Chapter 48: The Blacksmith

The little squirrels opened their mouths one after another.

Massage?

They knew what massage was.

For example, the three squirrel brothers.

If they spent several days continuously swinging their iron picks digging holes, their muscles would ache all over. In such cases, the three squirrels would take turns pounding each other.

Sometimes they used their little paws formed into fists to hit, other times they grabbed a round stone to tap.

After this head-to-toe pounding, the pain would ease considerably.

That was the squirrels’ version of “massage.”

But why would a monster need a massage? They didn’t dig holes.

Chuju explained to them.

It turned out this large monster called “Hippo” originally lived not in the underground river basin but out in the open land.

Later, whether by losing its way or some other reason, it came to the underground river and had lived there for a very long time.

Here, its space to move was limited, it couldn’t bask in the sun, and its body grew weaker and weaker.

Under such conditions, even taking a small step or sitting still made it feel exhausted.

At that moment, it happened to discover that the river water here naturally formed currents of varying strength!

Chuju looked at the little squirrels’ movements and felt a strange sense of discord.

Just then, a system prompt sounded:

The squirrel chief waved his hand sternly, signaling the three to behave.

But his train of thought was soon interrupted.

Chuju exhaled softly, not leaving immediately but standing aside, quietly observing for a while to prevent any mishaps.

Earlier, Chuju had tested with bamboo strips; the vibrations transmitted from different insertion points showed distinct intensities—some gentle, some fierce.

Honestly, it didn’t like eating aquatic plants; it preferred feeding on land.

“It’s getting up, the monster is getting up!” The little squirrels, too astonished, all grabbed their ears, probably testing whether they were dreaming.

The chief’s small eyes widened.

Could it only come ashore?

Half an hour later, the hippo’s eyelids slowly opened.

The chief shook his head again. “No.”

The little squirrels exclaimed, “Huh?”

His Plan B was to use a giant insect-catching net coated with sticky mud to bind the massive hippo, then use several pulleys to make it easier to drag the hippo forcibly away from the water entrance. In this way, the giant hippo couldn’t struggle or cause damage. This was a key reason Chuju could convince the chief.

With a glance from Chuju, the three squirrel brothers and the bow-knot squirrel, led by Little Can, nimbly leapt onto the hippo carrying ceramic pots about their own size.

It wasn’t impossible after all…

Because the bow-knot squirrel jumped in front of him with a serious expression:

Many of them had never eaten candy, but almost everyone in the chestnut clan had tried it.

Smelling that scent and seeing the glossy color, all the squirrels present began to salivate.

Though the hippo was much larger than a human… Chuju believed the basic principles were the same.

The hippo, not fed yet, looked a little aggrieved.

Chuju wiped the sweat from his forehead and thought: It’s done.

With continuous feeding and through “scouting,” understanding the hippo’s likes and weaknesses, it was possible to successfully guide this giant hippo despite limited communication.

—

For humans or dwarf-beasts, these unpredictable water currents were actually dangerous undertows.

Huh? Why does my body suddenly feel so much lighter?

Hadn’t the little squirrels described Lu Qingyan as “powerful”? Why did they point to Little Can in that way?

After retrieving the pot, the hippo lifted its head again, letting out a long series of “moo” sounds.

[Host has achieved the hidden condition ‘So sore!’]

Chuju soon met the dwarf-beast clan chief near the plaza.

The chief once again waved his hand to quiet the chattering brothers and explained to Chuju in detail.

Chuju noticed the chief’s expression was more relaxed, as if he were having a pleasant dream.

This time, the round winnowing basket was two meters in diameter.

Even a giant hippo would take quite a while to finish the vegetables and fruits piled on top.

Because it was soon time to retrieve the pots.

Out of reach.

Saying this, he took a handful of golden, gold-crafted melon seeds from his golden belt and placed them in Chuju’s hand.

At first, Chuju didn’t understand why the old blacksmith stayed behind, but the bow-knot squirrel told him that the master said: since it was such a dangerous mission for the forge, he couldn’t go to the surface alone. The old blacksmith must stay in the workshop and, once water supply was restored, immediately open the furnace to forge tools for that brave human.

One sleeping posture was to lie flat with limbs spread comfortably on the ground. Considering this mutated hippo was unwilling to leave the water, it obviously wouldn’t use this posture.

Each time the hippo grabbed a piece, it hummed softly.

But in the end, the chief shook his head: “No, no. Cavities. Cavities will form.”

Meanwhile, Chuju strictly followed his Plan A, leading the hippo to the pond and showing it the lush, tasty leaves nearby, then guided it to lie on the [Hippo-special massage chair].

