Chapter 65: Illumination
The laughter stopped abruptly.
The King and Queen both changed their expressions, and the little gray bird flew to the attendant in a panic: “What? What happened?”
The attendant gray bird was already trembling, its two thin legs shaking uncontrollably, and it stammered that it didn’t know what exactly had happened. It was just that the attendants who had gone to fetch the nectar hadn’t returned for a long time, and it was worried, so it flew to the rock cave to check, and what it saw was—
A pit as huge as a small mountain had collapsed on the ground, the air was full of the scent of nectar, and the attendants were scattered haphazardly to the side.
The only attendant still able to speak told it, crying, that they were fetching nectar as usual when suddenly the surrounding rocks rumbled, and the rocks above their heads began to clatter and fall!
They flew out on instinct, and just as they saw the sunlight outside, they heard a deafening crash behind them!
Turning their heads, they saw that the rock cave had indeed completely collapsed! The precious nectar flowed out like spring water, seeping into the cracks in the rocks and the soil, disappearing without a trace!
They cried, wanting to salvage some nectar, but the scent of the nectar was too strong, and before they could do anything, they fell to the ground one after another!
The King’s gray face had turned black.
It flew into the air, its voice low: “At least everyone got out.”
“I will go and investigate immediately. Send the guards to rescue them.”
The Queen silently followed, while the little gray bird flapped its wings: “I’ll go too! I’ll go too!”
Chu Jiu, who hadn’t spoken before, stood up at this moment: “Wait!”
The large and small gray birds stopped in the air, all looking at this hairy bipedal creature.
Chu Jiu took out several small [Feathered Folk-Specific Gas Masks]:
“If I’m not mistaken, you’ll faint if you fly over there. Please put these on beforehand.”
“Just in case, I’ll go with you.”
The little gray bird, who had been with Chu Jiu for over half a month, already knew about Chu Jiu’s ability to “take out magical items from his backpack at any time,” so it didn’t hesitate to take the mask and even gave one to its parents.
The large gray bird nodded gratefully at Chu Jiu. It didn’t have time to ask any questions in detail at the moment, and led the group out of the “giant bird egg.”
*
The gray birds flew ahead to lead the way, while Chu Jiu rode the dodo bird, running behind.
The “rock cave” that the Feathered Folk spoke of was actually located at the junction of the hillside and the plain.
Looking from afar, a large pit could be seen where the brownish-red earth had caved in.
As they got a little closer, the spirit beasts all twitched their noses, puzzled: “What’s this smell? Why is it so fragrant…”
A thick and mellow sweetness filled the air, making one feel physically and mentally refreshed with just a sniff, and one couldn’t help but want to close their eyes and revel in it.
Chu Jiu rubbed his nose, not speaking immediately.
Arriving at the collapsed area, several gray birds were indeed lying scattered on the nearby grass.
Chu Jiu ran over to take a look and found that the little birds were all lying on their backs, their faces flushed, and their breathing even. He knew in his heart: Hmm, not a big problem.
The guard birds landed one after another, carrying the fallen birds onto specially made small stretchers.
These guard birds all obediently wore [gas masks], so they didn’t have any special reactions.
Occasionally, two small attendant birds who hadn’t worn masks rushed ahead, circled in the air a few times, and then fell to the ground with a “thump,” only to be carried away by the guards.
Seeing this scene, Queen Gray Bird, while again ordering those without masks not to approach the area, couldn’t help but want to ask Chu Jiu:
What exactly was going on?
Why did Chu Jiu know that wearing a mask would prevent them from fainting?
Did Chu Jiu know what the mysterious “Blessed Nectar” actually was?
But at this moment, Chu Jiu had already walked to the other side of the collapsed pit.
The other side of the collapsed pit was a large area of overgrown wasteland.
The weeds here were more than a person tall, and there were dense trees blocking the view, so it was impossible to clearly see the scene on the wasteland from a distance.
Only by parting the weeds and going around the trees could one discover stone pillars, stone blocks, and rubble that didn’t look like natural debris scattered on the wasteland.
Chu Jiu squatted on the ground and said to Glup-Glup, “Glup-Glup, look at those stone pillars and blocks. Can you tell if there’s anything special about them?”
Glup-Glup responded and floated around the stone pillars and blocks several times, replying in a soft voice:
“Glup-Glup, these should all be parts of medium-sized buildings, obviously carved by humans…” “Glup-Glup, there are also traces of burning on them… judging from the marks, it’s probably been many, many years.”
Chu Jiu nodded and said, “Glup-Glup, can you use your little tentacles to explore that collapsed ‘rock cave’?”
