Volume 1: Entering the Future for the First Time
This hundred-year-old ginseng is incredibly rich in spiritual power. Shu Xun initially planned to keep the ginseng to advance to the next stage after inheriting the legacy and talent. However, plans changed, and due to a shortage of food, he ended up eating it. As he ate, Shu Xun thought about how this ginseng was truly magnificent when alive but pitiable in death.
Utilizing the abundant spiritual power of this ginseng, Shu Xun meditated for two more days before completely absorbing the spiritual power. While his strength increased, reaching the mid-stage of the juvenile phase still seemed far away.
The rarer the spiritual creature, the more challenging it is to advance. These creatures usually enjoy unique talents and legacies but also bear various balancing constraints. Treasure-seeking mice are already considered a race greatly favored by the heavens. In their lifetime, apart from the initial tribulation during transformation, only the final tribulation in the transcendent period remains. During this period, treasure-seeking mice can rely on their innate talent for treasure hunting to smoothly advance.
However, now, Shu Xun tried using his considerably sharp claws to dig into the wall, but as before, the claws of the juvenile stage lacked the necessary power. There were no traces left on the wall. Shu Xun rubbed his reddened chubby little hands, feeling somewhat helpless. He pondered whether he would become the first treasure-seeking mouse to starve to death, and not just any treasure-seeking mouse but the one best at finding medicinal herbs.
Two more days passed, and the energy inside Shu Xun’s body was once again almost depleted. Shu Xun rubbed his now noticeably hungry little belly on the sofa, looking like a flattened pancake. These days, Shu Xun had searched every corner of the house, even sneaking under the floor during the morning cleaning by the household cleaning device. However, the results were the same.
This seemingly impregnable room was like a massive prison, with no exit in sight and its defenses unbreakable. The small juvenile treasure-seeking mouse was trapped inside with no means of escape.
Wrapped in a small blanket, Shu Xun lay under the sofa. Hunger made him somewhat drowsy, but he was often awakened by hunger. The once plump little fellow noticeably shrank. Just as Shu Xun was about to drift into a deep sleep, in a trance, he seemed to dream of eating the fish stew made by his father. In his sleep, Shu Xun smacked his lips, appearing thoroughly satisfied.
When Shu Xun was awakened again by hunger, he was still smacking his lips, but there was no taste in his mouth. Just as Shu Xun felt disappointed, he suddenly thought of something. He rolled over and sat up. In the past few days, he had searched every corner of the room, even the unknown furniture and appliances, but evidently, this house wasn’t the owner’s regular residence and had no provisions. However, there was a room with a massive glass aquarium!
Shu Xun’s eyes instantly brightened. He kicked away the small blanket and dashed towards the room with the aquarium. Through the open door, Shu Xun entered what seemed to be a study. The room was relatively smaller than the living room, and there were not many items inside, quite different from Shu Xun’s impression of a typical study.
Navigating around several tall rectangular electronic bookshelves, Shu Xun noticed that instead of paper books, the shelves held small, smooth black objects, each about the size of a palm, resembling modern smartphones. In addition to this, there was a table in the room, and the items on it were still a mystery to Shu Xun. Beside the table, there was a large oval-shaped object of unknown purpose. However, what Shu Xun had in mind was the aquarium, situated at the southern end of the room.
Although called an aquarium, it looked more like a window because in this cage-like structure, only the southern side, comprising the living room, bedroom, study, and another mysterious room, had walls entirely made of transparent glass.
Of course, the term “glass” was used by Shu Xun based on his understanding. The transparency of this wall surpassed that of other glass in terms of strength, and Shu Xun couldn’t break through it. Over the course of a few days, Shu Xun discovered that although the transparent glass wall allowed light to pass through, the outside world couldn’t see the situation inside the room, cutting off any possibility for Shu Xun to seek help from outside.
Among the transparent glass walls of the four rooms, the one in the study was particularly unique. It had a thickness far exceeding the walls of the other rooms, and the lower half was hollow, filled with clear water. Various fish swam peacefully inside, and at the bottom of the clear water, there was white sand and stones, with aquatic plants growing on top, flourishing beautifully.
The first time Shu Xun saw this wall, he was momentarily shocked by the picturesque scene. Now, the small bundle stood in front of the glass wall, eyes shining, staring at the leisurely fish inside, swallowing saliva.
