Chapter 135
The last time Lang Ze and the others had been here, the area was barren, with no sign of life. It was only as they were leaving that Su Ci had directed underground water to irrigate the riverbanks.
Now, both sides of the river were dotted with newly sprouted Selaginella and moss, adorning the desolate land with vibrant greenery and youthful vitality.
After the recent rain, the soil was damp, and the Selaginella, freshly bathed by the drizzle, glistened with dew. The bright green leaves, set against the yellowish-brown soil, created a striking visual contrast that was almost indescribable.
Just watching the dew roll off the leaves filled one’s heart with joy.
In addition to the Selaginella and moss, the scattered bamboo seeds had also thrived. Tiny new bamboo shoots poked through the soil, their leaves swaying gently in the moist breeze, as if waving a friendly hello to the younglings.
“It’s starting to look just like the nursery!”
Lang Ze dashed out of the teleportation array, darting from one spot to another like the wind. His energetic laughter was infectious, spreading cheer to everyone around him.
“There weren’t this many plants last time…” Lu Jiao remarked, staring at the greenery. “Su Su, are these Selaginella? There’s so much of it now!”
Su Ci nodded and began scouting for a suitable location to plant the star-chain fruit spiritual tree he was carrying.
Encouraged by Lang Ze’s enthusiasm, the younglings who had initially hesitated to leave the teleportation array gradually stepped out one by one.
Lu Li was the first to follow Su Ci to the riverbank. He vividly remembered the barren landscape from his first visit. Comparing that memory to the thriving greenery before him, it was almost unimaginable that this was the same place.
The world was beginning to change.
Lu Li approached the river’s edge and peered into the water, intending to glimpse the heroic spirits that had merged with the earth. However, his attention was quickly drawn to the schools of fish darting through the clear water.
“So many fish!”
Xue Wei’s voice chimed in beside him, and the plump little bird perched on her shoulder chirped joyfully.
Although Xue Wei had seen landscapes far more vibrant and flourishing than this, standing by the river, surrounded by fresh greenery, gentle breezes, and her cheerful companions, she felt genuine happiness.
A field trip truly was a delightful experience!
Meanwhile, Li Hua, on her first trip outside the nursery, was visibly uneasy. She clung tightly to her brother’s clothes, sticking close to his side without straying even a step.
Having grown up in the nursery, often confined to her room, she was used to small, enclosed spaces. The sudden openness of this vast, unobstructed environment made her feel exposed and frightened.
Only by staying close to her brother could she find a semblance of comfort.
Rong Heng, on the other hand, stood in a daze.
Unlike Li Hua, he wasn’t scared. He had already formed memories by the time he arrived at the nursery and had frequently left the grounds to seek medical treatment for his injuries after fights.
However, the wide-open scenery before him stirred a sense of familiarity deep in his mind.
It felt as though he had been to a place like this as a child. Once again, the image of a man and a woman calling out to him surfaced in his memory…
But their faces had faded from his recollection, and he couldn’t remember what they had called him…
Rong Heng pressed his lips together, irritated by the images in his mind. He shook them off and lowered his head, intending to take his sister’s hand—only to notice something unusual about Li Hua.
“What’s wrong?” he crouched down, asking with concern.
Li Hua shook her head.
Everyone else was so happy; how could she admit that she was scared and wanted to go back? She didn’t want to dampen their spirits.
Yet her little hands were nervously fidgeting, clearly betraying her unease.
“What happened, Xiang Yang?” Xue Wei, who had been keeping an eye on the siblings, approached them.
“Big Sister Wei Wei…” Li Hua moved closer to Xue Wei and hugged her tightly.
Sensing her unease, Xue Wei gently patted her on the head and asked softly, “What’s wrong, Li Hua?”
“I’m fine,” the little girl shook her head again.
Rong Heng looked at his sister for a moment, then asked patiently, “Is it because this is your first time going outside? Are you scared?”
Li Hua looked at him with a pitiful expression, not denying it.
When she had left with the caretaker to find her brother before, they traveled by hoverbus. Even after disembarking, they had remained within the base, surrounded by tall buildings, which had felt familiar and comforting.
But this was different.
The plains stretched endlessly on both sides of the riverbank, with the base reduced to a distant, unseen speck. It was her first time experiencing such vast emptiness, and while she was awestruck, she also felt lost and frightened, unsure of how to cope.
Hearing Rong Heng’s question, Xue Wei was startled. “Is this Li Hua’s first time leaving the base?”
