Chapter 152
Watching the bouncing little water blob, Su Ci couldn’t help but crouch down and poke it gently with his finger.
Its surface was smooth and wrapped in a transparent skin, much like jelly. It wasn’t composed entirely of water; the spot where Su Ci poked would cave in slightly and then bounce back, emitting a soft squelch-squelch sound.
Su Ci blinked.
This… is kind of adorable.
Was it true that any creature, as long as it was in its juvenile phase, always had a touch of cuteness?
When the Water Demon first hopped out of the pool, it seemed a bit bewildered. Even after being poked, it didn’t react much. Only after Su Ci withdrew his hand did it move again.
Instead of attacking, it bounced duang-duang back into the pool. After all, the caretaker had only told it to “come out and show itself.” Now that it had been seen, it naturally thought it could go back.
Seeing the Water Demon retreat, Su Ci didn’t insist on calling it out again. Standing up, he said, “Water Demon, release the source of the river.”
This time, without needing Su Ci’s command, the blood-red water blob bounced out once more.
Its body twisted and writhed. Though it looked like a soft, bouncy, and harmless blob, it exuded a menacing and violent aura, clearly resisting the constraints of the rules. Its entire form began to float in midair.
A-Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, the platinum glow in them flashing as the work manual in his hand emitted another faint tremor.
The Water Demon, which had been writhing and twisting, suddenly froze. With a splat, it fell to the ground and shattered into droplets.
Before long, the scattered droplets began to regroup, reforming into the same small blob as before.
However, its aura was now visibly weakened, evidently subdued by the rules’ punishment.
A-Yan crouched down, mimicking what Su Ci had done earlier, and poked the Water Demon. Though he didn’t say a word, his intent was crystal clear:
Time to get to work.
The Water Demon understood the message all too well.
Reluctantly, it began bouncing its way toward the mountain peak. The ground remained sealed by Su Ci, leaving it no choice but to travel slowly rather than merging into the earth for faster movement.
Seeing the Water Demon obediently set off to complete its task, Su Ci turned to A-Yan and remarked, “Your abilities are pretty interesting.”
A-Yan smiled as he stood, but before he could respond, Su Ci reached out and lightly grasped his wrist.
The cool fingertips brushing his skin made A-Yan freeze momentarily.
He looked up at Su Ci, feeling the chill of those fingers gradually warm. Even though he knew Su Ci was merely checking his condition, he couldn’t help but curve his lips into a faint smile.
After the Water Demon left, the work manual returned to A-Yan’s pocket. The nascent Book Spirit was now working hard to suppress its joy and excitement.
It had never imagined that, beyond being a mere treasure for replenishing rule energy, it could one day take on such an important role!
While it couldn’t define the nursery like the Spirit of Rules could, the Spirit of Rules had added a new page to it, inscribed with a brand-new rule:
All cubs must obey the caretaker’s orders.
This rule is practically perfect for the current nursery—almost none of the cubs disobey the caretaker!
Previously, why had the manual’s existence been so difficult? It was because, as a work manual designed for the caretaker, all its rules were aimed at the caretaker!
When it had tried to enforce rules on the caretaker, the caretaker simply erased those rules. What could the manual do then?
With only one caretaker in the nursery, who refused to follow the rules, the manual’s power couldn’t grow—in fact, it had been growing weaker and weaker!
But now, this newly added rule had become an ironclad law within the nursery.
Although it was just one rule and wouldn’t significantly boost the manual’s strength, at least it no longer had to worry about disappearing from sheer weakness—even without the spider threads.
At that moment, the manual overheard a conversation between the two “bosses.”
“Remember to replenish your strength when we get back,” Su Ci said as he released A-Yan’s wrist.
Since A-Yan hadn’t overexerted himself recklessly this time, Su Ci didn’t scold him. Instead, he gently reminded him.
“Alright,” A-Yan replied with a cheerful smile.
“…”
How does he replenish his strength? By draining me, of course!
The nascent spirit of the manual wasn’t pleased, but remembering the benefits it had just received, it hesitated and suppressed its emotions.
Fine. I was drained last time, so what’s one more time? Besides, I did get a little something out of it before…
“Boom—”
As Su Ci and A-Yan were speaking, the distant sound of rushing water erupted from the mountain peak.
Clearly, under the constraints of the rules, the Water Demon was working diligently—and with surprising efficiency.