The entire glass wall, or rather the glass aquarium, had a rich variety of fish. Some were as large as an adult’s palm, while others were the size of fingers. The colors of the fish varied, and there were even groups of the same species swimming together. It looked aesthetically pleasing at first glance, but for Shu Xun at this moment, there were many different flavors of fish to savor. (Meanwhile, the owner of the house in a distant star system remained unaware that their fish tank was about to face a major crisis.)
Shu Xun walked back and forth in front of the glass wall twice. The glass wall was almost fully enclosed. In the middle of the wall, Shu Xun saw a touchpad, presumably used to control the aquarium. Returning to the desk, Shu Xun pushed the chair towards the vicinity of the glass wall.
Fortunately, despite being small in stature, Shu Xun had decent strength. Pushing a chair with wheels was more than enough for him. Along the chair, Shu Xun quickly climbed up and stood on the backrest, extending his little claws to tap on the frosted touchpad. The touchpad lit up.
Shu Xun didn’t recognize the characters on the touchpad. He tried pressing the topmost dot, and fortunately, the seemingly seamless glass wall responded from the middle position. The upper half of the inside of the glass wall retracted upwards. It seemed that the first button was indeed for opening the aquarium.
The backrest of the chair was almost parallel to the edge of the aquarium. Shu Xun easily climbed into the aquarium. The thickness of the glass wall of the aquarium was about twenty centimeters, and the small Shu Xun could roll around on it without worrying about falling off.
Shu Xun licked his lips, quickly took off his clothes, and with a smooth leap, a light “plop” sounded as a figure with a different vibe appeared in the fish tank. The nearby fish were startled by this sudden movement and scattered in all directions.
Being a natural swimmer, the treasure-seeking mouse, Shu Xun, didn’t panic. Having swum in his own bathtub at home, he was accustomed to it. Besides, the water temperature in the fish tank was moderate, causing no discomfort. Shu Xun kicked his little short legs and quickly dove underwater.
The spot Shu Xun chose was far from the “large” fish. However, even the small fish were not much smaller than Shu Xun. Unfortunately, after several days of hunger, Shu Xun couldn’t afford to be too picky.
Silently approaching a silvery-white small fish, Shu Xun blew out tiny bubbles from his mouth and stared at the target intently, and the small fish was oblivious, leisurely approaching. In an instant, Shu Xun kicked off the glass wall behind him, swiftly emerged, and grabbed the silver small fish, which had no sense of danger.
The small fish struggled violently when suddenly caught, but Shu Xun held on tight, staring at it, and swiftly kicked his feet to float to the water surface. First, he threw the small fish onto the shore and then deftly climbed up the glass wall by grasping it.
The silver small fish continued to flounder against the glass wall, even showing signs of falling back into the fish tank. Shu Xun quickly approached, pressing down the small fish.
After a moment, Shu Xun placed the now motionless silver fish into the spiritual space. Then, he put on his clothes, climbed down along the chair, pushed the chair back to its original position, and hurried to the kitchen.
During these few days, Shu Xun spent most of his time in the living room, but the place where he delved most deeply was the kitchen. Shu Xun, not giving up hope, had checked the kitchen three times, and though he hadn’t found a single grain of rice, he did make some other discoveries. At least, he now understood the general uses of the utensils in the kitchen.
The kitchen had no food, and naturally, there were no condiments needed for cooking. However, the basic functions were still present. Shu Xun thought about the process his father used to handle fish—scaling, gill removal, gutting…
With enthusiasm, Shu Xun placed the already lifeless small fish on the table and went to get a knife. However, after looking at the massive knife and the tiny silver fish, he gave up and directly manifested his claws. With a couple of swift strokes, he removed the fish scales and then went for the gills.
When Shu Xun retracted his claws, he looked at the satisfactorily processed small fish. Though not as perfect as his father’s handling, it was still recognizable. Shu Xun carried the small fish and ran to the sink. Sensing the heat source, the faucet automatically supplied water, and he cleaned the small fish. Shu Xun then carried the small fish back to the stove.
Author’s note:
This is probably the most pitiful ginseng in Lao Xuan’s works, hahaha~ I hope my master won’t scold me…
Shu Xun: “You might not believe it, but I discovered a large fish pond just as I was about to starve to death~~~”
A certain general on a business trip: Hmm? A new flavor of fish food, buy, buy, buy. I’ll feed it to my cute fishes when I get home~~
Fish: “…” Master, come back quickly~~~ Your fish tank will miss a whole batch of fish~~~
