“They say that the kindness of a drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring. You saved Siyuan’s life, and for such a favor, Siyuan wouldn’t hesitate to do anything for you…” Grandpa Su, gripping Bai Tang’s small leaves like shaking hands, went on and on.
“Grandpa,” Su Siyuan interrupted, “I’m already prepared to do anything for Bai Tang.” He looked at the astonished Grandpa Su, then lowered his gaze to Bai Tang in his hand. “I will work hard to earn money, strive to buy all the forests in the world, and give them to you.”
For a sloth, owning all the forests in the world is a very happy and extravagant thing.
Su Siyuan’s tone was calm when he spoke, seemingly uneventful but unusually firm.
Bai Tang was so shocked that even his small roots were tangled. He was deeply moved by his little brother’s unwavering loyalty. “No need, no need. I don’t need those things.”
Su Siyuan frowned, softly asking, “Then what do you want?”
What does he want?
Of course, it’s energy!
Energy can be divided into mechanical energy, chemical energy, thermal energy, electrical energy, radiation energy, nuclear energy, light energy, tidal energy, and so on.
After pondering for a moment, Bai Tang replied, “I want to bask in the sun every day, occasionally go to the sea, and when monsters are undergoing tribulations, go there to watch… That’s probably it.”
Su Siyuan nodded seriously, “I understand.”
Grandpa Su, who was watching from the side: Eh? What’s happening?
Looking at Su Siyuan’s demeanor, Grandpa Su understood that his little monster was very serious. He rushed to the study, and after a while, he came out holding an exquisite wooden box.
The wooden box was carved with lifelike patterns of flowers, birds, fish, and insects. Grandpa Su opened the box, revealing a jade bottle inside, filled with pale golden fine sand. A trace of imperceptible wood spiritual energy emanated from it.
Sensing that trace of wood spiritual energy, Bai Tang somersaulted, crawled up from Su Siyuan’s hand, and two small leaves nervously hugged Su Siyuan’s thumb. The snow-white small roots seemed to be stirring restlessly. “…This, this is?”
An unimaginable speculation surged in his mind.
Three thousand worlds, ten directions in the universe.
Legend has it that there is a substance called “rare earth,” resembling golden sand, capable of nurturing all plants.
One grain of sand represents one world, and a handful of rare earth can transform into three thousand worlds.
“Don’t get too excited. I just checked, and this thing should be a super-weakened version of rare earth,” the system said. “But it’s still a good thing; you got lucky this time.”
The system’s cold water poured over Bai Tang, calming him down. He took another careful look at the golden sand in the jade bottle, realizing that he had let his excitement cloud his judgment.
The legendary substance like rare earth couldn’t appear in low-level planes. Every treasure born in a plane is related to the level of the plane itself. If one wants to find rare earth, they have to go to a higher-level plane.
“This is a treasure I obtained when I was young.” Grandpa Su’s eyes revealed a hint of nostalgia. “I found it in the deep sea, where the coral and seaweed grew exceptionally well, like an underwater forest.”
“I discovered that it has significant benefits for plants.” Grandpa Su looked at the golden sand with some reluctance, his fingers gently caressing the bottle. “I’m not a plant spirit, so it’s not very useful for me.”
Grandpa Su handed the jade bottle solemnly to Bai Tang. “You saved Siyuan, and I don’t know how to repay you. So, I’m giving it to you. Please accept it.”
Bai Tang couldn’t refuse this expression of gratitude. The gift was too precious and perfectly aligned with his preferences. If this item were to be sold in the main god space, it would require a whopping amount of energy points to obtain.
Bai Tang’s values were based on equivalent exchange. In his view, he saved Su Siyuan, and in return, Su Siyuan became his little brother, clearing any debts between them. Now, the gift from Su Chenggui disrupted the balance of the scales. The weighty gift made Bai Tang feel a sense of guilt inside.