Glup-Glup: “Glup-Glup! Of course!”
After a while, Glup-Glup “explored” and returned. It put away its little tentacles, shook its little leaves, and described everything to Chu Jiu in detail.
After listening, Chu Jiu completely understood in his heart.
He handed a sour fruit he had brought from the banquet to Rawr Rawr Rabbit, and then had Rawr Rawr Rabbit quickly perform a [soil analysis], obtaining a definite result.
Finally, Chu Jiu helplessly let out a long sigh.
Soon, the guards had transported all the “injured” away.
The royal gray birds confirmed that the “rock cave” had completely collapsed and not a drop of nectar remained. One by one, they were also helpless and could only fly back dejectedly.
Back in the palace, the little gray bird flew to Chu Jiu, asking eagerly and directly if Chu Jiu knew what the nectar was, since he knew so much.
Chu Jiu pondered slightly and nodded: “Yes, I’ve figured it out.”
The gray birds “cheeped” and all gathered around: “Cheep cheep, what is it? What is it?”
Chu Jiu first picked up a fruit: “This wild fruit you gathered from the plains is actually a wild grape.”
The gray birds: “Uh-huh!”
Chu Jiu continued: “The nectar you drank before was made from artificially cultivated grapes… wine.”
Human-made wine.
As soon as these words came out, the gray birds hesitated and looked at each other. King Gray Bird said, “That’s not right, is it?”
“I have also been to the human settlements and smelled what you call ‘wine’.”
“The wine you speak of, although its color is somewhat similar to our nectar, tastes completely different.”
That strange sour and astringent taste, how could anyone like to drink it?
Chu Jiu took a bottle of wine from his backpack: “Is this what you saw before?”
This bottle of wine was bought from Marco. Because it really didn’t taste good, Chu Jiu only used it for cooking and never drank it.
King Gray Bird nodded: “Yes, that’s indeed it.”
Chu Jiu sighed: “This is ordinary wine that people today can make. It has nothing to do with ‘delicious’ and cannot be called ‘nectar’.”
“What you Feathered Folk drank…”
“Should be top-quality wine made hundreds of years ago by winemakers using more delicious grapes, truly worthy of being called ‘nectar’.”
As early as on the way to “Galewind Rock,” when he heard the little gray bird chattering endlessly about the magical “Blessed Nectar,” Chu Jiu had already been guessing: could it be that someone had brewed wine here before the monster invasion?
After all, “purplish-red, fragrant, buried underground”—every characteristic matched “wine stored in a cellar.”
Just now, Chu Jiu had eaten wild grapes during the banquet, and then heard the gray birds say that “the overly strong scent of the nectar was enough to make them fall to the ground.” He had already guessed eight or nine out of ten, which was why he had the guards wear masks to avoid getting drunk.
Adding the actual scene he saw with his own eyes next to the collapsed pit later, and Glup-Glup’s description after probing the cracks with its tentacles, Chu Jiu confirmed that there had been a winery here hundreds of years ago.
Because storing wine required maintaining a constant temperature, not too dry and not exposed to light, people had dug cellars to store the wine.
Later, perhaps due to the monster invasion, people left this place in a hurry, without having time to take away the fine wine underground.
And the excellent natural environment here, along with the almost completely enclosed storage location, allowed the wine in the cellar to gradually age, becoming even more delicious.
Later, when the Feathered Folk discovered these fine wines from the ventilation holes left by humans, these wines had already become legendary “nectar and jade liquid.”
Unfortunately, this magical wine cellar that had stood quietly underground for hundreds of years, due to disrepair and lack of maintenance, had finally collapsed into a pit that could no longer be used.
*
The gray birds all understood Chu Jiu’s analysis.
But after understanding, the gray birds’ mood became even lower.
Since this nectar was brewed by humans hundreds of years ago, and used grape varieties from before the monster invasion, where could they possibly find such fine wine again?
It was already impossible.
The little gray bird slowly landed on the soft rabbit fur woven mat, wiping its eyes with the tips of its wings.
Queen Gray Bird landed beside it and gently pecked its head with her beak.
Then, Queen Gray Bird raised her voice: “Quick Feather, I know you are sad now because you can no longer drink ‘nectar’.”
“But what you need to do now is to announce this news to our people with me, and try your best to soothe their emotions.”
The little gray bird, with tears in its eyes, flew away with the Queen.
The palace, which had been filled with laughter not long ago, was now shrouded in gloom.
Every gray bird’s face carried a kind of listless dejection.
The atmosphere outside the palace was even worse.
As Chu Jiu walked to the edge of the palace, he could hear the cries of the commoner gray birds.
