Chapter 60: Scratch
The large Deck Beast steadily stepped into the “Boiling Lake” with Chu Jiu on its back.
Its limbs churned powerfully, propelling it forward, leaving long trails in the constantly bubbling red water.
Rawr Rawr Rabbit nestled in Chu Jiu’s backpack, poked its head out, and looked down through the steam: “Roar roar roar, is this lava? It keeps bubbling, roar roar roar…”
Chu Jiu sat on the Deck Beast’s hard armor, holding an ice pack to cool down: “No.”
“This is just ‘lake water.’ The reason it’s this color is probably because it contains minerals like iron sulfide.”
The little squirrels simply lay down on the “ice bed” Chu Jiu had hastily made for them:
“Yes, it’s water, not lava.”
“Lava, hotter, will, roast.”
Indeed. If the lake really was scorching, constantly churning lava, then even if the Deck Beast could travel through it, Chu Jiu and the others would be baked into jerky.
About a quarter of an hour later, the “Deck Beast Sightseeing Ferry” officially docked at the edge of the central island.
The central island wasn’t large; the edge of the island could be seen at a glance—they could even see that on the other side of the island, there was another “pine cone” left by a dwarf beastman predecessor, indicating “a path here.”
After the last tourist jumped ashore, the Deck Beast raised its neck and let out a cry, as if saying goodbye to them.
The little squirrels knew that the Deck Beast probably couldn’t see their actions, but they still reluctantly raised their paws and waved at it repeatedly: “Bye-bye, bye-bye.”
Although the little squirrels’ language skills were weak, they understood: this wasn’t a time to say goodbye.
Because they wouldn’t see each other again.
But the little squirrels weren’t sad.
Yesterday, right after the big Deck Beast recovered, it had taken the Deck Beast baby to find another habitat. The newly found valley had an endless supply of cycads and enough “salt soil” for them to eat for hundreds of years.
The little squirrels had re-carved a “road sign pine cone” at the entrance of the Deck Beast’s new home.
In this way, the little squirrels believed that even if they wouldn’t come again, many, many years later, other dwarf beastmen would bravely embark on the path to find the [Earthfire Primordial Stone].
At that time, they would follow the road signs they had left this time and meet this Deck Beast again.
*
In the center of the lake island, Chu Jiu found the [Earthfire Primordial Stone] without much effort.
[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the rare item—the dwarf beastmen’s secret treasure, the “Earthfire Primordial Stone”!]
[Earthfire Primordial Stone: An unremarkable black stone. Even when held in hand, it doesn’t give off any special feeling.
Once placed in a dwarf beastman’s special furnace, this stone can unleash astonishing power under the dwarf beastmen’s innate skills!
This is an ore produced in the “Land of the Past” through the most wonderful and unrepeatable complex reactions.
This ore is precious and rare, with only one being produced roughly every 200 to 300 years.
It’s unknown whether the boiling lake created this ore, or whether this ore ignited the calm lake?
In any case, please use this stone carefully and definitely don’t treat it like an ordinary pebble and skip it across the water!]
Chu Jiu put the stone in his backpack and walked around the spot a few times:
Hmm, there are also [Stone Fragments Unchanged by Time] here.
He had picked up this kind of stone from the belly of the Shieldskin Fish when he cut it open before.
At that time, he was a bit curious about where this stone, identified by the system as a “rare item,” originally came from.
Now it seemed clear:
The stone fragments were probably a specialty of the Land of the Past, just like the [Earthfire Primordial Stone]. Later, it was swallowed by the Shieldskin Fish and brought to the “River of the Past” basin.
Although Chu Jiu still didn’t understand what role these stone fragments could play, with a good “can’t miss it” mentality, he put all the fragments within his sight into his backpack.
After collecting all the nearby materials, he heard the little squirrels calling out, “Stone bridge! Stone bridge!”
Hurrying over, Chu Jiu found that the small pine cone on the shore had its pointed end facing down, directly towards the boiling lake.
The red lake water kept churning and bubbling. Between the rising and falling, a not-very-clear black line could be seen extending from the shore and disappearing into the vast white steam.
