Chapter 69
The muddy path was slippery and difficult to walk. He used a hoe to probe the path, walking forward one step at a time. After a dozen or so minutes, Hua Shi’an turned his head to see that the reed bed was still not far behind.
It was too slow and inefficient. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to finish exploring the wetland in three days and three nights. Hua Shi’an stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then shouldered his hoe and decisively turned back.
Returning to the reed bed, Hua Shi’an took off his back basket and threw it, along with the hoe, into the dense reeds.
Yan Zhile was puzzled and was wondering if he should do the same when, in the next instant, the tall and slender black-haired young man disappeared, and in his place was a brown-furred chipmunk with a round head and puffed-out cheeks.
Smaller than all the other squirrels, the brown-gray chipmunk blended in with the wet mud on the ground. Its black and bright eyes were like deep obsidian. The miniature coir shirt and coir skirt were particularly close-fitting, and the distinct fur poked out from the seams of the clothes, swaying with the wind, a mix of comical and playful cuteness.
So small, so cute.
It wasn’t the first time he had seen it, but Yan Zhile was still mesmerized.
At this moment, Hua Shi’an was no longer the high and mighty, revered Lord Priest. He was a chipmunk, a soft and small chipmunk that needed protection.
“Squeak—”
A cry brought him back to his senses. Yan Zhile’s eyes refocused to see the chipmunk standing on its hind legs like a human, its two front paws gesturing in the air.
A normal person would definitely not understand what he was trying to express. But Yan Zhile was not a normal person. He followed his example, threw his back basket and hoe into the reeds, and with a “plop,” turned into a dusty rock squirrel.
The chipmunk led the way, and the rock squirrel followed closely behind. The light and nimble little squirrels “swooshed” out, moving rapidly through the muddy and weedy wetland as if on flat ground.
Their beast forms were small and light, making them faster and without the worry of accidentally stepping into a bog. First, they would explore in their beast forms, and when they found something useful, they would change back to their human forms to pick it. Mm, a very perfect plan.
The only troublesome part was… there was a bit too much wet mud, which easily stuck to their paws.
After running for a short distance, Hua Shi’an had to shake his paws, or they would be too heavy to lift. But with this shake, the mud splattered on his fur. He hadn’t gone far, but he was already covered in mud, looking particularly pathetic.
Fortunately, it was not without its rewards. The two mud squirrels started exploring from the right side, stopping and starting, going in and out of the bushes. Before long, they found a water-filled depression deep in the wetland.
Upon closer inspection, the depression was like a pond that had almost dried up in the dry season. The water was shallow and clear, estimated to be less than half a meter deep, and the thick mud at the bottom was faintly visible. Fearing it was a bog, Hua Shi’an had not wanted to get close, but the green aquatic plants on the water were particularly conspicuous, and one look was enough to make him unable to move.
After many days, the emerald green lotus leaves had completely unfurled, like green jade plates, spreading out on the water in layers, swaying gently with the breeze.
It was not just the lotus that was dominant. Another plant grew under the lotus leaves. Its leaves were diamond-shaped and grew close to the water surface, one clump after another, densely packed. At first glance, it looked very much like the fast-reproducing, ineradicable water hyacinth.
But amidst the vibrant green, there were specks of white, as if paint had been spilled into the green pond, or as if butterflies had been attracted by the green leaves and had willingly stayed in the green foliage.
Yellow stamens and white flowers, diamond-shaped leaves. This was not water hyacinth. This was water caltrop. When its fruit ripened, it looked very much like a water buffalo’s horn, also known as a water peanut. It was edible, and even very delicious.
He was hungry. The chipmunk licked its little mouth, but it had no intention of going down to investigate. He turned his head and chirped to the side, and with the rock squirrel, he walked along the edge of the wetland, continuing to explore deeper.
Water caltrops and lotus roots were not yet ripe this season. He wouldn’t find anything if he went down to look. It was feasible to dig some up and plant them, but the tribe had no pond at the moment, so there was nowhere to plant them.
