Chapter 157: Hope

Hongsunaibu let out a loud battle cry, and as the bronze blade in his hand swept down, the enemy's head soared into the sky.

He had long lost count of how many enemies he had slain. From dawn until noon, the fresh blood seemed to dye the entire oasis a crimson red.

"We have won!"

Someone shouted, and Hongsunaibu looked around to see that all the enemies had either fallen to the ground or fled into the sand dunes.

"Clear the battlefield," Hongsunaibu said to the man beside him before turning around and heading back toward his own tent.

"I am back, Rosemary."

Entering the tent, Hongsunaibu put away his blade and spoke to his wife, who was currently nursing their child.

"Did my eldest brother and the others lose?"

Rosemary asked casually, without even lifting her head.

Hongsunaibu nodded and said, "They lost. I cut off your younger brother's head with my own hands. Besides that, I saw your eldest brother's corpse."

Rosemary did not speak, but by the light filtering into the tent, Hongsunaibu saw crystal-clear droplets continuously rolling down his wife's face.

"Do not cry. You know as well as I do that the weather this year is hotter than ever. Aside from the Great Oasis, no one can survive. War was bound to happen sooner or later."

Hongsunaibu had not yet fully recovered from the adrenaline of the battle, and seeing his wife weep, he involuntarily raised his voice.

His shouting, far from stopping his wife's tears, only caused her to break down into loud, sobbing wails.

The sound of her crying immediately frightened the infant in her arms, and the child began to wail as well.

"All you know how to do is cry! If you keep crying, you'd better watch out or Little Four won't even live to see his first birthday!"

Feeling overwhelmed and irritated, Hongsunaibu shouted, pulled aside the curtain, and rushed out of the tent.

Struck by the scorching heat of the sun, Hongsunaibu's mood stabilized slightly, and he let out a helpless sigh.

He understood his wife's grief; mortal combat between husbands and brothers was something ordinary people simply could not accept.

Yet the vast sea of sand was like this—for the sake of survival, there was nothing that could not be done. It was entirely normal for people to die over an oasis, especially since the sun was particularly merciless this year, leaving the surrounding smaller oases completely dried up.

Even though his wife was weeping now, she would soon put it all behind her. After all, if her brothers had broken through, neither her husband nor her son would have survived either. The Sand People had lived this way for thousands of years, and the women possessed remarkably resilient minds.

"Teacher, does the Supreme God have any new decrees?"

Ten minutes later, with his composure gradually restored, Hongsunaibu arrived at a large tent in the center of the tribe to find his teacher, the tribe's Great Shaman, sitting with closed eyes in deep meditation.

"Naibu, it is strange. His Majesty the God of Yellow Sands has not transmitted any message, but I have received the decree of another deity."

After waiting a full ten minutes, the Great Shaman opened his eyes and spoke to Hongsunaibu.

"Which Majesty?" Hongsunaibu asked hurriedly.

"His Majesty the God of Knowledge and Diplomacy," the Great Shaman said with a perplexed expression.

"What kind of deity is that?"

Hongsunaibu was equally baffled. The God of Knowledge and Diplomacy seemed to have nothing to do with the desert at all.

The Great Shaman agreed with Hongsunaibu's assessment, yet divine oracles were never to be taken lightly; there had to be a reason.

"His Majesty the God of Knowledge and Diplomacy stated that our hope comes from a goblin named Sun Licheng. If we wish to lead our people to survival, we must find him."

At these words, the Great Shaman's eyes lit up. The oracle contained specific names and details, making it ten times out of ten the truth.

"That is wonderful! Teacher, if we find this goblin, our oasis will have hope." Hongsunaibu's face blossomed with joyful surprise.

"Very well, go, my child. For the Sand People, for the oasis, go and find Sun Licheng."

The Great Shaman patted his disciple's shoulder, offering loud encouragement before drawing a compass from his robes.

"This is our tribe's sacred relic, the Golden Compass. I have already sought the blessing of His Majesty the God of Knowledge and Diplomacy. Through it, you will be able to determine the general direction of Sun Licheng."

With that, the Great Shaman placed the Golden Compass on the ground, and instantly, the golden-yellow needle in the center pointed toward the northeast.

Half an hour later, the Spring Oasis was a scene of bustling commotion as a camel cavalry force of about twenty men prepared to set off.

In the sea of sand, although giant lizards could carry heavier loads, they were cumbersome and slow, so Sand People warriors primarily rode camels.

"Go back inside, Rosemary. I will surely find Sun Licheng and bring back hope for our lives!"

Hongsunaibu shouted to his wife and child from atop his camel, and amid the eager, hopeful gazes of his clansmen, he urged his mount forward.

Meanwhile, Sun Licheng and his companions were still strolling leisurely through the desert.

"Uncle Takmu, didn't you say there was an oasis ahead? Why haven't we arrived yet?"

Caroline, wrapped up like a mummy, sat up from Sun Licheng's arms and called out to the Sand People guide.

"We are almost there. There is a small oasis just ahead."

Takmu patted the head of the giant lizard he was riding and pointed forward in response.

"Oh, I see."

Hearing the answer, Caroline snuggled back into Sun Licheng's embrace. By now, she had grown increasingly fond of nesting in his arms; no one would ever imagine that such a delicate elven maiden was actually a tempestuous, tyrant-like existence in reality.

An hour later, Sun Licheng and the others stared in wide-eyed disbelief at the oasis, which had now become a dead zone.

"How can this be?" Caroline asked in disappointment.

Takmu sighed and said, "I heard from my clansmen not long ago that the weather this year was exceptionally hot, but I didn't pay it much mind. I never expected the disaster to be this severe. I suppose many people will perish in the sand sea this year. This small oasis is finished."

Seeing the weary expressions of his companions and recalling that their own freshwater supplies were running low, Sun Licheng leaped down from the giant lizard and walked toward the center of the oasis.

In his mind, the vitality of an oasis came from underground water. Since there had been an oasis here, there should be an underground river beneath the surface, though he could only wonder if it had run dry.

Walking into the dried-up lakebed, he saw large pits dug everywhere across the soil; clearly, the local inhabitants had also attempted to find the underground river, but unfortunately, it seemed they had all failed.

Sun Licheng was not discouraged. He walked to the center of the lake and pressed his hand against the ground.

"What is he doing?"

Clark turned his head to ask the female innkeeper, who shook her hand in uncertainty, while Solomon beside them looked deep in thought.

After sensing for a moment, Sun Licheng stood up with a smile. Through elemental guidance, he sensed that the channel of the underground river beneath them had indeed dried up, but not far away, there was still water flowing within the subterranean stream.

Sun Licheng returned, called for Clark, and taking a bronze shovel, walked over to a patch of sandy earth.

"Dig downward."

Under Clark's puzzled gaze, Sun Licheng swung the shovel and began to work.

The two men labored for a short while. Just as Caroline was starting to grow bored, a stream of clear spring water welled up from the bottom of the deep pit.

"Water! There's water!" Caroline cheered.

"Is this a miracle? How could he possibly find water in such a dead land?" Takmu muttered in a daze.

Beside them, a flash of brilliant light appeared in the eyes of the half-elf, who murmured with a low chuckle, "Things are getting more and more interesting."