Mountain God’s Forest Farm

Chapter 82: Subadult

Ying Kongtu managed the mountain forest very well.

In a mountain forest with abundant food and an excellent environment, the hornets also grew very well.

Last time, when they dug out the hornets’ nest, they had taken away most of the pupae and the hornets inside the nest, leaving only a small portion of pupae and the hornets that had gone out.

Now, when they went up Baogu Mountain again to take a look, the original nest had been abandoned, and a new nest had developed nearby.

The new colony had grown fiercely. Although the number of hornets inside was not as large as last time, under the nourishment of divine power, this batch of hornets was even stronger and more terrifying.

Not only had their stingers become thicker and longer, their bodies also seemed as if they were made of metal, even carrying a metallic sheen. Just looking at them from afar made one shudder.

Ying Kongtu stretched out a finger and roughly measured in the air, saying in a breathy voice, “They’re one-third bigger than before.”

“If hornets like these sting people, something will happen, right?”

“Indeed. We can’t let them stay here anymore. We have to put them somewhere more remote and restrict their range of activity.”

This nest of hornets was truly too fierce.

Together, Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan carefully moved them to the mountaintop of Qingfang Mountain and restricted their range of movement, so they would not sting people or animals that accidentally wandered over.

Raising a nest of large hornets required enough space.

Ying Kongtu could not free up that much space, so he had no choice but to clear out another portion of the hornets and take away some of the pupae.

Fortunately, Wen Zhongshan had gone up the mountain with him. Otherwise, with Ying Kongtu’s own skills, he most likely would have been stung while handling this nest of hornets.

The two returned home.

Xian Niao smelled the scent and came up to sniff them.

Ying Kongtu quickly lifted the carrying basket. “Careful. We brought hornets back today. The hornets may still have residual toxicity, so don’t touch them.”

Xian Niao gently touched Ying Kongtu’s arm with its wolf muzzle. “Awoo.”

Wen Zhongshan reminded him from the side, “It may have smelled the honey.”

Only then did Ying Kongtu react. “You want honey water, right? Wait a moment. Let us put the basket down first.”

Today, when they divided the bee colonies, they had specially taken one frame of honeycomb from each of the three old beehives.

The honey in these three frames was different from the honey before. It was genuine honey nourished by divine power.

Just looking at it, this honey was very different from the previous honey.

It had very high transparency, its texture resembled some kind of gemstone, and it also released a rich, sweet fragrance.

Xian Niao had smelled precisely this aroma.

As soon as Xian Niao came over, the other furry ones also squeezed in.

When they had been farther away, they had not smelled it. Now that they were close, they all caught that sweet scent and could not help becoming excited.

“Meow-ao.” Tiaozhu stretched out a paw pad and patted Ying Kongtu’s knee.

“Wait, don’t rush. At least let us put things down and catch our breath.” Ying Kongtu held the basket high. “Hey, don’t paw at this. Be careful with my basket.”

The furry ones could no longer hold back, especially the most impatient Dart. It even lost control and stretched out its claws to pat Ying Kongtu’s pants.

Unfortunately, this silly cat’s claw tips caught on Ying Kongtu’s pants, and it could not retract them.

When this sixteen-or-seventeen-jin big orange tabby dropped toward the ground, Ying Kongtu’s pants almost got dragged down by it.

“Hey.” Ying Kongtu awkwardly reached out to grab his waistband. “Wen Zhongshan, help me quickly.”

Wen Zhongshan took the basket from his hand with a smile and carried it into the kitchen.

Only then did Ying Kongtu free his hands and remove Dart’s claws.

He had just been about to smack the cat when Dart rolled on the spot, pressed the back of its head against the ground, exposed its belly, and looked at Ying Kongtu with a pair of clear, round eyes. “Meow-ao.”

Its meow was sweet and melodious. Ying Kongtu had no way to deal with it, so he could only pick it up and rub its belly.

After finally settling this group of little fellows, Ying Kongtu said helplessly, “Your noses are way too sharp. The wax cappings on the honey haven’t even been opened yet, and you can still smell it?”

Xian Niao said, “Awoo.”

It meant that it could smell it.

Ying Kongtu said, “Wait a moment. We’ll extract the honey right away.”

Their kitchen was a forbidden zone for the furry ones. None of them were allowed to go in.

So, while the two extracted the honey, the group of furry ones squeezed at the kitchen doorway, their round heads even directly poking into the kitchen.

