Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The next morning, Chen Ji stir-fried a savory red mushroom dish to accompany a pot of golden millet porridge.

Chen Ji preferred his millet porridge thick, cooked until each grain had burst open, then sweetened with a spoonful of sugar. It offered a delightful sweet and sandy texture, filling his mouth with the fresh aroma of grains.

Perhaps due to his recent spiritual encounter, Chen Ji, as usual, offered a portion of the millet porridge and side dish to Grandfather Mountain, taking the opportunity to clear away yesterday's offerings.

The gastrodia-elata chicken soup and stir-fried mushrooms with cured meat were indeed excellent; even Chen Ji was somewhat reluctant to discard them. He planned to quickly reheat them and have a few bites with the porridge, so that throwing them away later wouldn't feel like such a waste.

Just as he was halfway through reheating, Uncle Liu arrived with a few young workers. Chen Ji poked his head out of the kitchen and greeted them, "Uncle Liu, Xiao Wang, Xiao Zhang... you're here? Have you eaten? There's porridge if you'd like a quick bite."

Uncle Liu said he had already eaten, but the young men cheerfully thanked Chen Ji: "We haven't eaten yet, thanks, Brother Chen!"

"Sure," Chen Ji replied. Fortunately, he had made plenty of millet porridge and wasn't worried about a few extra mouths to feed—after all, it was his first time cooking it himself. He usually bought it from porridge stalls and had no idea how much to make. He just went by feel: add more rice if there's too much water, add more water if there's too much rice... Well... you know how it is.

Those who understand, understand.

The young men helped Chen Ji carry out the bowls and dishes, making things much easier for him. Once the table was fully set, everyone sat down to eat. Uncle Liu, who initially hadn't planned on eating, found himself unable to resist the aroma of the gastrodia-elata chicken soup and eventually sat down. "This soup smells amazing... Xiao Chen, you've got skills!"

"Just threw it together," Chen Ji said with a laugh as he sat down. "I don't really know how to cook. It's Uncle Liu's chicken that's good—hardly any impurities when blanched. Even a simple stew turns out fragrant."

Uncle Liu grinned, his eyes crinkling. The young men started eating too. One of them eagerly served himself a bowl of the chicken soup. After the first sip, he paused in surprise. He took another sip and glanced at the person next to him, who also wore a puzzled expression. Just then, Uncle Liu spoke up, "Hey? Xiao Chen, this soup...?"

Chen Ji was baffled. "What's wrong?"

"Try it," Uncle Liu said, thinking to himself how the soup could be all aroma no flavor—it smelled great but tasted like plain water, utterly tasteless. It was bizarre.

Another young man tried a bite of the stir-fried mushrooms with cured meat and said, puzzled, "This one has no flavor either."

Everyone at the table exchanged glances. Chen Ji wondered if the soup had gone bad. He took a sip and was also taken aback. After another sip, he seemed to realize something and shook his head with a smile. "Probably Xiao Ba playing around and adding water... I'll deal with it later. These two dishes aren't edible anymore."

Xiao Ba was the system cat's name. Wasn't its code 8839? Chen Ji initially called it "Ba Ba" because it chattered nonstop, but since it sometimes sounded like "Dad," he changed it to Xiao Ba.

Of course, most of the time, they didn't need to use names.

Chen Ji cleared away the chicken soup and the stir-fried mushrooms with cured meat. No one made a big deal out of it, though they felt it was a pity to waste such good soup and mushrooms.

Even so, the millet porridge and the freshly stir-fried side dish drew praise from everyone.

As the host, Chen Ji was under no obligation to help with the repairs. Uncle Liu told him to tend to his own business while he and the young men got to work enthusiastically.

Coincidentally, Chen Ji needed to head into the mountains today to find the last natural dye. He didn't dwell on the earlier incident and had learned his lesson—this time, he came prepared: a fully charged high-voltage stun baton, a signal booster, a dagger, a sickle, snake repellent, Yunnan Baiyao, and even a few compressible bags.

Though he had secretly vowed not to dig and pick randomly today, what if he found something good? It would be a shame to miss out! Most mountain-foraged goods were time-sensitive; if he didn't pick them today, they might be spoiled by tomorrow.

No sense in wasting them!

Before leaving, Chen Ji also brought along a large piece of partially prepared beef shank, about three pounds. If he encountered the white tiger from yesterday, he'd offer it some; if not, he'd eat it himself. Since it was semi-prepared, he could just build a campfire and roast it—no trouble at all.

Chen Ji thought he was fully prepared, but he had barely stepped out when the system cat let out a terrified shriek: "Yow—! Chen Ji! This is so scary! Why is there something white floating at the intersection ahead?!"

Chen Ji took a closer look—it was just the plastic bowl he had left as an offering yesterday. Annoyed, he rolled his eyes at the system cat and hurried over to check. The fact that it was floating meant the bowl was empty. Chen Ji stepped on the bowl to secure it and examined it closely. Clear white marks were left on the plastic bowl, like animal claw scratches or the dense barbs from a large feline's tongue.

Chen Ji instinctively thought: It must have eaten it.

For no particular reason, he felt that the white tiger had indeed accepted his offering.