Exchanging a glance, Su Ci and A-Yan disappeared simultaneously.
When they reached the river’s source at the mountain peak, they saw torrents of water pouring down into the dry riverbed below. Though the water was still polluted and appeared dark red, it was already a significant improvement.
Purifying the river would take more time.
Fortunately, the purification barriers that Su Ci and A-Yan had set up earlier began to take effect as the water flowed through them.
If one were to clear the mist and look down from the sky, they would see the rushing river. Its color gradually lightened as it progressed downstream.
By the time it cascaded over the first cliff Su Ci had discovered, forming a magnificent waterfall, the water was nearly free of its red tint.
The river from the waterfall merged with the underground water channels that Su Ci had redirected earlier, carrying an unstoppable momentum as it coursed through the thousand-meter-long riverbed.
At the riverbed’s farthest end, where mud had accumulated, a giant panda was struggling to climb up the riverbank.
Though it was over two meters tall and could easily rest its upper body on the riverbank when standing, its hunger, exhaustion, and the slippery mud made it difficult to pull itself up.
The panda clawed at the riverbank with all its might.
But each time it got halfway, its heavy body slid back down again. After several attempts, it was utterly drained, lying there panting.
Its already filthy fur was now covered in mud, turning it into a “mud panda.”
“Wuuu~ wuuu~”
The panda lay by the riverbank, sniffing the fragrant scent of grass wafting from the top. The aroma included a smell that made its hunger grow even more intense, and it couldn’t help but let out two helpless cries.
But its calls didn’t last long.
“Rumble—rumble—”
A strange sound from the distance interrupted it. The panda turned toward the noise, its half-closed eyes widening in shock within its black-furred face.
The river had transformed into a raging torrent, roaring like a ferocious beast as it surged toward the panda.
Sensing the imminent danger, the panda instinctively flailed its limbs, desperately trying to climb up. But the more frantic it became, the more mistakes it made.
“Crack—crack—”
The rocks it had been clinging to finally gave way under its weight, breaking off from the riverbank. The panda, along with the broken rocks, tumbled down into the riverbed below.
The river water surged forward, carrying mud and sand, crashing against the blockage of silt at the river’s outlet. It forcefully broke through, forming a small waterfall that spilled onto the vast plain below.
Once a breach was made, there was no stopping it.
The rushing water eroded the silt at the gap, causing it to collapse further. The once narrow waterfall grew larger and larger until it finally broke through all the silt with a roaring crash.
The giant panda, having fallen into the river, was swept along by the water. Despite its robust physique, it was powerless against the force of nature—especially in its current state of starvation and exhaustion.
As soon as it hit the water, it was carried toward the mouth of the waterfall, plummeting straight off the 100-to-200-meter-high cliff.
“Wuu! Wuu!”
Seeing the ground rushing up to meet it, the panda curled itself into a ball, hugging its head with its forepaws. Survival instincts guided it to adopt the best possible landing position.
But from such a height, survival seemed unlikely.
In what it thought were its final moments, flashes of blurry memories appeared in the panda’s mind, dominated entirely by its animal instincts.
It… he wanted to live!
Someone was waiting for him to return!
But no matter how fearful or unwilling it felt, nothing could slow its descent.
Just as it succumbed to despair, bracing for its body to slam into the rocks below with the force of the waterfall—
An invisible power enveloped it, gently absorbing the impact.
Instead of hitting the jagged rocks beneath the water, the panda felt no pain at all. Held aloft by the unseen force, it was steadily lifted back toward the surface.
Finally, it broke through the water’s surface.
The panda surfaced at a spot no longer directly beneath the waterfall. Loosening its grip on its head, it dumbly looked upward.
There, framed by the mist and spray of the crashing waterfall, were two figures standing tall, suspended in midair.
The dim sunlight glinted off them, and to the panda, freshly saved from the brink of death, they appeared like divine beings descending from the heavens.
The power holding it didn’t dissipate but instead carried it upward alongside the two figures. It flew past the waterfall and gently landed on a grassy patch by the riverbank, where the force finally vanished.
Sopping wet, the panda collapsed onto the ground. Its once-filthy fur had been thoroughly rinsed clean, now looking about seventy percent restored to its natural state.
Su Ci and A-Yan descended slowly, landing in front of the panda.
Looking over the drenched and bedraggled creature, Su Ci couldn’t help but marvel, “What are you doing all the way out here?”
Wasn’t this panda supposed to live deep within the mountains?
