Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 192: Heartstone

She did not bother pretending to sleep. But she also did not jump out of Uri’s arms. Since he wanted to carry her, she would let him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled into his body.

Her ear pressed to his chest, and she could hear the whooshing of his heart. She heard him chuckle.

"Don’t laugh," Visha pouted.

"I am not," Uri countered.

Visha scoffed. "You and Xeno got them ready this morning? Were they still grumbling?"

"Grumble or not, they had to leave. Otherwise, we would leave them in the cave. They know what is best for them."

Visha snickered. She turned to look at the scenery of white. There were still some stubborn traces of green peeking out. She let Uri carry her until she felt he was tired, then switched to Xeno.

She felt lazy today. She decided not to think about anything and enjoy the journey.

The days passed quickly, and the group finally made it to the original route. The snow was still falling, but Visha and the others found a sense of relief. They were close to home.

Another day passed, and the crowd finally made it to the caldera. Uri sent a pack link to the entire pack, letting them know they were arriving.

As soon as the pack heard they had come back, they ran to the gate. The Ram beastmen in particular moved quickly. When they saw the group at the gate, they moved to find their partners.

Visha saw the jubilation on their faces. She knew not everyone’s partners had come with them. For those who did, she was happy for them. For those who didn’t...

She was sure Roc would be able to take care of them. There are other females in the pack. The short time she had spent in the Ram tribe, they did not show any great importance to their partners.

Stepping into the caldera, Visha noticed the heat. The snow outside was already falling heavily, yet inside there was only a shallow layer. She knew the caldera was warm. It had always been warm. But she had not expected that even in winter, there would be this kind of heat.

Her eyes moved around the caldera, falling on Krag and Chi. They smiled to welcome her. While Uri and Xeno were talking to the pack, she ventured over to the two people.

"Glad to have her back?" Visha asked.

She didn’t ask about herself. She asked about the system that had been suspiciously dormant. This system, for some reason, evoked great emotion from Krag and Chi. They did not say, and she would not ask.

Krag and Chi both nodded. "Not just her. "We’re glad to see the three of you safe," Chi responded.

"But mostly her. It’s fine," Visha waved her hand. "But let me ask you, why is the caldera so warm?"

"It’s been like this since the first snow," Chi said. "You should check the waterfall and lake."

Visha shot Chi a glance. Chi smiled cheekily in return. Visha knew there must be a reason for Chi to send her there. As for what the reason was, it must have something to do with the warmth of the caldera.

As she approached the waterfall, she could already feel the heat coming from it. There was no need for her to be wearing winter clothes now. As a matter of fact, there was no need to go to the hot spring.

The heat from the lake and waterfall was hot enough to be considered a hot spring. Everyone was gathered around the new members. So Visha decided to use Land Resonance.

Usually, Visha would perform a surface-level check of the caldera. And because Biron has not given any suspicious reports, she never thought of checking below the surface. Now, she would need to.

Little by little, she stretches her ’vision’ of the land. She looked past the roots and insects under the soil. She passed layers of earth to find where the source of the heat lay.

When she saw them, her heart jumped. That golden colour she had once told the pack about when they were in the grotto. She saw it!

When she first arrived at the caldera, she thought it was warm because of volcanic activity. Especially after finding the sulphur vents. Now...this was something else.

If she wasn’t wrong, the entire caldera might have heartstones. She stretched her vision to the lake. It had always been warm. Now, as she checked, it was the same golden glow.

But if the place was filled with heartstones, it should be hotter. Plus, with the amount of snow that had been falling, it made no sense for the place to still be this warm.

Can heartstones change their level of heat?

The thought filled her mind before she could dismiss it. It was the only thing that made sense. Visha grasped this information. While having heartstones wasa revelation, it did not significantly change anything.

When she finished looking around, she saw Uri and Xeno walking towards her.

"Why are you so excited?"Xeno asked the moment Visha’s head turned to them.

She bounded over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "I found heartstones."

"Heartstones? The luminous stone you told us about at the grotto?" Xeno asked.

"Ha ha, you remembered."

"I remember everything you say," Xeno quipped, kissing Visha on the forehead.

"No, you do not," Uri countered.

"Can’t you let me tell Shasha good things?" Xeno remarked.

"Nope. Why should I lie for you?" Uri stated. Xeno rolled his eyes.

"You lie for him all the time," said Visha, getting out of Xeno’s arms.

"True," Uri nodded. "But my lies are all for your own good."

"My own good?" Visha crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow. "How is lying about him being injured, for my own good?"

"He needed you to hold him. You were angry at him, so I helped solve the problem," Uri shrugged. "Now tell me about the heartstones."

Immediately redirecting the conversation, Visha glared at him. She knew what he was doing.

"I was saying I found them under the ground. There is a large number of them. It’s the reason the caldera is so warm now." Visha waved her hand dismissively. "It doesn’t matter now. This is our home, we don’t need to leave it, so there is no reason to dig up the heartstones."

"Then let’s leave. It’s winter, and I want to go to bed and cuddle."

Xeno promptly hoisted Visha up, throwing her over his shoulder.