<<Previous Chapter Index Next Chapter>>
Translator: Silavin & Danny
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
“If there’s no relationship between the two of you, why would she come to this shopping district with you? Father here has never seen her having any other companion before… Wait, did you say you’ve only known Xiao Dié for a month?” The bear suddenly frowned at Yang Kai, seeming to have recalled something, “Are you one of the newcomers who arrived a month ago?”
Yang Kai nodded and confirmed, “Yes!”
The bear patted his head and guffawed loudly, “No wonder you don’t look familiar, so you’re a newcomer!” The laugh stopped abruptly, and he growled savagely, “How dare a newcomer hit on Father’s woman, are you tired of living?”
Flabbergasted, Yang Kai defended himself, “Is this a misunderstanding, my friend? I’m not close to Sister Dié You. It’s just because I’m a newcomer and I’m not familiar with this shopping district that she kindly brought me here to explore the place.”
“That’s all?” The bear glared at Yang Kai with his copper-bell eyes, the big axe in front of him threatening to swing down at any time.
“What else can it be?”
“Hmph!” Hot air puffed out of the bear’s nostrils as he looked Yang Kai up and down carefully for a long time before speaking, “Seems you’re not stupid after all. Little brat, remember this, Xiao Dié is my woman. If you dare to hit on her, Father here will make you regret ever being born!” He rubbed his chin again, and a look of disdain surfaced on his face, “But then again, Xiao Dié probably wouldn’t be interested in you.”
[If she has no interest in me, it’s even less likely she’d be interested in you.] Yang Kai was tongue-tied, wondering where this bear got his sense of superiority from, but he still replied politely, This friend is right, Xiao Dié is indeed naturally beautiful and has a kind heart. Only someone like you, my friend… a man with a heroic spirit is compatible with her!”
The bear’s vicious expression was immediately replaced by glee, and his gaze became a lot more cordial. Nodding continuously, he boasted, “That’s right, in the entire Fire Spirit Land, no, the entire Seven Wonders Land, the only man who is worthy of Xiao Dié is me! Who else has this qualification? Little brat, you have a good eye! What’s your name?”
Yang Kai cupped his fists, “This Little Brother is Yang Kai!”
The bear nodded, “I’ll remember your name. It’s rare to see a newcomer with such sharp insight. From now on, you can follow me. If someone bullies you in Fire Spirit Land, just say my name.” Pointing his thumb at himself, he continued proudly, “Remember, Father’s name is Xiang Yong!”
“Brother Xiang… This name is indeed majestic and domineering, Little Brother can’t help but admire this name.”
“Save your flattery!” Xiang Yong said, though the smugness of his face could not be concealed.
“Is Brother Xiang also from Fire Spirit Land?” Yang Kai was a little puzzled.
“Yes! What’s so strange about that?”
“No, no, little brother was just a little curious, wondering why he hadn’t met such an imposing and noble man like Brother Xiang earlier.”
“It’s not too late to meet now!”
“Yes, yes, there’s nothing to regret in this lifetime to have met someone like Brother Xiang today.” Yang Kai cleared his throat lightly, and looked at him, “Since the misunderstanding is resolved, can this Little Brother go back now?”
“En, go!”
Yang Kai dismissed himself and brushed past Xiang Yong.
“Wait!” Xiang Yong suddenly flickered next to him and cut off Yang Kai’s path with his axe again, his eyes narrowed, “If Xiao Dié asks…”
“Brother Xiang and I bonded with each other like old friends the moment we met, and Brother Xiang took care of me in every possible way…” Yang Kai did not even need to think before replying.
Xiang Yong grinned happily, “You’re quite good! Father here appreciates you! Good, go back.”
Bidding farewell to Xiang Yong, Yang Kai flew back to Fire Spirit Land, to the village where the Worker’s Room was located, took out his token to open his house, entered, and was just about to sit down when there was a knock outside the door.
It was Dié You, who scanned him from top to bottom with her eyes the moment he opened the door and asked, “Are you all right?”
“Yes? What could have happened to me?” Yang Kai blinked confusedly.
“Good then. Someone told me just now that Xiang Yong left the Worker’s Room. I was going to take a look but I saw you come back first.”
“Xiang Yong? Who is Xiang Yong?”
“He’s that guy who followed me around today, the one who looks like a bear,” Dié You said, laughing at her own description.
“Oh…” Yang Kai nodded, looking surprised, “So his name is Xiang Yong. But what does he have to do with me and you leaving the Worker’s Room?”
“It’s best if it has nothing to do with you.” Dié You simply replied. She then took out two items, “Oh right, I bought this for you today, but I forgot to give it to you.”
It was the Cyan Wood Box, and two boxes of Well-Refined Incense.
Yang Kai took it and thanked her, “Once I’ve saved enough Open Heaven Pills, I’ll pay you back with interest.”
“No hurry.” Dié You laughed, “Have a good rest, I’ll go back now.” She started yawning as she spoke, and her typical weary expression appeared again.
“Take care.” Yang Kai nodded.
After Dié You left, Yang Kai shut the door and took a good look at the Cyan Wood Box and the Well-Refined Incense. He had borrowed such items from Old Fang before for worm-catching, so he was not unfamiliar with it.
