Favorite of the Beast-world: I Got Rich Through Farming-Chapter 213 - 155: The Merfolk’s Gems and Awakening
Xi wasn’t stupid. He instantly sensed Mi Yin’s undisguised malice and was so frightened that he hid in the river, not daring to come out.
On the riverbed, he swished his beautiful azure tail, only daring to let his pair of glistening, blue vertical pupils break the surface. He blinked pitifully up at An Jin.
As Xi spoke, a stream of small bubbles floated to the surface and popped. His voice was muffled by the water. "Ah Jin, I feel the signs of another breakthrough coming on. I’m going to hunt in the more distant seas for a while..."
"Don’t you miss me too much, Ah Jin!"
He added cheekily.
Mi Yin and Ling Hong shot him a cold look. Mi Yin, in particular, dangerously narrowed his red eyes, and his ten-plus-meter-long black-and-red snake tail tensed behind him, scraping against the ground as if he were about to send Xi flying with a single whip-like strike.
Xi immediately sank a little deeper into the water, leaving only the wet, blue crown of his head visible.
An Jin chuckled, amused by his adorable antics. She touched the Beast Skin Bag tied at her waist, walked to the riverbank, and held it out to him.
"Here, take these."
She opened the Beast Skin Bag; inside were five or six Crystal Cores.
"Ah, th-these are for me?!"
Xi was flattered and overwhelmed. He timidly glanced at the ground, and even his voice trembled slightly.
He swam closer to the bank and to her. His fair, beautiful cheeks flushed a faint red. His ear-fins drooped, looking as if they were letting off steam, and he shyly poked his slender white fingers together.
An Jin turned to glance at the expressionless Mi Yin, cleared her throat a couple of times, and stuffed the Beast Skin Bag into Xi’s hands. "Don’t you want to get stronger? These Crystal Cores will help you increase your strength quickly. Take them and use them."
"Besides, you’ve brought so many benefits to the tribe over this time. You’ve earned this."
Most of the Crystal Cores they had acquired this time were distributed among the tribe’s Beastman Warriors. Mi Yin and Ling Hong had received the largest shares, but Mi Yin didn’t intend to take his.
At his current level of strength, a few Crystal Cores like these weren’t much use to him anymore, so An Jin had decided to give his portion to Xi.
Thankfully, Mi Yin didn’t show any signs of displeasure.
Xi accepted the small bag of Crystal Cores, then with a flick of his tail, dove deep into the river, disappearing from sight. A moment later, his soaked head reappeared on the surface.
The Little Merfolk swam toward her, cradling a large handful of sparkling Crystal Stones and big, shimmering pearls.
"Ah Jin, these are for you!" ’All females like shiny things,’ he thought gleefully. ’She’s sure to love them.’
Xi thought gleefully.
"Is this a Luminous Pearl?" An Jin asked in surprise, picking up one that was half the size of her fist. It was smooth and brilliant like jade, and it emitted a bright, ethereal glow in the shadow created by her cupped hands.
"Luminous Pearl? Is that what you Land Beastmen call them? I suppose a pearl that lights up the night can indeed be called a Luminous Pearl..."
An Jin then asked him, "How many more Luminous Pearls of this quality do you have?"
This kind of Luminous Pearl seemed to contain some sort of trace element or crystal ore, allowing it to emit a strong light at night. It was much more effective than the Crystal Stones or oil lamps they usually used.
Xi instantly understood what she was getting at. He pettily sank a little deeper into the water, his deep azure vertical pupils widening as he cried out in an aggrieved voice, "No more! These are for Ah Jin to use alone! It took me more than ten years of painstakingly collecting since I was little to find this many beautiful pearls!"
"Don’t worry, I won’t give them to anyone else. Thank you, Xi." An Jin rubbed her nose, feeling a bit embarrassed.
The Little Merfolk’s mood immediately brightened. He happily slapped his tail in the river, sending splashes flying in the clear water.
True to his word, he disappeared for the next few days, off to who-knows-what part of the sea to improve his strength.
An Jin felt a strange, motherly sense of pride watching Xi’s transformation. After all, she had witnessed him change from a purely aquatic creature into an amphibious one with her own eyes.
He had changed from his formerly delicate and gentle disposition to someone who now knew to proactively improve his own strength. Only then could he stand out among the fiercely competitive males, giving him a great advantage when it came to finding a mate in the future.
Just as she returned to the tribe, she saw two Beastmen running toward her in a frantic rush, their faces flushed. In a tone that was hard to decipher as happy or hesitant, one said, "Clan Leader, the dozen or so Beastmen we rescued a few days ago have all woken up! They say they’re from Beast Gathering City!"
"It seems they’ve recovered well, since all of them woke up." An Jin raised an eyebrow. ’But why would Beastmen from Beast Gathering City be attacked in our forest?’ She crossed her arms, her fingertips tapping against her arm.
"We don’t know either! You should go and see for yourself!"
"Mm."
An Jin nodded, then looked back at Mi Yin and Ling Hong, her voice softening slightly. "You two head back first. I’m going to go take a look. I might be busy for a while."
"Come back soon."
Mi Yin leaned down and gave her a light, fleeting kiss on the lips.
Ling Hong shot him a dissatisfied glance, then turned to An Jin and shamelessly demanded a kiss of his own. "We’ll go back and make you dinner, then. We still have that Green-horned Beast from yesterday’s hunt in the ice cellar that needs to be prepared."
"Mm."
After saying goodbye to the two of them, she walked toward Chi Li’s wooden cabin. Before she even opened the door, she could hear a clamor of voices from inside.
She pushed the door open and went inside.
"You’re Beastmen from Beast Gathering City. Why were you attacked in Worri Forest? The two cities aren’t exactly close." An Jin didn’t beat around the bush, asking the question on her mind directly.
"You must be the Female Clan Leader the Witch Doctor told us about!"
A Lion Beast with both arms bandaged was clearly the leader of the group. His Golden Eyes stared intently at the female who had just entered as he clutched his muscular chest and struggled to get up from the bed.
The excessive effort tore his wounds open, and he couldn’t help but let out a couple of coughs. In the end, with Chi Li’s help, he settled back down onto the bed.
An Jin’s gaze fell on his bloodstained bandages. She nodded. "I am. And who might you be?"
"As you said, we are Beastman Warriors from Beast Gathering City. A while ago, Beast Gathering City was suddenly attacked by a massive number of Demon Beasts, including many Advanced Magical Beasts."
The Lion Beast spoke in fits and starts, his face growing pale and wan. He clenched and unclenched his fists. "It wasn’t just Beast Gathering City that was attacked by Demon Beasts. The other surrounding tribes were also invaded and wiped out by them."
"Our City Lord dispatched us to warn the other Beastman Tribes in the region to prepare their defenses, but we never expected to be... attacked on the way..."
A look of profound grief crossed his face. "Our contingent originally had several hundred Beastmen, but now... only the dozen or so of us are left."
"You have endured much. The tribe will see to your needs until you’ve recovered."
The Beastmen placed their right hands over their left chests in a grateful salute. Then, they looked at An Jin, hesitant yet hopeful. "We have one more request, if we may..."
"Speak freely."
An Jin had a sneaking suspicion she knew what they were going to say.
