Chapter 46: Heaven-Defying Project
"Father!" Shao Hao's body shook as he instinctively reached for his stone spear.
He wants me to call him something nice, and he just calls me "father"?
If he's not properly disciplined, he'll be causing trouble in the future.
Zhuang Yu also burst into laughter and moved to stop Shao Hao from grabbing the spear. He hadn't realized what he was saying earlier. His mind was still fixated on the idea of being someone else's father, so it slipped out.
Zhuang Yu hugged Shao Hao's arm tightly, but Shao Hao's face turned black. What a good atmosphere they had, and now it was ruined.
At this moment, a little mushroom came running over with a plate containing a bean cake, looking puzzled.
"What's so funny?" The mushroom heard it from far away.
Zhuang Yu quickly released his hold on Shao Hao's arm and composed himself seriously.
Shao Hao snorted coldly. Why feel guilty? Sooner or later, they'll go to the small grove.
The little mushroom looked at them suspiciously for a moment, then held the plate up to Zhuang Yu and the mushroom. "Let's eat the bean cake together."
Zhuang Yu broke the bean cake in half, giving one half to himself and the other to the little mushroom.
The little mushroom proudly approached Shao Hao with its half of the bean cake. It loved playing this game lately-offering the food to someone and then retracting it before they could take a bite.
Shao Hao looked at Zhuang Yu, who simply stuffed the bean cake into his mouth. "Not sharing?"
The little mushroom giggled. It found teasing people so enjoyable.
But Shao Hao gave Zhuang Yu a glare. He was worse than a mushroom. He didn't even offer to share what he was eating. Then he turned around and took a bite out of the bean cake the little mushroom was holding up, leaving it stunned.
The little mushroom looked at the empty space where the bean cake used to be, then ran tearfully towards Zhuang Yu. The mushroom child had been bullied.
It climbed onto Zhuang Yu's shoulder, hugged his neck, and kissed him provocatively, glancing at Shao Hao as if to say, "See my status now? Come and apologize."
Shao Hao: "..."
He was feeling a bit envious now.
Zhuang Yu looked at the mischievous little mushroom, realizing that this little thing had quite a cunning mind. Ever since Shao Hao offended the little mushroom, he hadn't had a chance to be alone with Zhuang Yu.
Whenever Shao Hao and Zhuang Yu were alone together, the mushroom would rush over with its stick, pointing it at Shao Hao as if to say, "Don't even think about tricking food from Yu. I'll keep an eye on you."
Every time, Zhuang Yu was delighted because Shao Hao always said strange things, like how nice the spring was and how beautiful the scenery in the small grove was. Hah, did he think Zhuang Yu didn't know? It was all just nonsense.
Zhuang Yu looked at Shao Hao's strong body like a volcano, then affectionately kissed the little mushroom in his hand. Well done.
Shao Hao's eyes turned green. He also understood one thing: never offend the little mushroom. It was too petty.
At other times, it became even more difficult to get close to Zhuang Yu. Han, Ba, Yu Shi, and Feng Hou took turns guarding him like guarding against thieves.
Offering kindness without an ulterior motive was like stealing. In their eyes, the prestigious White City Prince personally escorting them back to the Crimson Land, especially when they had already offended the White Great City so much, must have some motive. As for the motive, they had a clear idea recently.
They were a bit puzzled. Did the Prince's plan succeed or fail? The engagement was indeed dissolved, but the White City Prince followed them like a shadow.
And so, they walked intermittently for over a month.
The towering mountains began to disappear, as did the rivers and trees, replaced by endless yellow sand.
The boundless yellow sand stretched endlessly, making it seem like walking into it would lead to getting lost.
This was also one of the reasons why the Crimson Great City had always been at odds with the Crimson Great City, but the powerful Crimson Great City had no way to deal with the Crimson Great City.
This endless yellow sand was the best natural barrier.
Especially at night, the howling cold wind would lift large patches of sand, cutting into people like knives. Even the beast warriors might not be able to endure it. But the people of the Crimson Great City, generation after generation, had lived here and were already accustomed to this environment. Fighting against the people of the Crimson Great City here was unimaginable.
But this yellow sand has both advantages and disadvantages. It leads to the extinction of life, rare human presence, and also signifies material poverty and limited external communication, which overall means... poverty.
