Chapter 133: Huge
Kong Zhi, however, wasn’t nervous.
With a swift chop, he cut the entire bamboo plant down.
After it was cut, the bamboo looked ordinary, aside from being unusually thick. It didn’t seem any different from regular bamboo.
The four of them took turns inspecting the bamboo.
Yan Xi Nian tossed it a few times, weighing it in his hand.
After a moment, he said, “It doesn’t feel any heavier. Should we open it now?”
Xia Lu Nong took a deep breath and reached for the bamboo. “I’ll do it.”
“It doesn’t matter who opens it,” Yan Xi Nian said, stepping aside. He took the hatchet and lightly chopped the lowest section of the bamboo, splitting it open.
This time, there was no water inside. They held it vertically, and nothing poured out.
Yan Xi Nian lifted the bamboo to eye level and squinted into the dark hollow of the bamboo tube.
He didn’t see anything. It looked just like an ordinary bamboo tube.
Then, Yan Xi Nian did something that surprised everyone—he reached his hand inside the bamboo tube.
Yan Xi Nian’s expression suddenly became very subtle.
Xia Lu Nong’s heart raced. He clenched his fists, nervous that there might be something dangerous inside the tube.
Yan Xi Nian glanced around at the others and slowly extended his arm further into the bamboo tube.
In the end, his entire arm fit into the bamboo.
Yan Xi Nian, being nearly 1.9 meters tall, had long arms.
Even if the entire bamboo plant were intact, it still wouldn’t be as long as his arm.
The fact that his whole arm fit into the short bamboo tube seemed almost magical.
Xia Lu Nong had suspected there was a small space inside the bamboo.
But seeing it happen in real life, he was still stunned.
His eyes widened, and he held his breath.
Xia Huo Qu, standing nearby, asked, “Are you okay? What does it feel like? What’s inside?”
“It doesn’t feel like anything,” Yan Xi Nian said thoughtfully. “It’s like standing at the entrance of a room. I put my hand through the door, and it’s just empty inside. There’s nothing—I can’t feel anything.”
Xia Huo Qu said, “Pull your arm out. Let me try.”
Yan Xi Nian smiled and handed him the bamboo.
Xia Huo Qu reached inside and felt around for a moment before saying, “Yeah, there’s nothing in there.”
He handed the bamboo to Xia Lu Nong.
Xia Lu Nong reached into the bamboo and felt around. He was completely stunned.
He could feel the bamboo’s edge where his arm entered, but as soon as he reached inside, there was nothing to touch.
He looked at the bamboo in his hand and wiggled his fingers inside. Then he moved his entire arm in a different direction but still couldn’t feel anything.
It felt like his arm was passing through a bracelet, not a bamboo tube.
When his hand passed through the “bracelet,” it entered a space that was empty on the other side.
No, not a bracelet—bracelets aren’t this big. It felt more like an armband; his arm could move around slightly inside.
Xia Lu Nong explored a bit more, then handed the bamboo to Kong Zhi, his face full of amazement. “Kong Zhi, try it out. See if you can feel the edge of the bamboo.”
Kong Zhi, the tallest of the group, also had the longest arms.
Kong Zhi took the bamboo and tried, saying, “I can’t feel anything. It’s empty inside.”
Yan Xi Nian took the bamboo back and said, “I was right, wasn’t I? This bamboo is like a door to a large space inside, but we don’t know how big it really is.”
Xia Huo Qu said, “We’ll know once we fill it with water. Xia Nong has used up his ability, so there’s no point in staying here longer. Let’s head back to the base, and we can stop by to buy a few more barrels on the way.”
Xia Lu Nong asked, “Should we go to the river now to fill up the bamboo tubes? Do we need to split open all the bamboo tubes, or is checking just this one enough?”
“We’ll deal with it when we get back. Using a knife to split the bamboo might crack it too easily. We should use a saw when we get home and then see what’s inside. Even if the other bamboo tubes don’t have any space inside, just this one with spatial ability is already incredibly valuable,” Yan Xi Nian replied.
