Friendly warning: Do not follow the translator and read this in the middle of the night if you are a scaredy-cat.

Qing Jiyue was seriously injured and couldn’t move until the treatment was finished. After the group took a quick look, they scattered to keep watch.

The only ones left behind were Qing Suifeng and Tong Zhanyan.

The doctor worked quickly, but the wound was deep and irregular, so it took quite a long time to suture it.

By the time they finished, Qing Jiyue’s face was completely drained of color, and his clothes were almost completely soaked through with blood.

After giving him another injection and replacing the blood bag, the doctor said, “You must get him back as soon as possible. If what’s in his wounds is truly the blood of a monstrous beast, the risk of infection is very high.”

Qing Suifeng nodded and turned to call the others.

Tong Zhanyan cast one last deep look at Qing Jiyue, emptied his backpack, and turned to face the wheat.

Qing Jiyue had found it.

Highly infected plants were toxic to them. Tong Zhanyan wrapped his left hand in the spare clothes from his backpack, snapped off the wheat stalks, and cut down the ears.

The wheat was taller than what he’d seen in pictures, the stalks were sturdier, and the ears felt heavier in his hands.

Tong Zhanyan filled his entire backpack.

When he finished and turned back, the others were already ready.

Qing Jiyue was helped onto the back of one of the men by the doctor and Qing Suifeng.

Tong Zhanyan slung his backpack over his shoulders and walked toward them.

“Senior…” A slightly hoarse voice came from behind him.

“Hmm?” Tong Zhanyan turned to look.

Behind him lay only a dense, lush field of wheat taller than a person.

“Tong Zhanyan?” The Devil King looked over.

Tong Zhanyan’s skin instantly broke out in goosebumps.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think I just heard someone calling my name…” Tong Zhanyan took two steps back, moving away from the wheat field.

“What?”

The group all looked toward the wheat field.

The wheat was very dense, with only a few spots where one could pass through.

After sitting atop the beasts undergoing beastification, their vantage point was high, allowing them to see the entire surrounding area, but they did not spot the person Tong Zhanyan had mentioned.

“Is anyone there?” the Devil King asked warily.

There wasn’t even a breeze at the moment; the wheat field was completely silent.

Had Tong Zhanyan misheard?

Tong Zhanyan frowned. He forced down that spine-chilling sensation and hurried over to Qing Jiyue.

Once he was seated, a group of people lined up and began moving along the cliff face toward the left, intending to climb back up the way they had come down.

After glancing back at the wheat field once more, Tong Zhanyan turned his gaze to Qing Jiyue.

Perhaps because his wounds were so painful, Qing Jiyue’s brow remained furrowed, and cold sweat kept beading on his forehead.

Tong Zhanyan wanted to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but couldn’t find anything suitable at the moment; he’d left in such a hurry, and the contents of his backpack had been taken by others.

They soon reached the slope.

To guard against any strange beasts above, the Devil King and his group went up first, with Tong Zhanyan and the others following behind.

The slope was quite steep, so Tong Zhanyan did his best to shield Qing Jiyue.

Once they reached the top, Tong Zhanyan finally let go.

“Should we head back to the Gu Family’s side, or go to the Qing Family’s?” The Devil King and his group all turned to look at Qing Suifeng.

Qing Suifeng had already made up his mind. “Let’s go to the nearest defensive line.”

Qing Jiyue must be taken to the hospital as soon as possible.

They were now outside the Qing Family’s defensive line, though they were still quite far from the Qing Family’s base.

The group of individuals under beastification immediately set off.

After glancing at Qing Jiyue once more, Tong Zhanyan turned to look at the wheat field.

He simply wanted to look at the wheat; after mutating, the plants had grown quite tall. The moment his gaze fell upon them, that familiar sensation of every hair on his body standing on end washed over him once more.

In the wheat field, within a naturally formed gap, a ragged, wrinkled old man stood, his head oddly tilted at a ninety-degree angle as he stared at him.

His eyes, glowing with a faint green light, were fixed on him.

