"So many tricks."

Luciel clapped his hands lightly. In the end, the army's practical killing techniques were far more useful.

"Die!" The Blood Knife bandit raised his blade and slashed toward Luciel.

Whizz!

An arrow cut through the air and pierced the side of his neck.

"Uhh…" The Blood Knife staggered forward a few steps before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.

"Run!" Ye Zhao roared.

He grabbed the remaining thieves and fled down the other side of the street.

But not long after—

"Aaahhh!"

Several screams echoed from deeper within the street.

Ta-ta-ta!

Footsteps rushed closer.

Moments later, a patrol unit clad in animal-skin armor appeared, surrounding the Moon Lord and Yue Feiyan protectively.

"So this is where it ends?" Luciel spread his hands, at a loss for words. The cleanup squad had finally arrived, so he might as well return to the inn.

"Stop! Don't move!"

Several guards shouted at once.

"Shut up, all of you!" Yue Feiyan snapped, her face cold and stern. "He's our savior! What are you yelling for? Waiting until he dies so you can collect the body?"

"…Ah."

The men fell silent, shamefully sheathing their weapons.

"It seems I'll need to find another chance to test my limits," Luciel muttered helplessly. Without the red-haired girl intervening, he might have fought the hunting squad just to gauge their strength.

Ta-ta-ta.

Before long, another group arrived, escorting several gray-haired elders.

"Where is the Moon Lord?" one of them cried anxiously, forcing his way forward. "Is she all right?"

"Here."

The guards parted, and the elders rushed inside the protective circle. Their faces darkened when they saw the Moon Lord lying pale in Yue Feiyan's arms, her abdomen bandaged and stained with blood.

"How bad is it? Will it affect tomorrow's water gathering?" the elder asked urgently.

"Are you blind?" Yue Feiyan glared, fuming.

"Feiyan, enough." The Moon Lord weakly shook her head. She knew that if these stubborn old men decided to use this against her, her daughter would be dragged down too.

"Where's the doctor? Bring the doctor now!" the elder barked, ignoring Feiyan's attitude.

If something happened to the Moon Lord, the Moon Lake Tribe's water reserves wouldn't last.

The tribe's very name came from a crescent-shaped pool at its heart—their only water source. But it hadn't been full in years.

"I'm here!"

A female doctor rushed over. The more she examined the wound, the uglier her expression became.

Finally, she shook her head. "The injury is grave. It will take a long time to recover."

"Can't you heal it faster?" the elder demanded.

"Without a secret medicine, I can't." She lowered her head, ashamed. She only knew basic treatment—unlike the doctors in big cities with rare medicines.

"Damn it!" The elder slammed his thigh in frustration. He turned to the other old men. "What now? Any ideas?"

"What else? Let the Moon Lord rest. Starting today, we conserve water."

"Slaves and laborers on the outskirts—one bowl every two days. That will stretch our supply."

"Agreed. That's the plan."

In just a few sentences, the elders decided the "water conservation plan."

"…That's it?" Luciel stood aside, dumbfounded. Their "solution" was simply cutting the slaves' rations. For everyone else, they merely suggested reducing water use by a third.

"This is how it is." Liyue adjusted the mask on her face, her tone cold. "Many tribes don't care about those at the bottom. The more people die, the less water is wasted."

"The fault lies with this world." Mei Liangbei had once again witnessed the cruelty of the wasteland. Survival forced people to abandon their humanity. He swore never to become like them.

When the elders finished scheming, they turned on the Moon Lord.

"Moon Lord, stay home tonight."

"Catching thieves is for the guards. Otherwise, why do we feed them?"

"Because of you, the whole tribe nearly lost its water supply!"

Their blame came harsh and fast. Without the Moon Lord, the tribe would collapse.

"You old men, shut your mouths!" Yue Feiyan roared, her red hair flaring like fire. If not for her mother in her arms, she would have already hurled fireballs at them.

"Yue Feiyan! Is this your attitude?" the elder scolded. "If you had awakened water powers, none of us would need to worry!"

"My attitude? Look at your ugly faces!" Yue Feiyan snapped back. "You dare speak for the tribe, yet you too are water-ability users! You only rely on my mother to condense water while you sit back like parasites!"

"You… You unreasonable girl!" the elder sputtered. He turned angrily toward the Moon Lord. "Yue Qinlan, look at how you've raised her! Is this how one speaks to elders?"

"How dare you talk to my mother like that? She is the Moon Lord, leader of the Moon Lake Tribe!" Feiyan shouted hoarsely. "And yes—she taught me well. She taught me to scold pests like you!"

"You!" The elder's face turned purple. In the end, unable to win the argument, he flung his sleeves and stormed off.

"She's far too willful. Let's go."

The other elders exchanged glances and hurried away too, afraid the fiery girl would unleash more of her wrath on them.

Luciel chuckled blankly. One fiery girl had just driven all the elders away with sheer scolding.

"Was that really amusing?" Liyue muttered, giving Yue Feiyan a sidelong look.

"Cough, don't study her." Luciel quickly waved it off. The thought of the cold white-haired girl also screaming on the streets made his head ache.

"Oh…" Liyue's silver eyes flickered curiously.

"Hmph!" Feiyan snorted proudly. After years of suffocating frustration, scolding them felt liberating. If the old men hadn't fled, she could have gone on all night.

"Cough…" The Moon Lord groaned softly, her pale face tinged pink.

Rolling her eyes, she rasped, "Feiyan, do you want to make enemies of everyone while I can't protect you?"

"They went too far, so I scolded them." Feiyan pouted, her eyes glistening. "Mother, you're badly injured, yet they only cared about water. They're hateful."

"That's the adult world." The Moon Lord sighed, gently squeezing her daughter's hand. "Adults only care about benefits. Once you're no longer useful, they'll discard you without hesitation."

She knew too well: if not for her water-condensing ability, the elders would have already ousted her.

"I don't care about their 'adult world.' If they treat you like that, I'll scold them again." Feiyan jutted out her lip stubbornly.

"You silly daughter…" The Moon Lord smiled fondly.

"What? I'm not silly!" Feiyan huffed, then softened her voice, acting cute.

"Well… how long are you two going to sit on the cold ground?" Luciel interrupted. "Do you plan to quarrel here until dawn?"

The Moon Lord flushed faintly, embarrassed. She shook her daughter's hand. "Feiyan, take me home."

"Okay." Feiyan tried to lift her mother, but her legs had gone numb. Her face stiffened, and she whimpered pitifully, "Mother… my feet are numb…"

"You fool." The Moon Lord's pretty face reddened slightly. She blinked at Luciel and whispered weakly, "Your Excellency Luciel… could you carry me home?"

"This… is that really appropriate?" Luciel hesitated.

"Luciel, please!" Feiyan urged, flashing her girlish charm. "Carry my mother back, and I'll give you beast spars!"

"No problem." Luciel stepped forward and lifted the Moon Lord. She was light and soft, like a delicate doll in his arms.

"Ahh…" The Moon Lord leaned against him, flushed, enveloped in the man's warm aura. Strangely, she didn't dislike it at all. His scent was unlike anyone else's—clean, comforting.

"I'll fetch Mino," Liyue said coolly, glancing at the dazed woman. She worried about Luciel going into the central area alone.

"Good," Luciel replied softly.

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