124: Chapter 124 Who dug this hole?

It was not yet dawn.

In the giant tree settlement on the edge of the wasteland, the first citizen to wake up poked their head out of a second-story treehouse window and rubbed their eyes.

The first thing they did every day upon opening their eyes was to look down—to see if the seedlings in the fields beneath the trees had grown any taller.

The green ripples of the Sweet Dew Array shimmered faintly in the morning light, and the Spiritual Rice seedlings had shot up another small half-inch compared to yesterday, which was a reassuring sight.

Just as he was about to pull back inside to put on his clothes, his peripheral vision suddenly caught a figure standing on the edge of the field.

He rubbed his eyes and saw clearly—robes, hair tied up, a back profile as gentle as jade.

City Lord?

He looked up at the sky again; the east hadn't even begun to turn pale yet.

"City Lord?"

Zhou Yun turned his head and smiled at him: "Morning."

The citizen climbed down the treehouse, looking bewildered, and only confirmed they weren't dreaming when their feet touched the damp soil.

It was the first time they had seen the City Lord appear in the fields so early; could he have not slept all night?

Just as he wanted to step forward to strike up a conversation, his gaze inadvertently swept over a patch of open ground not far behind Zhou Yun—

"Ouch!"

He jumped back.

There were over a dozen large white cats crouching in that open space.

No, not cats, they were white tigers!

Their fur shimmered silver-white in the dim morning light, with distinct black stripes. The smallest one was lying on the ground, its left front limb positioned differently from its other three legs.

The citizen's legs trembled, but when he turned to look at Zhou Yun, who still had that gentle smile on his face, his hanging heart slowly settled back into place.

"These desolate beasts..."

"They are friends from the White Tiger Clan," Zhou Yun said, his tone as casual as if he were introducing neighbors, "They want to learn how to farm from us."

The citizen's mouth twitched: "Farm... crops?"

"Yes." Zhou Yun nodded his chin toward the tilled land behind the White Tiger Clan, "I taught them some things last night, but it didn't quite feel right. You are an experienced hand, could you help take a look?"

The citizen looked at Zhou Yun, then at the group of white tigers, gritted his teeth, and said: "Alright!"

He stepped forward, though his legs still felt a bit weak.

The White Tiger Clan clearly noticed him approaching as well.

Several adult white tigers immediately crouched low, their amber eyes becoming sharp, and deep whimpering sounds emitted from their throats.

The Little White Tiger turned suddenly and roared at them.

The whimpering stopped abruptly.

Several white tigers slowly turned away, no longer looking at the citizen, though the fur on their backs was still slightly bristling.

The citizen stopped in his tracks, his face turning a little pale.

"What should I call you, brother?" Zhou Yun walked up to him unhurriedly, his tone as if they were just chatting about daily life.

The citizen came back to his senses and quickly waved his hands: "I wouldn't dare, just call me Huang Liu."

Zhou Yun nodded: "Brother Huang, there is no need to be afraid. They are just not used to interacting with humans, but rest assured, they won't hurt anyone. I am here."

Huang Liu swallowed hard and braced himself to continue walking forward.

The Little White Tiger took the initiative to meet him, lowering its head and pointing with its nose to the tilled land behind it.

Huang Liu's entire body was as tense as a bowstring, but the moment his gaze landed on the ground, the instincts of a farmer immediately took over his brain.

"This isn't right..." He crouched down, pushed aside a small patch of soil, and frowned.

The seeds were buried too deep.

They were a full two spans deep. Although Spiritual Rice seeds had strong vitality, buried this deep, they would use up most of their Spiritual Qi before they could even sprout.

"Who dug these pits?" He asked subconsciously, and when he turned his head, the Little White Tiger was holding up a huge tiger paw to show him.

There was still mud on the paw.

Huang Liu's mouth twitched; he didn't dare comment on the paw, so he just walked a few more steps forward, his frown deepening the more he looked: "The row spacing is also too dense. There is less than a span between seedlings. Once they grow, they will compete for nutrients, and none of them will grow well."

He dug in a few more places: "And here, there are seven or eight seeds stuffed into one pit. This isn't farming; this is just scattering beans. You have to thin the seedlings; leaving one or two in a pit is enough, and the extra ones need to be pulled out."

By this point, he had completely forgotten his fear, crouching on the ground, gesturing as he spoke, his speed increasing:

"The pit only needs to be one finger deep. Put the seed in, cover it with a thin layer of soil, and gently press it down with your palm. Leave at least two spans of row spacing so the roots have room to spread. When watering, don't flood it; let it seep slowly along the furrows..."

He was speaking enthusiastically, but when he suddenly looked up, his voice cut off in his throat as if he had been throttled.

The Little White Tiger was right in front of him, its nose less than ten centimeters from his face.

Huang Liu's blood almost froze.

But the next moment, he realized that the Little White Tiger wasn't looking at him at all.

It was looking down, its eyes fixed intently on the soil and seeds at its feet, the markings between its brows slightly furrowed, as if it were seriously digesting every word he had just said.

Huang Liu froze for a few seconds, and that sense of tension suddenly dissipated by more than half.

The Little White Tiger raised its head, and his face was reflected in its amber eyes.

"Like this... right?"

It lowered its head and used its uninjured right front paw to carefully dig a shallow little pit in the soil—about one finger deep, with rounded edges, ten times more refined than those deep, bottomless holes from before. Then, it used its claw tip to push two seeds in, gently covered them with thin soil, and finally pressed down with its paw pad.

The movements were clumsy, but meticulous.

Huang Liu was stunned for a long while, and then his eyes lit up.

"Yes! That's right! That's it!"

...

By the time the sky was fully bright, a large crowd had gathered around the White Tiger Clan's field.

It was unclear when it started, but citizens had gradually gathered around, from initially watching from afar to later simply crouching on the edge of the field and offering suggestions.

"A little more to the left—yes! That's it!"

"Still too deep, a little shallower... that's it!"

"This row is not bad, straight as an arrow, better than what my spouse plants."

...

Several old farmers stood behind, nodding with smiles, looking as if they were watching their proud students working the fields for the first time.

The White Tiger Clan, on the other hand, became uneasy.

With so many people surrounding and watching, their movements obviously became stiff. When their paws dug into the soil, they were overly cautious, and even those deep, low whimpering sounds in their throats had vanished. Each one was quietly burying its head in hard work, but their ears kept twitching, clearly very nervous about the surrounding gazes.

Minister Wang Fugui's Second Concubine stood in the crowd, carrying a bamboo basket. After watching for a while, she laughed uncontrollably: "Who said desolate beasts are scary? These little tigers are obviously quite cute!"

Minister Wang Fugui stood beside her and immediately lowered his voice to scold her: "Cute my foot! One swipe of their claw and you'd be quiet!"

Just as he finished speaking, a gentle voice sounded from behind him:

"Minister Wang."

Minister Wang Fugui shivered all over, his facial expression seamlessly switching from fierce to beaming within a tenth of a second.

"Ah! Your subordinate is here!"

Zhou Yun stood behind him, his gaze fixed on the White Tiger Clan awkwardly tilling the soil in the field, his tone casual: "Please help arrange a few treehouses for our White Tiger friends as well."

Minister Wang Fugui's smile froze for a moment: "Huh?"

"Is there a problem?"

The Second Concubine giggled beside them.

Minister Wang Fugui glared at her, then switched back to his professional smiling face at lightning speed, cupped his hands, and replied: "Understood! Leave it to me!"