Rawr Rawr Rabbit was a little puzzled and whispered, “Roar roar roar… Can’t drink wine, is it such a serious matter for the Feathered Folk?”
Chu Jiu thought for a moment and explained, “It’s like telling Rawr Rawr Rabbit it can never eat barbecue again, and telling Kakaba it can never eat green vegetables again?”
The spirit beasts immediately shrank their necks: That’s really serious!
That’s right, even without their favorite pastime, they wouldn’t really die.
But for the Feathered Folk, this “nectar” that they had a cup of with every meal since childhood could be said to be a part of their lives. Now that it was suddenly taken away…
It was like suddenly confiscating a phone and cutting off Wi-Fi for people on Earth. Who could stand that?
It would take a long time to get used to it.
*
It had to be said that the Feathered Folk’s royal family did a good job in “stabilizing hearts and minds.”
The royal family took the initiative to distribute food, led people to hunt more rock rabbits, and sent out large amounts of rabbit fur…
Finally, the depressed Feathered Folk subjects cheered up again.
It seemed that although the gray birds were mostly gloomy, at least life had returned to normal. Everyone started their daily hunting, weaving fur, and gathering again…
Until this early morning.
The King and Queen had taken a team of gray birds to the valley to hunt rock rabbits.
Chu Jiu originally wanted to ask the little gray bird something, but he heard intermittent short songs coming from the cliffside, mixed with crying and words of comfort.
The wind on the cliff carried the little birds’ conversation to his ears.
“What should I do? I can’t sing at all. I don’t know how to sing anything anymore!”
“Me too, I can’t sing a single line! I… I don’t have my daily ‘nectar,’ I can’t sing at all!”
“Everyone I know is the same. After losing the nectar, everyone has forgotten how to sing. It hurts their throats as soon as they open their mouths!”
“Then what should we do? ‘Go to the human settlement to sing’ is a task assigned by the Queen!”
“But, not to mention us guards, even the royal family can’t sing now, right?”
“Yes, I saw Prince Quick Feather secretly practicing, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make a sound!”
Hearing this, Chu Jiu couldn’t help but be shocked:
Without the nectar, the Feathered Folk couldn’t sing?
And it seemed that the Feathered Folk themselves hadn’t known this before!
…Perhaps they had never left the nectar since birth, so they never knew that their singing was also related to it.
No wonder the little gray bird kept postponing the trip to Bean Village. It turned out he was desperately practicing, trying to find his voice again.
Chu Jiu remembered the little gray bird’s family’s confident assurances: Since we promised you, we will definitely send the Feathered Folk to Bean Village to sing for you and help you farm!
Even without this promise, for this little gray bird who was quite proud of its singing, suddenly being unable to sing anymore must be a very sad thing.
What’s more…
The Feathered Folk’s singing was indeed very important to him.
Chu Jiu thought of the large wasteland in Bean Village, and the little gray bird’s sad appearance, and ran towards the foot of the mountain again.
In fact, since the wine cellar collapsed, Chu Jiu had tried several times to create “wine with an acceptable taste” using his spiritual power.
However, whether using the wild grapes gathered on the plains here, or the [sweet grapes that look like eyeballs] gathered in the Forgotten Forest before, he could only obtain [sour and astringent wine].
There was no way around it; not all grapes were suitable for winemaking.
According to Rawr Rawr Rabbit’s analysis of the soil here, combined with Chu Jiu’s own meager geographical knowledge, Chu Jiu deduced that to make delicious wine, “grapes that have received sufficient sunlight” were needed.
Whether it was the Forgotten Forest or the foot of the mountain here, the problem wasn’t the soil, but the “sunlight.”
Why were the grapes in northwestern China so famous? Why were the local grapes especially sweet? It was because of the abundant sunlight.
The plains at the foot of this mountain didn’t see the sun for most of the day, and could only grow those sour, small wild grapes without even any juice.
How could delicious wine be brewed from that?
Thus, the attempt to “make nectar” unfortunately stopped at the first step—obtaining materials.
In comparison, other things like building a winery, digging a cellar, or even “spending time aging the wine” weren’t too difficult.
However, what was the use of digging a cellar that was large and cool if suitable grapes couldn’t be collected?
In fact, Chu Jiu had always had a question in his mind:
Where did people grow grapes hundreds of years ago?
“Sunlight” wasn’t “soil.” Hundreds of years were enough to change soil structure, but sunlight conditions couldn’t change that quickly.
Did they grow grapes in other sunny places and then painstakingly transport them to the foot of this mountain?
That didn’t make sense.
