The Yi clan and the Zelan Huixia beastmen are people of Xia, don't...

"Lan—"

The red-haired butterfly beastman happily called out Jiang Yunlan's name, spread its wings and pounced in front of Jiang Yunlan, then landed gracefully a meter away from her.

"You've grown up so much after several snow seasons! If 022 hadn't been perched on your head, I almost wouldn't have recognized you." Rainbow Flower retracted its wings and curiously circled around the grown-up squirrel beastman.

Jiang Yunlan let her observe the changes in her, and said with a smile, "Long time no see, Cai Baihua. You look almost the same as before, I recognized you at a glance. It seems that once your race reaches adulthood, your appearance does not change much. However, I cannot sense the natural power in you, it seems that you have encountered something bad."

The colorful flower, which had been circling several times, stopped and landed right opposite Jiang Yunlan. She saw the worry in Jiang Yunlan's eyes, her smile gradually faded, and she lowered her gaze dejectedly.

“We’ve been hunted by the orcs of the Apocalypse for a long time. They have ways to detect creatures with natural powers in the distance, so Cotton used a stealth spell on us.” She sighed as she recalled the news she heard from the orcs of the Apocalypse when they were almost captured.

If they hadn't encountered the Cotton Squad, her clan and Aliya's group probably wouldn't have lasted much longer before being found by the Apocalypse Orcs again. After all, they were all wounded at that time, and even though they had been traveling, they couldn't have escaped very far.

"I never thought I'd be back in Xia. Lan, it's so nice to see you again," she said, her eyes crinkling into a smile.

Seeing her smile, Jiang Yunlan took two quick steps forward, hugged the much thinner Cai Baihua, and gently patted her back, "You've persevered until now, it's been tough. Please rest well during this time, Xia will provide you with a safe place to recuperate."

The colorful flowers of the past would never have shown a sorrowful smile, and her pink eyes would never have been so weary.

Cai Baihua, who was being hugged, blinked, looked down at Jiang Yunlan who had already released her, and nodded in agreement.

She thought back to Alanya, who had been resting in the backpack with the wood elves, and her heart gradually calmed down. Alanya and the others were alright, and Zeran and her people were safe too. This was already good enough, much better than she had imagined.

At this moment, Aliya and the other orcs, who had fallen behind her, came to their side.

Aliya, carrying a backpack filled with wood elves, slowly walked to Jiang Yunlan's left side, looked up at the squirrel beastman who was already much taller than him, and asked, "Lan, how are our clan's unborn cubs?"

He had not sensed the birth of a new member of his race, and thus understood that the cubs were still unwilling to come into this world.

"Their condition is better than before, and they have the energy to roll around occasionally. Maple Syrup and the others will take them out for a stroll from time to time." Jiang Yunlan's tone was light, and her voice unconsciously carried a hint of laughter.

“Don’t worry about Chaoxia. He has already learned to speak. He speaks both Zelan and Chinese very well,” she said, her smile widening as she recalled Chaoxia’s innocent face as he solemnly told her that he wanted to stay in the grassland habitat. “He is now in the grassland managing the war beasts with Xiao Qiu, and he is also a well-loved healer.”

After taking Ilovin to the mountains, Greysien settled there temporarily. Jiang Yunlan read a letter from Mo Rong saying that the two dragons would occasionally patrol the entire mountain range in their beast forms, essentially becoming the mountains' outpost scouts.

Since both little ones wanted to stay on the grasslands/mountains, Jiang Yunlan simply asked their elders to take good care of them and stopped keeping them by her side. In any case, they had already passed Xia's basic courses and it was time for them to learn the skills they needed from their own kind.

Jiang Yunlan picked out some of the experiences of the Zelan people who stayed in the Xia tribe and told them to Aliya and the others.

When Aliya heard that her fellow tribesmen were being pursued by enthusiastic Xia beastmen seeking guidance on how to make birds and beasts obey commands, she couldn't help but laugh.

