“How did she get in! Where is the guard team? What about the barrier? Are they all gone?”
“How could this happen? Life was just starting to get a little better, and now the humans have come again...”
“Is there going to be another war? When will Big Sister Lang Jiu be able to bring the King back?”
Cheng Shuili had sharp ears; the cacophony of the wolf-race beastmen discussing the situation, along with their low sobs, reached her clearly.
They were clearly nervous and terrified, assuming Cheng Shuili was an intruder here to cause destruction.
But...
She was their King.
Cheng Shuili sighed. Just as she was about to take out the Wolf Fang, Lang Jiu had already hurried over with the wolves of the guard team.
The previously panicked wolf-race beastmen seemed to have found their backbone. One by one, they straightened their backs, waiting to see what fate would befall this smelly human, only to see their omnipotent guard captain, Lang Jiu, kneel before the human.
She did not just kneel; she also kowtowed heavily!
Now, the entire wolf-race tribe was stunned.
The young beastman who had been the most aggressive just moments ago stepped forward, stammering, “Jiu… Big Sister Jiu, what… what are you doing?”
Cheng Shuili looked at Lang Jiu kneeling on the ground and took the Wolf Fang, which symbolized the identity of the Wolf King, out of her pocket, holding it high.
Under the sunlight, the ancient Wolf Fang flowed with a warm luster, and an invisible, majestic aura instantly permeated the area, overpowering all the noise and unease in the field.
“The Wolf King’s token!”
An elderly wolf-race beastman gasped, his cloudy eyes widening into perfect circles.
“It really is the Wolf Fang! It’s exactly the same as the one carved on the altar!”
“The King… is she our King?!”
Incredulous whispers spread rapidly through the wolf tribe. The gazes that had been full of hostility and fear were now replaced by shock, confusion, and a hint of fervor that was gradually igniting.
Lang Jiu raised her head, her voice trembling slightly with excitement, yet it carried clearly across the field: “Greetings, my King! Third Guard Captain of the wolf-race, Lang Jiu, welcomes the King to the wolf-race territory!”
The members of the guard team behind her followed suit, kneeling on one knee in unison and bowing their heads. Their movements were uniform, carrying the crispness and loyalty characteristic of soldiers.
With this, there was no longer any doubt.
After a brief, dead silence, like a tide washing over a beach, all the wolf-race beastmen in the village, regardless of age, knelt toward Cheng Shuili.
The young werewolf who had threatened Cheng Shuili earlier now buried his head extremely low, his body trembling slightly, partly out of lingering fear, but even more out of supreme awe.
“Greetings, my King!”
“Welcome, my King!”
The shouting was a bit chaotic at first, but it quickly converged into a torrent, echoing over this barren land.
Many old werewolves had tears in their eyes; they had waited far too long for a King who could lead the wolf-race out of their predicament.
Cheng Shuili took a deep breath, feeling the slight warmth from the Wolf Fang in her hand and the hopeful gazes cast by nearly a thousand wolf-race subjects.
She spoke calmly, her voice clearly reaching the ears of every wolf-race beastman: “Everyone, rise.”
The wolf-race beastmen stood up as instructed, but they still stood respectfully with their hands down, not daring to look directly at her.
Cheng Shuili looked at Lang Jiu, who was still kneeling on the ground, her tone softening: “Lang Jiu, you rise as well. Take me to see the situation here.”
“Yes, my King!” Lang Jiu stood up efficiently and stepped aside to lead the way: “My King, please follow me.”
Surrounded by Lang Jiu and the guard team, Cheng Shuili began to inspect this territory that belonged to her, yet one she was setting foot in for the first time.
The deeper she went, the more her brow furrowed.
The situation was even worse than she had imagined.
The houses were low and dilapidated, many barely able to keep out the wind and rain.
The beastmen were sallow and emaciated, especially the cubs, who showed clear signs of malnutrition.
The land was barren; one could barely see any decent crops, only a few drought-resistant root plants growing sparsely.
Resources were scarce to the extreme.
“My King, the territory of our wolf-race… has always been like this.” Lang Jiu’s tone carried deep helplessness and shame: “When the previous… several Wolf Kings were in power, the situation continued to deteriorate. By the time we discovered it, it was already difficult to salvage.”
Cheng Shuili nodded without commenting too much on the predecessors; if that old man had been even slightly reliable, the Wolf Fang would not have ended up in her hands. She simply asked: “What are the main difficulties?”
