CH 2

TL: Moonlit

After taking a bath by lying on the warm stones to sunbathe for a while, the fur on the back dried up from the steam. Rolling over, the dormouse continued to sunbathe its belly, lazily dozing off. Before long, it cuddled itself and fell asleep, cuddling its fluffy tail.

In reality, dormice are nocturnal animals, but after cultivation, Shu Shuishui was no longer bound by the habits of a regular dormouse. He could choose not to sleep if he didn’t want to. However, the problem was that he wanted to sleep!

Shu Shuishui slept until the sun went down, with both little paws reaching his cheeks and his tail covering his face. The temperature in the mountains and forests has always changed with the sun, becoming particularly cool at night.

The change in temperature made Shu Shuishui open his eyes. He glanced at the nearby nest, pondered for a few seconds, and decided against going back. It would be a waste of time to climb back up, so he treated it as camping for the night and closed his eyes to continue sleeping.

As for the livestock and such, they were not so important when it came to sleeping. From this, one could see that there was a reason why the dormouse could starve itself to death.

Shu Shuishui resided on a certain range protected by formations. After all, Shu Shuishui was afraid of being eaten by something while sleeping. After cultivation, he started paying extra attention to his safety.

The next day at noon, Shu Shuishui lazily woke up, stretching his soft little body and yawning widely. Then, he suddenly jumped up from the stone. He made a habitual inspection around but didn’t find any danger. Basking in the sunlight, he stretched his muscles and performed a set of mouse-like radio calisthenics1a form of calisthenics exercise that is performed while listening to instructions broadcasted on the radio or with music. He even spontaneously felt like dancing a seaweed dance on the stone.

Unfortunately, there was no accompanying music. Shu Shuishui had no interest in the various tools invented by humans, which was completely opposite to Shu Bao. Shu Bao hardly ever separated from his phone or computer during his leisure time.

Shu Bao even considered teaching Shu Shuishui his top-notch hacking skills, but when Shu Shuishui used the phone as a nest and slept on it, or used it as a fitness mat and danced and practiced yoga on it, Shu Bao gave up on that plan.

Dancing and yoga were a few activities that Shu Shuishui enjoyed apart from sleeping. After dancing, Shu Shuishui felt that today was another beautiful day.

He ran to the bluestone to flip the sun-dried rice and took a stroll around his one-third acre of land. He felt that the corn should be ready to eat. Shu Shuishui only liked to eat tender corn, whether boiled or roasted, so corn rarely survived until it fully ripened.

Climbing up the cornstalks, he sniffed the corn to confirm that it was ready for harvest. Then the busy little dormouse began to peel the corn. Soon enough, the little dormouse carried a “huge” corn cob, swaying as it climbed down and placed the corn into an iron pot, then diligently went out to gather firewood.

Human cutlery is one of Shu Shuishui’s favorite things, so once he enters human society, he always loves to run into the kitchen. However, those who find it cute and cover their faces and scream when they see it on ordinary days, become particularly fierce in the kitchen. The face-blind mouse that can’t distinguish human faces feels that humans are truly fickle creatures.

With a bundle of firewood strapped to his back, Shu Shuishui returned to his dwelling and started boiling the corn. In the meantime, he had to constantly go and gather firewood. But as the fragrant scent of corn filled the air, Shu Shuishui didn’t find it bothersome at all.

After an hour of bustling about, the corn was finally cooked. Shu Shuishui fulfilled his wish and enjoyed the tender corn. The whole mouse emitted a sweet aroma, and his squinted eyes perfectly expressed the feeling of contentment.

After gnawing on a corn cob, Shu Shuishui felt that it was time for his daily food coma. He diligently licked his paws and fur, preparing for a nap.

Before going to sleep, it seemed like a dessert after the meal was necessary. So, he rummaged through his cheek pouch and found a few beans, and happily gnawed on them. In no time, the post-meal dessert was also finished, and Shu Shuishui finally felt at ease. With a soft rustle, he returned to his warm little nest, curled up into a ball, and prepared to sleep for half a month.

Life should be filled with a sense of ritual, such as sleeping for half a month to comfort the corn, that was just eaten, before allowing the corn to meet its demise.

So, assuming a comfortable position, Shu Shuishui peacefully closed his eyes.

A few minutes later, Shu Shuishui rolled over.

A few minutes later, Shu Shuishui stroked his whiskers.

A few minutes later, Shu Shuishui kicked his legs.

Half an hour later, Shu Shuishui turned over and sat up from his nest. He looked dazed for a moment, only then realizing that he couldn’t fall asleep!

The two words “insomnia” heavily struck Shu Shuishui’s head. He, who used to fall asleep instantly, felt a bit panicked.

Refusing to give up, he curled back into a ball and lay in the nest again. But after a while, he turned over and sat up once more. He repeated this back and forth for two hours, but Shu Shuishui still couldn’t fall asleep.

Shu Shuishui became restless and started gnawing on the table in the little wooden house. Crunch, crunch, crunch, one table was chewed up, followed by two chairs. Shu Shuishui finally stopped damaging the furniture and looked at his nest with a pitiful expression.

Over the next half month, Shu Shuishui tried various methods to fall asleep. He even tried the insomnia remedies used by humans, digging them out from the corners of his mind and attempting each one, but without exception, they all failed.

