Chapter 80: Hush Money?
Chu Jiu gently patted Kaja’s back: “Kaja, I’ll be counting on you next.”
Most of Kaja’s body was submerged in the water. It raised its head and let out two “wang wu, wang wu” sounds, indicating: No problem! I’ll definitely get you to the icefield!
Chu Jiu carefully hopped onto Kaja’s back and sat sideways.
He turned his head and waved to the Snow Beastmen seeing them off on the shore: “Goodbye!”
Bai Lin shouted, “Rawr Rawr Rabbit! Chu Jiu! Wait for you to come back! I’ll grill pork and fish for you! It’ll definitely be delicious!”
In the morning light, there were glittering specks on Bai Lin’s face.
Rawr Rawr Rabbit said with emotion, “Roar roar roar, Bai Lin is crying…”
What an emotional bunny! Although a bit reckless, it’s actually very kind!
Chu Jiu looked closely and concluded, “No, that’s his drool.”
This Snow Beastman probably had his mind full of grilled pork and fish.
Rawr Rawr Rabbit: …
Truly a bunny with deep feelings for food.
While they were talking, Kaja had already begun swimming north along the coast.
This was the fastest route Chu Jiu and Kaja had come up with after much “communication”: Kaja would carry them directly to the icefield by swimming.
Kaja swam very fast.
Before long, the Snow Beastmen on the shore gradually turned into blurry little snowballs and then disappeared completely.
Just then, Chu Jiu received a system notification.
It was still a large amount of pioneering point rewards, and the pioneering degree finally broke through 30%, reaching 31%.
Chu Jiu clenched his fist happily: Great, helping the Snow Beastmen build the ranch gave even more pioneering points than expected.
What excited him even more was that the spirit beasts—except for Little Can—had all grown again.
And Gulp-GLup had also acquired a new skill: [Architect’s Insights]
[Architect’s Insights: Due to Spirit Beast No. 3’s repeated cooperation with different races in building various facilities, and having gained new knowledge from the traditional architecture of other races, Spirit Beast No. 3 can now quickly learn and imitate the construction of buildings it has seen.
Note: The time it takes for Spirit Beast No. 3 to learn and build is affected by its own condition and the complexity of the building.]
What a practical skill! And since Gulp-Glup liked building things so much, this skill was perfect for it!
Sure enough, when Gulp-Glup learned that it had such a new skill, it danced happily in place, turning into a swaying little dancing tree.
Chu Jiu was thinking that the rewards this time were pretty good when the system notification continued to sound—
[Host has fulfilled the hidden condition “A Toothache Isn’t Just a Pain!”]
[Host has received the special reward “Clinic Opening Guide”]
[“Clinic Opening Guide”: After the host reads this “Guide” and comprehends the corresponding recipes, they will obtain “Clinic Recipes”! ]
Ah, this! This reward is fantastic!
If Bean Village had a clinic, then in the future, if anyone fell and got injured, they wouldn’t have to rely solely on Grandpa Du’s herbal paste anymore!
Sitting on the giant seal’s back, while the daylight was bright and the surrounding air was cold and fresh, Chu Jiu’s mind was clear, and he quickly opened this newly dropped “Guide.”
Hmm, a well-ventilated room, basic tables and chairs, sufficient lighting tools…
These are all very simple.
Isn’t there anything more professional required? Like some equipment, medicine cabinets, etc.?
Chu Jiu quickly flipped through the pages and finally reached the most crucial content:
[What kind of clinic to build, whether leaning towards the use of traditional herbs or various chemical drugs, all depends on]
The line broke off, requiring a page turn.
Chu Jiu excitedly turned the page.
[What kind of physician you find.
In areas with an overall low level of civilization, the hardware conditions of a clinic are far less important than the ability of the physician themselves.
After you find a qualified physician, this guide will automatically generate more detailed instructions based on the physician’s area of expertise.]
Chu Jiu: ……??
He closed the white-covered “Guide” and placed it on his lap.
