Chapter 233
Seeing the little wolf pup hopping around with joy, Su Ci shook his head, then scooped up the little black cat from the ground. He gave it a few strokes, eliciting a soft purr.
Xing Xing narrowed his eyes but didn’t resist. He obediently waited for Su Ci to finish before leaping down to the ground. Then, with nimble movements, he ran over to Lang Ze, climbed up his pants leg, and slipped into his pocket, leaving only his little cat head visible.
By this time, Lang Ze had stopped bouncing, though the joyous smile remained plastered across his face.
Then he heard Su Ci ask, “A-Yan wants to know what color you’d like your clothes to be?”
“Aren’t the new clothes being made by Mommy Yan Ya?” Lang Ze tilted his head.
“Yes, but there’s another special set. This one is being made by A-Yan,” Su Ci explained.
“Wow!” Lang Ze’s face lit up with excitement. “If A-Yan is making it, it’s sure to be super cool! I need to think carefully.”
He rubbed his chin, pretending to ponder deeply. Before long, he came up with an idea. Pointing in the direction of the bamboo forest, he declared, “I want mine to be the color of bamboo!”
Because of his bamboo flute and the time he spent practicing in the bamboo forest, Lang Ze had a special fondness for bamboo.
As soon as he said this, the bamboo forest rustled gently, the sound joyful as if it were responding to his affection.
Su Ci nodded and crouched down. He looked at the little black cat peeking out of Lang Ze’s pocket and asked, “Xing Xing, what about you?”
Xing Xing looked a bit lost.
What color should he choose?
He thought back to the time Su Su had played Starry Fields for them and softly said, “I… I want the color of the night sky.”
Dark blue, dotted with radiant stars.
Even though he couldn’t see it yet… he wanted to wear the stars on his body.
“Sure,” Su Ci agreed.
He felt the familiar hand on his head, softly ruffling his fur. Though the gentle pressure made his head wobble from side to side, Xing Xing closed his eyes and purred contentedly.
“So, is that all you wanted when you called me?” Su Ci turned to Lang Ze and asked.
The wolf pup perked up and pointed accusingly at the teleportation array. “I don’t know how to use it! I tried to get Puluo to help, but it ignored me. Su Su, you have to do something about it—ow!”
Before he could finish, a small jet of water shot out from nowhere, landing squarely on Lang Ze’s head.
“Puluo—Puluo!”
The mischievous water sprite appeared, bouncing around triumphantly near the teleportation array.
Su Ci’s response to Lang Ze’s incessant complaints was a flick to the wolf pup’s forehead.
Lang Ze held his forehead, his green eyes brimming with grievance as he stared at Su Ci, his gaze full of silent accusations.
Su Ci remained unmoved, crossing his arms as he raised an eyebrow and said, “It’s been so long, and you still haven’t learned this?”
The little wolf’s eyes darted around, clearly guilty, but he still muttered, “I’m not the only one who hasn’t learned…”
However, under Su Ci’s indifferent gaze, all his excuses were swallowed back.
“Fine, fine, I’ll take it seriously this time,” Lang Ze relented, sidling up to Su Ci and tugging at his sleeve as he whined, “Su Su, teach me again, please?”
Su Ci wasn’t trying to scold him. After all, Lang Ze had been diligent in his training and studies. He even took great care with his written assignments, and his daily growth journal entries had grown more detailed over time.
“Do you really want to learn this time?” Su Ci asked.
“Yes, yes!” Lang Ze nodded enthusiastically. “This time, I’ll put in all my effort, promise!”
The memory of Puluo refusing to help and mocking him by bouncing away had both infuriated and motivated Lang Ze.
Relying on others was no longer an option; he was determined to prove himself and make Puluo eat its words.
Seeing the wolf pup’s fighting spirit, Su Ci decided to teach him again. He had Lang Ze stand on the teleportation array and patiently guided him through how to use it, including selecting specific destination arrays.
To Su Ci’s relief, a focused Lang Ze turned out to be quite bright. By lunchtime, he had nearly mastered the basics. Although his activation speed was still slow, consistent practice would solve that.
That day, apart from his mandatory studies in language and music cultivation, Lang Ze spent all his free time practicing with the teleportation array, draining his energy reserves completely.
Throughout this process, Xing Xing stayed by his side. Gradually, Xing Xing also learned how to use the teleportation array.
Meanwhile, Mu Bao quickly adapted to life at the nursery, diligently following Zhuo Shisong and Wei Ming to learn the art of becoming a spiritual botanist and how to control his bloodline power.
On the other hand, the Mu clan’s spaceship continued its journey toward Mu Pa Pa Star. Mu Yuncheng, while aboard, busied himself with compiling all the necessary documents and officially submitted a request to the Star Alliance to rename Prison Star as “Earth Star.”
In theory, the application shouldn’t encounter significant resistance. Prison Star had essentially ceased to exist as a penal colony, so there was no reason not to grant the name change. However, the review process would take time, and when the results would arrive remained uncertain.
The young ones at the nursery remained fascinated with the stars, using the teleportation array to visit the spaceship almost daily at first. However, as the novelty wore off and the monotony of space travel set in, their visits gradually dwindled to occasional trips.
Life at the nursery returned to its usual tranquility. Apart from the new towering tree on the plains and the addition of Mu Bao, not much seemed to have changed.
Notably, Su Ci’s secret identity as the spirit of the Earth Star spread quickly. The moment Lang Ze found out, it wasn’t long before the rest of the nursery children knew as well.