This black line should be the bridge leading away from the lake island.
The little squirrels were first excited and jumped back and forth, then quieted down, looking a bit uneasy and confused: “Scorching, scorching. How to walk?”
Before Chu Jiu could answer, Little Can softly “meowed” on his shoulder, “The lake water is different.”
“Since we picked up the primordial stone just now, the lake water has changed.”
Looking up, the lake water was still bubbling, and hot springs still occasionally spurted out from the shore; no change was visible.
But Chu Jiu was confident.
He replied, “I estimate that the temperature here will drop, and the lake water will gradually calm down.”
“Until the next ‘Earthfire Primordial Stone’ is born, it won’t boil again.”
The hint that said, “It’s unknown whether the boiling lake created this ore, or whether this ore ignited the calm lake,” should mean this.
The little squirrels immediately stopped being anxious.
They obediently nodded their heads: “We, wait.”
*
The group waited on the lake island for a long time.
During this time, Chu Jiu really couldn’t sit still, so he simply used the lake water to make “onsen eggs.”
He placed the [Stigma of the Giant Onion Orchid] in a small pottery pot, then used a rope to slowly lower the pot into the lake water. After a while, he pulled it up and got a pot of almost lifelike “onsen eggs.”
He also tried putting some spice leaves in the pottery pot, and this time he got a pot of “tea eggs.”
Since the “stigma of the flower” was essentially still a plant, even the little squirrels, who didn’t eat meat, could hold these plant eggs and eat them with relish.
After the lake water completely stopped churning, it could finally be seen:
That black line was indeed a narrow stone bridge.
Everyone jumped onto the bridge surface and jogged along the still-warm stone bridge all the way to the end of the “Boiling Lake”—
A smooth, mirror-like black stone wall.
Unsurprisingly, the little squirrels found a secret door left by the dwarf beastman predecessors on the stone wall.
It was still a one-way secret door with “no return.”
Chu Jiu squeezed into the narrow gap sideways, turned back for one last look at the red lake water, the distant lake island, and the Deck Beast that had disappeared from sight, and whispered in his heart, “Bye-bye, Land of the Earth’s Core.”
Behind the secret door were layers of narrow steps leading upwards.
Compared to outside the secret door, the temperature here was much lower, and the little squirrels, who couldn’t tolerate the heat, immediately regained their vitality.
They took out their cold light torches and rushed ahead, nimbly leading the way.
Chu Jiu could only follow behind, step by step, going upwards.
It had to be said that compared to the gentle slope leading to the Earth’s Core, these steps leading away were much steeper.
It was probably because the space was so limited that even the most skilled dwarf beastmen couldn’t build a “passageway that saves energy.”
These steps were not only steep but also long, seemingly endless.
After climbing for almost a day, when Chu Jiu’s stamina points had dropped to only a dozen or so, a small platform finally appeared beside the steps, providing a temporary resting place.
For the dwarf beastmen or spirit beasts, this platform was a “not very comfortable but still usable” temporary overnight spot.
But for a human of normal height, this platform was far too narrow.
Chu Jiu could only sit on the platform with his hands and feet drawn in, hugging Little Can for warmth and rest, unable even to lie down for a nap.
After barely resting for half a day, the group continued on their way.
Chu Jiu glanced at his stamina points: still only two digits, slowly decreasing.
There was no way; this environment couldn’t truly restore stamina.
They walked like this for about three days. Chu Jiu was cold, sleepy, and so tired it felt like his whole body was filled with cement and then he’d been thrown into ice water.
Even though they hadn’t reached a platform suitable for a temporary rest, he couldn’t hold on any longer. He propped his arms on the steps, his body half-lying down, his eyes slightly closed, and whispered, “Sorry, I’ll rest for a bit, just a little bit…”
Let me sleep for ten minutes… my stamina will return to double digits and I can continue…
Can’t… hold everyone back…
After saying these two sentences, his eyelids were too heavy to lift, and he drowsily leaned against the steps, falling into a half-conscious sleep in a very uncomfortable position.
