"This is soda water! It’s much more refreshing and thirst-quenching than regular river water!"
"And these are scented soaps! Look at you all, running wild outside all day, covered in sticky, slly sweat. What female is going to like that? Just take a bath with this in a wooden tub, and the females will absolutely adore you!"
The bewildered Beastn from other tribes stared wide-eyed at the dazzling array of goods. Like country bumpkins in a big city, they were too stunned to even move.
This was accompanied by the shopkeeper Beastn’s incisive product explanations and all sorts of chaotic sales pitches. "Grab it now at a 20% discount!" "Only 20 left, first co, first served!" "Final clearance, last 5 items!" "..."
The Beastn could no longer keep a tight grip on their wallets.
"We’ll buy it!"
"Don’t fight for it! I saw it first!"
"The last one’s mine!"
The sales in the city were in full swing. anwhile, An Jin was at ho, once again undertaking the arduous, tiring chore of counting money.
The door opened and then closed, and Mi Yin’s tall, slender figure appeared before her. She straightened up from where she’d been slumped in her chair and looked up at him. "How is the investigation going?"
As ntioned before, Demon Beastn had infiltrated the city. After Mi Yin’s all-night search, he discovered it wasn’t just one.
By a rough estimate, there were at least a hundred of them.
’So many Demon Beastn have managed to infiltrate the city without a sound, and we’re only just now finding out?’ A chill ran down An Jin’s spine.
She didn’t announce such a severe incident to the entire city for fear of causing mass panic among the Beastn. She only told a few people she trusted.
Mi Yin noted down the species, distinguishing features, and approximate location of each potential Demon Beastman on a piece of paper.
Ling Hong said, "I’ll take the northwest sector."
"I’ll take the area with the Sea Clan!" Xi Ye quickly chid in. He had also recently beco a Seventh Rank Beastman, officially joining the ranks of High-level Beastn.
Song Yi chid in, "The Eagle Beasts and I can take care of the two remaining corners of the city."
"Good." An Jin planted her hands on the table and nodded, her eyes turning cold. "I’m leaving the city in your hands, then. Don’t let a single one get away. Mi Yin and I will handle sothing else."
Those hundred-plus Demon Beastn were only Low and Middle Rank, just like that dead Leopard Beast. They were nothing more than cannon fodder sent out by the mastermind to gather intelligence.
To get to the bottom of this, they had to catch the one pulling the strings.
...
Two figures in black cloaks, one tall and one short, were mixed into the endless stream of people, hidden and difficult to spot in the crowd.
The Beastman tribes trading here were a motley bunch, most wearing their own distinct tribal attire, so the two of them didn’t draw much attention.
The two sat down at a barbecue stall.
The taller of the two cloaked figures waved his hand, casting a barrier. Beastn outside could still see them, but they couldn’t hear their conversation.
"Why did we have to co to this city?"
A cool, boyish voice erged from beneath the shorter figure’s cloak. He stared at the empty stone table, his voice laced with complaint and dissatisfaction. "This looks like an ordinary city. It’s more prosperous than others, sure, but it still can’t compare to the Qilin Royal City. Why did we have to co here, of all places?"
"The Qilin Royal City is already in my hands. If you want a sanctuary, I can easily provide you with one."
"Sanctuary? HAHA! I’ve never needed a sanctuary." The cloaked man laughed, his voice as sharp and grating as grinding sand. "Rember this, Qi Yuan: she is far more important than so paltry sanctuary. She is the key to our plan’s success."
"Her?"
"Yes. The soul from the Otherworld. The only one who can use the key to open the Secret Realm." The long-dead King Beasts were truly cunning; even in death, they hadn’t forgotten to lay down a restriction: no one from this world could open the Secret Realm.
That was why, a few years ago, he had paid an enormous price to finally succeed in summoning a soul from the Otherworld.
Now, all he had to do was find that soul, and he could open the forbidden grounds.
"And how are you so sure she’s the soul you’re looking for?" Qi Yuan asked flatly.
The owner of the barbecue stall finally brought their food: barbecue that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, served with a sweet, thirst-quenching juice.
Qi Yuan hadn’t had much of an appetite, but at the familiar sll of barbecue, his mind involuntarily drifted to the female he had t in the cave.
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