Chapter 94: Capybara
Chu Jiu slowly sat up straight, “big eyes staring at small eyes” with the shadow.
Before he could figure out how to speak, the shadow bowed to him first: “Hello, holder of the ‘Heart of the Undead’.”
Oh, so it was the undead of this village…
Chu Jiu first patted Little Can, who had already tensed its back and was ready to scratch at any moment, to relax the little guy. Then, he returned the bow to the shadow: “Hello, I am a pioneer from the human world, sorry for the intrusion.”
The shadow said, “I know you… you are Chu Jiu, the pioneer of Bean Village, ‘Friend of the Sprites,’ ‘Eye Protector’.”
Chu Jiu: ….
Help, this title of “Eye Protector,” spoken so seriously by another, no, by another ghost, sounded so awkward?
No wonder Xiao Ku laughed his head off at the beginning!
Although the shadow was a vague, indistinct form, its voice sounded calm and composed, with a slight hint of age.
It said again, “I am the physician who previously lived in seclusion here, and also Xiao Ku’s master.”
“After my death, due to certain reasons, I transformed into an undead and can only meet you in this form.”
In fact, Chu Jiu had already guessed a bit. The shadow’s “introduction” perfectly verified his guess.
He bowed to the shadow again: “Old sir.”
The shadow responded with a smile, “Young man, I am a bit curious about your titles—can you tell me how you obtained this ‘Eye Protector’ title?”
Chu Jiu then briefly explained how he discovered the severe nearsightedness of the Sea Clan, how he had the little squirrels make glass, and then asked human craftsmen to grind lenses.
The shadow sighed, “So it’s ‘glasses’ to improve eyesight… truly good, truly good.”
“If my teachers had been able to use such glasses in their earlier years, they would surely have seen more clearly when performing surgery on patients.”
Chu Jiu: “Old sir, when you say ‘earlier years,’ do you mean…?”
The shadow pondered for a moment and said, “About… a few hundred years ago, perhaps.”
“At that time, demon beasts invaded, and everyone fought back fiercely, resulting in countless casualties… My teachers stayed on the battlefield, saving people day and night.”
As the shadow spoke, it sighed, “These things, I only heard about.”
“When it came to my generation…”
“The association had already forbidden us from practicing medicine.”
“They said that we ‘who wielded sharp blades’ were heretics not allowed by the true gods and had no right to treat and save people.”
“They also said that to heal the body, ‘healing-type ability users’ were enough.”
“Our situation became increasingly difficult… some people would even die inexplicably in their homes…”
“Helplessly, we could only flee to the wilderness for refuge, hiding in such a small village.”
“In those years, some people who had nowhere else to seek medical help inquired everywhere and finally ran to the wilderness to find us, and we treated them.”
“Later, I don’t know how the news spread, but the outside world gradually had a legend about a physician village in the wilderness that had practiced medicine for generations…”
“What physician village that practiced medicine for generations… it was just a group of old people eking out a living here…”
At this point, the shadow shook its illusory head self-deprecatingly, “Forgive me, I have spoken of such distant things.”
“It is probably because it is rare to encounter someone who wears the ‘Heart of the Undead’ and can understand the words of the undead that I have become so talkative.”
Chu Jiu quickly said, “No, no, I was originally very curious about the truth of the ‘physician village.’ It is my honor to hear it from you, old sir.”
The shadow sighed again, “No, to meet a ‘pioneer’ like you, and for you to take Xiao Ku out of here, is the honor of us who have passed away.”
Hearing this, Chu Jiu became a little curious, “You said you are an undead, then Xiao Ku… could it be that he is not an undead?”
Thinking about it, Xiao Ku never seemed to notice that he was wearing the “Heart of the Undead.”
The shadow shook its head, “Xiao Ku is not an undead.”
“He is…”
The shadow hesitated for a moment and said, “Young man, have you ever heard that there is a very special race in this land that can attach itself to certain objects and become a ‘spirit’?”
Chu Jiu: “For example, a ‘book spirit’?”