Dimly, he felt his body getting warmer.
It must be Little Can, right?
These past two days, the little guy had been keeping him warm.
But by the third day, the warmth from Little Can couldn’t withstand the fatigue of his body and the coldness of the outside world.
Made the little guy worry… I have to cheer up quickly…
Hmm?
This warmth seems much stronger than the past two days?
Not just his back or chest, it was practically covering his whole body?
Drowsily, Chu Jiu felt a furry big head rubbing against his face, constantly “awoo-ing”: “Don’t be afraid, I’ll take you out.”
This is… Big Can!
In an instant, Chu Jiu’s heart completely settled down.
He subconsciously raised his hand and wrapped it around Big Can’s neck: “Okay.”
This was the first time Little Can had successfully used [Big Cat Scratch].
Actually, it had secretly practiced many times before. Its “scratching” technique had improved a lot, but it had never figured out how to become a “big cat.”
Until just now.
It saw Chu Jiu collapse almost unconscious on the steps.
Fear, worry, guilt, self-blame surged up like a geyser.
And a desire so strong it couldn’t help but let out a low growl—”This time, I will definitely protect him!”
This desire coursed through its limbs like magma, making its whole body feel hot, burning hot…
Until its body suddenly changed its appearance.
“Roar roar roar, great! Little Can, you’ve become Big Can! You can carry Chu Jiu on your back, roar roar roar!” Rawr Rawr Rabbit said in surprise.
“B-bigger!” The little squirrels were extremely excited, their tail hairs standing straight up.
Big Can was too lazy to pay them any attention, focusing on carrying Chu Jiu on its back, holding his wrist in its mouth, and quickly leaping upwards.
*
Chu Jiu didn’t know how long he had slept.
He only knew that he felt warm and safe clinging to the warm Big Cat.
When he opened his eyes again, Chu Jiu was a bit dazed: What time is it? How long have I been asleep? Where are we?
Rawr Rawr Rabbit, who was climbing independently behind Big Can, was very happy to see Chu Jiu wake up: “Roar roar roar, Chu Jiu, you’re awake! Great, roar roar roar!”
“Roar roar roar, we’ve walked for another three days, roar roar roar!”
…I actually slept on Big Can’s back for so long?
Big Can naturally knew that Chu Jiu was awake. It didn’t turn its head, just “awoo-ed”: “We’ll be at the surface soon. I’ll put you down when we get there.”
This meant, “You can continue to hang on me properly.”
Chu Jiu looked at the agile and nimble Rawr Rawr Rabbit and the freely jumping little squirrels behind him, and knew very well that if he insisted on getting down, he would undoubtedly be the one slowing down the group.
So he didn’t object, but continued to obediently hug Big Can’s neck, unconsciously taking a sniff of the big cat in passing.
*
Finally, the group saw the end of the tunnel.
It was another one-way secret door.
Big Can let out a low growl, then with a powerful push of its hind legs, directly crashed through the secret door, leaping out with Chu Jiu!
Rawr Rawr Rabbit and the little squirrels behind it also jumped out one after another before the secret door closed!
“We’re out! We’re out… ah?” The little squirrels hadn’t had time to be happy before they stood frozen in place again.
Where… is this?
And what is that giant shadow circling above?
The surroundings were still strange, jagged rock walls and stones, forming a circle of almost impossibly high walls.
Looking up, they could see a tiny bit of sky light.
But beneath this sky light was a large, sun-obscuring shadow.
Chu Jiu slowly slid off Big Can’s back, looked at the behemoth above, and whispered, “This is probably inside a volcano.”
The dormant volcano in Sanctuary Valley, so tall that its waist was obscured by clouds and mist.
“As for the thing above…”
“It should be the [Shelter Mountain Eagle].”
[Shelter Mountain Eagle: Ferocious large bird of prey! Likes to carry prey in its mouth and then fly into the air, dropping the prey to its death.
Although it is so violent in nature, its feathers are surprisingly soft. If you see this mountain eagle, you might as well collect some of its feathers.
