Chapter 592

The old man was both surprised and delighted, his eyes lighting up instantly: "Little Holy Maiden, you… you still have any good ideas?"

Tuan Tuan stepped forward with her short legs, pat-pat-patting to the edge of the pit, pointing at the gurgling emerald-green spring water inside, she turned and flashed a grin at him:

"I'll make all the salt springs spout water on their own, okay?"

The old man froze.

Alete's mouth fell open, his jaw almost dropping to the ground.

All the tribespeople were stunned.

Alete stammered: "How… how is this possible?"

Xiao Ningxun smiled knowingly, walked over and pulled his sister into his embrace, his back to the crowd.

Xiao Ningyuan, Xiao Er, and Lu Qi tacitly understood, stepped forward together and stood in a row, firmly shielding the siblings in front of them.

Tuan Tuan poked her little head out from her brother's shoulder, waving her small hand at the old man: "Grandpa, wait a moment!"

After speaking, she slipped back into her brother's embrace, lowered her head to untie the embroidered pouch at her waist, and pulled out a small stone.

She whispered: "Let all the salt springs of the scattered tribes spout water on their own!"

After thinking, she added: "Don't let them gush out too much water at once, or it'll hurt the children."

After saying that, she loosened her grip, a faint light flashed, and the small stone vanished.

The next moment.

From underground came a low, rumbling sound of flowing water, as if countless currents were surging beneath the earth.

"What sound?"

"Is there a monster underground?"

The crowd panicked and retreated.

The sound of the water grew louder and closer.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft-pfft-pfft!"

The several dozen salt springs Tuan Tuan had just found all gushed out emerald-green spring water at once!

The water flowed gently and smoothly, not rushed or agitated, like a mountain spring just thawing in spring, spreading outward layer by layer.

Everyone stared agape for a moment, then burst into earth‑shaking cheers.

"Water's out! Really out!"

"Several dozen salt springs are flowing!"

"This is a miracle of the Little Holy Maiden!"

Xiao Ningxun held Tuan Tuan and turned to walk back to the old man's side.

Tuan Tuan beamed with joy: "Grandpa, you don't need to worry! Their salt springs are also gushing water now!"

The old man nodded repeatedly, raising his hand to wipe away the tears at the corners of his eyes.

Unexpectedly, Little Egg suddenly boinged up.

Everyone looked up and saw that where he had just been sitting, water was bubbling out.

Little Egg himself, looking aggrieved, covered his buttocks with his hands, his long fur dripping water drop by drop, a sight as hilarious as could be.

Everyone couldn't help bursting into laughter.

"Is he being pushed up by the spring water?"

"Hahaha, his butt's all wet!"

"This Sharden is really adorable!"

Little Egg looked at Tuan Tuan with a wronged expression, emitting a whiny, sobbing sound, as if tattling.

Tuan Tuan laughed, leaning straight into her brother's embrace.

The old man also laughed, glancing at the aggrieved Little Egg and then at Tuan Tuan: "Little Holy Maiden, does he need to keep following you?"

Tuan Tuan nodded: "Yeah! He's my Little Egg!"

The old man turned and shouted to the tribespeople: "Bring the new felt for setting up the tent!"

Several men ran off at his call, and shortly returned, carrying together a long roll of felt.

The old man pointed at the felt: "Although his fur is long, we should still wrap him up a bit. This felt looks big enough, just right."

Tuan Tuan didn't understand: "Wrap it up?"

Xiao Ningyuan slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing: "Right! The old man's right!"

"Tuan Tuan, have Little Egg lie down and make him a simple outfit to wear."

Tuan Tuan understood: "Yeah! Little Egg only has fur, no clothes!"

She looked up at Little Egg, pointing with her small hand at a nearby flat open space, gesturing:

"Little Egg, lie down! Lie down!"

Little Egg glanced at her, then obediently walked over and flopped down onto the ground.

The tribespeople swarmed forward—some lifting the felt, some cutting it, some looking for rope—busy as bees.