The shadow said in surprise, “Yes! You actually know about book spirits?”
Chu Jiu truthfully told the old gentleman that he not only knew about book spirits but also had a little book spirit at home entrusted to him by another old gentleman. The book spirit was small and round, floated around very cutely, and would emit a dazzling light when full.
The shadow sighed, “That’s wonderful… In that case, you will surely understand what Xiao Ku is.”
“He is a ‘bone spirit’.”
“His body is a skeleton that was left behind who knows how many years ago and has turned into stone.”
“We brought those scattered stones back to the village, originally just wanting to carve a skeletal specimen as something to do.”
“Later, as time passed, this skeleton developed intelligence…”
“We, a group of old people, originally thought there would be no successor, but seeing such a new life, we simply taught him everything we had learned in our lives, and that’s how we have the current Xiao Ku…”
“I said just now that I became an undead and stayed in this village due to certain reasons—it was because I was worried about Xiao Ku and couldn’t let go, which is why I couldn’t leave.”
“Now, thankfully, thankfully, thankfully you have come…”
Chu Jiu quickly said, “Old sir, please rest assured, our village has all kinds of races. After Xiao Ku goes to Bean Village with us, he will be as happy as the little book spirit.”
The shadow sighed again, “Thank you… kind young man.”
It paused for a moment and then said, “Do you have some doubts? Since I was worried about leaving Xiao Ku here alone, why did I set such harsh conditions before, even scaring away everyone else?”
Chu Jiu: “I guess your conditions were to choose the most suitable environment for Xiao Ku?”
The shadow slowly nodded: “That’s right…”
“I wanted to find an environment for Xiao Ku that would not reject physicians and would not regard us who wielded knives as heretics.”
“Not only that…”
The shadow suddenly changed the subject: “Young man, how much effort did it take you to make that potion I asked for?”
Chu Jiu thought for a moment and said sincerely that he had made it with the help of many people.
Some people told him the recipe, some searched everywhere for bacterial strains, some went to the sea to harvest seaweed ash, some collected ore, and some made utensils…
And at the beginning, the city lord of Sea Moon City helped him search throughout the Carrot Continent for someone who knew the recipe.
Without the help of these people, it would have been absolutely impossible for him to make this potion in such a short time.
The shadow said:
“Young man, do you know that my teacher, and my teacher’s teacher, all once wanted to make this ‘infection-preventing’ medicine?”
“However, their conditions simply did not allow it.”
“Since you have completed this process, you must know how difficult it is to obtain even the simplest glass petri dish…”
“This kind of medicine could not have been made without sufficient support.”
The shadow’s voice rose slightly, its tone becoming more solemn: “And you made it, which means that no matter how bad the external environment is, there is at least one place that already has enough power to resist the shackles that imprison us.”
“Only in this way… is it meaningful for Xiao Ku to leave here.”
“I cannot watch as our last, last hope is sent to a place without the slightest glimmer of light.”
The shadow’s voice slowly lowered again, and its head drooped slowly: “Perhaps, this is the selfishness of an old man…”
Chu Jiu shook his head: “This is not selfishness, this is both… the heart of human parents, and a more stable and rational approach.”
The shadow chuckled twice and murmured softly, “So it’s the heart of parents…”
As it spoke, the already hazy shadow gradually became even more ethereal, like a wisp of morning mist.
The shadow floated again: “Thank you, young man, brave pioneer.”
“I have nothing more to worry about…”
“May our Xiao Ku… never have to return to this village…”
“Farewell… young man…”
The white mist completely disappeared.
Darkness returned to silence.
Chu Jiu bowed again in the direction where the shadow had disappeared, then lay back down, holding Little Can.
*
The next day.
Xiao Ku tidied up all the bed sheets, locked every room, and set off with Chu Jiu and the others.
The moment they left the village with Xiao Ku, Chu Jiu received a system notification:
[Host has triggered the related event “The Lingering Attachment of the Undead Physician”!]
[Do you want to accept the reward now?]