He could tell from these few words that his kinsmen were doing well in the Xia tribe. Indeed, he hadn't misjudged the orcs; Lan was a good chieftain, and an orc worthy of all Zelan's trust.

He followed Lan to the council hall, curiously observing Xia's architecture along the way. Lan told him that Forest Lake was Xia's third habitat, and its development hadn't been long. But he discovered that Forest Lake had many more good things than the grassland he left behind, which made him look forward to the changes in the grassland.

However, before returning to the grasslands, he needed to tell Lan about the Tianqi tribe to Cai Baihua and the others. Aliya was serious, her eyes resolute, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the butterfly beastmen, whose wounds had not yet fully healed, flapping their wings and approaching the Xia beastman.

They hadn't learned much Chinese, so their conversations with the Xia beastmen were always mixed with some of the forest's language.

The Xia beastmen were used to language barriers when communicating with other beastmen races. After a series of gestures, they proudly introduced their habitat at Forest Lake and Xia, and then happily told the story of their arrival in Xia amidst the praise of the butterfly beastmen.

"The hot season will be here in a few days, and our new residential area in Forest Lake is finally complete! You've come at just the right time. Now you can stay in a hotel in Forest Lake instead of sleeping on the floor." A Forest Lake orc laughed heartily, revealing sharp teeth.

She is an orc who came from the grasslands to perform a guard duty. She can finish her guard duty and return to the grasslands on the last day of the flower season.

However, during the time she spent guarding and developing Senhu Lake with her comrades, she fell in love with the place and decided to stay and become a resident of Senhu Lake. She and her comrades who also chose to stay will lead new comrades who pass the assessment during the snow season to protect Senhu Lake together.

"You butterfly beastmen are new to Xia, right? Have you decided which habitat to settle in? If not, consider our Forest Lake." She swayed her long tail cheerfully, her voice sincere.

The butterfly beastmen liked places with forests, but hesitated and didn't agree. They had heard that there were also forests in the mountains, and planned to send Aliya and the others to the grasslands to see the mountains before deciding which of Xia's habitats they wanted to stay in to rest.

Aliya watched them chatting and laughing with Xia's orcs, then lingered in place, leaving the group. She silently shifted her gaze to Cai Baihua, who was walking at the head of the procession. Like her kin, she flapped her wings and approached the curious object, repeatedly calling Lan's name, wanting Lan to tell her what it was.

She and her people returned to the state they had when they first met, gazing at the world with curious hearts, looking at everything they saw as if they knew nothing of fear.

Aliya hadn't seen a butterfly-like beastman like this in a long time. He belatedly realized it, and he relaxed in the peaceful atmosphere of the Xia tribe.

He thought for a moment, then took the elves out of his backpack and carried them along the path to the council hall.

Xia possessed a charm that could calm orcs. He thought that when Aranya and the others awoke and saw Xia, they would surely like her just as much as they did.

Feeling the abundant wood energy of the Forest Lake habitat, Aliya walked briskly into the council hall.

“Lan, the Apocalypse Orcs who are chasing us have the ability to control wild beasts. I’m not quite sure how they use a piece of plant branch to control wild beasts, but I think you might be able to figure out how it works.” He took out a wooden whistle hidden in his pocket and handed it to Jiang Yunlan.

Jiang Yunlan took the wooden whistle, carefully examined the orange whistle that shimmered slightly in the sunlight, and said in surprise, "I was wondering how to get this from them. I didn't expect you to be able to get your hands on this wooden whistle."

She was overjoyed and couldn't help but praise Aliya and the other orcs while observing the wooden whistle.

If Aliya hadn't said the whistle was made of plant material, she would never have been able to tell that the orange whistle was made of wood. The raw material must be a special plant, one she had never seen before.

Aliya felt uncomfortable hearing her praise and sighed as she explained, "It was the birds and beasts that took the wooden whistle from the Apocalypse Beastmen for us. They paid for it with their lives and can no longer return to the grasslands."

Without exception, all the birds and beasts that accompanied Zelan away from the grassland perished in that battle.

