Chapter 31: Swamp
To quickly improve soil fertility in the short term, chemical fertilizer is undoubtedly the fastest solution.
Chu Jiu went through all the materials he had collected, one by one.
Sure enough, there was saltpeter in his backpack.
Chu Jiu knew that crushing the saltpeter, soaking it in water, and then filtering it would purify it. Mixing the purified saltpeter with concentrated sulfuric acid would produce potassium nitrate, a usable fertilizer.
But up to now, he hadn’t collected any materials that could be used to make sulfuric acid.
If he couldn’t make fertilizer, was there any other way?
Frowning, Chu Jiu looked out the studio window toward the courtyard.
In the yard, the Bodo Bird was walking around, occasionally pecking at the ground as if it had eaten a bug.
Bugs in the soil…
—Wait!
Bugs in the soil! That’s it!
Chu Jiu’s eyes lit up.
Then he closed his eyes, suppressing his discomfort, and began to carefully recall a slimy, wriggly, long creature…
Moments later, a small star lit up on a dark, unexplored part of the map deep within the Forgotten Forest: [Gratitude Worm Collection Site].
Chu Jiu let out a long breath and turned to the little Can on standby. “Little Can, tomorrow we’re heading out to dig up worms.”
Little Can’s ears twitched. “…Worms?”
Chu Jiu grinned. “Yep! Worms!”
“How could I forget how much of an impact such tiny creatures can have on the soil?”
“Where I’m from, there are even people who believe that ‘if it weren’t for earthworms constantly reshaping the soil, humans never could’ve built large-scale cities.’”
“Before fertilizers and machinery, earthworms were the best way to maintain soil fertility!”
[Gratitude Worm: Though they’re quite a bit larger now, they really aren’t snakes—they’re just the kind of creatures that burrow through soil and improve fertility!
They’re just really, really big… big enough that you can clearly see their brown heads, fleshy red bodies, stiff bristles underneath, and ugly round mouths.
Oh, and aside from that mouth, they don’t have anything else on their faces.
Sure, they’re ugly and a little gross, but they won’t bite you—they just quietly munch on humus underground.
And rumor has it, in some places they’re even considered a delicacy. Want to give them a try?
Collection Site: Southeastern edge of the Forgotten Forest]
The Gratitude Worm was exactly what Chu Jiu was looking for—something that could “eat and poop out” soil to improve its condition.
Soon, the Bodo Bird carried Chu Jiu to the [Gratitude Worm Collection Site] marked on the map.
The place turned out to be an old swamp.
Fortunately, the Bodo Bird was smart enough to sense danger from afar and didn’t charge straight in. Instead, it slowed down and stopped at a safe spot near the edge.
Once they landed, the bird stretched its neck toward the swamp and let out a nervous cry.
Chu Jiu knew what it was afraid of.
Above the swamp—where bubbles occasionally blubbed and black mist sometimes puffed out—swarms of [Giant Bloodsucking Mosquitoes] flew, along with writhing blobs of [Gray Goo Monsters].
Chu Jiu patted the Bodo Bird on the head. “It’s okay. Just hide somewhere safe.”
The bird obediently darted into the woods, disappearing from sight.
Little Can, who had been through countless adventures with Chu Jiu, remained calm as ever.
The little guy stared at the monsters ahead and meowed, “Do we fight?”
Chu Jiu replied, “Hold on. Worms first.”
At the swamp’s edge, he spread out a thick layer of [Nearly Rotten Apple Bits].
Earthworms love sweet stuff, and this bait, reeking with sweetness, would be a gourmet treat to them.
Once the bait was in place, Chu Jiu quietly hid.
It didn’t take long before the soil by the bank started to shift.
Soon, several fat, fleshy red segmented creatures—each as thick as an arm—wiggled up from the black mud.
Although Chu Jiu had already visualized their appearance in detail, seeing the slimy, twisting, mucus-covered creatures in real life still made him instinctively step back.
To be honest, he had no fear of other monsters—snake beasts, sand scorpions, you name it.
But worms? Even regular, non-magical earthworms creeped him out.
Which probably explained why he had subconsciously avoided the idea of using worms when first thinking about soil fertility.
