Chapter 414: Same Tribe

The surrounding Leopard Tribe beastmen fell silent; the earlier skeptical or onlookers' gazes now became complicated.

What Bao Chi said, they actually understood.

But to say stop it… on what basis?

After all, what does this have to do with them? The bullied aren't them, and the active bullies aren't them either.

Moreover, since there's free bread to eat, why not eat it?

Those beastmen holding this view are the majority.

The silent continued to stay silent, while those who benefited spoke up in criticism:

"…He's really making a mountain out of a molehill."

A faint voice drifted out from the beastmen crowd.

The voice wasn't loud, but like a stone tossed into a calm lake, it instantly shattered the heavy silence.

More whispering began to spread.

"Exactly… it's just some bread and game coins."

"We're all of the same tribe; helping each other shouldn't be expected, right?"

"Bao Chi has always been rather aloof; aren't we helping him integrate into the group?"

"Bao Ya and his lot, though their methods were a bit rough, were doing it for everyone's good…"

"Speaking so harshly, does he intend not to stay in the tribe anymore? A Leopard Tribe beastman—who would take him in?"

These whispers were like cold tidewater, slowly drowning the hope Bao Chi had just ignited.

He stood there, listening to those familiar, prejudiced remarks, his body trembling slightly, his just-straightened spine seeming to bend again.

Cheng Shuili took it all in.

She watched the light that had just sparked in Bao Chi's eyes fade bit by bit, saw the fortunate expression reappear on Bao Ya and Bao Zhao's faces, and observed the beastmen around them wearing expressions of self‑evident entitlement.

She suddenly let out a soft laugh.

That laugh was soft, but at such a sensitive moment, any hint of nonconformity would instantly draw all the beastmen's attention.

The indifferent, self‑righteous, or slightly relieved gazes involuntarily focused on her.

Cheng Shuili didn't look at Bao Ya and Bao Zhao; her gaze swept slowly over every Leopard Tribe beastman present, her voice calm:

"Helping each other? For everyone's good?"

She repeated those words, her tone slightly rising at the end, tinged with amusement.

"If so," Cheng Shuili stepped forward, the campfire flickering in her eyes, casting a cold light; she lightly raised her hand and pointed at a beastman standing among the Leopard Tribe crowd: "You."

The surrounding beastmen instantly parted, letting everyone see clearly which beastman Cheng Shuili was pointing at.

It was a Leopard Tribe beastman, whose appearance and build showed no difference from the others.

The reason Cheng Shuili pointed at him was that, among those who had just spoken, he was one.

The named Leopard Tribe beastman's face turned white; he forced himself to stay calm, stiffening his neck: "…What's up?"

"You just said it was only a bit of bread and game coins, didn't you?"

Cheng Shuili spoke, her expression bearing the same self‑evident entitlement as these Leopard Tribe beastmen: "Then, hand over all the bread and game coins on you, and share them with everyone here."

She lightly furrowed her brows, the hint of harshness in her brow matching exactly that of the Leopard Tribe beastmen: "Anyway, it's just a bit of bread and game coins; you're so generous, you surely won't mind, right?"

The beastman's face instantly turned ashen; he instinctively covered his bulging money pouch, lips trembling: "This, this can't be! On what grounds? This is mine…"

"Oh?" Cheng Shuili raised an eyebrow, her voice still even but laced with bone‑chilling cold: "So when it's your turn to give, you finally understand what's yours and what's others'? The magnanimity you showed calling Bao Chi an overreactor—do you only know how to be generous with others' stuff?"

The Leopard Tribe beastmen were left speechless by Cheng Shuili's words.

The previously self‑righteous voices all vanished, leaving only the crackling of the campfire.

Cheng Shuili turned to another beastman who had just echoed the idea of mutual help: "You, you said helping each other is supposed to be the right thing?"

"That's perfect—Bao Ya and Bao Zhao haven't had any game coins to spend lately, right? Why not give them the game coins in your hand? After all, helping each other among tribe members is supposed to be the right thing, isn't it?"

The beastman's face suddenly changed; he instinctively covered his chest, where his entire livelihood was obviously kept.

His face flushed red, his lips quivered, yet he couldn't utter a word. Meanwhile, his grip on his chest tightened, as if Cheng Shuili would lunge forward any second to seize his savings.

