The wicked female is extremely fierce, but she's pampered by her seven beast husbands.

Chapter 160 Testing and Bewitching
"I'm sorry." Ling Chengen didn't know how to comfort him, so she simply raised her hand and gently touched his cheek. "I'll be more careful in the future."

Bai Qingyu gave a muffled "hmm" and leaned against her for a long time without letting go, until she got tired of standing and finally broke free from his embrace.

"How's the harvest going at the White Bear tribe?"

Bai Qingyu watched her sit on the stool, then turned and leaned against the window, nodding and saying, "It went fairly smoothly. Because there were many people going, it took less time than expected, and we came back ahead of schedule."

"Did you encounter a wildfire on your way back?" Ling Chengen asked.

Bai Qingyu shook his head and said, "No, I heard that there was a fire in the mountains in the south, but because it was discovered early and there are several rivers around, it was put out quickly."

"Did you run into them on your way back?"

Ling Chengen leaned back against the table and nodded, saying, "On the way back, I saw black smoke billowing into the sky from the south, so I went to take a look. The fire is huge. There's a river to the south, so it shouldn't be able to reach us. Right now, the fire is mainly burning in the northwest. It's separated from us by the Xuemu River, so it definitely won't be able to reach us, but things are likely to get chaotic from here on out."

"Wandering orcs?" Bai Qingyu was quite familiar with this, and after a moment of thought, he said, "I'll arrange that. Recently, it's best if the cubs and females in the tribe don't run too far to the border, and the number of patrols and guards should also be increased."

“Especially at night,” Ling Chengen cautioned, “be wary of the wandering orcs organizing themselves to raid and seize territory at night.”

This possibility is actually quite high.

Having lost their original territory, many orcs who had fled in groups regrouped and became a considerable force.

If they have a large number of people, they have a high chance of success if they target small and medium-sized tribes during the time when they are least prepared to defend themselves.

The orcs whose territories were taken away either chose to submit, were killed, or had to leave their homes...

"If other orcs come to seek refuge, should we accept them?" Bai Qingyu asked.

Ling Chengen rested his chin on his hand and thought for a while: "Acceptance, but how to accept, and how many people to accept, we need to discuss this with Father."

"Okay, I'll go ask him in a bit."

Bai Qingyu was not afraid of Ling Xiao, and their relationship as father-in-law and son-in-law was relatively harmonious with no major conflicts.

Ling Xiao and the Hanshan clan chief were old acquaintances. Even though their attitudes were a bit awkward at first, after spending a few months together, they were now able to treat each other normally.

After dinner, Ling Chengen stopped the group of people who were about to part ways and started talking about the Mulan Plain.

Yuheng leaned against a boulder and said lazily, "So you were running over there every day recently because you wanted to take over their territory?"

Su Weihua pondered for a moment and said, "Although the Mulan Plain has the Yehelan River and Luoshan Mountain as natural barriers, it is not foolproof. The Mulan Plain is flat and open. If we really settle there, there will be no defenses after the barriers are breached, and it will be easily destroyed."

Chongzhen pointed out incisively, "That's not the problem, is it? The rat tribe there is the biggest problem."

"If we can't even solve the rat problem on the Mulan Plain, what's the point of talking about relocating and building a city?"

Ling Chengen looked at Bai Qingyu, who hadn't spoken, and asked, "What's your opinion?"

Why move?

He was somewhat puzzled, since Shilin and Hanshan were now neighbors, which could be considered as mutual support.

If they really move, it will be Shilin that moves, not Hanshan.

Moreover, he had not heard of any intention to relocate Hanshan.

“The population will continue to grow, and Shilin’s current territory is already somewhat small. In addition, the terrain here is low-lying, and it has already been severely flooded this year. If we encounter an unusually long rainy season… it will be too late to relocate.”

Bai Qingyu lowered his head and remained silent for a while before slowly saying, "Dealing with the rat clan isn't difficult. The question is, do you plan to take direct action against them, or negotiate first and then fight?"

“Then we’ll definitely talk if we can. It would be best if they were willing to give up their territory, otherwise we’ll definitely have to fight,” Chongzhen said.

Su Weihua rolled her eyes at him: "Do you think the rat-clan beastmen are made of clay? You think they'll just give way because you say so?"

Territory is related to the survival of a tribe.

Unless forced into a corner, who would willingly hand over territory?

"And where are you asking them to move to?"

“If we don’t find them a suitable territory, the rat orcs will definitely fight to the death.”

Su Weihua shook her head, feeling that Chongzhen's thinking was too simplistic. She glanced at Ling Chengen, who was listening attentively, and said, "The most crucial point is that even if we can force the rat tribe to move away, who would want them to live in their territory or move to the vicinity of their territory?"

"The rat-beastmen are infamous, especially for the plagues they spread every year. If it weren't for the cat-beastmen, who are naturally able to restrain them, surrounding the tribes would have suffered long ago."