As a golden eagle, Shuangzhong was the lightest. It was squeezed crookedly by Dart and Jingwei and cried anxiously, flapping its wings hard. “Kiki!”

In the end, Xian Niao glanced at it, picked it up in its mouth, and placed it in front of itself so it could also join in the excitement.

Seeing that they were truly far too curious about the taste of honey, Ying Kongtu directly cut off honeycomb pieces and gave each little fellow a piece first.

“Here, Tiaozhu.” Ying Kongtu gently tossed it, and Tiaozhu leapt lightly up, catching the honeycomb in midair.

Ying Kongtu tossed pieces separately to Xian Niao, Dart, Jingwei, and Shuangzhong.

Aside from Dart, whose skills were rather average and who failed to catch it, causing the honeycomb to fall to the ground, the other little fellows all caught theirs.

They carried the honeycomb pieces to their food bowls and happily enjoyed this rare dessert.

Dart picked up the honeycomb from the ground and did not mind at all. With its tail raised high, it trotted over to the food bowl area as well.

Ying Kongtu cut off two more pieces, stuffed one into Wen Zhongshan’s mouth, and tasted one himself too.

He gently bit into the honeycomb, and the honey inside was squeezed out.

It was sweet, soft, and carried a peculiar fragrance. It tasted as silky as hot chocolate, yet was not cloying at all.

The main thing was that the fragrance inside was too wondrous.

Within its aroma, there was not only a complex floral fragrance, but also a trace of an especially fresh and bracing scent. It was like rain, like mist, like moonlight, like mountain spring water, like the dense forests of summer and the wind blowing from snow mountains in winter.

Ying Kongtu truly did not know how to describe it. When he tasted it, all kinds of things arose in his heart, as though a vast scroll had slowly unfolded before his eyes.

Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan looked at each other.

Both of them were amazed.

Wen Zhongshan said softly, “So this is honey nourished by divine power.”

“I feel it isn’t only because of the divine power. The bees are also special.” Ying Kongtu said in a low voice, “Looks like we hunted down several very good bee colonies this time.”

Wen Zhongshan thought for a moment. “When they first arrived, the honey they collected wasn’t this fragrant. I’m more inclined to think that after being nourished by divine power during this period, they underwent a slight mutation.”

Ying Kongtu agreed. “That’s also possible.”

The two discussed it quietly. The more they discussed, the more they felt that the bees on the mountain were extremely rare.

Even if they did it again and hunted down another batch of bees, those bees probably would not undergo such a marvelous mutation.

Ying Kongtu had a faint guess in his heart.

Back then, when his and Wen Zhongshan’s divine powers had intertwined, it had triggered a subtle tremor throughout the mountain forest.

Not only had Shuangzhong been awakened by that subtle tremor and run out, the bees had probably been affected too.

“Forget it. We won’t spin the honey. Let me find a fresh-keeping box and put this honey into the fridge together with the comb.”

The honey was too precious. Spinning it would waste some.

If they preserved it together with the honeycomb, then whether they wanted to make honey water or eat it directly as a snack, it would be a very good choice.

This time, in order to leave enough honey for the six bee colonies so they could smoothly develop into new colonies, Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan had only taken three frames of comb.

This bit of comb was definitely not enough for the two adults and five furry ones.

Ying Kongtu thought for a moment, then only cut off one piece to make honey water.

Eating the honey straight was too wasteful. It was better to drink some honey water.

In the courtyard, the furry ones had already finished their portions of honey and were still licking their mouths, unsatisfied.

When they saw Ying Kongtu bring out honey water, their eyes lit up, and they immediately gathered around.

Ying Kongtu gave each furry one a portion. “Drink a little more and enjoy it.”

“Meow-ao.”

“Awoo.”

“Kiki!”

When it came to this kind of good thing, Ying Kongtu basically distributed it among the furry ones at home by headcount.

However, this time, when pouring the honey water, Ying Kongtu only poured half a bowl for Dart.

Dart raised its head and looked at Ying Kongtu with a shocked expression.

For a cat, it was truly impressive that its face could show such a vivid look of shock.

Ying Kongtu said, “You can’t drink that much. I’ll save half a bowl for you to drink tonight.”

Dart protested against his partiality. “Meow-ao!”

Ying Kongtu lightly flicked the tip of its nose. “Eyes bigger than your stomach. Fine, I’ll fill it for you. If you can’t finish it, leave it and drink it tonight.”