Of course, that’s assuming you survive after seeing it. Range: Volcanic areas]
The mountain eagle, having already noticed the small prey that had emerged below, circled twice in mid-air, then suddenly accelerated, swooping down towards them!
Chu Jiu immediately pulled out the bamboo tube explosive—
“Cough…”
Before Chu Jiu could light the fuse, Big Can arched its back and let out a series of low growls.
“Sizzle…”
Accompanied by a chillingly sharp sound, Chu Jiu discovered that as Big Can’s claws extended and retracted, several deep claw marks had appeared on the rocky ground.
This was… “Scratch Scratch”?
The sound of Big Can scratching its claws echoed through the spacious bottom of the volcano.
The mountain eagle, which had been swooping down, suddenly braked and hovered in mid-air with a hiss.
Big Can looked up at the mountain eagle, its ice-blue eyes radiating a chilling light.
…The mountain eagle began to tremble.
While trembling, its wings shrank, and it actually turned into a giant furball and plummeted to the ground!
Just as Big Can was about to go forward and deliver the final blow, Chu Jiu whispered, “Wait!”
He had just used [Enemy Detection] and found that this mountain eagle was already “terrified and could be driven at will.”
Chu Jiu pointed to the top of his head: “We still need to get out of the crater, why not let it give us a ride?”
Big Can: “Awoo. Awoo.” — “Okay. But it can only carry the others. I’ll carry you up.”
Chu Jiu: …
Big kitty, what kind of strange obsession is this? Aren’t you tired…?
Under Big Can’s “polite request” and “friendly gaze,” the mountain eagle obediently flew upwards with the little squirrels, easily flying out of the crater.
Not only that, but it also glided all the way down with everyone, landing steadily at the foot of the mountain.
When the little squirrels finally stood firmly on the ground, the mountain eagle folded its wings, as docile as a quail, and secretly sized up Little Can, who was still in its big cat form.
Big Can looked at Chu Jiu: “Is it still useful?”
Chu Jiu pondered: “Its feathers… are quite useful.”
Mountain Eagle: !!! You devils!
Chu Jiu said very seriously, “Plucking feathers while it’s alive is too painful, let’s just knock it out first.”
Mountain Eagle: !!! Even devils aren’t as scary as you!
Without waiting for Big Can to scratch or Chu Jiu to take out the explosives, this brutal mountain eagle rolled back and forth on the ground on its own, shedding feathers all over the place!
Finally, the now half-bald mountain eagle lay on the ground, looking pitifully at Chu Jiu and then at Big Can, as if saying: Wuwuwu, I don’t even have any feathers left, can you let me go…
Chu Jiu opened [Enemy Detection].
[Detecting…]
[This is a “bald mountain eagle” that will never dare to attack humans or dwarf beastmen again! If this mountain eagle is released, the legend that “bipedal creatures are the most terrifying animals in the world” will probably spread in Sanctuary Valley in the future.]
Chu Jiu put the [Mountain Eagle Feathers] all over the ground into his backpack, and said generously, “Let it go.”
Big Can retracted its claws and raised its chin at the mountain eagle.
The bald mountain eagle ran towards the top of the mountain crying all the way, dropping its last two feathers.
*
Chu Jiu rode the Bodo back to the underground city.
After standing at the foot of the mountain for a short while, just as the Bodo ran over from afar calling “dodo,” Big Can turned back into Little Can.
The little guy meowed twice, so sleepy it could barely stand, wobbled back into Chu Jiu’s pocket, and curled up into a ball.
Before the little guy fell asleep, Chu Jiu heard it meow softly to itself as if talking in its sleep:
“This time… I didn’t lose my memory…”
“I… got a little stronger…”
Chu Jiu’s heart softened, and he pressed Little Can through his pocket, whispering, “Yeah, Little Can is great, Little Can is the best.”
*
“So, ‘the depths of the earth’ is like this.”
“So, the [Earthfire Primordial Stone] is so difficult to obtain.”
The blacksmith squirrel and the chief squirrel listened intently to Chu Jiu’s story.
