The wicked female is extremely fierce, but she's pampered by her seven beast husbands.

Chapter 293 Negotiations with the Crow Clan
An hour later, Bai Qingyu returned the chubby cub of the crow clan to their settlement.

Yuheng sat inside the tree hollow, watching the snow falling heavier and heavier outside, and said to Bai Qingyu beside him, "Should we stay here or go back first? The temperature will probably be very low tonight, and we can't make a fire in the territory of the Crow Clan. If we stay here, we might get sick from the cold."

Looking at the gloomy sky, Bai Qingyu replied, "If there's still no result before dark, we'll leave and come back tomorrow."

"Enen has been using all sorts of excuses to delay Ujah, and hasn't given any conditions for releasing those prisoners of war, all for our sake. Only by resolving the problem with the Crow Clan as soon as possible can we help her."

Yu Heng sighed, sat on the haystack, and said quietly, "Although Ling Chengen predicted the situation of the Crow Clan, the Lin Crow and Raven Clan have been dependent on Uga for so many years. They won't believe us so easily, nor will they betray us so easily. If the Crow Clan wants to make amends and tells Uga everything about us, they might be able to solve their predicament."

Bai Qingyu lowered his eyes and said, "Let's try diplomacy first, then force. If they're unwilling to cooperate with us, then let's deal with them first."

Besides, when Beast City was severely understaffed, they resorted to direct action.

Everyone is currently inside the city and is not afraid of war.

Their elaborate scheme was precisely to transfer the Sangqi men to the north bank with minimal bloodshed and sacrifice.

Yuheng crossed his arms behind his head and collapsed onto the haystack, asking Jiaojiao to keep an eye on the crow clan's reaction after the cub relayed the message.

As darkness fell, Bai Qingyu sighed, stood up, and said, "Let's go back first, and find a reliable person to pass on the message tomorrow."

As expected, the cubs were not reliable.

Yuheng prepared to recall Jiaojiao, got up, patted the grass clippings off his body, touched the temperature-locking ring on his wrist, and sighed, "This temperature-locking ring is really useful, very suitable for carrying when going out in this kind of extremely cold weather."

Bai Qingyu glanced at the temperature-locking ring on her wrist and said softly, "It's really useful, but we don't have any here."

Yu Heng said, "Isn't Ling Chengen researching it? She's always full of clever ideas, she might figure it out anytime soon."

As the two bent down to step out of the tree hole, a black crow suddenly flapped its wings and landed on a branch above their heads. Yu Heng was adjusting his heavy fur coat when he flicked his fingertips. Suddenly, the snow-covered branches of the giant tree twisted and stretched, binding the crow into a ball with lightning speed.

As the twig tossed the crow down from the tree trunk, Yuheng calmly tied the thin ribbon around his neck, then looked up at the crow lying in the snow: "How did you find us?"

The bound crows looked bewildered and said, "Didn't you first send a message to our little cubs? Our chief sent me to invite you over."

“But we didn’t reveal our location,” Yuheng said.

The young crow was speechless. He explained, "Our crow cubs are very clever. He said you were hiding in a tree hole and even gave you a specific appearance, so it's easy to find you. We know exactly how many tree holes and bird nests are near our territory. Just send someone to patrol around all the tree holes, and we'll definitely find you."

Bai Qingyu pulled up his hood and sighed, "Your Crow Clan's ability to gather information is truly terrifying."

They were almost on par with Lin Jing, who possessed exceptional skills in gathering information.

Lin Jing is a snake, and recently, due to the weather, her eyeliner has been basically useless.

Therefore, only the two of them could come in person.

Yuheng waved his hand, untied the vines from the crow's body, exhaled a puff of white mist, and said, "Lead the way. It's too cold, let's not waste any more time."

The two followed the crow toward the crow chieftain's house.

Upon entering the settlement of the Crow Clan, Yuheng casually surveyed their dwellings, then frowned and asked the young Crow Clan member ahead, "From whom did your clan learn this house-building technique?"

"Oh, these houses? The Uja people taught us how to build them."

Bai Qingyu turned her head, looking at Yu Heng's complicated expression, and asked softly, "What happened to these houses?"

Do you remember what the living environment was like in Shilin at the beginning? Were there any decent houses?

Hanshan and Shilin are very close. He used to lead teams to fly over Shilin often, so he knew very well the early living environment of Shilin. Before Ling Chengen welcomed Yu Shaochen of the Wuyang tribe back, most people lived in stone caves, or in shacks made of wood, or in tree hollows.