A gaze devoid of any warmth.

Tong Zhanyan summoned his Spirit Beast almost immediately.

The group, which had gradually begun to move, all looked over—especially Qing Suifeng, who was riding on the back of the person sitting next to him, and the doctor.

“There’s someone in that wheat field—” Tong Zhanyan looked back immediately.

The wheat field was empty, as if everything that had just happened was merely a hallucination.

The group stopped and turned to look.

Seeing nothing, they all turned their gaze back to Tong Zhanyan.

First someone shouted, and now someone…

“Are you certain you heard a sound and saw a person just now?” The Devil King furrowed his brow.

“…It was an old man, somewhat stooped, with dark skin,” Tong Zhanyan said. “He was wearing clothes.”

Only humans wear clothes.

The Devil King patted the figure beneath him, and the figure headed back.

Returning to the edge of the cliff, it moved toward the right, scanning the area as it went.

The group of beasts behind them did the same.

After walking about a hundred meters, they turned back.

They hadn’t seen a thing.

Tong Zhanyan hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back; he had truly seen him just now.

Yang Hong speculated, “Could it be someone from the defense line?”

The Devil King frowned deeply. “Why would he be hiding from us?”

“Could it be like Qing Jiyue?”

The whole group looked over.

Qing Jiyue’s situation was clearly unusual.

After a moment’s hesitation, the Devil King said, “Go look for him.”

If it really was one of their own, bringing him back would be a good thing.

The Devil King glanced at Qing Jiyue again and warned, “Be careful, and move quickly.”

Immediately, more than twenty people stepped forward from the group.

They all entered a fusion state and swiftly headed toward the wheat field below.

During beastification, they towered over the wheat, making the search much faster.

But they found nothing.

After searching twice without success, the group turned to look at Tong Zhanyan.

Tong Zhanyan frowned deeply.

“After the Great Cataclysm, we haven’t been to most parts of the outside world. Combined with the mutations, there are many things we simply cannot comprehend,” Qing Suifeng said.

The Devil King and his group returned.

No one said a word; the group quickly departed.

In their fused state, they were massive in size, and since they didn’t need to search for markers this time, their movement was extremely fast.

Half an hour later, they spotted the protective barrier in the distance.

Tong Zhanyan hadn’t paid it much attention before, but now he realized the barrier was far larger than he’d anticipated. Even from their current distance, they couldn’t see where it ended.

After traveling another ten or so minutes, they arrived at the base of the barrier.

This area, far from where the Qing Family had been attacked, was relatively calm.

Upon seeing them and recognizing Qing Suifeng, the guards at the nearby checkpoint immediately came forward to greet them.

Qing Suifeng immediately made arrangements to send Qing Jiyue to the nearest hospital.

After making arrangements for Qing Jiyue, he turned to look at Tong Zhanyan.

Before he could speak, Tong Zhanyan said, “I’ll go with Qing Jiyue.”

Qing Suifeng nodded.

A few minutes later, an old van pulled up.

The vehicle appeared to be specifically designed for transporting the wounded; all the rear seats had been removed and replaced with stretcher beds.

Qing Suifeng and Qing Jiyue got in, followed closely by Tong Zhanyan.

The van pulled away quickly.

In less than ten minutes, they arrived at a field hospital.

The Qing Family compound had come under attack; though the assault hadn’t reached this area, many casualties had been transferred here, and the hospital was bustling with people coming and going.

Qing Suifeng had made prior arrangements; as soon as they arrived, medical staff pushed the stretcher beds over to them.

Qing Jiyue was quickly admitted to the isolation intensive care unit.

The world outside the protective shield was entirely different; anything could be fatal. Qing Jiyue’s wounds had come into direct contact with the blood of those monstrous beasts, and he had been exposed to the elements for nearly two days prior.

In the hallway, aside from the medical staff rushing by, there were only Tong Zhanyan and Qing Suifeng.

Tong Zhanyan stared silently at the glass door.

Qing Suifeng sat across from him, head bowed, equally silent.

