Chapter 92 – Closeness
Now understanding that life in the wild wasn’t easy for the pepper tree either, Xia Lu Nong looked at it with newfound sympathy.
After turning back into his human form, Xia Lu Nong, full of compassion, watered the pepper tree. The tree’s branches lightly touched his arm, softly curling around it.
Seeing its docile behavior, Xia Lu Nong gave it a little more energy and asked Yan Xi Nian, “Can’t we catch the sheep that ate its leaves?”
“In the dark, we didn’t want to risk it in the forest. But now, we probably could,” Yan Xi Nian replied.
Xia Lu Nong’s eyes lit up with a suggestion, “How about we catch that sheep to get revenge for the pepper tree?”
The pepper tree immediately perked up, its crown lifting and branches shaking in agreement.
Yan Xi Nian looked at Xia Lu Nong, then at the pepper tree, whose expression mirrored his brother’s, and nodded, “We can give it a try.”
Excited, Xia Lu Nong said, “I’ll go find Kong Zhi! He flies high and can see far, it’ll be easier for him to catch the sheep. Was it just one sheep or a whole flock?”
“Just one, but it’s hiding among the flock. Wait for Kong Zhi; he knows which one,” Yan Xi Nian said.
Xia Lu Nong nodded and turned to find Kong Zhi, but after taking just a few steps, he heard a dull “thud” behind him.
He turned around to see the pepper tree had uprooted itself again, shaking its leaves as it followed him.
Seeing him stop, the tree waved its crown as if standing tall and proud.
Xia Lu Nong laughed and led it to the truck.
Kong Zhi was just climbing out of the truck, his hair a bit messy, his expression calm.
Seeing Xia Lu Nong, Kong Zhi glanced up and said, “I got it. Let me brush my teeth, and I’ll go.”
“Okay!”
After brushing his teeth, Kong Zhi came back and stood by the truck, taking off his shirt.
“I’m coming too!” Xia Lu Nong announced.
The pepper tree jumped up behind him, staying quiet but seemingly having the same intention.
Kong Zhi paused for a moment and said, “Find a rope. You can ride on my back.”
Xia Lu Nong quickly fetched a rope from the truck.
He often rode on Kong Zhi’s back, so tying the rope was second nature. With Kong Zhi’s help, it only took two minutes to secure it.
Looking into Kong Zhi’s golden eyes, Xia Lu Nong asked, “Should I stay in human form?”
The golden eagle glanced at him, nodded, and crouched down.
Xia Lu Nong climbed onto his back, but halfway up, he felt a tug from behind.
Turning around, he saw the pepper tree’s branch had grabbed his clothes.
Xia Lu Nong was bewildered. “You want to come too?”
The pepper tree wobbled its branches and nodded its crown.
Xia Lu Nong was even more confused. “But Kong Zhi can’t carry both of us!”
The pepper tree stubbornly held onto his clothes, refusing to let go.
Hearing the commotion, Xia Huo Qu came down from the driver’s seat, his tired eyes creased with an extra wrinkle. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“The Sichuan pepper tree wants to come with us,” Xia Lu Nong pointed at the pepper tree tugging on his clothes, feeling a bit of a headache.
By now, he had realized that this pepper tree was particularly mischievous—getting more unruly the more familiar it got with them.
Kong Zhi followed Xia Lu Nong’s gaze to the pepper tree, then scratched the ground with his claw: Take it along, hold on, retract the thorns.
Xia Lu Nong turned to the pepper tree, “Kong Zhi agreed to take you, so pull your thorns back.”
The pepper tree paused for a moment, seemingly processing this, before retracting its thorns and finally releasing Xia Lu Nong.
Xia Lu Nong watched the pepper tree. Its intelligence was disturbingly high, almost unsettling.
The pepper tree, however, seemed oblivious to the strange atmosphere. It hopped back a little, its crown raised, as if it were tilting its head up to look at Xia Lu Nong.
Once Xia Lu Nong was securely seated on Kong Zhi’s back and tied himself down with the rope, he called out, “All set!”
Kong Zhi took a few running steps, flapped his wings, and took off. After circling once in the air, he swooped down and grabbed the pepper tree horizontally.
The pepper tree’s branches trembled, and its leaves rustled loudly in the wind, as if it were screaming silently.
Kong Zhi paid it no mind, holding onto the tree as he flew toward the mountains.
Sitting on Kong Zhi’s back, Xia Lu Nong squinted, trying his best to spot any signs of mountain goats.
Kong Zhi circled the mountain several times before suddenly heading in one direction.
After a while, Xia Lu Nong finally noticed several off-white patches moving through the woods—they were the mountain goats.