Ying Kongtu also poured Dart a full bowl of honey water. All five bowls of honey water were just level with the rims.

Only then was Dart satisfied. “Mi.”

Dart and the others drank the honey water together.

In the end, after only licking two mouthfuls with soft little lapping sounds, Dart fell asleep beside the bowl.

Seeing that it was about to knock the bowl over, Ying Kongtu quickly carried its bowl to the table and set it aside for now.

When he turned back to look again, Dart had already fallen asleep in the wind. The summer breeze slowly blew through its long fur, making its white belly look especially soft.

Looking at the orange tabby sleeping sprawled on its back, Ying Kongtu shook his head in amusement and gently carried it to its nest to sleep.

Dart was the first to fall asleep, and Jingwei soon could not hold out either.

Next came Shuangzhong and Tiaozhu. They fell asleep at the same time. After Xian Niao finished its honey water, it still persisted in walking to its nest before lying down and falling asleep.

The honey had been nourished by divine power and was somewhat like candy that had concentrated divine power.

After Tiaozhu and the others ate it, they felt a little tipsy, as if they were drunk.

That was divine power transforming and nourishing their bodies. As their bodies rapidly changed, their consciousness found it difficult to stay awake, so they all fell asleep.

“It’s so quiet.” Ying Kongtu looked at the sleeping furry ones, smiled, and went over to pick up Tiaozhu, sending it back to its nest as well.

Wen Zhongshan picked up Shuangzhong at the same time.

Only the big wolf Jingwei was left, so the two came out and made another trip to carry it.

Ying Kongtu even held Jingwei’s thick, sturdy paw and shook it.

During this period of time, Jingwei had grown a little bigger again. It already looked like an adult wolf now, its tail and paws both thick and strong.

If it returned to a wolf pack, it would definitely become the wolf king.

Seeing Jingwei grow from something like a tiny rag into its current majestic appearance, Ying Kongtu felt gratified and rubbed its head again.

Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan would not become tipsy from this small amount of divine power, but they also felt somewhat lazy and sleepy.

After the two tidied up the miscellaneous items in the kitchen, they returned to Wen Zhongshan’s side to sleep.

Because they had eaten honey containing divine power, both of them slept very deeply.

Ying Kongtu held Wen Zhongshan’s arm, resting his head on his shoulder, his sleeping expression extremely peaceful.

It was not until after three in the afternoon that he suddenly woke with a start. He abruptly sat up in bed and opened his eyes.

Wen Zhongshan also immediately sat up and opened his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Shuangzhong’s body has changed!” Ying Kongtu lifted the thin blanket covering him. “Its condition is unstable. Quickly, get dressed. Let’s go back and check!”

Wen Zhongshan swiftly took down the clothes hanging nearby and handed them to him. “Changed?”

“Isn’t Shuangzhong a half-grown golden eagle? When it became a little mountain god, it was in a subadult state. For all these years, it has remained in that subadult state.” Ying Kongtu spoke extremely quickly. “I had even worried for a while that there would be no way to let it mature afterward, so I could only put the matter aside for now.”

Ying Kongtu hurriedly put on his outer clothes and pulled out his half-long hair. “Now its condition has changed. It may be shifting from its subadult state into an adult state.”

“That’s a good thing!”

“Yes! But when golden eagles mature, their bodies undergo fairly major changes, especially since nearly all their feathers have to be replaced. Shuangzhong isn’t an ordinary golden eagle, so it may not undergo ordinary molting.”

At this point, Ying Kongtu grew worried. “I wonder how it is now. Can it molt and grow up smoothly?”

“It will definitely be fine. A mountain god and a little mountain god in an ascending stage won’t have problems.” Wen Zhongshan hugged Ying Kongtu firmly and said, “I’ll ride the motorcycle and take you there.”

Author’s Note:

One day, Fu Yuan came to visit Ying Kongtu and the others. When he walked nearby, however, he could not find the place no matter what.

Ying Kongtu was busy and could not free his hands, so he sent Dart to pick him up.

Fu Yuan was still wondering how he was supposed to recognize a cat, until he saw that beautiful orange tabby whose tail was as fluffy as a squirrel’s tail and held high in the air.

In just that short stretch of road, Fu Yuan was completely captured by this big fat orange tabby. Even the gifts he had brought were fed to it until almost half were gone.