The center of the Wind-Thunder Bamboo Forest was where the lightning was densest. Here, hurricanes blew constantly, unlike the outer areas where they occurred every hour or two. Amidst the relentless lightning and fierce wind, a tiny dark creature fearlessly made its way through, carrying a bamboo shoot in its small mouth as it darted into a small hole concealed by thick bamboo leaves.
The passage was narrow at first but widened as it progressed. Soon, the passage opened into a cavern about three meters high, illuminated by several luminous pearls. Those pearls were ‘tributary’ from two-legged creatures to the little bamboo beast’s parents, and now it had inherited them.
On the right side of the cavern, a pile of bamboo shoots formed a small mountain. The little bamboo beast added its latest prize to the loose pile, stepped back a few paces, looked at the food ‘tributed’ by the two-legged creature, and joyfully chirped as it ran up to roll around. It had enough food to last a very long time!
It was even mightier than its parents! The two-legged creature feared it; just a few fierce chirps, and they would be so scared that they felt obliged to pay tribute!
The little bamboo beast stood up, chirped fiercely a few more times, then contentedly nestled into the pile of bamboo shoots and closed its eyes to rest.
The next day, the little bamboo beast woke up slowly. With its eyes still bleary and not fully open, it moved its small head forward and bit through the thick outer layer of the grayish bamboo shoot with its sharp baby teeth, then started munching on the tender and juicy interior. The crisp munching sounds lasted for a while, and the little bamboo beast’s already round belly visibly swelled until it could eat no more and stopped, still longing for more.
“Cheep—”It’s delicious, the tastiest shoot it has ever eaten!
The little bamboo beast’s eyes gleamed as they rolled around. No longer satisfied with just the small amount of food it had, it thought of the two-legged creature from the day before and jumped off the mountain of shoots, moving its limbs swiftly to run outside. The little bamboo beast remembered the scent of that two-legged creature; it lifted its small head and sniffed the air, quickly determining the direction and running forward as fast as lightning.
After running for a while, the scent of the two-legged creature grew stronger and stronger, and it also smelled food, prompting it to run even faster.
Just as humans had trouble finding Wind-Thunder bamboo shoots, so did the bamboo beasts that fed on them. Since the shoots were buried underground without any scent or growth pattern, it was tricky to find. However, with instincts engraved in their nature and the experience passed down from generation to generation, a bamboo beast had a better chance than humans of finding a shoot, with at least one success in ten attempts.
After running for a while, the little bamboo beast finally saw the same two-legged creature from the day before, squatting with its back to it, pulling a plump white bamboo shoot from the ground and placing it at its feet. The beast didn’t slow down; it charged forward without hesitation and bit into the shoot.
Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed the little bamboo beast’s front limbs and lifted it up, with the shoot it had bitten hanging in mid-air. “Got you, you little rascal.”
The little bamboo beast tilted its head, its round eyes full of pure innocence: Cheep?
…
In an instant, the small black-furred beast was tied with a white silken ribbon to a thick bamboo root. Its two short hind legs remained on the ground, while its forelimbs dangled above the ribbon, curled weakly. Its dark, moist eyes looked pitifully at the two-legged creature in front of it, chirping pitifully.
At first, the little bamboo beast couldn’t believe that the two-legged creatures, whom it thought weak and easily ‘threatened’ into offering bamboo shoot tributes, had captured it. It chirped angrily, but no matter how much it struggled, it couldn’t escape the seemingly frail hands and ended up being tied up with an artifact.
So it changed its strategy to show weakness and crying out pitifully.
Lu Yaoyao and her three friends crouched around, observing the securely tied cub.
Wen Zixing scrutinized the small creature, “Is this the little guy who used and deceived you?”
Lu Yaoyao nodded affirmatively, yes, this is it!
Chao Muxue exclaimed with joy: “It’s so cute!”
Du Qianshan looked at the dark little creature, “Cute, really?”
“It’s a bamboo beast,” Lu Yaoyao pointed out, poking the cub’s round belly. Feeling the soft texture, she couldn’t resist poking it again and again.
Adult bamboo beasts were very fast and had attack capabilities comparable to those at the Golden Core stage, but this bamboo beast was still a cub. Furthermore, cultivators had always been friendly to bamboo beasts, which possessed some intelligence. While they instinctively avoided humans, bamboo beasts did not actively attack humans, making them one of the more human-friendly spiritual beasts.
Chao Muxue, unable to bear it, suggested, “Yaoyao, why not let it go?”
Lu Yaoyao resolutely responded, “No! I need to reclaim my dignity!”
Wen Zixing curiously asked, “How will you reclaim it?”
Lu Yaoyao hesitated. She definitely couldn’t physically reprimand the cub, but where would she put her face if she let it go without teaching it a lesson? Lu Yaoyao thought for a moment and finally said, “I need to give it a good lecture. As a bamboo beast, it shouldn’t be trying to gain without effort, deceiving others without doing any work—it’s just not right…” Lu Yaoyao continued earnestly with a straight face.
Chao Muxue and the others: “…” Could a small spirit beast even understand her words?
Regardless of whether it understood or not, Lu Yaoyao eloquently delivered a lengthy speech, concluding with, “…from now on, you should reform and become a good bamboo beast, understand?”
The little bamboo beast blinked its eyes innocently, “Cheep—”
Satisfied with the response, Lu Yaoyao nodded seriously, “You are a smart cub.” Then, turning to her friends, she declared, “The little bamboo beast has admitted its mistake. Let’s consider this matter settled. I will consider those bamboo shoots as a gift from me.”
Chao Muxue and the others: “…” Well, as long as Yaoyao’s happy!
Lu Yaoyao was satisfied with her handling of the situation. Although the Wind-Thunder Bamboo Forest was vast, taking out a hundred bamboo shoots would, in some way, reduce the little bamboo beast’s chances of finding food, so sharing a portion of their harvest was no big deal.
With a flick of Lu Yaoyao’s fingers, the silken ribbon binding the little bamboo beast loosened and flew back into her hand. When the bamboo beast’s forelimbs touched the ground, it looked up at the two-legged creatures, chirped weakly, and then turned and dashed away with unexpected speed, disappearing in an instant.
Lu Yaoyao and the others watched it disappear from sight, having no intention of pursuing.
After a moment, Wen Zixing took the chance to grab Lu Yaoyao’s hand and rub it, then cheerfully said, “Let’s continue digging.”
Chao Muxue and Du Qianshan also took the opportunity to rub some of Lu Yaoyao’s luck onto themselves before splitting up. They were determined to find something, a final defiance of their bad luck!
Lu Yaoyao’s mood was indescribable. She looked at her hands — she had never given it much thought before, but after some reflection, it seemed she had always been exceptionally lucky since she was a child.
She couldn’t figure out why — perhaps she was reincarnated carrying a koi-like fortune? Koi fish is believed to bring fortune, so exceptionally lucky people are often said to have the disposition of a koi.
Continuing her quest for bamboo shoots, Lu Yaoyao ventured deeper into the forest. She was quite curious about the Wind-Thunder Bamboo Forest; the deeper she went, the more powerful the lightning became, and the shorter the effectiveness of the lightning avoidance talismans. However, Lu Yaoyao wasn’t afraid; she was carrying many talismans, and she had even been struck by thunders during the Golden Core tribulation. She recalled feeling no pain at all and even found the whole process soothing, similar to a relaxing massage.
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I appreciate the bamboo beast POV lolol