226: Chapter 226 "Where's your beard?"

Tang Ruan poked her head out through the crack in the door.

Yan Qing immediately stood up from the Beast King Palace throne and walked toward her.

"What's wrong?"

"It's not me." Tang Ruan said, frowning.

Yan Qing then remembered that Tang Ruan possessed the Healing Ability; if she were sick or injured, there would be no need to find a Witch Doctor.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Why are you looking for a Witch Doctor? There are many Witch Doctors in Central City."

"They can't figure out what's going on," Tang Ruan said worriedly.

Tang Ruan's words piqued Yan Qing's interest.

He pushed the door open and walked out.

He saw Hu Niu standing at the door, holding the sleeping Guo Guo.

Tang Ruan said: "She has been asleep for two days. Even if I wake her up, she just eats a little something and drinks some water, then goes right back to sleep. A Cub this big shouldn't be sleeping for so long."

Tang Ruan had already let all the Witch Doctors in Central City examine her. None of them could figure out the cause. But they all agreed that sleeping for so long was definitely not normal.

"I can't see any signs of illness on her, and even if I try to transfer Energy to her, it won't go in."

Yan Qing reached out and touched Guo Guo's forehead. He felt that her temperature was a bit low. He touched her wrist again, and her pulse was beating very slowly.

Her state reminded Yan Qing of certain low-level Snake Tribe beastmen who would sleep for a long time once winter arrived.

"It seems like she has hibernated," Yan Qing blurted out.

Upon Yan Qing's reminder, Tang Ruan also realized it. Wasn't her state just like hibernation?

"But it's not winter now! And Guo Guo isn't from the Snake Tribe, Turtle Tribe, or anything like that..."

Seeing Tang Ruan's worried expression, Yan Qing patted her shoulder comfortingly: "Don't worry yet. Isn't Guo Guo's physical condition healthy?"

"Yes." Tang Ruan nodded. But her heart felt like it was being twisted, and she felt very distressed.

Yan Qing said: "I will go find the Witch Doctors of the entire Beast Kingdom right now and have them all come over to take a look."

Yan Qing was about to set off as he spoke. He was the fastest; if it were any other beastman, it would probably take several days.

Suddenly, he turned back, feeling uneasy. "Ruan Ruan, bring Guo Guo and come with me."

Tang Ruan immediately took Guo Guo from Hu Niu's arms and followed Yan Qing back into the Beast King Palace, into the basement.

"I'll be back soon. Don't go anywhere." Tang Ruan nodded: "Okay."

Yan Qing took one last worried look at them before turning and leaving.

He had considered taking Ruan Ruan and Guo Guo with him; he would only feel at ease if he kept them by his side.

But given Guo Guo's current condition, he didn't know if she could handle the bumpy journey. Even if she could, bringing a sick Cub along would only weaken his combat ability if he were to have a direct confrontation with Jiao Luo.

Yan Qing had been gone for about two hours. Guo Guo woke up in a daze again, fussing because she wanted water.

Remembering Yan Qing's instructions before he left, she took some lake water directly from her space and built a fire on the spot to heat it up.

Although the lake in her space was used for raising fish, the lake water was clear, so it should be fine to drink. After blowing the water to cool it down, she took a sip herself. After confirming it was fine, she helped Guo Guo up and brought the small bowl to her lips.

Guo Guo immediately held the small bowl and drank it "gulp, gulp." After finishing, she went back to sleep.

Tang Ruan had just breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, she heard the basement door being opened. But the footsteps were dragging, not like Yan Qing's footsteps.

Tang Ruan immediately closed the door and hid behind it. She took a short knife out of her space and gripped it in her hand.

No one knew about this basement except for them, She Mu, and those three Witch Doctors.

The person walked to the door of the room where Tang Ruan was and stopped. Immediately after, the wooden door was pushed open with a "creak."

The next second, Tang Ruan's dagger was already at the beastman's throat.

"It's me... it's me... Divine Lady."

Tang Ruan blinked and recognized the old beast in front of her, whose white beard had been shaved down like a short brush; he was one of the three Old Witch Doctors Yan Qing trusted the most. But— "Where is your beard?"

Thinking of matters related to his beard, the Old Witch Doctor immediately shivered three times. But he was afraid that if he complained to the Divine Lady, the Beast God would be even angrier.

In the end, he had to swallow all his heartache and bitterness alone. "I... I shaved it off myself. I was passing through Central City to visit the Beast King and heard that a Cub was sick. I came to take a look."

Tang Ruan immediately brought him in. These three Witch Doctors could be considered the leading medical experts of the Beast World.

After the Old Witch Doctor briefly examined Guo Guo, he asked about Guo Guo's specific condition. He stroked his non-existent long beard, then suddenly withdrew his hand in embarrassment: "The Merfolk Return Day must be approaching."

"Merfolk Return Day?"

The Old Witch Doctor explained it simply. Merfolk Return Day is the most vulnerable day of the year for the Jiao Clan beastmen; their Supernatural Ability and physical condition are both affected. They must return to the sea to restore their physical state.

Although today is not Merfolk Return Day, it is already very close to it. Young Cubs have weak bodies and will be affected early.

"We just need to carry her into the seawater and soak her for a while now," the Old Witch Doctor concluded confidently.

"But the ocean... is quite far from here." The nearest seawater was at Dongdong Valley. But that would require waiting for Yan Qing to return before he could take them there.

The Old Witch Doctor suddenly raised a smug smile, "Divine Lady, you have lived in the Beast King Palace for so long, do you not know that the hot spring in the Beast King Palace is drawn from the seawater near Dongdong Valley?"

Tang Ruan was slightly shocked. Although the hot spring above Dongdong Valley was connected to the ocean, due to the terrain, the salt content was extremely low, making it no different from normal water. It could not only be used for bathing but also for drinking.

All this time, she had thought that Yan Qing chose to build the palace here because there was a hot spring.

She vaguely remembered that when Yan Qing first brought her here, he pointed to a hot spring in the open space and asked her: "Do you like it?" At the time, she was only focused on nodding and saying: "I like it."

She had never considered it at all. How could a hot spring suddenly appear in Central City, which clearly lacked water resources? It turned out that the one who diverted water for her had never been just Fen Tian.

Tang Ruan's heart also felt as if a hot spring had suddenly welled up. When Yan Qing returned, she would definitely reward him well!

---

Tang Ruan held Guo Guo and sat into the hot spring of the Beast King Palace. The Old Witch Doctor and She Mu stood guard outside. After a while, she also comfortably closed her eyes.

On the other side. Inside the Merfolk Palace. On a huge water wall, the image of Tang Ruan holding Guo Guo was being reflected.

Jiao Luo's arrogant laughter echoed inside the palace. Even she herself had not expected that after absorbing a large amount of the Power of the Beast God, her control over water could reach such a level.

Jiao Luo's Supernatural Ability had always been controlling water. But in the past, it was limited to using water to attack and temporarily changing the direction of ocean currents.

But now, she could perceive any drop of seawater in this world. And she could transmit the reflection of the water in front of her. She could even—

Jiao Luo waved her hand, and the image on the water wall changed, appearing as a sapphire-blue sea fish. She used her Supernatural Ability, and the seawater around the sea fish quickly formed a vortex.

A moment later, the sea fish fell from the sky and landed at Jiao Luo's feet. It was struggling, on the verge of death.

Jiao Luo squatted down and stared at the dying fish with great interest. "I can capture it even from such a long distance. Then, if it were even further away, would it—also be possible?"