CH 9

TL: Moonlit

Facing the rising sun, Shu Shuishui drove his car toward the west. Sitting in the driver’s seat, he held the steering wheel with one hand and hummed the song “Seaweed, Seaweed, Seaweed~” happily. He enjoyed the cheerful journey and didn’t mind the lack of air conditioning in his toy car, as the temperature difference in the desert was not a problem for him.

Unbeknownst to Shu Shuishui, there was a small hidden detector following him from behind. As he drove westward, there were also many vehicles approaching the Imperial City from the west. Shu Shuishui continued his journey, unaware of the presence of the hidden detector.

Long drives were always dull, especially in the monotonous yellow sand where everything seemed the same except for the varying heights of sand dunes. However, Shu Shuishui was accustomed to this solitude and enjoyed traveling, so his mood remained good.

With a cheerful mood, Shu Shuishui kept humming his favorite seaweed dance.

“Like seaweed, seaweed, seaweed, swaying with the waves, seaweed, seaweed, seaweed, seaweed…”

Shu Shuishui believed that he wasn’t a fickle dormouse, so he could sing the same song all morning. However, this led to Gu Langgu, who had been secretly observing him, getting brainwashed by the seaweed song for the whole morning. It left him feeling dazed.

Gu Langgu thought that he probably wouldn’t want to see seaweed for the rest of his life, but what could he do when the chaotic mouse seemed to love it?

Gu Langgu was also driving a car, rushing toward Shu Shuishui’s direction. On the screen, the toy car driven by the little mouse was agilely climbing hills, creating a comical scene. Gu Langgu thought that even the toy car driven by the little mouse looked incredibly cute.

Luckily, Gu Langgu’s hurried departure went unnoticed by others, so nobody knew what he was thinking. Otherwise, they would definitely think that something was wrong with Gu Langgu.

When the sun reached its zenith, the temperature became unbearable for travel. Even with explosion-proof tires, the wheels couldn’t withstand the heat. Moreover, there was no air conditioning in the small car, and Shu Shuishui had already taken off his hat, gloves, and scarf but still felt extremely hot.

In the end, Shu Shuishui took out a spirit stone from his spiritual and set up a Frost Formation. Similar to the Dew Formation, the Frost Formation created even lower temperatures. Shu Shuishui intentionally used fewer spirit stones because he didn’t actually want frost to form; he just wanted to cool down.

With the formation in place, the scorching heat around him instantly dissipated. Shu Shuishui breathed a sigh of relief and took out a regular-sized sunshade from his spiritual space, placing it on the ground to provide shade for his car and the formation.

To avoid wasting the spirit stones, Shu Shuishui decided to make chilled mung bean soup since he had the Frost Formation. He got out of the car, set up a pot, and started boiling water. While waiting for the water to boil, he picked up mung beans and put them in an empty bamboo tube for rinsing. “One, two, three, four…”

Yes, Shu Shuishui counted a hundred mung beans meticulously because that’s how he measured them. The dormouse with OCD put the mung beans in the bamboo tube, added water, and shook it for a while before draining the water. After one rinse, the mung beans were clean.

Since the mung beans were not dried, Shu Shuishui skipped the soaking process and boiled them directly in the hot water. After boiling, he changed the water to cool them, removed the shells, and continued cooking the remaining mung beans over low heat.

With the Frost Formation in place, Shu Shuishui didn’t find it unbearable to sit by the fire. The little dormouse shook its head and imagined the scene of enjoying the mung bean soup while adding firewood.

After cooking for an hour, the unique fragrance of the mung beans filled the air. Shu Shuishui quickly extinguished the fire and let the pot cool down. After it cooled, he eagerly poured the mung bean soup into two smaller bamboo tubes.

He placed one of the bamboo tubes in the area with the most concentrated spiritual energy of the Dew Formation. Soon, water droplets appeared on the surface of the bamboo tube, gradually forming a thin layer of white frost.

Shu Shuishui put the other bamboo tube into his spiritual space. Fortunately, time didn’t pass inside the spirit mansion, and no energy was transferred. Whatever went in remained the same when taken out. So, Shu Shuishui planned to eat the second batch of mung bean soup tomorrow.

