Chapter 104 - 101: New Member "Mumu
Although the Crystal Forest seemed vast, less than one in a hundred Crystal Pillars actually produced Magic Energy Crystals. In other words, in a Crystal Forest the size of an acre, there were at most a handful of them.
However, the Crystal Ore was still growing. Over time, it would absorb energy and produce Magic Energy Crystals on its own. Adding other substances was merely like applying fertilizer to make it grow more vigorously.
Outside, Doudou was even more anxious than Qin Xiaoxia, but he was afraid the Crystal Ore might absorb him as "fertilizer," so he didn’t dare go inside.
When he saw Qin Xiaoxia emerge clutching a beautiful Crystal, he knew it had been a success.
"HAHAHA, mine, mine, mine! Big Bro! Is that Magic Energy Crystal for me?!"
Like a child who’d just spotted the most amazing toy, Doudou rushed over and hugged Qin Xiaoxia’s leg.
"I’m all ready to mint the latest Gold Coins! Gimme, gimme, gimme! I’ve never even touched a Magic Energy Crystal before!"
He leaped up several times trying to snatch the Crystal, but Qin Xiaoxia dodged him every time.
"Stop messing around. I can’t give you this one. Besides, we don’t have any Gold Ore right now. I’ll get another one for you in a bit."
"Then what are you going to do with this one?"
Doudou sulked as if someone had stolen his candy, but at least his big bro had promised to give him one later.
Even though this one wasn’t for him, Doudou had a good idea what his big bro planned to do with it, so he stuck to him like glue.
Soon, they reached the half-dead Tree Shepherd.
That’s right—Qin Xiaoxia was planning to save the Thorn Child.
His own Magic Power seemed to be poison to the creature, so he had no intention of using it in the rescue attempt.
It wasn’t that he thought he couldn’t handle it.
He remembered the Faceless Shadow Ghost; if he accidentally killed this thing, there’d be no second chances.
But things were different now that he had a Magic Energy Crystal. Doudou had pestered him about this treasure so much that his ears were ringing. It was perfect for dealing with the Tree Shepherd’s current state, which was on the verge of death.
And so, the two of them dug up the Thorn Child again.
Qin Xiaoxia used brute force to pry apart the tightly coiled Thorns, once again revealing the dim "Emerald" within.
The tendrils coiled around it trembled nonstop, as if sensing danger.
Meanwhile, Doudou was clicking his tongue, "Tsk, tsk, tsk," while recording a video of the scene on his phone.
’For a Tree Shepherd,’ he thought, ’this must be the most terrifying sight imaginable.’
He stuck the Magic Energy Crystal right next to the shattered Emerald. The furry tendrils instantly wrapped around it, and the entire mass of Thorns began to shake.
"Back up, back up! Doudou, move!"
Qin Xiaoxia yanked Doudou and pulled him backward. As he retreated, Doudou asked,
"Aren’t we supposed to bury it back in the ground?"
"Bury it, my ass!"
But the whole affair felt rather anticlimactic. Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou had expected a more dramatic transformation or recovery, but after a few twitches, the creature simply burrowed back into the soil and went still.
They waited for a while. Doudou even drained his phone’s battery playing games, but with no other changes, the two of them lost patience.
Leaving the Shadow of the Red Demoness to keep watch, Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou went about their own business.
One compiled data, the other learned to cook.
The rabbit hadn’t made it, after all. It ended up as an ingredient for Doudou’s cooking lesson.
Qin Xiaoxia had no idea how Doudou had managed to skin and gut the rabbit on his own, but when he passed the kitchen and saw the little guy wildly hacking at a rabbit carcass with a large cleaver, he had to admit the scene was a bit disturbing.
The next morning, Qin Xiaoxia awoke to a message from the Shadow of the Red Demoness.
He’d been sleeping a lot lately due to his depleted Magic Power. ’Is it just a coincidence that the message arrived the moment I woke up naturally?’
He shook off the thought and went downstairs. Outside, the Secret Realm was bathed in bright sunlight.
Doudou had been circling a large thorn tree for some time with a curious expression, and the Shadow of the Red Demoness was trailing him like a mindless follower.
"Holy shit, it’s huge!"
