novelbin Chapter 403 - 275: White Fox Cub and the New City Lord
Chapter 403 - 275: White Fox Cub and the New City Lord
Mi Yin ignored him, but his expression grew grave. He was clearly already considering the feasibility of this plan.
Qi Yuan watched him with a smile, his gaze slowly drifting to the little white fox by his hand. His eyes darkened slightly, and the smile on his lips faded a little.
’She... really came back?’
’How incredible.’
TAP. TAP.
The sound of many footsteps and shouts came from not far away. The Beastmen search party seemed to have detected the lingering scent in the air and were rapidly approaching the cave.
"Tsk, they found us this quickly. Should we just kill them, or...?"
The crimson in Mi Yin’s eyes faded, replaced by calm. He placed the unconscious little white fox on a stone slab padded with his clothes. "We’re leaving."
"...Leaving?"
Qi Yuan, who had been about to charge out, stopped in his tracks. He turned, looking in astonishment at the calm, snake-tailed man. "Just walk away? That’s not your style. Have you changed, or was my understanding of you too shallow before?"
The entire reason he had sought him out as an ally back then was because of the Snake Beast’s ruthlessness.
However, before either of them could speak, the chaotic footsteps had already reached the mouth of the cave.
"Who’s there?!" Hu Mang stepped into the cave with a large group of Beastmen. His square face was fierce and imposing as he scanned the area and barked out the question.
The residual scent of Wandering Beasts still hung in the air.
It was dangerous and terrifying.
The Beastmen’s expressions were tense. After exchanging nods, they thoroughly searched the entire cave, but the Wandering Beasts had already vanished into thin air.
The merchant caravan sent out by their Royal City had been attacked by Wandering Beasts and Demon Beasts. All the goods were intercepted and destroyed, and the caravan was almost completely wiped out.
After the sole surviving Beastman reported to the King, the King dispatched their group of High Rank Beastmen to search for any other survivors and track the Wandering Beasts and Demon Beasts.
But it seemed they were too late.
The Wandering Beasts must have just left. Hu Mang waved his hand, dispatching a few Eagle Beasts to continue searching ahead with orders to report back immediately if they found anything.
"Captain, we found a cub, looks like it’s from the Fox Clan." A Beastman came forward, holding a small white fox wrapped in clothing in both hands. "It doesn’t seem to be in good shape. It needs to be taken to the city for a Witch Doctor to treat it."
Cubs and females were always specially protected groups within Beastman communities.
In border forests like this one, it was common for poor, small tribes to abandon cubs they couldn’t afford to raise in the wild.
Hu Mang had always been a simple-minded fellow and didn’t overthink it. He waved a hand and said in a low, cold voice, "Bring it along. We’ll hand it over to the Great Witch Doctor when we get back to the city. His skills are great enough that he should be able to save it. The rest of you, follow me down the other path. We must exterminate every last one of those damned Wandering Beasts!"
"...Yes, sir." Among the crowd, a few of the sharper Beastmen had their doubts. ’Why would a cave briefly occupied by Wandering Beasts have a lone little white fox cub left behind?’
’Was it left behind as a future meal? But... it doesn’t look like it.’
Although the little white fox was on the verge of death, its body showed no signs of being toyed with or tortured. Its fur was neat and clean. Ignoring the faint rise and fall of its chest, it looked as if it were merely asleep.
...
Mi Yin stood high on a cliff, his face impassive. He looked down at the group of foolish Beastmen, who scurried around the vast forest like headless chickens for half a day before finally retreating in disappointment.
He stood there for a long time, the cold wind at that height rustling his waist-length, ink-black hair. He waited until the group of Beastmen had completely vanished from sight, and only then did the turbulent undercurrents in his calm eyes become impossible to conceal.
’Good thing those Beastmen didn’t get any improper ideas about Jin’er. Otherwise, I would never have let them leave alive!’
"That was unexpected. I didn’t think you’d really let them go." The black-haired youth beside him withdrew his gaze, sinking into a crouch with one hand on his bent right knee. "What on earth are you thinking? You went to all the trouble of getting her back, only to send her away again?"
"I will help you, but not now."
"Oh? You’ve thought it over?" Qi Yuan tilted his head to look at him.
Mi Yin gave a soft hum of acknowledgment. Once he could no longer see the group of Beastmen, he schooled his expression and turned to leave. "She needs Ze Sheng’s blood right now. Until I have the power to protect her, I won’t force her to stay by my side."
More than his own selfish desires, he wanted her to live.
’...He didn’t want to experience the pain of losing his beloved again.’
The two of them had long been mortal enemies with Ze Sheng, so they obviously couldn’t return her to him safely. It was better to use this search party to get her back to that city first.
’That wolf should know what to do.’
...
Sheng’an Royal City was rich and prosperous. Ten years ago, after the first City Lord left, one of her mates, a Wolf Clan King Beast, took over the city in her stead.
In these ten years, the current City Lord had perfectly inherited the first City Lord’s philosophy and policies, dutifully managing all the city’s affairs. He even waged multiple campaigns to unify the chaotic racial wars in the surrounding regions.
He had completely elevated Sheng’an City’s status to one of the four great Royal Cities.
After several years of development, the Royal City now had more than a dozen vassal cities under its command, each responsible for areas like farming, animal husbandry, business, trade, industry, and so on.
People came and went along the rich, crisscrossing streets within the city.
Beastmen of all clans wore a wide variety of tribal attire—some were dressed in beast hides, linen, or silk, while others were adorned with beast teeth, gemstones, or feathers. The sight was dazzling and left a deep impression of the city’s wealth.
The cries of vendors rose and fell on streets both large and small.
The city gates opened!
The Beastmen who had been hawking their wares on the street stopped and turned their heads to look at a troop of Beastmen marching down the road.
Most of the Beastmen were carrying goods, while many others pushed carts laden with the bodies of their dead. One of them was even cradling a white fox cub.
The Beastmen who had moved to the sides to watch had looks of horror on their faces. They looked at each other, unable to stop themselves from covering their mouths and whispering—
"Is that the merchant caravan the City Lord sent out? Are all the Beastmen dead? How did they die so horribly? It looks like they were suddenly attacked by some terrifying creature!"
"Look at the wounds on their bodies... HISS... they’ve been mauled beyond recognition. I wonder if their families will even be able to identify them."
"How horrible..."
"When will these vicious Demon Beasts finally be gone!"
Some of the Beastmen noticed something else. "Look at that little white fox cub in that man’s arms. Is it from our city? Such a pure, snow-white color looks like it belongs to the Nine-tailed White Fox clan. Aren’t they nobles from Unicorn King City?"
"Now that you mention it, you’re right..."
Amidst the crowd’s murmuring, Hu Mang hurried to the palace. He knelt before the City Lord and reported everything that had happened in detail.
The man behind the desk looked up, propping his chin on one hand. His voice was low, cold, and captivating. "...A discarded white fox cub, found in a cave?"
The young man had choppy, silver-white hair and handsome, cold, and resolute features. He had a high-bridged nose and deep-set eyes. His emerald-green eyes were like a deep pool, yet they held a hidden sharpness that made one’s back tense for no reason.