Chapter 46: Eagle Beastmen

Leng Xiu glanced at his younger brother, his tone light, "You'd better actually be reliable."

Leng Xiao was speechless, "Then I'll go find the Witch Doctor."

"You can't bring them."

Leng Xiu denied it without even thinking.

The Witch Doctor still values the tribe greatly; if Leng Xiao forcibly abducts someone, the Witch Doctor will be furious.

Even if he were still willing to help A Li give birth, to guarantee her swift postpartum recovery and to possibly obtain the Witch Doctor's full assistance should the newborn fall ill, Leng Xiu would still prefer to take a risk to help the tribe survive this crisis.

Leng Xiao, denied several times by him, couldn't help but snort coldly, then went to comfort Yun Li, "A Li, do you also think I'm not taking good care of you?"

Yun Li shook her head. "Of course not, I believe you can do it."

Although Leng Xiao isn't as thorough as Leng Xiu in everything, he has always been conscientious about his own affairs.

Having gained his partner's agreement, Leng Xiao immediately shot his brother a triumphant 'look'.

Leng Xiu, helpless, could only occasionally over the next few days, separately remind the two of various precautions.

Especially, he repeatedly warned Leng Xiao that no matter what happened, A Li's safety must come first.

Leng Xiao used to find his brother's nagging annoying, but since it concerned A Li, he had to listen attentively despite his reluctance, after all nothing was more important than A Li.

Five days later, Yun Li vaguely felt the person beside her pillow suddenly leave her.

She grabbed the male's hand in one grasp, her voice still heavy with sleep, "You also need to stay safe."

She didn't want to end up with the same result as Mu Qing.

The male didn't speak, merely lowered his head to kiss her forehead, then gently patted her back, softly coaxing, "Sleep, I'll bring the Witch Doctor back in a few days."

This departure is merely so she will suffer less in the future.

If they hadn't discovered A Li's pregnancy, they could have waited a bit longer, waited for the beast tide to pass, then gone to see how many of the tribe's beastmen still survived.

If the situation were bad, they'd help out a bit and then leave, seeking another tribe that could take them in; if the situation were acceptable, they wouldn't object to returning, and then Leng Xiu's group would continue living with A Li in the tribe for a stable life.

But accidents always happen faster than plans; perhaps Heaven couldn't bear to see Yun Li and them abandon the tribe at a crucial moment, Leng Xiu left for nearly ten days and still hasn't returned.

Yun Li's side should have been a peaceful life of rising with the sun and resting at sunset, but suddenly a new situation arose.

Leng Xiao, having taken Yun Li out on patrol not long ago, discovered traces of other beastmen's lives—a pile of burnt-out campfire ash swept into the bushes.

If it weren't for a black centipede suddenly bursting from the bushes, startling Yun Li who happened to be passing by, Leng Xiao would have swept up his startled partner and kicked the centipede's head directly.

That black centipede struck the bushes, dazed for less than two seconds, then lunged at the two again; it was pierced through the head by a sharpened stone Leng Xiao hurled instantly, and after the centipede's body struggled involuntarily for a while, it gradually subsided.

Because Yun Li was truly afraid of such things, Leng Xiao intended to quickly dispose of the centipede's corpse, so the bushes became a good place to dump it.

In this way, Leng Xiao discovered the charcoal and grass ash beneath the bushes.

"Beastmen have come here before."

After discovering a trace, Leng Xiao quickly found, under a nearby tree, traces that had been buried in soil; the ash left by a burning campfire cannot be swept clean in one go, so it can only be buried on the spot.

Yun Li also saw the scorched spot, and she couldn't help but wonder, "How could beastmen suddenly appear here? Just a few days ago, when we arrived, you said there were no signs of tribes or wandering beastmen around."

"Could it be because of the beast tide, forcing beastmen to hunt farther away?"

The wild beasts in the beast tide are not to be provoked; even approaching them carries a risk of accidental injury, let alone capturing them.

If Yun Li's guess is correct, then the chance of them being discovered is likely high.

Leng Xiao frowned, thought for a moment, then walked to Yun Li's side and whispered, "Let's not patrol today; let's head back first."

If only he were patrolling alone, upon discovering other beastmen's activity traces in their designated territory, he would naturally investigate further to determine how many there were, what kind of beastmen they were, and what their purpose in coming here was.

But with A Li by his side, he must prioritize her safety.

Leng Xiao kept his brother's words in mind, so naturally he wouldn't be foolish enough to bring A Li to investigate the sudden appearance of these beastmen.

Upon hearing that, Yun Li nodded, and the two quickly headed home together.

"These two days, shouldn't we refrain from going on patrol?"

"What if we encounter them? If they come without hostility, that's fine; but I fear they'll see her and try to take her away."

"A wandering female with only a male beside her is an easy target for bullying, no matter how you look at it."

Leng Xiao thought, "We won't patrol; there's still food at home, I'm sorry to inconvenience you."

He doesn't care what he eats, let alone that as a Qing Rank beastman, after a full meal he can go half a month or even a month without eating.

Yun Li replied indifferently, "It's fine; it's not the dry season now, so meat left for two days won't spoil."

Leng Xiao still felt some regret; if he had known beastmen would intrude here, he should have devoted more thought to hunting when they arrived, rather than getting close to A Li.

But regretting now is too late; the area they currently patrol has hardly any wild beasts, and on the way back they can only hope to luck into fresh game.

But shortly after they left, a black eagle swooped down from the sky; upon landing it transformed into an eagle-eyed beastman, who looked toward the direction Leng Xiao and they had departed, his voice tinged with surprise:

"Sure enough, I didn't misjudge yesterday; there really is a wandering female here, though her beast husband truly doesn't cherish her—a perfectly fine female not staying in a tribe to live peacefully.

"Should we invite her to our Silver Eagle Tribe?"

Although just now, to avoid being noticed by the male beside the female, he flew high and couldn't see her appearance, but who calls females precious? Even if she's quite ordinary, some male will like her.

Moreover, the merit of bringing a female back to the tribe would be enough to offset his dereliction of duty for getting lost and failing to locate the beast tide's source.

Thinking this, the black eagle beastman instantly felt energized; he wanted to catch up quickly to see how he could take that female away.

If the other party knew of the Silver Eagle Tribe, that would be even better, after all their tribe may not compare to the larger tribes outside.

Yet in the Heiyan Shanmai, aside from the Youbuluo being able to rival their Silver Eagle Tribe, there truly is no tribe stronger than theirs.

If that wandering female went to their Silver Eagle Tribe, she would surely find a more suitable beast husband, and her days there would certainly be better than wandering outside.