In other words… he had to find a physician to build a real clinic…
Chu Jiu scratched his head, thinking he’d ask around when he got back.
He still had quite a few copper coins now, perhaps he could spend a little more to hire a physician from the city?
Just as he was thinking, a gust of cold wind blew over, and Chu Jiu sneezed softly.
“Meow, meow, meow meow!” Little Can cried out fiercely.
“Ah ah, put on the hat, right! I’ll put it on right away, don’t worry!” While soothing the fierce little kitty, Chu Jiu found the [Cat-Eared Hat that Keeps the Whole Body Warm] from his backpack.
Chu Jiu noticed that the system had automatically generated a description for this hat:
[Cat-Eared Hat that Keeps the Whole Body Warm: A gift from the Snow Beastmen, woven from rare fur, possessing the magical effect of maintaining body temperature even in extremely cold weather. In addition to this effect, wearing it might also trigger other events…]
Other events? What other events could there be?
Chu Jiu curiously put on the hat and even tugged at the two little ears on top.
At this moment, he saw Little Can first staring straight at him, then with a “sough,” it lay down on the spot and started rolling around while meowing!
It wasn’t until Chu Jiu asked it in surprise, “Little Can, what’s wrong with you?” that it straightened up, nonchalantly licked its paw, and said softly, “N-nothing much…”
Chu Jiu: ……
Could this be the special event triggered by the [Cat-Eared Hat]? Little Can’s mysterious rolling?
Thinking about it that way, it was quite cute.
Next time he wore the hat, he would definitely pay attention to Little Canned Food!
*
As Kaja continued north, the temperature of the seawater dropped lower and lower, and occasionally chunks of ice floe could be seen floating on the surface.
Sometimes, various “residents” unique to extremely cold regions could be seen squatting on the ice floes, lazily basking in the sun.
Such as walruses with two or three-meter-long white tusks, sea otters with short, thick paws, and occasionally polar bears yawning with their mouths wide open.
Although these natives were somewhat interested in Chu Jiu and his group, as soon as they saw Kaja, they would obediently stay in place, continuing to bask in the sun and yawn, and none of them dared to come closer.
After traveling for three days in the icy seawater, they finally reached the entrance to the Azure Icefield.
Between the white ice floes and the deep blue seawater, a faint line of deep black “bridge” was visible.
Kaja raised its head and told Chu Jiu: That’s it! Just walk across the bridge! Kaja will wait for you here to come out!
Chu Jiu left a [Giant Seal-Specific Beach Ball] as a toy for Kaja, stroked Kaja’s long whiskers, and jumped onto the “bridge.”
He looked at the black rocks under his feet and guessed that this was lava solidified after a volcanic eruption, protruding from the icefield into this sea area, forming a unique bridge.
If they had come here when the ice and snow hadn’t melted, this bridge would have been blocked by the ice layer and impossible to detect with the naked eye.
Even in this warmest season, if it hadn’t been for Kaja leading the way, finding this entrance in this vast sea area would have been like finding a needle in a haystack.
After walking along the bridge for a long time, Chu Jiu finally returned to “land.”
However, this land was very different from the barely thawed black soil full of infinite vitality in the previous “Frost Shadow Hills.”
Although the sunlight here was particularly bright, it felt completely devoid of warmth on his body.
Looking around, all he could see were protruding hills. Some of these hills were pure rock, while others were formed from the accumulation of snow and ice over countless years.
The wind blew over the hills, and snow powder and ice crystals swirled down onto the gray ground. And on the ground, there were often cracks as wide as two or three meters and of immeasurable depth. Anyone who leaned their head over to take a few more glances at the bottom of the cracks would suspect whether these gaps led directly to hell.
Walking on such land naturally required extreme caution.
Fortunately, Chu Jiu had the map left by the Feathered Clan’s ancestor.
It was said that when the Feathered Clan’s ancestor came to this land, the temperature was so low and the cold wind so harsh that his wings couldn’t move at all. He could only walk with difficulty on his short legs, but relying on his bird instincts, he found the only path that could bring life.
