Chapter 98

Chapter 98

"Bro, I'm back," Liu Datie called out. Chen Ji stood up and walked toward him. Liu Datie instinctively reached out to help, but remembering that Grandfather Mountain was in Chen Ji's basket, his raised hand froze mid-air. He then let out a sharp "hiss" and couldn't help but rub his shoulder.

Chen Ji asked, "What's wrong?"

Liu Datie massaged his shoulder and said, "Maybe I overexerted myself? Suddenly feeling really tired."

Chen Ji's gaze sharpened, looking past Liu Datie. If it were night, dragging Liu Datie all over the mountain would be his fault, but in broad daylight? Was something really trying to pull a fast one?

{Wait, what's behind Liu Datie? I feel like Bro is looking at something behind him.}

{It's not your imagination—from this angle, he really is looking over Datie's shoulder at something else.}

{Don't make it sound so mysterious! Maybe Bro is just getting his bearings.}

Liu Datie also sensed that Chen Ji seemed to be looking at someone behind him, so he turned to look as well. Behind him were just green mountains and clear streams—nothing out of the ordinary. Suddenly, it hit him, and he cautiously asked, "Are there wild beasts on the mountain? Are we... being watched?"

"No," Chen Ji chuckled. "It's not that serious."

"There are indeed wild beasts on the mountain, but they usually don't target people... They're all smart and careful. Their first instinct when they see people is to run," Chen Ji explained. "Forest rangers and forest police carry... weapons. Who would be foolish enough to provoke them?"

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"You might have strained a muscle just now. Let me try to help you with it," Chen Ji said, reaching out to pat Liu Datie's shoulder. Weirdly enough, as soon as Chen Ji's hand touched Liu Datie's shoulder, Liu Datie felt a warmth spreading from the point of contact, and the heavy, pressing sensation immediately vanished.

Liu Datie fell into thought, feeling that something wasn't quite right.

But he could tell that Chen Ji had some skills. After all, living alone in the deep mountains without any abilities would have been the end of him long ago—maybe he was a hereditary traditional Chinese medicine doctor! Perhaps he had just unblocked the meridians in his shoulder with that pat! That would explain why he felt better instantly.

It made perfect sense.

{Did Bro have something in his hand?}

{I saw it too—there were what looked like ashes falling. Don’t think I didn’t notice just because it’s windy.}

{Damn, enough already! The more you say, the more scared I get!}

Liu Datie had no idea and asked enthusiastically, "Bro, how does that technique work? Can you explain?"

Chen Ji said casually, "There’s no particular principle. It’s probably just that your meridian was temporarily blocked, and a pat helped unblock it."

"Ohhh!!" Liu Datie didn’t press further. After all, it might be a family secret—he understood it wasn’t something to be shared lightly!

Chen Ji glanced sideways at the white shadow waiting nearby and said quietly, "Stop causing trouble."

The white shadow shrank back into the shade of the trees, seemingly lifting its face to look at Chen Ji, its eyes filled with resentment. Unfortunately, Chen Ji was half-blind and couldn’t perceive such subtle emotions.

About twenty minutes later, they arrived at the Sweet Dragon Bamboo grove. Chen Ji hadn’t been there for just a few days, but it felt like the bamboo grove had spread a lot. Perhaps because it had just rained, many bamboo shoots had pushed their way through the gaps in the soil, which was covered with fallen bamboo leaves. Liu Datie’s eyes lit up: "Can we dig up all of these?"

Chen Ji chose his words carefully: "Theoretically, yes, as long as you can carry them back."

Liu Datie was about to cheer and rush over when he turned back to ask Chen Ji, "There aren’t any snakes in this grove, are there?"

Chen Ji casually hung Grandfather Mountain on a bamboo branch and gave it a pat. "Grandfather Mountain is keeping watch. There shouldn’t be any."

Liu Datie: "..."

Although he knew Grandfather Mountain was intelligent and wouldn’t bite people randomly, his rational mind was screaming—this was a five-step snake! A five-step snake! Bro, can’t you be more careful? Better safe than sorry! What if it bites you?

Grandfather Mountain lazily glanced sideways at Liu Datie, disinterested, and lay back down, looking like a ragged cloth strip hanging from the bamboo branch.

Chen Ji smiled and led Liu Datie around Grandfather Mountain, stopping at a bamboo shoot about three meters away. Chen Ji pointed and instructed, "See, this kind is better. You don’t need to dig too deep—just cut it off about twenty centimeters down and pry it out. The root is too old and not tasty."

"Got it!" Liu Datie picked up the hoe and got to work, his movements even more skilled than Chen Ji’s. Chen Ji usually used a "cat-style" bamboo shoot digger, but since Liu Datie was so enthusiastic, he decided to let him handle it—two people digging would yield more bamboo shoots than they could eat.

Given Chen Ji’s appetite and the size of the Sweet Dragon Bamboo shoots, two would last him a week. This workload was just right for Liu Datie to enjoy himself.

Liu Datie successfully dug up his first Sweet Dragon Bamboo shoot. Looking at the tender, juicy shoot, he swallowed hard. Before he could say anything, Chen Ji said, "You can eat it raw. Want to try?"

"Bamboo shoots can be eaten raw?!" Liu Datie asked in surprise.

He had eaten raw bamboo shoots before. As a child, he roamed the countryside and had dug up bamboo shoots out of curiosity. But the ones from his hometown were bitter, astringent, and even prickly when raw. He had taken one bite and spat it out. One of his friends ate a few more bites and ended up with food poisoning, needing an IV at the hospital.