[If you accept the reward now, you can receive a total of 21,000 pioneering points from the series of related events including “The Lingering Attachment of the Undead Physician,” “The Wish of the Lighthouse Keeper,” “Even the Sunset Glow Should Not Be Underestimated,” “The Boy’s True Wish,” “The Little Dream of the Merchant,” and “Protecting the Little Dream of the Merchant.”]
Twenty-one thousand pioneering points!
That was exactly enough to make up for the 20,000 points he had spent upgrading the mirror before!
So, should he accept it now?
Chu Jiu, who had always chosen “continue to accumulate” without hesitation before, wavered for the first time.
After all, he had suddenly become poor again, with only a little over six thousand pioneering points left.
The system continued to prompt:
[Since the host’s unclaimed pioneering points have accumulated to over 20,000 points, if the host chooses to accumulate the claim, a premium will be generated based on the situation during the final settlement, and the final settlement value will not be less than twice the host’s total unclaimed pioneering points.]
A premium!
Okay, okay, then he would endure it a little longer and continue to accumulate!
Chu Jiu once again refused to cash out immediately and chose to hold long-term.
Less than two seconds later, the system popped up another notification:
[Congratulations to the host for achieving the hidden condition “Late-Night Confidential Talk with the Undead”!]
[Host has received a special reward: “Heart of the Undead” effectiveness increased!
The enhanced “Heart of the Undead” can not only make ordinary undead respect the wearer but can also temporarily restore the sanity of special undead who have fallen into chaos and madness.
Please keep and use the “Heart of the Undead” properly.]
Special undead who have fallen into chaos and madness…
Chu Jiu touched the diamond-shaped “Heart of the Undead” on his chest, thinking about what kind of undead that might be.
They traveled quickly.
As the first winter snow fell on Bean Village, Chu Jiu finally rushed back to the village.
He directly took Xiao Ku to see the village chief.
Before Xiao Ku began treatment, the most important thing was to get everyone to accept this physician with an “unconventional appearance.”
Fortunately, the old village chief, who had seen all sorts of non-human intelligent creatures, showed no fear or panic when he saw Xiao Ku.
The old man smiled kindly, took out the parchment scroll used to register villagers, and wrote on it with a quill pen: [Name: Xiao Ku][Race: Bone Spirit][Occupation: Physician].
The old man also called Aman and asked Aman to take Xiao Ku for a walk around the village tomorrow—if anyone had any questions, just say that this was a physician specially invited back by Brother Chu Jiu, a very, very powerful one.
After everything was settled, Xiao Ku ran up to the old village chief, squatted down to look at the old man’s legs, and then raised its white bone head: “Grandpa, have your legs been broken before?”
“Although you don’t need to wear splints anymore, does your leg hurt a lot every time it rains or snows?”
The old village chief laughed:
“Oh? Even Doctor Xiao Ku can see that?”
“It does hurt a bit—but it’s nothing serious.”
Xiao Ku said, “No, no, this kind of pain in the bone cracks is very uncomfortable!”
“Don’t worry, Xiao Ku knows how to treat it!”
“Although I can’t make your leg the same as before, I can at least make it stop hurting!”
The old village chief was surprised: “Really?”
What Xiao Ku said was exactly right. Every time it rained or snowed, his injured leg would hurt so much that he couldn’t sleep. But he didn’t want to worry others or cause them trouble, so he always silently endured it without saying a word.
Xiao Ku nodded vigorously: “Really, it really won’t hurt anymore!”
It turned its head, its dark eye sockets looking at Chu Jiu: “That, I need a few herbs…”
As soon as Xiao Ku said the names of the herbs, Chu Jiu’s heart leaped with joy: hey, he had all these herbs in his backpack!
Thanks to his good habit of “since I’m here, I might as well take something away,” he would always grab a handful of things wherever he went.
Chu Jiu handed the herbs to Xiao Ku, and then for the first time, he saw with his own eyes how Xiao Ku turned these leaves into herbal paste with efficiency far exceeding that of humans.