The price to obtain the wooden whistle was too high; Jiang Yunlan suddenly felt as if the whistle in her hand weighed a ton. She instinctively gripped the whistle tighter, looked up at Aliya, and said earnestly, "I will find a way to use the wooden whistle, so that their blood will not have been shed in vain."

She knows that the birds care most about the Zephyranthes, and she will find the plant that makes the wooden whistle, replicate the wooden whistle that controls the beasts in the laboratory, and open the laboratory of Apocalypse in the future to rescue the Zephyranthes inside.

This was her promise to the birds.

Aliya read the unwavering determination in her eyes, paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded, saying, "I believe you."

The exchange of intelligence continues.

"The orc who led our pursuit was a winged orc. His half-beast form was somewhat similar to Cangmu's, yet not quite the same. I couldn't tell if he was a winged orc." Aliya frowned, explaining with a troubled expression what kind of natural power those orcs possessed and what techniques they were skilled in.

After listening to the information he provided, Jiang Yunlan turned around and explained his initial confusion, "The orc that the Apocalypse orcs called 'Captain Twilight' is very likely a Feathered Sparrow orc. Its full name is Twilight Feathered Sparrow."

According to Bai Su, the deputy leader of the Tianqi tribe is a feathered beastman named Ling Cai Yu Que. Xi Hui and the Ling Cai Yu Que clan are, of course, beastmen who came to Tianqi from the Wise Clan.

"My intelligence says that the Apocalypse Tribe has very few Feathered Beastmen, and each one is extremely powerful. The fact that you managed to escape from him is quite remarkable," Jiang Yunlan remarked, somewhat understanding why the Zelans, who were leading four elves, had been in such a sorry state. They had encountered the main fighting force of the Apocalypse Tribe.

Cai Baihua seemed to understand something upon hearing this, and guessed, "Then the treehouse we almost sneaked into might not only contain Aliya's clansmen, but also other things that the Apocalypse Tribe values."

Her speculation made sense, and Jiang Yunlan decisively marked the Tianqi tribe's habitat that they had discovered. Once the war officially began, they would take this place first.

The exchange of intelligence continued until evening.

Jiang Yunlan carefully put away the important intelligence notebook and invited Cai Baihua, Aliya, and her to dinner. These two had sold most of the belongings they and their tribesmen had brought to Xia to Senhu, managing to raise enough money for the entire tribe's lodging and meals for three days.

"But today is your first day back in Xia, so I'll treat you to dinner." After Jiang Yunlan finished speaking, she heard them agree and excitedly pulled them towards the cafeteria.

The habitat's canteen may not be the place with the best-tasting food in the habitat now, but it's certainly the place with the most complete selection. Rare orc races can always find their own food in the canteen.

For example, the nectar of the butterfly orcs, Zelan, and the energy stones that dragons can eat.

After finishing dinner early, Jiang Yunlan asked her people to help Zelan and the orcs of the Medicine Clan check into the inn, then took the energy stone to find the wooden beast. Sveta wanted to stay with the four sleeping beings of the same origin today, so she had to feed the wooden beast herself.

The wooden beast prefers lush vegetation and lives at the boundary between the Forest Lake habitat and the forest. Every time Jiang Yunlan searches for it, she has to cross half of the Forest Lake habitat, far from the bustling streets. It just so happens that it doesn't particularly like beastmen and is quite content to live on the edge of the Forest Lake, where beastmen are almost never seen.

Jiang Yunlan walked up to the wooden beast and took out an energy stone.

"This is tonight's dinner." She had barely uttered the first two words when she saw the wooden beast skillfully open its mouth, waiting to be fed.

She couldn't help but feel a little helpless. She stroked a handful of the wooden beast's fur and looked at the beast eating with a rather dejected expression. "It's so hard to hear you speak even once. I know you can understand what I'm saying. Do you have some concerns, or do you hate this place? That's why you've been unwilling to talk to me and don't want to tell me anything."