The women weren't idle either, handing over rope and offering ideas from the side.

"Pull this side tighter!"

"Cover the back with a piece too!"

"The waist there must be tied tight, or else it'll fall off after just two steps!"

"After a moment, Xiao Dan Dan stood up, a thick piece of felt wrapped around his waist and tightly tied with rope, like a large apron, covering his front and back."

"Tuan Tuan clapped her little hands, overjoyed: 'Xiao Dan Dan, you look so pretty! Right, Xiao An'an?'"

"Kang An looked at the standing Xiao Dan Dan, his head almost tipping back: 'Yes! Pretty!'"

Xiao Dan Dan lowered his head to look at himself, grinned, and clumsily lifted his two big hands, imitating Tuan Tuan's clap.

"Pa! Pa!"

The sound was dull and loud, like two Wooden planks being slapped together.

Everyone burst into laughter again.

Tuan Tuan waved at the crowd: "Thank you for making clothes for Xiao Dan Dan!"

The tribespeople waved their hands: "No need to thank us! Compared to what you've done for us, this is nothing!"

The old man stared intently at Tuan Tuan, pondered for a moment: "Aletay, go to my tent and fetch the box from my bedside."

Aletay started: "Have you decided?"

The old man solemnly nodded: "Go."

Aletay turned and ran, soon returning with a box held in both hands, kneeling on both knees and raising the box high above his head.

The old man opened the box lid and took out a multicolored stone.

All the tribespeople knelt in unison, each with a solemn expression.

The group looked at each other, wondering what was happening.

The old man walked up to Tuan Tuan and handed her the stone: "Our scattered tribes have always struggled to survive because of our weakness."

"We have long hoped for someone who could lead us out of hardship to be our chief, but in over a hundred years we have never found such a person."

"Little Holy Maiden, you have done it."

"Please accept this salt crystal as the token of the chief. With it, not only the Kucha Kingdom but all the scattered tribes of the Western Regions will acknowledge you as their lord."

"If called upon, we would not hesitate to die."

The crowd was shocked upon hearing this.

Tuan Tuan pointed at herself: "Me? Chief? But I'll be returning to the Fierce Kingdom soon!"

The old man smiled: "Whether you are in the Fierce Kingdom or Western Lu, you are our chief."

Xiao Ningyuan looked at the small tribe: "Old man, can you decide things alone? Do we need all the tribes present?"

The old man nodded: "Young man, our scattered tribes have always had a rule that everyone agrees upon."

"That is, whoever can let us survive and live well is the chief, a tradition passed down from our ancestors."

He lowered his gaze at the salt crystal in his hand, eyes deep: "This salt crystal has been hanging unused for so many years; today, at last, it can be given away."

"We are originally scattered, so our chief does not need to stay here all the time."

He paused: "Today, the Little Holy Maiden found our salt spring and showed us a long-lasting, stable way of life, so that all of us can live better from now on."

"This is what a chief does."

"Come to think of it, the salt lake drying up overnight is clearly heaven's will sending the Little Holy Maiden here!"

Aletay's eyes reddened: "Yes! The Little Holy Maiden is our chief! We accept her! Other tribes will accept her too!"

The tribespeople shouted together: "We accept! We all accept!"

The old man placed the salt crystal into Tuan Tuan's hands: "Chief, please accept it. This is the heartfelt sentiment of hundreds of scattered tribes in the Western Regions."

Tuan Tuan looked at the salt crystal in her hand: "How beautiful! Thank you, Grandfather!"

She held it up for everyone to see: "I'm the chief now!"

The tribespeople cheered in unison: "Chief! Chief! We finally have a chief!"

Tuan Tuan looked at them: "Then, will you listen to what I say?"

"Listen!" everyone shouted in unison.

Tuan Tuan laughed: "Then I want you to..."

The crowd knelt on the ground, looking at her with eager eyes, wondering what the chief would have them do.