Even if the technological level of people hundreds of years ago was higher than it was now, they wouldn’t completely separate the places where wine was produced and stored. That was too uneconomical.
Chu Jiu jumped off the Bodo bird’s back and once again paced back and forth in the “abandoned vineyard,” his brows furrowed tightly.
Were there any other environments suitable for growing grapes nearby?
Just as Chu Jiu was so worried that he started biting his fingers, a small paw gently pressed against his face.
“Meow, meow.” — “Don’t worry, the sun on the mountain is so nice today.”
Chu Jiu pressed Little Can’s small paw, his brow still furrowed, and said softly, “I’m a bit busy right now, I’ll take you to sunbathe later, okay…”
Little Can didn’t say anything more, just gently rubbed its furry face against Chu Jiu’s cheek.
No matter how anxious Chu Jiu was, at this moment he couldn’t help but half-close his eyes and subconsciously sniffed the little cat.
Hoo…
Indeed, the sun on the mountain was really nice!
If there weren’t so many urgent things, holding Little Can, taking the other spirit beasts, and carrying the two little triceratops, going to the hillside to spread out a picnic blanket and have a good sleep in the sun…
Hmm?
The sun on the mountain is really nice… spread out a picnic blanket…
Chu Jiu’s eyes lit up, and he looked up at the hillside almost completely exposed to the sun, and the black stones of unknown origin on the hillside, and exclaimed, “I know!”
He turned to look at Rawr Rawr Rabbit with its ears perked up on the ground, Glup-Glup floating beside the weeds, and Kakaba carrying the small cradle, pointing to the hillside and saying, “Up there! The grapes back then must have been planted on the mountain!”
Rawr Rawr Rabbit tilted its ears: “Roar roar roar, that’s not right. The soil on the hillside here is too thin to grow anything…”
Chu Jiu: “We can transport the soil from the foot of the mountain up there!”
Although it would be a lot of work, it wasn’t impossible!
Roar Roar Rabbit shook its head: “Roar roar roar, still not right! Even if you transport the soil up there, it will all be washed away if it rains!”
Chu Jiu smiled: “That’s right! So, we need to try to build ‘slope terraces’!”
“Slope… terraces?” The spirit beasts, who had never heard these words before, stared at Chu Jiu with confused expressions.
Chu Jiu took out a charcoal pencil and a wooden board from his backpack:
“Ah, terraces are a kind of land like this—”
Chu Jiu quickly drew the simplest schematic diagram:
“Look, if we build it step by step along the hillside like this, doesn’t it look a lot like a ladder?”
“In our place, there are also terrains with large undulations similar to ‘Galewind Rock.’ In order to grow food on such steep slopes, we transform the hillside and turn it into ‘terraces’!”
“Terraces are also divided into many types, like level terraces, contour terraces…”
He pointed to the black stones reflecting light on the hillside: “I speculate that the people back then used the local materials here to build high walls with stones, and then piled the soil from the foot of the mountain behind the high walls, using the high walls to prevent the soil from sliding down—this is what I just called ‘slope terraces’!”
“This kind of slope terrace allows the grapes to receive sufficient sunlight, and because the daytime sunlight heats up the rocks and the nighttime rocks cool down, it can also use this temperature difference to cultivate grapes with a better taste!”
“The people hundreds of years ago must have used this method to brew the Feathered Folk’s ‘nectar’!”
[Ding!]
Just as he finished speaking, the system notification sound rang:
[Congratulations, Host, for achieving the hidden condition ‘The Origin of Blessed Nectar’!]
[Received ‘Terrace’ facility blueprint X1]
[Received ‘Winery’ facility blueprint X1]
The system paused for a few seconds and continued to display a notification:
[Congratulations, Host, for achieving the hidden condition ‘Attempting to Build Facilities in Different Wastelands’!]
[Now, the Host only needs to obtain ‘the support of the area’s administrator or the administrator’s legal heir’ to arrange for spirit beasts to work together with the local residents in that area!]
!
In other words, as long as they got the support of the King and the others, Rawr Rawr Rabbit and the others could start work now?
Not only could Rawr Rawr Rabbit and the others start work, but they could also take other little bird-people to reclaim land and farm together? Build a winery cellar together?
Great!
This way, there was no need to worry about the Feathered Folk not knowing how to use or maintain the facilities after Rawr Rawr Rabbit and Glup-Glup built them!
Chu Jiu immediately summoned the Bodo bird, jumped on its back, and headed straight for the cliff.
*
The attendant gray bird told Chu Jiu that the valley where the King and Queen had gone hunting rock rabbits was very far away, and it was expected that they would take several days to return with the rock rabbits.