At this time, Chu Jiu had rested in the underground city for a full three days, his stamina and spiritual power had fully recovered, and his mind was clearer.
With a clear mind, Chu Jiu asked the chief squirrel a question:
“Was there an underground passage between Sanctuary Valley and Sunny Plateau before?”
This “journey to the Earth’s Core” left Chu Jiu with the deepest impression, besides the fact that “there really is another world in the Earth’s Core,” the ubiquitous shortcuts.
It could be said that if it weren’t for these passages, they might not have even found the entrance to the Earth’s Core world by now.
Because of this, Chu Jiu couldn’t help but think again about the question that the little squirrels and the chestnut spirit had both raised before:
Wasn’t there a more convenient way for the dwarf beastmen and the chestnut spirit to meet?
According to the habits of the dwarf beastman predecessors, if it was a truly “important place,” they would definitely try their best to carve out a safe and fast road.
The chief squirrel pondered for a moment and said slowly, “That makes sense.”
A hint of shame appeared on his face as he explained:
Several hundred years ago, after the monster invasion, the dwarf beastmen experienced a period of turmoil and flight.
The current underground city was actually rebuilt after that chaotic period.
During the reconstruction, some reserved secret passages were indeed discovered. However, they had never freed up manpower to carefully inventory these secret passages, and had only temporarily closed the entrances and exits.
Now that the situation in the underground city was relatively stable, and they had stored enough nuts for the winter through trade during this period, he would restart this work and investigate where these secret passages actually led.
Perhaps among them was the “shortcut connecting Sheltered Valley and Sunny Plateau” that Chu Jiu mentioned. Once they made any discoveries, they would immediately notify Chu Jiu.
Chu Jiu nodded, “Then I’ll wait for your news.”
At this time, the blacksmith squirrel beside him spoke, “When, go back?”
Chu Jiu said, “Let’s set off tomorrow. I’ve obtained the Earthfire Primordial Stone, and I should be able to build the ‘Forging Workshop’ soon.”
“Once the forging workshop is built, I’ll come back to pick you up to open a blacksmith shop…”
The blacksmith squirrel shook its head.
Chu Jiu: “Hmm?”
Blacksmith Squirrel: “I, not going.”
Chu Jiu: “…?”
Even the chief was a bit surprised. After all, the blacksmith squirrel was famously trustworthy and had never broken an agreement.
Blacksmith Squirrel: “Children, very brave.”
“They, go with you.”
“They, build together.”
“Later, they, open blacksmith shop.”
The three squirrel brothers, who had been sitting aside “listening to the adults talk,” were stunned for a long time before they reacted:
“W-we?”
“We, use Earthfire Primordial Stone?”
“We, open blacksmith shop?”
Could such an honorable task really be entrusted to them?!
The little squirrels, who were already not very articulate, now stuttered even more, unable to utter a single word.
It was Chu Jiu who laughed first: “Yes, they are indeed very brave.”
“Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to get the Earthfire Primordial Stone.”
The blacksmith squirrel smiled for the first time, a rare sight, and nodded.
He then looked at the three little ones, his expression solemn: “Little Bow-tie, go together. She, teach you.”
“You, learn well!”
“Remember, the dwarf beastmen’s forging skills, invincible!”
Tears welled up in the eyes of the three little ones: “Yes! Invincible!”
*
A month ago, Chu Jiu left Bean Village with two spirit beasts and one little squirrel.
A month later, Chu Jiu returned to Bean Village with two spirit beasts and four little squirrels.
Unlike the white-eared little squirrel who had temporarily stayed in the village before, Little Bow-tie and the Axe brothers would live in Bean Village for a long time, considered “permanent residents.”
For a human village, having other races come to settle, especially four of them, was definitely a big event.
So Chu Jiu didn’t simply find a house and casually leave the little squirrels there, but went to see the old village chief without wasting a minute.
The old village chief wasn’t surprised at all, but instead smiled and told Chu Jiu, “Douglas has arranged everything.”
…Douglas was actually so farsighted!
Chu Jiu then went directly to Douglas’s house.