“Mm.”
Rong Heng turned and crouched down, glancing back at Li Hua. “Come on, I’ll carry you.”
Li Hua obediently released Xue Wei and climbed onto her brother’s shoulders, lying down against his back as he stood up.
“Feel a bit better now?” Rong Heng asked.
Li Hua let out a soft hum of agreement, a small smile finally appearing on her face. “Brother is the best.”
She rested her head against his shoulder, feeling safe and secure. No matter what happened, she wasn’t scared anymore.
Xue Wei watched the siblings with a complicated feeling in her heart. She knew Li Hua had grown up in the nursery, with limited resources, but it wasn’t until this moment that she truly understood the depth of that deprivation.
Her heart ached for the little girl, and at the same time, she realized just how fortunate she had been in her own life.
“I’ll go find Su Su and ask if he can take us back first.” Although Rong Heng wanted to stay and play with the others, in his heart, nothing was more important than his sister.
But as he looked around, he noticed that Su Ci had somehow ended up on the other side of the river, and there was no bridge connecting the two banks.
“Brother, no need to go back,” Li Hua murmured against his shoulder.
Xue Wei softened her expression and smiled. “That’s right. It’s rare to come out here, so going back now would be a shame.”
She then gently asked Li Hua, “Why are you feeling scared? Can you tell me?”
Under Xue Wei’s soothing voice, Li Hua finally confessed, “It’s so… empty here.”
“Is it because it’s too open?”
Xue Wei glanced at the wide, exposed riverbank and thought for a moment before saying, “Wait a second. I’ve got an idea.”
She found a relatively flat spot on the riverbank, then took off the backpack she always carried. To make it easier to grab things from her spatial button, she had made a habit of keeping her backpack with her daily.
Unzipping it, she pulled out a palm-sized object.
“What’s that, Wei Wei?” Lang Ze, who had been drooling over the fish in the river, noticed her movements and curiously came over.
“A compact tent.”
Xue Wei placed the small object on the ground and carefully untied the rope securing it before quickly pulling Lang Ze away.
With a whoosh, the tent began to expand. It grew from palm-sized to a domed cylindrical structure—essentially a yurt—about ten meters in diameter.
The younglings’ faces lit up with wonder as they stared at the sudden appearance of the tent.
Even Li Hua’s attention was drawn.
Xue Wei lifted the tent’s door flap and said, “If you go inside the tent, you might feel a bit more comfortable.”
Li Hua’s eyes sparkled as she nodded. Just as she was about to climb off her brother’s back, another figure darted through the door flap that Xue Wei was holding open.
The speed was so fast that Xue Wei almost thought she was seeing things.
“Xing Xing, wait for me!” Lang Ze’s voice followed, and he dashed into the tent after the first figure.
Xue Wei realized that the blur had been little Zheng Xing.
Who knew that the usually slow-moving Zheng Xing could move so quickly?
By the time Su Ci and A-Yan had planted the star-chain fruit spiritual tree on the other side of the river and returned, a tent had mysteriously appeared on the riverbank.
All the younglings, except for the Crimson Flame Tiger, were gathered around the tent, playing and laughing.
Xue Wei had even spread out a picnic blanket beside the tent, where Li Hua sat nibbling on a bright red starfruit.
Rong Heng and Lu Li were sitting nearby, getting along quite well. Meanwhile, Lang Ze and Lu Jiao were running around the tent, carefree and full of joy.
Watching this scene, Su Ci couldn’t help but stretch lazily.
With clear skies and refreshing air, it was the perfect time for a picnic.
“Su Su,” a voice called.
Ran Lie approached Su Ci. Although he said nothing, the determination in his eyes spoke volumes. Su Ci immediately understood what he wanted.
However…
“No giant spiders today,” Su Ci said, glancing at the fish swimming in the river. He stroked his chin and smiled lightly. “Let’s try something different.”
The Crimson Flame Tiger tilted its head, its tiger eyes filled with confusion.
“Try a different approach?”
“Yes.”
Su Ci called Rong Heng over and led him to the riverbank. “Do you see the fish in the water?”
Rong Heng nodded. He had noticed the fish earlier—it was his first time seeing real fish, which felt distinctly different from the ones displayed by the base’s AI system.
Of course, calling on the AI assistant, Xiao Zhi, here wouldn’t work; he’d have to wait until they returned to the base to ask it about the fish.