Chu Jiu took a deep breath and reminded himself: It’s fine, really. They’re ugly, sure, but they’re harmless. They’re Gratitude Worms—beneficial to the land!
All he had to do was approach them, gently pick one up, and place it in the bamboo cage to bring it back home and restore his soil.
Go, Chu Jiu!
Just as he was psyching himself up—
“Whoosh!”
Little Can leapt off his shoulder like a flash of lightning.
Before Chu Jiu could even process what happened, the worms were already inside the bamboo cage.
Chu Jiu: …?
Little Can silently hopped back onto Chu Jiu’s shoulder.
Chu Jiu patted the little cat’s head, both relieved and grateful. “Thanks, Little Can! That was a huge help!”
Little Can held his head high and simply let out a proud “meow” in response.
Chu Jiu knew full well—the little guy might act indifferent, but he was definitely pleased with himself.
He gave the cat another pat and smiled as he shut the cage lid.
His backpack had plenty of room, but it couldn’t store live animals. So, if he wanted to bring the worms back intact, he’d have to carry them by hand.
Still, he couldn’t leave just yet.
Even though their movements had been light, the disturbance in the air had alerted the swamp’s residents.
A few giant mosquitoes buzzed toward him.
Chu Jiu calmly pulled out his [Indestructible Bug Net].
This net, crafted from [Treasure Spider Silk] and [Super Durable Bamboo Poles], was strong enough to hold even a sand scorpion. Catching mosquitoes would be a breeze.
And sure enough—
Chu Jiu swung the net hard, trapping several mosquitoes the size of washbasins.
Before they could react, Little Can had already notched arrows; as the net came down, he loosed several bamboo arrows, piercing the mosquitoes clean through.
In no time at all, Chu Jiu had collected 10 units of [Intensely Itchy Poison].
The rest of the mosquito swarm sensed danger and buzzed back to the swamp, no longer willing to come and die.
All that remained were the slow-moving Gray Goo Monsters.
These resembled slimes but were much more aggressive.
They’d lurk in the shadows, slowly morphing and reshaping themselves. Once transformed, they’d trap prey like a plastic bag and secrete digestive fluids to dissolve it into liquid for consumption.
Chu Jiu had no intention of letting them finish transforming.
He waited until they raised themselves into attack position, then lunged with his [Sharp Spear Reinforced with Shell Spikes], stabbing one right in its core.
“Squelch!”
The goo monster collapsed like a popped balloon, melting into a puddle.
Little Can wrinkled his nose at the mess.
But Chu Jiu eagerly crouched down to collect [Sticky Goo] and [Goo Monster Cores].
[Sticky Goo: Careful! It may look like ordinary mud, but its stickiness is insane. Step in it, and you’re not going anywhere.
– What to do if you do step in it? Apparently, it dissolves in alkaline liquids?]
[Goo Monster Core: Toxic! Do not eat raw!
This dull gray lump is similar to a konjac root. If you treat it like the Chinese do konjac, it might become a tasty dish!]
This world had no konjac. So if Chu Jiu wanted to make konjac chicken stew or konjac slices for hotpot, this was the only option.
He collected 6 portions of Sticky Goo and 3 Cores, then looked toward the swamp center with some regret—each goo monster only yielded one core.
Now, the remaining goo monsters, having seen their comrade go down so easily, were trembling atop the swamp, refusing to come closer.
Chu Jiu sighed and scanned the swamp perimeter for any stragglers.
Eventually, he spotted something odd: a patch of mud bubbling at strange intervals and bulging slightly—clearly something was buried underneath.
Could it be a hidden goo monster?
Chu Jiu decided to wait for it to emerge.
But what finally crawled out wasn’t a slow-moving blob of mud like a goo monster at all…
On the contrary, it was a speedy little mudball that suddenly shot out of the sludge with a whoosh, heading straight for Chu Jiu’s face!
There was no time to dodge. Just as Chu Jiu heard a loud bang, the quick-eyed and sharp-clawed Little Can leapt with a burst of power from its hind legs and slammed its front paw down hard, pinning the mudball to the ground.
The same pristine, sleek-furred little black cat that usually loathed anything dirty and had just scorned the muddy blob now found itself splattered with mud all over.