“First is the land; the salinization is very serious, and it cannot grow good crops. Second is the water source; there is only one deep well, and the water output is barely enough for drinking, let alone irrigation. Finally… it is trade. Our wolf-race has a bad reputation, and other races are unwilling to trade with us. We can only exchange furs and iron for small amounts of food at the lowest prices, and even then, we are exploited at every turn.”
Cheng Shuili listened silently, already having a plan in mind.
This land could not support these wolf-race beastmen at all. Even if the method the old wolf brought back was useful, it was only a short-term improvement.
To solve the most fundamental problems of the wolf-race, it had to start with a larger territory.
It just so happened that Black Feather was currently lacking both people and resources.
Although this wolf-race territory was barren, it did have stable production.
Furs and iron were also essential items; the former could be used to make clothing, and the latter was needed by both a restaurant and a blacksmith shop.
If it could be supplied steadily, it would also be a good thing for Black Feather.
But before making a decision, she needed to thoroughly understand the situation of the wolf-race.
Cheng Shuili stopped, looked at Lang Jiu and the tribesmen who were gazing at her eagerly, and then looked back at Lang Jiu: “How many beastmen are there in the wolf-race in total?”
Lang Jiu immediately straightened her back and answered respectfully: “Reporting to the King, the wolf-race currently has two hundred and seventy-three members, of which young adults account for about seventy percent, and cubs and the elderly account for thirty percent.”
Cheng Shuili nodded slightly; this number was much smaller than she had expected, and with nearly two hundred people capable of working, the safe zone could definitely support them.
Her gaze swept over the dilapidated scene around her, and she quickly made a decision.
“I have some good news.”
She announced loudly, her voice clearly reaching the ears of every wolf-race beastman, “Your King, that is to say, I, have established a brand-new safe zone.”
Her words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up ripples in the wolf-race tribe. The beastmen looked at each other, their eyes filled with both confusion and faint anticipation.
“A safe zone?” an elderly werewolf muttered, “A human territory?”
Cheng Shuili shook her head slightly, her gaze sweeping across the entire field: “No, that is my territory, our own land.”
There was a fundamental, world-of-difference between these two descriptions.
The wolf-race beastmen were hesitant and timid at first, but upon hearing that it was the King’s territory, expressions of honor and determination immediately appeared on their faces.
Cheng Shuili continued: “There, the land is fertile, the water supply is sufficient, there is no hunger, and there are no endless battles.”
She paused, letting the news settle in the hearts of her tribesmen for a moment.
“More importantly, it welcomes all races willing to abide by the rules. The wolf-race will receive the respect and equal trade rights they deserve there.”
A suppressed gasp came from the crowd.
Equal trade?
For the wolf-race, who had long been excluded from the mainstream trading circle, this was simply a fantasy.
Lang Jiu stood by Cheng Shuili’s side, her eyes filled only with complexity.
She knew the plight of the wolf-race better than anyone, and she understood the weight of this promise better than anyone.
“King,” Lang Jiu asked in a low voice, a voice only the two of them could hear, “is what you said true? Can the wolf-race really…”
“I can understand your doubts.”
Cheng Shuili raised her voice, interrupting the whispers that were beginning to rise in the field, “But I assure you as the Wolf King that this is not an empty promise.”
She raised the Wolf Fang in her hand; under the sunlight, that Wolf Fang emitted an even more dazzling radiance.
“I give you the right to choose.”
Cheng Shuili said, “Those who are willing to follow me to the safe zone will depart in half an hour. For those who choose to stay, I will also do my best to improve the living conditions here.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than the young werewolf who had threatened Cheng Shuili earlier suddenly stepped forward and knelt on one knee: “King! My name is Lang Qing, a recruit of the First Guard Team! I am willing to follow you!”
His action was like a signal.
“I am willing too!”
“Take our family with you!”
“King, we believe in you!”
Petitions rose one after another, and more and more werewolves knelt to express their loyalty.
In the end, a field of people was kneeling neatly on the ground.
Kowtowing rituals were not popular in Black Feather, but for these wolf-race beastmen, deep-rooted habits were not that easy to change.
Cheng Shuili personally helped Lang Jiu up, then told her to help the kneeling beastmen up one by one, only then beginning to introduce the situation in Black Feather.
When the beastmen heard about the boundless fields, they suddenly realized: “Could that stretch of land we saw last night be the King’s territory?”
Cheng Shuili was slightly startled when she heard this, and then she understood.