Unfortunately, the panda didn’t answer. It stared dumbfoundedly at Su Ci and A-Yan. Then, after Su Ci finished speaking, it closed its eyes and fell over with a thud, flattening a patch of curled moss.
Su Ci sighed. He had only encountered this panda once before, and although it had taken the fruits he had left in the purified areas of the mountains, he hadn’t seen it again until now.
Seeing that it had fainted, Su Ci didn’t hesitate. He bent down and began examining the panda.
A-Yan noticed that the panda’s breathing was relatively stable and left it in Su Ci’s care while he went to inspect the waterway.
The force of the rushing water was astonishingly powerful. Several of the purification barriers that he and Su Ci had previously set up were completely destroyed, and a few others had their formations partially damaged, reducing their effectiveness.
A-Yan carefully documented each issue, planning to fix them once the river flow stabilized.
The river’s fish, along with most of its dense aquatic plants and algae, were swept away by the torrent, leaving only the area around the protected Water Lotus untouched.
Such a powerful current was not something these fragile creatures could withstand.
What was once a vibrant, densely populated river suddenly became barren. It was hard not to feel a pang of regret, but A-Yan consoled himself with the thought that these creatures would now have the chance to spread and thrive in new areas.
Restoring the power of the land couldn’t be limited to just this small patch of ground.
After confirming that the Water Lotus habitat was unharmed, A-Yan felt reassured. When he returned to Su Ci’s side, Su Ci had already finished examining the giant panda.
“It’s nothing serious,” Su Ci said. “It’s just been chronically underfed, and combined with overexhaustion, its body is depleted.”
With proper nutrition, it would recover quickly.
As for food…
Su Ci glanced at the riverbank near the purification barrier. In the short time they had spent clearing the river, the vegetation had grown even more lush.
The bamboo forest, in particular, seemed to have expanded its range.
These plants would definitely be enough to feed the giant panda.
“A human who’s fully beastified?” A-Yan asked as he noticed Su Ci’s contemplative look.
“Yes,” Su Ci nodded. “I encountered it in the mountains before.”
Thinking back to the ruins he had passed through while tracking A-Yan—where those beasts tainted by resentment spirits had appeared—Su Ci added, “There are likely many more like him out there.”
Though he didn’t know if these individuals were warriors or criminals.
“Should we hand him over to the base?” A-Yan asked, glancing at the soaking wet panda. After a moment of hesitation, he pulled out the small water blob from his spiritual storage bag.
The Water Demon, as soon as it hit the ground, bounced twice in an attempt to flee into the river. But—
“Come back,” A-Yan commanded.
The little blob froze mid-bounce and reluctantly hopped back to A-Yan’s feet.
Though A-Yan wasn’t technically a caretaker at the nursery, making the cubified Water Demon obey him was an easy task.
After all, all he needed was for Su Ci to order it to listen to him.
“Dry the panda’s fur,” Su Ci instructed.
While the task could have been easily completed with a spell, why waste his own energy when there was free labor available?
Hearing this, the water blob bounced over to the panda and, with a single duang, absorbed all the moisture from its fur. Then…
The panda’s fur, once soaked, was now completely dry—but the blob had doubled in size, bloating from all the water it had absorbed.
It quivered slightly, clearly uncomfortable, before spitting out a stream of clean water back into the river. After a moment, it shrank back to its original size and hopped back to A-Yan’s side, looking utterly resigned to its fate.
Su Ci chuckled, shaking his head as he observed the panda now sitting there with its clean, fluffy fur. “Well, that’s one way to handle it.”
“Splat—”
The Water Demon shot a water arrow toward A-Yan.
Unfortunately for it, the arrow never got close, dissolving into mist upon contact with the faint glow surrounding A-Yan. At the same time, the Water Demon froze, its body stiffening as it felt an overwhelming pressure that seemed to shake its very soul.
The little blob hesitantly turned around and looked at Su Ci.
The “caretaker” stood tall, casting it a cold, indifferent glance. With just that one look, a deep, primal fear stirred within the Water Demon’s very essence, compelling it to bow in submission.
The already small water blob began to tremble uncontrollably. It shrank smaller and smaller until it became a tiny water droplet.
The droplet bounced nervously over to A-Yan, hurriedly diving into his spiritual storage bag, completely forgetting its earlier hostility toward him.
A-Yan blinked, then couldn’t help but laugh.