"Accepting rat-orcs means being plagued by plagues every year, and the entire tribe could be wiped out if we're not careful. Who would be willing to take such a big risk?"

Therefore, if the rat problem is not handled properly, it will be a ticking time bomb.

It will cause a lot of trouble.

Yu Shaochen hadn't participated in the conversation, sitting on a small stool to the side, listening to their argument. Finally, he asked weakly, "Can't we coexist with them?"

As soon as he spoke, everyone fell silent.

Looking at Yu Shaochen's clean face, Chongzhen glanced at Su Weihua's serious expression and couldn't help but laugh, "You said I was naive, but there's someone even more naive here."

Bai Qingyu sighed, "Other tribes don't want to be plagued by epidemics every year, and neither do we."

"Isn't there a way to control the spread of the epidemic?"

Ling Chengen held a few green stone beads in his hand, tracing their delicate texture with his fingertips, and suddenly said, "Yes."

In fact, it was not the orcs that spread the epidemic, but the virus carried by rodents.

In the world where humans live, rats have never been completely eradicated; they still exist.

If we know how to prevent the spread of the epidemic, we can actually solve the problem of the plague after the rainy season every year from its root.

The first step is to clean up the body.

The body must never be exposed to the sun or allowed to be washed into the river by torrential rain.

Another point is to drive away rodents from living areas.

I wonder if the rat-race orcs can control these rat-like animals.

If possible, expelling them would be much more effective.

Chongzhen reminded him, "Don't forget, just over half a month ago, our tribe set fire to the pile of corpses they had built."

Ling Chengen: "..."

Bai Qingyu and Su Weihua also fell silent.

Ling Chengen also asked Ling Xiao for his opinion. He had long had ideas about the relocation site for the tribe, but had not found a suitable location. Although he was a little puzzled as to why his eldest daughter was so fond of the Mulan Plain, after listening to her analysis and plans for the future, he decided to let her give it a try.

Therefore, Ling Chengen decided to try diplomacy before resorting to force against the rat tribe.

Su Weihua was in charge of patrolling the tribe, while Bai Qingyu was busy receiving the wandering orcs who had fled from the south and temporarily settling them on the edge of the territory. He did not directly incorporate these people into the Stone Forest tribe.

Following Ling Chengen's instructions, Chongzhen and Yu Shaochen began to explore how to make paper. This was because the construction of the city would require a large number of blueprints, and continuing to use animal hides for drawing would be too extravagant.

Ling Chengen and Yu Heng were exchanging information and gathering intelligence in the Mulan Plain and some tribes around the Mulan Plain.

Initial contact with the rat tribe was not smooth, because the rat orcs had a strong xenophobic attitude, especially in this environment surrounded by enemies. Whenever any foreign orcs intruded into the Mulan Plain, they would launch some small-scale sneak attacks.

This confrontational behavior stirred up the emotions of some orcs who went hunting in the Mulan Plains. They no longer showed mercy to the rat orcs, killing them almost on sight without giving them any chance to fight back.

Ling Chengen did not rashly make contact with the rat tribe. Instead, he and Yu Heng spent a lot of time investigating the combat patterns on the Mulan Plain, the distribution of the rat tribe, their usual methods, and how they lived.

It was during this period of observation that she discovered that the rat-folk were not completely immune to the plague, as others had thought.

The rat-tribe orcs can also be infected with the plague, but because they live in underground caves and rarely come out on the surface, their bodies are simply dumped in a concentrated manner after they die. In addition, many people die during the rainy season, and the casualties are heavy due to the surrounding tribes' attacks. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish whether the bodies in the mass grave died from the plague or from other causes.

Night falls.

After dealing with several inferior beasts wandering near the cave, Ling Chengen came in from outside, covered in moisture. Yu Heng was sitting on a rock, slowly roasting two skinned and cleaned tusked beasts. Hearing footsteps, she raised her eyelashes and placed the freshly roasted beast on a broad leaf in front of her.

The tusked beast is just a large rabbit, but much fiercer. It can reach 1.78 meters in length, has an extremely strong jumping ability, and its teeth are very sharp, capable of crushing stones.

While they were lying in wait on the Mulan Plain today, they tried to explore a cave entrance, thinking it was a rat tribe cave. However, as soon as they reached the entrance, they encountered two ferocious-looking tusked beasts that charged at them at incredible speed. The two immediately retreated, which resulted in seven or eight more beasts running out of the cave.

These tusked beasts, for some reason, had already retreated to a distance, but these guys insisted on chasing them relentlessly. Ling Chengen and Yu Heng had no choice but to take action and kill them all.

She and Yuheng definitely couldn't finish ten tusk beasts, so they roasted two for dinner and put the rest away to be dealt with tomorrow or the day after.

