HCB Chapter 57 Planting Experiments
Chapter 57 Planting Experiments
"Hey, what's wrong with Maoqiu?"
Seeing that Lezhi didn't react much to Maoqiu's actions, Leyou asked curiously.
"It's alright, it's probably out hunting. Let's go about our business, it'll be back soon."
Looking again in the direction where the fur ball had disappeared, Lezhi smiled and pushed Leyou and Leju downstairs to do some chores. Leyou went to make shelves, while Leju helped Lezhi cook.
Having been in Jormungand for so long, Lezhi had become quite adept at cooking, and now had a fairly complete set of various seasonings. Therefore, the meal was enjoyed by both host and guests. As evening approached, Leju and Leyou bid farewell to Lezhi.
The setting sun painted the sky with a beautiful evening glow, and the tribespeople who had gone out to gather resources returned to their tribe. Most of the tree spirits lived alone, with each house some distance apart. This shows that the tree spirits were naturally independent and aloof, but because of their shared faith, they were also very united.
Thinking of that lively clan gathering and that large square that was clearly used frequently, Lezhi squinted and leaned against the edge of the terrace with a smile. When clansmen saw him, those who looked familiar would wave and greet him, and Lezhi would wave back to each of them.
It must be said that the Spirit Feather Clan's respect for personal social distance made Lezhi feel very comfortable. Perhaps it's because if the Tree Spirit Clan doesn't want to find a mate or actively enter adulthood, they will remain in a genderless state during their youth, so there are no gender differences in their interactions, which was common in their previous life, making it very natural.
This subtly eliminates many conflicts. And for those who reach adulthood, whether they choose to be female or male, it's a decision made after careful consideration, so everyone takes responsibility for their choice. Because women don't need to bear children, gender here is merely an outward projection of psychology.
What kind of person you want to become depends on your own choices, and this alone is something that countless people in their past lives have longed for but could not achieve.
With a soft sigh, Lezhi gazed aimlessly into the distance, letting her thoughts wander for a while before finally pulling herself together.
"While Maoqiu's away, let's find something to do." Muttering to herself, Lezhi turned her gaze to several wooden boxes piled up in a corner of the terrace.
These were made by Lezhi at Leyou's request, and placed here to facilitate his planting experiments. His space currently contains several types of "foundations" found in the forest. Lezhi carefully took them out one by one and then categorized them into boxes.
Planting requires skill, and here, all the little experience I had before was completely shattered. I could only rely on intuition. I chiseled some grooves into the dried vines, then put in some seeds that I had collected earlier, covered them with sawdust, and then watered them. That was it.
The seeds planted were from a plant called lavender, a very resilient plant with a short growth cycle, making it ideal for experiments. Having dealt with the dried vines, Lezhi took out several living vines still bearing buds, stood up, and went to the wall.
Tentatively reaching out, I placed a vine bud on the wall, gently channeling energy to encourage its growth. Nourished by wood-elemental energy, the vine quickly sprouted roots and instinctively sought the nearest wall as a climbing foothold.
When invaded by foreign plants, the house vine quickly changed, hardening the walls to prevent the vine roots from penetrating.
A strange anger reached Lezhi's senses. Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Lezhi looked up at Wumu Teng and sensed it carefully again. To confirm his thoughts, he approached the wall, placed his hand on it, and released his energy.
Almost instantly upon receiving Lezhi's energy, Wumu Teng responded. Feeling the inexplicable joy welling up within him, Lezhi realized that the direction of his talent growth this time should be sensing the emotions of plants.
In the past, knowing how capable he was, Lezhi might have been quite smug. But after seeing Leju casually demonstrate his skill that afternoon, he realized that his talent was nothing special in Jormungand.
Lezhi, who had no idea of her own special abilities, hastily concluded that she was just an ordinary, unremarkable person.
If Le Chu knew his inner thoughts, he would probably find it both funny and exasperating. Le Chu probably didn't expect that by not telling Le Zhi about his special abilities to avoid him getting too much attention, Le Zhi would have such a big difference in his perception of his abilities, which was a bit of an overreaction.
Regardless, Lezhi is now very optimistic. As for talent, having it is good enough; he has no choice. So, after discovering that he could sense Wumu Teng's emotions, Lezhi increased the energy he was channeling, trying to make Wumu Teng understand his meaning.
The life energy supplied to the plants is only a drop in the ocean for the tree spirits. After all, as long as they are in Jormungand, energy will be continuously replenished, and they don't need to absorb it at all. This is a talent that other plants and animals dare not even dream of.
Being able to receive wood-type energy actively transferred by the tree spirits is a rare and precious opportunity for any plant, so the vine was naturally overjoyed. After several attempts by Lezhi to test it, even the most obtuse plant understood Lezhi's intention.
Compared to the energy, the slight parasites on her body were acceptable to her, so after hesitating for a long time, Rakuchi finally succeeded in planting these vines on the wall.
The parasitic plants don't need watering; they absorb the energy they need from the house vine. He also learned a bit about the house vine's domineering nature from Leyou. If the vine grows too much, the house vine will actively destroy some of it to prevent these plants from spreading too much and affecting its living space.
After channeling energy to encourage the vines to mature, Lezhi took out a knife and seeds and repeated the process he had just performed on the deadwood, planting the lavender seeds onto the vines.
After all that was done, it was completely dark outside, and the various patterns inside the house were emitting a warm glow, illuminating the surrounding space. Night had arrived as promised.
There were no tribespeople traveling outside at this time. They were very punctual and had all arrived home before dark. Only that furry ball was always a cause for concern.
I placed the drying racks that had been spread out on the ground onto the rack and checked the results of the drying process. Most of the starch had dried into hard lumps, and a few pieces still had a little moisture. They can be collected and stored tomorrow.
The second batch of starch water should be almost ready by tomorrow. Seeing the fruits of his labor, Lezhi felt a surge of satisfaction. Just then, as if sensing Lezhi's inner turmoil, the "chirp chirp" of the Maoqiu logo came from afar.
Turning around abruptly, sure enough, a short while later, the fluffy ball appeared in the distance. Eager to return home, the fluffy ball flew very fast, reaching Lezhi in the blink of an eye.
It rushed into Lezhi's arms and landed, nudging Lezhi's chin with its head fur and making two coquettish "cheep cheep" sounds, its tone exceptionally gentle and sweet.
"Okay, okay, I miss you too. Come back earlier next time, or I'll worry."
"Chirp chirp~ Chirp~"
While the human and their pet were tenderly exchanging affections, they were unaware that far away in the Thunder Clan, Lei Xiu was enduring immense pain. A dark shadow had already invaded half of his body, and this escalating agony tormented him intermittently, yet Lei Xiu never gave up.
Today was no different. He was in his study looking through documents when the familiar pain suddenly struck. Today's pain was particularly intense, causing even Lei Xiu, who was used to being accompanied by pain, to change his expression and cry out in agony.
Unable to contain himself, Lei Xiu collapsed to the ground, his entire body trembling uncontrollably. The shadowy figure seemed particularly impatient today, eager to continue its assault on Lei Xiu's body, but was interrupted by a sap from the mother tree fed to him by the Thunder Clan members who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
"Lei Xiu, Lei Xiu, how are you..."
Covered in cold sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of the water, Lei Xiu did not reply. At this moment, the message from the Mother Tree was echoing in his mind. The sigh-like voice kept repeating the same sentence: Go find him!