Kong Zhi moved swiftly, and in just a few breaths, he was right above the goats.
Sensing danger from the sky, the goats scattered, running in all directions.
Kong Zhi fixed his eyes on one particular goat and pursued it closely.
Clinging to Kong Zhi’s neck, Xia Lu Nong peered down and soon noticed something unusual about the goat—it had an extra horn on its head.
It was easy to recognize.
The pepper tree, now clutched by Kong Zhi, seemed to notice too. Its branches quivered in excitement.
Xia Lu Nong immediately understood. This was the goat that had chewed on the pepper tree’s leaves.
“Wait—” Xia Lu Nong suddenly thought of a problem. “Kong Zhi, you’re holding the pepper tree. How are you going to catch the goat?”
Kong Zhi answered Xia Lu Nong’s question with his actions.
He swooped down and, when only about a meter above the ground, released his grip, dropping the pepper tree.
The pepper tree tucked in its branches, rolled on the ground, then quickly extended its roots into the earth, pulling itself upright.
In no time, the pepper tree stood up again and began hopping, trying to chase after the fleeing goat.
Kong Zhi, flapping his wings, continued chasing the goat from above.
The goat ran fast, but under Kong Zhi’s relentless pursuit, it panicked, nearly crashing into trees several times.
The pepper tree seemed to have figured out the goat’s movements and tried to outmaneuver it on the turns by hopping ahead.
As it bounced along, the pepper tree extended its roots, trying to grab the goat.
The goat, disturbed by the pepper tree’s attempts, became even more frantic and ran recklessly.
Kong Zhi seized the moment, swooping down and hooking the goat’s back fur with his claws. With a strong lift, he hoisted the goat into the air.
The goat struggled desperately, bleating loudly as it dangled from Kong Zhi’s claws.
Kong Zhi was shaken by the struggle, flying somewhat unsteadily.
Xia Lu Nong, clinging tightly to Kong Zhi’s neck, felt his heart pounding wildly, as if it might jump out of his throat.
This goat was way more troublesome than expected.
In hindsight, Xia Lu Nong thought he should have transformed into his animal form, which weighed less, making Kong Zhi’s burden lighter.
But now it was too late. All he could do was hold on tight and take care of himself so that Kong Zhi wouldn’t have to worry about him too.
Kong Zhi, however, remained remarkably calm.
Though his flight was wobbly, he steadily climbed higher and higher, maintaining a consistent pace, unaffected by the goat’s struggles.
When they reached about 20 meters above the ground, Kong Zhi locked onto an open area and suddenly let go.
The goat dropped straight down, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. It twitched its legs a few times and stopped moving.
Xia Lu Nong’s eyes widened in surprise.
The little pepper tree, which had caught up and now stood beside the fallen goat, lifted its crown in a daze, looking a bit dumbfounded.
Kong Zhi landed on the ground.
Xia Lu Nong quickly untied himself and climbed down from Kong Zhi’s back. “I’ll transform next time, okay?”
Kong Zhi nodded, “Caw!”
Xia Lu Nong then turned to the pepper tree and suggested, “Shall we tie you to Kong Zhi’s back next?”
The pepper tree obediently shook its crown, retracting all its thorns and bunching its branches together tightly.
Not wasting any time, Xia Lu Nong secured the pepper tree horizontally onto Kong Zhi’s back, then firmly tied the barely-alive goat to the bird as well. He specifically instructed the pepper tree, “Keep an eye on the goat, and don’t let it fall.”
The pepper tree’s crown twitched lightly, and then a dense network of roots suddenly emerged, weaving together into a net that securely trapped the goat.
Xia Lu Nong patted its crown gently, “Well done!”
After stuffing his clothes onto Kong Zhi’s back, Xia Lu Nong transformed into his cat form, letting Kong Zhi carry him in his beak.
Kong Zhi took a running start, flapped his wings, and flew back to the temporary camp.
Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian had already prepared breakfast, including the eels they had caught the previous night, and were just waiting for Xia Lu Nong to return and cook.
“You really caught that goat, huh?” Yan Xi Nian stood up to greet them. “I’ll take care of the goat first.”
Xia Lu Nong transformed back into human form and quickly dressed, “Xi Nian, drain the blood from the goat, and we’ll cook eel stew with goat blood for breakfast. We can deal with the rest of the goat when we get back to the base.”
“That works,” Yan Xi Nian said, hefting the goat. “We should also see if we can gather enough goatskins to make a few big fur coats.”
Xia Lu Nong, who hadn’t experienced winter since waking up, paused, “Is winter really that cold now?”