Zhuang Yu and his group, due to their frequent stops, were caught up by the Nine-Tailed White Fox, which was originally lagging behind them.
Then came the giant beasts of Han and Ba, including an oil beast with two heads.
This was a very strange beast; it could actually spit out oil, and the oil on the gourd on Han and Ba's backs was provided by this oil beast.
Zhuang Yu remembered this giant beast. It was originally a very mysterious creature living in the oil fields.
Then came the strange-looking monkey of Yu Shi and Feng Hou, which, upon closer inspection, had a third eye on its forehead, exuding an aura of divine power. It wielded a stone club in its hand, which amused Zhuang Yu for a long time.
If he remembered correctly, this peculiar appearance was also because of him. It was based on the intermittent dreams he had before. At that time, he thought it was fun and didn't think much about it.
Now that his memories of those dreams were complete, it seemed even more interesting. This creature was truly like the Great Sage, and it was not small either.
Lastly, there was the pear tree of the little mushroom, a large tree moving between heaven and earth, looking quite eerie. However, this pear tree could really run, and the pears on it hardly fell off. Apart from avoiding grazing animals, other fierce beasts showed little interest in it, as it was adept at escaping danger.
Finally, everyone was in place.
Zhuang Yu looked at the sky filled with yellow sand and said, "Welcome to the Crimson Land."
It was also Shao Hao's first time in the Crimson Land. Although he had heard about it, seeing it with his own eyes still surprised him.
He hadn't expected Zhuang Yu to grow up in such an environment and still look so good, with delicate skin and flesh. He probably resembled his mother's Fox War Tribe more.
In fact, the Fox War Tribe also lived in the desert. Before becoming a warrior Tribe, they were called the Desert Fox Tribe.
The little mushroom lifted its sweater to cover its mouth and nose. Were they going to live here from now on? The environment was a bit poor, with not a soul in sight.
However, a group of children found the new environment particularly fascinating.
Actually, this was just the edge of the Crimson Land.
After preparing the water, the group began to enter the desert.
If it was hot during the day before, now it could be described as boiling.
Dry, without water, without food, this place was like a forbidden zone for life.
And so they walked for more than ten days.
Even though they had enough water, their lips were cracked, and their faces were covered in a layer of yellow sand. The group of children were almost like dried-up radishes.
Shao Hao couldn't help but sigh. No wonder there were so few wars in the Crimson Great City. No one wanted to face such harsh conditions. Such land was useless; they hadn't even seen any prey.
Actually, there were some unique creatures in the desert, but their numbers were not as abundant as those in the jungle.
In the past, the people of the Crimson Great City relied on hunting these rare desert beasts for a living, and life was extremely difficult.
Although there were not many wars in the Crimson Great City, they were very brave. Fighting against such harsh conditions was equivalent to the most intense training, which they underwent every moment.
At this time, Zhi ran up to Zhuang Yu and said, "Big Brother Yu, our water is running out, almost gone."
Zhuang Yu nodded. He had prepared enough water because...
Zhuang Yu pointed to the distance. "Do you see that? That's the Crimson Great City. When we get there, we won't have to worry about water and food anymore."
The crowd was stunned and looked into the distance. Indeed, they could see a green dot while the sandstorm was absent.
The group of children were overjoyed. They had walked for more than ten days and had blisters on their feet.
Zhuang Yu smiled and didn't mention anything about the hardships of the journey. Despite being so close, it would still take another two or three days to reach it.
In the midst of the sandstorm, the crowd continued on.
Two or three days later, the sandstorm seemed to have lessened somewhat, which was very strange. Despite being in the middle of the desert, the sandstorm here was not as strong as in other places.
Zhuang Yu thought to himself that this might be similar to the principle of a hurricane: the closer to the eye of the storm, the weaker the wind.
As they went further in, greenery began to appear, clumps of green grass that looked especially vibrant in the desert, full of vitality.
The green grass first appeared in clumps, then became patches.
In the midst of the desert, there was actually an oasis, which was truly miraculous.
Not far away, a earthen city stood in the oasis amidst the vast desert, desolate and isolated, like a lost city, yet also like a city of life amidst silence.
It didn't have the grandeur and antiquity of the White Great City, but it was full of exotic atmosphere and mystery.
However, there was a feeling of lifelessness, a dead silence.
Zhuang Yu led Shao Hao and the others forward. "Let me show you the welcoming ceremony of my Crimson Great City."
