CH 130

Chapter 130 – Concert

The mushroom forest had no end, no matter how much they looked. Shi Yuan was busy exploring the porous structure of the mushrooms, moving around and studying them. Lu Tinghan, on the other hand, held a detection device to record their route and pollution levels. The infection characteristic of Abyss No.1 was “severe toxic contamination,” with mushrooms spewing poisonous mist on a large scale every 15 minutes, obscuring the sky and creating waves of dark green or lead-gray color that surged through the heavens and the earth. Fortunately, his filters were sufficient to handle it.

However, it wasn’t entirely devoid of light here. Many mushrooms and vines emitted a faint glow, swaying gently in the wind. Fireflies danced, illuminating their eyes.

Shi Yuan reached out his hand towards them, and two fireflies folded their wings and landed on the back of his hand. “Look!” he exclaimed in excitement, turning to Lu Tinghan.

“Hmm,” Lu Tinghan smiled and replied, “I see.”

“Can I…” Shi Yuan began to ask.

“No, you can’t keep them,” Lu Tinghan quickly interrupted.

“Oh,” Shi Yuan replied, feeling a bit disappointed. He leaned closer to look at the fireflies and then gently waved his hand, allowing them to fly back into the mushroom forest. They continued walking forward like that.

The pollution levels continued to fluctuate, and they recorded them one by one. As usual, they needed to find the most stable spot to set up the fixed-point detection device for long-term data collection. The mushroom forest possessed a surreal and magnificent beauty, but due to the fluctuating toxic mist, it was challenging to find a suitable location.

Unconsciously, they walked deeper into the forest. “I found something,” Shi Yuan suddenly said. “The red mushrooms have a particularly high pitch, like whistles, while the brown mushrooms produce much deeper tones.”

Lu Tinghan was busy recording data and hadn’t noticed this. He said, “It might be related to their species—the holes corroded by the red mushrooms are particularly small.”

“Oh,” Shi Yuan said. “I’ll observe the others.”

He listened carefully, just like the first time he heard an orchestra playing at the Garcia Grand Theater, fully absorbed in the experience. He became so engrossed in listening that he often forgot to watch his step, almost stumbling. Lu Tinghan let him hold onto his clothes to prevent any accidents.

So, Lu Tinghan walked ahead with the instrument while Shi Yuan followed behind, grabbing onto his coat and listening attentively, looking around. Each time a strong wind blew, causing the mist to surge and producing a variety of high and low tones, the atmosphere turned eerie and mysterious, yet vibrant with life.

Shi Yuan said, “The white mushrooms don’t make much sound.”

“Hmm,” Lu Tinghan responded.

Shi Yuan listened for a while longer and said, “Actually, they do make some sound, but it’s very soft.”

“Hmm,” Lu Tinghan acknowledged.

“Um… the purple mushrooms are neither high nor low; they’re like the middle section,” Shi Yuan continued.

Lu Tinghan asked, “You know about music too?”

“I’ve heard several performances at the theater before,” Shi Yuan continued listening. “But how can the deep blue mushrooms produce bell-like sounds?”

Shi Yuan soon found the answer. Lu Tinghan led him closer to a blue mushroom. It was three to four meters tall, and thick vines hung from its cap.

“Look, Shi Yuan,” Lu Tinghan said, “there are many fruits on the vines.”

He used his military knife to gently push aside the vines, revealing dark-colored fruits on top, each the size of a soybean. They were difficult to notice. The fruit had a hard outer shell and a hollow structure, creating a crisp ringing sound when they collided with each other in the wind.

Lu Tinghan explained, “It’s not the mushrooms making the sound; it’s the vines.”

“I see!” Shi Yuan’s eyes lit up. “That’s fascinating.”

He walked around the blue mushroom, and at its base, he found a particularly small one, about the size of a palm, with delicate vines covering it. His tail tip unconsciously wagged as he asked Lu Tinghan, “Can I take it with me?”

“As long as you don’t play with it while I’m trying to sleep,” Lu Tinghan rubbed his head.

Shi Yuan carefully picked up the small blue mushroom, giving it a gentle shake. It made a tinkling sound. It was a novel toy and an excellent instrument. He used his tail tip to curl around the mushroom, shaking it and creating a melody of bell-like sound as they continued forward.

