The Wicked Female Is Wild and Scheming, Living in a Love Battlefield Every Day-Chapter 453 - 337: Preparations Before Winter

The night was as dark as ink, and The Beast Graveyard was located in a desolate place behind the hills of Pyralia, the last resting place for The Phoenix Clan’s fallen beasts or sin slaves.

Bodies were carelessly discarded here, left for crows, vultures, and other birds to feast upon, until only a pile of white bones remained, weathered by time to become nourishment for the earth.

Ruby’s body was casually thrown here, once beautiful features now ghostly pale and terrifying, full of death.

As night deepened, flocks of crows and vultures flew in from all directions, devouring Ruby’s corpse in an instant.

No one noticed that from Ruby’s bloody, mangled abdomen rolled five jade-white Phoenix Eggs; the shells were extremely thin, almost transparent, covered in blood and mucus, faintly emitting a red glow from within.

These eggs tumbled into the grass, obscured by dense vegetation, quietly absorbing nature’s spiritual energy.

...

Three days were enough for a bloody storm.

Soren Phoenix’s methods were more ruthless and swift than anyone had anticipated.

With the Second Elder serving as a cautionary tale, the deterrent of The Dragon Clan’s Black-armored Guard, and Soren’s own formidable strength at the twelfth level,

none of the elders of The Phoenix Clan dared to challenge him.

Change what must be changed, kill who must be killed, abolish what needs abolishing, and exile those to be exiled overnight.

With thunderous momentum, Soren uprooted the entrenched power structure left by Xylon Phoenix.

The elders who had been watching with a wait-and-see attitude, or those plotting little schemes, quickly abandoned their thoughts after witnessing Soren’s decisive and cold-blooded actions, becoming exceedingly obedient.

The power transition within The Phoenix Clan was complete. Apart from a major leadership overhaul, the ordinary members of The Phoenix Clan were largely unaffected.

After all, for the common members of The Phoenix Clan, who the leader was didn’t matter as much as the ability to lead the clan to prosperity and ensure a stable and prosperous life for them.

Clearly, Soren had the capability and strength to do so.

The ruins of The Phoenix Tree Hall were entirely leveled, and saplings of peach trees were planted overnight, their roots deeply embedded in the blood-stained soil.

The former ancestral shrine was demolished and rebuilt. Xylon Phoenix’s memorial tablet didn’t even have the privilege to enter the new shrine, standing in was Nerida’s memorial carved from Five-Colored Stone.

No one dared to question this scene.

Soren stood in the newly constructed shrine, knelt on a cushion, and respectfully bowed three times towards Nerida’s memorial above.

Only then did he stand up and leave the shrine.

"Young Clan Leader, The Dragon Clan Young Master is waiting for you at the valley entrance."

A servant reported cautiously.

Soren just paused as he was stepping out of the shrine’s threshold upon hearing this, looked towards the servant, and said, "Tell cousin, I’ll be there shortly."

Thinking of something, he narrowed his phoenix eyes and quickly added, "Clean up Phoenix Roost Hall and replace all the furnishings and furniture with new ones."

The servant was taken aback, as Phoenix Roost Hall was the residence of past clan leaders’ wives, remaining empty since Lady Nerida’s death.

About to remind him.

But Soren cheerfully said, "Of course, it’s for the new clan leader’s wife, now hurry up!"

The servant suddenly understood and promptly responded, withdrawing.

Estimating within his heart, this new clan leader’s wife was most likely that female from The Lower Domain.

The Young Clan Leader was renowned for his lasciviousness; originally it was thought to be a temporary interest, but now it seemed he had truly settled down.

Soren breathed a sigh of relief, the last few days pretending to be earnest had exhausted him terribly.

Those old codgers constantly nagging about clan rules and ancestral teachings, giving him a headache.

Fortunately, he was about to leave and no longer had to listen to those old geezers rambling. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

In a good mood, he hummed a little tune as he headed towards the valley entrance.

Entrance to Pyralia.

Mael Valerius stood with his hands clasped behind him, wearing a dark-gold beast robe, gazing into the distant horizon, pondering unknown thoughts.

Seeing Soren arrive fashionably late, his golden eyes narrowed, "What took you so long?"

"I had to bid farewell to the Matron at the shrine."

As Soren approached, he magically produced a Jade Box, "Here, a gift for Luna."

He lifted the lid, revealing a hairpin crafted from Five-Colored Stone, delicately engraved with a vivid phoenix design, appearing almost alive as it shimmered with a colorful aura in the morning light.

Mael Valerius glanced at it dismissively, "A bit gaudy, not as elegant as the twin lotus Purple Crystal Jade Marrow Hairpin I gifted."

In his eyes, anything carved with phoenixes or dragons was tacky, regardless of how finely polished or elaborate.

Soren wasn’t offended, smiling as he closed the Jade Box and put it away.

"Cousin doesn’t get it, does he? Little Luna loves such sparkly things."

Mael Valerius rolled his eyes, choosing not to comment on Soren’s unfounded confidence.

But in his view, nothing compared to the twin lotus he gifted, not only beautiful but rich with meaning.