Shao Hao was taken aback.
As they approached the earthen city, they could see that it also had high walls, several tens of meters tall, imposing and majestic, but the walls were a bit dilapidated, with many collapses.
Zhuang Yu approached the city gate with Shao Hao and pointed to the city wall. "This is the indomitable wall of my Crimson Great City, also known as the wall that never collapses."
Shao Hao thought, clearly, many sections had collapsed.
Just as he was thinking, suddenly, the city gate in front of them began to shake, and the accumulated sand on top collapsed in large areas.
The wall, just claimed to be unbreakable, now that face slapped, even the main gate started to collapse...
But Shao Hao's eyes suddenly narrowed, because from the collapsing main gate, two huge beasts emerged.
The gate that had just collapsed was actually two giant beasts. It was just that there was too much wind-blown sand piled up, so it was not clear.
A group of children were stunned and exclaimed, "Wow, amazing!"
And Shao Hao thought of something and looked at Zhuang Yu.
Zhuang Yu smiled and waved his hand. "The walls of my Crimson Great City are all made up of sand behemoths. How about this welcoming ceremony?"
The group of people: "..."
No wonder this wall was called the indomitable wall, no wonder the Crimson Land was barren and sparsely populated, no wonder the Crimson Great City looked much smaller than the White Great City, yet it was still one of the five major powers.
While the White Great City had seventy-two Tribes, and the Ruby Great City even more, the Crimson Great City only had a dozen or so Tribes, yet it was still strong enough.
At this moment, two big men holding stone spears stood on top of the two beasts that had emerged.
With a roar, "Who dares to trespass into our Crimson Great City!"
A fierce aura rushed over.
Now Zhuang Yu and his group, covered in dust and sand, probably wouldn't even be recognized by ghosts.
Han and Ba wiped the sand off their faces and laughed, shouting, "It's us, we're back, we've brought back the Prince."
Of course, they had to laugh. Throughout their trip, they had been searching for the Prince, and now they finally found him.
Yu Shi and Feng Hou were also excited and shouted, "It's us!"
Having been away for over a year, they were just two kids, and now they were back home. How could they not be excited?
Even Zhuang Yu felt the same. He was home.
As soon as the voices fell, the entire Crimson Great City trembled. No, it was the entire city wall of the Crimson Great City that was shaking.
Sand fell from the walls, revealing huge beasts underneath. These creatures, covered by the sand, formed the walls. Warriors stood on top of these beasts, holding stone spears, and peeked out to look outside.
"I didn't mishear, did I? Is the Prince back?"
"Definitely not wrong. I just heard the voices of Yu Shi and Feng Hou, the two little ones beside the Prince."
"I also heard the loud voices of Han and Ba."
The voices formed a wave, and the Crimson Great City, which had seemed submerged in yellow sand just now, suddenly came alive.
Just from these voices, Zhuang Yu could feel the heartfelt enthusiasm and excitement, completely different from the smiles of the White Great City due to his reputation. This was the blood connection that ran deep in their bones.
This was his home, and the people here were his kin.
Zhuang Yu thought of the time he was lost and didn't even know where home was. His eyes became somewhat blurry.
Zhuang Yu couldn't help but shout, "I, Lièshān Yǔ, have returned."
"Aum." The whole Crimson Great City made a sound.
Then one by one, huge fireballs shot up into the sky. You could see the people on the giants, taking down their water bags from their waists, taking a sip, then cupping their hands around their mouths, holding flint in their hands, and blowing huge fireballs into the sky.
Who says this is the desolate land of the desert? Look at the current Crimson Great City; it's completely alive.
A group of little radishes had their mouths open into "O" shapes.
"So beautiful, the sky is full of fireballs."
Yu Shi and Feng Hou also sighed a bit, "Wow, they're even better at playing than us."
Zhuang Yu looked for a while and said, "Let's go, into the city, we're home."
Zhuang Yu and the others began to enter the city, and those behemoths began to stand still again, blocking the outside sand, letting it fall on them, ultimately forming a city wall.
A group of little radishes walked while looking around curiously, "Brother Yu, why isn't your home on the back of ancestral beasts like theirs?"
Zhuang Yu smiled and pointed to the south, "Our ancestral beasts live in volcanoes, and people can't survive in such an environment, so we built this city nearby, and the ancestral beasts still protect us."