Xia Lu Nong nodded vigorously. “Let’s head back.”
The group split up, with Xia Lu Nong and Kong Zhi heading home directly, while Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian went to buy barrels.
Soon, they all met up at home.
They arranged two rows of six barrels in the bathroom.
Holding the bamboo tube, Xia Lu Nong looked at the barrels and said, “Shall I start?”
Xia Huo Qu replied, “Go ahead. I’ll stand guard beside you.”
Kong Zhi also positioned himself nearby, ready to protect him.
Holding the bamboo, Xia Lu Nong noticed it felt no different from any dried bamboo tube and didn’t even seem like it was holding water inside.
With a little effort, he could easily lift it with one hand.
Looking down into the bamboo tube, he could see that it was nearly full to the brim with water.
Xia Lu Nong took a deep breath and tilted the bamboo tube toward one of the barrels.
Water gushed out with a “whoosh,” and he quickly adjusted the angle.
In less than five seconds, the first barrel was full.
The bamboo tube still looked the same on the outside, but Xia Lu Nong noticed that the water level inside had only dropped by about a centimeter, and the weight hadn’t changed much.
“Keep going,” Xia Huo Qu instructed.
Xia Lu Nong nodded and continued to tilt the bamboo tube.
Soon, the second barrel was full, then the third, the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth.
All six barrels were filled to the brim, yet the bamboo tube still had water inside.
The water in the barrels contained some mud, algae, and even a few small fish—exactly like the river water they had collected earlier.
The group looked at the six full barrels, each deep in thought.
The water level in the bamboo tube had dropped by six or seven centimeters.
Shaking the bamboo tube slightly, Xia Lu Nong said, “I think there’s enough for five or six more barrels.”
Xia Huo Qu suggested, “Let’s empty these six barrels into the toilet and continue.”
The men worked together to pour out the water, which took a while.
Once the barrels were empty, Xia Lu Nong resumed pouring water from the bamboo tube.
It quickly filled another six barrels, with a little water still remaining inside.
They emptied the barrels again and poured the remaining water into the containers.
This time, it filled two and a half barrels, totaling fourteen and a half barrels of water.
“Incredible,” Yan Xi Nian marveled. “This is the first time I’ve seen spatial abilities up close.”
Xia Lu Nong looked at the bamboo tube and wondered, “I wonder if I’ll be able to grow bamboo that can hold even more water in the future?”
Yan Xi Nian patted him on the shoulder and said, “What we have now is already impressive enough. Let’s not be greedy. I’ll go borrow a saw so we can check the other bamboo tubes.”
Xia Huo Qu nodded. “Keep this quiet—don’t mention it to Bai Lou.”
“Got it,” Yan Xi Nian agreed solemnly, then turned to Xia Lu Nong. “You should rest for now. We’ll saw open the bamboo tubes and see what’s inside later.”
Although Xia Lu Nong had felt fine earlier, now that it was confirmed the bamboo tube had spatial abilities, he suddenly felt exhausted.
“I’m so tired,” he said weakly. “I think I’ve drained all my energy. I’ll go rest for a bit.”
“Go ahead,” Xia Huo Qu said. “Make yourself a cup of honeysuckle and honey tea before you sleep.”
Dragging his weary body, Xia Lu Nong went to his room to rest.
When he woke up, all the bamboo tubes had already been sawed open and neatly arranged in the living room.
That evening, they ordered stir-fry from the cafeteria.
As they studied the bamboo tubes, they waited for Xia Lu Nong to join them for dinner.
When he came out, Yan Xi Nian said, “We’ve confirmed that all the bamboo tubes have spatial abilities. The ones closer to the bamboo’s roots hold more. The bottom section can hold fourteen and a half barrels, while the top section can only hold three and a half.”
Xia Lu Nong was surprised. “The difference is that big?”