It felt like an eternity to Tong Zhanyan before the door was finally opened from the inside.

Tong Zhanyan immediately stood up, and Qing Suifeng moved at the same time.

“How is he?”

“Is he okay?”

The doctor looked at the two of them. “He’s already infected, and his temperature is very high right now. We’ve administered initial treatment, but we won’t know the specifics until we send the samples for testing.”

As he spoke, he held up the sample bag in his hand.

Tong Zhanyan and Qing Suifeng hurriedly stepped aside.

The man didn’t leave immediately. “You don’t need to worry too much. As far as the infection goes, his condition isn’t too serious. Besides, we have comprehensive medications and research in this area—after all, it’s been so many years.”

Tong Zhanyan and Qing Suifeng’s tense nerves relaxed slightly.

The man left.

Tong Zhanyan stepped forward to look through the glass in the door, but there was another door behind it, so he couldn’t see what was happening inside from this side.

After standing there for a moment, Tong Zhanyan sat back down in his previous spot.

Across from him, Qing Suifeng was watching him.

“Thank you,” Qing Suifeng said.

He had taken over the Qing Family thirteen years ago; before that, his father had been the Qing Family Head.

The reason he took over was that his father had fallen into a state of deep frenzy.

His father had made arrangements and did not wish to be kept alive, as that would be a torment for those still living.

He did not follow his father’s wishes and kept him alive.

Over the past decade or so, he had never given up hope. Aside from the Planting Alliance, he had funded over a hundred other organizations, large and small, one after another.

Yet, as more than a decade slipped by, he did not see the hope of saving his father; instead, he received a diagnosis of the frenzy infection.

To rest in peace alongside his father was a decision he made the moment he received that diagnosis.

He knew all too well the despair of wanting to do something yet finding all efforts futile; he did not want to end up tormenting Qing Jiyue as well.

It was also then that he decided to send Qing Jiyue to the Sidi Military Academy, hoping that in the little time remaining, Qing Jiyue could experience a normal life.

Qing Jiyue was exceptionally talented, which meant everyone had high expectations of him—and that he had to be held to nearly impossible standards.

Qing Jiyue carried the future of everyone on his shoulders.

Qing Jiyue was a good boy.

He was very mature; even when he was too exhausted to get out of bed, he never once said he wanted to give up.

He was too mature—so mature it didn’t seem like something a child his age should be.

That made him feel indebted.

It wasn’t the first time he’d felt that way.

He should have protected Jifei back then, but instead, he let his die—right in front of Qing Jiyue, when he was only four years old…

He had made up his mind—no matter what, he couldn’t burden or torment Qing Jiyue any longer. He had already chambered a round and was about to pull the trigger when Tong Zhanyan suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

When he was knocked unconscious and taken to Tong Zhanyan’s base, he didn’t believe it at first. Even if Tong Zhanyan could indeed grow crops well, that didn’t mean he could cure the frenzy.

He knew all too well that feeling of clinging to a faint glimmer of hope.

But things turned out beyond his expectations.

The infection rate dropped, and his condition—along with Yang Hong’s and the others’—was brought under control. It was like a roller coaster ride.

What was even more thrilling was that before he’d even recovered from that massive shift—before he’d even decided whether to go through with his suicide—Tong Zhanyan told them the infection rate had dropped below 20%, and that even those with severe infections could give it a try.

And then, those with severe infections simply woke up…

The hope he had chased for over a decade—the hope he had already given up on—was reignited just like that.

And now, Tong Zhanyan had saved Qing Jiyue as well.

In the future, perhaps even his father…

Qing Suifeng desperately wanted to say more; he knew he should speak up.

But at that moment, aside from the two words “thank you,” he couldn’t utter a single sound.

Tong Zhanyan’s lips curled into a faint smile.

As his tense nerves relaxed, the headache he’d momentarily forgotten while worrying about Qing Jiyue returned with a vengeance.

Qing Suifeng noticed. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine…” Tong Zhanyan shook his head, but the movement only made him feel even more dizzy.

