Since Long Mo had helped uncover the truth, Hu Jiao Jiao felt he must believe her now! Her heart swelled with hope as she looked at Lu Mian’er, realizing that Long Mo was truly a cold-faced but warm-hearted beast. When she saw him again, she would have to properly thank him.

However, when Lu Mian’er exchanged a hesitant glance with the chief, Hu Jiao Jiao’s anticipation faded.

“Long Mo… he went with Ying Yuan to fight the wandering beastmen,” the chief explained after a brief pause.

The smile on Hu Jiao Jiao’s face vanished, and a sense of dread washed over her, an ominous feeling rising in her chest.

Noticing her distress, Lu Mian’er hurried to reassure her, “Don’t worry, Jiao Jiao. With Ying Yuan and Long Wu there, they won’t let anything happen to Long Mo.”

Hu Jiao Jiao: “…”

It was precisely because Long Wu was involved that Long Mo was in danger!

Her expression darkened, and she anxiously grabbed the chief’s arm. “Chief, when did they leave? How long have they been gone?”

Sensing the urgency in her voice, the chief hesitated only a moment before replying, “They left before dawn. Long Wu said he wanted to catch the wandering beastmen off guard.”

Catch them off guard? More like walking straight into a trap!

Hu Jiao Jiao cursed internally. In her dream, the wandering beasts had set a perfect ambush, just waiting for them to fall into their hands. Lu Cuicui hadn’t escaped on her own; they had likely let her go on purpose, just to lure the tribe’s warriors into a deadly trap.

“Jiao Jiao, what’s wrong? You don’t look well…” Lu Mian’er asked, her face filled with concern.

Hu Jiao Jiao’s mind raced. If she told them about her dream, they probably wouldn’t believe her. She couldn’t keep using the excuse of visions from the beast gods, as it would raise too much suspicion. Besides, even if she managed to go after them, she didn’t have the strength to change anything.

She needed a plan—something foolproof.

“Tribe leader, Lu Mian’er, Long Mo and the others are walking into a trap. This is all part of the wandering beastmen’ plan.”

After a moment of deliberation, Hu Jiao Jiao finally spoke up.

“A trap? What do you mean?” The chief’s face was etched with confusion.

“Think about it. How could a female like Lu Cuicui escape from the wandering beastmen by herself? Most likely, they released her on purpose to lure our warriors into an ambush,” Hu Jiao Jiao explained her theory.

The chief and Lu Mian’er both turned pale at her words.

“Then Ying Yuan and the others are in danger!” Lu Mian’er gasped, nearly losing her balance.

“That vile Lu Cuicui, she really wants to doom the entire tribe!” the chief fumed, his face flushed with anger.

The thought of Ying Yuan falling into the hands of the wandering beastmen terrified him. Without their strongest warriors, the tribe would be defenseless, left with only the elderly, the sick, and the weak. How could they possibly survive?

Lu Mian’er grew more desperate than Hu Jiao Jiao, clutching the chief’s hand and pleading with a sob in her voice, “Chief, you have to send help to Ying Yuan! If they’ve walked into a trap, they’re in grave danger…”

Grave danger? They might not even survive to return home.

The thought of losing Ying Yuan made Lu Mian’er dizzy, and she nearly fainted.

The chief, torn with indecision, rubbed his forehead in distress. “I want to send help, but all the strong warriors have already left with Ying Yuan. The only ones left are young males barely of age. Sending them would be sending them to their deaths…”

As the chief, he was stuck in an impossible situation.

“Then send someone to warn them, to tell them to turn back. There might still be time,” Hu Jiao Jiao urged.

But the chief shook his head in defeat. “It’s too late. By now, they’ve probably already reached the wandering beastmen’ lair.”

Lu Mian’er swayed, her legs nearly giving out beneath her, but a pair of slender arms caught her, steadying her.

Hu Jiao Jiao’s calm yet firm voice reached their ears. “Chief, we can’t just stand by and do nothing. We need to come up with a way to help Ying Yuan and the others, or else, once the wandering beastmen capture them, they’ll come for the tribe next, seizing our females.”

Not only that, but the tribe would face complete annihilation.

Hu Jiao Jiao didn’t speak that last part aloud, but the chief’s face had already drained of color. He understood the gravity of the situation.

“But we’re out of options. The tribe doesn’t have enough warriors left…” The Chief suddenly looked ten years older, his voice cracking. He clenched his teeth and made a grim decision. “I’ll go. I’ll put my old life on the line and lead the remaining beastmen to aid Ying Yuan. The rest of you will take the females and flee.”

Hu Jiao Jiao was taken aback by the tribe chief’s resolution.

In the original story, the chief was
not portrayed as particularly strong. In fact, he was one of the first to die during the winter massacre. But now, she realized that his heart and soul were dedicated to his tribe and its people.

Hu Jiao Jiao suppressed the rising emotion in her chest and grabbed onto the chief’s arm.

“Chief, I have a plan. There might still be hope…”

Both the chief and Lu Mian’er looked at her, their faces lighting up with hope.

---

At the break of dawn, under the dim, gray sky, Ying Yuan led nearly forty warriors in search of the wandering beastmen’ lair.

“Ying Yuan, do you even know where their lair is?” one of the beastmen asked, sounding skeptical.

The wandering beastmen were elusive, always hiding in the shadows. No one knew their exact location, and if not for the incident with Lu Cuicui, they wouldn’t have even known there were wandering beastmen lurking near their tribe.

“No,” Ying Yuan answered bluntly.

The beastmen froze in their tracks.

The one who had asked glared at him in frustration. “What? You don’t know where the lair is, and you still brought us out here? Are we just going to wander around aimlessly in the forest?”

The plan to eliminate the wandering beastmen had been Ying Yuan’s idea, and many beastmen had been reluctant to participate. But they had no choice after the chief issued a command. Now, hearing that Ying Yuan didn’t even know where they were going, their dissatisfaction boiled over.

Ying Yuan stopped walking and shot the speaker a cold glance. “The wandering beastmen last appeared at the foraging grounds. They must have left traces behind. Surely you’re not so incompetent that you can’t follow them to their lair?”

His mocking tone stung, and the beastmen’s pride flared.

“Who says we can’t track them?”

“Yeah, we’ll find their lair easily if we follow the trail!”

In the back of the group, Long Mo remained silent, his eyes cold. Suddenly, he spoke, his voice echoing through the group.

“I know where the wandering beastmen’ lair is.”

Everyone turned to look at him, their faces full of doubt.

Long Wu, standing nearby, sneered, “Long Mo, this isn’t a game. Don’t lie to us. If we end up on a wild goose chase, I’ll have reason to suspect you’re in league with the wandering beastmen.”