Chapter 58 Cuddling

[The river was too swift, and the dugout canoe was completely beyond our control.
I saw a pine-cone-shaped rock ahead.
Right after that, a massive wave extinguished our last remaining torches. I could see nothing anymore...]
[The boat began to plunge; we must have fallen off a cliff with the waterfall. Little Iron and I started screaming...
But soon, both we and our canoe landed on something soft and spongy.
At first, I thought it was a patch of land.
Until that "patch of land" slowly rose, and the sound of rushing water beside my ears told me that the "land" was carrying us back up to the edge of the cliff!
That was when I said to Little Iron: "We must have landed on the head of some giant beast!"
Just then, we heard the "land" beneath us emit the deep, rumbling growl characteristic of a giant beast. It was true! A giant beast had saved us!
Its voice was more deafening than the loudest thunder I had ever heard!
It carried us and waited for a long time, until a sound came from the other side of the cliff, as if another giant beast was responding to its call.
Soon, I could feel that, just like a sack of potatoes in a dugout canoe, we were transferred from the head of this giant beast onto the back of another.
The newly arrived giant beast kept making "mooing" sounds as it carried us against the current...
I do not know how long it swam in the river.
Little Iron and I drank some water when we were thirsty, and ate nuts and gems when we were hungry.
As for these unknown creatures that accidentally fell into the water, it usually followed the rule of "returning things from whence they came," sending them back to their original places.]

The prehistoric long-necked beast also stood there in a daze for several minutes.
Since we are already here...
The last sentence was mainly meant to motivate the little squirrel.
However, even if the little squirrels took off their little leather clothes, they could never shed the fur on their bodies.
...Absurd, utterly absurd.

Though narrow, it was not cramped; though deep, its slope was gentle and descended gradually. In short, whether human or dwarf-orc, anyone could walk freely through the passage without the slightest effort.
One human and three little squirrels stood right there, awkwardly dancing in place for several minutes.

Chu Jiu's face grew warm, and he quickly said, "What does this have to do with Lu Qingyan?"
Chu Jiu switched back to the backend interface and pointed ahead, saying, "We're almost there! The [Earth Fire Raw Stone] is right ahead!"

What is this giant beast planning to do...?
Chu Jiu had long since taken off his coat and neckscarf, replacing his tall boots with short ones.
Chu Jiu tried hard to recall Professor Cacab's common language, and began jumping and gesturing continuously on the bamboo raft, struggling to convey a single meaning:

It turned out that Little Canned had attached itself to his back on its own, using its warm, toasty cat belly to keep him warm!

Unidentified plants spread across mountains and valleys, dyeing everything with a vibrant vitality.
Ah, if only he knew how to make a hand warmer. Chu Jiu blew on his somewhat numb fingers as he hurried along.
To forge a furnace, one must first find the [Earth Fire Raw Stone]...
Of course, "small" was purely relative.

Taking advantage of this pause, Chu Jiu used [Enemy Reconnaissance].
Through a white, curtain-like layer of steam, an island was faintly visible in the middle of the lake.
Perhaps due to the trance-like state of continuous walking, Chu Jiu suddenly recalled that during those days when he was unconscious, he seemed to have been pressed against in this exact manner, letting a steady stream of warmth be infused into his body.

The group continued moving forward according to Chu Jiu's backend map.
Even if we could return the way we came, that long-necked dinosaur surely would not want to see us again.
Our underground river adventure has come to an end. I never saw that giant beast with the big mouth and small ears again. We are all very grateful to it.
(1/3)

Even though Chu Jiu had already laid eyes on that "ancient long-necked giant beast," he could not help but be dumbfounded once more, wondering yet again if he had transmigrated to the wrong place.
It was not hard to figure out that the "giant beast" that had carried Eric and the blacksmith squirrel back to the underground city all those years ago was none other than that giant hippopotamus.

A boiling lake, where red waters could be seen churning incessantly, releasing billows of steam.
That "slight movement" of its was enough to make the water surface sway unceasingly, causing the little squirrels behind him to tremble and lose their footing once more into a shivering cluster.
Chu Jiu: ...?

That giant beast carrying us gently pushed us to the shore, opened its enormous mouth to yawn at us, and dove back into the water, leaving.
However, because he had never seen the physical [Earth Fire Raw Stone] or its illustration, and could only sketch a rough idea in his mind based on the blacksmith squirrel's description, even with the corresponding map activated, he could only obtain a vague radius rather than pinpoint its exact location on the map.
Besides...
Was there any more accurate method...?

Chu Jiu noticed it as well.
And the little hamster squeaked twice and disappeared from beside Little Canned.
Because according to the map, the [Earth Fire Raw Stone] should be further ahead.
Yet another loop.
...Ah?

After leaving Bean Village this time, whenever the golden little hamster was summoned, Little Canned—who usually stood on Chu Jiu's shoulder—would invariably leap into the air, shield the golden little hamster with its body, and then carry or piggyback it everywhere it went, refusing to let the golden little hamster flap its wings on its own, let alone let it touch the ground.
But Little Canned had also been fast asleep during those days, right?
Yet he could not turn back now!

