Chapter 58 – Intrigue
Translator: xiin
Editors: apricot & juurensha
Hu Tiao’s expression was both dark with dissatisfaction and green with envy, and he made practically no effort to disguise the discontent and suspicion on his face, “Is your tribe so powerful? You actually think you can destroy the Giant Tiger Tribe?”
He felt that the person in front of him must be talking nonsense, but the man’s clothing as well as the skins and earth eggs he had brought showed that this person wasn’t easy to deal with.
However, in order to probe their opponent’s situation, Hu Tiao had no choice but to suppress his anger.
Of course, in Zhou Ji’s opinion, he wasn’t really suppressing anything.
“Is the Giant Tiger Tribe so strong?” Zhou Ji asked. “Aren’t they just like the frog at the bottom of the well?”
“The frog at the bottom of the well?” Hu Tiao hadn’t learned any idioms, nor did he know what a well was, so he naturally didn’t understand the meaning behind these words.
“The frog at the bottom of the well means a frog that has grown up at the bottom of a well. It doesn’t know how powerful dinosaurs outside can be and believes that it is the most powerful thing around.” Zhou Ji said.
“What’s a well?”
“Your tribe doesn’t even have a well?” Zhou Ji’s expression was full of disbelief.
Hu Tiao: “……”
Xiong Qi and the others: Their tribe didn’t have a well either! So, what exactly was a well???
Xiong Qi originally wanted to ask Zhou Ji, but at this point in time, it was impossible for him not to understand that things weren’t quite right, so he held back and resisted asking.
As for the rest of the salt team… Many of them were still in their animal forms. The rest of them were also very reserved as they rarely ever left the tribe, so they all acted like closed up bottled gourds and didn’t say a word.
Zhou Ji was a person beloved by the Beast God. Let him say whatever he liked… Hadn’t the priest told them to listen to Zhou Ji?
Only Xiong Ye had the idea of looking at Zhou Ji’s expression at this time.
Zhou Ji’s attitude was so different today; there must be a problem with this Little Brook Tribe!
Also… Zhou Ji’s current arrogant look made him look like a little fairy. It was really cute!
The Giant Tiger Tribe certainly didn’t have any wells, but compared to the Big Bear Tribe, the Giant Tiger Tribe was actually aware of some things from the outside.
Hu Tiao knew quite a lot. He knew that not only were there were countless powerhouses outside of the wild forest, there were also countless novelties.
So… Did the Big Bear Tribe actually have ties to people outside of the wild forest?
“Oh, right. What are you dithering about so much for? Hurry up and bring out the salt!” Zhou Ji said.
“I just want to know how you plan to destroy the Giant Tiger Tribe.” Hu Tiao spoke through gritted teeth.
“A strong powerhouse can destroy an entire tribe by himself.” Zhou Ji said. He had been observing the people of the Giant Tiger Tribe the entire time in order to prevent them from getting annoyed and directly making a move against them.
Many people in this era would make a move without saying anything first.
Fortunately, the people in front of him hadn’t done that, and it was unlikely that they would suddenly do so…He discovered that although there were over a hundred people inside the tribe in front of them, only seventy or eighty of them belonged to the Giant Tiger Tribe. The rest should be survivors from the Little Brook Tribe.
There were about sixty survivors, and they were kept in different places. They were all basically lying still, probably due to hunger, and there was no sign of fierce resistance. Previously, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual about them and had only thought that they were the elderly and weak of the tribe.
They had fifty people. Although the Giant Tiger Tribe had more people, the difference wasn’t very large, which was why they hadn’t rushed to make a move and had instead tried to trick them into entering the tribe.
Zhou Ji was relieved, but Hu Tiao had been shocked into a cold sweat by Zhou Ji’s words.
One person could destroy an entire tribe… Some people might think that this was nonsense when they heard these words, but he knew that it was possible.
Some people were really especially powerful!
He didn’t need to mention anyone else, just their tribal chief was already an existence that he couldn’t match up to.
“Your father is really powerful… Is he the chief of the Big Bear Tribe?” Hu Tiao asked.
“No.” Zhou Ji said. “Have you talked enough? Hurry up and trade the salt!”
After the Giant Tiger Tribe had taken over the Green Hill Tribe, they weren’t lacking in salt at all. However, they have never done this salt trading business, and Hu Tiao didn’t want to start either. “You guys come in first. When our tribal chief arrives, he’ll do the trade with you.”
“I don’t want to go in. These little tribes are basically all really dirty… Are you going to trade or not? If not, I’m going to find someone else instead.” Zhou Ji frowned.
“Our tribal chief isn’t here…”
“So what if he’s not here? How can you possibly make a loss using some salt to trade for all these things? Will your tribal chief be dissatisfied?” Zhou Ji pressed.
For Hu Tiao, they definitely wouldn’t be making a loss if they traded some salt for all these things.
Their tribe was an aggressive one, and they went through a lot of weapons. Many of the things in front of him could be used as weapons.