“It’s not that cold, maybe around minus ten to twenty degrees Celsius?” Yan Xi Nian squinted. “Last year, that was about the coldest it got. Not sure about this year yet.”
Xia Lu Nong thought for a moment. “A down jacket should be enough, right?”
“Depends. Wearing a down jacket for outdoor activities isn’t as convenient as wearing leather clothing,” Yan Xi Nian said. “Down jackets aren’t breathable, and you can easily get sweaty. If you’re moving around outside and accidentally snag it, all the down could leak out, and that’d be bad.”
While Yan Xi Nian and Xia Huo Qu were prepping the ingredients, Xia Lu Nong had nothing to do, so he squatted nearby, helping out here and there while chatting with them.
Yan Xi Nian noticed Kong Zhi approaching and smiled, “Speaking of which, it’s almost autumn. Kong Zhi, when you birds and beastfolk shed your feathers, do you lose your down too?”
Xia Lu Nong turned his head, curious to hear the answer.
Kong Zhi paused in his steps. “Yes.”
Yan Xi Nian burst out laughing, “I can’t imagine what you’d look like shedding your down. Could your down be collected to make a down jacket?”
Kong Zhi replied coolly, “If you can knit a sweater from the hair you shed, then sure, my feathers can be used for a down jacket.”
“I can’t, my fur’s too coarse,” Yan Xi Nian said. “But your brother Huo Qu can. His fur’s soft. Xiao Nong’s fur would work too, but his size is so small, even if you plucked him bald, you probably couldn’t knit more than a collar! Hahaha.”
Xia Huo Qu looked up at Yan Xi Nian. “As long as you’re willing to shave yours, we wouldn’t mind if it’s a bit coarse.”
“No way, I’d mind it myself.” Yan Xi Nian looked up and saw the pepper tree joining them, seemingly listening intently. He laughed, “Little Pepper doesn’t have any fur, but it could contribute some branches to make knitting needles for us.”
The pepper tree had no idea what knitting needles were but nodded seriously, which made everyone burst into laughter.
Seeing its reaction, Xia Lu Nong laughed so hard that tears almost came out. He reached out to pat the little pepper tree.
After Yan Xi Nian finished slaughtering the goat, the blood flowed into a large basin filled with saltwater.
Xia Lu Nong stirred it, and once the blood started to coagulate, he took it to the pot to cook.
The little pepper tree followed closely behind, showing no fear of the fire anymore, unlike before.
Xia Lu Nong poured cold water into the pot and carefully sliced through the coagulated goat blood with a knife, beginning to cook the blood tofu.
Cooking blood tofu requires a low flame, keeping the water at a simmer, so the blood tofu stays tender and fresh.
As the tofu simmered, Xia Lu Nong handed the task of watching the fire to Kong Zhi and went to the truck to grab some pepper branches still bearing fruit.
Just as he turned around, the little pepper tree suddenly stood in front of him, lowering its canopy slightly and staring at the branches in his hand, looking somewhat aggrieved.
Xia Lu Nong blinked and looked between the tree’s canopy and the pepper branches in his hand, unsure if he was imagining things.
It was just a tree, right? No matter how human-like it seemed, how could it show sadness?
But somehow, Xia Lu Nong couldn’t shake the feeling that the pepper tree was indeed upset.
After a moment of silent standoff, the little pepper tree suddenly bent one of its side branches down in front of Xia Lu Nong. With a crack, the branch snapped, leaving just a thin strip of bark holding it together.
“Is this… for me?” Xia Lu Nong asked uncertainly, pointing at himself.
The canopy of the pepper tree nodded in agreement.
Xia Lu Nong smiled. “Thank you.”
The little pepper tree, perhaps sensing his happiness or noticing his smile, stretched its branch forward and snatched the pepper branches from his hand, tossing them to the ground.
Was it… getting jealous?
Xia Lu Nong smiled even wider and gently patted the tree trunk.
That morning, Xia Lu Nong made a special pot of braised eel with blood tofu, adding some fresh pepper provided by the little pepper tree.
The dish was both spicy and numbing, fragrant and flavorful, making everyone sweat as they ate.
After breakfast, they packed up and left the temporary camp. Yan Xi Nian drove deeper into the valley.
As they approached the outskirts of the peach grove, there were already bees buzzing around.
These bees were smaller than the ones nesting in the banyan tree, but they were still about the size of a longan fruit. Their stingers had a metallic sheen, which made them look particularly intimidating.
For safety, all four squeezed into the truck’s cab, with the windows tightly shut to avoid getting surrounded by the swarm.
Xia Lu Nong pressed his face against the window, watching the bees fly by. Suddenly, he said, “I have a bold idea.”