As they ventured deeper into the mushroom forest, they encountered a greater variety of mushroom species. Shi Yuan said, “These fluorescent green mushrooms only produce a ‘whooshing’ sound.”

“Hmm,” Lu Tinghan responded.

“The yellow spotted mushrooms go ‘Sha sha sha!’ and the yellow striped mushrooms go ‘Xiuxiu! Xiuxiu!’”

Lu Tinghan responded, “Hmm.”

“The pink mushrooms go—Ah?!’,” Shi Yuan said.

Lu Tinghan replied, “What? I haven’t heard that kind of sound before. How can mushrooms make a sound?”

“No,” Shi Yuan said, “I… stepped into a ditch.”

It turned out that it wasn’t the sound of mushrooms but Shi Yuan’s voice. Lu Tinghan turned around, and Shi Yuan had stepped into a soft patch of grass, splashing mud and wetting his pants, sticking damply to his legs.

If he hadn’t turned around, Lu Tinghan wouldn’t have known that Shi Yuan had collected many mushrooms. They were all palm-sized, with various colors. Shi Yuan held them in his arms, even wrapping several of them around his tail.

Shi Yuan was hugging the mushrooms and was unable to bend down. Lu Tinghan squatted down and patiently rolled up Shi Yuan’s pants. He asked, “What sound does the pink mushroom make?”

Shi Yuan told him, “I can’t imitate it. It’s a very soft, rustling friction sound.”

With Shi Yuan’s pants neatly rolled up, Lu Tinghan stood up and flicked Shi Yuan’s forehead with his hand, saying, “I told you to watch your step while walking. If you fall into a ditch and don’t notice it, you’ll truly be a lost abyss.”

Shi Yuan exclaimed, “Ah!”

He couldn’t free his hands to cover his forehead, so Lu Tinghan flicked him three times in a row. Shi Yuan could only protest with his eyes.

As they continued walking, Shi Yuan collected more and more mushrooms. He picked one of each variety, and when the wind blew, his tail gently swayed, creating a melody of fluctuating tones.

After half an hour, the dense toxic mist was dispersed by the wind, and they saw mountains ahead.

Lu Tinghan compared the detection device readings and said, “The pollution levels are relatively low here. The altitude is higher, and the toxic mist may be relatively thin. We might be able to set up a fixed-point detection device.”

Shi Yuan looked up and gazed at the mountains. “Shall we go up there?” he asked.

“Let’s give it a try,” Lu Tinghan replied.

There were no trees on the mountains, only covered with mushroom forests.

Surprisingly, the terrain was flat and easy to climb. As they walked and stopped, Shi Yuan discovered a new type of mushroom. They were completely black, with caps the size of an adult man’s palm.

The black mushrooms had no holes, and their caps were particularly hard. Shi Yuan tapped them with his finger bones, creating a dull and powerful “thud” sound, like a drum.

He collected one large and one small black mushroom, creating high and low tones, and held them in his arms.

As they climbed higher, their view became clearer. Shi Yuan pulled Lu Tinghan’s hand and climbed over a strange rock. Looking back, the towering mushrooms were visible all around. Before he could examine them closely, a few drops of cold rain fell on his cheeks.

“It’s raining,” Lu Tinghan said.

At the bottom of the abyss was a small world with changing weather. Fortunately, most of the time, the rain was mild and didn’t require additional protective measures.

But this rain was strange. To be precise, it was only raindrops, and the wind that had been blowing stopped.

With the wind gone, the familiar sound of wind-eroded mushrooms ceased, leaving only the sound of rain, and the mushroom concert came to an abrupt end, feeling strangely eerie. Fireflies were nowhere to be seen, and the mushroom forest emitted a large amount of toxic mist. This time, without the wind to blow it away, the mist absorbed the moisture, sinking heavily and accumulating on the ground, creating a completely different scene.

Shi Yuan stared intently, studying it for a while, until Lu Tinghan rubbed his head and said, “Let’s keep going.”

“Okay,” Shi Yuan agreed.

Climbing the mountain in the rain made the surroundings slippery. After an hour and a half, they neared the mountaintop.

There was a small cave nearby, not too deep, providing enough space for the two of them.