Although Grandpa Su said the golden sand wasn’t very useful to him, anyone with discerning eyes could see its value. Bai Tang couldn’t easily accept such a grand gift.
Bai Tang spoke slowly, “Grandpa Su, in the future, if you encounter any troubles and I can help, I will definitely assist.”
Grandpa Su laughed so heartily that the wrinkles on his face unfolded. He handed the jade bottle to Su Siyuan and said, “Have you two eaten? I’ll prepare something for you. And you, change into some dry clothes. Your whole body is soaked; be careful not to catch a cold.”
Although monsters were not easily affected by the cold, there was a kind of chill called “Grandpa thinks you’re cold.” After saying this, Grandpa Su turned and headed to the kitchen.
Su Siyuan held the jade bottle with one hand and cradled Bai Tang with the other. As they walked towards the bedroom, he asked Bai Tang, “Should I plant you in this bottle?”
Bai Tang patted Su Siyuan’s thumb in approval and said, “The young one can indeed be taught.”
Su Siyuan pursed his lips and smiled, exuding a hint of bashfulness in his refined and gentle demeanor.
Su Siyuan’s bedroom was dominated by cool tones, with simple and elegant decor—white walls, black flooring, and a gray bed. He placed the jade bottle on the bedside table and then carefully assisted Bai Tang, placing Bai Tang’s roots into the bottle opening.
Su Siyuan’s actions made Bai Tang feel like some delicate item. The emerald-green grass waved its little leaves, and Bai Tang boldly patted Su Siyuan’s hand, “It’s okay, you can just put me in, directly.”
The snow-white little roots impatiently squeezed out from between Su Siyuan’s fingers, swaying in the air. They touched the bottle’s opening, and the tiny roots cheered and danced as they slid down along the bottle’s neck.
Su Siyuan’s gaze was very tender as he slowly released his grip, gently placing Bai Tang into the jade bottle.
When Bai Tang touched the golden sand, he felt numerous strands of wood spiritual energy entering his body, as comfortable as soaking in a hot spring.
Bai Tang let out a satisfied sigh. His little leaves swayed happily in the air.
Seeing Bai Tang adapting well, Su Siyuan temporarily left to freshen up. Inside the bathroom, he quietly transformed back into his sloth form. For monsters, reverting to their original form was more comfortable and saved energy. Despite Bai Tang’s healing, Su Siyuan’s body still had some weakness. Transforming into his original form could alleviate the burden on his body.
The dripping wet sloth leisurely crawled on the smooth floor, then slowly made its way into the bathtub. The tub had been filled with pleasantly warm water. Su Siyuan extended his long claws, hooked them on the edge of the tub, exerted some force, and with a soft splash, Su Siyuan contentedly settled into the bathtub.
He took a small towel, folded it neatly, and placed it on his forehead. His two paws crossed over his belly, and the gray-brown long fur swayed in the water. As drowsiness crept over him, Su Siyuan squinted his eyes, savoring the rare tranquility.
Su Siyuan was a sloth spirit, but he was unlike other sloth spirits. He was an extremely diligent and hardworking sloth spirit, constantly battling against his lazy nature. He diligently went to work every day, rarely indulging in long hours of sleep.
Considering that a sloth’s normal sleep time ranges from fifteen to twenty hours, Su Siyuan only slept for twelve hours a day. He was practically the workaholic of the sloth realm.
Sloth spirits are known for their slow speech and actions. Su Siyuan, in normal conversations, would speed up his speech, using his fastest pace to talk, making each conversation quite draining. Over time, he became less inclined to speak, giving off a reserved impression.
In reality, Su Siyuan did enjoy chatting with others sometimes. When he was a child, he used to play with Grandpa Su, and the two of them could chat for a long time—
At the dining table, the little sloth asked curiously, “Gra… grand…pa… why… do… we… eat… different… things?”
Grandpa Su kindly explained, “Because I’m a tortoise, I eat grasses. You’re a sloth, so you eat tree leaves.”