But Little Can had no time to care about the mess on its fur.
With a firm push of its right paw, it spoke in a solemn tone: “Meow, meow meow.”
Chu Jiu couldn’t understand what Little Can was saying.
But the little “mudball” pinned underneath it started trembling all over, replying in a shaky voice: “Dang dang… dang dang… dang dang…”
Little Can slightly softened its tone but didn’t release its paw. “Meow?”
Mudball: “Dang…”
Only then did Little Can nod and turn to Chu Jiu. “It says it saw its friends—the ‘grateful earthworms’—being taken by us, and it’s very worried we might eat them.”
Chu Jiu: …Well, although earthworms do provide rich protein, our current food supplies are quite ample, so we don’t need to eat them.
Little Can added, “It also says those earthworms are different from the goo monsters or bloodsucking mosquitoes. They’re not harmful beasts. They never hurt anyone—they just quietly eat and poop mud.”
Chu Jiu smiled, “Yes, we know.”
“We know they’re good worms, and we don’t want to hurt them. We’re just relocating them to another place where they can help us farm.”
Upon hearing this, the mudball seemed relieved and went from a plump, round, alert form to a limp, deflated blob.
But it didn’t stay still for long. Soon, it began wriggling and twitching again, emitting a rather uncomfortable “dang dang dang dang.”
Chu Jiu: “What’s wrong with it now?”
Little Can: “…It says it’s covered in mud and feels awful.”
Chu Jiu: “…?”
Little Can: “It also says that although it loves playing in mud pits, being coated in mud feels terrible.”
Looking at the unrecognizable mudball and then at the mud-splattered Little Can, Chu Jiu let out a helpless chuckle. “In that case, let’s give both of you a bath.”
Even though Little Can usually hated being bathed, it had no choice but to meow in reluctant agreement.
As for the mudball—Little Can didn’t even give it a chance to protest.
Chu Jiu conjured a warm basin of water using spiritual energy.
He thoroughly washed Little Can from ear tip to tail tip, making sure not a single speck of mud remained, then wrapped the little one in a cloth and set it aside.
As for the new mudball…
Chu Jiu had to scrub it over and over again.
At some point, he felt like he was peeling an onion—layer after layer of mud, never-ending. Then it felt like he was washing a demon egg—the outer mud layer had practically formed a hardened shell.
Seriously, how long had this spiritual beast been rolling around in that mud pit?
Thankfully, with the help of warm water and a boar-bristle brush, all the mud eventually came off.
Gradually, two round, fuzzy ears appeared… then a soft, limp little tail… then webbed, brown paws…
Once it was completely clean, Chu Jiu was surprised to discover the creature was actually a mini capybara, or more accurately, a “miniature capybara”!
No wonder it had called the earthworms its friends—capybaras are famously sociable, beloved by all creatures.
Only at this point did the system finally chime in:
[Spiritual beast detected.]
[This spiritual beast has lost the ability to resist. Please contain it promptly.]
The defenseless mini capybara sniffled and said, in a voice Chu Jiu could understand:
“I’m finally clean again!”
“This feels so good!”
“Dang dang, dang dang, thank you!”
The next-gen capitalist Chu Jiu, no longer hiding his “sinister motive” to lure yet another spiritual beast into working for him, said enticingly:
“You’re welcome.”
“Actually, where we live and work, you can take a bath every day!”
“If you’re willing to join us, you can enjoy a nice clean bath after every mud play session.”
The mini capybara, sitting in Chu Jiu’s palm, twitched its little ears and pointed toward the nearby swamp. “Is your mud pit this big?”
Chu Jiu: “Not quite.”
Mini capybara: “Half as big?”
Chu Jiu: “…Still no.”
The mini capybara sniffled and shook its head. “Then that’s no good. I want a big mud pit.”
Chu Jiu wasn’t giving up that easily: “But our mud pit has clean water nearby and friendly companions to play with!”
Friendly companion Little Can: “…”
The mini capybara looked up at Chu Jiu. “Then… is your mud pit the kind where you can jump in and play without getting dirty all over?”
Chu Jiu: “…Huh?”
What kind of “colorful black” logic is that?!