It seemed that those footprints had been left by these wolf-race beastmen.
“That’s right, that is the Black Feather safe zone.” She affirmed, “What you saw were our farmlands.”
Exclamations of wonder rang out among the wolf-race beastmen.
So much land, so many plants—if they could harvest them, if they could live there…
“King,” a young werewolf couldn’t help but ask, “can… can we also farm there?”
This question was so naive that Cheng Shuili wanted to laugh.
Labor had never been a happy thing, but for these wolf-race beastmen, it was actually like pie falling from the sky.
Cheng Shuili looked at those young eyes full of longing, and a touch of bitterness welled up in her heart.
She looked around and found that almost every wolf-race beastman was holding their breath, waiting for her answer.
Fine, these people were following her now.
She had enjoyed the loyalty, resources, and information of the wolf-race, so she should also be responsible for these wolf-race beastmen.
“Of course you can.”
Cheng Shuili’s voice was uncharacteristically gentle.
“In Black Feather, as long as you are willing to work, you can get food and shelter. We have fertile fields that need people to farm. We have a camp under expansion that needs craftsmen to contribute. We also have restaurants and blacksmith shops that need various apprentices. Every wolf-race member willing to contribute labor can find their place there and receive the rewards they deserve.”
She looked at the pairs of eyes gradually lighting up before her and continued to describe a concrete and realistic picture: “The safe zone implements a contribution point system. Whether it is farming, building, patrolling, or other work, contribution points will be recorded. Contribution points are just like game coins; you can buy everything in the safe zone with them.”
These words were more convincing than any empty promise.
“We are willing to go!”
“King, take us away!”
The shouting became even more enthusiastic and firm.
Cheng Shuili swept her gaze over their faces one by one, and then nodded, “Lang Jiu, what about the members of the other patrol teams?”
Lang Jiu lowered her head and answered: “Today, the Third Patrol Team is defending near the territory, while the First and Second Patrol Teams are out hunting and probably won’t be back until evening.”
Cheng Shuili understood. She had originally thought that the furs sold by the wolf-race were their own output; now she realized they should be from the prey they hunted.
“Then there is no rush. Now you have enough time to go home and pack your luggage; you can bring all your things to live in Black Feather.”
As Cheng Shuili said this, her brow furrowed again. Those few people had already delayed long enough. If she didn’t have the city planning ready when she returned, these werewolves would be sleeping on the streets tonight.
Thinking of this, Cheng Shuili opened the private chat page and sent a threatening message to Guang Hui.
Guang Hui, who received the message: “???”
Although he wasn’t quite sure what had happened, he would just follow the boss’s instructions.
He rushed to the territory without stopping. After seeing the few bald-headed guys who were dawdling, he finally understood what the boss meant.
We will press the pause button on the matters here. On the other side, Xinxue was so worried that she was about to go bald.
The safe zone was completed, and the workload had also increased exponentially.
It stood to reason that she was also a veteran of Black Feather and shouldn’t have to do everything herself, and the boss had indeed found her a batch of people.
But these people were beginners after all, and beginners meant they needed training!
As a result, Xinxue’s workload had not only not decreased, but had also increased exponentially because she had to bring these newcomers along.
Work was already busy, and encountering one or two subordinates who didn’t understand human nature made Xinxue’s head ache even more.
She stared at the prices of medical supplies on the trading channel for a while, and after thinking about it seriously, she felt that hoarding things still couldn’t be done by her.
The ID Xinxue Chuji was too loud, and there were too many labels stuck on her: member of Black Feather, lackey of the Crow.
She was completely a wind vane now; whatever she acquired, a group of people would follow and acquire it.
Although she didn’t rely on reselling to make money anymore, people couldn’t forget their roots, and she absolutely couldn’t lose her old trade of getting rich.
Xinxue pondered for a moment and felt it was time to cultivate a Xinxue No. 2.
And as for the candidate…
Her gaze turned around the few newcomers following her, and finally, her eyes lit up when she saw Iced Americano.
Iced Americano was a ready-made candidate, wasn’t she?!
Iced Americano, who had just coordinated a matter, looked up and saw Xinxue’s fiery gaze. If Iced Americano hadn’t been clear about the sexual orientation of this third-in-command, she would have thought the other party was interested in her.
Speaking of the third-in-command, Iced Americano fell into deep thought again.
Everyone knew that the Crow was the undisputed boss, but further down, the ranking of the few of them was a bit vague.
Rate on N.U.
