Chapter 20
A yellow leaf fell onto the grass, carried by the wind from somewhere unknown.
Shi Nuo bent down and picked it up, suddenly aware of the changing season.
He sat by the door, cleaning vegetables, the yellow leaf resting on the ground beside him, lifted and tossed by the wind.
Hugh emerged from the house, his hair slightly disheveled, his eyes still sleepy.
They had slept together in the bedroom last night. When Shi Nuo woke up, Hugh was also awake but hadn’t gotten up, simply turning over and closing his eyes again. Shi Nuo had quietly eaten breakfast and gone out to gather vegetables, not wanting to disturb him.
The tall man leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed, and looked lazily at Shi Nuo sitting on the small stool.
One sitting, one standing, the presence of the man behind him strong despite his silence.
The yellow leaf drifted in front of Shi Nuo, and he paused in his work, then sat up straight and turned to ask softly, “Mr. Elvis, is autumn approaching?”
His tone was polite and respectful.
Hugh’s gaze fell on the swirling leaf. The wind ruffled his hair. Hearing the question, he looked at Shi Nuo, his voice still hoarse from sleep, “Yes, early autumn is here.”
“How long is autumn? Are there four seasons here, like spring, summer, autumn, and winter?” Shi Nuo asked.
The seasonal divisions varied on different planets. Some had snow seasons, rainy seasons, wind seasons, dry seasons, and other relatively normal variations. But the most suitable for human habitation were the more temperate four seasons.
Hugh, surprised by Shi Nuo’s sudden talkativeness, glanced at him, then looked towards the faint outline of distant mountains. “Yes, four seasons. Autumn is four months long, windy and rainy, transitioning from early autumn to the colder late autumn, followed by four months of winter, with heavy snow.”
He was relatively patient, adding, “Each season is four months long. A year has sixteen months, divided into four seasons.”
Winter.
Shi Nuo’s heart skipped a beat. Four months of winter. Fortunately, with four months of autumn, he had enough time to prepare food for the winter.
Wild vegetables were easy to find, but after the hurricane and thunderstorm, root vegetables like potatoes were scarce.
Afraid of asking too many questions and annoying the Alpha, but even more afraid of another extreme weather event destroying the plants, Shi Nuo continued, “Was the storm, like the one before, a common occurrence?”
Hugh’s expression remained calm. “Not common. I’ve only encountered three in all these years. It’s unlikely to happen again this year.”
Remembering Shi Nuo’s fear during the hurricane and thunderstorm, he felt a rare surge of compassion and added, “The climate here is generally mild.”
His tone was casual, his expression aloof, his voice not particularly gentle. His attempt at comfort sounded almost indifferent.
“Mm,” Shi Nuo nodded seriously, not realizing it was meant to be comforting, but feeling reassured nonetheless. He turned back and continued cleaning his vegetables.
Hugh watched him for a moment. He didn’t eat plants and had no interest in them. He identified the vegetables in Shi Nuo’s hands, saw they weren’t poisonous, and didn’t comment.
A windy autumn was fine. The lower temperature meant it would just be colder, and he had warm clothes. But heavy rain would be a problem.
Shi Nuo pondered this as he worked. There might be mushrooms after the rain, but so far, he hadn’t found any edible ones.
Remembering the trees blown down by the wind and lightning, he thought that with enough rain, there might be wood ear mushrooms growing on them. And not just wood ear, but other types of mushrooms as well.
This thought filled him with a sudden surge of energy. He had only been gathering vegetables nearby so far and hadn’t ventured further out.
He quickly finished cleaning the two buckets of vegetables. The sun was strong, and leaving them outside would wilt them, so he took them to the kitchen, then came back out with the empty buckets.
He often went out, busying himself in the wilderness, only to return with a pile of vegetables. Hugh Elvis had grown accustomed to this.
As Shi Nuo left the house, passing by Hugh, the tall, muscular man vanished in a flash of white light, replaced by the giant wolf.
Hugh preferred his unrestrained beast form.
Shi Nuo went straight to a large fallen tree. Wild grass had grown around it, almost obscuring the trunk, and moss, damp and slippery, covered the bark.
He picked up a branch and, parting the grass, carefully examined the tree. Apart from moss and a few small lizards and insects, there was nothing else.
Having gathered vegetables in the surrounding area frequently, Shi Nuo had a general idea of where the fallen trees were.
He searched several locations but found no wood ear mushrooms, only the unsettling red and white spotted mushrooms he had seen before, which he didn’t dare touch.
He usually managed to fill two buckets with wild vegetables, but today, after walking for a long time, he had found nothing.
The white wolf, which had been lazily patrolling its core territory, frowned, realizing the Omega was searching for something, and approached him.
“What are you looking for?”
The familiar deep voice startled Shi Nuo, but he quickly recovered. Beastmen had the ability to speak.
The momentary disappointment of not finding anything quickly faded. He hadn’t had high hopes anyway. “I thought there might be wood ear mushrooms or other mushrooms growing on the trees after the rain,” he replied honestly.
