novelraw Chapter 319 The Cry of a Crane in the Wind
Chapter 319 The Cry of a Crane in the Wind
Chapter 319 The Cry of a Crane in the Wind
However, after staring at the sea urchin in her hand for a while, she suddenly turned her head and said, "This doesn't count as an apology gift, does it? When you came ashore just now, you said it was a gift to congratulate me on safely passing through the breeding season."
Shi Panxing couldn't help but chuckle and lowered his head to laugh.
“I will prepare another apology gift,” he replied sincerely.
Ling Chengen had already filled his stomach while he was in the cave. He ate several large and sweet sea urchins, and his stomach was completely full.
She lay back on the rock behind her, watching the sky above gradually turn into a crab-shell blue, while the sea surface was already dyed red by the rising sun. She felt a little sleepy and dizzy.
"How is your plan to seize the throne progressing?" Ling Chengen suddenly turned his head and asked.
Shi Panxing was silent for a moment, then said, "We're still making plans. We definitely won't be able to return to the far north this year."
"So how many people have you recruited?" Ling Chengen asked curiously.
Shi Panxing was truly a self-made man. He had almost no subordinates in the seas outside the far north. The people who escaped from Shi Ruo'an's command were the divine servants of the Sea Sacrifice Temple, who shared power with the royal family and would not obey his orders.
Although Shi Ruo'an was able to mobilize these people, when he was rescuing Shi Panxing, he disregarded the obstruction of the Sea Sacrifice Temple's attendants and forcibly went to Nanyuan to search for and rescue them. The Sea Sacrifice Temple's attendants had no choice but to go to Nanyuan with him, and in the end, they suffered heavy losses.
After they left, the remaining divine servants in the sea temple were captured and imprisoned in the underwater prison.
The Sea Temple is now under the control of the Baman Serpent Clan and has become a complete vassal of the royal family, assisting the Hypola High Pressure in managing the entire far north sea area.
The sea creatures in the far north are living a much harder life than before. In fact, many sea creatures have left the far north and flowed to the open sea in the past year and a half.
The time it took for Shi Panxing to return to the sea was still too short.
The situation in the far north is not optimistic. When Shi Ruoan and Ling Chengen left the far north, they specifically left the ancient giant octopus clan as an enemy for Hai Bola. The struggle between Hai Bola and the eldest prince has turned from mutual probing into mutual attacks, and it has become extremely complicated.
The eldest prince, Zhehe, and the ancient giant octopus clan have begun to show signs of decline in their struggle against the Haibola and Baman snake clans.
Shi Panxing judged that Zhehe and the Gujuzhang clan could only hold out for a year at most under Haibola's control.
If they cannot severely damage the Baman Snake Clan and the Haibora, then the only way for them to preserve the bloodline of the Ancient Giant Octopus Clan is for the entire clan to flee.
Shi Panxing held up four fingers.
Ling Chengen raised an eyebrow and asked, "Forty or four hundred?"
"Four thousand." Shi Panxing looked at the golden sunrise on the sea and scoffed, "You look down on me that much?"
"Just kidding," Ling Chengen said casually, his hands behind his head.
"I still wish you a speedy return to the far north." Ling Chengen sighed softly and said, "I didn't go to the extreme BH City last year, but Beast City still sent two teams to the north. The news they brought back made me feel that the situation in the extreme BH City was becoming increasingly pessimistic."
"Originally, Extreme BH City, as the largest and most bustling super-large trade market in the Northern Plains, which all tribes could participate in, was something that countless beastmen had longed for since childhood. Now, the flavor has changed, the policies have changed, the rules have changed... There are more and more conflicts, and participating in it doesn't seem to have lost its former fun."
Shi Panxing sighed and said, "The far north sea area is now nominally managed by Hai Bola, but because of Mei Ji, she is too deeply bound to the Baman Snake Clan."
"So the Baman Snake Clan coaxed her while secretly doing a lot of things to help them quickly establish themselves in the far north. After that... they might use her as a puppet ruler, or they might try to kill Hypola, support a child born to Hypola and a male Baman Snake, and then take over the far north."
Ling Chengen chuckled and said, "More than that, isn't it?"
"Without the expensive temperature-locking rings provided by the Southern Plains Beast City, the Baman Serpent Clan beastmen would not be able to live in the far north sea for long. Their weaknesses are too obvious, and they are firmly controlled by the nobles of the Southern Plains who have mastered the temperature-locking ring technology. Rather than saying that the far north sea will fall into the hands of the Baman Serpent Clan, it would be more accurate to say that it will become a colony of the Southern Plains."