Walking into the earthen city, there were crowds of people rushing in everywhere, bustling and standing in rows, so crowded that there was no space left to stand.
Zhuang Yu greeted them, receiving enthusiastic responses one after another.
"Why do they all look like mud monkeys? Hurry home and clean up. Our Prince is the most handsome kid in the Crimson Land."
Little Mushroom raised its head proudly on Zhuang Yu's shoulder. The Little Mushroom is here now, and they'll be the two most handsome kids in the Crimson Land from now on.
"Why did the Prince run out for so long? My child cries every day because he can't see the Prince. It's so heartbreaking."
"... It's extremely noisy, and I can't hear what they're saying."
Yu Shi and Feng Hou held their heads up high, feeling proud that their home was so welcoming.
Before they took a few steps, people from the Four Seasons War Tribe arrived, led by a particularly thick-waisted auntie. She shouted from afar, her loud voice overpowering the crowd, "My Prince, you ran away without saying a word, making us worry so much. You don't know how much hardship you've endured outside."
The ground was trembling as they walked, indicating their strength.
The key was this fierce auntie, with tears and snot streaming down her face, crying incessantly.
This auntie had raised Zhuang Yu since he was young. As for why she was so robust, you'd have to ask Zhuang Yu's mother. She was specially brought in by the War God of the Qing Fox War Tribe to take care of Zhuang Yu by the Crimson City side.
The auntie hugged Zhuang Yu tightly.
Everyone shivered at the sight.
Zhuang Yu's face turned red with embarrassment. He hurriedly said, "Auntie Chuntú, you're suffocating me."
Despite her robust appearance, Auntie Chuntú had a particularly pleasant name, Chuntú.
Auntie Chuntú realized and looked closely at Zhuang Yu. "Look at what you've become, so skinny. Were you bullied outside? The Prince should have taken me along. I can knock out three big men with one punch."
Zhuang Yu: "..."
Even Han and Ba shuddered for a moment. Auntie Chuntú wasn't joking.
Auntie Chuntú put her hands on her hips and looked at Han, Ba, Yu Shi, and Feng Hou. "How did you take care of the Prince when you went out to find him? Look at how pitiful my Prince has become..."
The four looked at Zhuang Yu for help.
Zhuang Yu quickly said, "Auntie Chuntú, now is not the time to scold them. We'll talk about it later when we get back. There are outsiders here."
Auntie Chuntú was taken aback. She had been focused on Zhuang Yu just now and hadn't noticed the large group of people.
The people behind Auntie Chuntú also got a chance to speak and greeted Zhuang Yu. Auntie Chuntú had been talking incessantly just now, and they couldn't get a word in.
Auntie Chuntú looked at the people behind Zhuang Yu. "Didn't notice that the Prince brought friends back."
After saying that, she looked back at Zhuang Yu. "Prince, come with me quickly. Take a clean bath first and wash off this sand. I'll prepare a big table of delicious food for you."
What's wrong with outsiders? Naturally, there are people to receive them, but in her eyes, there's only her Prince. The Prince is the one she raised from a young age. How could she bear to let him suffer even a little bit?
Zhuang Yu nodded and continued to lead the group. His residence was in the center of the city, and all he wanted now was to take a bath. His nose and eyes were almost unable to see.
As they walked, Zhuang Yu asked, "Is my father in the city?"
Auntie Chuntú said, "The Crimson Chief went to the Qing Fox War Tribe and hasn't returned yet."
Zhuang Yu's mouth twitched, but it didn't matter. As usual, he would be quickly summoned back.
They chatted as they walked for a while.
The Four Seasons War Tribe people were arranging accommodations for the people Zhuang Yu brought back. However, a group of little radishes looked at Zhuang Yu tearfully, "We want to stay next to Brother Yu."
After all, they were children, and they felt a bit uneasy coming to a strange place.
The accommodations for the guests couldn't be arranged around Zhuang Yu's residence for safety reasons, so these children were tearful.
Zhuang Yu thought for a moment. His residence was very large, with a total of more than ten rooms. Normally, Yu Shi and Feng Hou, as attendants, lived here, as well as Feng Wen, who was nominally the first shadow guard. There were still many rooms left.
"Just vacate the largest room for them," Zhuang Yu said. That room was originally used to store some of his odds and ends.
