HCB Chapter 24 Arrival at the Spirit Feather Clan
Chapter 24 Arrival at the Spirit Feather Clan
The first tribesman to rush over to observe was clearly an impatient man. His sharp voice let out a scream, which became the wake-up call for the tribesmen who stayed behind. Whether they were already awake or not, after that scream, they definitely couldn't go back to sleep.
After flying for a day and a night, with only one rest in between, even Lezhi, who had been on Maoqiu's back the whole time, was exhausted, let alone Lechu and the others.
However, physical exhaustion could not dampen their enthusiasm for gossiping with their tribesmen. This time, they not only found the cub, but the cub also brought back a bird-beast companion. The mission was successfully completed, and every tribesman had a satisfied smile on their face.
The tribespeople who remained behind, upon hearing of their chieftain's return, all flew out of their homes to investigate. However, upon reaching the plaza, they dared not approach it, all because the enormous, fortress-like bird stood there brazenly, completely oblivious to its status as an outsider.
The group exchanged bewildered glances, a buzz of discussion rising between them, but no one dared to step forward to confirm. Most importantly, they saw the tribespeople and their guards who had gone out with the large bird. Their calm expressions suggested that this wasn't a dangerous invasion, so the tribespeople remained relatively relaxed.
As the clan leader, Le Chu did not dampen the clansmen's enthusiasm for gossiping in private. He waited in place until the remaining clansmen had gathered to the fullest extent before stepping forward to explain the current situation to everyone.
"Hey, look, the clan leader is out..."
"Clan leader..."
With his palms down, Le Chu made a quiet gesture. As he stepped forward to take charge, the scene quickly quieted down. Scanning the expectant and curious expressions of the tribespeople before him, Le Chu slightly curled the corners of his lips and said in a relaxed yet serious tone, "Good day, everyone. Sorry to bother you so early, we're back."
"It's alright, Chieftain, you've had a long journey!"
"That's right, the clan chief is always so polite."
Hearing the heartwarming words of comfort from his clansmen, Le Chu's smile deepened. He nodded slightly and continued the previous topic, "I suppose everyone came so urgently not only to welcome us, but also mainly to check on the cubs' condition."
At this point, Le Chu paused mischievously, noticing the sudden brightening in the eyes of the remaining tribespeople, before turning to look at Mao Qiu. Meanwhile, Le Zhi, who had been hiding in Mao Qiu's fur pretending to be dead since landing, had been listening intently to the sounds outside.
After hearing Le Chu's words, the crowd became noisy again. For some reason, Le Chu's heart suddenly raced. Not knowing what to do, Le Chu decided to remain calm and wait for the situation to unfold.
Just as Lezhi decided to continue burying his head in the sand, Lechu moved to Maoqiu's side, and Lezhi heard Lechu calling him from outside.
"Lezhi, can you hear me? Don't be shy, come out and meet your people!"
After saying this, Le Chu stopped urging him and patiently stood there waiting for Le Zhi to appear.
Biting his lip, Lezhi knew that hiding like this wasn't a solution. Mustering his courage, Lezhi closed his eyes and thought, "It's just coming out to see people, right? My tribesmen won't eat me, so what's there to be afraid of?"
With his courage fully restored, Lezhi sat up straight. From afar, the Lingyu tribesmen saw a small head with white hair appear behind the large bird. Because Lezhi's hair color was similar to that of Maoqiu's fur, some tribesmen couldn't find him at first. It wasn't until Lezhi straightened his entire upper body that they could spot him.
"Hiss, this, this is..."
"Ah, is this our cub?"
"My mother tree, he's so cute~"
……
The moment Lezhi appeared, there was a brief silence, followed by distinct breathing and a sudden uproar. Lechu ignored the noise and instead reached out to give the cub a hand to help it down from the bird's back.
Without hesitation, Lezhi, holding onto Lechu's arm, nimbly leaped down from the fur ball's back. He was only a few days old, barely reaching Lechu's waist, with chubby baby fat on his face, clearly a cub. Especially with Leshan, one of the tallest in the tribe, and the imposing Lechu standing beside him, he appeared particularly pitiful in every way.
Bringing Lezhi before them, Lechu wore a gentle expression, giving the tribespeople time to see Lezhi clearly. By this time, Lezhi had largely regained his composure. Having made his initial appearance, he was no longer as nervous as before. Raising his eyes to scan the tribespeople before him, Lezhi saw that most of their eyes held curiosity and goodwill, and he detected no resistance, which made him feel much more relaxed.
The cub appeared, having disembarked from the giant bird-beast once again. Some of the clever members of the Lingyu Clan who remained seemed to have guessed what was going on, and the buzzing discussions gradually subsided until the scene returned to silence.
"Alright, everyone has seen this. This is Lezhi, the cub we've been protecting. The bird-beast is Lezhi's companion from the jungle, named Maoqiu. After discussion, we've agreed that Lezhi can bring Maoqiu to live with the tribe. Does anyone have any questions?"
When the tribespeople present heard that Maoqiu was going to live with Lezhi in the tribe, they didn't react much. This was exactly what Lezhi was worried about, so after finding that everyone didn't object to Maoqiu living with them, the tense expression on her face relaxed a lot.
Since arriving at the Lingyu Clan's territory, the furball had been in a state of subtle vigilance. After not sensing any hostility from the two-legged creatures around it, it stopped maintaining its huge form and seized the opportunity to transform into a small furball, flying to the top of Lezhi's head and lying down.
This action caused another gasp of surprise from the tribespeople who were seeing the fur ball transform for the first time, followed by even more curious glances and more discussions.
Raising her hand to touch the fluffy ball resting on her head, Lezhi glanced at Lechu beside her. As if on cue, Lechu quickly lowered her eyes and gave Lezhi a reassuring look before taking charge of the situation.
"Quiet down, okay. Since everyone is fine, let's all go about our business. Leyou, come here for a moment."
Seeing that everyone did not disperse immediately after hearing the clan leader's words, but instead rushed to the guards who had returned with them to ask about gossip, Le Chu ignored them and instead called out to one of the clansmen.
Following Le Chu's gaze, Le Zhi saw a sweet-looking young man in front of her. Yes, Le Zhi couldn't think of any other adjective that could be more suitable for the person in front of her than "sweet".
He had pinkish-yellow hair, the strands of which were fluffy and looked very soft to the touch. He had round cheeks and round eyes, and his lips seemed to naturally carry a smile. He exuded a sweet and approachable aura, without a trace of aggression. Almost anyone who saw him would involuntarily smile along with him.
This "anyone" naturally included Lezhi. From observing her interactions with the tribespeople that day, Lezhi noticed that the Lingyu tribespeople's hair and wing colors were the same, meaning the person before her also had pink and yellow wings. Thinking of this, Lezhi involuntarily recalled a small animal she had seen in her previous life, which seemed to have the same color scheme.
If that little animal could transform into a human, it probably wouldn't be much different. Lezhi's mind wandered, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Leyou in front of her, her hidden love for cute creatures fully awakened.