This map recorded that path.
With this map, they could almost avoid all the unfathomably deep cracks and didn’t need to climb the ice mountains that were hundreds of meters high at every turn. In this way, even though the terrain here was so bizarre, Chu Jiu and his group’s travel speed didn’t slow down too much.
That night, Chu Jiu summoned the golden hamster as usual and found a place to camp under a hill.
The spirit beasts set up the yurt, Chu Jiu lit a bonfire, put up a small pot, and simmered hot milk with a gurgling sound.
Soon, the yurt was filled with warm steam and the aroma of milk.
While Rawr Rawr Rabbit and the others were still drinking milk from their small cups, Chu Jiu had already found the “Azure Icefield map” and began to estimate how much longer they would have to travel tomorrow.
Little Canned Food snuggled up to Chu Jiu’s hand, looking at the map in his hand and meowing curiously.
Chu Jiu patted Little Canned Food’s head and explained, “This map isn’t the one Lu Qingyan and I made together. That map can only be written on Tata’s nest, and Tata needs to replenish energy in Bean Village, so it stayed at the Pioneer’s Cabin.”
Little Canned Food looked at the words Chu Jiu wrote very seriously, stroke by stroke, and raised its cat face: “Meow!”—”Chu Jiu’s handwriting is clearly very cute!”
Chu Jiu was stunned for a moment, then smiled with his eyes crinkling: “Hmm!”
Truly worthy of being Lu Qingyan’s exclusive “kitty,” even its thoughts were so similar to its master’s.
Chu Jiu closed the map, stroked Little Can’s head, and casually muttered to the other spirit beasts, “According to the description on this map, there’s also a mysterious guardian in this ‘Azure Icefield’.”
Rawr Rawr Rabbit smacked its three-lobed mouth, Kakaba wiped the milk foam from its lips, and Glup-Glup retracted its tentacles from the honey water.
The spirit beasts all looked at Chu Jiu curiously: “Guardian?”
Chu Jiu simply expanded on the brief description on the map and told the spirit beast babies a story:
“Mm-hmm. It says that in this almost lifeless icefield, there is a guardian who alone protects a solitary tree.”
“The trunk of this tree is as tough as rock because this guardian waters it with icy spring water every day.”
“The fruit of this tree shines like stars because this guardian carefully wipes it every day.”
“But the guardian… is very lonely. Because this tree cannot speak to it.”
“Later, the Feathered Clan’s ancestor, who was just an ordinary little bird at the time, stumbled upon this tree by mistake.”
“At this time, the little bird was exhausted and its consciousness was blurred.” “It hummed a song in a daze.”
“Its singing attracted this guardian.”
“For so many years, this was the first time the guardian had seen a moving, sound-producing life form come here.”
“The guardian carefully took care of the little bird and even shared its precious fruit with the bird, letting it taste the delicious flesh and sweet juice inside.”
“The little bird came back to life.”
“Not only did it come back to life, but it also learned to speak.”
“The first thing it did after it could speak was to fly into the air and sing a beautiful hymn for the guardian who had helped it.”
“After the little bird finished singing, the guardian stretched out its hands, let the little bird land in its palm, and said to the bird with tears in its eyes that it had never heard such a beautiful song.”
“The guardian also said that the little bird could sing such a clear and loud song, indicating that its body had recovered and it didn’t need to stay here anymore. It could leave this icy icefield and return to the warm mountains.”
“If the little bird was willing, it would give the bird fruit and branches as farewell gifts.”
“The little bird did not accept these gifts. But they made an agreement that one day in the future, if others found this tree according to the little bird’s guidance, the guardian would transfer these gifts to that person.”
“And so, the little bird said goodbye to this kind and lonely guardian.”
“The little bird wrote in the map, ‘I will always remember the diamond-like tears on the guardian’s face’.”
After the story was finished, the spirit beast babies all looked moved.
Kakaba put down its milk cup and exclaimed, “Dang dang dang, this guardian is really special! It probably appreciates the Feathered Clan’s singing as much as Glup-Glup does!”