Su Ci’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Bring a few out of the water.”
Rong Heng froze and looked at Su Ci.
“Let me see your recent progress in training,” Su Ci said lazily as he crouched by the river.
Hearing that it was a test of his skills, Rong Heng grew a little nervous but nodded and focused on the fish swimming in the river.
Nearby, Ran Lie, who had been waiting for Su Ci to show him a new “approach,” blinked when he saw Su Ci testing Rong Heng instead. He didn’t think much of it, though.
In fact, Ran Lie was curious about Rong Heng’s abilities. Aside from his impressive physique as a Red-Tailed Lion, Rong Heng seemed to have awakened a unique power.
Now was the perfect time to see how far Rong Heng’s skills had progressed.
The two boys, who used to be at odds, had grown more cordial but still maintained a subtle rivalry, constantly trying to outdo each other.
Their activity soon drew the attention of Lang Ze and the others, who curiously gathered around to watch.
“Are we catching fish?” Lang Ze asked excitedly, already preparing to jump into the river. Before he could, Su Ci grabbed him by the back of his shirt and held him aloft. His limbs flailed uselessly as he dangled in the air.
“Su Su!” Lang Ze called out indignantly.
Su Ci looked at him curiously. “Can you swim?”
“Swim?” Lang Ze tilted his head. “What’s that?”
Su Ci was silent for a moment. Then Xue Wei chimed in, “Lang Ze, the river is deep. If you can’t swim and jump in, you’ll drown.”
“But I didn’t drown in the nursery’s pool!” Lang Ze protested.
Though he had swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, he had eventually figured out how to float by flailing around.
“Oh, so that’s swimming?” Lang Ze puffed out his chest proudly. “Swimming is super easy! I can do it!”
Seeing his eager expression, Su Ci didn’t completely dampen his excitement but set him back on the riverbank. “Wait a bit. You’ll scare the fish, and it’ll make it harder for Rong Heng to catch them.”
“Alright,” Lang Ze said obediently, sitting back down. “I’ll go in later.”
He then turned to Rong Heng and urged, “Hurry up, Xiang Yang!”
While Lang Ze and Su Ci were talking, Rong Heng had already locked onto a fish.
Although his telekinesis couldn’t control living things, Rong Heng had a workaround.
As soon as Lang Ze finished speaking, a fish flew out of the water.
The astonishing part was that the fish was encased in a floating water sphere. Encapsulated in the sphere, the fish didn’t struggle as it was lifted from the river.
However, the combined weight of the water sphere and the fish was taxing for Rong Heng. He gritted his teeth, and in just a few moments, large beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
He struggled to control the water sphere, and just as he felt he couldn’t hold it anymore, he flung it with all his might.
The water sphere, along with the fish inside, landed on the bank and burst into a puddle. Out of the water, the fish started flopping desperately, its tail thrashing as it tried to make its way back to the river.
Ran Lie raised a paw and pressed it firmly on the fish, holding it in place.
“This fish is so small!” Lang Ze exclaimed.
The fish wasn’t actually small—it was nearly 20 centimeters long, plump and well-fed from living in the nutrient-rich spirit water.
However, for younglings who had seen giant spiders and lived with a Crimson Flame Tiger, this fish did seem a bit tiny.
“Not bad.”
Su Ci acknowledged Rong Heng’s clever method with approval. “Keep going,” he instructed.
“Don’t stop until you’ve completely exhausted your telekinesis.”
Rong Heng nodded firmly and went back to catching more fish.
Meanwhile, Xue Wei suddenly realized what was happening. Su Su was teaching Rong Heng how to use his powers. This was an education she had never received, even at the nursery school.
The knowledge of controlling beast-blood powers was considered a closely guarded secret, passed down only within families. Nurseries rarely employed beast-blood holders as caretakers, and ordinary people didn’t know how to teach beast-blood younglings to control their powers.
Whenever a youngling entered a berserk state, they were typically sent home for family-based education.
Then it struck Xue Wei: since arriving at the nursery, she hadn’t experienced a single instance of bloodline berserk.
Nor had any of the other younglings—except for Ran Lie.
But even after fully beastifying, Ran Lie had remained emotionally stable. He could still speak clearly, and even when she annoyed him by stroking his fur, he hadn’t lashed out at her. He had been remarkably good-tempered.
This was entirely different from what she had always known about berserk states!
