Chapter 89 – Something is Not Right
For this trip, they had several objectives, so Yan Xi Nian drove a truck.
Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian sat in the cab, while Xia Lu Nong and Kong Zhi rode in the back of the truck.
Having woken up too early, Xia Lu Nong’s initial excitement faded, and he soon lay down on a pile of sacks and ropes, staring at the blue sky. With the gentle swaying of the truck, he started feeling drowsy.
Kong Zhi leaned against the truck bed, reading a book, his long eyelashes casting shadows as he focused intently.
Xia Lu Nong alternated between looking at the sky and glancing at Kong Zhi, growing sleepier by the minute.
In the truck, someone—either his brother or Yan Xi Nian—turned on the radio, and a slow, soothing song began to play. Hearing it, Xia Lu Nong couldn’t help but softly hum along.
Xia Lu Nong’s voice was clear and bright, with precise pronunciation, especially when it came to differentiating between retroflex and non-retroflex sounds. When he hit the retroflex tones, the slight friction in his voice added a touch of sensuality to his singing.
Kong Zhi, who had been reading his book, at some point shifted his focus and was now watching Xia Lu Nong instead.
Xia Lu Nong closed his eyes and softly sang, his voice floating to inside the truck and drifting across the entire field.
As he reached a certain verse, a deep voice suddenly joined in. The rhythm was perfect, grounding his free-spirited singing with a steady calmness.
Xia Lu Nong opened his eyes and looked up at Kong Zhi’s well-defined jawline from below.
He had heard Kong Zhi play the flute many times before, but this was the first time he realized that he could sing.
Kong Zhi tapped his foot lightly to the beat. Seeing Xia Lu Nong open his eyes, he gestured for him to continue.
Xia Lu Nong’s eyes curved into a smile, and his voice intertwined with the song, relaxed and carefree.
Xia Huo Qu leaned back against his seat, listening to the two voices behind him, a faint smile playing in his eyes.
Yan Xi Nian, driving the truck, remarked, “Xiao Nong sings really well.”
“Well, he used to study opera,” Xia Huo Qu said, stretching his long, boot-clad legs and tapping his fingers on his thigh with a smile. “Didn’t you arrange the tutoring classes he took back then?”
Yan Xi Nian paused for a moment, smiling wistfully. “Yeah, that was only three or four years ago, but now it feels like a lifetime.”
Xia Huo Qu fell silent, pressing his lips together. “As long as you’re here, and Xiao Nong is too, that’s all that matters.”
The road ahead was terrible, especially after the recent rain.
The truck bounced along the rugged terrain until one of its wheels plunged into a deep mud pit, leaving the undercarriage scraping and vulnerable.
Yan Xi Nian pressed the gas pedal a few times but couldn’t get the truck out.
He slapped the steering wheel and sighed, “Even with all the modifications, it’s still stuck. I think we’ll need to upgrade this truck into an armored vehicle eventually.”
Xia Huo Qu pushed the door open and said, “Stay here, I’ll shift into my beast form and push the truck.”
He stepped out onto the grassy field, scanning the surroundings to make sure there was no danger, then began removing his shirt.
He tossed the shirt onto the passenger seat and was about to take off more when Xia Lu Nong poked his head out from the truck bed. “Brother? What’s going on?”
“The truck’s stuck in a mud pit. I’m going to shift into beast form to push it.”
“Oh,” Xia Lu Nong quickly jumped out of the truck. “I’ll help too.”
Kong Zhi silently followed him.
Yan Xi Nian stuck his head out of the window. “We’re almost at the destination. Kong Zhi, why don’t you fly ahead and scout for prickly ash trees and check the bee situation in the valley?”
Kong Zhi nodded, “Which valley?”
“Over there,” Yan Xi Nian pointed. “You’ll see it once you’re in the air—there’s a peach grove and an orange grove that stand out.”
Xia Lu Nong looked at his brother, then at Kong Zhi. “I want to go too.”