He would let them grow naturally, as if they were in his backyard. It wouldn’t be too late to come back and pick them when they were ripe.
As if it had experienced a localized, extremely heavy downpour, the area around the depression was all flooded.
The road was even more difficult to walk. One step, one pit, and he had to pull his paws out of the muddy water like pulling a radish. But the discovery just now had given Hua Shi’an a shot of adrenaline. His speed did not decrease but increased, and he ran freely through the jungle.
However, just as he had picked up speed and had not yet left the range of the depression, he heard a squeak, a short and sharp cry that broke the silence from behind. The chipmunk’s front paws pushed forward, and he came to an emergency stop. He abruptly turned his head to see that the rock squirrel that had been following him was gone.
Where did he go?! Hua Shi’an’s heart “thumped.” His heart instantly jumped into his throat, and he anxiously turned back and ran.
About a minute later, after running back four or five trees, Hua Shi’an saw the rock squirrel in a mud pit on the way they had come, a rock squirrel covered in mud, rolling in the mud pit.
As if it had been bitten by something, the panicked rock squirrel was squeaking and screaming, rolling frantically, and struggling desperately. The water in the mud pit was stirred up. Not to mention seeing what it was, even the rock squirrel was almost invisible. All that was left was the splashing of yellow, muddy water.
The temperature was rising, and there were very likely to be snakes in this kind of wetland. Hua Shi’an didn’t dare to delay for a moment. His four legs were a blur as he hurried forward.
By the time he reached the edge of the mud pit, Hua Shi’an had already changed back to his human form. He reached out without hesitation and scooped up the extremely panicked rock squirrel.
The rock squirrel had turned into a mud squirrel. He couldn’t even see where its eyes and nose were. It was still dripping yellow soup in his hand. But pulling out the radish brought out the mud. The arthropod hanging from its right paw was in plain view.
It had a shell, and pincers, and was four fingers wide. At first glance, Hua Shi’an thought it was a scorpion. But after wiping away the mud and taking a closer look, it was red, with a relatively thick head and chest, and a thick, cylindrical body. Hua Shi’an’s pupils suddenly contracted. Isn’t this a crayfish!
“Hiss.”
His palm was suddenly kicked, and Hua Shi’an sucked in a breath of cold air in pain.
The rock squirrel was terrified and treated his hand as an enemy, kicking and kicking, struggling with all its might. Hua Shi’an was both angry and amused. He grabbed the crayfish’s pincers and tried to pry them open for him.
The pincers were clamped tight, and the rock squirrel was not cooperating. After a long struggle, the pincers were not pried open, and Hua Shi’an had a face full of muddy water.
Panic makes people lose their minds. Almost forgetting that he was also a person inside, Hua Shi’an let go of the crayfish’s pincers, patted the rock squirrel’s head, and comforted him softly, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t be anxious. It’s just a little bug. Don’t just struggle. You’re a person. Change back to your human form first.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the struggling rock squirrel suddenly froze. It seemed that it had finally remembered that it could change back to its human form. It opened its eyes and glanced at Hua Shi’an, a weak whimper escaping its lips, signaling Hua Shi’an to put it down.
He had accidentally understood his meaning. Hua Shi’an put him back on the ground and watched as the mud squirrel turned into a mud man. The crayfish’s pincers still hadn’t let go. They were still where they had been, tightly clamped on his right index finger.
“Lord Priest, wuwuwu, my paw, my hand.”
He had used too much strength struggling. Yan Zhile lay in the mud, unable to sit up for a long time. His right hand, with the crayfish hanging from it, was suspended in mid-air. He pouted and sniffled, looking so pitiful.
His face was covered in muddy water, so he couldn’t see his expression, but from his voice, it sounded like he was crying.
Hua Shi’an’s heart instantly clenched. He took two steps forward, helped him up, and then sat beside him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder and hugging him. “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. I’m here. Give me your hand. Don’t move. I’ll help you pry it open now.”