Sure enough, “everything was arranged.”
Douglas had already thought of all sorts of details in advance.
For example, how to inform the other villagers that the dwarf beastmen were now their neighbors; how to promote this unique shop;
For example, after the blacksmith shop opened, since there was no common currency between the dwarf beastmen and humans, how to set reasonable prices; for example, since the blacksmith shop was in Bean Village, whether to charge management fees like human-run shops…
Chu Jiu listened with admiration, constantly saying, “You’ve thought of everything so thoroughly!”
Douglas waved his hand and said with a smile, “It’s not that I’m so thoughtful. Mr. Lu Qingyan instructed me on all these matters; I’m just fulfilling his requests.”
Hearing the three words “Lu Qingyan” unexpectedly, Chu Jiu couldn’t help but say “Ah.”
Douglas then sincerely praised, “Mr. Lu is truly considerate. What he can think of is probably dozens of steps ahead of me.”
Seeing Douglas’s trust and respect for Lu Qingyan, Chu Jiu’s heart stirred, and a small voice in his heart said:
Since Douglas knows Lu Qingyan so well, why not inquire a little more?
After all, Lu Qingyan is quite mysterious… and I’m very curious…
Chu Jiu thought for a while and chose the most polite and safest way to ask: “Is Lu Qingyan’s work very important and urgent?”
Otherwise, why would this person suddenly appear at a dangerous moment and then disappear without a trace for a while?
Douglas said, “Mr. Lu’s work? Hmm, indeed it is.”
According to previous speculation, wasn’t Lu Qingyan serving in the royal guard? That was naturally both important and urgent!
Chu Jiu nodded thoughtfully, wanting to continue asking Douglas just how mysterious and special Lu Qingyan’s work was, and whether this person’s abilities were very rare, and whether he had any other connections to this wasteland…
There were too many questions he wanted to ask, but Chu Jiu didn’t want to seem noisy and impolite, so he tried hard to organize his thoughts.
Looking at Chu Jiu’s expression of “wanting to ask more but not knowing how to start,” Douglas suddenly realized:
Oh dear!
Wasn’t this the situation Irene had reminded him of, “Little Jiu suddenly started inquiring about Lu Qingyan”?
What did this represent? It represented that Little Jiu was finally about to understand!
And Irene had repeatedly urged him, “Definitely don’t mess things up by talking nonsense”!
Douglas couldn’t help but beam, speaking before Chu Jiu could open his mouth:
“Little Jiu, Mr. Lu is a really, really good person.”
“He’s steady, mature, generous, and very… very trustworthy.”
Chu Jiu: “…Uh?”
Why did Douglas suddenly start praising him so much?
Was this some strange setting where mentioning a keyword automatically switched his state?
Douglas patted Chu Jiu’s shoulder like an experienced elder: “Little Jiu, what made you have such doubts today?”
Quickly, quickly ask your heart, and you will find that your feelings for him are different!
Chu Jiu was confused by the question and temporarily forgot to organize his thoughts, saying directly, “Ah, I just think that Lu Qingyan… is quite mysterious.”
Douglas looked as if he had suddenly understood everything: “Oh, oh, so he is…”
It was indeed the misunderstanding caused by Lu Qingyan’s delayed confession that Irene had mentioned! What should he say at this time? How should he push them together without saying the wrong thing?
Douglas hesitated for a few seconds, his eyes lit up, and he blurted out, “He has his reasons!”
That’s it! A statement that definitely couldn’t go wrong!
Chu Jiu: “…Ah?”
What kind of special job was it that it had become “reasons”?
Douglas said sincerely and solemnly, “He has his reasons for acting so mysterious in front of you.”
“If you’re worried, why don’t you find some time to ask him properly, and then you’ll know everything.”
Chu Jiu: “……Oh.”
He nodded in agreement, while thinking in his heart: Since it was “reasons,” then out of politeness, he shouldn’t inquire any further.
Douglas breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart:
Good, good, good, my explanation today was simply perfect!
When I tell Irene later, she will definitely praise me for giving them a good push!
Thank you for the chapter