Chapter 18: Eel
Chu Jiu paused for half a second, then held down Little Can and said, “No, we can’t chase it!”
He pointed forward—
When the boar was running just now, it didn’t deliberately avoid the trees in the forest, but crashed straight into them.
Under the huge impact, several thick trees were either swaying precariously or had been broken in the middle, crashing down, startling countless birds to fly away, and several small animals to flee in all directions.
If they chased the boar now, not to mention whether they could catch up, they might get hit by the falling trees.
“Is this jungle boar deliberately creating obstacles?”
Little Can meowed and jumped onto Chu Jiu’s shoulder, “Get the slingshot!”
At this point, the boar’s figure had already disappeared into the forest. A simple slingshot would definitely be useless.
But Chu Jiu didn’t say a word and took out the slingshot and [exploding pine cones].
Little Can jumped onto Chu Jiu’s arm, its little paws holding the pine cone, its mouth holding the rubber band, pulling it back to the limit.
It narrowed its eyes and released the rubber band towards the upper left.
Pine cones shot out like bullets, miraculously avoiding the tangled branches, arcing through the air before hitting the tree trunk ahead with a sharp crack like a firecracker.
“Did it…miss?” Chu Jiu thought to himself.
Seconds later, a rumbling sound came from ahead—
The already tilted tree, as if weighed down by the last straw, fell forward, pinning another half-withered tree!
This half-withered tree, though not rammed by the boar, couldn’t withstand the sudden weight of the thick trunk, and also fell backward under the pressure!
Then, this series of trees, like dominoes, fell one after another with a thunderous roar!
In a short while, amidst the ear-splitting sounds that echoed through the forest, a sharp, piercing short whistle rang out.
After the whistle stopped, the forest gradually quieted down.
The startled birds and fleeing beasts also slowed down.
Little Can jumped from Chu Jiu’s arm back onto his shoulder, meowing, “Alright, the boar’s dead. Let’s go get the hooves.”
Chu Jiu, still stunned, asked, “Huh?”
What did I just…see?
Did Little Can just use a pine cone to topple a tree, then use that tree to trigger a chain reaction, and finally…crush the boar to death?
The explosion point of the pine cone, the angle of the falling tree, the position and speed of the falling trees, and the boar’s running path…
How precise would the calculations have to be to make everything “just right”?
Chu Jiu, his head filled with question marks and exclamation points, followed the fallen trees and indeed found the boar, flattened into a pancake.
Chu Jiu hesitated and asked, “How did you know…that hitting the pine cone at that spot would definitely crush the boar?”
Little Can replied, “I just saw it and knew.”
Chu Jiu was speechless.
Perhaps the cat’s brain capacity wasn’t as small as he thought?
Chu Jiu began gathering materials and said, “By the way, why did the boar start running as soon as it heard you purring?”
Little Can meowed, “Hmph!”
Chu Jiu pondered for a moment, “So boars are afraid of cats. That’s a new discovery.”
Little Can meowed, “Huh?”
Chu Jiu collected 10 Fresh Pig Hooves, 99 Premium Pork, 99 Hard Pig Bristles, 30 Rough but Sturdy Beast Leather, 4 Sharp Beast Teeth…and other valuable materials, patted Little Can’s head, and smiled, “Anyway, you were amazing!”
“There’s enough meat here for us to eat through the winter!”
Little Can looked calm, seemingly indifferent to Chu Jiu’s praise.
But its blue eyes, which couldn’t help but narrow into slits, betrayed its inner thoughts: “Hehe, I got praised! So happy!”
*
After thoroughly scavenging the fallen boar’s small material cache, it was time to find a place to spend the night.
Chu Jiu used his Camper’s Intuition and followed the flying hamster.
As before, whenever the chubby golden hamster appeared out of nowhere, Little Can would stare at it with wide eyes, occasionally reaching out its paws to scratch at it, as if trying to catch the flying hamster and rub it like a toy.
The hamster had to flap its wings as hard as it could, trying to fly higher and farther away from Little Can’s clutches.
The hamster flew for about an hour, leading the person and cat to their camping destination: the Clear Lake.
Clear Lake:
Here, you can collect fresh, sweet lake water, perfect for making tea.
Not only humans enjoy the lake water, but various animals do as well.
To peacefully enjoy the lake water, the animals have formed a tacit agreement: no attacks near the lake.
No matter how weak the creature, once it stays by the lake, it’s like entering a sanctuary.
For humans, whether boiling water for tea or grilling in the breeze, no disasters will befall them.
However:
You must not hunt creatures here for food.
You must not stay for more than 12 hours.
Otherwise, all creatures will gradually lose consciousness and eventually collapse on the shore, becoming fertilizer for the plants.
The lakeshore was indeed dotted with various animals.
A golden armored crocodile crawled slowly through the lakeside mud, ignoring the tapir rooting nearby. A jade peacock descended from the sky, its magnificent feathers reflecting a mesmerizing light in the sunset, and landed gracefully beside a saber-toothed beast, lowering its long neck to drink water.
A scene of peace and harmony.