Xiao Ku asked the old village chief to roll up his trouser legs, applied the bowl of paste to the old man’s calf, wrapped it with a cloth, and told Aman, “Change the dressing once a day for a week, and the old man’s leg pain will definitely get better!”
The old village chief was stunned.
He had thought that at his age, bone pain was just something to endure—he hadn’t expected that it could actually be cured?
Chu Jiu was also a little surprised.
His surprise was because he hadn’t expected Xiao Ku to be so skilled in using herbs.
But then he thought that since the undead old gentleman had said that “the physicians of a village had taught Xiao Ku everything they had learned in their lives,” then Xiao Ku was undoubtedly a top-notch general practitioner!
Although the old village chief didn’t know the inside story like Chu Jiu, he once again realized that this little skeleton physician that Chu Jiu had brought back could see his old ailment at a glance and was definitely extraordinary!
It seemed that the dozens of ability users in the village who were so weak that they were almost unable to get out of bed really had hope!
*
Doctor Xiao Ku started working the next day.
After examining more than thirty ability users, he listed a large number of special herbs, as well as salt, sugar, charcoal powder, distilled water, and so on.
Chu Jiu had plenty of salt and charcoal powder in stock; the village’s [Sugar Mill] had opened some time ago, so the supply of sugar was also not a problem.
However, there were a few herbs that even Chu Jiu had never heard of.
He thought for a moment, then took paper and pen, found Xiao Ku, and asked Xiao Ku to describe the appearance or any special characteristics of these herbs in detail, and then Chu Jiu drew them one by one.
After getting the drawings, he found the chestnut sprites and the little birdmen and asked them to inquire and help collect them.
Xiao Ku looked at Chu Jiu’s actions, somewhat puzzled: “Will this really get the herbs?”
Chu Jiu: “Don’t worry, it definitely will!”
Sure enough.
A few days later, on the very day that the old village chief happily announced, “My leg doesn’t hurt at all anymore,” the chestnut sprites and the little birdmen brought large bunches of herbs to Chu Jiu’s small courtyard.
This speed was even faster than Chu Jiu himself riding the Bodo bird to farm for materials.
Doctor Xiao Ku, who received the herbs, was overjoyed: “Enough, this is enough! I will definitely make their bodies better!”
Looking at Doctor Xiao Ku preparing to boil the medicine, Chu Jiu told him what Lu Qingyan had instructed him.
After listening, Doctor Xiao Ku nodded: “I understand!”
“I will pay attention to this when I treat them!”
*
That day, Chu Jiu had just come out of his small courtyard when he saw Aman waiting outside with an expectant look on his face.
“What’s wrong, Aman?” Chu Jiu asked with a smile.
Aman: “Brother Chu Jiu, aren’t you so busy today?”
Chu Jiu said, “Ah, today is indeed not busy—it’s kind of a rest day.”
Yesterday afternoon, Doctor Xiao Ku had already started boiling the medicine. The physician that Douglas and the others had invited also went to help and learn at the same time.
In this way, the matter of “treating ability users” finally made great progress.
Chu Jiu, who had been busy non-stop for several months, could finally slow down a bit.
Aman’s eyes lit up: “Really?!”
Chu Jiu: “…Really.”
Aman immediately turned around, held a loudspeaker, and shouted loudly, “Brother Chu Jiu said he’s not busy today!! Everyone, come quick!!”
Chu Jiu couldn’t help but take a step back: Huh?
What was going on?
Before he could react, he saw not far away, Lin Wen, Grandma Zhu, and Irene and Mary, all carrying baskets and holding plates, walking over happily.
Chu Jiu was still completely confused: What on earth was going on?
Even Little Can stared blankly with wide eyes: “Meow?”
Irene had already walked quickly up to him: “Xiao Jiu!”
“Knowing you’ve been incredibly busy, we haven’t come to find you.”
“Wasn’t the end of last month the New Year?”
“You helped everyone go out to find a doctor, so you couldn’t make it to this year’s ‘New Year Market’.”