Yan Zhile grunted sullenly, handed his hand to Hua Shi’an, and tilted his head slightly, resting it on his shoulder.
It was much easier when he wasn’t moving. Hua Shi’an pinched the top and bottom of the shrimp’s pincer and pulled hard. With a “crack,” the crab’s pincer broke in two, and the sub-beast’s clamped index finger was saved.
The crayfish was large and strong. The sub-beast’s clamped index finger had a jagged red mark and was slightly swollen. Hua Shi’an caught the culprit and decisively broke off its two large pincers, then held Yan Zhile’s index finger and blew on it a couple of times.
“Alright, alright, it’s off. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
A gentle voice brushed past his ear like a gentle breeze, but his thin body had an incredibly warm embrace. Yan Zhile had already calmed down, but his head was a little out of control, and he kept rubbing against Hua Shi’an’s embrace. “Lord Priest, I was so scared just now. I was running and suddenly my paw was bitten. I thought, I thought… I was going to die.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ve broken the bad crayfish’s pincers. It can’t clamp people anymore. Look.”
He had intended to comfort him. Hua Shi’an held out his hand and held the crayfish up to Yan Zhile. But who would have thought that upon seeing this kind of arthropod for the first time, Yan Zhile’s face would change drastically. He used all his strength to break free from Hua Shi’an’s embrace, shot up from the ground, and staggered back, creating some distance.
He really looked like he had seen a ghost. He pointed at the ferocious crayfish, his face filled with terror, his hands and lips trembling. “What, what the hell is this? Was this the thing that bit me just now? It’s over, it’s over. A brightly colored bug is definitely poisonous. Am I going to die? Lord Priest, you should throw it away quickly, throw—”
“Calm down, calm down a little.” Hua Shi’an rubbed his temples and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Don’t be so nervous. The Lord Priest is not a fool. Of course, I’m holding it in my hand because I recognize it.”
“This, this is called a crayfish. It didn’t bite you just now. It clamped you with its big pincers. Don’t be fooled by its ugly appearance. Not only is it not poisonous, but it’s also edible, very delicious and fragrant.”
“Eat?” Yan Zhile’s brow furrowed, and his body hair was all resisting. “No, no, no. The tribe is not short of food now. I, I don’t want to eat bugs. Lord Priest, you should just throw it away.”
“Throw it far away,” he added in a low voice.
Throwing it away was impossible. A rare delicacy, not only could it not be thrown away, but he even had to go and find more. Crayfish were also social animals. If there was one, there would be many. If he could catch a few more…
Garlic crayfish, spicy crayfish, steamed crayfish. Hua Shi’an was hungry.
The top priority was to comfort the sub-beastman. Hua Shi’an hid the crayfish behind his back and made up a story with a straight face, “A crayfish is actually not a bug. I just said it in a hurry just now. A crayfish is a kind of aquatic creature, the same as the fish and small shrimp in the river. Why don’t you take another closer look?”
“No, no, I don’t want to look.” Yan Zhile’s head shook like a rattle.
Hua Shi’an said tentatively, “Then I’ll find some leaves to wrap it up? If you can’t see it, you won’t be afraid.”
Yan Zhile nodded like a chick pecking at rice, as a compromise.
The trees around were sparse and tall, so he couldn’t pick any leaves.
Hua Shi’an looked around and casually grabbed a handful of green grass from a nearby patch. But with just this one handful, he suddenly froze. The crayfish he had been reluctant to throw away fell to the ground with a “thud,” and he instead treasured the handful of weeds.
The soil was wet and soft, and the weeds were uprooted. Among the handful of inconspicuous weeds, there were two blades of grass with particularly long, white, and tender roots, somewhat similar to the roots of a garlic sprout. The roots were long, the stems were thin, and the leaves were emerald green, with a relatively rough surface and fine hairs.
This was—
Hua Shi’an’s fingertips gently brushed over the leaves. His hands were trembling, and his heart was pounding, almost jumping out of his throat.
A rice seedling.
The rice seedling he had been thinking about day and night!