The sloth baby persisted with curiosity, “Why…does…a…tortoise…eat…grasses?”
So, by the time the soup had cooled, the two of them still hadn’t started eating.
Grandpa Su was a very patient elder. He would patiently answer the sloth baby’s questions, quietly listen to the sloth baby’s countless “whys,” and then take a leisurely walk and exercise with the sloth baby.
One day, when the sloth baby had grown up, Grandpa Su said to the sloth baby, “Now you’re a big kid. In your world, besides Grandpa, there are other people. Grandpa and you may be slow, but others are very fast. If we always walk slowly, we won’t make good friends because good friends will leave us far behind, and all we’ll see is their backsides.”
As drowsiness thickened, Su Siyuan fell into distant memories and sleepiness. He slowly closed his eyes and started snoring softly.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!” The knocking on the door woke Su Siyuan. He lifted his head, and the towel on his head fell into the water.
“Su Slow! It’s me!” The familiar voice penetrated the door and reached Su Siyuan’s ears. Su Siyuan yawned and transformed back into human form.
He picked up the towel from the bottom of the bathtub, wrung it out, wiped his face, and then leisurely used a large towel to dry his body before putting on a robe.
As Su Siyuan dressed, the knocking on the door became increasingly urgent, making one suspect that the person outside was on the verge of smashing the door in the next second.
Grandpa Su had told the sloth baby that if they always moved slowly, they wouldn’t make good friends. However, Grandpa Su forgot one thing – in this world, besides turtles and sloths, there were many other slow-moving animals.
Like the snail spirit outside the door.
Su Siyuan opened the bathroom door, and steam rushed out, causing the hand of the person knocking, Chi Cainan, to hit a white mist of water vapor.
Chi Cainan was a snail spirit engaged in the beauty industry, a high-end and delicate snail. He usually acted slowly and unhurriedly, forming a leisurely pair with Su Siyuan, known as the “Old Buddhas Duo.”
But at this moment, Chi Cainan’s expression was almost about to cry. His two antennae popped out in a hurry.
After so many years of knowing each other and growing up together, it was the first time Su Siyuan had seen Chi Cainan so flustered. “What’s wrong?” Su Siyuan asked.
“I-I-I’m pregnant!” Chi Cainan brought out a small fish tank, showing the bunch of little snails to Su Siyuan. “And I’ve given birth to seven!!!”
Su Siyuan: “……??”
Su Siyuan shook his head, not hearing any water sounds.
“I must still be half-asleep,” Su Siyuan calmly thought.
Author’s Note:
Mini Theater 1:
Author: You got a plant.
Su Siyuan: Zzzzz
Author: You got a bag of golden soil.
Su Siyuan: Zzzzz
Author: You poured the golden soil on the plant.
Su Siyuan: Zzzzz
Author: You harvested a handsome young man! (This time he won’t be sleeping!)
Su Siyuan: !!!
Su Siyuan: Hug the handsome young man.
Su Siyuan: Zzzzz
Mini Theater 2:
Author: I dug a hole.
Author: I poured golden soil into the hole.
Little Angel: Disgusted.
Author: I sprinkled sugar into the hole.
Little Angel: !!!
Little Angel: Dives headfirst into the hole.
Little Angel: Bliss.
Author: I’ve harvested a bunch of little angels. (hands on hips)
Mini Theater 3:
Little Angel A: Big big big, I want to hold you in my hands.
Little Angel B: Dear author, I’ve bookmarked your author column. Do I love you a lot?
Little Angel C: Even if I go bald staying up all night, I’ll still read your updates first!
Little Angel D: I’ve given you all my nutrients, hmph.
Little Angel E: Dear, I have something urgent now and can’t keep up with the updates. It’s not that I don’t want you, I’ll definitely come back.
Little Angel F: Deploying landmines, hand grenades, and rockets!
Friendly Reader: Why are you crying?
Author: Sob, sob, sob, moved to tears QAQ
