600: A New Guest

A New Guest

"Ha, there's quite a number of them down there."

Ao Qin whistled out, looking down below and seeing all of the little lights coming from the torches. 

"They really decided to reveal a few of their cards here, didn't they?" he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, the dragon-kin looked beside him to find Ruishi Lei walking up to look as well. 

"Of course, on the outside, this is an opportunity to reconnect with the other races. On the inside, it will be an opportunity to gain more strength. This will alter our life drastically. The balance of power was already shaken by the beast gods. There might not be an all-out war but the tension is there. Some tribes may rise to the top while others fall from their place". he said. 

"Heh, you have quite a way with words."

"It is only my own thoughts. Things may be vastly different than what I have said."

The pair spoke quietly but being on this ship, nothing would go unheard. That was especially the case for a certain old goat. 

"Tension? Pfft, don't get me started, about that. Everyone in the Council is just looking out for themselves!" said Lao Yang.

Hearing the goat-kin speak, everyone looked as he continued to talk incessantly. 

"There is no common threat anymore, the danger of the Savage Land isn't as significant as before! So now the threat comes from each other, they might not provoke a war but they'll prepare for it. They're all going to bide their time, gather their strength and the Teleportation Array gives exactly what they need!" 

"What would that be? Territory?" Ao Qin asked him. 

"It would be but there's something even more important than that. I think our guest may know the answer."

Lao Yang turned to look at Bai Sheng, who had been sitting near the side of the cabin, quietly listening to their conversation. When he turned his attention to her, so did the others, they all waited for her to speak. 

"Hm, I believe that it would be trade", she answered. 

The goat-kin smiled and pointed his cane up into the air. 

"Yes! Trade! Think about it! There is no doubt that things like the Savage Beasts are unique to us. Not to mention, the various ruins that have yet to be fully explored. The Elders believe that this can be monopolized and by exchanging these things, they could obtain far greater value. New weapons and equipment, all sorts of supplies, and even the possibility of hiring a few strong individuals to help them."

"Is that so..." Ao Qin muttered. 

"Indeed, a war among the tribes would certainly be the quickest and most straightforward but it would also lead to the most losses and drastic changes. No one is willing to risk that. Of cours-" 

Just then, Lao Yang took a look outside the ship, noticing something.

"Is this supposed to be part of our path?" he suddenly asked, "We seem to be quite far from the Teleportation Arrays. Actually, we're past the protection zone too. Where are we going?" 

The old goat's eyes narrowed as he looked out of the windows, studying their surroundings during the night. He then looked up and turned to Zhu Xie, who had been steering the entire time. 

"Is this part of our course, Zhu Xie?" he asked. 

The boar-kin face him and nodded, pointing at the map beside him. 

"It says right here, this is where we're supposed to be scouting", he replied. 

"Really, how peculiar..." 

Lao Yang turned around, gazing at everyone, quietly. No one spoke or seemed to react in any way to his eyes. 

"I don't suppose that we're going to have another visitor, are we?" he asked aloud, "No?" 

Among the other zodiacs, Ruishi Lei and Ao Qin both glanced at each other before one of them spoke. 

"Why would that be?" Ruishi Lei questioned.

The goat-kin looked at him and answered calmly. 

"We are going to be the first to enter the Human Continent, it wouldn't be strange if one of us wanted to bring in a few more people." 

The White Lion chuckled. 

"Out of all of us, who do you think is the most likely to do such a thing? After all, we are under orders that it will only be us. To break that order would mean losing our place." 

"I know that", Lao Yang retorted, "What I am implying is whether or not this guest of ours is from here." 

At this moment, the air grew a bit tense within the ship. The old goat was suspicious and he certainly knew more than he lead on. If worse came to worst, his suspicions could be proven true and the plan might fall through. That was the risk. 

Just then, Niu Hong opened his mouth to try and mend the situation before the ship suddenly shook as someone, or a group had landed on the deck. 

Everyone braced for the impact before looking out. 

Among them, the Four Claws, Ao Qin, and Bai Sheng all looked with anticipation. 

"I thought we told her to be more inconspicuous", said She Xing. 

Lao Yang looked at her, hearing what the snake-kin had said. 

"Who?" 

He asked before looking back at these new visitors. In the night sky, it was hard to see them but among the large shadows were two individuals, one of whose eyes carried a certain iciness to them. 

"It would be better to hear from them", said Niu Hong. 

And then, Bai Sheng walked out of the cabin and stood outside on the ship, looking at them. She then lowered her head and bowed as did the shadows. They began to move forward, coming close enough for everyone else to see them clearly. 

"Humans?" Lao Yang suddenly exclaimed. 

Those who didn't know about this were speechless, while those who did felt a bit of pressure mounting on them. 

"I guess, we're not hiding them after all."

Qiang Rong put his hands behind his head and clicked his tongue a few times. As for their leader, Niu Hong turned just slightly towards the monkey-kin. 

"The issue would be keeping this secret to just the ship, letting the news spread would do us no good", he said.

"Right, we just have to see how they react to this."

The Four Claws looked on as they watched Bai Sheng walk Ming Yue and the others into the cabin. There they were met with the widened eyes of Lao Yang, and everyone else that had been kept in the dark. 

Zhu Xie wasn't even paying attention to where the ship was going as the boar-kin's eyes were practically bulging out of his sockets. And Shu Yi, the little mouse-kin, pointed at Ming Yue with a shaking hand. 

"Is... Is that truly a human?" 

His voice came out somewhat weak as he spoke aloud the question on everyone's mind. Ming Yue looked down at him, followed by Liang Wei's gaze as the two-tailed cat beast stared at the little mouse. 

"That's a Mao! A Twin-Tailed Mao."

As Shu Yi looked up at the beast, he felt an instinctual fear. In a matter of seconds, he scurried up Zhu Xie's shoulder and hid behind his neck, peeking out from behind. 

"Liang Wei, stop it."

The young woman's voice came out as gentle but firm, commanding the cat beast. 

Letting out a meow, Liang Wei yawned before looking away, no longer showing an interest in the Zodiacs. 

Ming Yue then looked away and glanced at each and every one of the Zodiacs. 0

"Although this was meant to be secretive, I couldn't see how it could be done with them", she said, gesturing at the beasts. 

Ao Qin sighed before bringing out a smile. 

"Haah, that's alright. Perhaps, that plan was merely wishful thinking." 

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