There were no decent houses.

The treehouse built by Yu Shaochen is considered to be a relatively advanced and innovative structure in the Shilin tribe.

As for Beast City, that's something for the second half of this year.

Yu Heng said to Bai Qingyu, "The style of these houses is very similar to the forest houses in Shangqing Forest Valley. No, not quite, almost exactly the same. The Wujia tribe may have nobles exiled from Shangqing Forest Valley. We'd better be careful."

Bai Qingyu had heard a little about his background, and upon hearing this, she said seriously, "I understand."

Although the nobles exiled from the Upper Aomori Valley within the Uga tribe are not necessarily Yuheng's enemies.

However, Yuheng was being hunted down by a large number of high-ranking warriors in the Northern Plains, and many exiled nobles in the Southern Plains were involved in the attack, some of whom may be hiding in the Uja tribe.

The Crow Clan doesn't have many forest huts; only a few dozen low wooden houses are built under giant trees, and most are simply holes carved into the trunks. Because their animal forms are small, the tree holes don't need to be very large. Just sealing the entrance with straw curtains is enough to provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Both of them were quite tall, so they had to bend over and lower their heads when entering the cabin.

Upon entering through the straw curtain, a wave of heat hit us. Several braziers were placed inside the wooden house, and the walls, both inside and out, were made of a thick mixture of dry grass and yellow mud, which provided some insulation.

Upon entering the wooden house, Bai Qingyu felt slightly awkward, as if she didn't know where to put her feet.

There were many crows in the house, mostly in animal form, except for two who appeared in human form, wrapped in thick clothing, looking like round balls.

"Please have a seat."

Several crows suddenly flew up from the ground and landed on the horizontal bar inside the house, making room for two wooden stools on the ground, which were almost the same size as the small stools that Ling Chengen had asked him to make earlier.

Bai Qingyu and Yu Heng looked at each other, but instead of offending the Crow Clan, they sat down on the tree stump.

The reason is simple: if they stand for too long, they have to keep their heads down.

The houses of the Crow tribe are so small, they're practically miniature versions.

The highest point of the building is only about 1.7 or 1.8 meters high; if two people stand upright, they will bump their heads.

"We are very grateful to you two for helping to treat the head injury of our cub."

Yuheng sat beside the charcoal brazier, warming his exposed, red and icy fingers on the edge of the fire without any restraint. He said calmly, "That little cub actually mentioned such a trivial matter?"

The chieftain of the Crow Clan, named Ya Xiao, is one of only two Crow Clan members who retain human form. He is a young and strong man in his prime, standing by the brazier, and says, "Our Crow Clan's cubs have always been precocious. Although we are not friends with Shi Lin, we are naturally willing to treat our cubs with courtesy because you two have been so kind to them."

"Even if the talks don't go well today, we will let you leave safely."

Yu Heng snorted, "Even if you want to make a move, we can leave safely."

“Our Beast City has its own rules, and we will not harm those who are powerless to resist. But your clan is truly outrageous. A cub with a head injury is sleeping in a rabbit burrow in the dead of winter. Aren’t you afraid he will freeze to death at any time?” Ya Xiao’s expression changed slightly, but he still maintained his restraint and politeness: “This is our negligence.”

He waved his hand, and a black raven carrying a piece of dark gold ore placed it in front of Yu Heng.

"This is our gift of gratitude."

Yu Heng picked up the ore, raised an eyebrow slightly, and asked, "What's the use of this thing?"

Ya Xiao pointed to the temperature-locking ring peeking out from his wrist and said, "This is soft gold ore. Soft gold can be extracted from the ore, and it is a very rare thing in the Northern Plains. Since you have temperature-locking rings, you might be able to use this kind of thing."

Bai Qingyu and Yu Heng looked at each other, but neither of them spoke.

Ignoring the subtle exchange between the two, Ya Xiao said, "We only have this one piece of soft gold ore; it was obtained by chance. Since our clan doesn't have temperature-locking rings or know how to manufacture such things, we have no use for it."

Bai Qingyu casually put the soft gold ore into his spatial storage and said with a smile, "Alright, I'll accept this gift."

"You should know why we've come. I wonder what the clan leader thinks?"

Ya Xiao waved his hand, and most of the crows in the wooden house left.