After tidying up the tools he had just used, Shu Shuishui took out a lounge chair, adjusted the sunshade, and positioned the chair to bask in the sun. He lay on the small chair, put on mini sunglasses, drank the cool mung bean soup, and enjoyed the sunshine.

Of course, this behavior was cheating. Without the Frost Formation, even with chilled mung bean soup, Shu Shuishui would likely melt in the heat. However, from a distance, it looked extremely comfortable.

He was a dormouse who could enjoy life anytime, anywhere. Regardless of the place or the world, he never felt tired because every place was beautiful.

After finishing the mung bean soup and sunbathing, the desert temperature remained high, making it unsuitable for immediate departure. With nothing else to do, Shu Shuishui took out a small notebook and drew himself a driver’s license, as he had heard from Shu Bao that driving without a license was not allowed.

He neatly wrote “Car Vehicle Driver’s License” and pondered for a moment, then crossed out the word “Car” and replaced it with “Toy.” On the back of the paper, following his memory, he wrote his name as Shu Shuishui, his gender as male, and his home address as a grove of oak trees in a certain primitive forest. However, when it came to age, he got stuck. After thinking for a while, he finally wrote two words: “unknown.”

Shu Shuishui had never seen what a real driver’s license looked like, but he thought the one he made was quite detailed. It seemed like he was only missing a one-inch photo. Shu Shuishui quickly rummaged through his spiritual space, recalling that Shu Bao had actually taken some photos of him before and developed many of them.

In the end, among a stack of photos, Shu Shuishui selected the most satisfactory one and neatly pasted it on the license. Now it was perfect and complete. After all the fuss, another hour had passed, and the desert was still slightly hot, but it had cooled down compared to noon.

Holding the freshly made driver’s license, Shu Shuishui expertly extinguished the bonfire, packed up the camp, and climbed back into the car. He controlled it using a remote control instead of driving himself as dusk arrived. The delicious sight of the setting sun tempted travelers like a roasted sweet potato. Shu Shuishui told himself not to be fooled, but he still decided that he would definitely eat a roasted sweet potato tonight.

Thinking about it made him burp.

After driving for another three hours, Shu Shuishui finally decided to stop and set up camp as the temperature outside had dropped significantly. He quickly set up the tent, took out his long-lost down sleeping bag, lit a bonfire, and started roasting sweet potatoes.

It took another hour before he could eat the roasted sweet potatoes, but Shu Shuishui, a slow-paced dormouse by nature, couldn’t rush it. After all, a creature that spent most of its time sleeping throughout the year couldn’t possibly be impatient. Shu Shuishui believed that life as a dormouse was long and should be enjoyed, and the process of roasting sweet potatoes was also a form of enjoyment.

The unhurried little dormouse finally entered the tent with a warm roasted sweet potato in hand. He enjoyed it bite by bite, breaking open the sweet potato to reveal its orange-red interior, emitting hot steam and a sweet aroma.

With a mouthful, Shu Shuishui was instantly filled with the fragrant taste. Although the skin of the roasted sweet potato was slightly charred, the flavor inside was even richer. Shu Shuishui had never been disappointed by the delicious sweet potatoes grown using the formation.

With a warm belly from the roasted sweet potato, Shu Shuishui felt that the outside cold wasn’t much of a concern, especially after freshening up. He turned off the solar-powered lamp, crawled into his down sleeping bag, and felt the warmth enveloping him. Shu Shuishui let out a tired yawn and halfway through, fell into a deep sleep.

At the same time, several groups of people were shivering in the desert, enduring the cold, complaining about their harsh living conditions, and adding firewood to the bonfire. Only Gu Langgu was tirelessly continuing his journey.

The next day, the journey continued to be long, and compared to Shu Shuishui, others didn’t have such a smooth time. The desert often hid quicksands, and while Shu Shuishui and his toy car could easily pass, it wasn’t necessarily the case for humans. Unlucky ones might not even have a chance to react before getting trapped.

On the third day, as usual, Shu Shuishui woke up early and continued his journey. To motivate himself, he even performed a dance routine of seaweed dance.

Just as Gu Langgu had dozed off for a while, he was startled awake by the mention of seaweed. Looking at the energetic jumble of characters on the screen, Gu Langgu once again confirmed that the little pet was a mouse. It possessed the typical tenacity and vitality of a mouse, but he couldn’t understand why a mouse would be so fond of seaweed.

