novelraw Chapter 303 Winter Goes and Spring Comes
Chapter 303 Winter Goes and Spring Comes
Chapter 303 Winter Goes and Spring Comes
Shi Ruoan raised his eyelids. His pupils were deep blue in the dark, but when they were in the light, they would show a strange and beautiful cobalt blue. He stared at the person opposite him in silence and directly.
Ling Chengen calmly picked up the fish from the grill, casually took out a plate, placed the pieces of grilled fish into the plate, and handed it to Shi Ruoan.
Shi Ruoan reached out and took it: "Thank you."
Ling Chengen wasn't a block of wood, and she wasn't completely unaffected by his piercing gaze, but she didn't want to focus her energy on relationships anymore. So she just hoped that Shi Ruoan could restrain himself and stop her from being so distressed.
Rejecting Shi Ruoan is easy, but she will still have cooperation with the two Shi brothers in the future. Breaking the balance now would not be good for either of them.
Shi Ruoan opened her mouth, but looking at her cold eyes, she swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
She hid her emotions well, but Shi Ruoan was a sea tribe priest, whose greatest skill was observing people and comforting and guiding his tribesmen, so he could sense Ling Chengen's resistance.
She didn't have any romantic feelings for him.
Realizing this, Shi Ruoan's heart sank. Looking at the beautifully grilled fish on the plate, he suddenly lost his appetite. But the fish in front of him was grilled by her own hands, and he was reluctant to waste it.
Shi Ruoan didn't speak again, but sat by the oven, lowered her eyes, and ate slowly with chopsticks.
Ling Chengen also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, resting her chin on her hand as she watched him eat, then subtly shifting her gaze away.
She admitted that, as a male beastman, Shi Ruoan was actually close to perfect in every way.
His appearance is impeccable.
There's not much to say about his personality.
He is mature and strong, calm and restrained, polite and knows when to advance and retreat.
He is keenly aware of the emotional changes of those around him. Although he may seem a bit aloof, he is actually very gentle.
She is a very typical guiding lover.
This kind of people.
Its core is powerful and steadfast, and its character is very stable.
For most women, he would be a perfect partner.
It's just that the timing of his appearance was a bit off.
If she doesn't have a partner, she would first consider someone like him because he's so easy and comfortable to be with.
But he was not only a sea creature, but also the high priest of the sea creatures.
As deep-sea merfolk, they spend most of their time living in the sea.
He only ended up on shore because of an accident.
If Shi Panxing hadn't been captured and taken to Huangyan Beast City, perhaps the longest he would have spent on land in his life would have been the first day of September each year, the opening ceremony of the sea market. The farthest he had ever traveled on land was only the coast of Amber Bay.
The land is ultimately unsuitable for sea creatures, and she is also unsuitable for the deep sea.
So, that's enough.
……
The two returned to Beast City in the afternoon.
As she left Xuemujiang, several children from the Water Beast Clan dragged several large, lively fish across the ice towards her, placing five fish, each over a meter long, in front of her.
"These fish are for you, thank you for treating us to a delicious lunch."
Ling Chengen couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Did you ask your parents for these big fish? If you give them to me, won't your parents scold you?"
The little boy, sniffling, shook the water off his leather gloves and grinned, "No, this was sent by my father. You taught us how to cook delicious fish, so this is a gift to thank you."
"By the way, Father asked me to ask you, do you sell radishes in your Beast City?"
"The kind I cooked for lunch today, it's delicious when cooked with fish."
Ling Chengen thought for a moment and said, "Our beast city's supplies will be prioritized for the beast people in the city for the time being. However, those radishes were ordered by me from the rabbit-clan beastmen earlier. If you need them, you can go and ask the rabbit-clan beastmen. I estimate that they have a lot of radishes stockpiled there and would be willing to exchange some with you."
"Once spring arrives next year, if the situation on the plains stabilizes, markets will open both inside and outside Beast City. If your Water Beast Clan has any needs, you can come and visit Beast City. There may be some restrictions on entering the city, but there will be unrestricted grass markets outside the city."
Upon hearing this, the children of the water beast tribe immediately brightened their eyes and asked, "Really? Can we go? Can we go into your beast city and take a look?"
"Well, if there's no war next year, and you're interested in Beast City, you can ask the orcs leaving the city or the guards at the city gate. Just follow the instructions and you can enter."
Ling Chengen accepted the large fish and returned to Beast City with Shi Ruoan.
The snow on the plains was still very deep, but orcs often ran out during this time, and some would also go to the river to ice fish, so they had trod out a very hard snow path, which was relatively easy to run on.
As they approached Beast City, Ling Chengen asked Shi Ruoan, who was on his back, "Will Shi Panxing's leg be better in another month at most?"
