nyslfriends Chapter 59 Continuing to Pave the Way
Chapter 59 Continuing to Pave the Way
"Is everything ready?"
Holding a long spear and carrying a basket on his back, Cai Xuan asked Xi'er, Yun'er, Shu'er, and Xin'er.
"Ready!" Xi'er shouted, gripping her long axe.
Yun'er, Shu'er, and Xin'er responded one by one, their little faces filled with excitement and anticipation.
These little guys, each dressed in kingfisher leather armor, with short swords at their waists, each holding their own handy weapon, and carrying small rattan baskets on their backs, were full of energy and high spirits, just like a small army about to go into battle.
Seeing that they were all ready, Cai Xuan looked up at the four small golden gourds hanging under the wooden frame and said, "You stay home and be good. I'll bring you some delicious things to smell when I come back tonight."
Goodbye, older brother and sister!
Four little golden gourds swayed and called out on the vine.
"goodbye."
Cai Xuan and Xi'er waved to them and set off on the road to the rocky cliffs behind the mountain.
The mountain path was rugged and overgrown with vegetation. There were no ready-made roads, only primeval jungles where ferocious beasts lurked, dense with shrubs and thorns, and intertwined with vines. Every step required clearing a path.
Xi'er continued to act as the trailblazer.
Holding a long axe, she walked at the front, swinging it wildly. Wherever the axe blade passed, bushes snapped, thorns felled, and vines were cleanly cut off, carving a path through the dense forest.
When she encountered some small stones blocking the road, Xi'er didn't even bother to go around them, but kicked them away with one kick.
The stone rolled into the forest with a whooshing sound, startling the small animals into fleeing in panic.
When they encountered a larger rock blocking their path, Xi'er was even more decisive. She put away her axe and punched it directly. The rock shattered instantly, sending fragments flying, and she carved a path through the rocks.
Yun'er, Shu'er, and Xin'er followed closely behind, spreading out in a fan shape, looking around warily.
If any snakes or insects dart out of the grass, or wild animals lurk in the forest, they will take action, ensuring that nothing dangerous disturbs Xi'er's path.
Cai Xuan was originally following behind to protect them, but as they walked, he found himself completely unable to get involved and had become an idle person.
"Um?"
Suddenly, Cai Xuan discovered that a large patch of Nine Oxen Divine Power Potatoes was growing on the hillside. He squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, and found it to be soft, fertile, and dark brown with the characteristic humus color. He could feel the abundant nutrients contained within it with just a gentle squeeze.
It seems that the Nine Oxen Divine Potato really likes this kind of soil, otherwise it wouldn't grow in such a large area like the one at the wooden house and the foot of the mountain.
Cai Xuan noted down the location, planning to dig some up to take back on his way back; now, getting on the road was the priority.
Continuing on, they passed a persimmon grove. The fruits here were small, only the size of quail eggs, but they grew densely, laden with fruit. Cai Xuan had seen these miniature persimmons in Yundi before, but he had only glanced at them and had never tasted them, so he didn't know if they were good or not.
It's a pity the persimmons are still very green, otherwise he would definitely pick some and taste them properly.
The rocky cliff wasn't far from Cai Xuan's wooden hut; it was less than half an hour as the crow flies over the large-leafed fruit forest. However, because there was no road, most of the time was spent clearing it.
Below the rocky cliffs lies a lake surrounded by mountains.
The lake water was emerald green and as calm as a mirror, reflecting the surrounding verdant mountains and blue sky with white clouds. A gentle breeze rippled across the surface, and fish could be seen leaping out of the water from time to time, splashing water droplets before quietly falling back into the water.
Cai Xuan and the others walked to the lakeside, paused for a moment, and then continued walking along the lake shore without lingering.
Instead of traversing mountains and valleys, they walked along the ravines and canyons between the peaks.
The mountains here aren't high, but they're incredibly rich in resources—bamboo groves, giant ferns, and wild fruits are everywhere. Cai Xuan walked along, carefully observing the surroundings. When he came across herbs recorded in the "Records of Herbs from the Wilderness," he picked them and put them in his basket. He usually flipped through that book in his spare time and now recognized quite a few herbs. Although he didn't need them for the time being, it was always good to keep them; they might come in handy someday.
"Huh, what's that?"
Xi'er, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped and pointed ahead, calling out.
Cai Xuan and Yun'er approached upon hearing the sound, and looking in the direction Xi'er was pointing, they saw a large grove of tall fruit trees standing in the valley ahead. These fruit trees had peculiar shapes, with thick, straight trunks, umbrella-like canopies, and large, fleshy leaves, more than twice the size of an adult's palm. But what was most eye-catching were the enormous fruits hanging from the trunks.
The fruit has distinct ridges, with several clear lines extending from the stem to the navel.
Each fruit is at least as big as an arm's length, with a waxy sheen on its greenish-blue skin, hanging heavily on the tree trunk.
Cai Xuan stared at the fruit for a while, then suddenly remembered seeing a similar fruit when he was scrolling through short videos before—was it called something like "star apple" or "wood jackfruit"? No, it seemed to be called something like melon, um... it seemed to be West African oyster melon, also known as starfruit.
After looking at it for a moment, Cai Xuan stepped forward, wanting to pick one down and examine it to see if it was the same as the one he remembered.
One step, two steps, three steps, reaching out to pick the fruit.
Suddenly, a green figure crawled out from the back of the fruit, flicking its tongue at her.
This was a green-scaled snake, its entire body covered in fine, emerald-green scales that blended almost seamlessly with the color of the fruit leaves, making it virtually indistinguishable without close inspection. Its body was about the thickness of a wrist. Peeking out from among the branches and leaves, its blood-red vertical pupils stared intently at Cai Xuan, its scarlet forked tongue hissing as it flickered, and a faint, dark green venom seemed to be gathering between its teeth.
Cai Xuan felt a chill run down his spine when he saw those cold, snake-like eyes, and he pulled his arm back as if he had been electrocuted.
Good heavens, how can there be a snake here?!
A distant memory suddenly flashed through my mind; it happened twenty years ago. Back then, I was just a little kid, and I ran up the mountain early one morning to steal starfruit from someone's tree. I climbed up the tree, picked some, and suddenly noticed a particularly large starfruit among the lush branches, so I excitedly reached out and grabbed it.
Just as his fingers were about to touch the fruit peel, a snake raised its head from the leaves behind the starfruit.
He was so scared he almost peed his pants. From that moment on, he never picked starfruit again, fearing that a snake might flick its tongue at him while he was picking them. So, he has a psychological aversion to snakes that hide in trees.
Now, the same scene is playing out again.
Cai Xuan withdrew his hand, took two steps back, and was about to tell Yun'er to deal with it.
"Rustle, rustle—"
Suddenly, a series of dense sounds came from the orchard, like countless scales rubbing against the ground, leaves, and tree trunks. Cai Xuan looked ahead and saw that deep within the orchard, behind the tree trunks and through the gaps in the branches and leaves, one after another, green-scaled snakes crawled out. They varied in size and thickness, all covered in that emerald green color, making them impossible to distinguish among the branches and leaves.
One, two, ten, twenty...
A dense swarm of snakes surged in from all directions, surrounding Cai Xuan and his companions.