Cheng Shuili no longer looked at him; her gaze swept over the whole field again, and this time no beastman dared meet her eyes.

Those who had whispered earlier, the indifferent onlookers, even those who secretly gloated, all instinctively lowered their heads or averted their gaze.

The campfire's light cast shifting shadows on their faces, reflecting their inner embarrassment and unease.

Cheng Shuili never liked preaching grand principles, so she named individuals one by one to lay out the facts.

Now, it's time to sum up.

"When atrocities are committed against others, you stay silent, even taking secret pleasure in that trifling gain, thinking it's none of your business."

"When unjust words target the weak, you go along, using false pretexts to whitewash peace, feeling glad you're on the majority's side."

Cheng Shuili's words, each syllable striking each beastman's heart like a heavy hammer: "But now, merely asking you to empathize, merely asking you to imagine the same befalling you—you can't even take it?"

She stepped forward, standing beside Bao Chi, shoulder to shoulder.

Bao Chi stared blankly at the line of her profile, feeling the hope that was about to be utterly drowned by cold tidewater, as if an invisible hand had firmly held it up, letting it resurface.

"Look at yourselves now!" Cheng Shuili's voice dripped with undisguised mockery: "Covering your pockets, guarding your property, panicking… all because of my few suppositions."

"And Bao Chi, along with every Leopard Tribe beastman who might have been treated this way before—what they've lost is real food, hard‑earned wealth, dignity! Your few light‑hearted words are nothing but accomplices fuelling this plunder!"

The fortunate gleam on Bao Ya and Bao Zhao's faces had vanished completely, replaced by a deeper fear.

They finally realized that this human wasn't just helping Bao Chi seek justice; she was shaking the unwritten rules they'd relied on to survive.

This human even considered how Bao Chi could continue to survive in the tribe thereafter.

Bao Chi licked his lips, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, struggled to moisten his dry throat, then lifted his head to look at Cheng Shuili: "Person, I've heard you have a safe zone?"

This is what Bao Chi heard from customers in the shop.

Those people always discuss Wuya Dalao's affairs in his shop, saying what this human has done again, what achievements she's gained, their words filled only with admiration.

Cheng Shuili lowered her head and met Bao Chi's eyes, which held a trace of hope.

She saw the unease flickering within them, along with a courage akin to burning one's boats.

"Yes," she answered clearly and firmly, her voice not loud but enough for every leopard beastman with pricked ears to hear clearly, "I have indeed established a safe zone, named Black Feather."

Bao Chi's heart lurched, nearly pounding out of his chest.

He took a deep breath and, with every ounce of his strength, asked the question that would change his life: "Then... does your safe zone take in outsiders? For instance... a shunned leopard beastman?"

The surrounding air seemed to freeze.

All the leopard beastmen held their breath, looking at Bao Chi in disbelief.

He was actually going to leave?

That alone was enough to astonish these leopard beastmen, but there was another matter—countless gazes fell upon that human.

There was actually a safe zone willing to accept members not of its own kind?

Shou Ren Xiao Zhen appeared harmonious, but those who could live here were only the rat clan and a few old friends of the Rat King.

Other beastmen could indeed come here at any time, but that was not the same as taking them in!

Their relationship with the Rat King was one of tenancy—they had to pay taxes, had no place to live, and had to follow the Rat King's rules.

When the time came, they all had to leave together. If their performance was too poor, everything in their shops would become the Rat King's property!

Willing to accept... that was an entirely different situation.

Cheng Shuili's safe zone was indeed just like that—apart from fixed taxes and rent, there were no other requirements at all.

Cheng Shuili looked at the all-or-nothing resolve in Bao Chi's eyes and, without the slightest hesitation, parted her lips and said: "We take you in. Or rather, it's not exactly taking you in."

She surveyed those shocked leopard beastmen, her tone calm: "Hei Yu An Quan Qu welcomes all members who follow the rules and can run their own shops, regardless of race. What we value is ability and character, not origin."

The light in Bao Chi's eyes blazed suddenly, like a drowning man grasping the only driftwood.

But the spark of hope had barely ignited before it was interrupted by a harsh, brutal shout.

"Bao Chi! How dare you!"

Bao Ya stepped forward fiercely, the muscles on his face twisted, his eyes full of threat.

