CHAPTER 157: CHAPTER 148: THE DAY OF BLAZING FLAMES_1

She retrieved the Fish Pearl and placed it into her space.

The weather was scorching hot. Inside the cave, Dongchi, Nan Mo, and Wang had almost all fallen into a state of summer hibernation. They would only occasionally wake up to eat and drink a little. They ate very little and thus consumed very little. They curled up in the deepest part of the cave. A father and two offspring, their sleeping postures were almost identical.

The attack power of the snake Beastmen is so weak now.

Previously, when Wang mentioned there were seven or eight thousand snake Beastmen in the Delusional Forest, Si Yan had thought the idea of the foreign tribes annihilating them was just a pipe dream. But now, looking at the cold-blooded snake Beastmen before her, each seemingly afflicted with a weakening debuff, she felt annihilating them would be a breeze.

Si Yan dampened a beast hide with water and gently wiped the three snake Beastmen, cooling them down.

Strange, we’ve waited so many days, and the Flaming Sun is already at its peak – why hasn’t Black Tiger City arrived? Did something unexpected happen? How are Xi Qing and Bei Ji doing now?

「The barrier of Myriad Beasts City had been activated.」

Although Myriad Beasts City was hot inside, it was much better than outside. After struggling to reach Myriad Beasts City, Xi Qing and Bei Ji curiously ran around.

The golden Beastman knocked on doors one by one, a sunny and cheerful smile on his face as he asked, "Excuse me, have you seen my sister?"

The Beastman he addressed couldn’t be bothered but still asked back, "What does your sister look like?"

The golden Beastman stood tall, patting his chest confidently and proudly declaring, "She should look like me, all shimmery and exceptionally beautiful!"

"Never seen her, you lunatic!"

BANG. The door slammed shut, and the golden Beastman met with a sharp rebuff.

Feeling embarrassed, he noticed something by his feet. He looked down and saw two small, pink young ones looking up at him. On their journey, the golden Beastman had become familiar with these two.

He squatted down and asked, "Xi Qing, Bei Ji, what is it?"

Xi Qing said, "Uncle, we’re a bit tired."

Bei Ji added, "It’s so hot, and our bodies are weakening. Can we go into summer hibernation?"

Because of Myriad Beasts City’s barrier, the temperature inside was lower than outside, hovering between needing to hibernate and being able to stay awake. They could choose to hibernate or persevere and tough it out.

The golden Beastman shook out a huge beast hide from behind him and spread it out grandly. "You can hibernate on this beast hide. I’ll carry you."

The two young snakes smiled with delight. They immediately transformed into their snake forms and slithered onto his beast hide. Although they hadn’t known this uncle for long, they felt quite secure with him. They were indeed very tired. As soon as they settled in, they fell into hibernation on the spot.

「Outside Dark Sun Lake, Hu Bu, led by Ying Zhao, met Jie Ling.」

Jie Ling wore a tightly secured beast-hide skirt that covered the large, still-healing wound on her chest. Her complexion was deathly pale, yet this lent her a sickly beauty reminiscent of Lin Daiyu.

Having been compelled to travel such a long distance, Hu Bu was not in a good mood. Upon seeing Ying Zhao and Yuan Dingshan, the two Purple Crystal Beastmen, he suppressed his temper. "Jie Ling," he began, "you are, after all, a junior. Why didn’t you come to see me yourself? Instead, you requested that I come to you?!"

A pure smile touched Jie Ling’s lips. "Grand-uncle, how is the situation with the Snake Tribe in the Delusional Domain?"

Hu Bu replied, "You mean those snake Beastmen? They’ve basically all gone into summer hibernation; they don’t have much attack power left. However..."

Jie Ling asked, "However, what?"

Hu Bu continued, "However, I don’t know what those snakes are up to. They’ve actually built something called cisterns for many tribes. Now, when our Fox Clan contacts other tribes, we’ve found that none of them intend to attack the Delusional Domain. Only a few tribes, like the Yanxiang Tribe, still harbor some dissatisfaction with the snake Beastmen of the Delusional Domain."

Cisterns? Jie Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly. Was it Si Yan’s doing? To have thought of such a thing, she truly is intelligent. Indeed, she was the one I recognized instantly, the one truly worthy of being my, Jie Ling’s, arch-enemy.

She slowly raised her head, gazing towards Dark Sun Lake as if looking at her distant arch-enemy.