The giant hippo seemed to like its new home very much.

Keep in mind, this year’s “grain storehouse” wasn’t yet full, and they were worried whether the food for winter would be sufficient!

Chuju: …

It still remembered how a few days ago it had struggled to climb ashore, but its body was so heavy it couldn’t move a step and had to fall back into the water with a splash.

Chuju blinked: “So when it reached out its hand just now…”

At this moment, Little Can softly meowed: “Not bad.”

The bow-knot squirrel looked at Chuju with a hint of suspicion.

The hippo’s sleeping postures roughly fell into three types:

The hippo reluctantly shuffled ashore, thinking it would fall back again—

Chuju, of course, remembered the squirrels’ rules and immediately took out some colorful candies, placing them in its paw, sincerely asking: “Are these enough?”

Another posture was to sink underwater, instinctively surfacing every few minutes to breathe. This was the most likely posture for the mutated hippo. But in the water, cupping therapy was impossible, so this posture had to be avoided.

Following Chuju’s instructions and led by Little Can, they soaked cotton with oil, lit it, placed it inside the ceramic pots, then quickly flipped them onto the hippo’s broad, thick back, creating suction cups!

“How about letting it go?”

The three squirrel brothers nearby grew anxious, chattering nonstop, essentially praising Chuju’s skill and trustworthiness.

In other words, if Plan B was used to forcibly drive the giant hippo away, they would only earn 1,000 pioneering points and fail to obtain the therapy hall recipe?

More importantly, over the past two days, the dwarf-beasts had built a [special massage chair] for the hippo near the pond—a smooth stone embedded with large river pebbles.

Cupping therapy, a traditional Chinese massage technique, accelerates blood flow through negative pressure, relieves muscle fatigue, and makes one feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

“As far as I know, this water inlet is crucial to the forge, and the tools forged there are used by the entire tribe, right?”

Eating actually consumed quite a bit of energy.

—

Chuju’s plan was to take advantage of the hippo’s habit of sleeping after eating to perform cupping therapy.

After hearing the chief’s explanation, the bow-knot squirrel jumped out and said, “Other methods won’t work.”

The axe-carrying little squirrel clasped its hands, his black button eyes shining with admiration: “Beautiful! Powerful!”

But the three brothers, once saved by Chuju, didn’t hesitate to trust his words.

The basket rose slowly, swaying as it floated over.

“Moo moo moo!” Noticing this, the hippo staggered ashore, dragging mud and water, and began to eat hungrily at the basket.

“May I ask, what are your concerns?”

According to the chief, this monster was huge, and if it struggled, the noise would be terrifying.

Thus, the hippo rolling back and forth on the massage chair was just as effective as the current “water flow massage.”

No longer heavy and immobile as it had been recently?

The chief readily ordered the potter to make a large batch.

As they rubbed and tapped, Chuju noticed the chief’s own tail wagging slightly—he clearly didn’t mind the three little guys’ intimate behavior.

Finally, the chief nodded: “Alright.”

Around the pond grew abundant [Underground Dragon’s Beard Grass] and [Dark Star Leaf Grass], all suitable foods for the hippo.

The old blacksmith sniffed the candy under his nose, picked them up one by one, ignoring Chuju.

In the end, the chief had to tear the three brothers away one by one, set them aside, then put on a serious face and asked Chuju, “You want to treat the monster?”

This giant hippo’s sleeping posture was exactly what Chuju needed: standing on its hind legs with half its body floating!

Although the bow-knot squirrel claimed its master was very old, to Chuju, aside from white ears, the dwarf-beast looked no different from others.

Yet his expression was more solemn than any other dwarf-beast, even the chief.

The axe-carrying squirrel asked, “Shall we all pound it together?”

After finishing the last bite of cucumber, the hippo drowsily closed its eyes.

As Chuju had guessed, though the hippo was unwilling to leave the water entrance for food, it was happy to stand in the water with its head tilted back, enjoying its meal and the massage.

It was clear the chief was very troubled right now.

“I report to the chief. The chief will decide.”

Between two evils, the chief would rather not move the monster for now, but find other ways to supply water to the forge.

“I trust you.”

But the hippo did not wake.

Still, Chuju had no time to ponder further.

“The Nut Festival.”

Chuju thought how principled these squirrels were.

Two days later, the chief faithfully cleared the dungeon.

Little Can stood before the squirrels, looking up at the hippo with a steady voice: “It’s fine. It’s just dreaming.”

This was Chuju’s Plan A.

Chuju then shared his plan.

Chuju smiled: “The reason? That’s easy to find.”