He could not allow Bao Chi to just leave like this—it meant not only losing Bao Chi as a tribute, but also his authority within the entire leopard clan.

If Bao Chi could easily find a way out, who would ever fear their bullying again?

Besides... this was clearly a matter of their leopard clan—what right did this wretched human have to interfere?

Bao Ya's gaze carried venom, yet he didn't dare direct it at Cheng Shuili. He still remembered this human's methods and had no desire to lose face again.

So that gaze naturally fell upon Bao Chi.

Bao Zhao also spoke with sinister intent, trying to use the pressure of the clan to crush Bao Chi's newly sprouted courage: "Bao Chi, think it through! Once you leave the clan, where can a leopard like you go? On a human's turf, what good ending do you think you'll have? When you die out there, there won't even be anyone to collect your corpse!"

"Exactly—those not of our kind must have different hearts!"

"Bao Chi, don't be rash!"

"You'd betray the clan over such a small matter?"

None of these words had any effect on Bao Chi; instead, they made him more resolute.

The harder these people resisted, the more it proved he was doing the right thing!

Just as Cheng Shuili was feeling gratified, an elderly leopard beastman stepped forward.

The gaze he turned toward Bao Chi was full of disappointment:

"Bao Chi, your name was chosen by your father and me together. Your father and mother are both buried on this land. If you leave now, who will tend to them in the future?"

Bao Chi's resolute gaze suddenly wavered.

Cheng Shuili watched the pain and hesitation surge in Bao Chi's eyes, and understood in her heart.

The bonds of kinship and homeland were often the last straw that crushed one's resolve.

She said nothing—some things Bao Chi had to figure out for himself; no matter how much she said, it would be in vain.

As for what Bao Chi would ultimately choose...

Cheng Shuili was instead the calmest one of all.

She respected any choice—whether Bao Chi left or stayed, she had already done what she should.

She had done everything possible; the rest was the road Bao Chi had to walk himself.

Bao Chi's gaze shifted slowly from the elder's aged, disappointed face to the surrounding faces of his clansmen—familiar, yet at this moment seeming utterly strange.

He saw the undisguised threat and schadenfreude in Bao Ya and Bao Zhao's eyes, and saw the gazes of the other beastmen—some evasive, some indifferent, some as though it had nothing to do with them.

Finally, he lowered his head and let his gaze fall on his own slightly trembling hands.

These hands had baked countless loaves of bread that were shared away, had counted those Game Coins lent out and never returned.

If only his parents were still here... if only they were still alive...

Bao Chi raised his head again, forcing back the tears welling in his eyes, and looked at the faces of his clansmen—he parted his lips but couldn't utter a single word.

He had always been socially anxious; saying that much was already his limit.

Courage was something that surged on the first effort, waned on the second, and was exhausted by the third—to say anything more, he truly couldn't manage.

So Bao Chi simply shook his head, reached out and Qing Qing tugged the corner of Cheng Shuili's clothing, his voice very small, but Cheng Shuili still heard it clearly: "Human, take me in."

Those words were enough.

Cheng Shuili nodded calmly: "Alright."

One word, clear and certain.

She turned to those leopard beastmen and asked with a faint, unreadable smile: "Do you have any more questions?"

Bao Ya's face was ashen, his fists clenched so tight they crackled, but when he met Cheng Shuili's calm, unrippled eyes, every harsh word stuck in his throat.

He had no doubt that if he dared take one more step forward or utter one more threat, this human would absolutely make him worse off than last time.

That elderly leopard beastman opened his mouth, but in the end could only let out a feeble sigh, his clouded eyes full of complex emotions, yet unable to speak another word of dissuasion.

The other beastmen all avoided Cheng Shuili's gaze — some looked down at the ground, some pretended to tidy their fur; the whispers and righteous certainty from moments ago vanished without a trace.

The campfire crackled, casting their uneasy, flickering expressions in unsteady light.

Cheng Shuili took in their reactions fully, the faint curve at the corner of her lips carrying a trace of mockery.

She said nothing more, turned, and said simply to Bao Chi, "Let's go."

Bao Chi drew a deep breath, taking one last look at the land where he was born and raised, yet which had borne him countless humiliations, and one last look at those so-called kin.

Even now, the gazes they turned toward him still carried malice.