Chu Jiu: “Ah…”
He had heard the old village chief mention it.
Bean Village had also held a New Year Market this year.
Although Chu Jiu hadn’t been there, Bean Village at this time already had enough “good things” to attract people from Emerald Town, Amber Town, and even Sea Moon City and Cloud Mountain City.
Such as the unique “glass jars,” such as the “brown sugar” and “sugarcane juice” that others had never even heard of…
Not only that, but also the soft cotton cloth that could be used to make clothes for small babies, and the “lenses” that could improve the eyesight of the elderly.
This year’s New Year Market attracted even more people than last year! Many people were already inquiring about moving into the village!
When the old village chief mentioned this, he was both proud and regretful.
Proud, of course, of the village’s vibrant situation. Regretful that Chu Jiu, the child who had come up with the idea of the “Bean Village New Year Market” and who had initially attracted so many people, was away on business and couldn’t make it to this lively market.
Chu Jiu had smiled at the time and said it was okay, as long as the market was successful, that was the best—he might have missed this time, but there would be a next time.
After that, Chu Jiu had considered the matter closed.
Why would Irene mention this?
“This, look at this—”
Irene uncovered the cloth on her basket, revealing pastries smeared with a bit of dark red paste:
“This! These are pastries made with brown sugar!”
“These pastries were so popular at the New Year Market!”
“I thought Xiao Jiu hadn’t tasted them yet, so I decided that no matter what, I would make them for you alone after you came back!”
Lin Wen also walked over: “Chu Jiu, you said tofu could also be made into dried food—we did it!”
“At the market, we followed your example, set up a pot, heated oil, and used the oil to fry this dried tofu. So many people lined up to eat it!”
“This is a fresh batch I made, just for you.”
There was also Grandma Hao’s grilled small fish seasoned with soy sauce; and Mrs. Rose’s biscuits with honey and baking soda…
Everyone said that although Xiao Jiu hadn’t been able to make it to this year’s New Year Market, Xiao Jiu should have all the good things from the market!
Chu Jiu hugged the large pile of food, his eyes unknowingly turned red, and after a long while, he whispered:
“Do I… love to eat that much…?”
“If I eat all of this, I’m afraid I’ll become even rounder than the big beaver.”
The villagers all laughed.
Irene hugged Chu Jiu and said to him, “Xiao Jiu, you’ve worked hard…”
“Everything in the market is inseparable from you.”
“Thank you, Chu Jiu.”
Buried in all sorts of food, Chu Jiu received a system notification:
[Regional Pioneering Progress has increased to 51%!]
[The status of the Honor Region has changed again, please click to view.]
[Honor Region: Bean Village]
[Village Evaluation: Using water power to drive millstones, growing sugarcane to produce cane sugar, picking cotton to weave cotton cloth, smelting sand and stone to make glass…
Various long-lost skills have gathered in this once unremarkable village.
With external support, this small village is doubling in both area and population!
Amazingly, despite such rapid population growth, this village still provides enough food for its villagers, and there has been no food shortage!
This is truly a thriving village that fills people with longing.
It is believed that in the near future, this magical village will become a legendary town.]
[Village Specialties: Bean products, brown sugar, poultry meat and egg products, honey products, glass products, “Dwarf Beastmen Blacksmith Shop” forges]
[Resident Status: The villagers regard this village as their irreplaceable home. They are willing to work tirelessly for the development of the village and for a happier life for themselves and their families.]
[Precautions: Under the influence of certain external factors, the village is in an excellent period of development with minimal external obstacles. Please seize the opportunity, develop the village as much as possible, and increase the pioneering progress as much as possible!]
An excellent period of development…
Chu Jiu smiled.
He took a pastry smeared with brown sugar paste and bit into it.
This pastry was much tastier than the bread Irene had made before. The flour was fine, the texture was soft, with the aroma of wheat; and that precious brown sugar added a rare sweetness to this simple pastry.
It was not hard to imagine how popular such pastries were at the market.
