Chapter 60 Scratch

The large deck-beast carried Chu Jiu, stepping steadily into the "Boiling Lake."

The deck-beast paddled its limbs hard, carving long ripples through the bubbling red lake water.

The hohorabbit curled up in Chu Jiu's backpack, poking its head out through the steam to look below: "Hohorohoro, is this magma? It's always bubbling, hohorohorohoro..."

Chu Jiu sat upon the deck-beast's hard carapace, hugging an ice pack to cool down: "No."

"This is just 'lake water.' The reason it's this color is probably because it contains minerals like iron sulfide."

The little squirrels simply sprawled out on the "ice bed" Chu Jiu had hastily crafted for them:

"Right, it's water, not magma."

"Magma is, hotter, will, roast you cooked."

Indeed. If this lake truly contained scorching, roiling magma, then even if the deck-beast could traverse it, Chu Jiu and the others would be baked into jerky.

About a quarter of an hour later, the "Deck-Beast Sightseeing Ferry" officially docked at the edge of the mid-lake island.

The mid-lake island was small; one could see its edge at a glance—and could even spot, right on the other side of the island, another "pinecone" left by a dwarf-獸 predecessor, signifying "there is a path here."

When the last tourist had also hopped ashore, the deck-beast raised its neck and let out a single cry, bidding them farewell.

The little squirrels knew the deck-beast might not see their movements, but they still reluctantly raised their little paws and waved continuously: "Farewell, farewell."

Although the little squirrels' language skills were weak, they understood this much: they could not say goodbye at this moment.

Because there would be no meeting again in the future.

*

Big Canned-Food looked at Chu Jiu: "Is it still useful?"

Chu Jiu was so impressed he couldn't stop saying, "You are so thoughtful!"

A month later, Chu Jiu returned to Bean Village with two spirit beasts and four little squirrels.

There was so much he wanted to ask, yet he was unwilling to appear noisy or impolite, so he tried hard to organize his thoughts in his mind.

Under Big Canned-Food's "polite request" and "friendly gaze," the mountain eagle obediently carried the little squirrels upward, easily soaring out of the volcanic crater.

The stone fragments were probably specialties of the Land of Yesteryear, much like the [Earth-Fire Primordial Stone]. Later, it had been swallowed into the belly of a shield-skin fish and brought to the "River of Yesteryear" basin.

Naturally, Big Canned-Food knew Chu Jiu had woken up. Without turning its head, it just let out a low "Awooo": "We'll reach the surface soon. Once we're on the surface, I'll let you down."

*

They pulled out cold-light torches and flexibly took the lead, guiding the way.

Chu Jiu was bewildered by the question, momentarily forgetting how to organize his thoughts, and said directly, "Ah, I just feel that Lu Qingyan... is quite mysterious."

The hohorabbit and little squirrels behind it also leaped up one after another before the hidden door closed!

Precisely because of this, Chu Jiu couldn't help but ponder once more the questions previously raised by the little squirrels and the chestnut spirit:

According to previous speculations, wasn't Lu Qingyan serving in the Royal Guard? Naturally, this was both important and urgent!

...Douglas was actually so visionary!

"So this is what the 'deep interior of the earth' looks like."

*

Of course, that was assuming you survived long enough to see it.

Chu Jiu could only sit huddled on the platform, hugging Little Canned-Food for warmth and rest, unable even to lie down for a short nap.

This was... Big Canned-Food!

Little Canned-Food couldn't be bothered to spare any attention for them; it concentrated on carrying Chu Jiu on its back, taking his wrist in its mouth, and darting rapidly upward.

Even the chieftain was somewhat surprised. After all, the blacksmith squirrel was a famously trustworthy person who had never broken a promise.

"Hohorohoro, that's wonderful! Little Canned-Food, you've turned into Big Canned-Food so you can carry Chu Jiu, hohorohoro!" the hohorabbit exclaimed in surprise.

The red lake water rolled and bubbled unceasingly. Amidst the rising and falling, a faint black line could be seen stretching all the way from the shore, disappearing into the vast white steam.

Chu Jiu put the stone into his backpack and paced around the spot a few times:

*

Chu Jiu nodded thoughtfully, wanting to continue asking Douglas just how mysterious and special Lu Qingyan's work was, whether this person's superpower was very rare, and if he had some other connection to this wasteland...

Big kitty, what kind of strange obsession is this?

Big Canned-Food let out a low growl, exerted a sudden, fierce push with its hind legs, smashed open the hidden door, and leaped straight out with Chu Jiu!

He looked toward the trio, his expression solemn: "Little Butterfly, go together. She will teach you."

...He had actually been hanging onto Big Canned-Food sleeping for so long?

Big Canned-Food retracted its claws and raised its chin at the mountain eagle.

"After building the forging workshop, I'll come back to fetch you to open the blacksmith shop..."

Big Canned-Food looked up at the mountain eagle, its ice-blue eyes flashing with a bone-chilling cold light.

In short, please use this stone well and never treat it like an ordinary pebble to skip across the water!]

Trembling violently, the eagle shrank its wings and transformed directly into a giant furry ball, plunging straight to the ground!

It loved to hold its prey in its beak, fly high into the air, and then drop the prey to plunge to its death.

After all, Lu Qingyan was rather mysterious... and he himself was quite curious...

The hint about "whether it was the boiling lake water that created this mineral, or this mineral that ignited the calm lake water" must have meant precisely this.

Chu Jiu: "...Eh?"

