Chapter 570: Chapter 569: Still Not the Same as the Original

Xiao Cheng handed the carriage over to Gong You, who had leaped over. He then stood up, rolling up his sleeves and grumbling, "Shi Si, where do you think you’re going, you little rascal..."

With that, he leaped from the carriage and pushed against the flow of traffic in pursuit.

Shi Si was just a cub. He was young, and many cubs his age couldn’t even achieve Transformation yet, still stuck in their cute, dopy Beast Forms.

He yipped excitedly, the very picture of a mischievous troublemaker, weaving through the chaos of speeding carriages and Beast Forms. He startled others into either slamming on their brakes or swerving frantically, prompting angry shouts. "Who isn’t watching their cub? If he gets bumped or hurt and ends up dead, who’s to blame?"

"I’ve got a bump on my head! Who are his parents? You have to compensate me..."

Xiao Cheng could only apologize to each person in turn, but he was so fast that he was long gone before his words even finished.

Soon, the little black fox zipped into a carriage. Without even looking at the people inside, he huddled behind one person’s leg, covering his eyes with his paws, his tail sticking out and whipping back and forth nervously.

This carriage was quite spacious. The wood was polished smooth and coated with a layer of plant-based lacquer. The floor was covered with a black bearskin rug, and even the seats were upholstered in soft sable fur!

The three Beastmen inside the carriage exchanged a look. Before they could ask any curious questions, the curtain was flung open. An exceptionally handsome and striking young male, with absolutely no gentleness, yanked the little Black Fox cub out by its tail.

He scolded the cub in frustration, "Shi Si, I can tolerate your usual mischief, but look at the occasion today.

I knew I shouldn’t have brought you out. You promised you’d behave, so why are you acting up the moment we’re out the door?

What if you had darted under a wheel..."

Shi Si flailed his paws wildly in the air, yipping. The feeling of being upside down was awful, and besides, his father was pulling so hard it hurt the base of his tail!

"Father, I’m not stupid! Why would I run under a carriage?"

"Well, with so many people around, what if someone sees you’re as cute and handsome as your father and decides to snatch you?" Xiao Cheng said through gritted teeth.

"You’re always calling me a master of destruction and saying you want to throw me out. I’ll just go wreck someone else’s house! Who would dare to snatch me!" Shi Si retorted, unconvinced.

As the father and son bickered, one of the people in the carriage gave a low cough. "Young man, it’s a cub’s nature to be playful and run around. If you speak to him calmly, the little guy should remember."

Only then did Xiao Cheng turn his head, as if just noticing them. He scratched his head and smiled. "And you are?"

The coachman, who was driving a pair of Golden Leopards, announced rather haughtily, "Inside this carriage is Mr. Xu Feng, one of the tutors who instructs the princes. He is accompanying his mate on a visit to her hometown before heading back for the Late Autumn Grand Competition in Ningbei City. After that, he will continue south to Pingjing."

Xiao Cheng hurriedly bowed in deference. "My apologies! This humble one was unaware that it was Mr. Xu Feng. I’m so sorry my cub disturbed you esteemed guests."

"No matter. The cub is quite adorable. You should keep a close eye on him, lest he really get snatched and sold as a Beast Slave," Xu Feng said with a smile and a wave of his hand.

Xiao Cheng nodded repeatedly. "I will. This brat... if you don’t discipline him for a day, he’ll tear the roof off. I suppose I’ve been too soft on him."

With that, he quickly jumped off the carriage with Shi Si in his arms. After another apology, he watched the vehicle depart before hurrying back to his own carriage.

He set up an Array and asked in a low voice, "Shi Si, are you sure the body Xu Feng is using belongs to the owner of the Bone Token?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Shi Si nodded. "The aura on the Bone Token is the same as the one on Xu Feng. To be precise, Xu Feng’s scent is strange. It’s a mix of two scents, but the one that shares its source with the Bone Token is strong, while the other is very faint."

Xiao Cheng’s face darkened. ’Of course. Xu Feng’s head was attached to a Horned Deer Beastman’s body. Even if the two parts are perfectly joined now, they’re not a single entity. How could it ever be the same as the original?’

But he himself couldn’t smell any difference. It was all thanks to Shi Si’s extremely developed sense of smell, which allowed him to track targets by scent.

Xiao Cheng wrote this down and placed the note on the Space Stone Table. Si Shuo and the other males now all knew: barring any surprises, Xu Feng was one of the murderers who had plotted against the Horned Deer Clan all those years ago.

A heavy mood fell over the group, but they couldn’t let it show, so they could only pass the note in silence.

"We can’t be too hasty. The Beastmen who stole the bodies of the Horned Deer Clan Members... Xu Feng is definitely not the only one. We need to investigate Xu Feng thoroughly and find a way to make him face punishment that won’t arouse suspicion..."

"Right. When they transplanted their heads onto the bodies of the Horned Deer Clan Members, they weren’t just a disorganized mob. It was a joint conspiracy. They are organized and disciplined... Our target isn’t just Xu Feng, but all the villains who harmed the Horned Deer Beastmen..."

"Exactly. So many years have passed; there’s no need to rush. We’ll aim to slowly catch them all in one fell swoop..."

After a brief discussion, they each took on their assigned tasks.

There were too many Beastmen heading to Ningbei City. The traffic on the main road was moving so slowly that it would have been faster to walk.

The males stayed behind to wait in line while the females and cubs ate and played on the side of the road.

Si Shuo casually started asking Ning Han and the others about Xu Feng. "My little cub was being mischievous just now and ran right into Lord Xu Feng’s carriage. I heard his coachman say he’s one of the princes’ tutors?"

"Lord Xu Feng? Oh, I know him!" Miao Ling said with a quiet laugh. "His mate is Yuan Ya, the White Golden Python. The Beast God our Guiping Beast Country worships is the Cheng Huang, so while albino Beastmen might be seen as signs of disaster in other places,

here, they’re considered to have inherited the Beast God’s good fortune. Back then, so many came to ask for Yuan Ya’s hand. Lord Xu Feng was one of the males who traveled all the way from Pingjing to seek her hand..."

Si Shuo listened with curiosity, asking a question or two from time to time. But Xu Feng was too mysterious, at least for ordinary Beastmen like them to get close to.

Miao Ling only knew who Xu Feng’s mate was, that he had a gentle personality, was exceptionally capable, and was a favorite of the King. Every time he brought his mate to visit her family, the Beastmen in the city would practically line the streets to welcome him.

"He spread the knowledge of Beast Text, which made our Border City place special importance on learning it... He introduced many good things from the interior to us here... Everyone respects and adores him..."

It could be said that in the eyes of the common Beastman, Xu Feng was a great lord who cared for the country and its people. In reality, Xu Feng was very skilled at building up his own image, earning a sterling reputation with just a few actions.

Si Shuo trusted Shi Si’s tracking ability. If he said the Bone Token and Xu Feng’s body were one and the same, then it had to be true.

’Is Xu Feng, who stole another’s life just to extend his own, really the great benefactor everyone claims him to be?’

Si Shuo then asked about Yuan Ya. Miao Ling was even more familiar with this topic. "Yuan Ya is beautiful, and being a White Golden Python, her fertility is good. If she hadn’t followed Xu Feng to Pingjing, the position of City Lord’s Wife would never have gone to a female like Ai Xiao."