124: Chapter 124 "Ice Coffin"

Yan Qing stepped forward and gazed at the Male Beastman suspended within the crystal.

He raised his hand and placed it upon the crystal.

Supernatural Ability, interwoven with red and green, emanated from his palm.

A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes.

Silver-gray hair, ice-type Supernatural Ability...

Although he had never met Lang Lie before, he was certain it must be him.

Yan Qing took two steps back.

The crystal was hollow, which was why that Rat Tribe beastman had thought it was a box.

But in reality, this was a Crystal Array.

A Crystal Array is a formation where beastmen use Energy to pulverize crystals and then use Energy to reassemble them, encasing a corpse within.

Through this method, a corpse can be kept in human form without decaying.

There is also a saying that it can allow a beastman to be brought back from the dead.

But his father had used this method to preserve his mother's corpse for over two hundred years.

Until he passed away and the Crystal Array failed, his mother had still never come back to life.

A Crystal Array disappears as the Energy of the one who set it up vanishes.

But throughout his journey, apart from that egg, he had not seen any signs of life.

Who could have done this?

However, Lang Lie was not dead.

Just now, through his perception, he had clearly felt his heartbeat.

He was simply too weak; only by being kept in the Crystal Array could he have a chance to survive.

The Crystal Array requires a continuous consumption of vast amounts of Energy to keep the crystals stably transmitting Energy, so they would not deplete rapidly like ordinary crystals.

Why would that person go to such lengths for Lang Lie?

Yan Qing looked around.

No matter who that person was, given his current state, he was no match for them.

Since a Crystal Array, once activated, only ends when the caster's Energy is exhausted, taking him away would not have any impact.

Only...

Returning the way he came was impossible.

Yan Qing wandered through the other caves as well.

Finally, he returned to the cave where Lang Lie was.

His gaze rested on the ceiling of the cave.

He had no choice but to take a gamble!

---

"Mistress! Mistress!"

Hu Che's voice came from behind.

Tang Ruan did not turn around; she was scribbling on a piece of sheepskin with a black mineral.

She had just returned from the place where the beastmen studied.

Beastmen from all over the Beast Kingdom had raised many questions and had many novel ideas.

She had to write them down quickly.

But she did not want to write in front of them because the Beast Kingdom currently had no writing system.

If she were seen, she would be treated like a spellcaster, and they would chase after her calling her "Goddess, Goddess" incessantly.

Tang Ruan had once thought about teaching the beastmen to read and write.

But the characters from her original world were too difficult for them.

Moreover, the Beast Kingdom had not yet reached a level where a large portion of the population could "stop working to study."

Hu Che caught up and saw her earnestly drawing something.

He dared not disturb her.

Ever since he learned that Tang Ruan was a Goddess, his feelings for her had undergone a subtle change.

He felt a faint sense of awe toward her.

But this faint awe vanished the moment Tang Ruan put the sheepskin roll into her spatial storage.

It was replaced by the urge to cuddle.

Hu Che grabbed her arm.

"Mistress, there are still three days left.

No! Let's go to sleep early tonight, then that counts as— "

Tang Ruan covered his mouth and looked left and right.

Sure enough, she saw several beastmen staring at her and Hu Che.

Although the fact that she and Hu Che were seeing each other was now known to everyone in Central City, she still felt like she was taking advantage of her husband's absence to flirt with a pretty boy.

Uh...

Tang Ruan's gaze fell on their intertwined arms...

Although, this pretty boy was indeed quite fair.

"I'm considering whether we should wait for Yan Qing to return before we form our bond," Tang Ruan said.

"What?" Hu Che was startled.

He startled Tang Ruan.

He ran in front of her, grabbed her shoulders, and pouted slightly, "Mistress, you don't love me anymore. Why do we have to wait for that Stinky Snake to form our bond!"

"I just feel that, even though Yan Qing agreed, we should at least tell him to his face."

Otherwise, she felt like she was doing it behind his back.

"Hmph!" Hu Che snorted, let go of her, and dragged out his voice, "Usually it's the Mistress who makes the decisions, but our family is different. Our family's Stinky Snake calls the shots..."

He had essentially agreed.

Tang Ruan stood on her tiptoes and ruffled his hair.

In truth, Hu Che was also a bit worried about Yan Qing.

Given his efficiency, he should have returned by these days.

Yesterday, he saw those Old Witch Doctors from the Snake Tribe arrive suddenly.

They must have been arranged by Yan Qing in advance; if he didn't return after a certain amount of time, they were to wait at the Beast King Palace.

This made Hu Che even more worried.

The two strolled on the street for a while longer.

By the time they returned, it was already dark.

Hu Che hunched over, hanging onto Tang Ruan's back like a koala.

"Stinky Snake... I've never missed that Stinky Snake so much.

Once he returns, Tang Ruan will bond with me!"

Suddenly, Hu Che stopped and twitched his nose.

Tang Ruan stopped along with his movements.

"What is it?"

But soon, she discovered the situation ahead.

Yan Qing stood with his back to them, dressed in black, in an extremely dark corner.

"Yan Qing!" Tang Ruan dropped Hu Che and ran over, "Why are you back so soon? Didn't you say it would take a month or two?"

"I handled things relatively quickly."

Yan Qing turned around, placed his cold fingertips on Tang Ruan's face, and rubbed it gently.

"Your hands are so cold." Tang Ruan grabbed his hand; in her memory, Yan Qing was always warm.

"The place I returned from is the Ice Plains."

"The Beast Kingdom has a place like that?"

"Mm, I'll take you there in the future."

Yan Qing raised his eyes and glanced at Hu Che.

Hu Che pursed his lips tightly, his hands clenched at his sides.

"That's not right!" Tang Ruan suddenly cried out, "You're hurt!"

She yanked back his sleeve.

On Yan Qing's forearm, there was a laceration that almost ran the length of his arm.

It was clearly left by some animal.

Tang Ruan said angrily, "Although I can't see the illness qi for some injuries!

But for such an obvious external wound, how could I not see the illness qi?

Did you think that by standing in the shadows, I wouldn't be able to see it?"

She grabbed his hand and began to heal him.

Yan Qing did not resist.

"How did this happen?" Tang Ruan asked.

"There are monsters on the Ice Plains; I was careless."

"Even you have times when you're careless," Tang Ruan muttered with a heartache.

Because it was an external wound, it healed quickly.

But Tang Ruan discovered that there was still purple qi on his body.

"Let's go back to the room, take off your clothes, and let me check you," she commanded.

Yan Qing suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"Not now."

Tang Ruan looked back at Hu Che, as if she had just remembered his existence.

Hu Che gave a bitter smile, his gaze falling elsewhere before returning to her, smiling somewhat ingratiatingly.

His brief companionship with her was, after all, no match for the five years she had spent with Yan Qing.

"Hu Che can come too!" Yan Qing said.

Tang Ruan was stunned.

He said it wasn't the right time, and it wasn't because of Hu Che—then what was it?

Yan Qing pulled her along, with Hu Che following behind.

The three of them entered the basement together.

From the basement, a rustling sound could be heard.

It turned out that the three Old Witch Doctors who had arrived yesterday were also down there.

Tang Ruan saw a giant crystal placed in front of them.

The shape was nearly rectangular, looking just like a—ice coffin.

She remembered the Rat Tribe's words...

She rushed to the "ice coffin".

She saw the face inside, the one she had yearned for day and night for five years.

"Lang Lie!"