“Yes,” Yan Xi Nian said. “That’s our initial finding, but we’ll need to do more research to understand it better.”
Xia Huo Qu said, “Let’s have dinner first, and we can continue the research afterward.”
Xia Lu Nong asked, “What’s next for the research?”
“We need to study how long things can be stored inside, how to seal the bamboo, and whether the space inside collapses if the bamboo breaks,” Xia Huo Qu replied. “There’s a lot to figure out. I’ll make a list, and we’ll take it step by step.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded eagerly.
As he sat down to eat, he noticed that two of the eight dishes were fish—one braised and the other in a soup.
Now that their relationship was public, Kong Zhi didn’t hold back at the table and helped Xia Lu Nong pick out the fish bones.
Eating the fish soup with rice, Xia Lu Nong felt utterly satisfied, and even the headache from overusing his powers seemed to ease.
After dinner, the group continued their experiments under the lights.
Xia Huo Qu boiled several pots of hot water and poured them into the bamboo tubes, planning to check the insulation the next day.
They stayed busy with their experiments until late into the night, finally heading to bed around 2 a.m.
Xia Lu Nong, now more tired than excited, curled up in Kong Zhi’s arms and fell asleep immediately.
He didn’t know how long he had slept, but when he woke up, the light outside was just right—bright but not glaring. The view from the window felt incredibly soothing, and he wondered if it was a cloudy day.
Happy to get up and see the sky, Xia Lu Nong pulled back the covers, only to discover that his hands were no longer hands, but furry paws.
He had turned back into his beast form again.
Xia Lu Nong widened his emerald eyes, trying to revert to his human form, but no matter how hard he tried, he remained the smooth and sleek Xia the cat.
“Meow!” Sure enough, overusing his powers always caused problems.
Annoyance flickered in his eyes, and he let out another “Meow!”
It seemed like no one was home—no one heard his cries.
Sighing, Xia the cat glanced down at his furry paws.
Everything had felt fine last night. He had drunk the honey and honeysuckle tea and gotten plenty of rest. So why had he turned back into his beast form today?
Frustrated, Xia the cat stayed on the bed for a while. When he realized he couldn’t transform back, he jumped off to look for Kong Zhi.
He was the last one up; everyone else was already awake.
Xia the cat wandered around the house but didn’t see anyone. However, the bamboo tubes from yesterday were still there, all standing upright.
Especially the one filled with hot water, which was placed right at the edge.
Curious about the bamboo’s insulation, Xia the cat tiptoed over to the tube and touched the water with his paw.
To his surprise, the water was still scorching hot, almost the same as when it had been freshly poured the night before.
His sensitive paw pad felt the heat, and he nearly jumped in shock.
He barely managed to suppress the instinct to leap away, but the fur on his back puffed up, making him look like a giant ball of fluff.
Xia the cat took two steps back, a startled expression on his feline face. He let out a “Meow!” in frustration, feeling the urge to curse.
Hearing the noise, Kong Zhi came in from outside, only to be greeted by the sight of a massive, long-haired forest cat.
Xia the cat had grown at least twice as large as before. Even his appearance looked more majestic and fierce, no longer as cute and sweet.
Even Kong Zhi paused for a moment before realizing it was his own Xia Lu Nong.
Surprised, he walked over, crouched down in front of Xia the cat, and stroked his smooth fur. “How did you get so big again?” he wondered.
Xia the cat, now over a meter long from head to tail, had grown to the size of a Maine Coon.
“Meow?” Xia the cat was still processing the situation.
Kong Zhi grabbed both of Xia the cat’s front paws and stood him up. “Look, you’re almost up to my waist now.”
Xia the cat, like a dog being held by the paws, finally realized what had happened after a moment of confusion.
“Meow!” His emerald eyes were filled with shock—just how big had he grown?
Kong Zhi looked into his eyes and, bending down, picked him up. “Let’s go see in the mirror.”
