IGM Chapter 30

TL: Moonlit

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Just as a gust of wind blew by, the feather circled in the air and flew away. Shu Shuishui turned back to look at the tent, then took small steps to chase after the feather.

Feathers are light, which means they are soft and perfect for lining a nest. Shu Shuishui’s nest was filled with many soft feathers, mostly from birds, so Shui Shuishui could tell at a glance that this particular feather would be great for bedding or making a down jacket. Thinking about the upcoming winter, Shu Shuishui realized that he had a down jacket for himself, but his humanoid pet didn’t. So, upon seeing the feather, Shu Shuishui thought that not only would he continue to collect grasshoppers but also feathers to make a down jacket for his humanoid pet.

It was a great idea yet difficult, but Shu Shuishui was never a dormouse afraid of difficulties. So, he decided to be the first to obtain the first feather for the down jacket.

Thus, in the depths of the mountains at night, a little dormouse was running after a feather, occasionally reaching out with his small paws but unable to catch it due to the wind’s gusts.

When Shu Shuishui finally leaped and closed both paws together, catching the feather in his palm, he realized he had run quite far. However, it didn’t matter as Shu Shuishui had an incredible sense of direction as a dormouse. Even after traveling the world, he could still accurately find the other hemisphere where his previous nest was located after five years. So, this distance was not a problem at all.

But just as Shu Shuishui was about to turn around, a strong gust of wind blew, pushing Shu Shuishui’s furry little body two steps forward. Nonetheless, Shu Shuishui’s paws remained closed tightly, not letting go of the feather.

As the strong wind passed, Shu Shuishui squinted his eyes and suddenly noticed a familiar blue glow flickering among the swaying tree branches ahead. The fragmented glow resembled a sea of stars, scattering through the branches and leaves of the dark night.

Curious, Shu Shuishui went to the tree, crouched in front of its roots, carefully opened his palm, and placed the feather into his spiritual storage.

With his hands free, Shu Shuishui turned to look at the blue glow. By now, the strong wind had subsided, and the dense trees were no longer swaying, obscuring the blue glow. The little dormouse took a step forward, heading in the direction where he had seen the glow before.

After walking for a while, Shu Shuishui realized he had reached the edge of a steep slope. It was a depression in the mountains, forming a funnel-shaped cavity that was quite treacherous.

Such terrain was rare, and coincidentally, a gust of wind blew again, but this time it came head-on. The branches swayed and shook with the wind, and the dazzling blue glow reappeared.

Shu Shuishui looked down at the cavity, surprised by what he saw. The space below was larger than expected, perhaps because the lush vegetation above blocked the sunlight, resulting in no particularly tall trees below. All the luxuriant branches and leaves came from one or two horizontal trunks above.

Beneath these trunks, countless parachutes hung, emitting a blue glow from the magical cubes attached to them. Whenever the wind blew, they swayed along with the branches, turning the interior of the funnel into a dazzling disco, full of flashing lights.

Shu Shuishui couldn’t believe he had stumbled upon another nest of parachutes. He was thrilled because who would complain about having too many parachutes? With so many parachutes, he could make a tent for both himself and Gu Langu.

As for the magical cubes hanging beneath the parachutes, were they light fixtures? They looked beautiful, and Shu Shuishui decided to bring one back and hang it from the ceiling of his and Gu Langu’s bedroom.

The little dormouse began to busily collect the parachutes, maneuvering among the dense branches and leaves. During the process, Shuishui noticed that these parachutes were clearly not all from the same period. Some were new, while others were weathered and seemed to have been there for quite some time. However, the magical cubes appeared unaffected.

Once he finished collecting the ones on the upper level, Shu Shuishui continued to move downward. Some had fallen to the bottom of the cavity, scattered like blue crystals, tempting to the eye.

Reaching the bottom of the depression, Shu Shuishui discovered a strange grass at the center. Surprisingly, the grass emitted energy fluctuations, a phenomenon usually found in spiritual plants.

Recalling the giant mosquito from yesterday, Shu Shuishui felt that this grass was probably similar to it. As another gust of wind blew, the little dormouse squinted his eyes, sensing something was not quite right.

The depth of this depression is so deep that even if there is wind, it shouldn’t reach the bottom. Unless the wind itself comes from the bottom.

