Chapter 201: Negotiation

To be on the safe side, Sha Yi didn’t dare to act as casually as before. Instead, she patiently stayed indoors for several days.

In ancient times, without high-tech products, resources and tools for pregnancy tests were naturally extremely scarce. Therefore, no matter what, they had to figure out the situation first.

Xi Yi was the same—both delighted and worried about Xi Gu’s speculation, unable to rest easy. For days, he hadn’t left her side for a moment. Moreover, due to her uncertain condition, he didn’t dare to touch her much, instead becoming overly cautious, afraid she might accidentally bump or hurt herself.

During these days, their side remained relatively calm, but the newly arrived group of women seemed restless.

It appeared that Saina and his group had provoked trouble, leading to prolonged disputes between the two sides. However, neither side gained the upper hand, nor did they suffer significant losses.

The cold, sinister man they had captured was still confined in a designated place, while Jialuo remained missing.

An ominous premonition lingered in her heart, but she couldn’t fully grasp the reasons or details of the situation. Not daring to act recklessly, she could only advise everyone to wait and see.

However, just as they maintained their silence, the other group took the initiative to approach them.

As she had later surmised, though women made up the majority of that group, the leader—the one with decision-making power—was still a man.

What’s more, she spotted Manlun among them. Not only that, he even played the role of a mediator, which didn’t surprise her. Manlun had indeed defected.

But what shocked her the most was the leader himself.

He looked exactly like the man who had tried to kill her. If not for the difference in clothing and the fact that the other man was still under Jialuo’s people’s watch, she might have thought this was the same man Jialuo had captured.

She wasn’t the only one surprised—others who had seen the gloomy man were equally stunned.

Though their expressions differed, both had the same dark gray pupils set in narrow, sharp eyes. They were tall and slender, with thick brown hair and dressed in animal hides.

These two must be twins!

However, in ancient times, the occurrence of twins was rare, especially when both survived. It was an extraordinary and difficult feat.

Representatives from both sides agreed to meet at a neutral open area between their dwellings.

With Jialuo missing and Xi Yi and Xi Gu elected by the group, the latter two took the lead, accompanied by Sha Yi and Tuge.

The new group indeed had many women. Apart from the twin leader, there were only Manlun and another man—the rest were all women.

Sha Yi couldn’t help but click her tongue but knew better than to speak carelessly. She waited quietly for them to begin.

The twin leader was entirely different from the man she had encountered before. Though they shared the same face, their personalities were worlds apart. The previous man had never shown any expression other than gloominess, while this one was all smiles. Had she not witnessed the other’s ruthlessness, she might have believed this man was harmless.

He was even more exaggerated than Saina’s initial act.

If Saina’s earlier behavior had been a facade shaped by circumstances—a helpless act—then this man was calculating to the core. Unlike his cold, unyielding twin, he had no principles, resorting to any means for self-preservation and schemes.

She found him utterly repulsive.

Strangely, the man seemed to notice her disgust and immediately focused on her. Though his expression remained neutral, the corners of his lips curled into a mocking smile.

Of course, since she wasn’t the main negotiator, he didn’t pay her much attention, instead engaging Xi Yi and Xi Gu in polite conversation.

She didn’t bother listening to his hypocritical pleasantries. What she wanted to know was his purpose and the terms he proposed.

If she wasn’t mistaken, his primary goal was likely to secure his twin brother’s release. As for the rest, she could only wait and see.

Without further ado, the twin leader pointed toward their dwelling and said bluntly, “I know you’ve captured my brother. Let’s make an exchange—you release him, and we’ll return your people.”

Sha Yi immediately raised an eyebrow.

This man’s cunning surpassed even Jialuo’s shamelessness and deceit.

His words were deliberately ambiguous, full of loopholes.

If they foolishly agreed, they’d likely be trapped in his scheme.

In truth, he probably intended to exchange only his brother without clarifying whether Jialuo had been captured.

If they didn’t question further, he might simply hand over the defected Manlun or the other man. Once they gave up their leverage, he could feign ignorance when pressed about Jialuo.

If Jialuo had indeed been captured, he’d be left with no way out.

They might never see Jialuo again.

Snapping back to reality, Xi Yi reacted swiftly: “We don’t know who your brother is. Similarly, we don’t know who you’ve taken. If you want an exchange, you’ll have to be clearer.”

“You must know who my brother is,” the man said, narrowing his eyes with a smile. “As for who we’ve taken, you should know better than us.”

This time, Xi Yi struggled to respond.

He didn’t know Manlun—only Sha Yi and Jialuo’s people had met him. Tuge, on the other hand, was prone to rambling and missing the point. Letting him speak would only make things worse.

Realizing this, Sha Yi cut in: “We don’t even know you. How would we know your brother? Besides, since you haven’t bound Manlun and the others, can we assume they’ve joined your side?”

“No matter. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Yeli, and my brother is Yelai. Now you know. Seeing me is the same as seeing him.” A sly glint flashed in his eyes. “I didn’t bind those two because we treat captives kindly. I trust you’d do the same.”

“Even if you and your brother are twins, what does it matter if we’ve seen you?” Sha Yi, now certain of his deceit, dropped all pretense of politeness. “As for kindness, we all know the truth. Besides, I doubt Manlun could remain loyal to his old group under your ‘kind’ treatment. Since you’re so sure we’ve met your brother, you must already know our situation. Do we really need to spell it out?”

The man’s expression darkened. His previously calm gray eyes turned inscrutable before slowly regaining their composure.

Finally, Yeli smiled slowly. “Since you’ve figured it out, I won’t waste time. Yes, I know some things. But what’s the point of stating them? We’re only here to exchange people from different groups.”

“That’s irrelevant. Just worry about your own side. As for ours—sorry, you haven’t achieved your goal yet, so don’t bother. Come back when you have something to offer.” Sha Yi refused to back down. “But let me make this clear: you want your brother Yelai, but we don’t want Manlun.”

“Then who do you want?” Yeli feigned surprise. “We’ve only taken Manlun and the other man. Has someone else gone missing?”

“Maybe lost, maybe captured. We don’t know.” Sha Yi smiled coldly. “Whether it’s your doing or not, I’ll tell you this: if you want Yelai, bring Jialuo. Don’t pretend you’ve never seen him. That’s our condition. If you don’t have him, go find him. Otherwise… what you did to me, I’ll return in kind.”

Yeli’s face darkened. He stared at her for a long moment before gritting out, “You’re just as I’ve heard. Letting you slip away was truly unfortunate.”

“What do you mean by that?” Before she could respond, Xi Yi flared up.

He knew about Yelai’s attack on her, so Yeli’s words instantly angered him.

Normally steady, Xi Yi lost his composure when it came to her. Now, with her possible pregnancy, he wouldn’t tolerate any slight against her.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Yeli smirked at Xi Yi. “Mutual threats aren’t ideal. After all, we hold the advantage here. Even without this ‘Jialuo,’ we still have two of your people!”

Fully aware of Yeli’s cunning—no less than Yelai or Jialuo—Sha Yi remained composed. Given her uncertain condition, she had no desire to provoke him further. Smiling sweetly, she said, “What does Manlun’s life matter to me? Do you really think I’d save him after he urged you to kill me?”