Chapter 80: The Fight Breaks Out

However, Lin Manzhi still said: "At the pharmacy in Kuangsha City, I saw the sand‑tail grass stalks we dug up being sold for eighty Beast Coins each. If you need any, when I go to Kuangsha City, give me the sand‑tail grass stalks, and I'll take them to Kuangsha City to sell for you."

"My heavens!" Xi Tao looked at Lin Manzhi with a surprised face and nodded like crushing garlic: "So sand‑tail grass stalks are that valuable? I previously sold them to the Yang Suo Shop and really took a loss."

Lin Manzhi saw Xi Tao's extremely regretful expression over the loss, smiled and urged: "Merchant caravans always have to make some profit margin, after all."

The road from here to Kuangsha City is very unsafe; on the way one can encounter desert bandits robbing travelers. If no merchant caravan comes to collect goods, they have to go to the Wushen Temple in Kuangsha City to sell items—perhaps they won't even be able to keep their lives.

"Indeed, the desert is so dangerous. My two Beast Husbands can't even be selected for a merchant caravan's guard squad, so they can't cross that desert alone."

Thinking that, Xi Tao's mood improved again.

She looked at Lin Manzhi; having seen the black panther's heroic bearing and strength, a hint of fervor for Mo Lie rose in her eyes, and she solemnly thanked: "Thank you. From now on I'll keep the sand‑tail grass stalks I dig up, and I beg you to take them to Kuangsha City to sell. After they're sold, consider it our partnership; I'll take fifty Beast Coins per stalk, and the remainder will count as the selling fee I'm covering."

Lin Manzhi: "No need to split it with me, it's just a side matter."

Unexpectedly, Xi Tao refused: "It must be given."

She mimicked Lin Manzhi's earlier way of dividing the water cellar, and found it really useful; she could avoid feeling embarrassed about troubling others, and she earned more than before.

Stumped by her own words, Lin Manzhi: "…oh."

After finishing that discussion, Xi Tao ate the Yellow Fragrant Fruit in her hand, knowing the fruit was precious, and did not take a second one.

The Yellow Fragrant Fruit was juicy; despite eating carefully, Xi Tao's hand still got some juice. She stood up, walked to the doorway, and reached out to catch rainwater outside to wash her hands.

Lin Manzhi stood up, saw seven or eight Yellow Fragrant Fruits still in the small plate, looked up toward the doorway and said, "Xi Tao, have some more…"

Just as the words fell, a sharp beast roar suddenly came from not far away.

"Mian—"

The huge sound came through the rain curtain; Lin Manzhi was startled, and Mo Lie, who heard the sound, quickly came from the kitchen to Lin Manzhi's side and looked toward the source.

The tribe's central area, originally a massive lake, now has a dried lakebed leaving a vast expanse of dry, yellow ground.

Despite days of continuous rain, the lakebed still has no water; it's unknown which underground river the rainwater has seeped into.

Xi Tao's hand was out in the rain, suspended in mid‑air; hearing the sound, she jumped in fright.

Mo Lie and Lin Manzhi exchanged a glance, took the animal‑skin raincoat, and planned to go together toward the sound to see what's happening; Xi Tao followed them to watch as well.

Walking toward the tribe's center, Lin Manzhi saw from afar that the lake shore was surrounded by Beastfolk; as she approached, she saw a camel and a goat fighting.

She heard the people nearby say that the camel was the clan chief Luo Ji, a six‑meter‑tall double‑humped male camel.

Modern camels are large animals, over three meters tall and weighing about a thousand kilograms, while the male camel beast at the lakebed center is twice as tall as a modern camel and at least twice as heavy.

Although in this book, after the male beast race's genes shift into Beast Form, their sizes generally don't differ much.

But seeing the double‑horned goat opposite the camel, which was half a neck shorter than the camel, Lin Manzhi knew the goat couldn't defeat Luo Ji.

Luo Ji is the most powerful male beast in the tribe; otherwise he wouldn't have been chosen as the Luosangya tribe's chief.

The facts unfolded as expected; Luo Ji used his weight to flip the goat, which charged with its lowered double horns, onto the mud.

Lin Manzhi, not feeling fondly toward Luo Ji, asked in confusion: "Isn't fighting prohibited in the tribe? Why is Luo Ji fighting someone here?"

A Beastfolk standing nearby turned his head at Lin Manzhi's clear voice, glanced at Mo Lie, then looked at the female beside him who had opened her mouth.

In the heavy rain, Lin Cixing wore an animal‑skin raincoat; the skin, kneaded and polished from a small exotic beast, was rough and hard, making her appear several sizes larger.

Her face was completely covered; next to a black‑haired male beast over 1.9 meters tall, she still looked petite and cute.

One can't help but think of the animal‑skin shirt; her overly beautiful face, gentle personality, and clever competence mean that even without her looks, such a female would attract the attention of males.

The Beastfolk beside them, seeing Mo Lie not object, immediately answered Lin Manzhi's question.

Luo Ji fought with the one called Shan Yan, mainly because the tribe went to Ansen City to exchange food.

Speaking of it, the male beast called Shan Yan is someone Lin Manzhi knows; he was among the last group of Beastfolk who asked her to repair a water cellar. They missed the water‑storage period and didn't follow Xu Feifei in demanding a Beast Coin refund.

This time, offending Xu Feifei also made the tribe chief Luo Ji, who dotes on his daughter, somewhat displeased with those four, feeling they didn't regard their chief properly.

A few days earlier, Shan Yan and three other male beasts learned from Lin Manzhi how to collect rainwater, and filled about half of their household's water cellar.

If this continues, their water cellar will surely fill up during this rainy season, which Xu Feifei learned of, and recalling the water cellars of the two Beast Servants she recently took in, she instantly felt deep regret.

The thrill of revenge can't be drunk as water!

Now Xu Feifei naturally caused a stir with the Beast Father, trying to have him make those four become her Beast Servants, to seize their water cellars.

Thinking of those four's huge water cellars, Luo Ji immediately agreed, and he stepped forward to tell the four male beasts about this good news.

It turned out, to everyone's surprise, that the four male beasts were unwilling; they had grown up in the same tribe as Xu Feifei and, knowing how Xu Feifei treats her seven Beast Husbands and Beast Servants, would either fight or scold.

Beast Servants have an even lower status than Beast Husbands; Beast Husbands form a Bond with a Wife Master, like the Bond Lin Manzhi just entered into with Mo Lie.

But Beast Servants don't have to, so a Wife Master can be displeased and still arbitrarily dismiss them.

In the past, the four male beasts, thinking of a female without pheromones who could soothe a male beast's Spirit Core during coupling, would grit their teeth and marry Xu Feifei.

However, after acquiring this water cellar, Shan Yan and the others have already thought of, during the dry season, finding a female with fewer Beast Husbands to form a Bond with—much better than the low‑status Beast Servants!

After being rejected on the spot, Luo Ji didn't react then, but when the tribe organized to exchange food, Luo Ji put the four male beasts' households in a line outside.