Chapter 208: Chapter 208: Battle, Capture Alive

“Quiet,” Chen Rong said.

He exchanged a glance with Elder Pukang, signaling Changxia and Nan Feng to stop bickering.

“Chen Rong—” Changxia called softly, quietly activating her bloodline ability to search the area via the plants near the stone beast den. First, she sensed the familiar auras of her tribe, then she discovered three unfamiliar ones.

These three auras were filled with violence and bloodlust.

After living a peaceful life for over a decade since her rebirth, Changxia was suddenly confronted with such savage, bloodthirsty energy. Her body tensed up involuntarily.

“Changxia?” Chen Rong was the first to notice the change in her expression. He stepped forward and gently hugged her, softly calling her name.

Nearby, Elder Pukang and Nan Feng looked over.

“I’m fine,” Changxia slowly recovered and explained, “I just activated my bloodline ability to check the surroundings through the plants. I found three unfamiliar auras near the stone beast den—full of violence and killing intent. They don’t seem like good people.”

“The wanderers got here fast!” Nan Feng said coldly.

At her words, the usually laid-back Elder Pukang grew more solemn.

He exchanged a quick glance with Chen Rong. “Stay calm. Let’s see what these wanderers intend to do. Tell Gen’s group not to act rashly. Three people… that’s fewer than we expected.”

Elder Pukang had originally estimated five.

Three—two less than expected.

Either the others died, or only three survived.

Time ticked by.

Mount Wei and the stone beast den were very quiet.

Changxia and Chen Rong carried the harvested mugwort out of the den to lay it out to dry. The stone beast den was small, not big enough to spread out more mugwort for drying.

It was a rare sunny day in Mount Wei, and they were hoping to lure the wanderers out.

After thinking it over, Changxia decided to move the mugwort outside the den.

A female beastfolk—especially one as gentle and soft as Changxia—was an irresistible lure for the wanderers.

Sure enough—

The wanderers hiding nearby made a move when they saw Changxia appear outside the stone beast den.

“Qianbai, should we make a move?”

“Don’t rush. Let’s wait and see—”

Clearly, this male named Qianbai was the leader of the three.

A scar ran across his left cheek, ruining half his face and giving him a fierce appearance.

Qianbai was a tiger beastfolk, formerly of the Yuanhu tribe in the Twilight Forest.

He was violent by nature, bullied his own kind, and was eventually expelled from the Yuanhu tribe, becoming a wandering beastfolk. This trip to the Moonwatch Mountains to hunt anaconda was all his idea.

Wanderers were a group that lived outside the tribes, preying on others.

They committed every imaginable crime—arson, murder, robbery.

Changxia hadn’t exaggerated when she called them thugs.

Qianbai had heard from a Western beastfolk that the western nobility were very interested in the delicacy of anaconda. He set his sights on the anaconda of the Moonwatch Mountains, planning to hunt a few and make a fortune in the west.

But he had underestimated how much the Sheyue tribe valued the anaconda.

It had taken a lot of effort to finally capture a giant anaconda alive, but before he could escape the Wangyue Mountains, Qian Bai was targeted by the Sheyue Tribe. In desperation, he decided to go all in—he took a young serpent beast from the Sheyue Tribe hostage, forcing the snake people to back off. That gave him a chance to slip into the Wei River and then escape into Mount Wei.

Qian Bai knew all too well the fearsome reputation of Mount Wei.

But he kept the mountain’s dangers hidden from the other wanderers.

The reason he hadn’t left Mount Wei was simple: he knew that outside the mountain, the Heluo Tribe was an even more terrifying force than the Sheyue Tribe.

He planned to stay in Mount Wei for a while, at least until his injuries healed.

Then, when the time was right, he’d make his escape.

But before he’d even recovered, he saw smoke curling up from Mount Wei last night.

Qian Bai’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that members of the Heluo Tribe had entered Mount Wei? As far as he knew, the mountain had been sealed off years ago—no beastfolk set foot there anymore, not even the Heluo Tribe, who no longer considered it a hunting ground.

“This female is really fair-skinned!”

“Qian Bai, can I have a taste of this female first?”

“The females from these beastfolk tribes are so much prettier than the ones we keep in our lairs. Tsk tsk! Just looking at her gets my blood pumping.”

Not far away, Gen and his companions, hidden nearby, listened to Qian Bai and his two companions’ conversation, burning with rage.

Changxia Nan Feng was a cherished child of their tribe.

Now, hearing a group of wanderers talk about her like that—who could possibly keep their anger in check?

Yun Donggelei held Gen back, urging him to stay calm.

They had to wait until Qian Bai and his group stepped into the ambush before making a move.

Qian Bai was cunning. He sent one of the wanderers to approach the stone beast den, while he and the other kept their distance.

That way, even if the one near the den failed, he and his companion would still have a chance to escape.

Gen’s face was dark as he signaled Fenghuo and the others hiding farther away to slowly close in, tightening the encirclement. Today, none of Qian Bai’s group would leave Mount Wei alive—he’d make sure of it.

How dare they talk about his precious child like that, and in such a filthy way?

Death was the only way to wash away their sins.

“Little female—”

“Just be good and come with me, and I promise you’ll enjoy yourself.”

Changxia and Nan Feng had just finished spreading out the mugwort when a few greasy voices drifted over. Hearing them, Changxia Nan Feng couldn’t help but shiver.

What kind of talk was that?!

“Just you?” Nan Feng curled her lip in surprise.

They’d been fishing for trouble all day, and this was all they caught?

The wanderer was filthy from head to toe, flashing a mouthful of yellow teeth. Even from a distance, Nan Feng could smell his stench.

Inside the stone beast den, Elder Pukang and Chen Rong walked out calmly.

Seeing only one wanderer standing there, they looked a bit disappointed.

“Just one?” Pukang asked with a grin.

“Yeah, just one,” Nan Feng nodded. “Whatever, one’s enough. Changxia, step back a bit—I’ll handle this.”

Chen Rong didn’t argue. The wanderer looked dumb and dirty, and honestly, Chen Rong didn’t want to deal with him. He gladly let Nan Feng take over, pulling Changxia back to stand beside Elder Pukang.

“I bet the chieftain is about to make his move too—”

He hadn’t even finished speaking when the sounds of fighting erupted from the distant forest.

“Are all wanderers this pathetic?” Changxia frowned.

Elder Pukang yawned. “They’re just a bunch of rats who can’t show their faces. What do you expect? If the Sheyue Tribe hadn’t had their own problems, or if some wanderer didn’t know the Wangyue Mountains so well…”

The commotion in the distance was loud, but it ended quickly.

Even the dumbest wanderer facing Nan Feng knew things had gone south. Without another word, he transformed into his beast form.

A scrawny gray fox appeared before Changxia and the others.

Nan Feng sneered, her voice full of disdain. “A measly gray fox dares to cause trouble on Heluo Tribe territory? Are you looking for death?”

She didn’t even bother to transform, just raised her foot and kicked at the gray fox.

Fighting him in human form, Nan Feng had the gray fox beaten in less than five moves—she broke his left leg and ribs, leaving him sprawled on the ground, unable to move.

Hiss hiss—

At that moment, the young serpent beast on Changxia’s arm slithered out.

It let out a sharp, ear-piercing hiss at the gray fox.

“Looks like the little snake can smell the wanderer’s scent!” Chen Rong said.