Lu Tinghan entered the cave to check the contamination levels and said, “We can place the fixed-point detection device here.”

Lu Tinghan set up the equipment, and Shi Yuan sat in front of the cave entrance to rest.

Raindrops fell from above, dripping along the rock walls, thoroughly wetting the ground and forming small puddles. Below the mountain, the colorful mist churned and surged, layer upon layer, resembling a thick sea of ink.

Shi Yuan watched intently, holding his beloved mushrooms in his arms, slowly drifting off to sleep.

— Until he heard a faint “sha sha” sound.

It was the sound produced by the yellow-spotted mushrooms.

But there was no wind here, right?

Shi Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and saw the yellow mushroom in his arms trembling slightly. Not only the yellow mushroom, but all the other mushrooms were also swaying imperceptibly.

There was wind.

The wind was ethereal, almost like an illusion. He and Lu Tinghan couldn’t perceive it, but the mushrooms could. Perhaps they were destined to play together with the wind.

Shi Yuan exclaimed, “Wow!”

He held up several mushrooms, making the sound more pronounced as their sounds intertwined.

So Shi Yuan got busy as well. He borrowed Lu Tinghan’s military knife and cut a few vines at the entrance of the cave. He wrapped the mushrooms around them.

“What are you doing?” Lu Tinghan asked, looking up from his instrument tinkering.

“I’m organizing a concert,” Shi Yuan replied.

Shi Yuan always had imaginative ideas, and Lu Tinghan was used to it. He continued his work, focused.

Shi Yuan had collected too many mushrooms along the way, enough to completely cover three vines. He tiptoed and tied the ends of the vines at the top of the cave entrance, allowing the mushrooms to hang in the air, like unique little ornaments.

Unfortunately, the wind stopped again.

Shi Yuan held two black mushrooms in his arms and waited for a long, long time until he fell asleep.

He was awakened by Lu Tinghan.

Opening his eyes, Shi Yuan found Lu Tinghan sitting beside him, embracing his shoulders and saying, “Shi Yuan, the wind is here.”

Shi Yuan rubbed his eyes, yawned, and slowly opened his eyes.

The vines above them swayed, and the clear sound of bells chimed first, followed by sharp ‘xiuxiu’ sounds, faint rubbing sounds, and gentle ‘sha sha sha’ sounds… The mushroom forest at the foot of the mountain fell silent, while a secret concert took place inside the mountain cave, playing solely for the two of them. Various sounds mingled in the rain, softly singing and whispering, lighter and more harmonious, composing a wonderful melody.

“It sounds so beautiful,” Shi Yuan said.

“Yeah,” Lu Tinghan agreed.

“Thud!” Shi Yuan lightly tapped the umbrella-shaped cap of a black mushroom.

“Do it a few more times,” Lu Tinghan laughed beside his ear, his voice deep. “Let me see your musical talent.”

Shi Yuan began to tap randomly, with the two black mushrooms producing different tones—one high and one dull. Unlike Lu Tinghan, who was tone-deaf, Shi Yuan was a little monster who had attended concerts before, and he played with a sense of rhythm.

“Thud, thud! Thud, thud, thud—thud, thud! Thud!”

“Thud, thud, thud, thud! Thud—thud—”

This unique concert was infused with new vitality. The mushrooms trembled on the vines, the wind became a fluctuating ocean, and even when weak, it whispered through the forest.

Shi Yuan quickly grew tired of tapping and leaned against Lu Tinghan’s shoulder, letting out a big yawn.

“If you’re tired, sleep a bit more,” Lu Tinghan reached out and smoothed Shi Yuan’s tousled black hair.

“Okay—I’ll just doze off for a bit,” Shi Yuan yawned again, closed his eyes, and mumbled, “Just for a little while—”

He didn’t sleep too deeply, and in a half-dream state, he could still hear the song of the mushrooms.

The instruments were already set up, and they would leave once the rain stopped.

When would the rain stop?

Nobody knew, maybe in ten minutes, or perhaps a hundred years. But that didn’t matter anymore. Shi Yuan nestled in Lu Tinghan’s embrace, his tail wrapped around him.

In their first year at the bottom of the abyss, they listened to a secret concert in the sheltering cave, with dreams filled with mountain winds and enchanting mist.