“Let Kong Zhi take you,” his brother said, tilting his head. “Fly a bit higher, and we’ll meet outside the valley.”
Xia Lu Nong eagerly nodded, returned to the truck bed, and transformed into his cat form.
He was one of those beastmen whose animal form was smaller than their human form, so transforming was quick and easy—he could just shift right there and crawl out from under his clothes.
Xia Lu Nong quickly turned into Xia the cat, a fluffy cat. His pink nose twitched as he sniffed the air to analyze the scents.
Besides their own smells, there was a faint musky scent of some kind of wild animal. Xia the cat couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it wasn’t threatening—probably not a predator.
Xia the cat’s round green eyes roamed, and just as he was about to jump down for a closer sniff, he found himself staring at Kong Zhi, who had just taken off his shirt.
Kong Zhi had scars on his arms and chest. They didn’t look ugly, rather, they added a rugged beauty to him.
Xia the cat stared, unblinking.
Lately, with all the good food and exercise, Kong Zhi’s muscles were well-defined but lean. Unlike the bulky muscles of a bodybuilder, his were thinner, giving him an agile appearance.
This was probably related to his beast form. As a bird-type beastman, he wouldn’t develop bulky muscles.
Kong Zhi paused mid-motion, catching Xia the cat’s gaze.
Xia the cat quickly looked away, his round eyes darting over Kong Zhi’s body, finally settling on his chest, filled with a look of admiration.
What a beautiful chest!
Xia the cat instinctively glanced down at his own body.
As a cat, he didn’t have a chest—just a soft, fleshy pouch, the kind that would fill your hand if you pinched it.
Sigh.
Xia the cat looked up again, hoping to sneak another peek.
A shirt with Kong Zhi’s scent flew over and gently covered Xia the cat’s head.
“Meow!” Xia the cat protested, struggling out of the T-shirt with all four paws. He wanted another look, but Kong Zhi had already shifted into his giant golden eagle form at the front of the truck bed.
Xia the cat’s green eyes locked with Kong Zhi’s yellow eagle eyes.
The golden eagle’s face, covered in feathers, seemed to show a slight smile.
Xia the cat, with both front paws raised, looked up at him with envy.
This guy is really so cool—handsome in both human and beast form!
The golden eagle waited for Xia the cat to step forward. When he didn’t move after a few seconds, the eagle simply stretched out its beak, grabbed the scruff of the cat’s neck, and lifted him up.
The eagle carried Xia the cat, took a few running steps, flapped its wings a few times, and they were soon airborne.
From this high vantage point, Xia the cat’s view expanded. He immediately spotted a peach grove nestled in the valley.
Pink peaches peeked out from the green leaves, catching the sunlight and looking incredibly tempting.
Just above the peach grove was an orange grove, and next to it stood a half-collapsed house, probably once the home of a caretaker.
Xia the cat’s gaze lingered on the fruit groves, but as the golden eagle flew closer, he noticed something else—large bees buzzing among the trees.
These bees weren’t as big as the ones they had encountered before in the banyan tree, but they were still quite large.
Xia the cat had already learned that with so many mutated plants and animals, even species within the same group didn’t mutate the same way. For instance, some ants grew to enormous sizes, while others remained relatively normal.
Even among the particularly large ants, while some are extraordinarily big in this generation, their eggs aren’t necessarily much bigger than those of ordinary ants.
It seems that they only undergo further mutation after hatching.
The golden eagle, carrying Xia the cat, flew over the orchard, circling above the nearby mountain forest.
Xia the cat’s eyes darted around. Once the orchard was out of sight, he quickly focused on searching for Sichuan pepper trees.
Before the disaster, Sichuan pepper was considered an economic crop in this region, and Xia the cat had spotted some on the mountains before.
At the time, the peppercorns hadn’t ripened, so he hadn’t paid much attention. Now, he hadn’t expected to be out here searching for them.