However, since the orcs on land could not live in the deep sea, they supported a puppet regime in this colony, and then firmly grasped the puppet's strings to extract countless resources and wealth from the deep sea and stuff them into their own pockets.
Shi Panxing tilted his head, looked at her leisurely appearance, and nodded, saying, "You are indeed very suitable to be a leader; you see the crux of the matter very clearly."
Ling Chengen lifted his eyelids and said lazily, "Don't flatter me. I know my own limitations."
Shi Panxing flicked the fish tail that was dangling in the seawater and said nothing more.
Once Shi Ruoan returned from foraging for food, Ling Chengen decided to return as soon as possible.
She's been away for too long. Although Yuheng sent a message, they're bound to be worried about her not returning home for so long, and they might have already guessed that she's entered her reproductive period.
This nameless island in the sea is quite far from the nearest coast of the Northern Wilderness. Even at Shi Panxing and Shi Ruoan's speed, it would take them most of the day to swim there, not to mention that they had to carry a land beastman who was injured and not fit to be in water.
So after daybreak, they left the rocky island.
Shi Ruo'an froze the legs of her small bed with thick ice, then hung ropes on the legs and asked a huge, beast-like sea creature to help pull it along.
Ling Chengen saw the true form of the sea creature and mistook it for a mutated yellowtail flying fish, because it actually looked no different, except that it was larger, about sixteen meters long, and its dorsal fins, when spread out, looked like a giant sail.
Ling Chengen sat cross-legged on the small wooden bed, looking at the ice floating on the sea, and couldn't help but sigh to Shi Ruoan, who was standing on the ice, "Your sea creatures' abilities are really useful, and you're fast too..."
Shi Ruoan sat directly on the ice. Because the seawater in this area was relatively warm, he needed to use his special ability to reinforce the ice beneath him frequently to prevent the ice from cracking halfway through his swim and causing Ling Chengen to fall into the sea.
He turned around and said, "We are just used to life at sea. You land-dwelling orcs also have a unique way of life, which is very convenient to us sea people."
Ling Chengen asked, "With such a large ice sheet floating on the sea, won't it attract a lot of sea monsters? Or other sea creatures?"
Looking at the undulating sea, Shi Ruoan calmly said, "It definitely will, but don't worry."
The speed of the sea mammals was too slow for them.
Other sea creatures would sense the aura of a powerful being as soon as they got close.
Generally, unless there is a deep-seated hatred, they will not attack them proactively.
Enjoying the scenery at sea is a romantic experience, but after a while, it just gets boring.
Ling Chengen carried a small stool and a stove to the edge of the ice, peered over the shoulder at the small fish swimming past, and asked, "Can we catch some fish to grill and eat?"
Shi Ruoan smiled and said, "Hmm, what kind would you like to eat?"
Ling Chengen reached out and pressed down on his left shoulder, preventing him from going into the water, and instead swung his right hand directly.
The mental tentacles, invisible to the naked eye, directly grabbed a salmon.
She quickly prepared the fish, slicing it into beautifully colored and textured fillets. She casually placed them on a plate and then prepared some dipping sauce, placing it next to Shi Ruoan: "Try it, is it to your liking?"
Shi Ruoan knew that she actually knew how to eat seafood, but she didn't like eating it raw, so she picked up a piece of red fish with her chopsticks, dipped it lightly in the sauce, and slowly put it into her mouth.
Ling Chengen squatted down to the side, picked up a piece, dipped it in the sauce, and put it in his mouth. He couldn't help but smile and ask, "Is this acceptable?"
Shi Ruoan nodded and said, "It's alright."
"I prefer milder flavors, so I'm not used to the taste of sauces."
Although he liked Ling Chengen, he wouldn't force himself to cater to Ling Chengen's tastes, so he chose to tell the truth.
“I understand.” Ling Chengen nodded and said, “If you don’t like it, I’ll eat it all.”
Shi Ruoan pressed down on her hand as she was about to take the plate away, and looked up into her eyes: "You gave it to me, so of course I'll eat it."
However, he didn't dip the fish in the sauce again, but instead ate the sliced fish directly. Seeing that he liked this kind of fish, Ling Chengen asked curiously, "Since you don't like food that's too oily, salty, or heavily seasoned, why didn't you say so before? Actually, you could have prepared it yourself with the ingredients."
But when Shi Ruoan was in the Beast City, no matter who cooked at home, he always chose to stay home for meals.
When he wasn't cooking at home, he would go to the canteen reserved for public officials in the city.
The food in the canteen was prepared by female orcs hired from within the beast city.
Although the chefs in the kitchen were selected through rigorous assessments and ultimately retained, their cooking skills were still slightly inferior.
Shi Ruoan said, "He doesn't fit in."
