Chapter 167: Chapter 166: Sugarcane

Zeke furrowed his brows, casting a cold glance at Malachi: “Stop spouting nonsense.”

Malachi chuckled softly, lifting his foot as he walked over: “Whether it’s nonsense, you know it yourself. Admitting discomfort isn’t shameful.”

Zeke’s face slightly stiffened, and a hint of displeasure flashed in his emerald eyes: “She can say whatever she wants, it’s none of my business.”

Malachi shot him a glance, “Always with that deadpan look, I just don’t get you. If you like it, you like it; if you hate it, you hate it—why keep suppressing yourself, isn’t living like this exhausting?”

He chuckled lightly and patted his shoulder, “Alright, since you don’t care, stop thinking about it, time to get to work.”

Turning his steps, he headed towards the salt field.

Zeke stood there for a while before also heading to the salt field to work.

As soon as he arrived, he saw Corbin throwing a fit early in the morning at the salt field, face gloomy and aggressive, clearly in a terrible mood.

“Where’s Kian Sterling? What time is it, and he still hasn’t rolled over to dry the salt?”

The roar was thunderous, audible from afar.

The beastmen on the salt field pulled back their necks for fear of getting caught in the storm of rage.

Zeke furrowed his brows, such temper this early, probably due to last night’s events.

Luna Sutton not only commented on herself but also on how domineering Corbin could be, always trying to boss her around…

Originally feeling quite uncomfortable, the situation oddly brought some balance to his psyche.

He didn’t feel like approaching Corbin and getting caught in his ire, quietly starting to dry the salt.

Rhys scanned the entire salt field coldly, not seeing Kian Sterling’s silhouette, his brows furrowing tightly.

He put down his work, turned his steps, and headed toward the hot spring pool.

Radiating cold, chilly to the bone, it was unclear whether he was going to fetch someone or to start a fight.

Corbin caught sight of this, his face improved considerably, a cold smile curving his lips: “Rhys, that old lazy fox needs a good beating, so he won’t always slack off and not work.”

Rhys nodded coldly, and in a flash, vanished from the salt field.

By the hot spring, Luna Sutton finished her roasted meat and ate a few fruits, feeling quite full.

Just as she was about to head to the salt field.

She ran straight into Rhys coming her way, radiating strong coldness that could be felt from eight hundred miles away, chilling her to the bone.

Goodness, running to the hot spring so early, by the look of it, he’s either coming for her or for Kian Sterling.

Before Rhys’s steps could approach, she quickly slipped away down the nearby forest path.

The best strategy is to run when in doubt, so she wouldn’t be caught by Rhys for a beating.

Though unafraid, she didn’t want to have her mood affected so early in the day.

Kian Sterling lazily lay by the hot spring, suddenly feeling a chill, and hearing approaching footsteps, knew someone was coming.

He lazily opened his eyes, glanced over, and saw Rhys with a face that could freeze to death. He clicked his tongue lightly with a teasing tone: “Rhys, so much anger early in the morning, who pissed you off?”

Rhys gave him a cold glance and noticed the bite marks on Kian Sterling’s shoulder and scratches on his back.

Clearly Luna’s doing.

His eyes darkened a few shades, the vibe around him growing even colder.

It seems things got quite intense.

His gaze seemed to contain ice splinters, piercing straight over: “You.”

Kian Sterling chuckled, nine fox tails gently swaying, his tone casual: “Why, jealous?”

Rhys’s face stiffened slightly, then returned to its icy demeanor, “Don’t want all your fox fur plucked clean, you’d better roll over to work.”

Kian Sterling lazily stretched and, unbothered by Rhys’s expression and tone, teased: “Rhys, you’re so jealous; just spent a little extra time with Luna last night, and you’re so eagerly looking to grab someone?”

Rhys’s face grew colder, with a hint of unnaturalness: “Stop the nonsense, Corbin’s throwing a fit at the salt field, if you don’t go, he might turn the place upside down.”

Kian Sterling chuckled, leisurely getting up from the hot spring, drying himself off, and wrapping scattered animal skins around him.

“Corbin’s temper is still that volatile, but what does it have to do with me? I’m not his subordinate.”

He really couldn’t care less.

Rhys furrowed his brows, too lazy for the long-winded nonsense, just grabbed Kian Sterling by the collar and started walking.

“Ah, Rhys, don’t be like this, truly unbecoming, looks so unrefined.”

Kian Sterling used a bit of strength and freed himself from Rhys’s grip, grumbling discontentedly: “Alright, alright, aren’t I going? So annoying…”

He snorted and walked away on his own.

Seeing this old fox knew how to act wisely, Rhys Blackwood didn’t continue to bother him.

He just lifted his foot and followed.