The peppercorns hadn’t turned red yet, and finding a green tree amidst a forest was no easy task.
Xia the cat widened his eyes and looked for a while, but soon felt that the cold wind at this high altitude was making his eyes dry and sore.
The golden eagle swooped over the forest.
Xia the cat soon noticed that wherever there were Sichuan pepper trees, Kong Zhi would circle a few more times.
By focusing on those areas, Xia the cat quickly found traces of the pepper trees.
After flying in the air for over half an hour, the golden eagle carried Xia the cat out of the valley and back to the truck, gradually descending.
Xia Huo Qu had already pushed the truck out of the mud pit.
Yan Xi Nian had driven the truck to the edge of the valley and parked there, waiting for them.
After being in the cold wind for so long, Xia the cat felt a bit chilly.
Luckily, being a long-haired cat, he had some resistance to the cold, and once back on the ground, all four of his paws moved freely.
Xia the cat walked a few laps in the sun, tail drooping.
Kong Zhi had already shifted back into human form outside the truck. Stepping onto the truck, he reported to Yan Xi Nian and Xia Huo Qu, “I found seventeen Sichuan pepper trees. I’m not sure of the exact species, but the tallest ones are seven to eight meters high, while the smallest are just over a meter.”
Xia the cat, surprised, looked at him, forgetting to lower his raised paw.
He had flown around but only noticed that there were pepper trees below. He hadn’t counted how many there were or examined the condition of each tree.
This guy is so meticulous!
Xia Huo Qu said, “That’s enough. Our yard isn’t that big, and we can’t plant the trees too close together.”
Kong Zhi nodded.
Yan Xi Nian said, “Let’s head up the mountain to dig up the pepper trees. Bring a few sacks and decide whether to pick the peppercorns first and trim part of the tree crown before dragging the trees down.”
Kong Zhi had already changed back into his clothes and was ready.
Xia the cat, still on all fours, ran to the front of the truck, jumped up with a leap, hooked onto the tarp outside, and lightly landed in the truck.
As soon as he landed, he transformed back into human form. While pulling on his pants, he said, “Whether or not we trim the tree crown doesn’t matter, but the pepper trees are covered in thorns. If we don’t trim them, it’ll be tough to move them down.”
Xia Huo Qu said, “Let’s dig them up first. Digging up Sichuan pepper trees is quite a big task.”
“Yes, exactly,” Xia Lu Nong added. “We don’t know how deep the roots are. We can start by digging up the smaller ones.”
Xia Lu Nong quickly dressed, tying up his sleeves and pant legs, and jumped out of the truck. “Are we heading up the mountain now? Is the truck staying here? I smelled wild animals earlier.”
Yan Xi Nian said, “It’s fine. It was probably the scent of cattle. Just lock the cab. Mutant cattle aren’t very brave and generally won’t come near.”
Xia Lu Nong asked, “What if they’re not so timid?”
“Then they’ll be a bonus meal for us,” Yan Xi Nian replied, pulling a sack from the truck bed and stuffing in tools like machetes, hoes, and ropes. “Let’s go. Let’s see how many pepper trees we can dig up today.”
Xia Lu Nong swiftly gathered his focus, throwing a backpack over his shoulder and seizing a sack. Alongside Kong Zhi, he meticulously arranged the tarp in the truck, ensuring it was firmly tied down to shield the entire vehicle.
They had driven for over an hour to get here, so if they didn’t dig up enough pepper trees today, they might have to spend a night or two here before heading back.
Time was pressing. Xia Lu Nong followed Kong Zhi up the mountain.
With Kong Zhi leading the way, they soon reached the first Sichuan pepper tree.
This pepper tree was just over a meter tall, with a trunk as thick as a bowl. The branches, however, were relatively thin, and the peppercorns on it weren’t many.
At first glance, this pepper tree gave off a rather slim appearance.
Thanks for the chapter!