Ling Chengen chuckled and said, "You're worried about that?"
Shi Ruoan naturally exudes a mysterious and unapproachable aura, perhaps a unique quality bestowed upon him by his profession as a priest, making him stand out from the crowd in many ways.
The word "fit in" doesn't apply to him.
After finishing the fish on her plate, Shi Ruoan looked up at her quietly and said, "I do this because I'm very unsociable."
Ling Chengen rested her chin on her hand, stared at his face for a long time, and then smiled and said, "It's not necessary."
Just be yourself.
Shi Ruoan shook her head and said, "It's different."
In the sea, he was the high priest, holding a lofty position.
The sea people's followers revered and respected him.
But it's different in Beast City.
Under her rule, there was no concept of reverence for divine authority or priesthood in the Beast City.
In her City of Beasts, he was just an orc warrior with a somewhat special profession and a high level of supernatural abilities.
He could no longer be as aloof as before, looking down on all living beings with a disdainful attitude.
Changing habits formed over the past twenty years is actually very difficult.
He was even at a loss as to where to begin.
Ultimately, the only option is to gradually adapt to this lifestyle by changing our eating habits.
"You don't need to worry about these things too much; these are just some attempts I've made."
Ling Chengen was a little confused by his thinking, but ultimately chose to respect his decision.
Once they reached the shallow sea area, Shi Ruoan and the sea tribe warriors leading the way relaxed considerably, their condition visibly improved. They even managed to chat with the sea tribesmen who were pulling on the ice with ropes.
When the coastline was clearly visible, Shi Ruoan asked, "Is there any seafood you particularly want to eat? I'd like to go down and catch some before we go ashore, because once we get back inland, we won't have the chance."
Ling Chengen stroked his chin and said, "I like to eat crabs and shrimp, and I also like abalone, octopus, squid, and other small seafood... You can pick whatever you like."
Ling Chengen didn't know what was in this shallow sea, but as long as it was alive, it would become delicious after being properly cooked once it was on land.
Shi Ruoan jumped into the sea, her upper body floating on the surface. She turned back and said, "After you get ashore, wait for me on the shore. Don't go too far."
"Ah."
Ling Chengen watched as he plunged directly into the azure sea, returned to the small stove, and began packing things into his spatial storage.
However, before they even reached the shore, a shadow fell overhead, followed by the cry of a crane.
Ling Chengen raised his hand to shield his eyes, squinting as he examined the shadow high in the sky.
A giant blue crane circled once in the air before plummeting straight down onto the ice.
Ling Chengen stepped aside and watched as Qinghe transformed into human form before its toes even touched the ground.
Ling Chengen shook the water droplets off his hands and smiled at the person who came in: "You've come..."
Bai Qingyu reached out and pulled her into his arms, wrapping his arms tightly around her body as if he wanted to embed her into his very bones.
Ling Chengen stiffened, leaned against him, slightly raised his chin, rested his chin on his shoulder, reached out and wrapped his arms around his waist, and gently patted his back a few times.
"Be gentle, I still have an injury on my arm, it's a bit too much pressure."
Bai Qingyu immediately released her, looked down at the bandage wrapped around her arm, and frowned, saying, "It's been so long, why isn't it healed yet?"
"The wound from the woman's foot wasn't deep, and she immediately took the antidote, but for some reason, it just won't heal."
Are there any other injuries?
Bai Qingyu nervously looked her up and down, his gaze landing on her bare shoulders, arms and neck.
The sea area is located in the south and the temperature is relatively high, so her clothes were thin and breathable, which meant that the marks left on her body had nowhere to be hidden.
Bai Qingyu's gaze lingered on the large patch of hickeys for only a few seconds before shifting away. He raised his hand and pinched her upper arm, noticing that she instinctively tried to dodge. He immediately grabbed her elbow, lifted the clothes off her shoulder, and frowned as he looked at the black scabs on her shoulder.
"How many arrow wounds?"
Ling Chengen sighed, "There are only two arrow wounds and one cut."
"The deepest wound is on my shoulder. After falling into the water, I hit an ice shard in the river, which caused the arrow to penetrate too deeply, so the wound is healing rather slowly."
"The remaining one is behind."
Bai Qingyu stared at her for a long time, then reached out and cupped her face, lowering his head to kiss her lips.
His kiss was devoid of any desire.
Ling Chengen sensed complex emotions from him, including self-blame, pain, and heartache.
His tears fell onto the corner of her lips.
It is bitter.
"I'm sorry, I'm too late." Bai Qingyu pressed his forehead against hers, his voice trembling slightly. "Um... I couldn't find you."
This was the first time he had ever felt so helpless.
I was completely overwhelmed by panic.