The once lively dormouse felt that life had lost its meaning. He even lost interest in tending to his small rice paddy and instead sat on a little stone in front of the door, sighing. During this time, Shu Shuishui earnestly reflected on the cause and finally realized that he might have accidentally eaten a coffee bean.

Shu Shuishui didn’t like coffee, but Shu Bao loved it! And it was the freshly ground kind. So Shu Bao carried a large number of coffee beans in his space, with various improved varieties and different flavors.

Perhaps in an unguarded moment, a coffee bean got mixed up with the beans that Shu Shuishui was collecting, and it had a very mild taste. At least Shu Shuishui didn’t notice while eating it, but its effects were potent, and Shu Shuishui had been suffering from insomnia for half a month.

Just when Shu Shuishui was feeling down as if he had a terminal illness, he let out a yawn.

In almost an instant, the little mouse ball sitting on the stone dashed into his nest, burying himself inside. He rubbed his cheeks against the soft nest and slowly relaxed, filling the nest completely.

The next moment, the snoring sound of Shu Shuishui echoed from the nest.

He slept deeply, unaware that what he had eaten wasn’t a coffee bean after all, but a seed from the Nine Mirror Clearwood, accidentally dropped by Shu Bao. Due to the current era’s lack of spiritual power, the Nine Mirror Clearwood couldn’t grow. It must have gotten mixed in during the sorting process and was unwittingly consumed by Shu Shuishui as a post-meal treat.

In ancient times, the Nine Mirror Clearwood was a divine-level immortal tree. Even as a seed, it contained a vast amount of spiritual power. Shu Shuishui couldn’t absorb such power in a short time, and the abundant spiritual energy prevented him from finding rest. Hence, he suffered from insomnia for half a month. Considering that Shu Shuishui’s body hadn’t experienced any major problems during this time, it was considered fortunate. As Shu Bao said, Shu Shuishui’s luck was actually quite good, not exceptionally outstanding, but also without major ups and downs.

The world outside the nest seemed to change day by day. The white snow covered it, melted away, covered it again, and repeated this cycle countless times.

Suddenly, a faint cracking sound echoed above Shu Shuishui’s nest. Thin cracks appeared out of nowhere, growing larger and eventually forming a vortex-shaped black hole. Shu Shuishui, still snoring contentedly, was carried away with a smile. Soon, the spatial rift vanished without a trace, but Shu Shuishui and his nest were nowhere to be found.

Although the Nine Mirror Clearwood died somewhat unjustly, it successfully purified Shu Shuishui’s body. During his decades-long slumber, it transformed his physique and protected him with spiritual energy amidst the turbulent flow of time and space, providing the oxygen and energy necessary for Shu Shuishui’s survival, and preventing him from turning into ashes.

Year 7373 of the Star Era, Cang Star System, Cang Zhan Star.

After a satisfying sleep, Shu Shuishui lay on his back in the nest. He hadn’t opened his eyes yet and stretched his four little paws and elongated his body, letting out a lazy yawn. Only then did he open his eyes and gaze blankly at the hazy sky. Where was the roof? Could it be that someone had taken it while he was sleeping?

Shu Shuishui jolted, standing up from the nest. He looked around and instantly froze.

All he saw were ruins and damaged skyscrapers scattered everywhere. Some had already collapsed, leaning precariously against adjacent buildings, on the verge of toppling over.

Shu Shuishui knew that this was a human city, but it was different from the war-torn country they had visited with Shu Bao. There, the atmosphere was filled with the same flames of war, leaving devastation in its wake. However, the scene here had its differences. It was quiet as if forgotten by time. The gaps in the buildings had been eroded by wind and sand, giving them a smooth appearance. Dust accumulated in the sheltered corners, as if they hadn’t been visited by living beings for a long time.

Shu Shuishui lifted his nest and held it above his head, taking small steps towards a higher place on his two short legs. A trail of small footprints was left on the yellow sand, soon to be washed away by the wind and sand.

Carrying the nest, Shu Shuishui felt like he had walked a long way before reaching the highest point of the nearest collapsed building. Standing on tiptoe, although this didn’t significantly widen his field of view, Shu Shuishui instinctively wanted to see further.

Unfortunately, as far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but the desolate city and an endless sea of sand.

It was evident that this place had once been a bustling city, with a vast area covered by fragmented, wide streets, towering buildings, and vehicles covered in dust, crowded together. It seemed that all the prosperity had abruptly come to a halt at some point, gradually being buried under the yellow sand.

Shu Shuishui turned around on tiptoe but found no trace of green. However, he noticed a yellow-black line rapidly approaching the horizon. Shu Shuishui quickly realized it was a desert storm.

Swiftly surveying the surroundings, Shu Shuishui sought a place to take shelter. With numerous buildings available, finding a hiding spot wasn’t difficult. Shu Shuishui leaped down with his nest, sliding along a tilted stone pillar. Just before landing, he lightly jumped up, agilely springing off the ground. Like a skipping stone on the water’s surface, the little ball left a few small pits in the sand and leaped a considerable distance away, light and swift.

Author’s note:

Shu Shuishu (╯▽╰): “The cost of eating corn is too high; I can’t bear it as a little mouse.

I changed Shu Shuishu to Shu Shuishui ^^