Chapter 306: One Year Later

"Here."

"Thank you!"

Seeing Yun Li take the wild fruit, Mei Lin, without any hesitation, sat down right beside her.

"We're almost at the tribe; thanks for everything along the way."

She was referring to the time Yun Li saved them on the road, and who could have guessed that Yun Li was actually a skilled Witch Doctor?

Although Mei Lin had long known that their return wouldn't be smooth, she still underestimated the greed of those small tribes.

Hearing that, Yun Li turned her head, looked over, and laughed, "What, you don't doubt my identity any more?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Lin didn't blink an eye and said, "Doubt is still doubt, but since you saved us, some things don't need to be probed too deeply."

Even if she indeed lied, as long as she harbors no ill will toward the Baiqing Tribe, Mei Lin is willing to vouch for her, allowing her to live in the tribe as a normal Beastman.

Yun Li saw a hint of softness in Mei Lin's gaze and said, "Actually, I didn't lie to you; everything I said was true."

"Hmm, I believe you."

After Mei Lin finished speaking, she locked eyes with Yun Li, and the two females burst into laughter at once.

Not far away, the scolding voices of several adult Beastmen drifted over.

"What are you all doing? Are these things supposed to be done by your cubs?"

"All of you, go aside. When we reach the tribe, there will be plenty of work for you; don't come crying and shouting that you want to return to your own tribe."

……

……

At the Baiqing Tribe, as soon as Yun Li and the others arrived, they were surrounded by many Beastmen.

The reason was simple: this time Mei Lin brought back far more cubs than before.

In the past, whenever they brought cubs from outside, half were stolen, or accidents on the way back caused many to run away or die from high fevers.

Now, seeing so many cubs brought back, the Beastmen in the tribe all became delighted.

"Great! We brought back many Beast Slaves this year; next time we face the Baihu Tribe, we're sure to win."

"Exactly! Exactly! Every time they rely on having more Beast Slaves and harvest more Pure Spirit Herbs, causing our tribe to lose a huge amount of Crystal Core. This time it's finally Baihu Tribe's turn to lose!"

The cubs that had been abandoned by their own tribe or sent with some expectation, when faced with the approaching Beastmen, instinctively chose to hide behind Yun Li and the others. Yet at this moment, Mei Lin and her group no longer showed the concern and care they had shown on the road; instead, they laughed, stepped forward, explained their itinerary, and simply allowed the tribe's Beastmen to forcibly take those cubs away.

As for Yun Li, she followed Mei Lin to an unused wooden hut in the tribe. "Alright, this is where you'll stay from now on; whenever you need to leave, just give us a heads‑up."

"Before that, I told the tribe's Beastmen that you're a Witch Doctor, so while you live here, if any of them fall ill or get injured they'll come to you. You shouldn't have any objections to that, right?"

"After all, Yun Li isn't a Beastman of the tribe. Though they were willing to let her stay for a while, considering she might come from a larger tribe, they didn't want to let her remain unconditionally. Since Yun Li is a Witch Doctor, instead of making her trade food for a place to stay, they decided to make full use of her medical skills."

"That part's fine with me, but the matter of herbs…"

Before Yun Li could finish, Mei Lin cut her off, "Don't worry, the tribe will have someone bring you the freshest herbs every day. After all, while you're here you're the tribe's Witch Doctor; besides herbs, someone will also bring you food daily."

"If that's all right, let's tidy up this hut right now."

Having said that, she stepped into the hut first, grabbed some items, and began cleaning.

Yun Li followed a step behind, first surveying the hut's layout, then picking up a tattered Beast hide discarded in a corner and joining Mei Lin in the work.

Soon, Yun, leading a group carrying a stone jar filled with water and fresh game, rushed over. Seeing the two females already tidying the hut, they greeted them and hurried to patch the leaky spots.

Yun Li thus settled in temporarily; her treatment in the Baiqing Tribe was clearly more than double what it had been in the smaller tribe. Especially after she later taught the tribe's craftsmen to make a series of wooden items that eased Beastmen's daily life, the Baiqing Beastmen even hoped she would bond with a male of the tribe and stay permanently.

"Cough cough."

One year later, during another tide season, Yun Li's wooden hut would intermittently echo with violent coughing deep into the night.

Only Yun, Mei Lin, and the two little Beast Slaves she had taken in knew; the other Beastmen in the tribe were unaware that Yun Li's health had become quite poor.

"You're like this, and you still think about leaving the tribe?"

Seeing her cough up blood again, Mei Lin frowned, brought a cup of plain water, and handed it to her.

Yun Li took the wooden cup, smiled at Mei Lin, "The antidote for this toxin can't be found here, so I can only go elsewhere and try my luck."

More importantly, during last year's drought she returned to the place where she had previously fallen into water, assuming that the ferocious beasts would have migrated to the water sources, giving her a chance to explore the deep mountains. However, her luck was even worse than the first time; she almost lost her life there.

When she returned, she sadly discovered that the two toxins in her body had become unbalanced due to her injury, forcing her throughout last year's rainy and cold seasons to research various herbs herself to suppress the toxins.

Eventually she managed to devise a way to barely keep the toxins in check, and Yun Li realized she couldn't stay much longer; she had already exhausted the tribe's herbs, and there was no antidote here. If she didn't leave, she feared she would die in the Baiqing Tribe from the toxins before even finding a way home.

Mei Lin's expression tightened, her tone tinged with helplessness and sorrow, "If you leave, I won't be able to look after you."

In the Baiqing Tribe, she could still be of help if needed, but once she left, Mei Lin—a female—couldn't take her more than a dozen Beast Husbands with her; the tribe would certainly block them.

"I understand, but I still have to go."

Yun Li smiled, the recent bout of coughing blood leaving an unnatural reddish flush on her face, which made Mei Lin feel a pang of sorrow.

She was such a fine female, yet she had been harmed to the point of having no home to return to, now even teetering on the brink of death.

If she were to learn who the Beastman that harmed Yun Li was,

Mei Lin didn't realize that the Beastman she intended to kill was not a simple Blue Rank Beastman at all; even Yun Li, when she later grew up, had to struggle greatly to finally kill him.