"Then..." Fengyu figured out something in his chaotic thoughts.

"The east?" he asked Shanqing.

"Indeed, brother is smart after all, he understands it right away." Shanqing breathed a sigh of relief. Only by having Fengyu bring it up could he plan properly...

"No matter how bad things are in the northeast, most cultivators there are Foundation Building cultivators. With so many people there, how can they not defend against the beasts? So in the end, the majority of beasts will be stopped there. In addition, right at the border between the northeast and southeast, there is the half-beast tribe.

Half-beasts have the strength of beasts and the intellect of humans. Although they aren’t as good in either of them, this combination is actually the best balance in the cycle of Beast Tides! In every Beast Tide, the half-beasts have always fared well. They hold their responsibility and protect the southeastern gates very well. Very few beasts can cross them and enter the southeastern regions.

Most Foundation Building beasts that enter the southeast aren’t from the northeast but sneak between the peaks of the east.

The eastern peaks are numerous and interlocked, which is good but also bad. They can protect against large and strong beasts, but there is also a large space for smaller beast groups to set up their territory. It’s not that the peaks don’t want to destroy them, but there are too many and the whole range is too large. Interlocked... it means that the eastern peaks, while not as outrageous as the west, still have to control a very large territory."

Shanqing first explained the situation in the east to make sure Fengyu understood the origin of the issue. Seeing him nod, he continued, "As said, the northeast blocks most beasts, the east also blocks large beasts. So those that remain in the east are actually mostly just first-stage beasts who attack the many fields.

This means, in the whole city, the region where citizens can rent best during this Beast Tide will be the eastern fields!" Shanqing finally revealed what he had built up this whole time.

"Eastern fields..." Fengyu realised what he meant. His own fields, which he thought would be less defensive than the city gates, were actually the best protection?

Although the city was still attacked by beasts, with so many neighbours, wouldn’t it be a lot easier to help each other? But now it turns out that there might be saboteurs in the city. Such a situation would confuse people, the teamwork would turn to suspicion, and everyone had to defend themselves not only against beasts, but also against the saboteurs and those cultivators who wanted to use this opportunity to become wealthy!

Several situations had led to a tragedy...

"Brother?" Shanqing called out to Fengyu.

"Hm?" Pulled out of his reverie, he looked at Shanqing, curious about whether there was another matter to add.

"As per the cities’ rules, only those who have a recommendation or are inner citizens can rent the fields in the east! But... the city has now locked the option of renting the fields in the east. They always do this in the years right before the Beast Tide, to ensure there would be no cultivators trying to sneak around and avoid responsibility.

To be honest, the city doesn’t care too much if you can do it, but they won’t make it easy for you to do it.

This time, only core personnel would be informed so early about the Beast Tide. The rest will likely only be informed one to three months prior to the tide.

So, brother, I want to ask-" Shanqing started but was interrupted by Fengyu right away.

"Brother, if you want to rent a field from me, why say so much? We are brothers, you helped me a lot when I was in need, so I will also help you this time! It’s just that the renting is locked this time, is there perhaps any regulation based on how many secondary renters there can be in each field?" Fengyu asked - although he was willing to help a friend in need, he wouldn’t destroy his own foundation...

"Actually, there is! But this regulation is rather lax - first, the rent can’t be extended right now. Second, per acre, only one person can remain in the field. This means a ten-acre field can accommodate the renter and nine other people..."

Two sighs of relief were instantly heard by the two -

Fengyu turned over and saw his juniors sighing.

"Haha, don’t worry you two! Even if the regulation didn’t allow it, I would still keep you!"

Then he explained to Shanqing, "When we entered, only I had the recommendation to rent a field in the east, so I rented together with these two! Now the regulation is kind."

"Oh, brother Fengyu’s relationship with his juniors is quite close! Then, how many fields did you rent?" he asked curiously. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"I rented a total of thirteen fields - counting the acres we occupy, there are ten more spots for others to rent. If brother really wants to rent, then..."

"I’ll pay ten thousand spirit stones per month!" Shanqing stated right away.

Seeing Fengyu was about to say something, he interrupted him and explained, "This price is only fair, brother! Beasts’ senses are extremely strong, so a field with more people will be attacked by more beasts than a field with fewer people. If I don’t even contribute spirit stones for the extra burden, then I would be mean! Brother, just take these! Although we don’t know how long the Beast Tide will last, even if it’s eight or ten years, I can still afford it!" Shanqing exaggerated in his explanation, trying to convince Fengyu thoroughly.

"Then... but, if beasts can sense it so well, what about the danger with more people?" Fengyu didn’t insist on lowering it, so he asked another crucial question that popped up. If the quantity of humans increased the quantity of beasts, and the quantity of beasts was a marker to evaluate the quality of beasts, then... wouldn’t the danger rise exponentially with more people?