Chapter 022: The Azure Beauty Oyster
Not only did the sun become strange, the chill receded as well.
Even the fierce beasts on the island diminished day by day, as if they were relocating in earnest. Some moved to more distant places along the lakeshore, others took up residence on other islands. It was as though some great menace was hidden on the small peninsula.
A school of young fish: It’s nothing, we’ll just swim a lap underwater around the peninsula!
And sometimes, we can catch a glimpse of our master strolling about…
Little Azure Coral, idle and unoccupied, continued her wanderings. Everyone on the island was busy, but no one expected the lord herself to be as well. Miss Azure Coral was hardly one for diligent work. Thus, she took advantage of Little White’s own busyness to slip out alone and meander about.
Passing by the new residential area beside her courtyard, she was soon approaching the stone fortress, its walls marked with white lines. Beyond that lay the ten acres of farmland that had been restored and replanted.
Uncle Zhao had already installed the new formation near the fortress gate, covering thirty acres of fields. The able-bodied workers assigned there were busy reclaiming the remaining ten acres of wasteland, intending to sow them all.
The spiritual grain cultivated by the human race had an exceptionally short growth cycle, maturing in less than a month. Its seeds were bred from once-advanced spiritual plants. The spiritual energy of the Eastern Wilderness was much denser than that of the human heartlands, so the growth cycle here was even shorter.
Added to that was Uncle Zhao’s defensive formation.
According to Uncle Zhao, the spiritual grain in the fields could be harvested in about twenty days.
Little Azure Coral, observing the busy crowd, decided to stroll to the lakeside.
“Miss, Miss, where are you headed?” Deng Xiaolai, spotting her, darted over from the fields, watching her with wary eyes.
“Ahem, I was just going to pick some fruit.”
“You haven’t brought Little White, nor any cultivator guards.” Deng Xiaolai’s tone carried a hint of reproach—this was ignoring the Young Master’s orders!
Azure Coral: What should I do when I forgot to bring anyone and got caught?
Seeing her round eyes widened in silence, Deng Xiaolai quickly deduced, “Miss, you didn’t tell anyone and snuck out by yourself.”
Ahem, ahem, ahem…
“Why are you so loud?”
“If you’re not guilty, why fear my normal speaking voice?” Deng Xiaolai retorted, exasperated.
Azure Coral: …
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“Young Master, I saw Miss sneaking out alone, saying she wanted to pick fruit, but she didn’t bring anyone.” Deng Xiaolai mercilessly reported via a communication talisman.
“Tell her to wait. If she dares to run, I’ll deal with her myself.” Azure Jade’s angry voice came instantly through the talisman.
Azure Coral shrank back. “I just went out for a stroll, forgot to bring anyone.”
“No excuses. Excuses are just cover-ups. Do you think I’ll believe you?” Azure Jade’s voice came again, clearly he hadn’t closed the talisman.
Before long, Azure Jade arrived with Clear Spring and Little White, hurrying over. “How many times have I told you? You’re not allowed out alone. Are you ignoring my words?”
“How could I dare? Fourth Brother is the best to me; how could I treat your words as wind?” Azure Coral hastily defended herself.
“Naughty girl, if you do this again, I’ll have Clear Spring follow you everywhere—even sleep outside your door.”
Azure Coral waved her little hands desperately. “Fourth Brother, please spare me!”
“This time I’ll let you off, but if it happens again, you’ll have to choose between Clear Spring or Deng Xiaolai.”
Clear Spring and Deng Xiaolai both shrank back, inwardly pleading, Please, let it not be me.
Though young, they were boys through and through—if they had to sit outside Miss’s door, the eldest Young Master would surely kill them!
“Fourth Brother, I don’t want to eat grass,” Azure Coral said miserably.
“There’s nothing to be done—the fierce beast meat is too fiery. Look, my mouth is full of blisters.” Azure Jade sighed. He, too, would prefer to eat only meat.
“I remember reading in the Eastern Wilderness Miscellany that there’s a treasure called Frost Soul in the waters here. Eating one solves the problem of getting inflamed from fierce beast meat,” Azure Coral said longingly.
“Frost Soul only grows near cold springs or in ice lakes. Our place doesn’t meet those conditions! And it’s a water-attributed grade-eight rare treasure, rarer than most others. Usually, it’s found only in remote, dangerous mountains and waters. We simply don’t have any.” Azure Jade explained thoroughly, hoping to dispel his little sister’s unrealistic hopes.
“Then come with me to the lakeshore and let me ask the fishlings. If there’s none, I won’t expect it anymore,” Azure Coral pleaded pitifully.
Her small mortal body couldn’t handle even a bit of beast meat without getting inflamed—it was embarrassing, even for the emperor. Mortal life was truly hard; she missed her divine body dearly.
“All right, I’ll go with you,” Azure Jade said, taking her hand. What else could he do? One must spoil the sister one raises.
Azure Coral immediately brightened, dragging her fourth brother toward the great lake.
Upon arrival, she began communicating with the fishlings in the water using her divine sense.
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Azure Coral: I need Frost Soul. Is there any in the great lake? Can it be found?
Fishlings: Master, Master, there’s no Frost Soul in the great lake. To find it, one must search the underground rivers.
Azure Coral hesitated—the fishlings were still too young, searching the underground rivers would be sending them to their doom.
She thought for a moment, then asked: Is there anything else to eat that can dispel internal heat and detoxify?
The fishlings immediately replied: Master, Master, there are Blue Beauty Clams at the lake bottom. The clam meat dispels internal heat and detoxifies, beautifies and nourishes. The pearls can be used as water-attributed spirit stones to accelerate cultivation.
Azure Coral was overjoyed: Send me some Blue Beauty Clams!
Fishlings: Master, please wait.
“What’s wrong? I saw you staring at the lake for a while. Haven’t communicated with your fishlings yet?” Azure Jade asked curiously.
“I’ve already communicated.”
“So, there’s no Frost Soul in the lake?” Azure Jade laughed.
Azure Coral: …
“No matter, rare treasures aren’t so easily found. Let’s endure for a few days and eat vegetables,” Azure Jade consoled her.
“I don’t want to eat grass even without Frost Soul. The fishlings said they’ll send something else up, something that won’t cause internal heat,” Azure Coral replied—not only did it not cause heat, but also detoxified!
“Haha, what food doesn’t cause internal heat? If it’s beast meat, then—” Azure Jade hadn’t finished speaking when splashes erupted.
Bang, bang, bang—
One after another, large clams with exquisite patterns, each the size of a washbasin, leaped from the water and landed on the grassy shore.
“What are these?”