Shi Ruoan nodded, realizing that Ling Chengen couldn't see, and replied, "Pretty much. By the end of January at the latest, the flesh on his legs will have fully healed. However, Yuheng said that he needs to train for a while before he can stand up and use his legs flexibly. It is estimated that he will be able to move freely after the snow melts."
Ling Chengen pondered for a moment and asked, "Once he can move again, will you be returning to the deep sea?"
Shi Ruoan shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. You know the situation in the far north sea. If we want to return to the far north sea, we need to at least raise a team and then stir up internal conflicts within the royal family in order to take advantage of the situation and take back everything."
"This plan is rather rough, and in practice, one to two years might not be enough..."
Listening to his analysis, Ling Chengen smiled and said, "Then it seems that you and Shi Panxing will have to stay in Beast City for a long time."
Shi Ruoan leaned down slightly, gently stroking the short hair on her back, and said with a smile, "Yes, I would also appreciate it if the young city lord would pay more attention to us in the future."
"You and Shi Panxing are now essentially expelled from the far north sea. If you want to raise a sea race army, wouldn't you have to go to other sea areas to find your old subordinates from the Sea Sacrifice Temple, and recruit some sea races from the outer seas?"
"The sea creatures in the outer seas are probably in a similar situation to those in your far northern seas, right?"
"If you poach their people, you might offend them."
Shi Ruoan smiled and said, "Actually, the sea is larger than the wasteland on your land. The area that the royal family can govern in each sea area is only a very small part of the ocean."
"Moreover, some sea areas are very chaotic and disorderly, just like your Northern Wilderness... Various small forces are everywhere, and our priority is to target the forces in chaotic sea areas."
After listening, Ling Chengen pondered for a moment and said, "I see. I was originally thinking that if you weren't in a hurry to return to the sea, you could help us lead the team into battle next spring."
Shi Ruoan lowered her eyes and said, "Whether it's me or Pan Xing, it's enough for either of us to go into the sea."
"If he can fully recover, his combat ability will be stronger than mine."
“You have done me and Panxing a favor, so it is our duty to stay and help you fight.”
Ling Chengen didn't say anything more. Seeing the city gate close at hand, he stopped, looked up and nodded slightly to the guards below the city gate, and then led Shi Ruoan into the city.
Once inside the city, you can no longer run in beast form.
The main issue was that some orcs' beast forms were too enormous. The city had many smaller orcs, such as the rat tribe, who were easily startled. Furthermore, the large beast forms could easily injure smaller orcs in the ensuing chaos. Therefore, Ling Chengen implemented corrective measures and issued notices from the beginning, explicitly prohibiting anyone from using beast forms within the city except in emergencies.
The snow inside the city has been mostly cleared. Every day, people pull snow carts to transport snow out of the city. This keeps the streets clean and tidy, and also prevents the snow from accumulating too much and collapsing some of the wooden roof structures.
It had been snowing for almost two months. When Ling Chengen wandered around the city, he occasionally sensed that the people in the city were somewhat depressed.
Seeing only snow for a long time and being unable to go out can lead to depression. Ling Chengen considered it for a long time and decided to celebrate the holiday anyway.
Spring Festival.
There is no such festival on the Beast Plains. Only after the autumn hunt is over each year, the tribe usually holds a bonfire party where everyone gathers together to eat and drink and celebrate the bumper autumn harvest.
However, the autumn hunting harvest festival has no fixed date. This year, the Beast City was affected by the Uja attack, so the harvest celebration was not held at all. As soon as the hunting team returned, they immediately went into a state of combat readiness and began to be deployed in various places in the city.
Under pressure, everyone's mind is on edge.
After confirming that Uga had no intention of attacking after November, the beastmen in the beast city gradually stopped feeling anxious and began to stay at home for the winter.
Late December, early January.
The turn of the year is an excellent time to hold celebrations.
After Ling Chengen shared her ideas and Spring Festival arrangements with her family and some cadres in the city, everyone seemed excited and restless, and almost no one objected to her proposal.
Once he confirmed that everyone wanted to celebrate the festival and prepare for it properly, Ling Chengen instructed Chongzhen to issue a festival notice and outline related matters.
Chongzhen, who had finally gotten some free time, was busy again, barely having a moment to spare.
Ling Chengen also began to notify the military camps and the city garrison to prepare for the festival.
These are the hardest-working people; they have to be on duty during holidays and cannot participate in the celebrations.
However, the guards will be rotated on schedule. Those who are on duty this Spring Festival will not be scheduled to be on duty next Spring Festival.
Ling Chengen didn't know how the beast world calculated its calendar, and it wasn't her concern. It was all said by Ling Xiao and the old shaman of the tribe, so she just listened to it casually.
When she had some free time, Shi Ruoan explained it to her.
The calendar system based on year cycles was mainly managed by priests.
Therefore, priests held a very high status, whether on the Beast Plains or in the sea.