Meanwhile, Luna Sutton had just slipped down the path near the salt field when she heard Corbin Crowley scolding Malachi Arcanus, and his words were quite harsh.

She was instantly frightened and didn’t dare go over there, hiding behind a big tree, secretly watching the commotion over at the salt field.

“Malachi, what kind of mess is this salt you’ve dried? Completely chaotic, can’t even achieve basic uniformity. Are your hands crippled or your feet? You can’t even do this little work right, what else can you do?”

Corbin Crowley’s icy voice exploded in the air, like a sharp knife, stabbing straight at Malachi Arcanus.

Malachi Arcanus lazily leaned against the pile of salt, holding a wooden salt shovel in his hand, a playful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, completely indifferent to Corbin Crowley’s rage.

“Corbin, isn’t your temper a bit too fiery? What’s wrong with the salt being uneven? In the end, it’s all going to be used, why be so serious?”

Corbin Crowley’s face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot, with icy sarcasm: “Serious? With your attitude, how can the work at the salt field be done? If you can’t do it, then go back to the tribe and take the dried salt back with you.”

After speaking, he glanced coldly at Zeke Veridian, who was seriously drying salt beside him, and said coldly: “Zeke, you go with him, too. Salt is of utmost importance to the tribe, what if other tribes find out and seize it on the way? You two are strong, I’m entrusting this task to you.”

Upon hearing this, Malachi Arcanus knew Corbin Crowley was trying to send him and Zeke Veridian away; last night it was Kian Sterling, today and tomorrow, it would be Zeke and him.

He gradually felt enraged by the scolding, and coldly sneered: “Corbin, don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning. Tonight and tomorrow, it’ll be Zeke and me. Sending the two of us away, what are you plotting?”

Corbin Crowley’s face instantly darkened, squinting slightly, his voice low and dangerous: “Malachi, are you questioning my decision?”

Malachi Arcanus shrugged, “What’s wrong with questioning? Although the leader entrusted the development of The Salt Lake to you, it doesn’t mean I’m afraid of you. If you want a competition, let’s compete openly, why bother with these petty tricks?”

Luna Sutton hidden behind the tree heard all this with her heart pounding, secretly cursing to herself at Corbin Crowley’s boundless tyranny.

Even when it comes to sending people away, he’s so blatant.

She certainly didn’t want to go over and catch someone’s bad luck, and quietly slipped away.

She didn’t go to the salt field, nor did she go to the cave, but instead opened the system map.

The dense forest around The Salt Lake had been explored by her long ago, and the good stuff was almost completely scavenged.

But initially, she only looked with her eyes, without using the system scan, surely missing many things.

Her gaze quickly swept across those brightly colored spots.

Her sight finally lingered on a light red spot, not far from here, located at the edge of a dense forest.

“Light red… it should be an ordinary edible plant, but it’s better than nothing.”

She muttered to herself and stepped toward that direction.

In the dense forest, sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows, the air filled with the fresh scent of vegetation.

There were no gray or black spots on the map, evidently, dangerous beasts near The Salt Lake had been cleared out.

But Luna Sutton didn’t dare let her guard down, this was the beast world after all, who knows if a fierce beast might suddenly appear.

After walking for about half an hour, she finally found the location of the light red spot.

The scene before her made her eyes light up; amidst a thick cluster of plants, stood some sturdy stalks, covered with segments, and at the top hung a few broad leaves.

Luna Sutton’s eyes sparkled instantly; she knew this plant all too well—sweet cane!

Although in this beast world, sweet cane isn’t called sweet cane, but it’s called sweet cane stick.

But this sturdy stalk and broad leaves were clearly the sugar cane she had seen in her past life; what it’s called doesn’t matter.

Sweet cane can not only be eaten directly but also used to extract sugar.

Sweet cane stick in the beast world is just wild grass, unnoticed by anyone, and no one has discovered its usefulness.

She squatted down, pulling a kitchen knife from her system backpack, raising and lowering her hand, cutting off a stalk of sweet cane.

With a sound, the sweet cane snapped, revealing its white core inside.

She casually wiped it and took a bite, instantly feeling a mouthful of sweetness, juice overflowing.

“Tsk tsk, this sweet cane is even sweeter than the sugar cane in my past life!”

Luna Sutton squinted with satisfaction, her mind already beginning to calculate how to make use of this thing.

Extract sugar? Although she doesn’t like sweets, sugar in the beast world is a rare item, trading for good things wouldn’t be a loss.

However, with such a big cluster of sugar cane, even by herself, she wouldn’t finish cutting by noon, and she’d be exhausted.

She thought about it, then reluctantly decided to head over to the salt field to find someone to help her cut the sugar cane.

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