This Leopardman was quite smart; he understood what Ling Xiao ant. He shook his big, furry head and said in a deep, rumbling voice, "They... no live! Not live!"
Ling Xiao smiled, shook his head, and walked toward the two Beastn. The remaining Beastn, sensing that this powerful human probably wouldn’t harm "weaklings" like them, grew bold and ran out from their hiding spots. They followed behind Ling Xiao, curious to see what this powerful human was going to do.
As a few of them passed the Water Python Magical Beast’s corpse, they angrily kicked it a few tis. One of the more mischievous Beastn went up and violently tore off a huge scale. Holding it in his hand, he gestured with it against his furry chest—he was probably thinking it would make for a pretty good piece of armor!
Ling Xiao arrived in front of the two Beastn. They hadn’t stopped breathing completely yet. Their chests rose and fell faintly, and intermittent wheezing sounds ca from their throats. Their vacant eyes were half-open. Upon seeing Mad Leopard, the two Beastn seed to grow agitated, and murky tears stread from the corners of their eyes.
"Huu... grglgrglgrgl!"
Mad Leopard spoke rapidly in the beast tongue. The furry faces of the two dying Beastn twitched violently, and the tears from their eyes flowed even faster, their gazes filled with sorrow.
Mad Leopard turned his big, furry head, his own eyes brimming with tears. He looked at Ling Xiao with great sadness and said, "Their children... I... take care!"
Ling Xiao nodded, indicating he understood. ’Mad Leopard must have just given those two Leopard People his final assurance, promising he would take care of their children. And the two of them are probably sad because they’ll never see their families again.’
Based on their behavior, Ling Xiao’s understanding of these Beastn deepened. ’They have sincere emotions, just like us,’ he thought. ’And they seem even purer than human emotions!’
With that thought, Ling Xiao gave a small smile, which stopped Mad Leopard from asking his confused questions. He pulled out two dicinal pills, crouched down, and gestured for one of the Beastn to open its mouth.
The Leopardman was very confused to see a human trying to feed it, but when it saw its leader, Mad Leopard, not only showing no reaction but actually encouraging it to eat the Elixir, it obediently opened its mouth. In truth, even that small movent was a struggle. This was the result of a Beastman’s powerful life force; if a human had been thrown a hundred ters into the air and slamd to the ground, they would have been smashed to pieces long ago.
The mont the Elixir entered the Leopardman’s mouth, its eyes instantly brightened, and then, miraculously, its breathing evened out!
Ling Xiao then placed the other Elixir into the second Leopardman’s mouth. That one swallowed it down eagerly, and the look in its eyes as it gazed at Ling Xiao changed from wary to grateful.
The Beastman who had taken the Elixir first felt as if his entire body had been healed. He tried to sit up, but Ling Xiao pushed him back down with one hand. A shocked expression appeared on the Leopardman’s furry face. ’Is this really a human? Not so offshoot of the Beast Race? He held down so casually with just one hand!’
They knew their own strength better than anyone. ’Even though I’m badly injured,’ he thought, ’I never imagined a human could hold down!’
And yet, he had.
"They can’t move. Understand?"
Ling Xiao said as he looked at Mad Leopard. He sensed this Beastman was different from the others, a fact made obvious by his ability to speak the human tongue when the others could not.
"Understand. They... broke... bones!"
Mad Leopard had indeed understood Ling Xiao. Furthermore, he was keenly aware of his two companions’ injuries. He nodded hastily before barking out a few quick words in the beast tongue to the two on the ground, who imdiately quieted down and lay there obediently. Their furry, pointed ears, however, kept twitching—they were clearly not used to the life of an invalid.
Ling Xiao began to set one of the Beastman’s bones. The mont he felt the extent of the damage, even he was startled. He couldn’t help but give the Beastman a respectful nod. ’To be this broken and still be alive! And without even crying out in pain!’
’True warriors!’
Nearly every bone in the two Beastn’s bodies had been shattered. If they hadn’t encountered a human like Ling Xiao with his profound dical skills, it was doubtful that even the High Priest could have saved them.
Because of this, the eyes of the surviving Leopard People were filled with gratitude as they watched Ling Xiao.
By the ti Ling Xiao finished setting all the bones in the two Beastn’s bodies, the sun was setting. Nearby, so of the Leopard People had started a bonfire. They were carving large chunks of at from the Water Python Magical Beast, skewering them, and roasting them over the flas.
When the at was nearly cooked, Mad Leopard untied a cloth pouch from his belt. He took out a pinch of sothing, and with a look of both reluctance and resolve, he sprinkled the handful of white crystals onto the at, which let out a sharp SIZZLE. The other Leopard People stared at the at, their throats bobbing as they swallowed hard, their scarlet tongues darting out to lick their lips.
Mad Leopard wrinkled his nose, bared his sharp teeth, and let out a low growl. The other Leopard People imdiately fell in line.
Mad Leopard brought the large slab of at over to Ling Xiao and said loudly, "Eat! Is good... No poison!"
Smiling, Ling Xiao accepted the at and nodded at Mad Leopard. Then, with a flick of his wrist, a large sack appeared out of thin air in his hand. It contained a full fifty pounds of brilliant white salt, and he tossed it to Mad Leopard. As the Lord of a coastal city, Ling Xiao had as much salt as he could ever want.
Mad Leopard stared at Ling Xiao’s hand for a long mont, clearly fascinated by the human’s ability to conjure things from thin air. But when he opened the sack, absolute ecstasy flooded his heart!
For this hunting expedition, the Clan Leader of the Leopardman Race had only given them a tiny pinch of salt. Yet this human was so generous, giving them a huge amount of it! The quality, too, was finer than anything these Leopard People had ever seen.
As a result, Mad Leopard couldn’t bear to use even a speck of it. He clutched the sack of salt tightly. With this treasure, they would be hailed as heroes even if they returned from the hunt completely empty-handed!
Salt had always been a scarce resource for the Beast Race. Although Penzes Swamp contained salt lakes, and the great High Priest had taught them how to harvest salt by evaporating the water, the yield was extrely low and the quality was poor. Any salt of slightly better quality was sent as tribute to the leading tribe of the Beast Race and the High Priest.
This was not done under duress; they offered it willingly. If not for the High Priest and the leading Tiger Race, the Beastn living in the swamp would have long ago been devoured by the powerful Magical Beasts lurking everywhere.
Therefore, to see such exquisite salt filled Mad Leopard’s heart with a feeling that could only be described as ecstasy. Beastn are direct and lack the cunning and deviousness of the Human Race, but that doesn’t an they don’t understand gratitude. Mad Leopard bowed low to Ling Xiao and spoke with the utmost sincerity.
"Be guest... Beast Race... welcos you!"
Even if the Leopardman hadn’t invited him, Ling Xiao already planned to visit the mysterious Beast Race to see how they lived. ’Of course,’ he thought, ’my greatest hope is that I can sohow manage to poach so of these simple, honest, yet incredibly powerful Beastn and bring them back with !’
’Can’t let them know about that little wish, though.’
「Two days later.」
Even Ling Xiao had to admire the incredible life force of the Beastn. The two who had nearly every bone in their bodies broken were actually able to stand up. Although walking was still a great effort, they were now stable enough to be carried on simple stretchers by the other Beastn without risking further injury!
It was important to rember that the Elixirs Ling Xiao had given them were only ant to keep them alive, not so miraculous cure-all. He had set their bones, but their ability to stand up so quickly was all their own.
Beyond re amazent, Ling Xiao’s admiration for the Beastn grew even stronger.
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