful, yet not outright ugly.

"Captain Leng!"

Just as this group of beastfolk were about to finish touring the entire Market, the leading beastfolk suddenly called out the male who was speaking with the Patrol Team.

Leng Xiu turned his head, and upon seeing the newly arrived nomadic Tribe beastfolk, his brows involuntarily furrowed.

He said to Captain Feng, "Find out everything about those people, then report to A Li; whatever we decide to do with them, we'll follow A Li's orders."

Captain Feng nodded, "Alright. Who are those people?"

"Beastfolk from outside; make sure you keep a close watch on them."

Although Leng Xiu didn't detect any hostility from these beastfolk toward the Tribe, he knew that appearances can be deceiving, so precautions were still necessary.

A hint of understanding flashed in Captain Feng's eyes, and he gave a slight nod, "Then, if there's nothing else, I'll leave now."

It wouldn't hinder him from continuing to engage with those outsider beastfolk.

"Hmm."

Leng Xiu watched Captain Feng lead his men away slowly, then finally turned his gaze toward the newcomer.

"Is there something?"

Although he had previously crossed paths with them, Leng Xiu was not a sociable beastfolk, so after a few brief words and a simple understanding, he returned to his own affairs.

After all, judging whether a beastfolk is good or bad can't rely solely on what they say; the most important factor is what they do within the Tribe.

"Leng Xiu, is that your name?"

The handsome male looked at Leng Xiu, his tone oddly familiar and friendly, "We've met before; I'm Cao, do you, Captain Leng, still remember?"

Leng Xiu stared at the male who now openly showed goodwill, squinting slightly, "I'm not a youngster or an old beastfolk who forgets things; I know your name."

Cao smiled faintly, "Is that so? Good. But Captain Leng, do you have time now? Actually, I have some matters I'd like to discuss with you."

Seeing a hint of inquiry in Leng Xiu's eyes, Cao chuckled lightly, "It's about trading with your Tribe. If Captain Leng would guide me to meet your chieftain, that would be even better."

They made a decision in such a short time?

Leng Xiu felt a flash of confusion, but didn't refuse outright, "Introducing you to the chieftain is fine, but what do you have?"

He knew these beastfolk carried far fewer items than the earlier nomadic Tribe beastfolk; A Li wanted to attract outside nomadic tribes mainly to learn what the outside world was like, but that didn't mean A Li would willingly take a loss.

Thus, if these beastfolk lacked anything of value, Leng Xiu would likely arrange introductions for them while the chieftain was absent.

Cao thought seriously for a moment, "We really didn't bring anything valuable this time. However, are you interested in a map of the area beyond Heiyan Shanmai?"

Their journey this time wasn't for trading with other Tribes; they were commissioned to help locate someone.

Consequently, before reaching their destination, they had already exchanged everything they could trade.

Now they mostly carried lifesaving and wound‑healing Spirit Medicine, or easily portable items like various ornaments, beast hides, and beast bones.

They certainly couldn't trade the Spirit Medicine for their own safety; as for other items, they feared offering only a portion would result in receiving something they couldn't later exchange.

That would be too much of a loss.

"Map?"

Leng Xiu slightly raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise on his face.

"Yes, although my time with you has been brief, thanks to your Tribe not stopping other Tribes' beastfolk from coming here, I've heard a lot about your Tribe along the way.

You probably haven't established contact with the outside, yet you mimicked outside Tribes and created such a trading venue.

I think you yearn for the outside world, so the map we have should be exactly what you need now."

Cao smiled gently; his nature has always been like that— not domineering, but quite capable, otherwise he wouldn't be a leading beastfolk.

Leng Xiu didn't answer immediately; after pondering for a while, he finally nodded and said:

"Tomorrow at this time, I'll take you to meet a few people."

Cao responded warmly with a "Alright."

But when he saw Leng Xiu about to leave, he called out again, "Wait, may I ask you a question?"

Leng Xiu slightly furrowed his brows, "What?"

"Did you grow up here?"

Cao's question made Leng Xiu's brows knit tightly at once.

"And if not?" he retorted.

Cao seemed relieved, "I see."

That must have been his mistake.

Even if Leng Xiu and that chief looked alike, they were still two unrelated beastfolk.

Leng Xiu only felt he was a bit odd, but couldn't pinpoint why, so he set the matter aside and turned toward the Priest's residence.

What he didn't know was that after he left, Cao turned his head and whispered instructions to the nearby beastfolk to investigate him.

"... If he wasn't born here, perhaps next time we go to the Black Water Tribe, we could get a chance to meet the leader of the civilians."

…

"A Li, what are you thinking?"

The talks between the two Tribes didn't last until nightfall; when the sky still glowed golden, Yun Li and the others left the Priest's place and headed toward the cliff side.

"I was wondering why, when I first chose my name, I forgot that there's another cliff within the Tribe."

Thus our own younglings now share a name with other beastfolk.

But who could have known, after Yun Li waited until several of the younglings could transform, she thought up many names, and when she liked any, she settled their names by drawing lots.

Consequently, the whole family was absorbed in the church‑transformed younglings learning to speak human language and to walk, and not a single person remembered that the Tribe still had another Ya.

Oh, wait, at that time only Yun Li and Leng Xiao had forgotten that the Tribe still had another Ya.

Because Ji Xuan and Leng Xiu at that time—one was frequently taken by the Priest to have heart‑to‑heart talks with Ya, the other went to Ya to learn characters and reading in step with Yun Li—they both knew the Tribe still had another Ya.

But they perhaps didn't consider it a problem that the family's younglings shared a name with Ya, and thus selectively ignored the matter, which resulted in that by the time Yun Li caught on, the second‑born Yun Ya had already gotten used to that name.