Qi Bai pondered on it for a moment. “Two pottery jars, plus fifteen full jars of salt. If you are willing, we will take all these animal skins.”
Han was stunned for a moment when she heard Qi Bai’s words. Then she leaned back on the animal skin, laughing so hard that she couldn’t straighten her back.
“Hahaha!”
Qi Bai thought she looked a bit crazy and glanced at Lang Ze. Did he state a price that was too low, making the chief of the War Bear Tribe laugh?
Just when Qi Bai was thinking about whether to increase the price a bit more, Han hit Qi Bai’s shoulder heavily with her hand. Then she put a fist on her chest and said solemnly, “Bai, you are a friend of our War Bear Tribe. The Black Mountain Tribe will also be a friend of our War Bear Tribe.”
“Let the bugs growing on the trees of the Rough Wood Tribe spend the winter with the tattered animal skins of the Sanghuo Tribe.”
Qi Bai looked at Han, who was eager to announce it to the world, and stopped her. “I think it is better not to let others know about our deal.”
Han looked at Qi Bai in confusion. “Why can’t we let others know? Of course, we have to let everyone know that our War Bear Tribe can’t be bullied at will. Not only that, among the tribes that migrated here, the Sanghuo Tribe isn’t the most powerful. Your Black Mountain Tribe is one that can be compared with the Sanghuo Tribe.”
Qi Bai almost choked on his own saliva. No, why were they going to compete with the Sanghuo Tribe? Let’s not pursue these false reputations. There were only fifteen of them in total. Just moving these animal skins quietly was enough to give him a headache. He didn’t want to conflict with tribes like Sanghuo and Rough Wood at all.
Qi Bai hurriedly explained, fearing that Han would drag the Black Mountain Tribe into this mess on an impulse. “The Rough Wood Tribe broke its promise first, and the War Bear Tribe is the one who is right in this matter. For this reason, even if you point your finger at the Rough Wood Tribe, they have no reason to refute it.”
“But if they know that your skins were exchanged so quickly, you will no longer be in a position to blame them.”
Han tilted her head to think about it. Then she applauded.
Qi Bai smiled. This was what the ancients often said about a justified cause would ensure success. He just had to operate within the established rules and this would be an ironclad law.
On this continent where everyone believed in the Beast God, breaking a promise was betraying the Beast God.
“There is another important question.” Qi Bai continued, “Have you thought about why they did such a thing at this time?”
Han and Xin glanced at each other and shook their heads in a bit of a daze.
Qi Bai asked, “What was the exchange that you originally agreed upon with the Rough Wood Tribe?”
“It is salt,” Xin replied. “The Rough Wood Tribe isn’t like us, living in a fixed territory. Instead, they wander among the tribes in the Northern Wilderness and exchange supplies with other tribes. They have the most salt. It is precisely because we believe they have enough salt that we agreed to their deal.”
Qi Bai told them, “That is the problem. Let me ask you. If our Black Mountain Tribe didn’t accept these animal skins, would you be able to obtain enough salt to last until the next trading day?”
Xin frowned. After thinking for a while, his breathing suddenly became much heavier.
Han obviously also thought about this and raised an eyebrow. “You mean?”
They planned it so carefully that it was likely that after the Giant Deer Tribe, the next target of the Sanghuo Tribe would be the War Bear Tribe.
Qi Bai nodded. “Since you have discovered the ambitions of the Sanghuo Tribe, you should make preparations in advance. The matter of salt can’t be disclosed casually, so that people with ulterior motives won’t be able to estimate your strength.”
The people of the War Bear Tribe weren’t stupid. They were just too confident in their own fighting capabilities, so they weren’t sensitive to these conspiracies.
In fact, Qi Bai wanted to say that when the nest was overturned, all the eggs wouldn’t remain intact. Right now, the tribes of the Northern Wilderness were watching the demise of the Giant Deer Tribe, but this would just be the beginning of their disaster.
In the end, Qi Bai didn’t say these words. He didn’t know the War Bear Tribe and the Giant Deer Tribe. Getting too involved in these tribes wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
What Qi Bai was doing now was to create some obstacles for the Sanghuo Tribe’s expansion.
After all, once the entire Xushan became the territory of the Sanghuo Tribe, the current tranquility of the Xushan trading day would surely be difficult to maintain.
Qi Bai didn’t want to have a giant beast lurking by his side that might attack at any time.
The group returned to the main tent. Ming and Nuan had almost finished studying the pottery jar.
Just before leaving, Ming looked at Han and Xin, who had serious expressions after returning from outside. He said, “I will pretend that I didn’t see what happened today. I won’t tell anyone else.”
He thought for a moment before adding, “But Yan is an exception. I will ask Yan not to tell anyone.”