Being able to make such pastries was inseparable from the sugar mill built by the Wheat River and the dam on the Wheat River.
Chu Jiu put away the villagers’ gifts and said to the spirit beast babies on his backpack, “Let’s go take a look by the Wheat River.”
Take a look at the big beaver’s dam, see the area of the sugar mill, and then think about where the paper mill should be built…
In short, there was still a lot to do!
The spirit beast babies nodded one after another, and Kakaba happily squinted its small eyes: “Dang dang dang! Okay, okay, we can play in the mud with the big beaver again!”
*
Before even reaching the Wheat River, Chu Jiu first heard the sound of rushing water.
The Wheat River, which originally had a gentle flow, wouldn’t make such a small waterfall-like sound.
Walking a bit further, a dam that could be called “magnificent” suddenly appeared before Chu Jiu.
This dam had created a “reservoir” by blocking the Wheat River. Beside the dam was an irrigation canal dug by the little squirrels and humans together. The water flow from the high place rushed down the irrigation canal, driving a water wheel, which in turn drove the pressing machine in the sugar mill.
In late autumn, the sugarcane harvested from the fields would be transported here via the “Glup-Glup Road,” pressed into sugarcane juice, and then sent to large pots for boiling and sun-drying…
Finally, it would become the ” brown sugar” that the villagers of Bean Village were proud of and that was unique throughout the Carrot Continent.
Looking at the dam, Chu Jiu said to Kakaba, “Kakaba, I brought some fresh cabbage, take it to eat with the big beaver.”
If it weren’t for the big beaver building the dam, how could such a sugar mill have been built by the Wheat River?
Kakaba nodded happily: “Dang dang dang!”
Just then, a furry big head popped out of the river, squeaking loudly towards them!
Ah, it was the big beaver.
The big beaver excitedly climbed onto the bank and waved its paws vigorously at Chu Jiu and Kakaba, its big tail thumping on the bank.
Chu Jiu smiled and said to Kakaba, “It seems to be waiting for you? Go quickly!”
The capybara immediately jumped off the backpack, carrying a small basket of fresh vegetables on its head, and trotted with small steps towards the riverbank.
Chu Jiu, on the other hand, walked to another open space, put down Rawr Rawr Rabbit, and asked the little guy to help check if bamboo could be planted on this land now.
While Rawr Rawr Rabbit was analyzing the soil, Kakaba trotted back with its short legs, panting, and looked up at Chu Jiu a little shyly: “Dang dang dang! Just now, the big beaver said it wants us to do a favor!”
Chu Jiu: “Hmm? What favor?”
Kakaba: “The big beaver said it saw a very beautiful beaver in the Sunny Plateau…”
Chu Jiu: “Oh…”
Kakaba: “Dang dang dang, it plans to go and express its love to the beautiful beaver, but it’s a little scared and wants us to go with it…”
Chu Jiu said, “Okay. When does it want to go?”
Kakaba: “But, isn’t Chu Jiu very, very busy recently? Even the time for sleeping has become less?”
Chu Jiu smiled: “The big beaver is your friend, right? Of course, you have to help a friend with such an important matter.”
“Besides,” Chu Jiu pointed to the dam, “the big beaver worked so hard to build the dam, wasn’t it also so it could live with the beaver it loves?”
“So, don’t worry, we’ll go with it!”
Hearing Chu Jiu say this, Kakaba smiled very happily: “Dang dang dang! Okay! I’ll go tell it right away!”
*
Arsa Star.
“Marshal!” On the optical computer screen, Doctor Sun looked excited.
“Just now, Major General Kang’s spiritual body, all the wounds have healed!”
“The Major General’s own vital signs are also very stable—continuously stable! This is a situation that has never occurred in the past few years!”
“We believe he will regain consciousness soon!”
“At the same time as Major General Kang regains consciousness, with the help of the ‘channel’ you built earlier, his spiritual body that fell in WT0906—that little capybara—should be able to reintegrate with the spiritual body here!”
“Major General Kang’s spiritual body can return from that world!”