He then spotted a patch of round-leaf vegetables, took out his wooden board from the bucket, and squatted down to dig.
The white wolf considered this for a moment, then looked towards the northwest.
Across the river, further away, lay a range of low hills covered in dense forest. There might be wood ear mushrooms and other mushrooms there.
The plains also had areas with abundant natural resources, but due to the specific species and the current temperature and humidity, some edible plants and fungi hadn’t emerged yet.
“I know where to find some,” the white wolf said.
Shi Nuo, who had just dug up a few vegetables, looked up, his eyes lighting up.
The white wolf shrunk to its smaller size, approached him, and lowered its body, gesturing for him to climb on.
Shi Nuo put the wooden board in the bucket, gripped the handles tightly with one hand, and hesitantly climbed onto the wolf’s back. He was still a bit nervous, remembering how he had almost been overwhelmed by the Alpha’s pheromones after touching him before, but he was also afraid of annoying the wolf by hesitating too long.
He sat stiffly, afraid to move too much, worried about being too heavy.
The white wolf took a few steps, felt the unsteady person on its back, his legs rigid, and growled, “Lie down and hold on tight.”
The forest was far, and they had to cross the river. It preferred to run at full speed, and the Omega would easily fall off if he sat upright.
Shi Nuo carefully lay down on the wolf’s back, holding the buckets with his left hand and cautiously gripping a handful of white fur with his right.
As the white wolf began to run, he clung to it tightly, his legs instinctively wrapping around the wolf’s body, his arms around its neck.
The wind whistled past his ears, the scenery blurring.
The wide river approached, and the white wolf leaped across it, landing gracefully on a few rocks protruding from the water.
The seemingly insurmountable obstacle was crossed with ease. The white wolf continued running, and Shi Nuo couldn’t help but look back at the shimmering water surface receding behind them.
A few minutes later, the white wolf slowed down and entered a forest.
Shi Nuo slid off its back, looked around, and saw a shady forest with tall trees, sunlight filtering through the leaves, the air filled with birdsong.
This was a pristine forest, untouched by humans.
The ground was uneven, covered in vegetation, making it difficult to walk.
Shi Nuo had no experience hiking in a forest and stumbled after a few steps. He seemed to hear a sigh, then felt his shirt being tugged by the white wolf beside him.
After he sat down, the white wolf, wasting no time, quickly ascended the slope.
They passed by a giant tree, and the view opened up before them.
Yellow, white, and green mushrooms grew in clusters everywhere, large and small, covering the hillside like a mushroom kingdom.
The white wolf’s keen sense of smell told it that many of these mushrooms were non-toxic.
Shi Nuo, seeing so many mushrooms for the first time, was both surprised and delighted. He grabbed his buckets and hurried towards the nearest pale yellow mushroom.
The mushroom had a round, plump stem and a rounded cap, looking like the cute mushrooms from fairy tales and cartoons.
The white wolf walked leisurely, glancing up at the trees. There were no wood ear mushrooms, but the abundance of other mushrooms should be enough for the Omega for a while.
If he wanted wood ear mushrooms, it could search for some.
Turning its head, it saw the Omega hesitating and said, “They’re not poisonous. The yellow ones here are all safe to eat, and the light green ones too. But avoid the purple ones. Don’t touch them.”
Shi Nuo, who had been worried about poisonous mushrooms, listened attentively, a faint smile appearing on his face. “Okay, I’ll remember that.”
Seeing the Omega smile, a small, subtle smile, but a smile nonetheless, the white wolf flicked its tail, maintaining an air of aloofness, its inherent pride and nobility intact.
Shi Nuo, his steps light, immersed himself in the world of mushrooms, picking them one by one and placing them in his buckets.
The plump, fresh mushrooms were so appealing, some even emitting a faint, pleasant fragrance. He became greedy, his hands working busily.
The mushrooms here hadn’t been harvested before, though there were signs of animals having nibbled on some.
There were also signs of decay, mushrooms returning to the earth from which they sprang.
Shi Nuo was overjoyed. Even after filling both buckets, he still felt reluctant to leave.
The buckets were filled with yellow and light green mushrooms, no other colors. With no hospital nearby, he was cautious, afraid of picking poisonous ones.
He straightened up and realized he was alone. He had been too engrossed in his task and hadn’t noticed the white wolf’s movements.
The forest was quiet, the dense canopy blocking out most of the sky. Shi Nuo froze.
Suppressing his panic, he called out, “Mr. Elvis.”
His voice was soft, swallowed by the quiet forest. There was no reply.
A moment later, the white wolf emerged from the dense trees, carrying a branch laden with red berries.
The branch sagged under the weight of the large, juicy berries.
Shi Nuo hadn’t had fruit in a long time. He had found some small berries on the plain before, but they hadn’t tasted very good. These red berries emitted a sweet, mouthwatering fragrance.
The white wolf left the forest and headed back the way they had come. Shi Nuo clung to its back, gripping the bucket handles tightly, his joy overflowing. For the first time, he was eager to return. He would have mushrooms and berries to eat!
