The wicked female is extremely fierce, but she's pampered by her seven beast husbands.

Chapter 88 Why are you such a coward?

Chang Tianchen slowly swung his tail, looking at Chongzhen with a leisurely air: "But you, weren't you supposed to be gathering information? You haven't even found out what the Giant Demon tribe is all about?"

Chongzhen looked embarrassed and said, "We have no dealings with the Giant Demon tribe. We didn't expect to clash with them at the trade market. Their territory is also far away from ours, which is why I didn't gather any information about them..."

"In the end, it's still useless."

Chang Tianchen's eyelids drooped, and his gaze on his face was full of contempt.

Chongzhen was so angry she gritted her teeth, clenching her fists and saying, "You—"

"Alright, you two are arguing as soon as you sit together. Why don't one of you get off here?" Ling Chengen was speechless at the bickering between the two behind him. He used his mental power to guide Bao Bao until he saw the polar bear's encampment, then turned around and said, "Stop arguing."

Ling Chengen looked at Chang Tianchen and said, "Don't bully Chongzhen anymore. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone a fox."

At first, Chongzhen thought Ling Chengen was helping him, but when he heard the second half of the sentence, his expression suddenly became strange.

Is this a compliment or an insult?
The bag slowly folded its wings and glided to the ground.

Ling Chengen braced himself with one hand and jumped off his back, heading straight into the cave.

Bai Xi and Bai Ba stood at the entrance of the cave, looking at Ling Chengen and said, "You guys are so slow."

Ling Chengen said speechlessly, "Bao Bao is injured, so it's normal for her to fly a little slower."

Moreover, she brought the three of them with her, while Bai Xi only brought Bai Ba back alone, so the speed was naturally much faster.

"Qingchuan, go and treat Bao Bao. The rest of you, pack your things and prepare to return immediately."

Qingchuan handed the items he was packing to Hui Dongling and immediately went to the bag.

Bao Bao was very wary of strangers. At first, it wouldn't let Qingchuan get close. As soon as he approached, it would peck at him with its long beak. In the end, Ling Chengen had to come out and calm it down before Qingchuan was able to get close and check Bao Bao's injuries.

"The bones weren't injured, it was mostly superficial wounds. It was probably whipped by the vine, which specifically targeted the thinnest parts of its skin, so it looks quite serious."

Qingchuan spread Baobao's wings with one hand and used his supernatural power to slowly wrap around the wound under its wings. The still bleeding wound slowly showed signs of healing.

After the pain from the wound subsided, Bao Bao realized that Qing Chuan was treating it. After the other party let go, it turned its head and rubbed its head against his palm in a flattering manner.

Ling Chengen stroked its muzzle with his palm and sighed, "You're really something else. I thought you'd run back to your happy old home, that's why I couldn't find you. Turns out you're really something else, not only did you get caught, but you almost got sold..."

Bao Bao squealed in frustration. Although she didn't quite understand her sarcastic tone, she could clearly sense that her boss was a little angry.

"Will you still run around like that in the future?" Ling Chengen remained unmoved and tapped its large bag.

Bao Bao shut his mouth tightly and nudged her like a dog, almost knocking her to the ground.

Qingchuan chuckled and said, "The beasts can't understand what we say. Only after spending a long time together can they gradually understand some simpler commands. The Little Winged Dragon Beast is also a very difficult beast to capture. We haven't spent enough time together yet. After this lesson, it should rely on you more in the future and won't go to such far places again."

Ling Chengen sighed softly: "We almost went to war because of it."

If this troublemaking brat could talk, he could brag about it for the rest of his life.

Bai Ba already knew that Han Shan and Shi Lin's people were leaving, so he quickly pulled Chong Zhen aside and whispered, "Do you know that your partner can talk inside other people's heads?"

Chongzhen nodded: "I know a little. It's her special ability, which seems to be a kind of ability that has never appeared in the wasteland before. I don't know the specifics, so I can't tell you more."

Bai Ba quickly waved his hand: "I didn't mean to ask about her superpower, I just think it's pretty amazing! And a little scary too, talking out of nowhere in my head, I almost thought there was something wrong with my brain..."

"Forget about that, let's not talk about it. What I want to talk about is the cooperation we discussed last night, will it come to fruition?"

"Will Hanshan and Shilin really help us harvest Baba fruit during the dry season?"

“If you agree and then find excuses not to come, my prestige in the tribe will be greatly diminished.”

Seeing this, Chongzhen sighed and said, "Ling Chengen has already agreed, so Shi Lin will definitely be willing to help."

