Chapter 36 [Will the Drought Really Come?]...
Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and the heat has intensified.
Mela stood before a spring, silently gazing at the moss around it, its edges curled up from the sun.
This is a spring located closer to the heart of the forest, which used to flow with clear water, nourishing the surrounding lush greenery.
Clumps of low-lying wildflowers; moss that domineeringly occupied the ground, stretching out like a large, fluffy carpet; shrubs covered with thorns and barbs; and towering trees that stood tall and unyielding... Now the wildflowers had all withered, and the moss was a large patch of withered yellow. With a slight tread of her toe, Mela pulled a small piece of moss from the soil.
The drought is getting worse. Mela lowered her eyes.
Just then, a flock of sparrows swooped over, surrounded the spring, and kept nodding their heads to drink the water.
Seeing this, Mela silently took two steps back, making room for them.
"Never mind," Mela thought, "let's leave this water source for the animals that need it more."
So she carried the empty jar back to the cabin.
Inside the cabin, Lex was cooking a pot of milky white soup, dotted with bits of celery leaves, and occasionally thick chunks of meat bobbing up and down with the bubbles—it looked delicious.
When Lex saw Mela return, he assumed she had brought back water.
To my surprise, upon closer inspection, the jar was empty.
"Has the drought gotten this bad?" Lex asked, a look of surprise in his eyes.
Lex couldn’t think of any other reason why Mela’s trip to fetch water would have been in vain, except that all the water sources in the area had dried up.
"Stop, stop, stop. It's not as bad as you think. I just suddenly decided to use this jar to get some honey to eat."
Mela prevented Lex from misunderstanding further. She patted the jar, making two "bang" sounds, and triumphantly invited Lex, "How about it? Want to go pick some beehives with me this afternoon?"
Generally speaking, beekeepers need to tie a sturdy rope around their waist before they dare to climb high tree trunks or steep cliffs to harvest an entire honeycomb.
With Silas around, Mela not only didn't have to exert herself to climb the tree, but she also didn't have to worry about being chased by the bees that were attracted and getting stung all over her face. She could just wait under the tree to catch them.
However, when Silas heard that Mela was going to take it out in the afternoon, its first reaction was to protest in a pitiful tone: "It's so hot, Silas doesn't want to go out."
Let Silas stay indoors; he always felt that flying outside for too long would definitely give him heatstroke.
"Oh? Doesn't Silas want some honey pudding, honey fruit tart, or honey lemon pie?" Mela counted on her fingers, listing all sorts of delicious desserts, sure to whet Silas's appetite.
Sure enough, upon hearing her words, Silas's tone became hesitant, "...I want to eat."
"Should we go out?" Mela coaxed gently.
"Go!" Silas closed his eyes and readily agreed, as if he would regret it if he hesitated any longer.
Having dealt with Silas, Mela looked at Lex.
She didn't need to say anything more about that. She nodded with satisfaction and put down the jar. "Then let me go change my dress first."
Lex then noticed that Mela's dark green skirt was covered with many fresh, dark spots.
Perhaps because Mela is always prone to minor accidents, occasionally spilling ink on herself, Lex, who used to be so quick to call her to change if there was even a tiny black spot on her maid's dress, can now turn a blind eye to marks on Mela's dress.
Speaking of which, Mela was really unlucky; on her way back just now, she accidentally stepped in a whole shoe full of muddy fruit.
Those tiny, brownish fruits, no bigger than a fingernail, tumbled off the branches and onto the ground, mixing with the soil, and could easily injure any passing animal.
When you step on it, the fruit's fragile skin breaks, splashing juice half a meter high. The juice sticks to your body, emitting an unpleasant earthy smell, and can only be washed off with water.
When Mela stepped on it, the soft, squishy texture immediately made her realize something was wrong. Even though she managed to dodge in time, she still inevitably got her dress dirty.
After changing into a clean dress and having a meal, Mela set off with Lex and Silas.
If you want to collect honey, the first thing you need to do is find a beehive.
However, Mela looked up and circled around tree after tree, but couldn't find any suspicious shadows.
“Strange, I clearly remember there used to be at least two or three beehives here.”
The surrounding area is open and spacious, with tall trees and several clumps of wildflowers, some with names and some without, red, pink, and yellow, including red azaleas, pink roses, and daisies, hanging on the branches in all sizes, which always attracts many bees. But now, Mera has circled around and around and hasn't seen a single bee.
"Perhaps it's because you scared them all away, Mela," Silas said weakly, pointing out the truth.
Who can stand having their home coveted every day?
Mela used to come here whenever she craved honey.
Her partnership with Silas was flawless.
One bee knocked down the hive, attracting the chasing bees, while the other took the opportunity to pick up the empty, honey-sucking hive and ran away in a flash.
Finally, in the cabin, drinking honey diluted with water, the two of us, along with the bird, were incredibly happy.