Qin Xiaoxia couldn’t help but curse.
Compared to the shriveled bundle of Thorns from yesterday, today’s thorn tree was at least three men tall, with a thick, sturdy base.
He silently gave the Magic Energy Crystal a new nickname in his head: ’The real-deal Golden Fertilizer.’
Hearing his big bro’s voice, Doudou immediately began waving at him excitedly.
"Big Bro~! Come take a look! This thing’s alive~!"
Qin Xiaoxia chuckled and slowly walked over.
’Not only do I know it’s alive,’ he thought, ’I know it’s pretending to be unconscious.’
He walked closer, picked Doudou up, and moved him a safe distance from the thorn tree.
"Stop pretending, Thorn Child," Qin Xiaoxia said. "Your little tricks are useless on our turf."
At Qin Xiaoxia’s words, the thorn tree stirred. Its branches parted, layer by layer, quickly revealing a human face formed from woven twigs.
It was the face of a wizened old man.
It seemed to have deliberately simulated a human appearance to cater to Qin Xiaoxia.
"Kemando!"
The reverent Magic Language issued from its simulated face.
Qin Xiaoxia broke into a grin, and Doudou laughed as well.
That single phrase in the Magic Language contained a complex string of meanings, but it could be simply summarized as "Supreme Lord" or "My Liege."
In the Tree Shepherd’s understanding, it also carried an extended meaning, which was transmitted to Qin Xiaoxia through the Magic Language as well. The human equivalent would be something like, "Noble Existence, Sage of Nature."
The flattery was obvious, but unlike conventional speech, the Magic Language—despite its layers of meaning—was more akin to a binding oath.
In other words, the Magic Language could not lie.
Therefore, Qin Xiaoxia could directly sense the Tree Shepherd’s heartfelt submission.
"Not bad, not bad. What’s your name?"
To conserve Magic Power, and partly out of habit, Qin Xiaoxia had grown fond of speaking in a way that infused his human speech with vibrations of Magic Power.
After hearing the question, the Tree Shepherd opened its mouth and began to utter a string of countless syllables. More than ten seconds passed, and it showed no sign of stopping.
"Stop, stop, stop! Hold it! What the hell kind of name is that? Does it take a few minutes to say?"
He thought for a moment, then glanced at Doudou.
Qin Xiaoxia clapped his hands.
"I’ve got it! Wooden body, wooden head, wooden heart... from now on, your name is ’Mumu’!"
"Mu...mu..."
The Thorn Child tried to repeat the name, its pronunciation clumsy.
"Right, right, that’s how you say it. When Doudou can use Wish again, we’ll get you a proper spiritual link. Then talking won’t be such a hassle for you."
He then got a general sense of Mumu’s condition. Though it looked imposing, it was actually an empty shell. Its life force had been greatly diminished and its Magic Power was depleted. It needed time to recover.
Still, this was a massive improvement over its previous, half-dead state.
...
Far away, at Kyoto Airport over a thousand kilometers from them, Huang Jiutian stood with Tao Xingzhi and other colleagues from his team, accompanying a few leaders as they waited for a flight to arrive.
Some ten minutes later, a special chartered flight from Russia landed.
The Russian delegation of experts had arrived in Hua Country.
A short while later, another chartered flight arrived, this one from Wu Country.
For two nations in constant conflict with each other, such a joint diplomatic visit was a rare sight.
Of course, it all made sense if one considered another relationship, one unknown to the public.
The Siberian Alliance.
The invitation was the result of careful deliberation among Hua Country’s top leadership. Research on the insectoid monsters had been underway for some time, and the recent "Demon Vine Incident" served as a stark reminder that they needed to strengthen ties with their allies.
Thus, they planned to disclose some of their research findings on the monsters to bring the alliance closer.
Even in a true apocalyptic scenario, it was unlikely that nations would abandon the advantage of a united front to fight on their own.
PS: This Thorn Child is the cameo for Mumu. I promised it in the last book, so consider us even. I’ll create a cameo character thread later!
Also, your dear author has no stockpiled Chapters and it’s not convenient to write at the office right now. I’ll post three more Chapters today, for a total of five! o(╥﹏╥)o