Chapter 505: I Want to Build A City
Zi Shang took A’dai out of the Spiritual Beast Bag upon hearing that.
A’dai could be seen sleeping very soundly. His bulging small belly gently rose and fell. He even smacked his beak non-stop while dreaming. It seemed like he was dreaming of eating delicious food.
Yun Jiuge opened her Spiritual Eye and carefully examined A’dai’s Subconscious mind. She only saw the golden light s.h.i.+ning inside and it seemed like the Demon Qi’s influence had not reemerged.
“Fatty Dai, quickly wake up!” Yun Jiuge sighed, ruffling a handful of A’dai’s feathers on his head as she put him back in the Spiritual Beast Bag.
“Take a break. We still have to go to the Eagle Clan tomorrow to negotiate,” said Zi Shang, hugging Yun Jiuge as they lay down. Then he spoke to her about his own plans, “If we want to claim the tribes in this Secret Realm, it is best to start from the small tribes so that it will not easily attract the attention of Nangong Yue and the others.
Moreover, a lot of the Eagle Clan’s partners are herbivores. These human-beast hybrids are the marginalized groups in the Secret Realm. Their current situation is the most difficult, so I want to subdue them first.”
“Okay,” Yun Jiuge nodded as she inexplicably thought of the long-eared and red-eyed human-rabbit girl. She then said, “Why don’t we start from the human-rabbit hybrid clan?”
“Fine, we’ll ask Advisor Jun and A’ze tomorrow to make inquiries.” To Zi Shang, starting from that tribe made no difference for it would have to be subdued in the end anyway.
“Okay,” Yun Jiuge said as her eyes slowly shut. She then fell into a deep sleep after her breathing became heavy.
Zi Shang gently kissed Yun Jiuge’s forehead and then put his hand on her abdomen.
There was no movement inside, as if Little White Egg had already fallen asleep.
“It’d be great if you really are the Child of Life,” Zi Shang sighed in his heart quietly, and then embraced Yun Jiuge in his arms. He then closed his eyes.
The next morning, Yun Jiuge woke up eager for action. After a quick was.h.i.+ng up, she headed for the Eagle Cliff with Zi Shang.
The rock wall which was a sea of orange yesterday had now become completely bare, leaving only light yellow herb roots.
“Did you cut it through the night?” Yun Jiuge asked Advisor Jun.
“Yes, Elder Bai was worried that a long delay might cause trouble,” Advisor Jun said with a nod.
After hearing that the Rice Herb and Potato Herb were foodstuffs which could be stored long-term, Elder Bai made the decision on the spot to let the clan members harvest overnight. After they distributed a portion of the Rice Herb and Potato Herb according to the head count, the rest of the harvest was put into the warehouse as stockpile for winter.
“Then sprinkle more water and let them grow out quickly,” said Yun Jiuge, who could also understand the Eagle Clan’s approach.
In fact, she was thinking about whether to find a plain to grow large quant.i.ties of foodstuff to stock up as her weapon for roping in the small tribes.
However, this involved the problem of management and storage. It also required negotiation with the Eagle Clan and the human-snake hybrid clan.
“I’m going to let the clan members sprinkle water now. Advisor Jun, you escort Miss Yun over to Elder Bai!” A’ze had been thinking about the harvest last night and left eagerly.
Advisor Jun escorted Yun Jiuge to Elder Bai’s nest and found layers of grayish-green looking Green Moss growing on top of the thick mud slathered on the cave wall yesterday. It was glowing with a faint light.
“How did it grow so quickly?” Advisor Jun was so pleased that he could not help reaching out to break off a piece to try.
“You brat, don’t touch it,” exclaimed Elder Bai, who rushed to swat his hand aside. He then excitedly said to Yun Jiuge, “Miss Yun, this Green Moss is really something good. It even has the taste of salt inside.”
“Is it important to have salt?” Yun Jiuge said in surprise. Could it be that the human-beast hybrids also needed to consume salt?
“Of course it’s important. Anything that contains salt provides us with strength and courage. In the past, we used to exchange it with the Sea Clan. But since the black rain, it’s been Death Swamp everywhere. Even our Eagle Clan doesn’t dare to fly there.
Everyone is now eating the coa.r.s.e salt that that was previously stored. If no alternative can be found, probably all the human-beast hybrids will have to risk their lives to cross the Death Swamp,” said Elder Bai, looking at Yun Jiuge with reverence. He wished he could kneel down and kiss her toes.
Originally he thought the Green Moss was just an alternative food source. He did not expect it to contain salt. It was simply a life-saving item!
“Do you think these two things are enough to entice the other tribes to pledge allegiance?” Yun Jiuge did not think that the Green Moss would have such a wonderful use. It was a good thing.
“Of course. Not to mention pledging allegiance, it would not be a problem to make them swear an oath of loyalty for life,” said Elder Bai, who did not mince his words.
With the current situation in the Secret Realm, one would claim anyone who could provide food as their mother and father. Furthermore, Yun Jiuge could also help solve the problems of the young cubs as well as the Death Energy.
Yun Jiuge was now their G.o.d. Elder Bai himself was willing to swear a blood oath of allegiance, let alone the other human-beast hybrids.
“There’s no need to swear a blood oath. Go ask the partners of the Eagle Clan members if there are any tribes who are willing to follow me. If there are, we’ll make a trip to see them,” said Yun Jiuge, who had always been unwilling to enslave others. She preferred mutually beneficial relations.h.i.+ps.
“There’s no need to ask. I can guarantee that they’ll be willing to. The nearest to our Eagle Clan now are the Cattle Clan and Horse Clan. Which one do you want to go to first?” Elder Bai asked.
“How about the human-rabbit hybrid clan?” Zi Shang was still thinking about what Yun Jiuge said last night.
“The human-rabbit hybrid clan is a little farther away, but it’s not a problem. I will now ask A’gu to bring Guo’er over. How about that?” Elder Bai was very keen. Their Eagle Clan was the first to pledge loyalty to Yun Jiuge. The tribes which would pledge their allegiance later would fall under them.
He had to secure an advantage early on.
“No hurry. I’ve another matter to discuss with you,” Yun Jiuge recounted her plan to find a place to grow Pig-out Herb to stockpile foodstuff.
Elder Bai muttered to himself for a moment and then asked, “Does Miss Yun want to build a tribe where all the human-beast hybrids can live together under a unified management?” If that was the case, it was good too. With the current situation of the Secret Realm, it was better for them to stay united.
Otherwise, those tribes which seemingly pledged their allegiance on the surface yet still required coaxing, pleading and all kinds of coercion when asked to take action, would be a waste of time.
“I didn’t mean that,” replied Yun Jiuge. It would require a lot of Holy Power to build a tribe that could accommodate all the human-beast hybrids. She did not have that kind of energy right now.
“What we’re saying is that we’re going to build a human-beast hybrid city to manage all the human-beast hybrids under a unified system,” Zi Shang said suddenly.
Yun Jiuge stared at Zi Shang with widened eyes. She almost blurted out and asked him “Are you crazy?!”
It was not easy to build a city without Demonic Power.
“What does a city mean?” Elder Bai was baffled and did not understand.
“It’s a tribe dwelling, built using earth. There will be high perimeter walls outside, a moat and houses inside for you to live in,” Zi Shang briefly described.
“There’s actually such a safe place?” Elder Bai’s eyes suddenly lit up, but soon dimmed as he said, “Such a city must be difficult to build. Lord Ye Zi, winter is coming. Our most important task now is to stockpile foodstuffs. I’m afraid we cannot spare the efforts to help you to complete such a great mission.”