CHAPTER 275: CHAPTER 266 THE BIG FISH IS HOOKED_1

Dongchi was about to explode with anger, brandishing his claws.

Bei Ji shouted loudly, "Are you sick? The Golden Dragon Clan is seriously ill!"

Although Si Yan didn’t acknowledge the Golden Dragon Clan, after the four cubs learned of her relationship with them, they had actually felt uneasy. They worried Si Yan would return to the Golden Dragon Clan and abandon them. But they also hoped their mother could gain more familial affection and that more people would love her. So there was a moment, albeit brief, when they wavered. But it was just a moment.

This severely ill clan isn’t worthy of their exceptionally wonderful mother!

The dark purple, cold-blooded Snake Beastman’s brows furrowed. His eyes were terrifying, barely suppressing his murderous intent.

A sharp glint flashed in Si Yan’s eyes.

She curved her lips, provoking Jin Yao by saying, "Jin Yao, the food I prepared uses Red Earth Fruit—a kind you’ve never seen before, suitable for weak Beastmen. As for you, while there are indeed carnivorous weak Beastmen, they are relatively few. You chose to use boar meat, salted and air-dried. Setting aside the fact that wild boars are immensely powerful and ordinary weak Beastmen can’t hunt them, consider the fine salt you used. That, too, is something weak Beastmen cannot obtain."

Jin Yao listened, momentarily stunned.

Si Yan said, "You misunderstood the assignment. So tell me, who will win this contest, you or me?"

Suddenly, Jin Yao looked at Si Yan as if in a daze. This Golden Dragon Princess smiled at her, yet her stark black-and-white eyes were filled with veiled threats and endless sarcasm.

A chill rose from deep within Jin Yao.

It seemed... she had made a mistake.

Then... could it be... Si Yan was going to win?

Impossible! Si Yan couldn’t win, absolutely, absolutely not!

Si Yan looked again toward Jin Yao and her group, noticing her venomous gaze.

The fish had taken the bait.

Si Yan looked up, sensing that rain might be on the way. She pretended to be indifferent as she had Tai Seng hurry to gather the sun-dried sweet potato flour and store it inside a stone jar. Tai Seng put up a shelter to cover the burning earth kiln and the stone jar of sweet potato flour. This stone jar, filled with sweet potato flour, was placed in the most conspicuous spot on the outside.

She turned back and took a small bottle of powder from her bosom, sprinkling a circle on the lid of the stone jar containing the sweet potato flour.

If Jin Yao had no malicious intentions, she would simply discard this jar of sweet potato flour.

If Jin Yao harbored malicious intentions... then this witchcraft powder she had specially prepared for her... would be enough to make her very comfortable.

Si Yan looked up and said with a smile to Tai Seng and Jin Tong, who had just returned, "We can go back now."

Tai Seng said, "Si Yan, I’ll stay here and watch."

Si Yan replied, "No need to watch. Let’s go back."

Although Tai Seng didn’t understand, he still listened to Si Yan and turned to leave.

The Snake Beastman waiting outside the venue had longed for these words; he swept in like a gust of wind, taking Si Yan into his arms. Then, just as swiftly, he vanished from the venue with her.

Jin Tong, Tai Seng: "..."

Well, they were almost used to it.

In a room at the Delusional Tavern, the Snake Beastman sat beside her. He picked up her left hand and gently began to knead it. Si Yan was in the mid-to-late stages of her pregnancy, and her hands and feet would sometimes grow cold, so he patiently massaged them for her. The tip of his snake tail flicked back and forth unconsciously. Si Yan’s gaze was drawn to it, and after a while, she grabbed the tip of the purple snake tail.

Instantly, the Snake Beastman froze completely!

"Misguided."

Si Yan had just raised her head. The cold, wickedly handsome male’s face suddenly filled her vision, making Si Yan’s heart skip a beat. The Snake Beastman took advantage of her distraction, swiftly pulling his tail tip from her grasp and, without a trace, tucked it beneath the rest of his tail, hiding it.

