Trafficked "slaves"
Having said this, Fu Ying naturally wouldn't ask any more questions.
The rest of the journey was extremely silent, and no one mentioned "you" or "young patriarch" again.
Fu Ying sat astride Qinglan's back, her fingertips entangled in his hair. She lowered her eyelashes and said nothing. Qinglan's long tail silently wrapped around her waist, and the tip of the tail gently brushed across the back of her hand.
"It's okay, we will find him." Qinglan's voice was ethereal and clear. Perhaps because of her beast form, her voice was accompanied by the purring vibration unique to cat-type beastmen, which came from her tightly pressed back.
Fu Ying lowered his whole body, burying his cheek in the hair on Qinglan's back, as if sinking into the snow.
He turned his head to look at her, his purple eyes flashing slightly.
Of course he understood that they were talking about Danyue, the mermaid with a broken tail.
Qinglan was afraid that she would fall, so he wrapped his tail around her tighter to protect her.
He walked lightly, his paw pads making almost no sound as he stepped on the muddy path, and each step he took was extremely steady, as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his back.
After two days of bumpy ride on the road, we finally arrived at the venue of the tribal trade conference.
Fu Ying took a bite of wild fruit and looked at the endless cluster of thatched houses, which seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. Flags with various tribal totems fluttered in the wind, mixing with a myriad of other sounds.
She raised her eyebrows slightly: "Really, the entire tribe of Beishan has come. It's really lively."
His long, slender eyelashes covered his deep purple pupils, casting dark shadows on the wings of his nose. His voice was so low and hoarse that it seemed to be crushed from his chest: "Just for a fallen orc with an eight-star mark?"
The tail end of his voice disappeared in the noisy voices, carrying an indescribable sarcasm.
Qinglan's ears twitched slightly, and his gray-brown eyes looked at him. His voice was calm: "In the eyes of the orcs, fallen orcs are filth. In such matters, they will fight with all their might."
"What are you talking about?" Jingxiang suddenly came over, tilted her head, and looked at them in confusion.
Fu Ying turned to look at her, a faint smile on his lips: "What's wrong?"
Jingxiang was stunned by the gentle smile on her charming face.
The wind blew past, rippling the silk fabric on her body. She suddenly remembered Xingyao's words, but gritted her teeth and waved her hand: "No, it's okay, it's just... it's just that we've arrived at the tribal trade meeting, and we still have things to trade with other tribes, so we have to leave first. Huahua, see you next time."
After saying that, Jingxiang and his companions plunged into the crowd without looking back.
Fu Ying watched Jingxiang quietly go away until her and Xingyao's figures were completely lost in the crowd.
Qinglan's voice was ethereal as he whispered, "Don't ask anymore?"
She lowered her eyelashes, gently stroking the fur on Qinglan's neck with her fingertips, and said lightly: "No need, the important thing now is to find Wu. As for Tanyue, she will tell me."
A strand of red silk was lingering on Fu Ying's fingertips, but others couldn't see it clearly.
Qinglan's Adam's apple made an almost inaudible snoring sound as a response.
At this moment, a dull drum sound came from the altar in the distance, and the sound waves shook the thatched hut.
Fu Ying jumped lightly off the snow leopard's back and stood with Ni.
A halo of light surrounded Qinglan, and he instantly transformed into a human form, protecting her on the other side.
The three of them looked towards the altar, where several tribal leaders with different styles stood in the distance.
Fu Ying half-closed her eyes and scanned every face carefully. They were all leaders of large tribes. She thought she would see Mo Yan among them, but unexpectedly, he was not there.
After the Cangshan tribe successively wiped out the Oasis tribe and annexed the Banshan tribe, it should have firmly sat on the position of overlord of Beishan, but he did not come, which means that he did not want to participate in the operation to encircle and suppress Bai Cang.
At this time, the leader spoke.
He was a rough man with a long beard and a bone necklace hanging on his bare bronze chest. The collision made a dull and loud sound.
"All the tribes gathered in the wasteland to hold this tribal trade conference together to give face to me, old bear." The rough man clasped his fists and looked around, and the bone strings on his chest made a rattling sound.
He grinned, revealing his yellowed fangs. "Today, we're going to make a special deal."
After saying that, he put his hands on his hips and said loudly: "Bring the people up——"
Following a staggering sound of footsteps, the altar suddenly shook, and a long line of orcs, with rough vines entangled around their necks, were dragged onto the platform one by one like pigs.
These orcs were covered in dirt, their skin torn and flesh exposed from being whipped, and the dark red scars were still bleeding.
Fu Ying looked at the bloody scene with a slight frown on his face.
The strong smell of blood mixed with rust rushed into her nose. Her stomach churned and she bent over slightly, suppressing the almost inaudible dry heaves in her throat. Qinglan immediately moved sideways to block the air vent, holding her steadily with his warm palm.
He raised his hand, and his slender fingertips passed through Fu Ying's scattered black hair, and he pulled her into his arms.
The rich fragrance lingering from his body enveloped them like an invisible barrier, masking the smell of blood.
The tribal orcs surrounding the altar saw this scene and sighed one after another. They took a few steps back, as if they thought the orcs on the platform were too dirty.
If everyone is afraid of the fallen orcs, then these wandering orcs are hated by everyone.
The old bear leader grinned and said in a thunderous voice, "Look here! These stray orcs are our trading goods this time! Offer your beast cores, and whoever offers the highest price can take the stray orcs back as slaves!"
As he said this, he raised his leg with a grim smile and kicked a stray orc. As the latter screamed and fell to the ground, he crushed him hard. Amidst the dull sound of flesh being torn, the old bear leader's feet were instantly stained with blood.
The orc trembled violently all over, but bit his lips tightly without saying a word, his eyes like dying charcoal.
Suddenly, the atmosphere under the altar became lively.
Several animal traders from the fox tribe had already squeezed to the front of the altar and pulled out bulging bags of animal cores.
One of the fox merchants half-closed his eyes and lifted the chin of a wandering orc.
The orc who was touched suddenly jumped up, and when he was about to bite the fox merchant's hand, the vine was suddenly pulled tight. The orc's eyes were bloodshot and he glared at the fox merchant fiercely, but a burst of laughter broke out from the audience below the stage.
The fox merchant smiled happily and turned to his companions, saying, "These orcs are quite good, very strong. The offspring will definitely be hardy. Let's buy them all and breed them with the females in the female cave. In two or three rainy seasons at most, our caravan will have a few more litters of good laborers. Who knows, they might even give birth to females!"
These words made the wandering orcs on the altar look ferocious, and their breath gradually weakened.
Fu Ying leaned against Ni's chest, his eyes looking through the noisy crowd and straight at the orc on the platform.
Her eyes swept across everyone's faces one by one, finally landing on a young orc.
His back was as straight as a spear, and even though his body was covered in blood, it could not hide his iron bones.
Beneath the blood-stained eyelashes were a pair of golden and red animal eyes. The moment their gazes met Fu Ying's, a frightening coldness burst out, a clarity that was almost cruel.
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