"Bai Xi is neither the clan chief nor the young clan chief, so he can't make decisions on Han Shan's behalf. We'll have to wait for him to go back and talk to the tribe before we can give you an accurate answer."

Chongzhen patted Bai Ba with his hand: "Didn't I tell you before? I told you that you could bring your people to Shilin for a stroll when you have time. Hanshan and Shilin are adjacent to each other, so you can ask about the results while you're there. Even if the deal falls through, we can still be on good terms."

"Moreover, I think there is a high probability that Hanshan will agree. After all, the dry season is a very difficult time for them. Most of the waters dry up, so the harvest from water hunting will be greatly reduced. If you provide some supplies as payment, they should not refuse this kind of business that is delivered to their door."

"Good brother, I've told you everything I can, you absolutely have to come!"

Chongzhen patted Baiba on the shoulder, turned to look at the fully equipped team, and waved to him with a smile: "I'm leaving. Be careful when you lead the team back. Those stinky monkeys are very vengeful. Don't be too careless, or you'll suffer."

"I know, I know, take care on your journey." After watching them take off and disappear into the distance, Bai Ba finally spoke up when they were completely out of sight. "Chieftain, when do we return?"

Bai Ba glanced at the tribesmen who had almost all returned and immediately made a decision: "Now, notify everyone to come back immediately. We'll leave once everyone is here."

They had nothing to do at the trade market anyway, and they had already finished exchanging the necessary supplies a couple of days ago. If they continued to stay, the giant demons would definitely come and harass them under the cover of night.

Ling Chengen sat on the back of the bag, with Chong Zhen behind her. Looking back at the vast grassland, she asked, "When do we turn back?"

"Wait until night."

Ling Chengen and Bai Xi had discussed that they would rest in a cave where they had previously rested. Most of the team would stay where they were, while some beastmen with high-level abilities and good teamwork would return under the cover of night.

After receiving a precise answer, Chongzhen carefully explained, "The sellers in the dark market acquired a total of thirty-one cubs. Less than half of them were sold. I inquired about the reputations of the tribes that bought the cubs, and most of them were quite good. They probably took pity on the children and used all their Blue Crystal Shells to buy the cubs after exchanging supplies."

“These tribes are all small tribes. Every year after the cold season, they reduce their population. Buying cubs back is for the future of the tribes.”

"The remaining seventeen children will be transported away tonight and will likely be transferred to the southern border market."

"The heavy rains in the south a few days ago delayed their trade by three days. Moreover, most of the tribes there are wealthy and have abundant resources, so there are more tribes willing to buy cubs."

"However, if the cubs are bought by the Daxing tribe, their fate is usually very bad. At best, they will serve those exiled nobles, and at worst, they will be sent to mine or do other hard labor early on."

Due to soaring salt prices, most tribes in the central region are now spending their money and resources on exchanging salt stones and no longer have the resources to buy these cubs. As a result, the business of cub traders has been severely affected.

Even if they stayed in the central trade market, they still couldn't sell the cubs they had.

Moreover, raising them for even one more day would require an extra day's worth of food, which was extremely uneconomical for them. Therefore, Chongzhen and Baixi learned that they would be moving the unsold cubs today.

Upon arriving at the pre-arranged encampment, Chongzhen took a burnt charcoal stick and began drawing on a flat stone.

Because Ling Chengen had drawn a map of the north before him, he had seen many of them and learned some of their techniques.

The map drawn on the stone this time is much more detailed and vivid.

"If there are no unforeseen circumstances, they will leave the dark market this afternoon and head directly south." Chongzhen pointed to the circled area. "This is Xima Tiangu. They usually don't choose to leave through the caves on the Tiangu border market side. They usually choose to go upstream along the underground river, exit through the westernmost cave, and then pass through a very hidden mountain crevice to reach the hills on the south side of the mountain."

“Besides them, some other tribes will also be leaving today, so we have to avoid them. This means we can’t make a move near Tian Gu.”

"These human traffickers are not fast travelers, and with not enough flying orcs to help with the transport, plus the fact that they are carrying more than a dozen cubs, they can only travel by land, which greatly affects their speed of movement."

However, it is predicted that their journey may take longer in order to catch up with the southern trade market.

"So I predicted a few places where they might stop and rest, and borrowed a few people from Baixi to scout and keep watch."

Bai Xi sat on a rock to the side, one foot on the step, and nodded, saying, "Thanks to you for getting the space from Beya this time, which helped us reduce our burden, so now we can free up manpower to do things."