Ya Xiao stood up and said, "We don't believe in empty words. After all, we've already been tricked once. Uja promised us many tempting conditions to get us to join, but over the years... few of them have been fulfilled. If our Ya clan weren't so lacking in combat skills, we wouldn't be so controlled by others."

"Although we are not good at fighting, we are excellent at gathering intelligence, so we don't think we are that bad and should be treated equally."

"Therefore, if you are no different from the Uja, we will not switch allegiance to you."

Bai Qingyu raised her eyes and asked, "What difference are you referring to?"

“We can’t have it both ways.” Ya Xiao frowned and said in a deep voice, “Uja wants us to gather information, but also wants us to be able to help in the battle.”

"They want us to help turn the tide of the battle at a critical moment, but they also want to force us to hand over food to make up for their losses."

"I don't know what you Shilin people are seeking?"

"But we will not cooperate with overly greedy tribes."

Yuheng held the metal tongs by the brazier, gripping the black coal in the box, and had no intention of getting involved in the negotiations with the crow clan.

He wasn't good at dealing with people and could easily offend them if he just opened his mouth. So, he came here to ensure Bai Qingyu's safety and, incidentally, to gather information and monitor the Crow Clan's movements.

Bai Qingyu did not answer immediately. After careful consideration, he said, "Since you do not believe in promises, then... I think there is no need to talk about anything today. Why don't you send a few people to come back to Beast City with us and stay there for a day or two to experience it for yourselves... Then we can talk about whether or not to cooperate."

"What is the clan leader's opinion?"

Bai Qingyu sat calmly in place, his sharp eyes revealing absolute confidence.

He didn't think there was anything in the Northern Plains that could compare to their Beast City.

Enen's concept of governing the Beast City is very advanced and innovative.

To be honest, he never imagined before that... how to manage such a large city without it becoming so chaotic.

Although he had seen few beast cities, he had heard of the beast cities in the Southern Plains. He dared to say that while the Beast City was somewhat backward in other aspects, it was definitely the best in terms of management.

Even the Beast King City of Nanyuan wouldn't be any better.

At least the lower-class orcs living in the city can see a lot of hope.

Ya Xiao was surprised by Bai Qingyu's words and fell silent for a moment.

Bai Qingyu stood up and said, "We will only wait three days."

"If we do not hear from you within three days, we will not wait for your reply. When we meet on the battlefield in the future, we will show no mercy."

Yu Heng threw away the pliers in his hand and followed Bai Qingyu out.

Bai Qingyu transformed into a giant crane and carried him away from the Crow Clan's settlement.

After crossing the Xuemu River, Yuheng wrapped himself up tightly, his eyelashes covered in a layer of white dust, and said to Bai Qingyu, "I thought you would try to persuade him. In my opinion, the Crow Clan are not actually that loyal to Uja; they value their own interests more."

"Actually, if the terms are agreed upon, they won't hesitate for long."

Bai Qingyu shook his head and said, "The people of the Crow Clan are very clever, but persuasion is useless."

"It's true that they value their own interests, but who doesn't?"

"If you were the chieftain of a tribe, wouldn't you be working tirelessly for the future of your people?"

Yuheng shook his head and said, "I am self-aware enough that I am not fit to be the clan leader, because I am capable of abandoning my clan members at any time."

Bai Qingyu: "..."

Yuheng didn't think it was self-deprecation, so he spoke very frankly: "If I hadn't become Ling Chengen's partner, I wouldn't have had any companions, nor family, I wouldn't have sacrificed so much for anyone, and I wouldn't have protected any tribe or people."

Bai Qingyu neither agreed nor disagreed with his words.

His relationship with Yuheng wasn't exactly good.

Having known Yuheng for over half a year, although he didn't completely understand the man, he felt that Yuheng was far from being as cold and indifferent as he claimed.

However, Yuheng is someone who is good at protecting himself and always consciously avoids getting too involved in his surroundings.

Only in this way can he withdraw at any time if he is betrayed or finds himself in a disadvantageous situation.

This may be related to his experience; Bai Qingyu admits that he does not have the same resilience as Yu Heng.

Perhaps because he had been silent for too long, Yuheng asked again, "You're not feeling sorry for me, are you?"

Bai Qingyu said calmly, "I'm not that kind of person when it comes to sympathizing with rivals in love."

"Don't think that just because you say these things, I'll give in to you when it comes to Enen."

Yu Heng snorted, "Everyone relies on their own abilities, who needs you to give way!"