Apart from his head, his body ached terribly, especially his legs.

Pushing himself to the limit in training was a thing of the past semester; this semester, there were only two weeks left before break.

He had been working the fields every day—which was also physically demanding—but this was entirely different.

Qing Suifeng hurried off to call a doctor.

Half an hour later, Tong Zhanyan was taken downstairs to a general ward.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t want to leave, but the doctor who examined him must have given him some kind of medication; by the time he realized it, he was already drifting off.

Just before falling asleep, Tong Zhanyan managed to tell Qing Suifeng to wake him up if Qing Jiyue came to.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t sleep well that night. One moment, he dreamed that Qing Jiyue had died; the next, he saw the man in the wheat field; and then he dreamed that his Spirit Beast had turned into a roast chicken.

He’d always thought it kept charging into the fire because it dreamed of becoming a roast chicken.

He didn’t think he was entirely to blame; after all, he’d never heard of a phoenix going “cluck-cluck.”

And it looked so scruffy, too…

When Tong Zhanyan woke up, the world outside the window was already pitch black.

The medicine worked quite well; although his head and body still ached, the pain wasn’t as severe anymore.

He lay in bed for a while longer to rest, then got up.

He wondered how Qing Jiyue was doing.

It was late at night, and the hallway was deserted.

Tong Zhanyan gripped the handrail along the outer half of the wall and moved slowly.

As Tong Zhanyan walked, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure downstairs out of the corner of his eye.

His first thought was that it was Qing Suifeng, so he looked over immediately.

The moment he recognized him, the pain in his body vanished instantly, replaced by a chill so intense it left his mind blank.

The old man from the wheat field earlier was now standing downstairs.

He was looking up, scanning floor by floor, as if searching for something.

Before Tong Zhanyan could react, their eyes met suddenly.

The other’s eyes were a deep, eerie green.

An emotionless, eerie green.

That thing opened its mouth.

They were far apart; he shouldn’t have been able to hear clearly, yet Tong Zhanyan still heard it calling his name.

“Senior…”

Someone walked past downstairs.

The old man glanced at him once more, then turned and vanished into the darkness.

It moved very quickly.

It wasn’t running—it was crawling.

On all fours, crawling like an animal.

By the time Tong Zhanyan realized what was happening, every cell in his body was screaming in terror.

Ignoring the pain in his body, he rushed down the hallway. He had to get to Qing Jiyue, and he had to tell Qing Suifeng.

That thing was definitely not a hallucination.

This was inside the containment zone. He didn’t know how that thing had slipped in so silently, but this was definitely not a good sign.

Upstairs, Qing Suifeng was nowhere to be seen in front of the ward where they had been earlier.

The hallway was empty.

Tong Zhanyan pushed open the ward door and stepped inside to see if Qing Jiyue was still there.

Inside the isolation ward, a nurse in protective gear was busy at work. Upon seeing him enter, he quickly pulled the door shut from the inside.

Tong Zhanyan hadn’t intended to force his way in anyway. After glancing through the glass at Qing Jiyue, who was lying on the bed connected to a ventilator, he quickly retreated back into the hallway.

He pulled out his terminal to contact Devil King and the others.

Devil King answered the call quickly.

“Teacher Wang, that thing in the wheat field earlier…” Tong Zhanyan quickly explained the situation, peering over the railing to look down at the area directly below the ward.

If that thing could slip into the protective shield without a sound, it might just be able to sneak up here silently as well.

It was clearly after him.

“It got in?” Devil King asked in disbelief.

“The hospital should have surveillance—” Tong Zhanyan looked up from the ground floor toward the upper levels, and the moment he did, his gaze met those eerie green eyes.

His heart clenched violently.

His mind went blank; just as he instinctively reached to summon his Spirit Beast, those eyes locked onto him, and the creature leaped down from above.

Tong Zhanyan twisted to dodge, but the creature grabbed his shoulder.