Everything seemed to have been arranged in the dark.

Bai Xi thought for a moment and said, "Let's put the rest of the supplies in our spatial storage. Everyone just needs to bring their own rations. I'll arrange for two people to head to the tribe first thing tomorrow morning to let them know what's going on here, so they won't worry about us not returning and come looking for us."

Ling Chengen nodded: "That's exactly what I was thinking. You can make the arrangements."

“One person each from Hanshan and Shilin,” Chongzhen said.

Ling Chengen glanced at Chongzhen: "Arrange for two more people from Hanshan to send Yaoluo's three people back first."

Gangfeng suddenly stood up and said, "I'm not going back. I can help."

"The remaining two are indeed useless, so we can go back first."

The other two Yaoluo tribe beastmen, whose presence was extremely weak, instantly looked up and glared angrily at Gangfeng.

What happened to them?
They're tough guys too, okay?!
Why is it useless?
How come they never realized before that the Giant Bow Beast was such a cunning and treacherous villain who would secretly undermine his companions?

……

As darkness fell, Ling Chengen and his group of twenty people set off first, heading south.

The remaining twenty-odd people stayed where they were and waited.

If Ling Chengen and the others haven't returned by tomorrow morning, this group will immediately set off to search for them.

This night was destined to be restless.

Ling Chengen didn't bring a bag because he had just fought over a bag in Tiangu, and carrying such an eye-catching bag would be practically the same as announcing his identity.

Bao Bao was naturally unhappy and insisted on going with her. In the end, she punched him twice, and he finally behaved himself and stayed in the corner, not daring to challenge his boss's little patience any longer.

However, none of the orcs who stayed in the cave slept well that night. As soon as dawn broke, Gangfeng arranged for the orcs of Hanshan to rush back immediately.

Because they weren't carrying any weight, they didn't need to stop and rest along the way, which shortened the time it would take to get back and report.

The remaining people, unable to contain themselves, were just about to set off south when they saw a giant blue crane descend from mid-air. Its straight, slender legs landed on the rocks, and its clear eyes swept across the crowd. In a slightly somber tone, it asked, "Where are the rest of you?"

The orcs of the Stone Forest couldn't quite distinguish each blue crane, but the one in front of them looked somewhat familiar.

Qingchuan, who remained where he was, immediately recognized the newcomer and exclaimed in surprise, "Young Clan Leader, what are you doing here?"

Bai Qingyu's beautiful feathers trembled slightly in the morning breeze as she said with sharp eyes, "I was worried about you, so I came to check on you."

"Where are Ling Chengen and Bai Xi?"

Qingchuan hesitated, but under Bai Qingyu's oppressive power, he had no choice but to honestly explain the situation.

Upon hearing this, Bai Qingyu's face turned extremely cold: "So, you just let them go like that? Don't you know who those people in the dark market are?"

"We couldn't stop Young Master Ling from making that decision... especially since the team leader agreed as well."

Bai Qingyu had a bit of a headache. He knew that Bai Xi was sometimes a little unreliable, but he didn't expect that she would not only indulge Ling Chengen, but also help her do some crazy things.

"Qingchuan, lead the way."

The group had only been gone for half an hour when they saw a black dot slowly approaching in the distance.

After the two teams met in the air, Bai Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief, but then turned around and led the team ahead.

Upon returning to their previous encampment, Bai Qingyu immediately checked the bodies of the cubs without saying a word.

"You're not a wood elementalist, so hurry up and give way to Qingchuan!" Chongzhen looked at the thin cub, then at Bai Qingyu, whose face looked very familiar, and couldn't understand what he was doing.

Bai Qingyu gestured for Qingchuan to bring out the cubs, and explained with a cold face, "These cubs are all marked. If you take them away like this, they will be able to catch up with you quickly by following these marks."

“You should know that although those orcs cannot fly, some of their land-dwelling beasts are very good at tracking. Even if they are thousands of miles apart, they can accurately track the cubs by following certain marks they have made.”

Ling Chengen asked in confusion, "What kind of mark is it? It's so powerful."

Bai Qingyu glanced at her helplessly and lowered her voice: "There's no time to explain now. I'll explain in detail after we deal with these markings."

Chang Tianchen leaned against the stone wall and looked at Bai Xi, who was hiding behind Gang Feng, and scoffed, "What are you cowardly about? That's your brother, not your ancestor!"

Bai Xi turned her head and glared at him, wishing she could cover his mouth.

"What do you know!"

His younger brother is practically a living ancestor!
(End of this chapter)