The wooden beast glanced at her with its dark green eyes, then continued eating, only to suddenly hear a clicking sound beside its ear. It looked at Jiang Yunlan with a puzzled expression, as if asking why she had suddenly unlocked the chains that restrained it.

“You can understand our language now, so it’s alright. My people and I believe that you won’t harm us while you are conscious. Go do what you want to do from now on, Xia will no longer restrain you. You are free.” Jiang Yunlan patted the wooden beast’s head, her voice gentle.

She didn't make this decision suddenly; she discussed it with 022 and the elves before deciding to release the Wood Beast.

She looked apologetically at the wooden beast, handed it a cloth bag full of energy stones, and while demonstrating how to use the bag, said, "I'm sorry for binding you for so long. This is for you. When you set off, don't forget to take this food with you."

Jiang Yunlan spoke to the wooden beast, her tone concerned and tinged with worry, just as she always did when seeing off every orc team that went out.

After listening to only two sentences, the wooden beast impatiently licked her face, pushed the cloth bag back in front of her with the back of its paw, and then scratched at the chain on the ground, pulling it into its paw, showing that it wouldn't leave and that she should stop nagging.

The golden-red wooden beast turned its face away and continued crunching its unfinished dinner. It remained curled up in place, all four paws hidden in its fur, looking at first glance like a lump of nearly red-brown caramel bread. Beastmen who had spent a little time with it knew that this reaction meant it was about to sulk.

Jiang Yunlan abruptly stopped her unfinished instructions, took a few steps to the left in surprise, and circled around to its front. "You're willing to stay in the Xia tribe?"

She always thought it would want to leave.

Swallowing the energy stone in its mouth, the wooden beast gently brushed away the squirrel-like beastman who was close to it. It sat up halfway, looked down at the beastman who was not even half a leg taller than it, and exhaled.

"I won't leave unless I'm bothered or annoyed," it said.

It spoke the language of summer for the first time, and the sound that came out was strange, but it clearly conveyed its feelings. It didn't hate summer. Summer had many familiar scents, and it wanted to stay here and protect them.

Recalling Jiang Yunlan's dejected reaction just now, the wooden beast hesitated for a moment before explaining, "I... I don't remember, I won't say."

Its explanation was cryptic, yet Jiang Yunlan inexplicably understood its meaning. Her expression went blank for a moment, and it took her several seconds to recover before she frowned and asked, "Strange, how come you don't remember Ziran who gave you the blessing? Did something happen to you before?"

The wooden beast shook its head and spoke again: "I've thought about it for a long, long time, but I still can't remember."

When it uttered the last word, its voice became aggrieved.

In its earliest memory, it felt something warm enveloping it. It heard a voice and, in an instant, sensed the pain emanating from the being that was calling it.

Perhaps a moment passed, perhaps a long time, but when it opened its eyes, it could no longer hear the voice calling it. A scorched earth appeared in its field of vision. It looked up at the sky and the forest, and suddenly sensed many things in the distance that annoyed it.

It knew that those were the things that caused the beings that called it pain, and that they were the ones who were constantly harming them.

The surging anger within it drove it to the place that tormented it most. It leaped over trees, crossed bare ground, plunged into the water, swam across a wide expanse, and climbed onto the beach, running swiftly.

Forests, grasslands, and mountains.

It finally found its target to kill by a river in a wasteland, and it was there that it met Xia's orc.

Even today, the wooden beast can still sense many targets it hasn't killed existing throughout the continent. When it opens its eyes, it can see the things that make it uncomfortable still jumping around, and when it closes its eyes, it can smell the nauseating stench of those things.

It wasn't provoked into rushing over and slaughtering them immediately because more and more beings similar to the one that had awakened it appeared in the Xia tribe.

"Are the four of them... alright?" the wooden beast asked worriedly.

It sensed Jiang Yunlan's arrival as soon as she arrived; four new auras clung to her body. The auras were very faint, as if they might dissipate at any moment.

“I’m very worried about them,” the wooden beast said.

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Author's Note: *Beast World Information Station:

The Apocalypse Orcs' stealth magic is ineffective against behemoths.