Chu Jiu: “……”
Rawr Rawr Rabbit hugged its milk cup, its eyes full of longing: “Roar roar roar, I really want to see this extraordinary guardian…”
Chu Jiu stood up and clapped his hands: “I calculated, we should be able to see this tree tomorrow, and maybe this guardian is still there.”
“Now, everyone brush your teeth, rinse your mouths, and get into your sleeping bags.”
*
The next day.
After walking for half a day in the icefield, Chu Jiu saw a “tree” in the distance.
A “tree” that almost pierced the clouds, its deep black trunk reflecting light like obsidian, and the fruits hanging from its branches shimmering like uncut gemstones.
Could this… really be a naturally formed tree?
Chu Jiu quickened his pace forward but found that the ground under his feet had changed:
The primitive, exposed, and uneven rocks had unknowingly turned into a relatively flat ground, as if it had been carefully chiseled and polished by someone.
Walking a few more steps forward, he could also see stone pillars lying on the ground full of cracks, stone tablets broken into pieces, and even giant statues that had fallen to the ground without their heads.
Was this… a man-made square?
Just as he was wondering, his passive skill [Ruins Perception] was triggered.
[Host has newly discovered a “ruin eroded by time.”]
[This ruin should be related to some important rituals.]
Related to important rituals? Could it be a temple or something?
…How amazing, to come to such an icefield to build a temple?
Chu Jiu waited in place for a moment, wanting to see if his passive skill could sense more information.
Unfortunately, the system didn’t pop up with any new prompts.
Chu Jiu continued walking towards the “tree” ahead.
Before he reached the canopy, Chu Jiu heard a heavy sound behind the “tree,” like stones hitting the ground.
This sound… could it be…?
While softly reassuring the spirit beasts not to worry, Chu Jiu stopped again.
“Boom, thump…”
A statue, a stone humanoid statue holding a broadsword also made of stone, walked out from behind the large tree and stood before Chu Jiu.
Its body was ten meters tall, and standing next to the towering tree, it blocked all the sunlight, casting a shadow over Chu Jiu.
Chu Jiu whispered to the spirit beasts, “This, I reckon, is the ‘guardian’ mentioned by the Feathered Clan’s ancestor.”
Chu Jiu let out a soft breath, looked up at the statue, and said loudly:
“Excuse me, are you the guardian of this place?”
“I am Chu Jiu, a pioneer from Bean Village!”
The guardian heavily thrust the broadsword, which was as long as four Chu Jius, into the ground and spoke, “Chu Jiu, pioneer from Bean Village, what brings you to this distant and desolate plain?”
Its voice was loud and ancient, and its speech was extremely slow.
Chu Jiu explained his purpose: to suppress the sea monster, he needed a branch from the “Primal Tree.”
Guardian: “Primal Tree…”
“I didn’t expect that there are still people who know the name of this tree…”
Chu Jiu thought, as expected, he hadn’t come to the wrong place! This was the magical tree that could stop the rampage of magical creatures!
Guardian: “But I cannot give it to you.”
“I am… the guardian of this tree.”
“My mission is to ensure that this tree survives as long as possible.”
“Giving you a branch would harm the tree…”
Chu Jiu was taken aback for a moment, then said, “Your Excellency, in fact, we are friends of the Feathered Clan.”
“We heard from the Feathered Clan’s ancestor that you once made a promise to him that if we came here following his guidance, you would gift us fruit and a branch.”
Guardian: “….Fea….thered….Clan….?”
Chu Jiu: “Do you remember saving a little bird once?”
Chu Jiu then told the guardian that the little bird it had saved back then had become the ancestor of the Feathered Clan and had even left behind a map to find this tree.
The guardian’s speech became even slower: “So….it….was….him…”
“So….good….then….”
Chu Jiu thought that the ancestor was quite reliable after all. It seemed that getting the guardian to give them a branch shouldn’t be a problem.
Unexpectedly, the guardian changed the subject: “You, how do you prove it?”