She is so clever—storing water resources, fundamentally solving the problems of the other tribes. As long as the water resources she stored are enough for the other tribes to last a month, the Flaming Sun will pass. Then, those tribes won’t harm the snake Beastmen due to a life-or-death crisis. If these tribes can’t unite to wipe out the snake Beastmen of the Delusional Domain, my mission will surely fail. However...

A faint smile played on Jie Ling’s lips. "Grand-uncle Hu Bu, don’t worry."

Having gone through this life-and-death ordeal, Jie Ling seemed to have matured considerably.

"In previous years, the Flaming Sun occurred once a decade and lasted a month. We could survive by stockpiling sufficient supplies and water. But this time... this Flaming Sun is different."

Jie Ling looked somewhat tired, and she slowly closed her large, watery eyes.

"This Flaming Sun, however, is a millennial disaster. It will last for two to three months. Can their cisterns possibly hold out that long?"

"Two to three months?!" Hu Bu exclaimed in surprise. "This disaster is lasting that long this time?!"

Jie Ling chuckled softly. "Yes, it’s that long... If they can’t last three months... then to survive, chaos is inevitable in Dark Sun Lake!"

「Outside Dark Sun Lake, the various tribes had finished constructing their cisterns just in time.」

Their water resources were stored in the cisterns. Even with the arrival of the Flaming Sun, the rate at which their water depleted slowed significantly. The tribes were full of confidence; they would surely get through a month of the Flaming Sun smoothly!

Only the Yanxiang Tribe didn’t have a cistern; the small lake they guarded dried up within days after the Flaming Sun began. The Yanxiang Tribe, lacking drinking water, went around trying to borrow some. However, water resources were so precious; who would be willing to give them any!

The wolf Beastmen of the Wolf Clan were running around like headless chickens from anxiety. They surrounded the Chieftain of the Yanxiang Tribe. "Chieftain! What do we do? We have no water to drink, what do we do?!"

The Chieftain said angrily, "The Delusional Domain had been the first to offer to build us a cistern, and what did you do? You drove them away! Now tell me, what do you expect me to do? Am I supposed to swallow my pride and go beg for water? You lot are truly something else! Useless on your own, you only think of making me lose face! But the problem is, even if I humble myself, will it be of any use? Our lake has already dried up. What remains are cisterns that belong to others. If we go begging, how will they create a cistern for our dried-up lake?"

A wolf Beastman from the Yanxiang Tribe anxiously cried, "But, but... what do we do then? Are we just supposed to wait to die?"

"Yes, are we supposed to just die?"

"I don’t want to die, I want to live!"

"Chieftain, isn’t Tai Seng Si Yan’s mate? We grew up with him. Could Tai Seng really stand by and watch us die? Let’s ask him for help. Surely he’ll help us this one time."

"Yes, if we don’t have a cistern, we’ll just seize one! As long as the Delusional Domain doesn’t interfere, we can rob the cisterns of other tribes!"

"The deer Beastmen! Yes, those weak deer Beastmen. I’ve had enough of them for a long time!"

"Let’s go rob them! Robbing is our only choice now!"

"Enough!" the Chieftain roared. "Robbing others’ cisterns? Do you really want to be the death of me? Isn’t our shame deep enough already?"

"Chieftain!!! If we don’t get water soon, our females and cubs will die!"

A chubby bear Beastman ran over. "Chieftain, Xiong Nai! Xiong Nai is about to give birth! We need water, please! We really need water!"

"Xiong Nai, Xiong Nai!"

"We don’t have many females left in our tribe, and the ones currently breeding have no water!"

"Chieftain!!!"

Looking at the chaotic crowd of Beastmen, the Chieftain’s wrinkled face sank, and he sighed deeply. "Fine. I’ll swallow my pride. I’ll go talk to Si Yan."

The Chieftain was so old, yet now he had to step forward to beg for water. The truth was, the Delusional Domain had offered to build a cistern for the Yanxiang Tribe first, but the tribe members themselves had rejected the offer. Originally, the Chieftain wouldn’t have needed to humble himself like this...

The scene quieted down, and a mix of complex emotions filled everyone’s hearts.

At that moment, a sika deer female slowly walked out. All eyes turned to her with respect as Mei Wen, the Witch Doctor of the Yanxiang Tribe, emerged.

"Wait, let me go with you."

The Chieftain sighed again. "Mei Wen..."

Mei Wen walked forward. "After all," she said, her voice tinged with the frustration of one disappointed in her kin, "it concerns the lives and deaths of the children."