Chapter Forty-six Desert
"Mao Tuan, are you hot?" Su Qi felt the heat for the first time in this world. It was actually strange that she didn't feel it earlier, as she was wearing autumn clothes and should have felt the heat when entering the tropical rainforest-like forest. But she hadn't felt anything at all, only now realizing it was a bit sultry as they entered the misty area.
"Meow." The ball of fur rubbed against Su Qi's cheek, its soft and smooth fluff already feeling damp.
"Maotuan, you're sweating!" Su Qiruo fanned Maotuan with her hand, "Does it feel cooler?"
"Meow?" The furry ball stretched out its fluffy paws to hold Su Qi's hand, tilting its head in confusion and staring at Su Qi as if asking, "What are you doing?"
Su Qi Ruo supported her forehead, will the cat sweat or not? It seems that dogs don't have sweat glands on their bodies, I wonder if cats do? Won't the fur ball be hot? Why is its fur wet and soggy? Oh! Su Qi Ruo only thought of it now, the fur ball's fur must have been dampened by the mist.
"Mao Dun, aren't you hot? Why do I suddenly feel hot?"
"Meow!" The ball of fur suddenly jumped down from Su Qi's shoulder and started digging on the ground. After a while, it turned its head to stare at Su Qi, who squatted down to look at where the ball of fur had dug. On the ground was a pile of golden sand grains. This isn't a forest, is it? How can there be sand grains here?
"Meow!" The ball of fur took two steps forward, turned its head and stared at Su Qi with eager eyes, as if saying to Su Qi, "Follow me."
Su Qi Ruo felt that she had already understood Miao Tuan's mind, and she could even guess what Miao Tuan was thinking from his expressions and cries. "The magic tribe is sensitive to spirits, so I'll believe you this time." Su Qi Ruo followed behind Miao Tuan obediently.
Su Qi Ruo followed Mao Tuan for a long time, and the fog suddenly thinned out. Was she about to leave the forest? Su Qi Ruo's thoughts had just flashed by when she found herself stepping into the desert, with endless yellow sand filling her vision, making her feel a sense of despair in an instant. "Mao Tuan, come back!" Su Qi Ruo called out in alarm, and when she turned around again, the forest that should have been behind her had disappeared without a trace. All she could see were sand grains everywhere, with endless waves of sand rising and falling, and no path in sight.
The scorching feeling became more and more apparent, and Su Qi's heart also grew anxious. She felt a slight thirst, was this an illusion? How did it suddenly turn into a desert? Mao Tuan seemed to be surprised by the change as well, standing still in a daze, looking around at the scenery. "Meow..." Mao Tuan hung his head and returned to Su Qi's side, gazing up at her with a look of distress, as if telling her that he didn't know what was going on either.
Su Qi comforted the ball of fur in her arms, "It's okay, I know you didn't mean to. This should be an illusion, maybe if we walk out of the desert, we can go back!"
"Meow?" The ball of fur tilted its little head, looking at Su Qi Ruo with an unbelieving gaze. Really?
"Don't think about it anymore, anyway, we can't go back. Let's just keep moving forward." Su Qi put the fur ball back on his shoulder and continued to move forward with him.
The sky was clear and sunny, but Su Qi felt like she was in a scorching oven, as if she could be roasted at any moment. Mao Dun's situation wasn't much better; his thick fur coat couldn't be taken off, and the heat wave made him feel like he was steaming. "Meow..." Mao Dun weakly meowed, his head drooping against Su Qi's shoulder, dying of heat.
Su Qi couldn't walk much further and had to stop to rest for a while. On the one hand, it was too hot and her energy was being consumed too quickly. On the other hand, she also needed to clean out the sand from her shoes from time to time. Su Qi used to fantasize about traveling to the desert, experiencing the grandeur of "the vast desert smoke rising straight, the long river sunset round". But now, the scene in front of her had tortured her to the point where she didn't have any interest left. All she wanted to do now was hurry up and get out of this desert, find a place with a suitable environment to rest properly. Thinking like this, Su Qi couldn't help but regret leaving that forest. Damn it, how long had they been walking? Why couldn't they get out yet?
"How come she still hasn't woken up after so long?" Si Ruiwen and Lu Ke had been guarding Su Qiruo for a whole night, but Su Qiruo still showed no signs of waking up. This situation made Si Ruiwen start to feel uneasy. If Su Qiruo didn't wake up and her powers disappeared, wouldn't all their previous efforts be in vain? That kid Lu Ke was sticking close to Su Qiruo, not giving him any chance to make a move. Should he try to persuade him to take advantage of the situation while Su Qiruo's powers were still present, and divide her between them?
"Scorpion, why don't we just split her up between the two of us? If this keeps going on, her powers will disappear sooner or later. Rather than letting someone else get the benefit..."
"No way!" Lu Ke's attitude was firm, if Su Qiyo had an accident, he would definitely be buried with Su Qiyo. He must rescue Su Qiyo! "We must find out the reason why Su Qiyo got into trouble, otherwise it will be a huge disaster!"
Shi Ruiwen furrowed his brow, this worry was not unfounded. If Su Qi's power mysteriously disappeared, it must be the work of either the demon tribe or the human tribe. To be able to make a move under the noses of the two major demon tribes, their power was not to be underestimated. If they were allowed to absorb Su Qi's power, then the next ones to be absorbed would undoubtedly be himself and Lu Ke.
"Give her spiritual power." Lu Ke steeled himself and said decisively.
Shi Ruwen's eyes widened in incredulity as he stared at Lu Ke, "Although she is a god, her body is that of a human. If you infuse her with the magic of the demon tribe, she will explode and die."
"When she last awakened, her body had already been remade by the divine tribe's spiritual power. As long as the infused spiritual power isn't too strong, it should be fine."
"Fluffy, Fluffy, are you okay?" Su Qi was dazed and only felt a black dot falling from her shoulder. She subconsciously went to catch it, but found that it was actually Fluffy who had fallen off her own shoulder. Fluffy's soft and smooth fur was like withered grass in autumn, emitting an obvious dryness. A pair of big, watery eyes also lost their usual vitality, and the half-closed eyes emitted a dazed light, apparently due to heat and dehydration.
"Meow......" The tiny cry of the ball of fur was as faint as a mosquito's hum, and it seemed to have fainted.
Su Qi Ruo saw the pitiful state of Mao Tuan, but was powerless to help. Her own situation was slightly better, perhaps because she was a water god? However, she had no way to conjure up water out of thin air! What to do? What to do? Watching Mao Tuan's breath grow weaker and weaker, Su Qi Ruo was at her wit's end. Was there any way to save Mao Tuan? Should she... A bold idea flashed through Su Qi Ruo's mind - what if she infused her own life force into Mao Tuan? Maybe it would work... But this was a new power she had just acquired, and the only experiment she had done with it was on plants. She didn't know if it would be safe to try it on Mao Tuan.
"Meow......" The ball of fur let out another low cry, as if seeking help from Su Qi.
Su Qi said boldly, "Mao Tuan, I want to try infusing spiritual energy into you. Maybe it can save you. But I've never done this before, so I don't know if it'll work. What do you think?"
"Meow......" The ball of fur let out a low cry, but unfortunately Su Qi didn't understand what the ball of fur meant, so she continued to say, "If you agree to try it, then lift your paw."
Seeing Mao Tuan's trembling and majestic lifting of his paws, Su Qi suddenly boldly activated her spiritual power. As a demon clan, Mao Tuan's understanding of spiritual power was deeper than hers; if he said it was possible, it should be feasible.
