Chapter 67: Chapter 66: Can’t Refuse

Following Zhi Le and Ji Liang’s suggestions, Si Shuo collected a total of five peculiar plants from the forest outside Nanye City.

One was called “A Curtain of Dreams.” It was a vine-type plant that could grow dense aerial roots. These roots were slender but exceptionally hard and resilient. If a common Fierce Beast were tightly bound by them, its bones and sinews could be easily snapped. The plant’s power would depend on Si Shuo’s control and Spiritual Power reserves, making it a group-kill or crowd-control Skill.

Another was the Hedgerow Flower. These flowers were exceptionally small and pretty, resembling beautiful little colored sparrows. This plant had a unique characteristic: once infused with Spiritual Power, the flowers could actually detach from the plant, fly through the air in search of Fierce Beasts with abundant Spiritual Power, and burrow into their flesh. Although the Hedgerow Flower couldn’t cause significant damage, the agonizing pain of flesh being torn could reduce a Fierce Beast’s Combat Power by twenty to thirty percent!

The Clock Vine had a very unique appearance, with large, plump petals. It was just a bit timid; if multiple Fierce Beasts approached, it would sense the vibrations and let out a piercing shriek, which could also distract them.

The Floating Fragrance Vine was another climbing flower. Its dense clusters of beautiful little flowers could release a scent that intoxicated both Fierce Beasts and Beastmen.

There was also a vining flower called the Green Cloud Vine. It was an extremely rare blue-green color with a stunning appearance, but it also produced a visual effect that could cause hallucinations and dizziness.

Si Shuo suddenly felt like she was playing an online game and had just acquired a set of support-class, area-of-effect skills, all designed to inflict various negative status effects on her enemies.

In addition to these, Si Shuo also gathered many other plant seeds. She pretty much plucked a sample of any useful plant she saw in the botanical guide.

After spending two days in the forest, they finally teleported back home.

Gong You and Xu Chi had both reaped a bountiful harvest. However, the two males had gotten smarter; one had a massive food storage compartment, and the other had his own Sumeru Space.

Neither of them stuffed the seafood and fruit they had hoarded into Si Shuo’s keeping. Instead, they each stored their own collections, planning to take them out to feed her when they spent time with her later!

After dinner, Gong You pulled Si Shuo aside and whispered, “My dear, want me to take you to play in the sea again?”

As someone who couldn’t swim, Si Shuo couldn’t resist the temptation of diving.

Taking advantage of their ability to teleport, the two of them returned to the same deserted spot by the sea that they had visited before, just as evening fell.

It was high tide, and many of the sea Beastmen avoided entering the water at this time, but Gong You was unaffected, guiding Si Shuo on a free and easy swim.

As dusk fell, the sea at night was completely different from during the day.

It was as if she had fallen into the Milky Way. The glowing fish, shrimp, and crabs on the seabed were like twinkling, flowing stars, their beautiful colors surrounded by halos. The sight was breathtaking, and Si Shuo was so delighted that she kept tugging on Gong You’s arm, more lively and active than a little fish.

And in the eyes of the Big Fish Beast, her energetic form was a living, breathing painting he wished to treasure forever.

He pulled her in for a lavish seafood feast, and… he also let Si Shuo taste another kind of delicacy—one that made her scalp tingle and her soul tremble…

As expected, when she opened her eyes the next day, she was already in Xu Chi’s arms, racing along with the Traveling Merchant Team.

Seeing her awake, her Beast Husbands halted. They waited for her to wash up and eat, and after she had some time to digest, Zhi Le carried her as they chased after the main group.

Gong You lazily activated the Time Law, and while maintaining their previous speed, they caught up in just about ten minutes.

Si Shuo looked at the massive Traveling Merchant Team, which numbered several hundred people. It was about the same size as the temporary group they had formed with several tribes to go to Nanye City. The only difference was that there weren’t many females in this team, and half of them were Female Saints. The average Combat Level of the males was Level 8 or higher.

Ji Liang explained from the side:

“The Dongzhou Merchant Team originally consisted of one hundred sixty or seventy Beastmen. They were powerful and had rich combat experience. Back when they were first forging a trade route between the Southern Continent and the Central Continent, they lost over a hundred powerful Beastmen.

Nowadays, although their route is still dangerous, it’s within a range they can handle.

This time, there are over two hundred other Beastmen following them, either heading to various large tribes or traveling alone. And just like us, there are Female Saints and their Beast Husbands who want to go to the Central Continent—more than one hundred and eighty Beastmen in that group.”

He added with a hissing laugh, “Including you and Yimei, there are eleven Female Saints in total!”

Si Shuo blinked in surprise. It was usually very difficult to even run into one or two Female Saints. Even in Nanye City, there were only about thirty or forty in total.

And that was during the warm weather when everyone was out and about, gathering in Nanye City in hopes of finding two or three more Beast Husbands.

’Looks like everyone is quite ambitious,’ she thought.

“Among all the Female Saints, our kitty has the fewest Beast Husbands,” Zhi Le added with a low, helpless laugh. “Many of the unmated males in the Traveling Merchant Team who still have their Beast Marks are getting restless. If it weren’t for Ji Liang and Gong You keeping them in check, there would have probably been a lot of trouble.”

Those two were quite famous in the Southern Beast World—not because their Combat Levels were particularly high, but because one was cunning and the other was ruthless. Countless High-Level Combat Power Beastmen had suffered at their hands.

After so many had fallen prey to them, their reputation naturally became more and more exaggerated. Moreover, Ji Liang had spent time with the Dongzhou Merchant Team before.

The Beastmen in the Traveling Merchant Team often walked the line between life and death, but they also possessed a merchant’s shrewdness. They knew how to seek advantages and avoid harm, so they naturally wouldn’t seek a direct confrontation.

Si Shuo turned her head to look at her big black snake, her eyes curving into a smile as she stroked the snake head that nudged closer. She laughed and said, “It took a lot of courage for me to accept Ji Liang. He’s just too good at sweet-talking; I couldn’t resist.

But thanks to the ’training’ he’s given me, my mindset is much better now. It’s hard for an ordinary Beastman to move my heart!”

Her male partners breathed a slight sigh of relief. They did want a few more Couple Brothers, but they were all prideful. They would need a lot of mental preparation to accept a male who wasn’t exceptionally outstanding.

Fortunately, their little female was exceptionally clear-headed on this matter, even less anxious about it than they were…

Si Shuo looked at Yimei, who was sitting on a gray lion at the front of the procession, and asked curiously, “How many Beast Husbands has Yimei found? What kind of Beastmen are they, and what are their Combat Powers?”

Xu Chi chimed in, “She took two. One is Rongzhi, a Level 8 Gold Element White-tailed Sea Eagle. The other is Pan Zhou, a Level 9 Wood Element Albino Ape Beastman!”

Si Shuo couldn’t help but laugh when she heard that. “Time must have been too tight. Did she really take a Sea Bird Beastman and an Albino Ape Beastman?”

The little female’s earnestness was both cute and a little heartbreaking. Even though Yimei now had six Beast Husbands, only these two were truly capable fighters. The other four—two Level 3s and two Level 4s—were just there to make up the numbers on the road to the Central Continent. If they encountered a powerful Fierce Beast, they would be completely incapable of putting up a fight.

Ji Liang let out a hiss. How could he not understand his little female’s worries?

Ji “The Matchmaker” Liang chimed in, “Master Xu is a captain with principles. The Dongzhou Merchant Team under his command has plenty of Beastmen with both Combat Power and integrity.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep