Chapter 178

Chapter 178

The little snow fox bolted upright in bed, chasing his tail in frantic circles on the mattress. "What's going on? Shouldn't I be a giant snow fox by now? Why do I still look the same?"

With a "whoosh," the little snow fox jumped off the bed and scampered downstairs.

The arctic fox family was setting breakfast on the table. Usually, any noise on the stairs meant Xue Tuan was awake and coming down to eat.

But today, the sound was off... it wasn't the kind of noise Xue Tuan in human form would make.

Bing Qiu reacted the fastest. He immediately realized that was the pattering of a little snow fox in Beast Form!

Sure enough, before long, a beautiful silver-white little snow fox appeared at the top of the stairs.

The little snow fox's fur seemed to be standing on end. Xue Tuan asked in surprise, "Why haven't I grown?"

The moment everyone saw the little snow fox, their hearts sank, *Oh no, yesterday's emergency meeting was a complete waste of time.*

This caught the snow fox family completely off guard. They had all assumed that even if Xue Tuan's adulthood was delayed due to his previous injury, once he recovered, he should have directly transformed from his human form into a giant snow fox.

Who would have thought there would be a new twist? Xue Tuan had suddenly reverted to a little snow fox first.

Bing Qiu was the first to rush over, scooping up the little snow fox directly and happily stroking his fur. "Ah, it's been so long since I've seen Tuanzai's beast form."

"Exactly. This might be the last time we see the little one's cub beast form," Hui Qiong also reacted quickly, immediately chiming in to help.

Feng Yan played the role of someone indifferent to the size of Xue Tuan's beast form: "Father also likes the little one's cub beast form."

Bing Qiu carried the little snow fox to the table. Rong Shan had already gone to fetch the special ceramic bowl for the little snow fox in beast form.

Meanwhile, the little snow fox thought blankly, *If I were a normal beastman, I could already be considered an adult this year... but I'm not...*

For beastmen like them with this "strange illness," their official adulthood is judged by whether they have transformed normally or not. That's just too unfair.

Rong Shan continued without batting an eye, "Your Grandpa Hui Qiong is right. I reckon after this, my good boy, you'll finally be an adult."

The little snow fox asked suspiciously, "Really?"

Bing Qiu immediately declared with conviction, "Absolutely!"

The little snow fox said, "Alright then..." Well, he'd reluctantly endure for a couple more days.

The breakfast crisis passed just like that, and the little snow fox happily finished his meal.

While the little snow fox was eating breakfast, Bing Qiu parted his fur to check his wounds.

Bing Qiu found that the scabs had all fallen off, leaving only a few red scars. Once Xue Tuan nourished his body a bit more and rested properly, he should return to his healthy state.

"I'm done eating. I'm going upstairs first." The little snow fox obediently wiped his mouth clean with a napkin from the table, then jumped down from Bing Qiu's arms and headed up the stairs.

After the little snow fox left, the others at the table exchanged glances, each wearing a "helpless" expression.

Once the little snow fox was out of everyone's sight, his ears drooped. He wasn't actually stupid, of course he knew his family was just comforting him.

It's just that his own body was truly uncooperative. He vaguely understood that perhaps, like those beastmen who were severely malnourished or in poor health, before his body fully recovered, he didn't have enough energy stored internally to support transforming into a giant snow fox.

The little snow fox arrived at his bedroom door. He rubbed his paws on the mat in front of the door before walking into the room.

He first jumped onto the chair, staring blankly at his notes spread out on the desk. Feeling unmotivated, he thought, *Forget it.*

So the little snow fox jumped onto his bed, flopped down completely, sinking into the quilt, and began to laze around.

The little snow fox lay motionless, flattened like a pancake. After who knows how long, the sound of the door opening came from outside.

Usually, Xue Tuan didn't mind much whether his family knocked before entering.

After the door was pushed open, a huge black shadow walked in. He first passed by Xue Tuan's desk, his gaze falling on the notebook, then slowly approached the edge of the bed.

The giant black lion crouched down, resting his big head on the bed, looking gently at the little snow fox. "What are you doing?"

"You guess." The little snow fox placed his two paws on either side of the black lion's face, as if measuring how big his face really was.

Zhong Yan knew Xue Tuan must be in a bad mood, too lazy to move now. But he still tentatively suggested, "How about... we sneak out?"

Between Xue Tuan and Zhong Yan, the one who usually seemed more rule-abiding was Zhong Yan. He especially respected Xue Tuan's two fathers and particularly heeded their words.

And now, Zhong Yan was actively proposing to defy the fathers' "house arrest" order and sneak out with him?

The little snow fox's ice-blue eyes widened instantly. "Where to?"

The giant black lion turned and lay down properly. The little snow fox leaped up, landing skillfully on his back.

The black lion originally intended to jump out of the window gracefully, but he suddenly got stuck in the window frame.

"Hahaha." Xue Tuan was amused. His window was originally quite wide enough; the black lion almost couldn't get out.

Then it occurred to him, *This black lion is already an adult, he can't possibly grow anymore, right?* The little snow fox patted the black lion's head, urging him, "Quick, suck in your breath, wiggle a bit."

The black lion had no choice but to twist uncomfortably, finally managing to squeeze his body out.

Once free, the black lion immediately charged toward the ground. With the giant black lion's size, Xue Tuan also experienced what "taking three steps in two" felt like. He hadn't taken two steps down the long ladder before they were already on the ground.