During this time, all the affairs of the Feathered Folk, large and small, were decided by the little Prince Quick Feather.
Chu Jiu found the little gray bird in Quick Feather’s room.
To Chu Jiu’s surprise, Quick Feather, who had always been curious about everything, hadn’t run away even when Little Can held him under its paw, and could quickly regain his spirits even after being covered in bumps, was now listlessly curled up on the bed, wrapped in a small rabbit fur quilt, his small black eyes empty.
Chu Jiu squatted down beside the little gray bird’s bed and told him about his recent discovery. He also told him that if the Feathered Folk and the spirit beasts worked together, and with his ability to quickly brew, soon everyone in the Feathered Folk tribe would be able to drink delicious nectar again!
Chu Jiu had thought that the little gray bird would immediately perk up upon hearing this news, and might even jump out of bed, flapping its wings and shouting “Cheep cheep cheep, then let’s start now!”
However, the little gray bird raised its small head and looked blankly at Chu Jiu: “Cheep?”
“We… learn to grow grapes ourselves? Brew wine?”
It lowered its head: “…We… can’t do it…”
“Anyway… I can’t do it…”
“I’m actually not good at anything.”
“I can’t do any of the things Mom and Dad asked me to do…”
“I… I used to be pretty good at singing, and everyone liked listening to me sing…”
“Now I can’t even sing anymore. I’m just a stupid bird, a useless bird, wuwuwu…”
As soon as Chu Jiu saw this, he thought, oh no, this little gray bird had suffered one setback after another—”can’t change title,” “no more nectar,” “can’t sing anymore”—and then was thrown into the position of temporarily taking over the Feathered Folk’s affairs. The pressure was too much, and it had completely collapsed.
Ah, what to do in this situation?
Glup-Glup poked its head out and made a heart shape with its tentacles, but the little gray bird didn’t react.
Kakaba tried to nudge him with its mouth, but the little gray bird didn’t react.
Little Can pretended to bare its sharp claws, but the little gray bird didn’t react.
This Feathered Folk tribe didn’t even have a psychological counselor or anything. Were they just going to leave this little guy here to fend for himself?
Leaving aside Chu Jiu’s desire to start work as soon as possible, he just couldn’t bring himself to “leave a crying little gray bird alone.”
Chu Jiu scratched his head, thinking that if only he knew how to tell jokes…
Eh?
Wait, although he didn’t know how to tell jokes, he had that!
Title!
[“The Unyielding”—When non-human intelligent beings are in negative states such as despondency, depression, or despair, loudly proclaiming your title may dispel their negative state.]
Good, good, the little gray bird was in a classic negative state right now. Let him try proclaiming his title!
Chu Jiu cleared his throat: “Quick Feather, you called me ‘brave hairy bipedal creature’ before, right?”
The little gray bird sniffled: “Hmm?”
Chu Jiu: “Actually, I have a much more powerful title than that!”
The little gray bird: “…Hmm?”
Chu Jiu: “…Listen carefully, my title is—”
“I am Chu Jiu, the Pioneer from Bean Village, Friend of Spirits, Explosives Enthusiast, the Unyielding!”
The little gray bird raised its head, first stunned for a long while, then its eyes gradually brightened, and with snot still on its face, it flapped its wings and pounced over: “Chu Jiu!”
Chu Jiu: “…Ah?”
Wait, little guy, don’t bring your snot over here, hey!
The little gray bird: “I knew it! You’re just like me!”
Chu Jiu: “…Huh?”
The little gray bird: “That’s the longest title I’ve ever heard!”
“It’s even more powerful than my ‘Mighty and Powerful Raptor, Handsome and Chic Swift Feather’!”
“Mom and Dad don’t like that title. I knew it! Only you, you must understand how powerful this title is!”
Chu Jiu: “…Wait, this…”
The little gray bird: “Wahahaha cheep cheep cheep! If Mom and Dad still don’t agree in the future, I can tell them that the title Chu Jiu chose for himself is even more unique than mine!”
Chu Jiu: “No, wait!”
This title wasn’t something he actively chose! Don’t misunderstand his aesthetic sense, hey!
The little gray bird had already flapped its wings and flown up, full of energy: “Yay! I feel so powerful all over now!”
“It must be because I finally met a bipedal creature with the same interests as me!”
“Chu Jiu, you just said something about having us Feathered Folk and your knights build something together?”
“I’ll go tell them to get to work right away!”
Chu Jiu: ……
Sigh, never mind.
The process wasn’t important; the important thing was that the little gray bird had cheered up!
Now, to prepare to build terraces, plant grapes, and brew nectar!