Chu Jiu: “Huh?”
Guardian: “How do you prove that you are indeed a friend of the Feathered Clan? Or are you just someone who heard this story from others and is using it to deceive me?”
What a rigorous guardian.
Chu Jiu showed it the original map left by the ancestor, but the guardian only said, “I have never seen him write, nor do I recognize these scribbles on your paper. This cannot be counted as proof.”
Even this wouldn’t work?
Chu Jiu then tried to describe some of the Feathered Clan’s characteristics, but the guardian didn’t believe any of it.
Chu Jiu gritted his teeth, thinking that there was only one way left.
He tremblingly took out a small box from his backpack with extreme care.
Chu Jiu told the guardian that he had not only received the map as a gift from the Feathered Clan but also this extremely precious and unparalleled secret treasure of the Feathered Clan—the [Songstone].
According to Little Gray Bird, this stone “recorded” the Feathered Clan ancestor’s original singing voice!
“As long as I open the box, you will hear the ancestor’s singing in the rainy night.”
“I think you might not recognize his writing, but you will definitely recognize his song…”
As Chu Jiu spoke, he reached out and pressed on the edge of the box.
At this moment, the guardian suddenly pulled its sword out of the ground with a “whoosh” and took a few steps back:
“Y-you, what did you say?”
“This box contains his singing?”
Chu Jiu said, “It’s absolutely true! Since you heard him sing a hymn for you, you will definitely not forget his voice!”
Chu Jiu’s fingers gripped the box’s latch: “Do you really need me to open this box for verification?”
Guardian: “!”
It was clearly a statue made of stone, but Chu Jiu was certain that at this moment, he saw “fear,” “panic,” and a “please no, not this” expression on the guardian’s face!
This usually slow-moving giant stone statue, with unexpected agility, thumped and thumped to the side of the “Primal Tree,” heavily chopped off a branch with its broadsword, and then handed it to Chu Jiu: “Take it, hurry and leave!”
“I believe you are a true friend of the Feathered Clan, no more verification is needed!”
“Don’t open that box, leave quickly!”
Chu Jiu didn’t even have time to say thank you before the guardian, wielding its broadsword, chased him away.
Chu Jiu turned around and began to sprint, while hearing the guardian roar in agony behind him:
“Ahhh, why did you have to remind me!!”
“That adorable, sweet little bird, why did it have such a terrifying singing voice after eating the fruit and gaining intelligence!”
“No, no, no, that was all an illusion!”
“After listening to that song, I couldn’t even get up to water my tree for a long time! The tree almost withered!”
“It was too terrifying, I never want to hear that sound again!”
The spirit beasts huddled in Chu Jiu’s backpack pockets, looking shocked:
“How could this be? Doesn’t the guardian like the Feathered Clan’s singing either? If it didn’t like it, why did it agree to give it a branch?”
Chu Jiu said while running, “That wasn’t a gift! It was ‘hush money’ begged from the Feathered Clan so they wouldn’t sing anymore! Only the little bird people themselves didn’t realize it!”
But in any case, the branch of the “Primal Tree” was in hand!
Time to go back to Bean Village! Prepare to subdue the sea monster! Make grilled iron plate squid!
*
Although Chu Jiu didn’t waste a single day, it was already early June when he finally emerged from the underground passage of the Forgotten Forest again.
When he left, it was April, the wheat in the fields was still green, and the villagers had just planted the first batch of beans;
When he returned, the wheat had turned golden yellow, and the beans had blossomed with small purple and pink flowers.
The villagers were busy preparing to harvest the wheat, busy preparing to plant the second batch of beans, and busy taking care of the corn, sugarcane, and cotton in the fields.
Bean Village was a bustling and thriving place.
As soon as Chu Jiu returned to Bean Village, the old village chief, leaning on his cane, came to find him with Douglas.
The old village chief excitedly patted Chu Jiu’s shoulder: “Little Jiu, we’ve built that blueprint you gave us last time, come and take a look!”