「The fourth day of the Wisdom Competition arrived in the blink of an eye.」

The sunny days had passed; today, a light rain continued to drizzle.

When Si Yan and the others arrived at the venue, they saw a crowd gathered around their belongings.

"What happened?" Tai Seng ran forward anxiously, pushing through the crowd, only to see the mess before him. Panicked and frantic, Tai Seng exclaimed, "Si Yan! Something’s happened! Make way, everyone, make way!"

Seeing this, the Snake Beastman decided not to leave Si Yan’s side and accompanied her over. Her area was in complete disarray. Not only was the sweet potato flour destroyed, but even the pottery they had prepared to fire the night before was ruined. The canopy covering the sweet potato flour and pottery was completely wrecked. Apart from the inconspicuous charcoal, which lay amidst a pile of mud, everything else was scattered about. Especially the sweet potato flour; it had not only become a mushy paste after being thoroughly soaked but was also mixed with mud.

Jin Tong roared, "Who the hell did this?!"

The City Lord of Myriad Beasts City, Xue Lin, and several other Beastmen came over. Seeing the chaotic scene, their expressions soured as well. Xue Lin said guiltily, "In all the previous Wisdom Competitions, nothing like this has ever happened. Lord of the Delusional Domain, Sage Si Yan, we failed in our duty to guard your area this time."

The Beastmen beside them started chattering.

"What are we going to do now?"

"Today is already the fourth day, and there aren’t many days left until the seventh."

"Could the Delusional Domain team be facing failure?"

"Who could be so malicious as to destroy another tribe’s work?"

"Oh no, I’m worried sick! The Delusional Domain team was clearly doing the best, and now that it’s all ruined, what will happen?"

Jin Tong paced about for a long time but couldn’t find out who had tampered with their things. He asked worriedly, "Si Yan, what do we do now? We don’t have much time. Should we make something else?"

Si Yan shook her head and said, "I insist on using Red Earth Fruit."

After speaking, she raised her head to look at Jin Yao, only to catch a fleeting, smug smile in Jin Yao’s eyes.

Seeing that smile, a smile also formed on Si Yan’s lips.

The big fish has been hooked.

Tai Seng said, "But, if we start over with this..."

There was actually enough time, but the conditions were different now.

Jin Tong said urgently, "Si Yan, it’s raining today..."

Tai Seng added, "It’s raining. For the final step, we can’t sun-dry it... If we can’t dry it out, we won’t be able to turn it into powder."

"It’s alright." Si Yan said with a calm smile, "We have charcoal. If we can’t sun-dry it, we can bake it."

"Charcoal?!"

Jin Tong and Tai Seng came to a sudden realization.

Si Yan turned back to Jin Tong and Tai Seng and said, "It just means we’ll have to repeat the previous steps."

Jin Tong and Tai Seng immediately perked up. "Starting over is no problem."

"Alright, we’ll get to it right away!" they exclaimed.

Having done it once before, Jin Tong and Tai Seng were now clear on what to do. They set off to dig up Red Earth Fruit. It wasn’t just them; other sympathetic Beastmen also came out to help.

"Goodness, who could be so wicked as to tamper with a sage’s belongings!"

"That person has really hit a new low. Their heart is definitely not in the right place."

"Sage Si Yan’s team was performing the best; that’s why someone deliberately sabotaged them."

"I can’t stand this anymore! I’m going to help them dig Red Earth Fruit!"

"I’ll go chop wood! They might need mud too!"

Si Yan hadn’t expected that after her team’s work was sabotaged, the surrounding Beastmen would be so moved as to step in and help.

Jin Yao, who was initially wearing a satisfied smirk, couldn’t quite muster a smile now.

All of Si Yan’s things were destroyed, yet she didn’t seem worried at all?

With only these few short days remaining, was she confident she could finish everything?

The Emperor Snake Beastman Lord held a large leaf aloft. Beneath it, Si Yan sat perched on a wooden stump, her belly slightly rounded. She was unhurried, tranquil, and composed. Although chaos reigned behind her, her composure rendered the scene unexpectedly beautiful and moving.