"The ones here are edible raw," Chen Ji said, pulling out a sickle. He picked up a Sweet Dragon Bamboo shoot and, without hesitation, cut it in half. "You left too much."

When Chen Ji said to dig twenty centimeters deep, he meant to keep the top twenty centimeters. But Liu Datie had dug down twenty centimeters and then used the hoe to pry the shoot out from below.

{Bro’s efficiency... makes it hard not to suspect he’s killed a few people...}

{+1, cutting the shoot while holding it in his hand—impressive.}

Chen Ji quickly stripped off the outer layers of the bamboo shoot. The large, dry sheaths made a slightly grating sound as they were peeled away, making one’s skin crawl. Once the outer layers were removed, Chen Ji used the sickle to split the shoot open down the middle, peeling away the thick sheaths on both sides until only the tender core remained. He sliced off a piece and handed it to Liu Datie.

The freshly peeled bamboo shoot core was pure white, without a speck of dirt. Liu Datie took it without hesitation and popped it into his mouth. After chewing a couple of times, he gave a thumbs-up and said to the camera, "Folks, this bamboo shoot core is delicious! It’s like fruit—no fiber, plenty of juice, and a little sweet. The taste... kind of like a ginseng fruit? Anyway, it’s really good!"

He even mercilessly gave the bamboo shoot a close-up shot, causing an uproar in the live stream.

Seeing how much he liked it, Chen Ji handed him the entire shoot. Liu Datie took a big bite, crunching into it like an apple. After eating less than half, he couldn’t help but burp: "Bro, this thing is really filling!"

Chen Ji laughed. "You can save the rest. Let’s dig a couple more shoots, and then it’ll be about time to eat!"

Liu Datie: "OK, OK, leave it to me!"

Liu Datie took the phone and went to dig bamboo shoots elsewhere. Chen Ji sat down next to Grandfather Mountain and looked at the unfriendly spirit that had followed them. The spirit glared fiercely at Chen Ji: "I’m following him, not you. Why are you meddling?!"

Chen Ji still wore a gentle smile. "Do you have a grudge against him?"

"His very existence is a grudge against me!" The spirit seemed deranged. "Why am I the only one who died? Why me?! You’re alive too! Why are you alive, and why am I dead?!"

Chen Ji sighed. "But he’s my friend. Grandfather Mountain promised me he wouldn’t let anything happen to him on the mountain."

The spirit didn’t respond, unsure whether it was unaware of this or simply disregarded the order.

Chen Ji was full of questions about the Mountain Lord in the temple. If He couldn’t even control something like this, He was utterly useless. What good was He? Or was it a case of "the king is easy to approach, but his minions are troublesome"? The bigger demons might obey, but these minor spirits and ghosts were beyond reach and uncontrollable?

Chen Ji stood up, holding the sickle. The handle was wrapped with a cloth strip bearing the Tongxuan Talisman. He slowly approached, and the spirit watched him warily: "What are you doing? Stay away!"

Chen Ji said slowly, "Weren’t you asking me why I’m alive?"

Chen Ji placed a hand on its shoulder and asked, "Is your body in the forest?"

"Yes... Mmph!" Before the spirit could finish speaking, Chen Ji’s sickle had already stabbed it in the stomach. It stared wide-eyed, unable to believe that Chen Ji would kill it so decisively.

The white shadow dissipated in an instant. Chen Ji returned to his seat, took out an alcohol wipe, and cleaned the sickle, his expression unreadable.

Grandfather Mountain, who had been cosplaying as a ragged cloth strip on the bamboo branch, opened its eyes. It slid gently down and rested on Chen Ji’s shoulder. Chen Ji glanced sideways: "Grandfather Mountain."

"Grandfather Mountain promised to protect my friend, didn’t he? I don’t understand," he murmured.

The young man's eyes appeared even darker and purer under the sunlight filtering through the bamboo shadows, like polished glass, tinged with a faint sense of grievance and confusion as he gazed at the vividly patterned five-step snake.

Suddenly, an arm wrapped around Chen Ji's shoulder. A man dressed in a deep purple robe leaned against him, his features as exquisite as a painting, with vertical golden pupils that added an indescribable, sinister charm to his refined appearance. He spoke slowly, "Mountain Lord... they... don't know..."

Chen Ji was startled by Fifth Elder, blinking in surprise and amusement. "So you can take human form after all?"

Though his expression remained calm, he gleaned the information he needed from Fifth Elder's words.

—It seemed Mountain Lord still had some authority after all.

Fifth Elder yawned and settled down, resting his head on Chen Ji's lap. "Hmm... Is that strange?"

Chen Ji replied with a mix of laughter and exasperation, "Does that mean Second Elder can too? I’ve often ridden on Second Elder’s back while running around everywhere..."

The thought of Second Elder also being able to transform into a human—and not just any human, but possibly an elder, a child, or a woman—made his conscience prick him. Had he been riding around on the backs of the weak and vulnerable all this time?

How sinful!

He lowered his gaze to Fifth Elder. Even in his true form, Fifth Elder was dangerous, but in human form, that dangerous aura seemed even stronger. Having him lying on his lap made Chen Ji feel as though he might not make it through the day with his legs intact.

Just then, Fifth Elder suddenly opened his eyes, his golden vertical pupils fixed unblinkingly on Chen Ji. A chill ran involuntarily down his spine, and cold sweat broke out all over his body. Then, in a lazy, indifferent tone, Fifth Elder asked, "...When are we eating?"

Chen Ji replied, "...In about half an hour."

Scratch that—his legs would be just fine.