He collected the plastic bowl into a trash bag, then headed up the mountain with the system cat, taking the same route as yesterday. Compared to yesterday's eerie, spine-chilling forest filled with pit vipers and king cobras, today the woods felt serene and cool.

A gentle breeze rustled through the trees, carrying the fresh scent of plants, evoking an indescribable sense of peace and natural tranquility.

However, there were hardly any mushrooms along the way today—Chen Ji had picked most of them yesterday. But a patch of snakeberries had ripened, their red-purple fruits hanging from the branches, making one's mouth water.

He probably hadn't noticed them yesterday because they weren't fully ripe and their color wasn't as prominent.

"Chen Ji, Chen Ji!" the system cat called out eagerly nearby. Chen Ji fed it a couple first. The cat ate them with its eyes squinted in delight. Chen Ji also tossed one into his own mouth.

The fruit was very soft, bursting into a sweet and slightly tart juice with a rich berry fragrance as soon as it was lightly pressed in the mouth.

It really made the mouth water.

Chen Ji didn't waste time. He pulled two tough grass stems, strung the ripe berries together, and within five minutes had two large strings. Bending down, he said to the system cat, "Here, open wide."

"Ah—" The kitten obediently opened its mouth wide.

Chen Ji placed one string of snakeberries into its mouth, held its mouth shut, and pulled the strand out forcefully. The entire string went into the system cat's mouth, purple-red juice splattering from the corners of its lips. The cat wanted to lick its lips but was too preoccupied with the berries in its mouth, looking both comical and messy.

Chen Ji laughed until he was breathless, then scooped up the cat and continued on his way.

"Chen Ji! Are you even human?!" the system cat finally managed to swallow the berries, its mouth now stained purple. It angrily rubbed the juice onto Chen Ji's clothes. Chen Ji ignored it, raising his hand to offer the other string of berries to its mouth. "Eat up."

Chen Ji, being more health-conscious as he got older, limited himself to just two or three of the sweet snakeberries. Both strings were for the system cat.

Unable to resist the temptation, the system cat obediently lowered its head. "Whoa, Chen Ji, you're the best! I love you so much!"

By the time the system cat finished the second string, Chen Ji had exited the forest and entered the same clearing as yesterday. He checked the time and realized it had only taken about an hour—a significant improvement compared to the nearly two and a half hours it took yesterday.

Perhaps it was because he had already walked the route once and knew which paths to take. Or maybe the forest had left such a strong impression on him yesterday that he didn't want to linger—it was too dark and not very conducive to searching for plants.

As usual, Chen Ji washed his face here and refilled his water supply. He had set out early, and now the sun was at its peak, making him feel quite hot. He stretched by the stream, rested for ten minutes, and then continued his ascent.

After crossing the mountain, he reached the south-facing slope where a few mulberry trees grew. It was currently the season for mulberries, and if he was lucky, they might already be ripe—though it didn't matter much since he wasn't planning to eat them.

Chen Ji consulted the system cat, using its navigation to verify his memory, and quickly found the correct path. After about half an hour, the slope began to descend, indicating he had crossed the summit and was now heading downhill.

"Mulberry trees... mulberry trees..." Chen Ji took out his binoculars and carefully scanned the forest below. "Seriously, what era is this? Using my own eyes to search? How far can I see?"

Frankly, he had already ordered a drone. But given the complex terrain, especially in the mountains, he had opted for an upgraded model, which would take about a couple weeks to arrive.

Once it arrived, if the system cat assigned another mountain-foraging task, he could just use the drone to locate the target and have it collect the items! No more trekking all over the place!

It was just a matter of adapting the program to the hardware—and that was his expertise. No problem at all!

System cat: "Tsk tsk, how devious..."

Chen Ji: "The times are changing, my friend!"

The system cat was left speechless.

"Found it," Chen Ji said, putting away his binoculars and entering the forest. Luckily, the nearest mulberry tree was already bearing fruit. The system cat tsked again and pleaded, "Can we go to the one on the right... it's only two hundred meters farther..."

Chen Ji didn't need to think hard to guess what the system cat was up to.

"Chen Ji~" the system cat rubbed against him, begging.

Chen Ji tapped his windproof goggles. "We'll see when we get there."

A short while later, Chen Ji arrived under the tree. It was even more impressive than it had looked through the binoculars—nearly three stories tall, with a canopy so dense it blocked out the sunlight for the plants around it. The ground was dotted with purple spots, likely from ripe mulberries that had fallen.

He set System Cat aside. "I'm going to find a branch."

Climbing such a tall mulberry tree wasn't an option—if he fell, no one would ever find him. Fortunately, the lower branches were thick with leaves, and a long enough branch should do the trick.

Hmm... maybe a bamboo pole would work better?

Soon enough, Chen Ji confirmed that a bamboo pole was indeed necessary. He resigned himself to going to get one. He remembered spotting a bamboo grove not far away on his way here. Pulling out his sickle, he cut down a green bamboo stalk and hoisted it over his shoulder. Just then, he heard System Cat’s voice: "Chen Ji, where did you go? Why aren’t you back yet?"

"Almost there, on my way back now."

"Chen Ji?"

Chen Ji responded, "What’s wrong?"

In the next instant, a heavy, icy dread washed over him. He froze abruptly—that voice just now... hadn’t been System Cat’s.

...Who had called him?