Chapter 26: Mushrooms

As the crowing sound echoed through the forest, the few centipedes that had poked most of their bodies out froze instantly.

Chu Jiu felt a surge of joy and began to pluck the bowstring faster.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

The sound grew even louder. Two more centipedes froze in place, while another two began to shiver violently.

More centipedes emerged from beneath the semi-rotten fallen leaves, their antennae twitching in agitation as if confirming, "Is that a crowing sound?" "Is there a dangerous predator nearby?"

Eventually, amidst the incessant crowing, the centipedes crawled onto the ground one after another, scrambling to flee the area.

About a quarter of an hour later, not a single centipede remained in the shadows. The soil had been churned up, leaving behind several "Hardened Centipede Shells" on the ground.

Chu Jiu let out a breath, put away his bamboo bow, and tossed the shells into his backpack. He then explained everything to Little Canned:

After crafting this bow and arrow, he had practiced secretly for several days. However, whether due to poor form or insufficient arm strength, he had never once hit the bullseye.

Even though he never hit the target, he had accidentally heard the bowstring emit a short, sharp cry while drawing it frequently during those days.

A good bow suddenly letting out a chicken's crow startled Chu Jiu so much that his hand shook. It was only then that he realized some action had triggered the bowstring's inherent attribute, causing it to mimic a chicken.

With a call so loud, wouldn't it just reveal his position to the monsters? It defeated the purpose of a long-range ambush.

Chu Jiu had originally considered switching to a different long-range weapon.

But then he remembered the Wind-Breath Fruit and the centipedes hidden around the Wind-Breath Fruit tree.

Regarding those centipedes whose direct attacks caused poisonous venom to splatter, Chu Jiu recalled a description in his guidebook:

Chu Jiu looked around and found a tree of suitable height. He fished out a "Grappling Hook" made from centipede mandibles and rope from his backpack, intending to throw the hook onto a branch and pull himself up along the rope.

After drifting slowly upward for nearly half an hour, he could finally see the grasslands and trees of the second terrace.

Chu Jiu praised the little hamster for being so reliable in finding such a perfect place to spend the night, then quickly built a simple stove out of stones to start a fire and cook.

Little Canned, who never missed a target, hit the mark as a matter of course.

*

As for whether this gas was hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, or some other gas non-existent on the Blue Star, the guidebook card did not specify, and Chu Jiu did not intend to test it by checking "whether this gas is flammable."

Little Canned seemed to see through Chu Jiu’s worries and squinted, saying, "Don't worry, it's fine."

The Wind-Breath Fruit was about the size of a watermelon, light and completely weightless.

However, the "Jian-Shou-Qing" (Blue-Hand-Turn) mushroom was famous not for its color-changing ability, but because it was inherently toxic. If cooked improperly, there was a high probability that after eating it, one would see little people dancing.

Hmm, although it wasn't as tender as fish, the taste was truly excellent, with a unique aroma.

The Bamboo-Flower Chicken was small, and the meat was very tender; it stewed until nearly falling apart in no time. Chu Jiu extended his chopsticks and fished out a chicken leg.

Repeating this process, Chu Jiu reached the fifth terrace by evening.

Little Canned poked his head out, eyes wide, as if asking: What happened?

Before long, the chilly cave was filled with the warm, fragrant scent of bamboo.

Perhaps... this was because fungi are neither plants nor animals? Chu Jiu speculated.

The watermelon-sized Wind-Breath Fruit floated in mid-air, expanding at an astonishing speed, rapidly growing from a small watermelon into a large winter melon.

According to the icon provided by the "Treasure Hunter's Goal," the cotton was on the tenth layer—the very top.

Having flown through the rain for most of the day, Chu Jiu was quite sleepy. He didn't intend to force a night march, so he used his skill to summon the little hamster again and headed for the night's campsite.

...

Little Canned opened his mouth again and took a bite.

Chu Jiu found some "Dry-Ba Fungus" he had picked up along the way, washed it, and sliced it into strips.

It was truly a terrace overflowing with rain; mushrooms were everywhere, both non-toxic and deadly.

With that, the little guy relaxed his claws—

Chu Jiu sped up his movements.

The grappling hook and rope drew a beautiful arc through the air, hooking firmly into the tree branch.

Chu Jiu parted the vines blocking the cave entrance and crawled inside.

Chu Jiu hurried to say: "Steady yourself, don't fall! Yes, it has to be thrown over."

"If you keep pumping air into it, it will become a 'hot air balloon'."

Little Canned's expression was calm again, only letting out a "Meow" to indicate, "I know."

As he spoke, Chu Jiu handed Little Canned an arrow.

The tip of the arrow was nothing special, but a thin, long string was tied to the back; it was unclear what it was for.

Chu Jiu was just planning to make a small straw hat for the little hamster when Little Canned leaped, jumping rapidly along the tree trunks and branches to reach the little hamster, placing the hat he had received from Chu Jiu onto the hamster's head.

If Chu Jiu hadn't been holding onto the rope the whole time, the Wind-Breath Fruit would have likely flown straight into the sky.

Although there was no moss on the ground, it was still slippery and muddy, and Chu Jiu couldn't walk very fast.

Chu Jiu smiled and whispered, "Good job."

"I know what it is."

Little Canned sat on Chu Jiu's shoulder with a dignified expression, staring straight ahead, convinced he hadn't shown any signs of "happiness at being praised."