As for the earth eggs, they were all fond of eating them. He would definitely be rewarded if he gave such large earth eggs to their chief!
Salt on the other hand… They had obtained so much of it recently that they had no way of using it all.
Hu Tiao suddenly came to the conclusion that instead of fighting with these people and robbing them of their things, it would be easier to trade for salt with them.
As for how they would deal with the Big Bear Tribe in the future… That could be left for their tribal chief to consider.
Hu Tiao came to such a conclusion and immediately had people go and bring out the salt for trade.
Zhou Ji understood the market for the salt trade.
The Green Hill Tribe’s salt wasn’t produced by them. It was actually traded in from other places, then traded out again at a very high price. This time, however, Zhou Ji managed to keep the price of salt very low.
The people of the Giant Tiger Tribe probably didn’t understand the price of salt, so it should be entirely possible for him to trade for a bit more.
The people of the Giant Tiger Tribe really didn’t understand the price of salt. Zhou Ji said that his earth eggs were good, and his animal hides were good, so they brought out a lot of salt, making Xiong Qi and the others so happy that it seemed the flowers were going to bloom.
However, amidst their happiness, they became more and more aware of the wrongness of the tribe.
Although the people of the Big Bear Tribe didn’t like to think much, they were still able to sense hostility from others. The people from this Little Brook Tribe… why did it feel like they were hostile towards them?
Of course, they were too lazy to concern themselves over it––it was enough for them to be able to trade for salt. What more did they need to worry about?
They left their goods behind and packed up the salt. Everyone was now ready to go back.
Zhou Ji, who hadn’t moved from beginning to end, finally stood up and said to Xiong Ye, “Let’s go.”
Xiong Ye heard him and took off his clothes, immediately taking on his animal form.
The big brown bear with glossy fur looked very impressive, and this size… Hu Tiao was afraid that he might not be able to beat this person in a fight.
He was so young and already so strong… This person wasn’t simple!
Hu Tiao was still thinking about it when he saw Zhou Ji climb up onto the big bear’s back and settle himself in.
Hu Tiao: “……”
Beastmen generally wouldn’t ride others like this. Firstly, not everyone’s animal form was suited for riding. Secondly, this kind of act was considered quite intimate.
They would usually only allow their children to ride them.
But now, this brown bear was obviously not this young man’s father. It could only mean that this young man’s identity was very high, and the brown bear had no choice but to let him ride like this.
Hu Tiao was a little glad that he hadn’t chosen to fight with this group of people head on, doing business with them instead.
Provoking a powerhouse wasn’t a wise choice.
By the time Hu Tiao had arranged for people to move everything back into their tribal grounds, Zhou Ji and the others were long gone.
After walking for a while, Xiong Qi spoke up, “Xiong Ye, you’re so amazing. You gave so many people a scare when you turned into your animal form just now… Of course, Zhou Ji was pretty good too. You managed to trade for so much salt.”
Xiong Ye couldn’t speak, and Zhou Ji chose not to speak.
Xiong Qi then asked the question he had been really wanting to ask this whole time, “So, Zhou Ji, what exactly is a well?”
Zhou Ji: “…Is that all you want to ask?”
“There’s also something else.. Why did you act like that just now? And did your father seek you out in private?” Xiong Qi continued to ask.
“I don’t have a father. I was just scaring them just now.” Zhou Ji said. “Those people aren’t people from the Little Brook Tribe. They should be from the Giant Tiger Tribe.”
“What?!” Xiong Qi was shocked.
“You didn’t notice that they didn’t look right?” Zhou Ji asked.
Xiong Qi: I didn’t notice.
Zhou Ji asked Xiong Ye to stop, then came down from Xiong Ye’s back. He told Xiong Ye to take on human form again, then said, “The Green Hill Tribe has been taken over by the Green Hill Tribe, and the Little Brook Tribe has also fallen under their hands… What do you guys plan to do?”
Xiong Qi suggested, “Hurry up and run away?” The Giant Tiger Tribe had so many people, they were unable to beat them! Although he really hated the Giant Tiger Tribe, he didn’t have any intention of walking straight to his own death.
Xiong Ye frowned and didn’t speak. He didn’t want to escape. He secretly wanted to go back and scout for more information, but there were some people with low combat power in the team as well as Zhou Ji… He was worried about them.
Zhou Ji was actually in favor of Xiong Qi’s answer. Leaving quickly at this time was a good plan.
But things weren’t that simple.
First, the Giant Tiger Tribe intended to attack the Big Bear Tribe. Second… although the people who had come out to trade for salt with them had temporarily believed his words, they had also sent people to follow behind them. They most likely had plans to investigate the Big Bear Tribe and scout for information.
It wasn’t a good thing for the Big Bear Tribe to be targeted by a tribe like this!
Not to mention that all the things they had taken to trade for salt were good things, and those things had been taken away by those people for absolutely nothing––the salt that they had used to trade for them didn’t belong to the Giant Tiger Tribe. It should belong to the Little Brook Tribe.
