Chapter 38

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Time flew by, having passed in the blink of an eye. Without him realizing it, Chu Chen had already spent eight days in the herb garden.

He had either been busy watering and fertilizing the plants, or he had been sensing the spiritual herbs cultivation method when he had been free to compare it with his own cultivation method. His days had been productive.

However, over the past few days, Chu Chen suddenly realized something amiss in the herb field.

Some spiritual herbs in the field had gone missing. The spiritual herbs that he had been watching the day before had been gone the very next day. 

He had been the only one in the herb field, but the spiritual herbs had been disappearing into thin air. If he could not have found the thief, then he would have been blamed regardless of his explanations.

However, after meeting up with Senior Brother Tang, Chu Chen finally found out that quite a few disciples found their spiritual herbs going missing in their respective fields too.

Everyone had their own suspicions and guesses. Some had even claimed that the god of herbs came by and took them as offering.

Chu Chen naturally did not believe those talks about the god of herbs. He felt that it had been the work of a smart thief. He might have been able to hide from others, but not from Chu Chen, whose spiritual consciousness just grew stronger.

He pushed his spiritual consciousness to its limits and scanned the herb field repeatedly. Finally, he noticed a small set of tracks. Although it had been invisible to the naked eye, Chu Chen had been able to detect the Qi tracks left behind by the little creature. 

‘Hmph, how dare you steal from me. I was almost killed because of some spiritual herbs. Since you dared to steal my spiritual herbs, you need to be taught a lesson.’

With that, Chu Chen had quickly set up a trap.

Chu Chen had his own tricks on how to set up a trap. Three years of wandering and his love for meat forced him to come up with a plethora of methods to have hunted small animals for extra food. With time, he eventually became an expert at setting up traps. Even if they had been as cunning as a fox, agile as a rabbit, or strong as a tiger, they would have inevitably turned into a delicious meal once they fell prey to Chu Chen’s traps.

‘Hm, now that I think about it, it’s been quite a few days since I had meat.’ An evil thought flashed across Chu Chen’s mind.

The moon had shone brightly like a silver plate in the sky. Its gentle rays washed over the area, having illuminated the magnificent scene.

A gentle breeze blew by. The moonlight illuminated the side of the tall tree, having left a dense shadow behind it. In the darkness, a shadow had been stealthily blending in with that of a tree’s.

Bang!

Finally, after some time, the empty grounds rang out with a clear shriek. The figure in the darkness smiled and slowly opened his eyes, reflecting a ray of moonlight within it.

“I finally got you.”

He went up to the northern side of the herb field. Across the ground, a small hole appeared in the perfectly flat herb field. The hole was intricately done. Its appearance mimicked the area around it perfectly. However, within it were layers of thorny vines. Trapped in the layers of vines had been a snow white hamster with a tuft of red hair on its forehead struggling to get free.

The vine had been lined with sharp thorns. If one fell in, one would have been tied down securely no matter how strongly they struggled as it would only get tighter.

That trap had never failed.

Chu Chen had a smile on his face as he squatted at the edge of the pit. He looked at the fat, almost ball-shaped hamster and his mouth twitched. “So, you’re the one that has been stealing spiritual herbs for the past few days?”

However, something happened the very next moment that toppled Chu Chen’s worldview, stunning him completely!

“Sob sob sob, it’s my bad. Dear hero, please let me go…I promise not to steal from you again.” The fat white hamster with a tuft of red hair on its forehead stopped struggling the moment it saw Chu Chen. Right when Chu Chen was caught off guard, it actually spoke in a human language and put on a pitiful act, staring at Chu Chen with those pitiful eyes that had been the size of green beans!

‘This hamster can talk…’

Chu Chen felt that it had been extraordinary.

Legend has it that some spiritual beasts had the bloodline of ancient mythical beasts, granting them extraordinary talent. Once they had reached a certain stage of cultivation, they could have refined a mortal bone that allowed them to speak like a human and communicate normally with other humans.

However, such spiritual beasts had been rare. Most of the spiritual beasts only knew simple cultivation methods that could have utilized spiritual energy to temper their body, helping them to have developed stronger bodies and sharper claws.

Nevertheless, these spiritual beasts had still been fundamentally a beast and lacked the intelligence and wisdom of a human, much less speaking and communicating with humans.

The saying of humans having been the peak of existence of all was not without basis. All the spiritual beasts that could speak had incredible origins. If one traced backward, it would most likely be traced to some mythical beast that dominated over a region.

However, although this little hamster looked impressive with its little tuft of red hair on its forehead, he just could not have related it to any ancient mythical beasts’ bloodline. ‘I-i-it can speak?’

Chu Chen was absolutely flabbergasted.

“Little hero. A timid hare dares pull a dead lion by the beard…uhm, I don’t mean to say you’re the hare.”

The little hamster somehow managed to make an awkward expression, “All in all, if you let me go, I’ll get you countless treasures every day.”

“It seems you’ve been captured before,” Chu Chen said thoughtfully.

“How do you know?”

“When you’re caught, you would trick your captor with that and never return, right?”

“No way!” the little hamster laughed guiltily as though his ploy was seen through.

“Why can you speak like a human?”

“Speaking the human tongue is just a simple matter. How is that anything special for someone as special as I?” The hamster rolled its eyes. Suddenly, as though it had just recalled something, it realized that it had not been the time to be arrogant. It then quickly changed its tone to an ingratiating one, “Little hero, why not just let me go?”

“Suuurrreee…” Chu Chen rubbed his temples. “Just wait a moment. There’s too much going on in my mind now. Just what are you?”

“What am I? I’m nothing, no, I have a great background. I’m afraid you will be scared to death if I told you.” The little hamster placed its front paws behind its back. Although the little thing had been tiny and tangled up by thorny vines, it did not stop it from acting like a big shot, shaking its head as it spoke.

“There was the great primal before the heavens, but Daoist Luya was the earliest. When the great chaos was developed, I was the first to appear! I care not for the ruler of heavens, earth, and underworld. King of beasts, ancestors of sea creatures, and god of bugs. I am the supreme beast from the ancient times, the great, magnificent divine beast above all, Huangdu!”

“What? You’re called Huang Dudu1?” The string of unclear words coming from the hamster gave Chu Chen a headache that he could only have vaguely heard those three words, surprising him. “There’s actually such a name?”

“Y-y-you…” Hearing that, the little hamster immediately turned pale and its round body shook violently. Holding onto its forehead with its tiny hand, it almost passed out.

That pair of little beady eyes stared at Chu Chen in disbelief. “My magnificent name that shakes the lands with its mention is actually butchered by you to such an extent! I-i-it’s…so infuriating!”

“Little Huang, what you just said was too complicated. I can’t understand it in such a short time.”

Little Huang…

The little hamster was both surprised and angry. Its round face shook as it glared at Chu Chen. Finally, it had been unable to hold it in any longer and vomited a mouthful of blood.