The mini capybara drooped its head and patted its own forehead with its front paws.
“I love playing in the mud, but I also hate getting muddy all over!”
“If only there were a way to jump in mud but stay clean—that would be perfect! Hmph hmph hmph!”
Chu Jiu: “……”
After thinking for a moment, Chu Jiu said, “If I can find a way to make that happen, would you come work with us?”
The mini capybara’s eyes lit up: “Of course!”
Chu Jiu nodded. “Alright.”
He temporarily handed the mini capybara to Little Can, then pulled out a banana traveler leaf from his pack.
This was a specialty of the Sunny Plateau, with better waterproof properties than a single bamboo leaf. Chestnut spirits liked to use them as umbrellas.
Besides being waterproof, they were also quite flexible.
Chu Jiu had previously noticed some chestnut spirits sewing these into little clothes.
Now, he used his spiritual energy to quickly craft a one-piece lotus root-harvesting suit, custom-sized for the round mini capybara.
In ancient China, many people loved eating lotus roots.
Lotus roots grow deep in thick mud and are thin-skinned and brittle, easily broken. They can’t be harvested by machine, so people have always worn special waterproof suits and jumped into the mud to dig with shovels and bare hands—sometimes for an entire day—just to get a perfect, unbroken, crisp white lotus root.
Those harvesting suits were key to staying warm, dry, and clean.
Chu Jiu’s version didn’t have all those functions, but it was waterproof and mud-resistant.
As long as the mini capybara didn’t bury its entire head in the mud pit, it wouldn’t get coated in mud or soaked through.
Looking at the outfit Chu Jiu handed over, the mini capybara wagged its short tail back and forth.
“Will this really work, dang dang dang?”
Before Chu Jiu could say anything, Little Can coolly chimed in from the side,
“If this human made it, there’s nothing it can’t do.”
The moment the little cat spoke, the mini capybara instantly quieted down and dared not question it any further.
It wriggled into the lotus-root-harvesting suit and found that its front paws slid smoothly into the special little gloves, while its hind paws naturally fit into the special little boots.
Wow—what a thoughtfully made outfit.
The mini capybara silently praised it in its heart, then happily hopped into the nearby mud pit. It stomped enthusiastically for a while, then plopped down and started squishing mud with its paws.
Unknowingly, the little creature became totally absorbed in play—until a cool, emotionless “meow?” echoed from not far away.
Startled, it shivered and jumped straight out of the mud pit. After taking a few hops, it paused and let out a surprised and delighted snort, “It really didn’t get muddy!”
Panting with excitement, it quickly wriggled out of the outfit, looked down at its still clean and fresh skin, and burst into laughter, “Really! No mud!”
It ran over and nudged against Chu Jiu’s feet, “You’re amazing!”
“Please let me work with you all!”
The moment it finished speaking, the system prompt popped up:
[Capture successful!]
[Spiritual Beast Basic Info:
Species: Unknown
Skill: Playing happily with harmless magical creatures; persuading harmless magical creatures to follow instructions and start working
Likes: Playing in mud, jumping into mud pits; fresh vegetables
Dislikes: Getting its body dirty with mud.
Huh? “Persuading harmless magical creatures to follow instructions and start working”?
That skill sounds… seriously useful!
But still, the system had labeled it as a “spiritual beast of unknown species.”
Everything else about the system was pretty reliable—so why couldn’t it recognize a kitten, a bunny, a sapling, or now this little capybara?
They were all so obvious!
Chu Jiu silently complained to the system while speaking to the mini capybara, “What would you like to be called? Maybe ‘Dangdang’ or ‘Kaka’?”
Chu Jiu was terrible at naming things, so the best he could do was use the sound it kept making—“dang dang”—or base it on its original species.
The mini capybara sniffled and softly replied, “‘Kaka’… maybe?”
What a fresh-sounding name… but why had the human thought of that?
Chu Jiu said, “Kakaba? Not bad, not bad—totally suits a capybara!”
Mini capybara: “…?”
Capybara? What’s that?
Chu Jiu reached out a hand to it with a warm smile, “Well then, Kakaba—let’s go home together! There are two other little companions waiting there. I’m sure you’ll all get along wonderfully!”
