When Li Qinghe heard the middle-aged man say that he wanted him to take Little Sprout away, his expression grew more serious. He asked, "Uncle, what happened? Has someone been bullying you?"
Though the Beardfolk were deeply submissive toward the people of Celestial Xia, as a tribe that maintained ancient traditions, there naturally could not be peace throughout their ranks.
The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "Not that. Among us Beardfolk, when someone has a master like you, who would dare bully them? It's just that Little Sprout has been seeing all sorts of strange things lately. So these past two days, whenever she goes out, I've had her bring a cat with her. That settles her heart, and she can't see those things anymore."
Li Qinghe's heart stirred. He had seen much at Zhang Yu's side and knew what this meant. He tested the waters, asking, "Could it be that Little Sprout has awakened her ancestors' bloodline?"
The Beardfolk had once been an indigenous tribe surviving in the wilderness. Since they had managed to endure and multiply without end, they naturally had their own divine descendants and rituals. Moreover, the Beardfolk had always been few in number, so bloodline awakenings were not uncommon.
The middle-aged man said in a muffled voice, "What use is awakening it? What can she do with it? Become an elder in the future? But once she becomes an elder, she'll bury her whole life in the village. As her father, I can't bear to see her live like that."
Li Qinghe could not help nodding. Before they had encountered the people of Celestial Xia, the Beardfolk could only struggle bitterly for survival on the wilderness. Their sole path upward was to become an elder of the tribe. Then they would no longer