Its claws were exceptionally sharp, and combined with the force of the fall, Tong Zhanyan felt something pierce his flesh the moment he was seized, followed by a surge of pain.

Tong Zhanyan instinctively flinched.

The creature followed his movement and leaped into the hallway.

It was only then that Tong Zhanyan saw clearly: it wasn’t an old man at all, but a hairless, monkey-like creature.

Its skin was dark and covered in wrinkles, and its limbs were remarkably agile, especially its two front paws, whose claws were extremely sharp.

It had a round, hole-like mouth that usually remained closed, but when Tong Zhanyan looked, he saw something wriggling inside it.

Before Tong Zhanyan could get a clear look, a stream of liquid sprayed toward him.

They were so close that Tong Zhanyan had no time to dodge.

“Boom—”

Blue flames instantly engulfed the entire corridor.

“Squeak—” The creature let out an unusually piercing scream.

The next moment, it leaped across the corridor toward the floor below.

Tong Zhanyan had no time to tend to his own wounds; he immediately looked downstairs—they were currently on the fourth floor.

The creature hadn’t been killed by the fall; the leap had actually extinguished most of the flames on its body.

It got to its feet and was about to run.

“Don’t let it get away.”

The creature was too small and fast, and clearly skilled at stealth; if it escaped, they’d never find it again.

No sooner had Tong Zhanyan spoken than a figure soared through the air in pursuit, while at the same moment, blue flames engulfed the entire open area below.

The creature’s clothes caught fire once more.

A piercing scream rang out, but it still wasn’t dead.

It turned and tried to run toward another building to the left.

The flames flared up again.

In that brief moment, many people nearby were alerted.

In front of the ward building, several figures rushed into the open area.

It was the Devil King and Yang Hong’s group.

They had been nearby all along.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t have time to end the communication; the Devil King immediately saw the creature and witnessed Tong Zhanyan being attacked.

“Watch out! That thing spits something and can mimic human voices!” Tong Zhanyan shouted as he sprinted downstairs.

That thing was too bizarre; if he hadn’t warned them, the Devil King and his group would surely have been in trouble.

Qing Jiyue must have been injured by it.

And if he wasn’t mistaken, that thing wasn’t after him—it was after Qing Jiyue.

The substance it spewed didn’t just cause mental instability; it likely emitted a distinctive odor, which is how it tracked them down here.

That thing was clearly no fool. It charged toward the crowd where the Devil King and the others were, attempting to block the flames in this way.

This tactic was indeed effective.

Tong Zhanyan’s chicken was forced to stop.

By the time Tong Zhanyan rushed downstairs, the Devil King, Yang Hong, and the others had already entered a fused state and were trying to stomp that thing to death.

That thing was extremely fast, and since it was crawling on the ground, it was nearly impossible to hit.

The scene was in complete chaos.

Just as it broke through the encirclement and was about to dash toward the building across the street, a burst of flame suddenly engulfed it.

“Squeak—”

A piercing scream. It gradually curled into a ball, then turned into a charred lump.

The Devil King and his group resumed their human forms.

Once the flames died down, they cautiously approached.

After being burned to a charred husk, the creature looked even more human-like.

“What happened?” Qing Suifeng emerged from the crowd; he had been downstairs with the doctor earlier.

“Qing Jiyue must have been attacked by it…” Tong Zhanyan quickly explained the situation, including the fact that the creature likely had a distinctive odor.

Once he understood what had happened, Qing Suifeng’s gaze grew even colder as he looked at the corpse on the ground.

It was already dead.

Qing Suifeng fell deep in thought. “The Four Great Families outside the defensive barrier have been conducting regular purges. We haven’t seen this thing in decades—it must have come from much farther away… This wave of beasts is likely connected to it.”

The Devil King and the others furrowed their brows in thought, finding it hard to comprehend how such a tiny creature could cause such widespread chaos.

Tong Zhanyan, however, understood immediately.

Just like the insects at his base.

To maintain ecological balance, every single element is crucial—even a single ant.

