Chapter 253: A Way to Live

Leng Xiu listened to this, his brows slightly furrowed.

But seeing his female persist like this, he didn't want to say more, only thinking that if they could find the iron ore A Li mentioned, they could make plenty of useful things to ward off the cold.

The male skillfully warmed the female's hand, then put woolen gloves on her; whether due to the frigid season the warmth wasn't very effective, but even so, something is better than nothing.

"Go to the guest house; when people come next time, you can come back and take a look."

In fact, what he meant was that once they went to the guest house they'd hold the person down; even if a Witch Doctor had to watch here, it didn't necessarily have to be her.

Yun Li didn't feel tired; just as she was about to say she could stand here a while longer, she saw Qu Ji's disciple A Ai being brought over.

"The teacher said there are enough people at the infirmary, so he sent me here to see if I can help Yun Li Adult with anything."

Yun Li glanced at Leng Xiu, knowing in her heart that A Ai was certainly sent by him, and immediately smiled, saying, "Just as more people are coming to the guest house, my Beast Husband and I will go check there; you take this place. If it's cold, go over there; there's a furnace."

Hearing that, A Ai looked toward the place she indicated.

At the doorway she saw a wooden shed, with several beastfolk sitting around a stone furnace as if roasting meat.

A look of surprise flashed across his face, then he nodded at Yun Li with a complicated expression.

When they were guarding the Tribe's gate before, there were none of these; it was obvious Yun Li Adult had set them up to shirk work.

"Then we'll go over."

As if not noticing A Ai's discomfort, Yun Li said while waving a hand and walked away, pulling her male along.

The guest house was cleared out by Yun Li specifically for wandering beastfolk to stay temporarily; after all, the Tribe didn't intend to take them in, but it was hard to drive away injured beastfolk, lest they act foolishly in a fit of emotion, which would cause trouble.

"I've told you, the Tribe truly can't accommodate that many females now, nor the young; during the cold season there's no manpower to care for them. If something happens to the Tribe, wouldn't you be sad?"

"But at least they have a way to survive in the Tribe; please give them a chance to live."

Dozens of beastfolk knelt, repeatedly begging the female beastfolk before them for a way of life for their females and young.

A Yu was also at a loss; when she saw Yun Li arrive, she instantly felt as if she'd seen a savior.

"A Li! You're here! Quickly tell them, I can't go on!"

She had originally come to do some work, to pass the boring cold season, but these beastfolk all looked desperate; before she could even ask a few questions, they knelt before her.

But she couldn't decide for those who knelt; the decision lay with Yun Li and her Beast Husband.

Yun Li laughed as she looked at A Yu hiding to the side, then reached out to pull a kneeling beastfolk up, but the other stubbornly refused to rise.

She said with a hint of helplessness, "Instead of kneeling here until your bodies are ruined, you'd better take care of yourselves, since your females and young now depend only on you."

The Tribe isn't accepting outsiders now; if you need help, the Tribe won't refuse within its capacity.

"Sir, we only seek a way to live."

A middle‑aged male, his face weary, stood not far away, his tone full of sorrow, "Our situation really won't last until the next tide season."

"But the Tribe doesn't have enough housing or food now; we'd like to take them in, yet we can't let them come in only to discover the Tribe can't provide anything."

Yun Li gave him no room for more idle talk, calmly and realistically saying, "We've already let you stay within the Tribe's designated area; as long as you can still hunt, you'll always have a chance to survive."

Or are you saying you now only have females and young left?

The middle‑aged male's eyes dimmed; he lowered his head, "We have only two male beastfolk left. Even if the incoming females are capable, they must both tend the young and hunt with us, and we truly …"

He couldn't continue.

Other beastfolk in similarly awkward positions also wore sorrowful expressions; A Yu and two others felt uneasy, yet said nothing.

"The Tribe can also help with hunting."

It was Leng Xiu who suddenly spoke up, looking at these beastfolk who seemed to have lost hope, saying, "Regardless of your current situation, it's a fact that the Tribe simply doesn't have enough space for your females and young to reside here; you're just sighing in the empty air."

"Better to take advantage of the current hunting opportunities and bring back more game, otherwise your females and young will truly have no hope."

These words didn't move the beastfolk; instead, each wore a wry smile.

Seeing this, Yun Li and Leng Xiu said no more; they exchanged a glance, then walked to the stone furnace—one tending the coals, the other beginning to pour hot water.

A Yu watched Yun Li pour bowl after bowl of hot water, a flicker of doubt crossing her mind, and she walked over.

Yun Li handed her the freshly poured bowl, "Take this to them; let them drink and then head down the mountain."

The guest house was also just a wooden shed, unable to house people.

"Oh~"

A Yu didn't understand how Yun Li could stay so calm; after all, these beastfolk looked truly pitiful—did she feel not a single stir?

Some of the beastfolk accepted A Yu's hot water, others did not.

Those who didn't accept clearly couldn't bear the Silver Eagle Tribe's finality; they refused to believe their only hope was abandoned, and now wondered how to explain it to their females and young.

Plop!

Amid a silent pause, another beastfolk knelt again.

Yun Li and Leng Xiu looked that way and saw the middle‑aged male; their brows involuntarily furrowed.

"If they cannot enter the Tribe as beastfolk, then let them come in as Beast Slaves, but only on the condition that the Tribe provides them with food and a place to stay."

Having said that, the middle‑aged male slammed his head hard onto the ground.

Yun Li's complexion immediately turned sour, and Leng Xiu rushed—two steps, then three—to the middle‑aged male's side, reaching out to pull him up.

"Get up!"

The middle‑aged male gritted his teeth and kept bowing, while Leng Xiu, in a cold tone, said, "If you keep kneeling, you'll lose even the chance to stay near the Tribe."

The Tribe's refusal is firm; no matter how they plead, the Tribe cannot let unverified beastfolk simply enter.

They are pitiful, truly deserving of sympathy, but if they keep making things difficult for the Tribe, the Tribe doesn't mind making them even more miserable.