Chapter 315: Arriving at the Southern Barbarians

The beastfolk who had just insisted on keeping the Divine Lady's whereabouts hidden suddenly erupted into a heated argument.

"Nonsense! You two are slandering the Divine Lady! How could the Divine Lady ever have been a lowly Beast Slave in the past!"

"Indeed, you must be jealous that the Divine Lady hasn't comforted you!"

"The Divine Lady is a messenger sent by the Beast God; how could she be a female Beast Slave? If that were true, you would have all died long ago!"

"How dare you slander the Divine Lady! I will kill you!"

Yet the beastfolk's angry stares and harsh words only provoked an even firmer reply from the two frail beastfolk.

"We are absolutely telling the truth, because aside from the two of us, all other Beast Slaves who have seen the Divine Lady's true face are already dead."

"Yes, if the Divine Lady truly had no issues, why did all the Beast Slaves who saw her end up dead? She's the Divine Lady; to speak up and rescue someone is just a matter of a single sentence, right?"

"So she must be impersonating the Divine Lady! You were all deceived by her!"

Finally, one of the frail beastfolk even rushed forward and shouted at the beastfolk who had come with him.

Unsurprisingly, aside from one or two whose faces had already grown pallid, the rest were numb‑faced beastfolk; the frail beastfolk's words only drew even more angry accusations and insults from them.

Yun Ya waved his hand, ordering them to be silenced, then turned to Xi Yun and said:

"We should return, otherwise Grandfather will surely worry about us."

As for their father and uncle, after nursing their wounds they disappeared, and only occasionally does the uncle return to check on A Shuang.

The cold indifference on Xi Yun's face had long vanished; in his tone, a rare hint of smile appeared as he said:

"It's time to go back. With the words of these two Beast Slaves, if anyone dares to say my mother betrayed the Tribe, I'll kill them all."

Yun Ya listened to Xi Yun's murderous intent, his brows slightly furrowed, yet he said nothing.

Although most beastfolk in the Tribe believed the mother hadn't betrayed the Tribe, there was always a group of self‑righteous idiots who thought the other side had copied their bows and would set traps against them, assuming the mother had become the so‑called Divine Lady, and thus aided other Tribes in confronting them.

Yet any beastfolk who had ever dealt with the mother knew she could never do such a thing.

Fortunately, this time they captured two beastfolk who knew the Divine Lady's true face.

Although they couldn't fully trust their words, it was enough to make those idiots in the Tribe shut up for a while, giving Grandfather some breathing room to continue searching for the mother's whereabouts.

……

Hoo hoo~

When the biting north wind slapped their faces, Yun Li's usual calm and composure had long vanished.

Because no one could have imagined that their party of over a hundred beastfolk, setting out from southern Central Plains, had trekked all the way to the border of the Southern Barbarians, taking nearly a year and a half.

Now, they are out of ammunition and food, having been trapped here for four days.

If they wait any longer without rescue, Yun Li cannot stop the beastfolk below from venturing out to survive on their own.

"Bu, my lord, do you know how long it will take for the Great Sea City beastfolk to arrive? This is the Southern Barbarians, the place with the most wandering beastfolk; if we are discovered, it won't be just a matter of lacking food."

Hunger can be endured, and thirst can be weathered with saved water and daily collected dew, but overcoming the fear of being in such peril is not so easy, unless the wandering beastfolk they encounter next can be easily defeated by the males they brought along.

Otherwise, any casualties would cause these Beast Slaves, already shaken by the long journey, to crumble once more.

At that point, even with Yun Li the Witch Doctor present, trying to rally their spirits would not be easy.

"Yun Li Adult, trust me; I have truly already sent out the message."

Bu Gu was also a bit restless; like Yun Li and most of the other beastfolk, it was his first time in the Southern Barbarians.

They had heard countless reports of the various vicious wandering beastfolk in the Southern Barbarians along the way, not to mention they had been attacked by wandering beastfolk before even reaching its border.

If Yun Li hadn't been stationed among them, they would have scattered like birds after that incident, and none would have made it here to await the Great Sea City beastfolk.

Bu Gu felt that even with so many of them and all the preparations made beforehand, they had barely made it here; beastfolk from elsewhere were likely even less capable.

Of course, at this point Bu Gu still didn't realize that different regions varied.

For places like theirs, poor and populous, they had to trek themselves, whereas other regions could simply send people riding tamed flying beasts, reaching Great Sea City in less than half a month.

The contrast between the two was like heaven and earth.

"Of course I trust you; otherwise I wouldn't have come to you privately to ask about this."

Yun Li had no other intention; she merely wanted to test how much Bu Gu recognized and obeyed her.

It turned out they had accidentally stumbled into the Southern Barbarians' territory, which was completely at odds with her plan to find a place to settle and develop along the way.

But once in the Southern Barbarians, Yun Li had to set aside any further thoughts and consider the practical issues.

After all, the Southern Barbarians indeed sounded dangerous; without sufficient strength, even a multitude of beastfolk could not protect those thirty‑plus females.

Otherwise, Yun Li wouldn't have, upon hearing Bu Gu say there was a way to send a message to the Great Sea City beastfolk, let him dispatch the message immediately.

Because, compared to living in a lawless place where only fists speak, Yun Li preferred the Great Sea City, where risks are managed and the females' safety is ensured.

Of course, the most important reason was that Yun Li's body was unsuited to living in an unstable environment.

If she were in better health, she would have already taken a contingent of obedient beastfolk and left along the road, rather than staying here as a fixed anchor, even drifting along to the Southern Barbarians.

"I'm also a bit worried something might happen; after all, we're in the dangerous Southern Barbarians. If the Great Sea City beastfolk never arrive, and something goes wrong, we won't know who to ask for help?"

Upon hearing that, Bu Gu grew even more anxious, "What should we do? Should we find a safe place to hide first?"

"But who will go look for such a place? You or me?"

Yun Li sighed and said, "Let's wait another two days; if they haven't arrived after that, we'll have to relocate."

"We're numerous, so passing wandering beastfolk would easily spot us here."

Bu Gu had already witnessed Yun Li's methods along the way; upon hearing she had a plan, he promptly nodded vigorously.

"As you say, Yun Li Adult; whatever you say is law."

Seeing his obedience, Yun Li smiled and returned to her resting spot.