Qing Suifeng looked at the wound on Tong Zhanyan’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Tong Zhanyan looked down as well. Seeing the green liquid on his collar, he quickly stripped off his shirt and tossed it aside.

“How is Qing Jiyue?” Tong Zhanyan asked.

“Don’t worry, his condition has stabilized,” Qing Suifeng replied, his tone softening slightly.

Tong Zhanyan let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Qing Suifeng looked at Yang Hong and the others nearby. “I need to go notify the others. Could you take him to get checked out first?”

The group sprang into action.

Tong Zhanyan obediently let them lead him away.

The wound on his shoulder wasn’t very large, but it was quite deep. Combined with the aching all over his body, he immediately felt dizzy and drowsy again.

Half an hour later, Tong Zhanyan fell back into a deep sleep.

When Tong Zhanyan woke up again, it was already broad daylight.

The room was empty.

Tong Zhanyan tried to sit up, but the repeated upheavals left him aching all over at the slightest movement.

He could only use his terminal to contact Yang Hong.

Qing Jiyue hadn’t woken up yet, but his high fever had subsided.

Qing Jiyue was still in the isolation ward.

Since he couldn’t see him, Tong Zhanyan didn’t go over and instead focused on recovering from his injuries.

Two days later, when he was able to get out of bed and walk around, Qing Jiyue was transferred to a general ward.

Tong Zhanyan went over immediately to check on him.

The pallor caused by blood loss had not yet faded from Qing Jiyue’s face, but compared to his previous state of cold sweat, he looked much better.

Tong Zhanyan’s heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled back into his chest.

That also gave him the peace of mind to think about the wheat.

He had seen them when they were harvested; every single stalk was as thick as a finger. To him, they didn’t even qualify as wheat anymore.

Cherry radishes and baby bok choy—no matter what—at least didn’t undergo any significant physical changes, so their infection rates would drop quickly.

But this was essentially turning one thing into another. He had studied agriculture, not magic.

Tong Zhanyan even considered giving up.

But when he thought about where that wheat had come from, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Even in his condition, Qing Jiyue was still thinking of him.

Recalling the events of the past few days, Tong Zhanyan couldn’t help but reach out and take hold of the two fingers on Qing Jiyue’s hand that weren’t wearing a monitor.

Qing Jiyue had to wake up soon.

Qing Jiyue lay motionless, his chest rising and falling.

Tong Zhanyan sighed silently, about to get up and leave—he was an injured patient himself now.

The moment he moved, he felt a stir at his fingertips.

Tong Zhanyan looked over immediately.

Qing Jiyue’s eyelashes trembled slightly, showing signs of waking up.

Tong Zhanyan froze for a moment, then hurriedly pressed the call button.

A moment later, just as Qing Jiyue managed to open his eyes, a group of nurses and doctors entered.

Tong Zhanyan stepped aside before they could approach.

A few minutes later, the group finally finished their work.

“How is he?” Tong Zhanyan asked urgently.

“As long as he’s awake, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

Tong Zhanyan breathed a sigh of relief.

The doctor gave a few more instructions before turning to leave.

Only after watching them walk away did Tong Zhanyan look back at the person in the bed.

Qing Jiyue was very weak. He seemed to want to say something, but no sound came out.

“The conversion device is still intact, and the defensive lines have been withdrawn. Everything is fine,” Tong Zhanyan said.

The situation at the Gu Family residence was far less severe than at the Qing Family residence. Moreover, since they had been prepared in advance, everyone reacted promptly, and the situation was brought under control by the next day.

Qing Jiyue visibly relaxed a little.

Tong Zhanyan’s expression softened slightly. Qing Jiyue, the future Qing Family Head, was quite responsible—though a bit reckless.

Tong Zhanyan sat down beside the bed. After a moment’s thought, he took Qing Jiyue’s two fingers in his hand once more.

The moment their skin touched, Qing Jiyue’s fingers trembled noticeably.

It was as if he’d been struck by electricity; his eyelashes fluttered lightly as well.

The breathing from the ventilator, however, had stopped.