As long as everything went smoothly, he would find the cotton in two more days.

Chu Jiu took a bite of the vegetables, feeling the fresh, rich flavor fill his mouth. He unconsciously closed his eyes and tilted his head back, immersing himself in the wonderful taste for half a minute.

Chu Jiu set up the campfire and began preparing dinner.

Little Canned meowed: "That's not an ordinary chestnut! Do you remember the story you read to me? This is clearly one of those 'Chestnut Spirits' that pricks people."

As he walked, he bent down from time to time to pick something up.

Five minutes later, the "Stir-fried Dry-Ba Fungus with Shredded Meat" was ready.

It didn't seem to expect it to be raining here; when the raindrops hit its body, its round figure shivered noticeably, and its small wings fluttered faster.

He explained: "The 'flesh' of this Wind-Breath Fruit is a very special powder that can turn air into... into a lighter gas."

Even Little Canned, who usually didn't eat other meat, ate two bites of the stir-fried fungus and meat, his eyes curling into crescents, nearly unable to stop himself from meowing.

"But this time, we can't use ordinary bamboo arrows; we have to use this."

Chu Jiu thought to himself that Little Canned, summoned by the system, was indeed not a native of this other world; otherwise, he couldn't possibly know this concept.

As its volume continued to swell, the Wind-Breath Fruit floated higher and higher, taking Chu Jiu further and further away from the ground.

"Whoosh!"

Fortunately, Chu Jiu had never intended to climb the mountain anyway.

Upon reaching the edge, Chu Jiu fastened his safety harness again, inflated the Wind-Breath Fruit, and drifted up to the third terrace.

...

Thinking of this, Chu Jiu decided to find another way to utilize this bow.

A few minutes later, the rope pulled the bamboo arrow, along with the Wind-Breath Fruit—which had been pierced at the stem—slowly down into Chu Jiu's hands.

The entire sequence of movements was fluid and natural; the little hamster hadn't even realized what happened before a rain-shielding hat was already on its head.

The next day.

This time, whether it was the hat that made the little hamster relax its guard, or because it couldn't fly too fast in the rain, the little hamster did not fly far away from Little Canned.

Even so, every year, people vied to eat it, all for that indescribable deliciousness.

Chu Jiu let out an "Oh," quickly pulled back his hand, and shook the back of it in the rain.

He added a spicy sauce made from prickly ash and stir-fried it, the aroma becoming increasingly rich, making Chu Jiu swallow repeatedly.

He tucked Little Canned away, fastened his safety harness, secured the Wind-Breath Fruit to the harness with a rope, cut off half the stem, used [Slime Adhesive] to stick the blowhole to the remaining stem, and began to slowly pump air into the fruit.

After sliding to the ground, Chu Jiu put away the Wind-Breath Fruit—which had returned to the size of a watermelon—and continued toward the junction of the second and third terraces.

Although he hadn't picked any Blue-Hand-Turn mushrooms that afternoon, he had gathered plenty of other porcini and sheep's liver mushrooms. After washing the fungi and taking apart a Bamboo-Flower Chicken, the main dish for the evening was mixed-fungi chicken stew.

Little Canned hesitated for a few moments, twitched his little nose again, met Chu Jiu’s sparkling eyes for a few seconds, and then lowered his head, taking a bite of the chicken leg.

Chu Jiu caught a glimpse of Little Canned's round eyes, smiled, and picked up the other chicken leg to place it near Little Canned's mouth:

Before this, the golden hamster had flown very high, intentionally staying far away from Little Canned to avoid being grabbed and played with like a toy.

This cave was quite spacious inside, the ground was dry enough, and there were rocks of various sizes scattered about.

"We just don't pick that mushroom; we don't need to fight it."

Chu Jiu pursed his lips, spent half a minute making a small straw hat, and placed it back on top of Little Canned's head.

Little Canned silently pulled back the bamboo bow and nocked the grappling hook like an arrow.

Compared to the bamboo bow in his hands, the grappling hook was far too large; Chu Jiu even doubted whether the bow could launch it at all.

He placed the iron pot on the stove, brushed sauce on the fish chunks and skewered them with bamboo sticks over the fire, and threw a bamboo tube filled with rice, diced cured meat, and water into the fire.

As a result, Little Canned jumped onto the back of Chu Jiu's hand: "You want to throw this over?"

Chu Jiu whispered, "Just right to taste how delicious it really is," then squatted down and reached out to pick the cluster of mushrooms.

It was truly delicious!

Chu Jiu grabbed the rope and pulled it in bit by bit.

Hearing Chu Jiu's words, Little Canned angrily retracted his claws and went silent.

No sooner had he spoken than the golden, winged little hamster appeared before them, accompanied by a flash of light.

Just like yesterday, Chu Jiu bent down from time to time to pick up a mushroom.

After walking for about an hour, the man and the cat were led by the hamster to a hidden cave entrance.

After all, in this other world, there were no rubber products or artificially manufactured helium; how could there be balloons that flew upward when heated?

That night, Chu Jiu ate the entire bamboo tube of rice with the plate of fungi.

"Do you want to try it?"

The Blue-Hand-Turn is actually a type of porcini mushroom. If this mushroom is bruised or touched by hand, it turns indigo, which is why it bears that name.