"I am Song Jin Jian. I wish to pay my respects to His Highness the Left King."
Chen Yi spoke the official language of the Central Plains, but the token in his hand was indeed a travel permit issued by the Black Bear Tribe.
The dozen or so Barbarian warriors guarding the tribal gates stared at the token for a moment. Their leader, a Barbarian in heavy iron armor and an iron helmet, raised a hand to signal the others to spread out, put away his weapon, and stepped forward.
He stared at Chen Yi, took the token, and inspected it before saying in the Barbarian Language, "Bring Zhang Erniu here."
A Barbarian warrior turned and ran into the settlement. Before long, he returned with a bleary-eyed Wei man in tow.
When Zhang Erniu saw Chen Yi outside, he silently cursed him for not even letting people sleep peacefully in the middle of the night.
But when he noticed the heavily armored Barbarian looking his way, he hurriedly rubbed his eyes, knelt to pay his respects, and ran over to Chen Yi.
"Who are you?"
Chen Yi glanced at him and said flatly, "Song Jin Jian. I have come to request an audience with His Highness the Left King."
Wei people occupied a peculiar position in Barbarian settlements. They were slaves belonging to Barbarians of distinguished status, but sometimes served as interpreters as well.
Chen Yi was long accustomed to it.
Zhang Erniu turned and spoke to the Barbarian officer. His account largely matched what Chen Yi had said, except for an addition at the end. "Sir, perhaps we should seize him first, in case he harbors ill intentions toward our Black Bear Tribe."
The Barbarian officer looked down at him and spoke in a rumbling voice in the Barbarian