Chapter 512: Zi Shang’s City (1)
“Lady Yun, I know you’re a good person. But our clan really can’t afford to take on any more risks right now.” Elder Rabbit might have softened his attitude towards Yun Jiuge a little, but he still did not accept the bowl of meat porridge from her.
“I’m not asking you to take on more risks. The truth is, I have plans to build a city, and there’ll be large amounts of food in there to help the human-beast hybrids live through the winter. From what I’ve heard earlier, it seems that your clan is very good at farming. Thus, I hope you can return to that city with me. You will also be reunited with your clan members there once I save them,” Yun Jiuge said.
Yun Jiuge sounded very sincere, but the Elder Rabbit still remained hesitant to take her up on her offer.
“I hope you’ll not refuse my invitation. Winter is coming soon, and your clan will not be able to get past it in your current condition.” Yun Jiuge looked at the small rabbits that were currently taking a rest after enjoying a hearty meal.
“Thank you for the invitation, but I’m unable to reach a decision right now. How about asking our clan leader once you’ve rescued her?” Elder Rabbit asked slyly.
“Sure. I noticed that some of the rabbits are injured. Apply this medicine on them!” Yun Jiuge chose to pass the Daqing Grass over to the Elder Rabbit instead of trying to earn the rabbits’ affection through treating their injuries personally.
“Thank you for the medicine,” replied Elder Rabbit as it nodded its head gratefully. It still did not know whether Yun Jiuge was a good or bad person, but at the very least, she was being a great help to its clan members at the moment.
“No problem,” Yun Jiuge replied before she took a seat next to the bonfire and began adding water to the stone bowl. She was going to prepare even more meat porridge to feed the human-rabbit hybrid clan members.
The next morning, Yun Jiuge made preparations to return to the Eagle Cliff. Instead of bringing the human-rabbit hybrid clan with her, she made them stay at the cave and wait for their return. She got A’hui and the rest to bring over a large amount of branches, while she ordered A’gu and Guo’er to remain behind in the cave to keep them company.
“A’hui, I want you and A’fei to find out where the human-wolf hybrids are living at right now. Advisor Jun and A’ping will follow me back to the tribe to find Elder Bai and discuss how we’re going to save the human-rabbit hybrid clan,” said Yun Jiuge, in front of the human-rabbit hybrid clan members.
“Understood.” The human-eagle hybrids answered her in unison before they left the cliff with her.
“Lady Yun, why didn’t you bring the human-rabbit hybrid clan along?” Advisor Jun asked in confusion.
“To where? Eagle Cliff?” Yun Jiuge cast a sideways glance at Advisor Jun before she continued, “Firstly, those rabbits are so terrified right now. They’d definitely not be willing to follow us. Secondly, what if their complete beast form gets exposed to others when we take them with us? The existence of the human-rabbit hybrid clan is a secret that we must keep till we find out the truth behind the golden light. Do you understand?”
“Don’t worry, Lady Yun. We know what we should and should not do,” Advisor Jun quickly reassured her. The other human-eagle hybrids joined in as well.
“This is something that concerns all the human-beast hybrid clans in this realm. I hope you mean what you say,” Yun Jiuge said.
“Can I tell Elder Bai about this?” Advisor Jun could not help but ask.
“I’ll tell him personally.” When Yun Jiuge finished her sentence, she turned to A’hui and A’fei and said, “Wait for me at the human-rabbit hybrid clan’s previous lair after you find out where the human-wolf hybrids are living at now.”
Yun Jiuge did not get A’hui and A’fei to fly back to the Eagle Cliff to report back to her because she did not want the pair to be overly exhausted. Also, in the event that they could not find the human-wolf hybrids’ lair, she could still mull over the issue with Zi Shang and find out where they were at themselves.
“We’ll head over right now.” A’hui and A’fei turned around and flew towards the location of the human-rabbit hybrid clan’s previous lair.
Yun Jiuge returned to the Eagle Cliff thereafter, and the first thing she noticed upon her arrival was a few human-eagle hybrids who were spraying water at the cliff face industriously.