The mountain eagle, which had originally been diving downward, came to an abrupt, screeching halt in mid-air as if slamming on emergency brakes.

All around were still bizarre, jagged rock walls and stones, enclosing a ring of cliffs so high they were nearly out of sight.

Active Range: Volcanic Region]

"Remember, the dwarf-beasts' forging craftsmanship is invincible!"

Having uttered these two sentences, his eyelids grew too heavy to lift, and he leaned drowsily against the steps, falling into a semi-conscious sleep in an extremely uncomfortable posture.

*

If you happen to encounter this kind of mountain eagle, you might as well collect more of its feathers.

Since the "stigma of the flower pistil" was essentially still a plant, even the little squirrels who did not eat meat could hold these plant-eggs and eat them with great relish.

Along with an urge so intense it made it want to let out a low growl—"This time, I must protect him!"

Big Canned-Food: "Awooo. Awooo." — "Good. But it can only carry the others. I'll carry you up."

Chu Jiu: "...Ah?"

During this time, Chu Jiu couldn't stay idle, so he simply used the lake water to make "hot spring eggs."

What did this represent? It represented that Little Jiu was finally starting to figure things out!

[This is a "bald mountain eagle" that never dares to attack humans or dwarf-beasts again!]

"Ever since we picked up the primordial stone just now, the lake water has changed."

Looking up, he could indeed catch a tiny sliver of daylight.

Blacksmith Squirrel: "I am not going."

Douglas couldn't help beaming, cutting in before Chu Jiu could speak:

Big Canned-Food was about to step forward to deal the final blow when Chu Jiu softly said, "Wait!"

Douglas hesitated for a few seconds, his eyes lighting up as he blurted out, "He has unspeakable difficulties!"

The blacksmith squirrel rarely revealed a smile and nodded.

Chu Jiu walked sideways into the narrow crevice, glanced back one last time at the red lake water, the distant mid-lake island, and the vanished deck-beast, saying softly in his heart, "Goodbye, underworld world."

Watching the nimble hohorabbit and the free-jumping little squirrels ahead, Chu Jiu knew very well that if he insisted on coming down, he would undoubtedly become the one slowing down the team's pace.

The bald mountain eagle wailed all the way up to the peak of the mountain, dropping its last two feathers.

Douglas wore a look of sudden enlightenment: "Oh, oh, so he was..."

The little squirrels carved a new "signpost little pinecone" at the entrance of the deck-beast's new home.

*

Not only that, but it also carried everyone all the way in a glide, landing steadily at the foot of the mountain.

Mountain Eagle: !!! You monsters!

"It's, it's gotten bigger!" the little squirrels cried out in excitement, every single hair on their tails standing straight up.

"Aw—"

It was Chu Jiu who laughed first: "Well, they are indeed very brave."

But Chu Jiu now had a clear idea.

For other races to come and settle in a human village, and four of them at that, was definitely a major event.

Chu Jiu said earnestly, "Plucking its feathers while it's alive is too painful; we'd better knock it unconscious first."

Such a glorious task can really be entrusted to us?!

*

When the lake water finally stopped churning completely, it became possible to discern:

This was Little Canned-Food's first successful use of [Big Kitty's Scratch].

Unlike the white-eared little squirrels that had temporarily stayed in the village before, this time Little Bow and the Axe Three Brothers would be staying in Bean Village for a very long time, counting as "long-term residents."

Why had Douglas suddenly started showering praise?

The old village chief was not surprised at all, instead telling Chu Jiu with a smiling chuckle: "Douglas has everything arranged."

Douglas said, "Mr. Lu's work? Ah, indeed."

Before Chu Jiu could ignite the fuse, Big Canned-Food beside him arched its back and emitted a series of low growls.

*

Accompanied by a bone-chilling, sharp sound, Chu Jiu noticed that as Big Canned-Food's claws extended and retracted, several deep claw marks had already appeared on the rocky ground.

He replied, "I estimate that the temperature here will drop, and the lake water will gradually calm down."

*

For instance, how to inform the other villagers that the dwarf-beasts would henceforth be their neighbors; how to promote this one-of-a-kind shop; how to set reasonable prices when there was no universal currency between dwarf-beasts and humans after the blacksmith shop opened; whether to charge management fees for the blacksmith shop in Bean Village compared to human business shops...

True to form, "everything is arranged."

[Earth-Fire Primordial Stone: A black stone with an ordinary appearance. Even when held in the hand, it does not evoke any special sensation.]

The group jumped onto the bridge deck, jogging all the way along the still-warm stone bridge to the end of the "Boiling Lake"—

Only beneath this daylight was a massive shadow blocking out the sky.

After standing at the foot of the mountain for a short while, just as the dodo bird came running from afar uttering "dodo" cries, Big Canned-Food transformed back into Little Canned-Food.

The chieftain squirrel pondered for a moment and slowly said, "That makes sense."

This meant "You just keep hanging onto me properly."

With his mind clear, Chu Jiu asked the chieftain squirrel a question:

Hurrying over to take a look, Chu Jiu found that the little pinecone on the shore had its sharp tip pointing downward, facing the boiling lake.

Blacksmith Squirrel: "The children are very brave."

"They will build it together."

These steps were not only steep but also long—so long they seemed to have no end.

Not just on its back or chest, but covering its entire body?

And what was that swirling giant shadow above...?

Thus, he did not refute, but instead continued obediently to wrap his arms around Big Canned-Food's neck, taking the opportunity to unconsciously sniff the big cat.