Shu Shuishui observed the spiritual grass at the bottom, or so it seemed. It grew in a whimsical manner, resembling the tornado shape often seen by Shu Shuishui in cartoons, spiraling outward and upward.

In the center of the green grass, it seemed that there was wind flowing. Shu Shuishui extended his claw and felt the flow of wind.

At this moment, Shu Shuishui had to carefully observe the surrounding environment. Utilizing the principles of the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams, he discovered that this was a rare wind-gathering cone, a kind of feng shui treasure land. The gathered wind carried spiritual power and energy, and the tornado grass should have formed under such circumstances.

Day after day, it gradually gained spiritual power.

Shu Shuishui lightly poked the green grass with his paw. Surprisingly, the grass leaves curled up and hooked onto Shu Shuishui’s claw, shaking up and down as if shaking hands.

Shuishui <(￣ˇ￣)/

After shaking hands, Shu Shuishui extended his paw and poked again, and the tornado grass once again held his claw and shook it up and down.

Shuishui <(￣ˇ￣)/

After repeating this several times, Shu Shuishui was satisfied. He wasn’t sure if the tornado grass had developed its own consciousness or if it was simply a reflex to external conditions, like a mimosa plant.

But what Shuishui could be certain of was that this spiritual grass would continue to grow. Shu Shuishui took out several spiritual stones from his spiritual space and set up a gathering formation and a protective formation around the tornado grass. This way, the tornado grass didn’t need to rely on collecting wind to gather spiritual power. “I took all your parachutes, hope you like these spiritual stones.”

This time, the tornado grass didn’t wait for Shu Shuishui to extend his paw but spontaneously held Shu Shuishui’s paw, not just the tip but the entire chubby paw. It was clear that it was also happy.

With that, Shu Shuishui was reassured. He thought for a moment and took out a few more spiritual stones from his spiritual space. “If the stones in the formations run out, these can be used as replacements, but it looks like it will be several years later.” After a moment, Shu Shuishui took out two sweet potatoes. “These are delicious too, hope you like them.”

The tornado grass responded by holding onto the tips of the sweet potatoes and shaking them up and down.

In the end, Shu Shuishui and the tornado grass shook hands one last time, then Shu Shuishui climbed up the steep cliff. The wind lifted Shu Shuishui, making his climb easier.

Shu Shuishui felt that he had made a new friend today and returned home happily.

As for the depression and the nest of parachutes, Shu Shuishui understood what had happened. The plant happened to grow inside the wind-gathering cone, which easily collected wind from all directions and also gathered spiritual power. As the tornado grass grew, it consciously gathered the surrounding wind, disrupting the descent direction of the parachutes and pulling them into the funnel.

These parachutes probably appeared every year, so year after year, the accumulation grew, hanging from the trees and scattering inside.

With the spiritual stones left by Shu Shuishui and the spiritual power gathered by the wind-gathering cone, the tornado grass should be able to grow for another decade or so. Shu Shuishui thought that by that time, the tornado grass might even be able to grow a patch of sweet potatoes. When the sweet potatoes filled the depression, he would return to shake hands with the tornado grass.

Looking at the full nest of parachutes in his spiritual space and the feather he had caught before, Shu Shuishui contentedly curled up in his nest.

Shu Shuishui didn’t put the feather in the nest, as it was clear that he was planning to make a down jacket for Gu Langu. For a little dormouse, today’s harvest was truly not small. Shu Shuishui thought that after catching enough grasshoppers tomorrow, he could return to the base.

He didn’t know if he could catch enough for a bowl, but it would be best to roast the grasshoppers before Gu Langu returned to give him a surprise.

Shu Shuishui lay back in his nest, about to fall asleep, and as usual, turned his head to the right and tapped his own head with his paw. “Goodnight, Gugu.”

Gu Langu didn’t know that the mouse had prepared a feast of grasshoppers and the first feather for a down jacket. Gu Langu also didn’t know that the dormouse accepted his goodnight greetings and head pats every day, and furthermore, that Shu Shuishui was in the nearby mountains.

 

Author’s note:

Shu Shuishui: “Is the down jacket a bit fluffy?”

Gu Langu: “I think it’s just right~~”

Shu Shuishui: “Alright…” I forgot that humanoid pets might be a bit big. It’s a bit worrying.

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AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! Myghaaaaad!!! I can’t wait to know how Gu Langu’s squad would react if they knew what Shu Shuishui discovered hehe…