Lang Ze first told the lion siblings, then the little white deer Youyou. Little Li Hua shared the secret with Xue Wei, and it was overheard by Lu Li and Lai Qian Qian.
The children even went to Mu Bao for confirmation. Once he verified it, the entire nursery was aware that Su Su was the Earth Spirit.
Reactions among the children varied, but they all accepted the truth without much difficulty.
After all, with Su Su being so powerful, it wasn’t strange to think of him as the Earth Spirit. His obsession with farming suddenly made perfect sense.
Recalling the desolation they had seen on 244H and the barren, lifeless land, the children felt an overwhelming sadness. For the first time, they truly understood the meaning of heartache.
They were determined to grow up well, to help Su Su solve the problems on Earth Star, and make it as beautiful and prosperous as other planets!
However, while the secret about Su Su quickly spread among the young ones, they managed to keep it hidden from all the adults.
This secret, which belonged only to them, brought the children even closer together.
“Do you think… Brother A-Yan knows about this secret?” Lang Ze asked thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.
“He probably does. Brother A-Yan lives with Su Su, and every time we go to see Su Su, Brother A-Yan is always there,” Lu Li reasoned.
“True!” Lang Ze nodded in agreement.
At this moment, Xue Wei, who was the most shaken after learning the secret, suddenly spoke up, “Do you think… Brother A-Yan might also be a spirit?”
The other children all turned to her in surprise.
For some reason, fleeting, hazy images flashed through their minds, but when they tried to recall them clearly, they found they couldn’t remember anything at all.
Was there something important they had forgotten?
Only Lai Qian Qian and Mu Bao listened on in confusion.
“Brother A-Yan must be a spirit!” Lu Jiao declared with confidence.
Ran Lie, who had been silently listening with his arms crossed, glanced up at the little white deer before lowering his head again. He actually thought the same.
“Then… what kind of spirit is Brother A-Yan?” Little Li Hua tilted her head curiously.
Lang Ze immediately responded, “First of all, not a water spirit!”
The children all thought of Puluo’s round, bouncy form and then compared it to Brother A-Yan’s gentle and kind face. They unanimously nodded in agreement.
Right, Brother A-Yan couldn’t possibly be a water spirit!
“If not a water spirit, then what kind of spirit could he be?” the little white deer asked. “Puluo is best at watering plants, so what is Brother A-Yan best at?”
“Cooking, of course!”
“Yes, Brother A-Yan’s cooking is the best!”
“Exactly, I love the meals Brother A-Yan makes, especially all the delicious desserts.”
The cubs excitedly voiced their love for A-Yan’s cooking skills. Suddenly, the little wolf cub shouted, “I know!”
Everyone turned to look at him.
“Lang Ze, what do you know?”
“I know what kind of spirit Brother A-Yan is!” Lang Ze declared confidently. “Brother A-Yan is so good at cooking, so he must be—a pot spirit!”
Ran Lie: “…”
Rong Heng: “…”
Xue Wei: “…”
Lu Jiao: “…”
The room fell silent, the atmosphere utterly still. Finally, Lu Li broke the silence. “Why does being good at cooking mean he’s a pot spirit? Cooking also needs a stove and a spatula, you know.”
Lang Ze thought about it and nodded. “Then he must be a stove spirit!”
“Oh, it’s getting late. Why don’t we go to bed?” Xue Wei clumsily changed the subject, and the others immediately agreed.
“Yes, it’s so late, and I haven’t written in my growth journal yet,” Lu Jiao added, standing up.
Ran Lie rose and headed straight for the door, while Rong Heng held Little Li Hua’s hand and said goodbye to Lang Ze. Seeing everyone leaving, Mu Bao and Lai Qian Qian hesitated for a moment before getting up as well.
“I’m heading back too,” Lu Li said as he stood.
The cubs had gathered in Lang Ze’s room for a rare post-dinner chat session. It wasn’t even 8 p.m. yet, but out of concern for disturbing Su Su, they had been keeping their movements quiet.
Lang Ze pouted as he watched them leave one by one.
When Zheng Xing slowly got up to follow the others, Lang Ze grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him back.
“Xing Xing, do you think my guess is right?” Lang Ze asked.
Zheng Xing was silent for a moment before softly replying, “Mm, it makes… sense.”
Satisfied, Lang Ze grinned. After a moment of thought, he couldn’t resist letting his imagination run wild again. “Or could it be… a spatula spirit?”
Zheng Xing: “…”
He climbed into bed, buried himself under the covers, and ignored Lang Ze entirely.
*
Room 303
The cubs didn’t realize that every word of their conversation had reached Su Su and A-Yan’s ears. Su Su was sprawled on the sofa, experiencing for the first time the sensation of laughing so hard that his stomach hurt.
“Is it really that funny?” A-Yan asked helplessly as he rubbed Su Su’s stomach.
Su Su had finally started to settle down, but hearing A-Yan’s question made him burst into laughter again.
Finally, unable to take it anymore, A-Yan picked Su Su up in a bridal carry and walked straight into the bedroom. Soon, sounds other than laughter could be heard coming from within…
As for what exactly happened, that’s not for us to elaborate on.
The night gradually fell silent.
But not every room in the cub house had gone quiet.
Room 501.
Lu Li lay on his bed, his eyes tightly shut, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. A faint golden glow shone from the center of his brow…