Zhou Ji had other ideas, but what he said out loud was, “Yes, we have to leave quickly.”
As soon as his voice fell, he sensed that the bat that he had locked onto with his spiritual powers began to make its way back.
The animal forms that beastmen could change into were all mammals. They were unable to transform into crocodiles, snakes, birds, dinosaurs, and the like. Bats were the only type of mammal that could fly.
Zhou Ji hadn’t expected that there would be a bat in the Giant Tiger Tribe.
Zhou Ji had originally thought to use his spiritual powers to send the bat away, but he later had a different idea and deliberately let it hear their words.
After hearing what it wanted to know, it had indeed flown back.
Xiong Ye had already turned back into his animal form and was clearly waiting for Zhou Ji to climb back up onto his back, but Zhou Ji patted him on the back and said, “Switch back. We’ll look for a place to hide the salt. I’ll hide as well.”
Xiong Ye was puzzled, “Why?”
Zhou Ji said, “There should be something that you want to do.” When he had used his spiritual powers to sweep through the surroundings earlier, he had also caught all of the reactions from the people of the Big Bear Tribe.
Most of the salt team was confused, and even Xiong Qi, an experienced person, hadn’t discovered anything wrong, but Xiong Ye had immediately realized something was off and had gone on alert…
Later on, Xiong Ye had kept silent, but it was clear from his expression that there were some things he still wanted to do.
Xiong Ye indeed wanted to do something. He muttered under his breath, then said, “Alright. You hide. I’ll go back to take a look.”
When the bat that Hu Tiao had sent to follow Zhou Ji and the others returned, Hu Tiao was still telling the others about the Big Bear Tribe.
“Is the Big Bear Tribe really that strong?”
“Didn’t we kill a lot of their people before?”
“The things that those people brought, and the clothing they wore wasn’t simple. They definitely aren’t easy to deal with.”
……
While everyone was still talking, someone asked, “If they’re so powerful, how come they wanted to trade for salt with us and didn’t just fight us directly?”
Hu Tiao became startled when he heard this.
Right! Since the Big Bear Tribe was so powerful, why didn’t they attack their Giant Tiger Tribe directly? Why had they found a little lord like that to come and trade for salt with the Little Brook Tribe?
Hu Tiao was just beginning to feel that something was off when the bat returned and shifted back into a person. He then relayed what Zhou Ji and his group had discussed.
He had been tricked! Hu Tiao jumped up in a burst of anger, “Everyone, come with me! We’re going to chase after those people and kill them! We’re going to get the salt back! And rob them of that clothing and bring it back too!”
Those people from the Big Bear Tribe had been deceiving them earlier!
Hu Tiao didn’t think twice as he brought everyone with him and rushed out.
After they left, a mouse snuck into the Little Brook Tribe. Not long after, some others also entered the Little Brook Tribe.
Amongst these people, Xiong Ye was the leader.
After finding a place for Zhou Ji to settle in and putting away the salt, he had taken the fighters of the salt team and returned to the Little Brook Tribe.
When Zhou Ji was busy spinning circles around the people here, he had already come to the realization that something was wrong and had a suspicion that these people weren’t from the Little Brook Tribe.
According to Xiong Qi, the people of the Little Brook Tribe were very weak, but the people who had come forth… He didn’t feel that they were weak at all.
The people of the Little Brook Tribe had encountered an accident. Would the people who had attacked the Little Brook Tribe come to attack the Big Bear Tribe in the future?
Xiong Ye felt that he needed to learn more about the situation.
But, to his surprise, when he came back, he discovered that all the people suspected of being from the Giant Tiger Tribe were gone, leaving only a few people…
Those people were chatting as they watched over a group of others.
One of the older ones said, “Say, do you think Hu Tiao will be able to catch and bring those people from the Big Bear Tribe back?”
One of the younger ones replied, “Of course! How could warriors from our Giant Tiger Tribe lose to those people from the Big Bear Tribe?”
Another woman in her thirties said, “That young lord of the Big Bear Tribe is really attractive. If he’s not dead when they come back, I’m going to find him and have a baby with him.”
While these people were chatting happily, a few others who should be people from the Little Brook Tribe were in another room, their breathing weak and faint.
Xiong Qi looked at Xiong Ye, wanting to know what they should do next. And at that moment, Xiong Ye rushed out.
Instead of wearing the clothing that Zhou Ji had made him, he had come out this time wearing an animal hide skirt, which saved him from having to undress before turning into his animal form. He shifted, then started to attack without a word.
The Giant Tiger Tribe had killed people from their tribe. Although he hadn’t said anything about it out loud, he had kept this hatred in his heart.
Originally, they had had no choice but to flee because they couldn’t fight against them and win. However, the stronger members of the Giant Tiger Tribe weren’t here for some reason… During times like these, they should fight first and then talk about it afterwards.
While Xiong Ye was fighting, Zhou Ji was currently eating inside a tree cave. Niu Er and some others were standing guard outside, ready to take Zhou Ji and run away if needed.