Qi Bai hadn’t expected this seemingly carefree sub-beastman to actually have such a delicate mind.
The moment everyone walked out of the tent, they heard a cry for mercy coming from the left.
Qi Bai turned his head and saw several skinny beastmen lying on the ground, shaking all over as if they had the hiccups.
The source of the sound was a kid around fifteen or sixteen years old.
He saw a bearded beastman stretch out a hand, grab the kid’s arm tightly, and pull him up from the ground.
Qi Bai watched the kid’s legs passing over the fire, but the beastman was seemingly unaware of it. He just lifted the kid to the darkness behind the tent as if carrying a chicken.
A shrill scream was heard. Then the entire camp fell into silence, leaving only the shivering figures of the skinny beastmen.
It all happened in just a few minutes.
Qi Bai opened his mouth and murmured as if in a nightmare, “What happened?”
Ming obviously wasn’t surprised by such scenes. He said with some disdain, “This is the Bloodthirsty Tribe. It is a cannibal tribe. Those aren’t slaves, they are two-legged sheep raised by the tribe. If they can’t catch prey, they will kill one.”
Qi Bai subconsciously took a step back and bumped into the warm and broad chest behind him.
Ming was still whispering, “This Linen Tribe is really something. They bring all types of shabby tribes into the trading day. I heard that the Rough Wood Tribe also brought a lot of two-legged sheep today. It seems they will be traded to the Bloodthirsty Tribe.”
Then he turned his head again. He didn’t notice Qi Bai’s abnormality. Instead, he looked at Lang Ze behind Qi Bai. “Your tribe’s slaves should be careful when they go out. Recently, one or two slaves go missing every few days.”
Ming pointed to the campfire on the left. “They don’t dare to attack ordinary beastmen, but they won’t let go of lone slaves. However, your slave looks quite strong. He should be able to run away if he encounters danger.”
At this time, the young man who sat behind the stall during the day stood in front of the Giant Deer Tribe’s stall and shouted in their direction, “Ming, come back quickly.”
“I’m coming.” Ming said to Qi Bai, “My brother called me back. Don’t forget our agreement to pick wood flowers tomorrow evening.” Then he ran toward the stall of the Giant Deer Tribe.
Just as Ming was running, a figure trudged out from the darkness, holding something in his hand. Then he threw it into the stone pot on the fire.
Lang Ze looked at Qi Bai’s ugly expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Qi Bai didn’t say anything. He pushed Lang Ze away and ran toward the back of the Black Mountain Tribe’s tent. He didn’t run until he got close to the wooden fence. Then he bent over and started to retch.
Qi Bai had been traveling for a whole day and had made a deal with the War Bear Tribe, so his stomach was already empty.
However, vomiting not only emptied the stomach but also the brain.
Maybe it was because he saw someone today who looked very similar to his brother, or maybe it was because he had been missing his hometown since transmigrating.
At this moment, Qi Bai felt that everything was really strange.
Lang Ze’s eyes were cold. His fists clenched and relaxed by his side, before he finally walked toward Qi Bai. “I won’t let them hurt you. Don’t be afraid.”
Qi Bai leaned against the wooden fence with some weakness. “I miss home.”
Lang Ze said, “We will return to the tribe tomorrow.”
Qi Bai raised his head, tears streaming down his face from vomiting. “I have no home anymore.”
Lang Ze looked at Qi Bai. “I once thought I had no home. It wasn’t until I met you that I realized home isn’t that piece of land I can’t see.”
Lang Ze stared at Qi Bai and stated firmly, “You have a home.”
Qi Bai pursed his lips and took a step forward to lean on Lang Ze. He put his arms around Lang Ze’s waist, like a drowning man holding onto the last piece of driftwood beside him.
“Woo woo woo.”
Lang Ze listened to Qi Bai’s crying and laughed softly instead.
Qi Bai paused for a moment before taking a step back from Lang Ze’s arms. “Did you laugh at me just now?”
Lang Ze shook his head. “No.”
Qi Bai sniffed and said in a crying voice, “I heard it.”
Lang Ze tilted his head slightly. “I really didn’t.”
Qi Bai was about to speak when he suddenly saw two pointed white clusters above Lang Ze’s head swaying gently twice.
Qi Bai blinked, forgetting that he was crying just a second ago. He hurriedly stepped forward and covered the wolf ears on Lang Ze’s head in a hurry. “Ears, ears.”
The two wolf ears were touched by the warm palm and moved even more dishonestly.
Diao Lan heard the noise behind the tent and walked closer before asking, “What are you doing?”
Qi Bai placed his hands on top of Lang Ze’s head, twisted his body, and shook his head desperately. “Nothing, we aren’t doing anything.”
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