Downstairs, a black shadow suddenly flashed in the corner of Bing Qiu's eye. He instinctively stood up, blocking the line of sight to the small door.

Seeing his family look up at him, Bing Qiu awkwardly did a stretching motion. "Uh, been sitting too long, just getting up to move around a bit."

While making the motions, Bing Qiu gritted his teeth inwardly, thinking, *This Zhong Yan, I only told you to go upstairs and keep the moody Tuanzai company, not to run off with him!*

Bing Qiu mentally calculated, feeling weary. He had to cover for them before the family noticed.

Meanwhile, after the black shadow carrying the little snow fox leaped over the wall, it quickly transformed back into human form. The beast form was too conspicuous.

Zhong Yan carefully cradled the little snow fox in his arms and began walking toward less crowded paths.

He twisted and turned, avoiding various pedestrians. He had to prevent the little snow fox from being seen by other beastmen. Otherwise, if beastmen discovered the Junior Priest had turned back into his beast form, they might just swarm him in the streets again.

That absolutely must not happen!

Just by seeing the direction Zhong Yan was taking him, the little snow fox had already guessed where Zhong Yan was heading. And indeed, it had been a long time since he had been to the bamboo house.

Ever since he left the tribe with the "Salt Lake Action Team," to his injured return to the tribe, he hadn't visited the bamboo house even once. Going there at this time suited his mood perfectly.

The little snow fox stretched out a paw and patted Zhong Yan's chest, quite satisfied with this "escape."

Only after passing the mountain path did Zhong Yan transform back into the giant black lion, carrying the little snow fox as he sprinted toward the bamboo house. They reached their destination not long after.

The black lion, carrying the little snow fox, stopped in front of the experimental field.

Zhong Yan was familiar with the third evil cultivation method for restoring the Beast World's soil, as he would often hear Xue Tuan going on about it, so he was fairly familiar with the general process.

Earlier in Xue Tuan's room, Zhong Yan saw that Xue Tuan had already written down the detailed steps. He thought it would be a good idea to bring Xue Tuan along to the experimental field, just for a change of scenery.

Even though it was winter, they could still make some preparations in advance.

When they arrived at the experimental field, the black lion stopped, waiting for Xue Tuan's instructions.

The little arctic fox naturally understood Zhong Yan's intention. He first glanced toward Ye Ke's bamboo house but saw no sign of anyone.

Xue Tuan guessed that since the weather had turned colder, Ye Ke had probably reduced his visits here and shifted his work to his own home.

For the moment, it was just the two of them here. However, Zhong Yan alone could handle the work of several people, so it wasn't a problem.

After thinking for a moment, the little arctic fox said, "We need to dig a pit about the size of a small horse shed. As for depth, make it about waist-high."

The pit would cover an area of roughly ten square meters. Considering the depth as well, this was the smallest volume Xue Tuan deemed suitable for the experiment. This pit would serve as the initial "hydroponic pool."

"Alright, I understand," Zhong Yan replied readily. For Zhong Yan, getting a certain amount of daily exercise was a must.

So whether it was going up or down the mountain, or digging pits like this, Zhong Yan treated them all as part of his workout.

The No.1 Soil and No.5 Soil in the experimental field were largely reserved for experiments, so they could dig up the soil from the other plots.

Xue Tuan's idea was that since the other types of Beast World soil couldn't be directly restored, and given that the area of No.1 Soil and No.5 Soil was limited, it was essential to utilize the space taken up by the other types of soil.

True to the motto of "not wasting a single bit of soil," Xue Tuan planned to dig them up to serve as containers for the "hydroponic method." Naturally, hydroponics was best for aquatic crops.

The first crop Xue Tuan thought of for the experiment was—wild rice.

Rice and wheat, as two major staple foods, were key cultivation targets in the Beast World. However, wheat clearly could only grow in soil; the hydroponic method wasn't suitable for it.

Therefore, to supplement another filling food, wild rice, which is also an aquatic plant like rice, was chosen for this role.

Last time, his father had brought back many wild rice seeds from the Salt Lake outpost. These seeds had been processed before winter and were now stored in the cellar to prevent mold and insect damage.

By the end of winter, they could begin soaking the seeds to spur germination.

Like rice, wild rice also needs to be started as seedlings first. So, they could only be sown in the restored soil initially and then transplanted into the hydroponic pool.

The Beast World soil in the hydroponic pool wouldn't provide nutrients, so what the crop roots needed would have to come from the water. Therefore, the "nutrient solution" in the hydroponic pool became crucial.

The solution was that Xue Tuan planned to utilize a "wild rice, fish, duck" system to establish the nutrient solution required for the hydroponic method.

After selecting the location, the giant black lion began to dig the soil with swift, scraping motions.

The little arctic fox watched in amazement from the side. Even though it wasn't his first time seeing the giant black lion work, he was always amazed by him.

Sometimes, the little arctic fox felt like he was watching a kind of "performance" that he had seen many times but still enjoyed immensely.

At this moment, the little arctic fox really wished he were in human form so he could go to the nearby bamboo grove and cut some bamboo.

In the hydroponic pool, they needed to place some tools similar to floating rafts to secure the crops.

Just as the little arctic fox was lost in thought, a voice suddenly called out from behind:

"Xue Tuan—"

The little arctic fox turned around and was surprised to see Ye Ke walking over from the direction of the bamboo house.

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Author's Note: Thanks for the nutrient solution [heart].