At first, the bees might just accept their bad luck and diligently rebuild their nest, but after a lot of bad luck, anyone would eventually realize their mistake, pack up, and find a more suitable home.
“Okay, maybe you’re right.” Mela reluctantly looked away and turned to disappear into another grove of trees.
At this moment, Mela began to miss the big black bear that Ducwato had taken away a few years ago. Back then, she had followed the big black bear and found where the beehive was hidden. Now, being asked to do it on her own, she was just wandering around like a headless fly.
"Wait a minute, is that dark shape the Hive?" Lex suddenly asked.
Upon hearing this, both Mela, who was standing not far in front of him, and Silas, who was standing on his shoulder, immediately followed his gaze. On a tree diagonally in front of them, there seemed to be a faint dark shadow that looked just like a beehive.
When Mela went over first and observed from several different angles, she was surprised to find that it really was. However, it hid well, with most of the nest holes hidden in tree holes. In addition, there were no bees coming and going, making it easy to mistake it for an empty nest that had been abandoned long ago.
“Silas—” Mela called out.
Silas immediately understood and flew up, kicking the beehive with his claw. He didn't care whether he knocked it down or not, and then turned and ran away.
The swarm of bees formed a black ribbon behind it, buzzing as it followed it into the distance.
Mela wasn't worried that the swarm could catch up with Silas, but the hive was still inside the tree hole and someone needed to climb up and retrieve it.
Just to be on the safe side, Lex stopped the eager Mela and let him go up to the vicinity of the tree hole.
Sure enough, the swarm left a few bees to keep watch, flying up and down around the hive.
Mela stood under the tree and saw Lex break off a branch and stick it into the hollow of the tree.
The next moment, a black, round object fell from the sky. Mela caught it with lightning speed and turned to run without thinking.
The wind swirled around her hair as she ran, brushing against her neck and the fluttering hem of her skirt, only to be left behind in the blink of an eye.
Because of the running motion, sweat soaked her face, running down her flushed cheeks and dampening her clothes. Despite her panting, Mela couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth.
Once they reunited with Silas and Lex, Mela proudly held up the honeycomb in her hand. "Let's go back and make some honey lemon water to quench our thirst."
Silas cheered; it had been flying so hard to avoid the swarm of bees that its throat was parched.
Lex straightened his slightly crooked collar and regained his composure.
They walked for about fifteen minutes and then returned to the vicinity of the cabin.
From afar, Mela spotted a familiar figure standing in front of the tightly closed door of the small house. "Hey, isn't that Hall?"
"Miss Mela!" Hall, who had been guarding the door, heard footsteps and turned around in surprise, only to find that it was indeed Mela and her party.
"Hall, what brings you here?" Mela walked up to Hall and almost thought she had misremembered the time. Today shouldn't be the day Hall delivers food, right?
If she had known Hall was coming, she definitely wouldn't have brought Lex and Sylas with her.
Mentioning this, Hall scratched his head, his expression somewhat grave. "I heard a bit of a rumor, so I specially sent next month's grain over early."
"Oh? Has something happened?" Mela sensed something unusual in Hall's tone.
"It's not entirely true what happened, but there have suddenly been more grain merchants in town. I heard it was all on the orders of Earl Bayard. Plus, the weather is unsettlingly hot, so I figured it would be best to send the grain over early," Hall said.
Since it concerned Count Bayard, Mela looked at Lex and asked for his opinion.
Lex pondered for a moment and analyzed, "Although as the lord, you should be able to know about what is happening in the territory as soon as possible, perhaps something big has happened in other parts of Bayard that you are unaware of."
"However, if the person in question is Bayard, I'm more inclined to believe that he heard some news from the royal city."
Lex even couldn't help but suspect that Bayard might have learned of other developments from the palace through his aunt Naif, which led him to take precautionary measures in advance.
Unlike Lex and his group, both Nurengel IX and Elijah were witnesses to the drought thirty years ago. Perhaps the increasingly unbearable heat since the beginning of summer has alerted someone.
"Anyway, you did the right thing. Something might happen after August. It's best if you prepare in advance, like hiding any extra food," Lex added casually.
“I understand.” Hall nodded, intending to go back and do as Lex said.
Ever since Lex helped him and Joanne escape danger and move to Bayard Territory to start a new life, Hall had completely trusted Lex's words.
However, Hall wasn't stupid. From Lex's attitude and his vague words, he vaguely guessed that something bad was going on.
Hall asked Mela with concern, "Is some kind of disaster about to happen?"
He hoped to hear a negative answer from the witch who was skilled in prophecy, telling him that things were not as bad as he imagined.
However, Mela had already suppressed the smile in her eyes, and she replied vaguely, "Perhaps. Whether or not a disaster is about to occur, it's always good to be prepared in advance."
What Mela didn't say was that she too felt a growing unease, as if she were getting closer and closer to something bad.
Will a drought really come?
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