Not only that, there were also several human-eagle hybrids who flew about the place as they carried onto soil. They looked like they were preparing to plant Green Moss at their lair.
The moment they noticed that Yun Jiuge had returned, they all stopped in their tracks to greet her.
Yun Jiuge smiled cordially at them in response.
Then, she flew over to Elder Bai’s nest, where she saw him digging up the Green Moss on the walls of the cave gingerly so that his clan members could grow them elsewhere.
“Lady Yun, you’re back! How did things go with the human-rabbit hybrid clan?” Elder Bai was very happy to see Yun Jiuge.
“Not very well. There’s something I want to tell you.” Yun Jiuge told him about the golden light in A’dai and the human-rabbit hybrids’ bodies and how it enabled them to transform.
Yun Jiuge had already spoken to Elder Bai about the golden light in the past. However, Elder Bai had always believed that the golden light was a power that was bestowed upon them by the gods, and he never paid it much mind.
But when he heard about how the human-rabbit hybrid clan – a clan that they had belittled the most all this time – actually possessed the ability to transform, he instantly became emotional. “If that’s the case, why didn’t you bring that old rabbit back here? I’ll ask her about it myself.”
“Elder Bai. To me, it doesn’t matter if one is a herbivore, carnivore, weak or strong. All the human-beast hybrids in this realm are equal to me. I hope you don’t despise them,” Yun Jiuge said sternly.
“You’ve misunderstood me, Lady Yun. I don’t despise them. Actually, I’ve been friends with the Elder Rabbit for a long time. That’s why I sounded a lot more casual when I addressed her,” Elder Bai immediately explained.
“Indeed, Lady Yun. Take Guo’er for example. She’s stayed at the Eagle Cliff for a long time, but we’ve never once treated her as an outsider,” Advisor Jun quickly stepped in to defend his grandfather.
“Okay, I know that you’re a good people. Oh yes, please don’t tell others about what I’ve just told you. If not, there’ll be chaos amongst the various human-beast hybrid clans.” Yun Jiuge issued yet another stern warning to them.
“Don’t worry, Lady Yun. If anyone dares to speak of the matter to others, I’ll break their wings.” There was a hint of killing intent in Elder Bai’s voice. He meant what he said, and no one doubted his words either.
Thereafter, Elder Bai reported an incident to Yun Jiuge.
It was about what happened after he went and told the wives of the human-eagle hybrids about Yun Jiuge’s desire to bring the neighboring tribes under her control.
Those herbivorous human-beast hybrids immediately urged their husbands to send food back home. There were a lot of tribes who were begging to be placed under her control.
“I want you to collate the number of people who want to be under me first. Then, assess the abilities that they possess. In the meantime, I’ll go see how things are going with Ye Zi.” Zi Shang was the only one who was capable of doing something for the human-beast hybrids, be it helping them to settle down or saving the human-rabbit hybrid clan.
“Good timing! A’ze is here too. I’ll get him to bring you over!” Elder Bai immediately walked out of the place and yelled, “A’ze! Come over here!”
“Elder! I’m very tired after working for the whole day yesterday. Can’t you let me rest for a while?” A’ze ran over with his eyes half-closed. He had to travel a long distance with Zi Shang yesterday, and he was really worn out at the moment.
“Cut the nonsense! Hurry up and bring Lady Yun over to Lord Ye Zi!” Elder Bai kicked A’ze without hesitation. Elder Bai still had a lot of energy and life in him, certainly not like a person who only had a year left to live.
“Argh!” A’ze deliberately let out a moan before he walked over to Yun Jiuge obediently.
“Let’s go!” Yun Jiuge did not sympathize with him. She knew that A’ze was not as tired as he claimed to be.
Just as she thought, A’ze was very energetic as he flew. He rattled on and on endlessly. The number of words that he spoke was greater than the number of plants that were growing in the Secret Realm.
“Lord Ye Zi got me to fly around aimlessly last night. He eventually found a small mountain, and he got me to make a stop there. Look, it’s right over there.” A’ze pointed at a small mountain nearby, and a second later, his jaws dropped in astonishment.
…