Section 069: Wild Laughter

At the bottom of the page, a question came up: What did the pack leader say?

Li Zhan asked with some urgency.

Jin Xue’s face lit with a trace of relief as she replied, “The pack leader said that such a suggestion is far too outrageous. Given its temperament, it would normally have refused without a second thought. But because our tribe once saved two of its brothers, it owes us a favor, so it did not turn us down at once. The pack leader said it would give us an answer before the sun has set three more times beyond the great river. Since this matter concerns all six brothers, it needs to discuss it carefully with them first.”

After a moment of inward deliberation, Li Zhan had already resigned himself to expecting little from this attempt at communication. He had not imagined that the pack leader would fail to reject him outright, but instead say it needed time to think. That alone left him pleasantly surprised. Though the outcome remained uncertain, it was enough to lift his spirits.

Recalling that Jin Xue and the pack leader had spoken for nearly ten minutes, Li Zhan asked with curiosity, “You talked to the pack leader for more than ten minutes, and that was all you discussed?”

Jin Xue shook her head. “No. After that matter was finished, the pack leader asked me about something else...”

She hesitated there, the corner of her mouth curving with a smile, and said no more. Her expression only deepened Li Zhan’s curiosity. “Oh? What was it?”

Jin Xue looked at him and smiled. “You’d better not hear it, Clan Leader. I’m afraid you’ll be angry afterward.”

Li Zhan laughed as well. “What could possibly be such a big deal? Go ahead and say it.”

Jin Xue said, “Very well, then I’ll speak plainly. The pack leader seemed to know you, and deliberately asked what kind of person you were. I told it that you were the leader of our tribe, the head of all our brothers and sisters, just like it. Then the pack leader asked whether this idea was yours. I said yes, and it replied that your scheming was like that of an old fox, impossible for a wolf to guard against.”

When she finished, she pressed her lips tightly together, looking as though she wanted to laugh but dared not, and yet could not help herself.

Li Zhan had never imagined the pack leader would say such things to Jin Xue. He pressed her for details, only to end up blushing bright red himself. Coughing awkwardly twice, he laughed. “That pack leader is more humorous than I expected. What do you think? Do I really look like an old fox?”

Jin Xue restrained her smile and said solemnly, “I think the pack leader must have some misunderstanding of you, Clan Leader. In my view, you keep your people in your heart and devote yourself entirely to planning for the tribe’s future. You are truly a rare and excellent clan leader. Even if you are sometimes a little deep in your calculations, it is only because you are considering the welfare of your people. How could that be compared to a sly and crafty old fox? The pack leader’s misunderstanding of you is indeed profound.”

Listening to Jin Xue praise him so earnestly, Li Zhan found himself quite pleased, feeling almost buoyant. Watching her figure recede toward the center of the tribe, he shook his head with a wry smile and murmured to himself, “People always prefer praise to criticism. Seems I’m no exception.”

Just then, the friend icon flashed. Li Zhan put aside his thoughts and opened it, seeing that it was True Lover.

True Lover: Clan Leader Li, are you in the tribe?

Li Zhan: Yes. What is it?

True Lover: Oh, nothing. I just wanted to chat with Clan Leader Li.

The moment Li Zhan saw that True Lover wanted to chat, his memory instantly returned to the torment of the previous night’s two-hour ordeal. He hurriedly replied:

Li Zhan: Sorry, I’m busy right now. Let’s talk when I have time.

True Lover: All right.

Putting away the friend window, Li Zhan turned his head and gave the pack leader, who was crouched by the edge of the dockside forest and sizing him up with a scrutinizing gaze, a meaningful look. He shrugged and headed toward the center of the tribe.

...

That day, True Lover sent Li Zhan more than ten messages, almost once every half hour. The purpose was simple: to confirm whether Li Zhan was in the tribe so that he could carry out his attack plan. He had already made arrangements with the leaders of two allied tribes. Once he confirmed that Li Zhan was absent, the two clan leaders would immediately lead all their militia to True Lover’s tribe. With the military strength of the three tribes combined, they would sweep over the Flame and Yellow Tribe in one stroke and divide the spoils equally among the three of them.

For the entire day, True Lover basically sat in the tribe hall, pondering how to draft the next message so that it would neither arouse Li Zhan’s suspicion nor fail to determine whether Li Zhan was in the tribe. Yet all day long, the answer he received was that Li Zhan was indeed there. What’s more, Li Zhan had grown somewhat displeased with the relentless harassment of messages, and his replies were becoming increasingly cold.

Anger and frustration simmered inside True Lover with nowhere to go. In the tribe hall, he slammed tables, kicked over chairs, and cursed Li Zhan and the Flame and Yellow Tribe hundreds of times over.

“Damn it. If it comes to it, I’ll just force my way in. So what if you’re a clan leader and your command ability is strong? You still can’t withstand nearly fifty fighters from three tribes working together. At worst, there’ll be more casualties. Those militia are going to die on the battlefield sooner or later anyway. If I don’t flatten your Flame and Yellow Tribe, I won’t be able to eat or sleep in peace, damn it!”

“One last message, damn it. Whether you’re in the tribe or not, I’m attacking in a while!”

Still cursing under his breath, True Lover sent the final message to Li Zhan through the friend channel:

True Lover: The moon is pretty bright tonight. Clan Leader Li, where are you admiring it from?

...

After a while, there was still no reply from Li. True Lover’s heart stirred. He hurriedly opened the friend list, and only then did he see that Li Zhan’s avatar had somehow turned gray, showing him as offline. Because he had been too agitated, he had not even noticed the avatar’s color while sending the messages; only now did he realize it.

Could Li Zhan have grown sick of my messages and deliberately gone invisible? True Lover rolled his eyes and quickly typed Li Zhan’s name into the friend search bar, then clicked search. The result came back: no such user name, or this user has already logged off.

“Ha ha ha...”

True Lover burst into wild laughter. “Damn it, I finally waited for this moment! Li Zhan, Li Zhan, no matter how clever you are, you’re still just a person, and you need to log off and rest. So what if the Flame and Yellow Tribe has developed well? So what if the clothes it makes sell like hotcakes? By tonight, I’ll turn your Flame and Yellow Tribe into scorched earth! Damn it, if I can’t make clothes, neither can you! Ha ha ha ha...”

After a bout of unrestrained laughter, True Lover immediately contacted the two allied clan leaders and had them bring their forces to his tribe at once. Tonight, they would board their boats, travel down the great river, and strike the Flame and Yellow Tribe in a single blow, destroying it utterly.