After finishing the seaweed dance, Shu Shuishui felt that it was another beautiful day. He got into the car, started it, and set off!

The beautiful day passed as he continued his journey, and once again, he welcomed the sweet orange-red sunset.

Today, Shu Shuishui parked early. At this time, he had already roasted the sweet potatoes to perfection. He suddenly wanted to eat the roasted sweet potatoes while enjoying the orange-red sun.

So, without setting up the tent, he immediately started roasting the sweet potatoes. After eating roasted sweet potatoes for three consecutive days, Shu Shuishui thought that if tomorrow’s sun wasn’t as red, he could consider eating roasted potatoes.

Using branches, he flipped the sweet potatoes over. Suddenly, Shu Shuishui felt the need to use the restroom, so he lifted his little head and looked around, choosing a spot behind a small sand dune.

In the vast desert, Shu Shuishui didn’t have to worry about anyone peeking at him, so he happily scurried off to relieve himself.

But just as Shu Shuishui finished using the restroom and was about to return, he heard human voices. It was accompanied by the sound of a car engine, and the source of the sound was exactly where he had roasted the sweet potatoes.

Shu Shuishui quietly climbed up the sand dune and saw the scene in front of him. There were two off-road vehicles with a total of seven people. It seemed that their direction coincidentally collided with his own path. Both vehicles had stopped, clearly noticing the toy car parked below and the burning bonfire.

One of the men from the vehicles stepped out and kicked the toy car with his foot to test it. After finding nothing unusual, he kicked it away, causing the toy car to roll far away. “Damn, who set up a toy car here? It scared me.”

Another person next to him tugged at the man who kicked the car and pointed in the direction the toy car came from. “There are tire tracks here. Which lunatic is playing with a toy car in the desert?”

Shu Shuishui pouted behind the sand dune, feeling very distressed about his little car. However, he didn’t dare to rush over recklessly. After all, he was just a dormouse—weak, helpless, and pitiful. How could he defeat seven strong men?

“The tire tracks don’t make sense.” One of the men holding binoculars followed the tire tracks of the toy car. “The tracks are too far away, far beyond the range of a remote control. But around the tire tracks, there’s no sign of other human activity.”

“It smells so good. I can smell the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes.” The seven people didn’t seem very disciplined, each doing their own thing. One of them noticed the roasted sweet potatoes near the bonfire, immediately used a branch to dig it out, and eagerly picked it up with his hands. Although he tossed it back and forth a few times due to the heat, he still managed to open the roasted sweet potato.

The aroma of the roasted sweet potatoes filled the air, and the person with the binoculars turned his gaze in that direction. Frowning, he said, “Don’t move. There must be someone nearby!”

The others became alert and looked around, but they hadn’t seen anyone or any vehicles on their way here, except for the toy car.

“What’s this?” One person pointed at the trail of small footprints left by Shu Shuishui and asked.

In an instant, everyone’s gaze followed the footprints, and Shu Shuishui immediately shrunk his head, not daring to make any sudden movements.

“I-I think I saw a pair of furry ears.”

“I think I saw it too, hiding behind the sand dune.”

“What kind of animal is it? It’s strange. How can any living creature survive in this environment?”

…

Accompanied by the clamor of discussions, Shu Shuishui heard the footsteps getting closer. Although this group of seven people didn’t seem like a powerful team, lacking organization and proper training, they were still seven tall individuals.

Suddenly, Shu Shuishui remembered the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but unfortunately, he wasn’t white, and the seven men weren’t dwarfs. He didn’t care about the car or the sweet potatoes anymore. He immediately turned and ran.

However, despite their lack of organization, the seven people were armed and caught Shu Shuishui in a swiftly shot net. One person approached triumphantly, picking up the net. “Looks like tonight we’ll have more than just roasted sweet potatoes. We’ll have roasted meat.”

Author’s note:

Shu Shuishui seriously reasoned, “For the sake of earthy field mice, they really don’t taste good.”

Gu Langgu on the path to saving the mouse, “Ah Shui, wait for me.”

Shu Shuishui earnestly seeks a chance to survive, “I can dance and sing. Can I sing the seaweed dance for you?”

Gu Langgu, “I don’t think we need to wait. Singing might be fatal.”