The group of children was delighted. "We want to stay in the big room because we want to sleep together."
Shao Hao glanced at Zhuang Yu.
Zhuang Yu remained calm. "Just arrange another room for him."
They would explain who Shao Hao was to everyone later, officially.
Shao Hao's lips curled up slightly, showing his obedience.
The pear tree found a place to root itself as soon as it entered the courtyard.
Soon, buckets of water were brought in, and everyone started bathing excitedly.
The bathing water was almost like mud, so they had to wash repeatedly.
The group of little radishes didn't understand much, but Shao Hao did. He asked, "Is your water source not very abundant here?"
Zhuang Yu was putting on his beach pants. His beach pants dried quickly after a while, indicating how hot the weather was. Zhuang Yu smiled, "I'll show you what peerless youth means later."
Shao Hao was puzzled.
Zhuang Yu, the group of little radishes, and Shao Hao were all wearing square beach pants made of spider silk, unlike the leather skirts.
The people of the Four Seasons War Tribe who were lifting water and preparing food looked at them in surprise.
The food was quite abundant, and the taste was similar to that of the White Great City. After eating, as the host, Zhuang Yu would definitely take a group of guests to see their Crimson Land.
Although the city was made of adobe and somewhat sandy, it was built on an oasis, so it wasn't just endless yellow.
The grass on the ground was lush and green.
As they walked outward, they could still see green grasslands, where people were herding animals to graze.
The group of little radishes were extremely curious, "Brother Yu, do your people also raise sheep?"
Zhuang Yu just smiled and didn't say anything.
In the past, the people of the Crimson Great City didn't know how to raise livestock. Although the current Crimson Great City was poor, it was still much better than before. At that time, it was truly impoverished.
The reason Zhuang Yu had such a big reputation in the Crimson Great City upon his return was partly because he taught his people how to raise livestock. Since then, they could have some meat to eat instead of relying on hunting in the desert, where they sometimes had meals and sometimes didn't.
The grass on the ground was also deliberately planted, suitable for planting in the desert to feed livestock. In the past, the Crimson Land City was still just a vast expanse of yellow sand.
Zhuang Yu looked around and saw that there were more green grasses planted than before he left. With more grass, they could raise more livestock, and the Crimson Great City would have more meat to eat.
Zhuang Yu glanced at Little Mushroom. This didn't seem to be a big deal.
Walking on the grassland felt very different.
Perhaps Shao Hao and these little radishes couldn't feel anything special yet, but for the people of the Crimson Great City, such grasslands were sacred.
Because it was from Zhuang Yu teaching them how to plant grass and raise livestock that their lives improved, so every time they saw pastures for livestock, they felt a sense of sacredness.
In addition to pastures, there were also some lands where heat-resistant sorghum was planted. This was the material used by the Crimson Great City to make alcohol. Now, alcohol had become an important item for them to perform fire magic.
All of this was learned by Zhuang Yu from the intermittent dreams he had before. Because of the success of these endeavors, he was so eager for that complete dream and ended up confusedly falling into the dream, unable to distinguish who he really was.
In this way, it truly looked like an oasis in the desert.
And oases need water.
Zhuang Yu led a group of people to the north of the Crimson Great City, outside the city. They could hear the sound of water in their ears. When they looked up, even Shao Hao was shocked with widened pupils.
It was a dam, and clear water was flowing down from the dam, forming a river below.
Even Zhuang Yu's heart was stirred.
Initially, the entire Crimson Great City mobilized, regardless of age, just to divert the water from the North Sea and build this dam.
With this dam, they solved the perennial water shortage problem of their Crimson Great City. While the White Great City also experienced water shortages for a few years, their Crimson Great City had always been lacking water.
With this dam, their Crimson Great City gradually transformed from endless yellow sand into this oasis.
With this dam, they were able to cultivate green grass for livestock and grow sorghum for brewing alcohol.
So... Zhuang Yu digging those wells in the White Great City was nothing compared to this. This was the engineering project he was proud of.
Initially, everyone in the Crimson Great City participated in it. This was a miraculous project brought about by the collective effort of everyone in the Crimson Great City, one of the five major powers.
Actually, the reputation of Zhuang Yu spread from the Crimson Great City was that of an unparalleled youth. It's just that people outside thought it was exaggerated and simplified, and only the people of the Crimson Great City knew how extraordinary their Prince was.