Chapter 255: Cold Season Passed

Youbuluo, during the cold season, looks much quieter than at other times.

Probably due to following their nature, Snake Beastmen are generally not active at this time; if they are not already part of a family, the single Snake Beastmen mostly stay indoors, neither eating nor drinking, just trying to get a long sleep.

Only when the following year's tide season arrives does this solitary life end, they leave their homes and become members of tribal life again.

But this year an incident occurred: many wandering beasts appeared near Youbuluo, and those single Snake Beastmen were each dragged out to serve as laborers.

Ke Si and Chang Yue, the two single Snake Beastmen, were no exception.

"If you keep making that face in front of me, do you believe I'll hit you?"

You Ruo had just finished explaining everything in hand, and upon turning saw Ke Si still wearing that sour expression from when he entered, and You Ruo's mood instantly worsened.

If it weren't clear that this younger sibling's strength wasn't much less than You Ruo's, You Ruo would have already hit him with a tail.

"Try it!"

Ke Si, a single Snake Beastman who was supposed to stay in the house for a whole cold season, was suddenly dragged out by You Ruo; not only was he forced to take a lot of non‑lethal but painful poison, but also was commanded to sweep away the mysterious wandering beasts everywhere.

Ke Si, not seeing You Ruo, then started to act against her, which was already a great show of respect to her as the tribe chief.

You Ruo's expression instantly darkened, and her Beast Husband hurried forward to console, saying, "The matter of the wandering beasts hasn't been resolved yet, chief, Ke Si is still useful now."

If you want to hit him, wait until you've finished using him.

Of course, whether You Ruo would still remember to hit this good younger sibling at that time is uncertain.

"Hmph!"

You Ruo was snapped back to attention by her Beast Husband's "chief"; as chief, she indeed cannot act as wildly as Ke Si's older sister.

"Were all the wandering beasts driven away?"

Ke Si, hearing her cold snort, his gaze also slightly darkened, said, "Killed a few; the other beasts probably ran away themselves."

"You didn't chase?"

You Ruo was not satisfied with his answer, saying, "It's rare that I have something during the cold season to ask of you; can't you put in a little effort?"

"You do have a Beast Husband; since you're not satisfied with my actions, go ask your Beast Husband to do it."

Ke Si said as he was about to stand up, "From now on, don't ask me to handle these small cold‑season matters."

Those wandering beasts aren't especially powerful; he truly didn't expect You Ruo to send him on this trip, and even killing a few beasts seemed a waste of time to him.

"Small matter? A batch of unknown foreign beasts came from the north; within just a month before the cold season, they wiped out most northern tribes completely. Those wandering beasts claim they fled from the north, but wherever they ran to was bad, yet they chose to come to our tribe and the Silver Eagle Tribe's vicinity?"

I know the female from the Silver Eagle Tribe didn't become yours; you don't care about her life or death, but what about your offspring? If the Silver Eagle Tribe truly suffers disaster, aren't you worried that your few offspring will all become Beast Slaves in someone else's hands?

You Ruo's words didn't touch Ke Si's heart at all; he doesn't care about those offspring, nor about the female who resolutely left him.

Nevertheless, Ke Si ultimately stayed, still wearing a cold expression as he looked at You Ruo and said, "So you knew those wandering beasts were problematic, yet you still left those females and offspring behind."

You Ruo slightly curled the corner of her mouth and said, "Don't you have poison that matches you? Besides obeying, what else can they do? As for the wandering beasts that were driven away, didn't you notice anything amiss?"

"None."

Ke Si never bothered to keep the matter in mind; after going there, if it weren't for some beasts insisting on running up to him to die, he hadn't even thought of confronting those wandering beasts.

"If not, then keep looking."

You Ruo didn't care about his thoughts; concerning the tribe's safety, even if this younger sibling didn't want to act now, she had to make him act, saying, "Our tribe knows too little about the northern affairs; if it weren't the cold season, I'd already want to send you north to see if you can uncover the purpose of those foreign beasts entering Heiyan Shanmai."

Ke Si's expression grew even worse; this time he said nothing, stood up, and walked out.

You Ruo, seeing him leave, didn't stop him, and continued, "Since you and Yun Li have separated, and the tribe has just received some new females, if you have time, go there and find a female again; you're old enough to start a family now."

After she said that, Ke Si's pace quickened noticeably, and in no time he vanished from You Ruo's sight.

Her Beast Husband asked her, "Why must Ke Si do these things? Can't other beasts handle it?"

"Others can do it, but I specifically want him to do it."

You Ruo replied to her Beast Husband, "After all, he's the only one in the tribe who has any connection with Yun Li; if he does nothing this cold season, when the tide season returns I'll have no reason to send him to the Silver Eagle Tribe again."

"Hmm... I don't quite understand your reasoning."

Her Beast Husband thought that Ke Si does have females to pursue, so why force him to cling to that female from the Silver Eagle Tribe, even if it's merely for her value; there are other ways he could contribute to Youbuluo's development.

For example, Ke Si and she have several offspring; although among beasts there is a custom of recognizing the mother but not the father, as long as the alliance between the Silver Eagle Tribe and Youbuluo continues, those offspring will eventually come to Youbuluo, and through them, contacting that female would be effortless.

You Ruo didn't explain further, only saying, "The feud between the Silver Eagle Tribe and Youbuluo isn't so easily resolved."

If they intermarry or have more Snake Beastmen combine with the beasts of the Silver Eagle Tribe, otherwise, in times of external enemies, the weak alliance between the two tribes will inevitably become the greatest hidden risk for the enemy to divide and destroy them.

You Ruo had a premonition that what happened in the north could very likely occur in the south as well.

Thus she wanted to secure the alliance with the Silver Eagle Tribe as much as possible to reduce tribal losses when a great war later erupts.

But will things truly proceed as she imagines?

…

Both tribes, upon hearing the bad news from the north, instinctively and simultaneously began to guard themselves cautiously.

However, after a cold season passed, nothing happened, as if the information they learned was merely a false rumor.

The wandering beasts, after enduring a painful and arduous cold season, survived and began to prepare a new life in a new place.

The Silver Eagle Tribe, with the arrival of the tide season, saw all things revive, and the Market gradually gained the festive atmosphere absent during the cold season.

And just as everything returned to normal, the south began to experience the destruction of small tribes again.