Tong Zhanyan traced Qing Jiyue’s fingers, moving upward until he was holding his entire hand.

Whether from holding his breath or something else, a faint flush slowly returned to Qing Jiyue’s face, which had been deathly pale.

The next moment, Tong Zhanyan felt the strength of his return grip.

Tong Zhanyan felt as though he’d forgotten something, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Their gazes met, then parted.

“Do you remember what happened earlier?” Tong Zhanyan asked.

Qing Jiyue’s voice was hoarse. “…There was someone… I wanted to go save him…”

Tong Zhanyan wasn’t surprised.

That thing did indeed look very much like a human, and since Qing Jiyue had been engaged in intense combat for several hours by then, it wasn’t strange that he’d fallen victim to it.

“That wasn’t a human; it was a beast—a beast that looked very much like a human…” Tong Zhanyan said, “We encountered one later, too.”

As he spoke, Tong Zhanyan suddenly realized he’d forgotten something. He’d forgotten to notify Qing Suifeng.

Tong Zhanyan quickly opened his terminal.

Once Qing Jiyue’s condition had gradually improved, Qing Suifeng refocused his attention on the beasts and returned to the Qing Family compound.

Leaving aside the situation beyond the defensive lines, those within the lines must be cleared out as quickly as possible.

The Gu Family had also come under attack; although they quickly brought it under control, a significant number of beasts had managed to break through, further straining their manpower.

The communication link was established quickly.

Upon learning that Qing Jiyue had woken up, Qing Suifeng’s voice was slightly hoarse. Abandoning the composed demeanor he maintained as the Qing Family Head in front of others, he asked numerous questions and gave detailed instructions.

Tong Zhanyan held the terminal silently until the two had finished speaking.

When the call ended, his taut nerves relaxed, and a look of exhaustion appeared on Qing Jiyue’s face.

Tong Zhanyan watched as he fell asleep.

As long as Qing Jiyue had woken up, the situation wasn’t too serious.

However, he was still far from being discharged.

The same went for Tong Zhanyan himself.

His own injuries weren’t severe, but the main issue lay with his Spirit Beast. A Spirit Beast’s injury felt like a tearing of the soul to its master, and there was no medicine to treat it.

The Devil King, Yang Hong, and the others were quite curious about the current state of his chicken, especially after hearing that it could manipulate fire.

There weren’t many Spirit Beasts with special abilities; Chu Yi was one, and Qing Jiyue was another, and the two of them were among the strongest in the entire Four Great Clans.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t feel particularly strongly about this.

With that base in place, he likely wouldn’t be heading to the battlefield for quite some time, so the chicken’s primary use would be weeding and burning straw.

With that in mind, Tong Zhanyan contacted Ning Langdong and the others.

The three of them had been keeping a close eye on the situation here.

Upon learning that Qing Suifeng had found Qing Jiyue’s clothes, they were all deeply concerned.

Learning that Tong Zhanyan had brought back Qing Jiyue—whom they had already presumed dead—they all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Upon hearing that Tong Zhanyan had been injured, they were more worried than anyone else.

Also, Tong Zhanyan, you should come back.

The pig is pregnant.

The fish he’s raising have turned belly-up.

The greenhouse is a total mess right now.

Many strawberry leaves have been chewed full of holes, and some have even been stripped completely bare.

Tong Zhanyan only mentioned that cabbage white butterflies eat crops; he didn’t say they reproduced so quickly, nor that they eat so voraciously, and certainly didn’t say they’d turn into rows of green caterpillars…

If Tong Zhanyan doesn’t come back soon, they’re going to lose their minds.

Tong Zhanyan sighed in resignation; he hadn’t been gone that long anyway.

He discussed post-pregnancy care for the sow with Su Yanran.

Though he called it “care,” it basically just meant cooking a special meal for her—adding extra pumpkin and corn to the cherry radish, radishes, and bok choy while cooking.

The pig could eat meat, but the problem was that there was no meat at his base.

