Chao Muxue wasn’t frightened by the thunder and lightning, but Wen Zixing’s yelling did startle her. Lu Yaoyao looked up at Wen Zixing, who was dancing around and shouting loudly with his eyes closed, “Xingxing, what are you yelling for?” She asked.
Numerous bolts of lightning struck him, and yet he felt nothing. Only then did Wen Zixing realize he was unharmed. He opened his eyes and patted his chest, “W-well, this is my first time encountering this kind of situation. I’ll get used to it after a few more times, don’t worry!”
Wen Zixing glanced downward and noticed that every time lightning struck, a transparent shield would form around him, shielding him from danger. This lightning avoidance talisman really worked well! Seeing this, his frantic heart gradually calmed down.
The group continued walking forward. There was no clear path in the bamboo forest; the bamboo grew haphazardly, so they made their way through the wider gaps.
“The information mentions that bamboo shoots grow underground in the bamboo forest; we’ll need to dig to find out if there are any.”
“Bamboo shoots are said to be rare and have no regular growth pattern. If we’re lucky, digging in a hundred spots might yield one or two shoots.”
“Wait, we forgot to bring digging tools!” Wen Zixing suddenly slapped his forehead.
Right! The rest had also forgotten.
Lu Yaoyao held up her small sword, “Should we use this to dig?”
Chao Muxue replied, “Looks like we have no choice.”
Most of the dangers in the Wind-Thunder Bamboo Forest stemmed from the fierce wind and endless lightning; other threats were rare. Knowing they were safe for the time being, Lu Yaoyao and the others bent down to examine the ground, but they couldn’t tell which bamboo stalks might have shoots beneath them. They had been walking for quite some time now, and the deeper they went, the thicker and more densely packed the lightning became.
Chao Muxue suggested, “How about we split up to search? It might be faster that way.”
Lu Yaoyao nodded. After thinking it over, she said, “Let’s split up into pairs, then. Among the four of us, Xingxing has the lowest cultivation level, so I’ll go with him, and Muxue will go with Qianshan. How does that sound?”
Du Qianshan thought this arrangement was best and nodded. Chao Muxue agreed as well. So, they split up; the two went to the left, and Lu Yaoyao and Wen Zixing to the right. “If we continue searching for long enough, we should eventually find them, I hope,” Wen Zixing said. He spotted a patch of soft soil and used his sword to dig a deep pit, but found no bamboo shoots, and covered it back up.
“We need to be patient.” If this mission were easy, someone else would have finished it long ago.
Wen Zixing’s sharp eyes noticed a raised area of ground to the left front and hurried over, confidently exclaiming, “I’m sure there’s something here!”
Lu Yaoyao went over to help him dig, but they still found no sign of bamboo shoots. She helped him dig at two more spots with the same result. “You keep digging here; I’ll look around nearby.” She finally said.
Wen Zixing nodded, his eyes scanning the bamboo forest — he would find those elusive shoots, definitely!
Splitting up to dig separately should be more efficient than digging together. Lu Yaoyao casually walked to one side, but she didn’t go far; if Wen Zixing shouted, she could hear him and immediately run over.
As she walked, Lu Yaoyao pondered to herself: finding even one bamboo shoot was difficult, and they needed to find a hundred for this mission—how long would that take?
Still, they had no choice but to keep looking… huh?
Lu Yaoyao’s small sword suddenly hit something hard in the soil. She quickly scraped away the dirt, revealing the thing underneath. Buried in the gray-brown soil was a plump, similarly dark-colored bamboo shoot, half of it still embedded in the earth, only its rounded tip poking out cutely. Lu Yaoyao was immediately excited, “Xingxing, come over here, I found one!”
Wen Zixing, who was digging elsewhere, heard her shout and hurried over, “Where? Where? Let me see!!”
Wen Zixing squatted down in front of Lu Yaoyao, looked at the pit she had just dug, and indeed, there was a bamboo shoot. “Yaoyao, you’re so lucky!” She had found one just as she started digging!
Lu Yaoyao smiled proudly, “My luck is always good.”
They quickly dug deeper, and soon unearthed a complete, chubby bamboo shoot as long as Lu Yaoyao’s forearm.
“It looks to be of good quality.” Wind-Thunder bamboo shoots had many uses. For example, they could be used as a material to forge artifacts with Wind-Thunder properties and were also edible.
The two admired the plump shoot for a while before Wen Zixing urged Lu Yaoyao to store it away. Now energized, he declared, “I need to work harder too!”
“Yeah, let’s do our best together!”
With her small sword in hand, Lu Yaoyao continued looking for the next spot. She chose a patch of firm soil this time, but still found digging there quite easy. Before long, she struck another bamboo shoot.
Lu Yaoyao didn’t call for Wen Zixing; instead, she stored it away immediately. She had thought the mission would be difficult, but it turned out to be quite easy. At this rate, she could gather enough in less than two days. Lu Yaoyao didn’t stick to one spot; after digging up one shoot, she would move to another area, walking several hundred meters and inadvertently wandering a bit far.
As she kept digging and digging, Lu Yaoyao diligently unearthed several more shoots, each about the same size.
Out of nowhere, something suddenly collided with Lu Yaoyao and flew straight at her face, causing her to be startled. She instinctively swung her hand and slapped the thing away, causing it to flow off in a parabolic arc like a small, curved stone.
What was that thing? It scared the life out of her! Lu Yaoyao patted her chest, feeling her heart still racing.
“Cheep!!!” A childish squeak came from the small animal she had swatted away. Lu Yaoyao took a closer look and saw a dark, chubby little beast around the size of an adult’s palm lying on the ground, its short, fat limbs flailing as it chirped. Turning its plump body over, the beast’s large, black gem-like eyes looked up at her, still chirping loudly.
“Oh! I didn’t mean to, are you okay?” Seeing a little beast that looked to be just a cub, Lu Yaoyao was relieved she hadn’t hit it too hard, only instinctively swatted it away. But it wasn’t her fault; anyone would react the same if suddenly attacked!
The little beast seemed subdued by Lu Yaoyao’s slap. It warily chirped at her but cautiously refrained from getting any closer, fearing another sudden attack.
Seeing it so guarded, Lu Yaoyao didn’t try approaching further. She carefully observed the little beast; it was fluffy all over, with a round little head, pointed ears, and a tail shaped like a lightning bolt.
“This is a wind-thunder bamboo beast!” Lu Yaoyao felt her luck was incredible. The wind-thunder bamboo beast was a unique creature of the wind-thunder bamboo forest. They were extremely rare and possessed the ability to summon wind and thunder, making the bamboo forest their domain.
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Based on the description of the Wind-Thunder Bamboo Beast, especially its tail, I started thinking of Pikachu, lol.
Thanks for the chapter! 😀