Sure enough, Little Canned chimed in, "The target is attempting to approach, but has no hostile intent."
"Senior, a masterpiece!"
With that, those little squirrels, listless for so long, regained their energy and dashed away toward the front right with pattering steps!

The long-necked giant beast paused in the water, an expression of genuine bewilderment appearing on its face that had weathered countless ages.
Chu Jiu curiously used [Enemy Reconnaissance] once more.
It slowly sank again, its head dropping back beneath the surface of the water, diving beneath the bamboo raft and lifting the whole thing up.

The pine cone was round at the top and pointed at the bottom, with its round "head" facing the cave and its sharp "tail" pointing southwest.
However, as the party drew closer to the [Earth Fire Raw Stone], the surrounding temperature grew increasingly hot.

Even if the blacksmith squirrel could no longer remember this adventure, he surely retained some impression of it: that was a benevolent monster that had once helped him.
At this moment, the long-necked giant beast let out a low bellow, which probably meant "We have arrived."
Chu Jiu froze in place.

——Similarly, landing on the big tails of the little squirrels would burn off one or two hairs...
The little squirrel nodded vigorously: "Road sign! Ore!"
[This is a prehistoric long-necked giant beast that feels its territory has been severely defiled by a strange dance.]
The giant beast actually stopped its movements.
[Reconnoitring...]
Lift paw! Spin! Leap!
It... valued its tiny territory dearly and disliked having this area defiled by any foreign creatures.
Chu Jiu had no choice but to outfit all their big tails with "fireproof tail sleeves" made of alum and linen.

The reason he asked this was because although Little Canned stood fiercely at the bow of the boat, it had not launched an active attack.
As for what that other monster—the one that used its head to hoist the dugout canoe back up to the edge of the cliff—actually was, Chu Jiu had never been able to guess.
"Secret door!"
(2/3)

The axe-wielding little squirrel raised a torch and explained with a sense of pride:
Having said that, those little squirrels, wilted for so long, regained their vigor and scurried forward toward the front right with pattering steps!
Long before the dawn of civilization, this long-necked giant beast had already been roaming and cruising freely in this domain!
The little squirrels nearby looked at the little black cat and the golden little hamster in the tree, wearing childlike smiles as they pointed at them and chimed, "Snuggle!"
Do not send us back!
[Reconnoitring...]
Looking down instead:
Warm, humid, and oxygen-rich air rushed into his lungs all at once.
[This is... the legendary water monster of the lake—the prehistoric long-necked giant beast!]
The party marched in single file, holding [Cold Light Torches] as they continued deeper along the passage behind the secret door.
We are back! We have returned alive to the underground city!
In short, everything here was exactly as it had been hundreds of millions of years ago.

It hoisted the bamboo raft upon its head and raised its long neck, acting like a giant elevator, carrying Chu Jiu and the others upward—
Chu Jiu: ...
Fortunately, upon closer inspection, those were actually some giant manatees standing in the water pool with heads full of algae, staring curiously at this side just like the little squirrels.
Scattered little sparks fell upon the leaves without causing a major fire, yet they were enough to scorch a small hole, leaving a charred black mark.

By the third day, Chu Jiu noticed that the vague radius displayed on the backend map was just a short distance ahead.
Only a scattering of small fish and beast species had traveled along the narrow river toward the surface back then, gradually adapting to life above ground.
From the gloomy air of the passage, wisps of warm wind drifted unexpectedly.
What strange dance? Clearly, he had been dancing very seriously, alright!
Chu Jiu could see the giant's neck slowly shortening—or rather, it was sinking little by little into the water.
[Congratulations to the host for unlocking the hidden map—"The Forgotten Land of Yesteryear," also known as "The Lost Subterranean World."]
Chu Jiu decided to selectively ignore those words, remembering only the phrase "the entrance to the next area."

Chu Jiu rubbed his eyes, marveling at the wonder of this world while attempting to use [Treasure Seeker's Target] to locate the [Earth Fire Raw Stone].
The stone wall ahead truly split open to reveal a fissure, just wide enough for a single person to squeeze through.
Yet he did not stop the little squirrels, choosing instead to follow behind them to see what the destination pointed out by the dwarf-orc predecessors really was—perhaps it was a shortcut?
Wasn't this precisely the "more accurate coordinates" he urgently needed?
The little squirrels stared blankly at the hamster and cat ahead, then turned to look at Chu Jiu, asking quizzically, "You guys, are cuddling."
He squinted, looking up into the air first:
Chu Jiu was somewhat surprised.

"This must be a dedicated passage used by the dwarf-orcs to mine the [Earth Fire Raw Stone] many years ago."
It couldn't possibly be a dinosaur.
Right at that moment, the little squirrels, who had stopped trembling and were now clinging to the railings to curiously survey their surroundings, shrieked, "Over there, humans!"
That "small" beast was comparable in size to the giant hippopotamus of the underground river.
Yet pressing like that against his skin actually warmed his body up bit by bit, making even his fingers feel less stiff.
Only... where should he go from here?
"Dwarf-orcs, secret door!"
Bright as day. As if a little sun were suspended in mid-air.
(3/3)