Chapter 242: Reflection

Gong Mei's expression changed instantly, but Yun Li saw her sudden anxiety and, with a calm tone, cut off the words she was about to blurt out.

"Many things are still undecided; you don't need to make that face, and even if there really are outside beastmen with ill intent toward our Tribe, what of it? Do you think the Tribe would be afraid of them?"

Gong Mei still furrowed her brows and said, "I of course know the Tribe won't be afraid, but I think this matter is important, and the Tribe hasn't prepared to inform everyone. If something like before were to happen again…"

"That's why I'm telling you," Yun Li said, looking at her, a hint of deeper meaning added to the smile on her face. "You're the Patrol Team captain; now that you know, you should have an idea of what needs to be done next."

As for why we don't spread this speculation, it's because the Tribe's beastmen are living well; whether it's the chieftain, Axuan, or even me and the Priest, we all feel there's no need to make the entire Tribe's beastmen live in constant anxiety before our guess is confirmed.

What if the disappearance of the three cubs is truly just an accident?

……

Gong Mei remained silent for a while, then asked, "What was the point of the Patrol Team searching the entire Tribe for a few cubs earlier?"

"You could think of it as a probe—testing how the outside beastmen both within the Tribe and down the mountain react when they learn we've lost cubs and are so nervous."

Yun Li saw that she asked so directly and knew that Gong Mei might have guessed something, and she had nothing to hide about it.

After all, Gong Mei is a beastman of the Patrol Team; whatever orders Ji Xuan gave the Patrol Team, she is the first to know. As the beastman who spent those days running around the Tribe to carry out the command to visit every household, it would be suspicious if she didn't notice any movement regarding the search for cubs.

Gong Mei: "So the idea of visiting every household was also yours?"

"Hmm."

Yun Li let out a light "Hmm," and said, "Isn't it good to use this opportunity to remind everyone to keep a close watch on their own cubs?"

"But doesn't it also imply that someone in the Tribe might be betraying us?"

Facing Gong Mei's doubt, Yun Li simply waved a hand and said, "Rather than suspecting betrayal, it's more accurate to say that some people, unsure whether the outside beastmen are good or bad, could be exploited by them. Moreover, the Patrol Team's beastmen only spent those days going house to house to notify about finding cubs and keeping the cubs at home; we didn't assign you any other tasks."

As for what some beastmen did beyond searching for the cubs, we can only say they were so eager to locate the missing cubs that they clashed with those unwilling to cooperate.

But wasn't the final outcome good? At least they learned that recently a few unfamiliar beastmen had been roaming the Tribe, gathering a lot of information about it, including where the cubs like to gather and play.

"Then…"

Gong Mei hesitated, feeling she still wanted to ask something, but as the words reached her mouth she realized she didn't know what else to ask.

Yun Li, seeing her like that, simply clasped her ten fingers under her chin, waited a while, then said, "Do you have nothing else to ask?"

Gong Mei furrowed her brows, "I feel like you're hiding something from us, but I can't put it into words."

Hearing that, Yun Li could only feel a bit… "The Tribe makes these arrangements; it's not a decision I make alone."

"You say there are other arrangements?"

Gong Mei quickly seized the loophole in her words, her face showing an expression ready to explain.

"There are, but I can't tell you about those."

Yun Li said while rubbing her face, then shifted the topic: "The Patrol Team has been quite busy lately, right? What about the few cubs in your family? I heard they've been quite troublesome recently."

Seeing that she truly didn't want to reveal the Tribe's other arrangements, Gong Mei's brows furrowed even tighter, but Yun Li remembered what she had just said: these matters of the Tribe truly aren't something a single beastman can decide.

So she knew that pressing further would only make things difficult, and she let out a light sigh, crossed her arms over her chest, and continued along the same line.

"They are indeed quite mischievous, but let them be mischievous; later we'll deal with them all at once and see who's serious."

Yun Li couldn't help laughing, "I still remember when your cubs first learned to transform; they accidentally caused trouble, nearly setting the house on fire. Your Beast Husband wanted to beat them, but you stubbornly stopped him and even argued with your Beast Husband."

And that was only a few years ago…

She had already adopted a different attitude.

Gong Mei now doesn't want to bring up the past at all, because it was her constant interference that made those cubs become increasingly formidable now.

"What was done then is done, what is now is now; don't you see what the five of them are doing all day?"

"A group fight is still fine, but I'm worried they each rely on their ability to fly, constantly causing trouble for the Patrol Team beastmen in the sky."

For a while, Gong Mei even considered tying their two hands with a rope to see if they could still fly.

"Come to think of it, it's fortunate that your few are either wolf cubs or snake cubs, and the only eagle cub still can't fly; otherwise you'd have the same headache as me."

"Not at all. If the cubs just want to fly, you can have someone take them for a few circles in the sky every day. They are originally eagle beastmen; flight is their instinct. The more you prevent them from flying, the more they want to try on their own."

"That's easy for you to say."

"The sky above the Tribe isn't exactly safe; even if it were, could we stop them from flying if they want to?"

"Down the mountain it's even less possible; before, only some low‑level ferocious beasts roamed there, so taking the cubs down only required watching out for those beasts."

"But now beastmen occasionally settle at the foot of the mountain; who can guarantee that among the small Tribe's beastmen there aren't wandering beastmen infiltrating, who might prey on the Tribe's cubs?"

"Therefore, without any self‑defense capability, they cannot go anywhere beyond the Tribe."

Upon hearing that, Yun Li immediately fell into thought.

She thought that the establishment of the Market had spurred the Tribe's development and attracted outside nomadic Tribes, allowing them to learn more about the outside, yet some problems were surfacing in places she couldn't see.

First, the outside beastmen covet the Tribe; if mishandled, the Tribe's future life will be affected. Then there's the issue Amei just mentioned about cubs not being allowed down the mountain.

Clearly her original intention was to develop the economy, raising the quality of life for herself and the Tribe's other beastmen, but now the cubs have even fewer chances to fly freely, so what else can she do?