168: Chapter 168 Vigilance

Bai Wanwan noticed Zhu Xiu had stopped walking, his gaze seemingly fixed on something in the distance. She couldn't help but turn her head and ask softly, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing."

Zhu Xiu quickly withdrew his gaze, his tone flat, as if his momentary distraction had been an illusion.

However, Bai Wanwan had already followed the direction of his gaze.

In the distance, between sparse leaves, the figures of beastmen were faintly visible. It was too far for her to see clearly; she could only vaguely make out the tall, upright posture of a Male standing amidst the tree shadows.

Although she couldn't distinguish his features, his erect posture exuded an air of nobility.

He also seemed to be watching them, his gaze sharp and penetrating.

Just as Bai Wanwan was about to take a closer look, her wrist was gently grasped by Zhu Xiu. "Let's go."

"Oh, okay."

She snapped back to attention and allowed Zhu Xiu to lead her towards the Market. But a lingering doubt made her lower her voice to ask, "What were those beastmen doing just now? Hiding sneakily in the woods."

Zhu Xiu tightened his grip on her hand, his tone indifferent. "It has nothing to do with us. Don't worry about it."

Of course he knew the origins of those beastmen, especially that Male standing in the tree shadows—the Young Clan Leader of the Golden Lion Tribe, Jin Yi.

Even back in the Wandering Beast City, the name of the Young Chief of the Golden Lion Tribe, Jin Yi, was often heard.

Jin Yi hated Wandering Beasts the most. Whenever he encountered them, he would relentlessly pursue and kill them.

Jin Yi was born with a peak Yellow Tier Talent. A few years ago, it was rumored he was about to break through the Yellow Tier and enter the Orange Tier.

Wandering Beasts hated him, yet they also deeply feared him.

Such a powerful Male had not yet undergone a Pairing Ceremony.

In the past, he had simply heard such things and let them pass. But now, he couldn't help but feel wary.

He remembered that Jin Yi was the desired partner for the precious Females of many Large Tribes.

Zhu Xiu's eyes turned slightly cold. He would absolutely not give Jin Yi any chance to get close to Wan Wan.

As their group re-entered the Market, the atmosphere around them was completely different from before.

The Male beastmen in the Market all cast wary and guarded glances their way. Some even subconsciously increased the distance between themselves and them.

Zhu Xiu's expression remained unchanged, but in his heart, he understood—the agonized screams of the boar beastman from earlier had clearly spread throughout the entire Market. These beastmen, with their keen senses, had probably witnessed the entire scene.

Yan Lie paid no mind to the gazes of those Males. He cheerfully moved to Bai Wanwan's other side, asking in a light tone, "Wan Wan, what else would you like to trade for? I'll go get it for you."

Bai Wanwan looked around. The goods in the Market were indeed sparse, scattered with various strange-looking fruits, beast meat, and some crude daily utensils.

She shook her head, somewhat disappointed, and said to Yan Lie, "Nothing in particular. Let's just look around. If there's really nothing we need, we'll continue on our way."

In her imagination, a Market was like those in Modern Times society—overflowing with goods, bustling with noise, even having various food stalls.

Although she understood this was the Beast World, it couldn't possibly be that lively.

However, the gap between reality and imagination was as vast as the difference between Hermès and a fake bag costing a few dozen bucks.

The Market, visible from one end to the other, lost its appeal after a single walkthrough.

Just as she was about to turn away, her gaze was suddenly caught by something on a stall diagonally ahead.

Was that garlic?

She walked straight to the stall and pointed at the snow-white cloves, feigning ignorance as she asked, "What is this?"

The stall owner enthusiastically replied, "This is called the pain-relief fruit."

"Pain-relief fruit?" Bai Wanwan was momentarily stunned, thinking to herself: Isn't this just garlic? Maybe it just looks similar.

"Does it relieve pain?" she pressed further.

At that moment, Xin Feng walked to her side and explained, "Sometimes beastmen get stomachaches from eating spoiled meat. Eating more of this pain-relief fruit can help."

Hearing this, Bai Wanwan understood.

Garlic did indeed have antibacterial properties. And perhaps plants in the Beast World were different from those in Modern Times. Maybe the "pain-relief fruit" here had stronger antibacterial effects.

She bent down, picked up a clove from the stall, and brought it to her nose to smell. She confirmed it—this was definitely garlic!

Garlic was an indispensable seasoning in many delicious dishes.

Although it could also be exchanged in the points store, she was currently unwilling to spend a single point, not wanting to waste them.

So, she asked directly, "How do you trade for this?"

The stall owner's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "You can trade it for that hair accessory you gave them earlier."

Bai Wanwan smiled, her tone carrying a hint of teasing. "For just these few dozen 'pain-relief fruits,' you want to trade for my hair accessory? That's probably not enough. If you have other things to trade, I might consider it."

Even though she said this, she had already decided in her heart to buy all this garlic.

She had watched videos before and knew that garlic, like potatoes, was easy to plant, and you could even eat the garlic sprouts.

If she had to exchange for supplies from the points store every day, it would cost at least several dozen points.

But if she grew potatoes, garlic sprouts, and other things herself, she could save a lot of points.

Saving a little each day might not seem like much, but over a month or two, it would add up to a significant amount.

The stall owner also clearly felt the trade was somewhat unfair. Scratching his head, his eyes suddenly lit up. "I know how to catch Piranha!"

"How to catch Piranha?"

Bai Wanwan curled her lip. Was this thing even rare?

Who in their right mind would go catch Piranha?

"Yes, yes! If you agree, I'll trade with you."

"No..."

Just as she was about to refuse, Zhu Xiu, holding her hand, said to the stall owner, "Tell us about it. If it really works, we'll trade."

Bai Wanwan turned her head, blinked, and looked at him with confusion. "What's going on? Why catch Piranha?"

Zhu Xiu turned to explain to her. "Piranha meat is extremely delicious. Females love to eat it. Only precious Females in Large Tribes get the chance to taste it."

"Delicious?" Hearing this, Bai Wanwan immediately became interested.

Life in the Beast World was already lacking enough; it was hardship enough.

The one thing she absolutely couldn't bear to suffer was her stomach.

Seeing their interest, the stall owner quickly added, "I'll only tell you if you really trade. You can't trick me."

Without another word, Bai Wanwan directly pulled out the shiny hair accessory from her bosom and handed it over. "No tricks. Tell us."

The stall owner took the hair accessory, his eyes squinting into happy slits. He immediately explained the method for catching Piranha in detail.

After finishing, the stall owner tightly clutched the hair accessory in his hand.

"This method is something I secretly overheard from a Male of a Super Tribe last time. Plus, I saw them catch some with my own eyes, so the method is real. Whether you can catch any depends on your own skill."

Having said that, he hurriedly began rolling up his beast skin, ready to leave.

Initially thinking these Males might stop him, he kept glancing back every few steps.

But he found that even after walking quite far, they hadn't followed.

He thought to himself, even if he told them the method, they probably wouldn't be able to catch any...