However, it's hot today, so the meat can't be left out for long. I don't know how long it can be stored in the space.

Yuheng used a small bone blade to cut the whole tusked beast into pieces, letting Ling Chengen eat first, while he continued to roast the remaining one.

"Let's eat together, you've had a long day too."

Ling Chengen sat down next to him, looking at his profile, and knew that he was too hot to eat much.

Logically speaking, since he has wood-based abilities, he should be more heat-resistant, but that's not actually the case.

Yuheng is very sensitive to heat.

She has been eating very little these past few days, less than half of her usual portion size.

So he has visibly lost weight in the past few days.

Yuheng was originally on the thin side, but before, his face was a little fleshy and his facial lines were extremely smooth and natural. Now, however, his face has become angular and he has lost some of his previous gentle demeanor. In addition, he was in a bad mood because of the heat, so his complexion was a bit sour and he looked very unapproachable.

However, he was quite patient with her.

Ling Chengen found it somewhat amusing. When they first met, this person appeared somewhat hypocritically friendly, but in reality, he was quite aloof.

But over time you'll find that he has quite a few temper tantrums, is lazy and arrogant, proud and stubborn, and petty.

"What are you staring at me for? Hurry up and eat."

Yuheng glanced at her, who was lost in thought, picked up a golden fruit from beside him with his left hand, and handed it to Ling Chengen on his right. He leaned back a few feet, wishing he could get as far away from the fire as possible.

But the second tusked beast wasn't ready yet, so he had to patiently sit on the rock and slowly turn the prey that was fixed in place by the iron plate on the rack. A lot of sweat seeped out from his forehead, nose, and neck, and the skin on his face and the corners of his eyes were roasted red.

Ling Chengen took the golden fruit, paused for a few seconds, and said, "I've seen this kind of fruit in the Hailing tribe. There are many there, but the flesh doesn't taste good."

“Yes, I know.” Yuheng handed her a rather large iron spoon and said in a flat tone, “The flesh of the golden fruit doesn’t have much flavor, but it can cool you down and relieve summer heat. I squeezed out some refreshing juice and added it all in. It tastes pretty good.”

Upon hearing this, she no longer resisted the golden fruit in her hand, and instead of touching the roast meat, she started eating the dessert first.

After taking a couple of bites, she asked in confusion, "Is there juice from Baba fruit in it?"

"Hmm, you can tell by the taste?" Yuheng was a little surprised.

Bai Qingyu brought back a lot of Baba fruit, but she didn't keep any of them. She piled them all up in the tribe's warehouse. She only kept a few at home, but Ling Xiaoxi ate most of them, and the others ate very little.

Yuheng disapproved of her giving away things she liked to others, but he didn't stop her.

Anyway, with him around, it's just a Baba fruit, nothing rare, she can get it easily.

"Thank you."

Ling Chengen occasionally has a sweet tooth, especially when she has expended a lot of energy, she craves sweet things.

This summer sweet water likely contains some mint. Although it's not iced, it's probably been specially cooled in a stream, making it refreshingly cool without ice cubes.

Yuheng watched her quietly holding the golden fruit for a while before looking away, but a slight smile played on his lips.

Yu Heng was a man of few words, and Ling Chengen was not much of a talker either.

When the two of them are together, they mostly do their own thing.

So after dinner, Yuheng went to bathe in the stream.

When he returned, Ling Chengen was already lying in the hammock he had made.

He stood at the cave entrance for a while, then encouraged a few insect-repelling and mosquito-repelling plants to grow on the ground near the hammock. He sat down on another hammock, looked at the sleeping face a meter away, and sighed softly.

He felt a little regretful, as this unexpected breeding season had gone very smoothly, and the trouble had completely subsided after only four or five days.

It was moving so fast that he wasn't used to it.

But after the chaotic breeding season ended, he had no reason to approach the little female in front of him.

Therefore, their relationship remained lukewarm.

He couldn't openly pester her like that crane-clan beastman.

This really put him in a difficult position.

Sometimes, he simply couldn't let go of his pride, and he would put on a show of being both competitive and aggressive, while deliberately feigning weakness.

So he's a little worried now. He has big ambitions, but he doesn't know how to do it.

Chasing young females is really a bit difficult!
Perhaps he had been watching for too long, because the person lying in the hammock suddenly opened her eyes. Even in the pitch-black cave, he could still accurately capture all her subtle changes in expression, so he was startled by her sudden opening of her eyes, his body stiffened slightly, and he sat motionless in the hammock.

"You've been staring at me for so long, is there something you want to say?"

"Do you still want to do something?"

A playful voice suddenly rang out in the silent cave, neither too loud nor too soft, just enough to stir his emotions.

Yuheng stared into her eyes for a long time, then suddenly jumped off the hammock and walked step by step to her side.

He looked down at her, asking as if testing her, or perhaps bewitching her.

"Is there anything... I can do?"