He couldn’t very well slaughter a few chickens to feed them.

Eggs might be worth considering later when the hens start laying chicks—after all, there were plenty of them now…

After discussing the pig, Tong Zhanyan asked Su Yanran to take him to check on the fish.

He had bought twelve fish in total, but only nine remained in the water.

Less than three days after he left, two of them had floated belly-up, and today another one did the same.

Su Yanran thoughtfully took him to see the fish carcasses; they had carefully preserved them, just waiting for him to come back and inspect them.

They had been feeding them exactly as he instructed and changing the water regularly, so they couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong.

Tong Zhanyan asked a few questions and quickly figured out the cause.

When Ning Langdong and the others changed the water, they drained the entire tank—that’s not the right way to do it.

The tank is still quite rudimentary; it doesn’t have a nitrification system capable of converting harmful substances into beneficial ones. The main problem stems from the drastic change in water temperature and the stress caused by draining the entire tank.

The fish were still just fry and very fragile.

As for the cabbage white butterflies, Tong Zhanyan couldn’t do anything about them at the moment.

Building an ecosystem takes time. For now, the cabbage white butterflies clearly had the upper hand, but it wasn’t time to despair yet.

It will also take time for the lacewings to reproduce.

The only silver lining is that he had locked them all inside the greenhouse from the start; even if this turns into a disaster, the only ones to suffer will be the strawberries in the greenhouse.

Tong Zhanyan said this with a casual air.

Ning Langdong and the other two, along with Old Wang and Old Xu behind them, however, were already wearing expressions that said, “Tong Zhanyan is heartless, but there’s nothing we can say.”

Those strawberries had been by Tong Zhanyan’s side ever since he was in the training room, yet he was just letting them get devoured like that.

Tong Zhanyan found it amusing.

After giving a few more instructions, Tong Zhanyan ended the call.

Ten days later, when the wounds on Tong Zhanyan’s body had mostly scabbed over, and the pain in his head had eased somewhat, he mentioned to Qing Jiyue that he wanted to head back first.

Ning Langdong and the others called three times a day.

There were more bugs again, and the strawberries had been nibbled on.

The pollination of the crops in the fields was nearly finished, and the strawberries had been nibbled on again.

How many leaves to pinch off the watermelons, what to do with the tomatoes in the green manure beds, and the strawberries had been nibbled on yet again…

Qing Jiyue’s injuries were far from healed, but he was already able to sit up.

Upon hearing that Tong Zhanyan was leaving, Qing Jiyue lowered his eyelashes, casting a deep shadow across his face.

These past few days, Tong Zhanyan had come over whenever he had a moment, occasionally even holding his hand.

It felt as though he were living in a dream.

Tong Zhanyan’s departure gave him the illusion that the dream was about to end.

Qing Jiyue didn’t say it out loud, but Tong Zhanyan could tell.

“I’m just going back to check on things. Once I’ve taken care of what needs to be done, I’ll come back,” Tong Zhanyan said.

The battle on Qing Suifeng’s side was nearing its end, but it wasn’t yet at a point where he could drop everything to come and stay with Qing Jiyue.

Once he left, Qing Jiyue would be all alone.

“Mm-hmm,” Qing Jiyue replied.

It had been nearly twenty days since Tong Zhanyan left; he really should go back and check on things.

Many people were still waiting for those crops to save their lives.

Tong Zhanyan headed toward the door. “Well, I’m off then.”

“Be careful on your way.”

As he reached the doorway, Tong Zhanyan turned back to glance at him.

Qing Jiyue’s eyes were dark and forlorn, like those of a large dog about to be abandoned.

He said nothing, just looked at Tong Zhanyan with a pitiful expression.

Tong Zhanyan stepped outside.

After taking a few steps, he turned back.

Qing Jiyue was still staring at the doorway, his gaze fixed there, though this time even his eyes had lost their sparkle.

That made him look even more like a big, abandoned dog.

Tong Zhanyan couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. “Alright, stop staring. I’ll take you with me—we’ll take a car.”