Chu Jiu, pleased with the sight, said to Little Can, “This place is nice. The shore is wide and flat, enough for us to set up a tent.”
He had learned the recipe for a Simple Wilderness Tent from his Hunter’s Handbook, but hadn’t found a suitable place in the dense forest until now.
Chu Jiu took out coarse linen cloth, pointed wooden sticks, long wooden planks, leather, and woodworking tools, and activated the Simple Tent with his spiritual energy.
The pointed wooden sticks inserted themselves into the ground, the linen cloth flew up and wrapped around the wooden planks…
The materials and tools danced in the air, methodically setting up the tent.
Chu Jiu wasn’t idle either.
He gathered firewood and flint, started a campfire, and prepared to grill two eels he had picked earlier that morning.
That’s right, picked eels.
[Ribbon Silver Eels: These are peculiar fish. They live on the branches of smooth-barked frost flower trees, their bodies flat and shimmering with a faint silver light, swaying in the wind like ribbons tied to the branches.
But they are indeed fish.
No one knows why they appear in the treetops. It can only be speculated that they live in streams as juveniles and quietly climb onto trees to suck sap as they mature.
A philosopher once believed that eels “neither lay eggs nor mate; they grow out of thin air, a mysterious miracle,” and this saying couldn’t be more fitting to describe the Ribbon Silver Eel.
Collection Location: Deep within the Forgotten Forest]
Chu Jiu spread this “mysterious miracle” flat on clean grass leaves and, with a single stroke from neck to tail, neatly cut it into two pieces.
He then cut these two large pieces into smaller chunks, seasoned them with salt, skewered them onto wooden sticks, and roasted them over the fire, brushing them with a thin layer of Bloodthirsty Bee Honey as they cooked.
The rose-colored honey evenly coated the tender white eel meat, turning each piece into an enticing caramel color.
The fish sizzled, and the skin gradually curled.
Little Can was mesmerized, its little nose twitching in the evening breeze, capturing the tempting sweet aroma in the air.
Soon, the eel was cooked.
Chu Jiu held a wooden skewer to Little Can’s mouth, “Here, eat.”
Little Can hesitated for a second, then took a step back, meowing, “You cooked it, you eat first.”
Chu Jiu was a bit surprised, teasing the cat, “Huh? I thought you said fish jerky was absolutely non-negotiable?”
Little Can tilted its head, replying seriously, “It’s different.”
Chu Jiu smiled, “Different? Because grilled eel isn’t dried fish?”
Little Can turned its head away, not answering.
Chu Jiu stopped teasing it, took a skewer for himself, and held the rest out to Little Can, “Alright, let’s share.”
Little Can finally bit into the eel, instantly devouring the meat.
The sweet honey perfectly enveloped the fish, seeping into its fibers. With each bite, the natural smoothness of the fish, the rich sweetness of the honey, and the smoky aroma of the wood intertwined in their mouths, making both human and cat half-close their eyes in unison, exclaiming:
“So delicious…”
“Meow…”
Little Can devoured most of the eel.
Chu Jiu ate two skewers, then roasted some hot, fragrant Crispy Sweet Potatoes over the fire. He sat by the fire, slowly peeling the sweet potatoes, watching the lake nearby, chatting with Little Can.
Of course, Little Can didn’t initiate any conversation.
But that didn’t dampen Chu Jiu’s enthusiasm.
In his previous life, he wasn’t a talkative person, nor did he have any urge to confide in his roommates or classmates.
But with a little cat, he could say whatever came to mind without restraint.
After chatting for a while, Chu Jiu checked the status of the Rawr Rawr Rabbit on the backend panel again.
Since leaving the Rawr Rawr Rabbit alone, Chu Jiu had checked its Spirit Beast Status several times a day.
The Rawr Rawr Rabbit seemed to be in a good mood, with a heart still floating above its chibi icon. The field work was also progressing smoothly, without needing any additional instructions from Chu Jiu.
The sweet potatoes were gone.
Chu Jiu licked his lips and stretched contentedly, “The tent’s set up. Let’s wash up by the lake and get ready to sleep.”
Although the tent’s interior was cramped, and he couldn’t even stretch his legs inside, Chu Jiu had never slept in a tent before and was a little excited.
However, at that moment, a “clang” and “crash” came from behind, startling the nearby dozing monkeys into climbing up the trees.
Looking by the firelight, the newly erected tent had fallen apart!
That shouldn’t be!
Things made with spiritual energy according to the recipe shouldn’t be shoddy, falling apart with a single touch!
Just as Chu Jiu was about to get up and check, Little Can jumped in front of him, meowing solemnly, “Don’t move, I’ll check.”
Without waiting for Chu Jiu’s response, Little Can leaped forward, landing in front of the ruined tent, and pressed its paw firmly on the ground.
Tss…
It sounded like branches rubbing together.
Then, Little Can let out a fierce “meow,” and ducked its head down to pick something up, quickly running back to Chu Jiu and dropping the object on the ground, pinning it down with its paws.
“Gurgle…weep…”
“Weep weep weep…”
The little thing on the ground started to wail, growing louder and louder.
Chu Jiu looked closely and found that this loud little thing was a…
Sapling?