At least in her own experience, when she went berserk, she completely lost control. Even after regaining consciousness, her memories of the berserk state were hazy, like…
She couldn’t remember how she had hurt Madam. She only recalled that when she came to, Madam was already lying in a pool of blood…
The painful memory made Xue Wei’s face pale, and her body trembled slightly.
At that moment, she felt a gentle hand rest on her head. The warmth instantly washed away her anguish, leaving only comfort and happiness in its place.
Xue Wei blinked and looked up.
The young man had somehow appeared beside her, softly patting her head. His touch carried an inexplicable sense of reassurance.
It was Su Su.
With Su Su in the nursery, he had always been there to calm her whenever she lost control of her emotions, dissolving her pain.
And this comfort wasn’t something simple companionship could achieve—she knew that deeply. Having harmed the person most important to her during a berserk episode, Xue Wei understood the profound weight of what Su Su was doing for her.
So that’s why the director and the gentleman sent her to the nursery? Because Su Su was here, and he could help the younglings suppress the berserk state caused by their bloodline power!
Xue Wei suddenly felt a knot in her heart loosen.
Although she understood why the gentleman had sent her away, and even felt that she deserved it, how could she not feel hurt?
The nursery was so far from the Tess Empire that she might never see them again in her lifetime…
But now, knowing that the gentleman had done it for her benefit, and not out of hatred, her feelings became much lighter.
“Thank you, Su Su.” Tears welled in Xue Wei’s eyes, but her face showed a smile of relief and gratitude.
Seeing that her emotions had stabilized, Su Ci reached out and gently ruffled her fluffy rabbit ears before withdrawing his hand. He then turned to Ran Lie and said, “Now it’s your turn.”
Two question marks seemed to appear above Ran Lie’s head.
Su Ci didn’t explain. Instead, he took a metal rod from his spatial device, cleaned it thoroughly, and skewered the fish. With a few precise movements, he created two metal tripods and placed the fish above them.
“Today’s practice is about fire control,” Su Ci said, conjuring a small flame in his palm.
Ran Lie’s eyes widened in astonishment.
This was Crimson Flame! He could feel it—there was no mistake.
Su Su had also mastered the power of Crimson Flame? But wasn’t that supposed to be an ability exclusive to Crimson Flame Tigers?
“Pay close attention,” Su Ci instructed.
Ran Lie quickly composed himself and focused on Su Ci, watching as the young man skillfully manipulated the flame to roast the fish.
His control over the Crimson Flame was so precise that, despite its intense heat—capable of melting metal—it didn’t scorch the fish or even burn its scales.
Ran Lie was mesmerized. Without thinking, he used his mental energy to analyze every detail of Su Ci’s fire control.
It was incredible…
After demonstrating once, Su Ci withdrew the flame and said, “Now it’s your turn. Your task is to roast the fish until it’s cooked but not burnt—and definitely not charred.”
He then turned to A-Yan and added, “A-Yan, you guide him. Make sure he produces a fish that’s edible.”
“Got it,” A-Yan responded with a smile.
Seeing that Rong Heng and Ran Lie had both been assigned tasks, Lang Ze suddenly lost interest in catching fish. Su Su had already given him his own challenge: to master Sound Illusion Technique within a month.
He was eager to take Xing Xing and You You into the illusion to ride the giant yellow ox!
Without wasting time, Lang Ze pulled out his bamboo flute, ran to the cluster of new bamboo shoots, and started practicing. The riverbank was soon filled with the wailing sounds of the flute.
“Chirp, chirp~ Chirp, chirp~”
A small sparrow landed on the bamboo, chirping in harmony with the flute. Once the water lilies in the river began to bloom, the scene would truly be one of birdsong and floral fragrance.
Su Ci settled onto the picnic blanket, taking out freshly harvested starfruit from his spatial device. He called over the other younglings to enjoy the fruit.
Li Hua had already eaten one, a gift from Xue Wei, and was now too full to have another. She sat beside Su Ci, holding her little sketchpad and began to draw.
The younglings enjoyed the gentle breeze, breathed in the fresh air, and bit into the sweet fruit, occasionally casting hopeful glances at Ran Lie and Rong Heng.
What would grilled fish taste like? Would they get to try some once Ran Lie succeeded?
As the younglings happily awaited their grilled fish, across the riverbank, Yun Zixu—who had snuck out of the base and was observing the scene through binoculars—wore a baffled expression.
What was going on?
Why were the younglings outside the base… having a picnic???