Two boxes of Well-Refined Incense contained ten sticks of the incense, which were enough to last him one to two years, so for the time being, it did not matter even if he did not have any Open Heaven Pills.
Just after putting away the box and incense, there was another knock on the door.
Yang Kai felt strange, wondering who came to look for him again. He thought maybe Dié You had forgotten to tell him something again; however, when he opened the door, he was immediately blinded by a golden light.
At the door, a golden rooster half a person tall stood dignifiedly with his head high and chest puffed out, just like a proud General patrolling his territory.
The two looked at each other for a while, and then Yang Kai smiled, “So it is Great General! Is there something I can do for Great General? I don’t have any more Jade Fire Silkworms!”
The Ruler of the Dawn Great General turned his head slowly aside, staring at Yang Kai with one eye.
Yang Kai scratched his head, confused.
After a while of glaring, the Ruler of the Dawn Great General turned and slowly stepped away, his fat buttocks swaying with every step as he walked off slowly.
Yang Kai was bewildered and looked down at himself, wondering if there was something strange about him. By the time he looked up again, the Ruler of the Dawn Great General had disappeared.
He shook his head speechless, shut the door tightly, and went to rest and adjust his breathing.
For the next two days, nothing happened.
Early in the morning of the third day, the sound of the golden rooster announcing dawn resounded throughout the village, and Yang Kai was awakened suddenly. He listened carefully with a frown, vaguely feeling that the sound of the Great General’s crow today was very much closer than normal.
He got up and opened the door and sure enough, the Ruler of the Dawn Great General was screeching and crowing directly at him.
[Do you have a grudge against me?] Yang Kai was so tempted to ask. Ever since his arrival at the Worker’s Room, this rooster had been picking on him.
Glaring at Great General, Yang Kai closed the door behind him and flew into the sky.
Streams of light shot into the sky from all over the village, rushing towards the orchard.
In less than an hour, Yang Kai arrived at his plot. First, he went to inspect every fruit tree on his site to make sure that they were all growing well and recorded the number of Spirit Fruits, making sure that none were missing. Only then did he begin to care for the trees in accordance with their needs.
After half a day of work, Yang Kai finished tending to his thirty fruit trees without much trouble. Since he had nothing to do now, he strode over to Old Fang’s site leisurely with his hands behind his back.
Old Fang was still busy. Due to the many fruit trees under his care, he had to work for a few days every time he came back here before he could stop to rest.
After hanging out together for a month, the two of them could be considered acquaintances. Old Fang merely greeted him briefly before continuing with his work.
Yang Kai followed Old Fang, trying to engage him in conversation. At first, Old Fang entertained him, but it later became notably annoying; how could he be in the mood to chat with Yang Kai when he had not finished his task? Yang Kai, on the other hand, was acting as if he was the experienced one, giving advice and pointers on how to care for the trees, forgetting who was the one who taught him in the first place.
“If you’re really that free, let’s work together and finish early so we can play chess.” Old Fang looked up at Yang Kai, unable to endure it any longer.
Yang Kai turned to look around, silently calculated the amount of work and time Old Fang still needed and then said, “Forget it, since you are busy, I’ll come back to visit in a few days.”
After saying that, Yang Kai walked off casually.
“Ungrateful little wolf!” Old Fang scolded through gritted teeth, “Completely unsympathetic to this old man!”
Yang Kai turned the back of his head to him, pretending not to hear.
Yang Kai returned to his plot and soon grew bored as he could not cultivate in this environment. There really was nothing to do, but he soon remembered that this was a plot where trees had died. He had examined the place before and found no problems, but maybe this time he might get a clue.
Immediately taking out his control token, Yang Kai concentrated on investigating his land, but in the end, he found nothing…
Putting away the token, Yang Kai rubbed his chin, really befuddled with what went wrong with this damned place. Why would three perfectly healthy trees die all of a sudden?
Inadvertently, he remembered Dié You had mentioned before in the shopping district that since he had already condensed his Wood Element, he could use it to nourish his Fire Spirit Fruit Trees.
If he could not discover the problem with this piece of land, he could at least use his Wood Element to nourish his trees, hopefully staving off any issues in advance. After all, if anything did happen in the future, he would have to take responsibility for it.
Finally finding something to do, Yang Kai happily came to the centre of his plot and immersed himself in his mind. His fingers formed a seal a moment later as he urged the power in his Dao Seal.
With Yang Kai as the centre, a wave of energy spread out in all directions. If one looked closely, the wave of energy had a faint emerald-green colour to it and was filled with rich vitality.
Unsure of how his Wood Element would affect the fruit trees, Yang Kai only tried his hand slightly, not daring to take drastic measures.
His little attempt did not worry him at first, but Yang Kai jumped abruptly a moment after he began because his small plot suddenly rumbled noisily. He stopped immediately and stretched his neck to look around. There were no changes in the fruit trees, but subtle movements were rustling from the corner of the orchard.
Yang Kai walked over and stopped in front of the three seedlings. At this moment, the soil around the roots of the three seedlings was undulating. The seedlings seemed to be growing, their developing roots causing the soil to roll and lurch.
The trees are coming alive thanks to his top level tree element. He might get lucky.
And/or in trouble