Shi Ruoan is a sea tribe priest from the far north. He has been learning the knowledge that priests must master since childhood, so he is extremely proficient in celestial phenomena, calendars, time and arithmetic.
The Beast World is different from her original world; this world calculates months and years according to a two-month cycle.
According to Shi Ruoan, a year in the Beast World also has twelve months, divided into long and short months.
The only difference is that the length of months varies greatly, with long months having 36 days and short months having 30 days. Of course, this calculation is not entirely accurate, so every ten or twenty years, a new calendar needs to be recalculated and established...
Ling Chengen only knows the basics of this; if she were to delve deeper, she would be completely overwhelmed.
So when Shi Ruo'an was explaining things to her, she would listen if she could understand, and let it go in one ear and out the other if she couldn't.
Shi Ruoan could tell that she wasn't interested in how to calculate the cycle of long and short months, or when the new year and the old year were at their end, so she picked out some more interesting stories to tell her.
It's okay if you can't calculate it, as long as you know how to use it.
Through Shi Ruoan, Ling Chengen realized that their Beast City, which was in dire need of rebuilding, might need a powerful high priest.
No, she felt it should be called the Astronomical Observatory.
This was the name of the ancient government office that was in charge of astronomical observation and calendar formulation.
She did not want to establish a country dominated by divine authority, or one where divine authority and royal authority were equally important. Therefore, she had to address the situation where priests held a supreme position in the hearts of orcs, even on par with royal authority.
She didn't want a situation like that in the far north, where the Sea Sacrifice Temple and the royal family stood side by side and could even rival each other, to play out in the City of Ten Thousand Beasts.
Although this idea might feel somewhat unfair to Shi Ruoan and Shi Panxing, it was indeed her plan.
……
Taking all factors into consideration, the Spring Festival is set at fifteen days.
The last three days of December, plus the first twelve days of the new year.
The last night of December is the main celebration, and most of the major events take place on this night.
The celebration will conclude on January 12th.
Although she really wanted to wait until after January 15th, Ling Xiao rejected her suggestion.
Because Beast City is not yet wealthy enough to hold such long festivals and celebrations.
On the eve of the Beast City celebration, Ling Chengen proposed a reign title.
The year the Beast City was established is designated as the first year.
The reign title was Wan Shou (万兽).
During the Spring Festival of the first year of the Beast City, not only was the city bustling with activity, but Ling Chengen also opened the city to the surrounding small tribes. However, he instructed the city gate guards to strictly verify the identities of those entering the city and issue them entry tokens.
So on New Year's Eve, when Ling Chengen was wandering the streets, he saw many cubs of the Water Beast Clan, holding fruit and candied hawthorns, running and laughing loudly on the wide central street of the Beast City.
The cubs' joyful laughter broke the winter's chill and silence, and shattered the gloom that shrouded people's hearts.
The branches of the giant trees on the main street of the Beast City were covered with lantern grass painted with crimson pigment.
The bright red lanterns swayed in the wind, drawing gasps of wonder not only from the orcs outside the city but also from the orcs within.
Every day, wood-type ability warriors will maintain the vitality of the lantern grass. After the festival celebration, these lantern grasses will be removed and replaced with ordinary lantern grasses, in much smaller quantities, just enough to provide light at night.
There is only one Spring Festival a year.
So, Ling Chengen felt it was worth wasting some supernatural abilities and some madder pigment to create a vibrant red scene.
In the second year of the Wanshou era, the last spring snow fell silently in late February.
As March begins, all things come to life, and large areas of the central part of the northern wilderness begin to thaw.
Snowmelt gathers into shallow streams, flowing into the rivers that envelop the Mulan Plain.
The ice jams on the Yehelan River flowed southeastward, the active river waters nourishing vast tracts of land along its banks, making the soil fertile, green grass grow, and trees sprout new buds...
The Beast City has also begun a grand spring planting campaign.
Since last summer's harvest, Yu Shaochen has been cultivating seeds of various plants, especially tree wheat and rice. The plants of these two species are stronger and taller than the wild ones from last year, and their yields are also higher.
So Chongzhen, along with Yaoluo's orcs, planned out the land that had been measured long ago and distributed it to the residents of the beast city. Each household received land and began to plant according to the methods taught by specialists during the cold season.
Spring planting lasted for about a month.
At the end of March, Beast City began its troop training program.
Target: Lolu Mountains.
After planning throughout the entire winter season, Bai Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief after receiving confirmation from Ling Chengen.
He was already quite impatient, and was now sharpening his sword, just waiting for the warriors from Beast City to be dispatched. Once Ling Chengen gave the order, he could lead his team to charge at those bastards!
I twisted my hand yesterday and it bled quite badly, so I took a day off. I wrote a note at the end of the previous chapter, but I guess some people didn't see it, so I'll explain it again here.