Soren wasn’t bothered by his expression, suddenly lowering his voice, "About uncle’s side..."

Mael Valerius’s expression turned somber, "The old stubborn fool."

A trace of irritation flickered in his golden eyes, "Father insists Luna is a wandering soul, refusing to even recognize the Dragon Egg."

Soren frowned; this indeed was a troublesome issue, but he couldn’t think of a good solution for the time being.

"Uncle is just having a hard time accepting it for the moment. Once the dragon egg hatches and he sees the exquisitely carved baby dragon, he’ll naturally come to like it. Then we can say some good words on its behalf and maybe Uncle can accept it."

He was trying to comfort Mael Valerius, and himself as well.

Mael Valerius frowned even deeper but didn’t speak.

He knew this reasoning well, but there was still a pent-up anger in his heart.

That person was his father, yet he wouldn’t even acknowledge his own grandchild.

He wouldn’t even take a look.

Maybe he had nowhere else to vent the fire inside, so his tone wasn’t very good, "Are you leaving or not? If not, I’ll leave on my own."

Soren Phoenix quickly jumped onto his back, "Let’s go, let’s go, Cousin carry me back. Anyway, you’re going to transform into a dragon, let me savor the feeling of riding one."

"Scram!"

Mael Valerius darkened his face and threw him off, transforming into an Umbral Netherwyrm, soaring into the sky as his dragon claws tore through the space and flew in instantly.

"Cousin is really stingy~"

Soren Phoenix instantly transformed into a Fire Phoenix, laughing as he chased after him, his figure disappearing into the spatial rift.

Clearly heading for The Lower Domain.

...

The Lower Domain, Sky-mist Canyon, The Wolf Tribe.

The weather was getting colder, with the autumn wind swirling the fallen leaves around the yard.

Luna Sutton had already recovered from childbirth; her figure was neither bloated nor misshaped, her complexion was rosy without a hint of resembling a female just having given birth, clearly recovering very well.

She wrapped herself in a beast hide cloak, standing in the yard, watching Corbin Crowley haul back a large stack of timber.

He split them all into segments with an axe, dried them and stacked them neatly in the backyard woodshed.

When the woodshed couldn’t accommodate anymore, he placed them in the corner of the yard.

The winter in the beast world was extremely cold, lasting six months, during which heavy snow would seal off the mountains, making it extremely difficult and risky to hunt outside.

That’s why it’s necessary to stockpile large amounts of food and wood in advance for winter.

Corbin Crowley and Zeke Veridian were as busy as spinning tops every day, leaving early in the morning and returning by dusk.

Fortunately, the prey and timber were prepared almost enough for the whole family to get through the cold winter.

Other dried goods, beast hides, and winter supplies had also been prepared sufficiently, with almost nothing lacking.

Zeke Veridian seemed to have vented most of his anger from hunting every day, and his mouth had quieted down, no longer cursing frequently.

On the contrary, recently Rhys Blackwood’s mood seemed a bit off, appearing very anxious.

Though he didn’t say anything, Luna Sutton could still sense it.

Finally, she couldn’t hold it anymore, so she went straight to the kitchen to find him.

The iron pot on the stove was bubbling with steam, and Rhys Blackwood was stirring the porridge with a wooden spoon, his stern profile faintly visible amidst the steam.

"What’s going on lately?"

She hugged his lean waist from behind, "You seem quite off recently."

Rhys Blackwood paused, the wooden spoon drawing marks in the porridge.

He remained silent for a moment, then spoke in a low voice, "Winter is coming."

Luna Sutton was momentarily stunned, then suddenly realized — snakes need to hibernate.

Not only Rhys Blackwood needed to hibernate, but the eight baby snakes too.

She burst out laughing, her cheek resting against his tense back, "So our Master Rhys is afraid of missing something while asleep."

Rhys Blackwood’s ears turned slightly red, and he turned to pin her against the stove edge, his cool fingers lifting her chin, "What are you laughing at, Luna?"

"I was thinking."

Luna Sutton blinked, "Should we prepare a special warm nest for you and eight little ones, lined with the softest snow mink fur."

Rhys Blackwood looked down at her, traces of amusement glinting in his eyes, "Just prepare a thicker one for the little ones, I don’t need it."

"Why?"

She gazed at him curiously, "But don’t snakes need to hibernate? Aren’t you afraid of the cold?"

"This year, I’m not planning to hibernate, I want to watch over you and the little ones."

Rhys Blackwood spoke lightly, as if having made some kind of resolution.

She was taken aback, about to ask.

Outside the kitchen, Kian Sterling’s puzzled voice suddenly called, "Something’s burning, there’s a scorched smell."

Rhys Blackwood instinctively looked at the pot, seeing the porridge simmering thickly, nothing was burnt?

Instantly knowing the old fox discovered Luna in the kitchen, doing it on purpose.

His gaze turned slightly cold but he said nothing.

He just turned around, leaned down and bit Luna Sutton’s face, "I’ll deal with you tonight."

Luna Sutton laughed and patted him lightly, didn’t stay in the kitchen any longer, and quickly went outside.