Chapter 189: Chapter 156: Even More Terrifying
Kuang Biao spoke way too fast!
Furthermore, he was always talking to himself. The Fat Ginseng, clinging to a bamboo stalk, grew so anxious that its stuttering worsened.
"I-I... I, I a-am, a-am, it’s b-because—"
Because of what? It suddenly felt a bit bewildered, too.
In the Fat Ginseng’s memory, it had no consciousness whatsoever while growing in the soil. All it knew was that at a sudden moment, an immense amount of energy surged into its body! That energy was miraculous. It GURGLED into the ginseng until it was completely full. Then, a peculiar sensation welled up in the areas eroded by pollution, as if all the filth was being purged, leaving behind only what would make it better and stronger...
When it woke up again, it saw a human girl lying on her stomach right in front of it.
It didn’t even have time to think; its subconscious reaction was to run.
This "running" took a massive amount of effort. Because the entire ginseng was buried in the earth—and Huai Yu had absolutely no idea about professional ginseng planting techniques like adjusting the root nodes—the little ginseng’s branches and leaves swayed wildly. Its large cluster of fibrous roots strained repeatedly in the soil like a jellyfish, snapping off a huge section of rootlets in the process... Only then did it manage to break free from the soil!
It ran frantically all the way. It hadn’t run far before it sensed that Huai Yu seemed to have woken up. In a panic, it subconsciously dove right back into the ground! When it opened its eyes again, it had somehow popped its head out of the soil behind the house.
It vaguely realized this was its innate earth-tunneling ability, but it didn’t know how far it had tunneled. However, running away was so exhausting and took so much effort! On top of that, it preferred a cool environment with scattered sunlight. Its previous surroundings had been unsheltered weeds, and it would have been scorched as soon as the sun came out.
Therefore, it subconsciously chose the dense bamboo forest in front of it.
Who knew... who could have known... The more the Fat Ginseng thought about it, the more wronged and pathetic it felt. At this moment, it couldn’t help but purse its lips, sniffling and sobbing. Before long, it actually started howling!
Normally, a weeping, tender-looking ginseng that closely resembled a plump radish would easily evoke pity. But who was Kuang Biao?
He was, at most, only six years old. Although when he told Huai Yu his age, he had presumptuously included the two years he spent as a normal plant without any memories, even with those added, he was only eight. Don’t be fooled by his gossipy mouth, prattling on about romance and life philosophy—the years he actually spent conscious were all passed mingling with other trees on the mountain.
At a mere eight years old, he had already suffered the rough treatment of the Rose Corridor, experienced the sinister nature of humans, and endured the torment of unknown species—specifically referring to Big Pup and Second Pup.
Now, with another mutated plant weeping in front of him, Kuang Biao showed no pity. Instead, he instantly became smug.
"Little Stutterer, your mental state is way too fragile!
"So what if your brain isn’t working well? I won’t mock you for it. Why do you have such an inferiority complex?
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
The bamboo tips across the entire forest swayed, clearly displaying a strong sense of superiority.
The Fat Ginseng’s wails—which were still tiny despite using all its strength—paused. After a while, it sobbed, "Y-You, I-I..."
It sputtered for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a complete sentence. "I-I don’t have an inferiority complex!
"I-I-I ran b-because h-humans... humans are too t-terrifying."
Huh? Now it was Kuang Biao’s turn to be stunned. Humans?
The Rose Corridor was right here; what human would dare come near? Besides, with this ginseng’s short little legs and a bunch of incredibly fragile rootlets, it would struggle to even run ten meters, right?
He looked toward the house ahead, where a faint light glowed, seemingly realizing something. A moment later, he laughed again. "Then... do you want to see something even more terrifying?"
The Fat Ginseng looked up blankly. "...Huh?"
The next moment, the bamboo stalk in front of it suddenly emitted a fluorescent green glow from its entire body, casting a vibrant green light over the surroundings. Right in front of the Fat Ginseng stood two bizarre flat-beaked monsters with long legs, plump bodies, and a layer of fine, dense spikes. Seeing the trembling leaves on its head, they let out sounds of pleasant surprise and curiosity.
"Ah, ah, ah..."
Then, with a poke of their flat beaks, the Fat Ginseng felt a chill on its forehead and saw two chubby red berries fall onto the dead leaves in front of it. Illuminated by the same fluorescent green light, they looked both odd and pitiful.
Realizing what had happened a beat too late, the Fat Ginseng’s side rootlets suddenly reached up to touch the tall stem on its head.
"M-My... m-my... my b-berries!"
At this moment, fear perhaps stimulated its potential. It dove straight into the ground, forcefully plowing through Kuang Biao’s hard, crisscrossing bamboo roots underneath. ℯℯ𝑙.
THUD! Big Pup and Second Pup had never seen a plant like the Fat Ginseng before. Not only could it speak and run, but it also looked tender and juicy, completely unlike Kuang Biao!
The two pups squawked a couple of times. Their flat beaks, sharp as knives, smoothly sliced diagonally into the soil!
Only Kuang Biao HOWLED in agony. "Don’t stab my roots!!!"
...
Huai Yu vaguely caught some RUSTLING noises from the bamboo forest, mixed in with Kuang Biao’s yelling.
Great, he was fighting with Big Pup and Second Pup again! Or rather, playing around instead of fighting.
Big Pup and Second Pup’s sharp beaks could easily peck the entire bamboo forest bare overnight. And if Kuang Biao’s bamboo leaves were to slash them, it would probably slice them up into a bloody mess. But right now, the former only occasionally pecked at the bamboo shoots, while the latter just scared them for fun when he had nothing better to do... It was always a chaotic mess of flying geese and dancing bamboo leaves, something Huai Yu had already grown accustomed to.
Remembering the lost ginseng, she deeply reflected on her hasty mentality.
She had wanted to accelerate the growth of a decent ginseng to help nourish Zhou Qian’s body, but she had given it far too much Superpower. As she nourished it, it just disappeared... She was still too impatient!
Tomorrow, she would pick another small one, tie a red thread around it first, and then slowly feed it a tiny bit of Superpower.
Also, since the Rose Corridor’s fearsome reputation was so well-established, there was no need for her to be so secretive about growing vegetables anymore. Tomorrow, whether it was sweet potatoes, yams, peanuts, soybeans, eggplants, or peppers, she would pick one of each and accelerate their growth. Of course, she wouldn’t make them sky-piercing behemoths like those cowpeas. Making them slightly larger than normal and getting them to quickly bloom and bear fruit would be enough.
Since meat was hard to buy right now, she had to at least ensure a steady supply of vegetables!
Thinking of meat, she couldn’t help but glance out the back window again. This bamboo forest had been rooted here for so long, so why hadn’t she heard of any bamboo rats coming to make nests yet? There were definitely some on Sanqing Mountain, but last time she had huffed and puffed just to carry Kuang Biao back. If she went up the mountain again this time, she might not have the same kind of luck... For a moment, she actually didn’t dare to go.
"Sigh..." Huai Yu sighed with a bitter expression, then pulled out her bedside reading material—"Towards the Sun".
She pulled that large handful of sunflower seeds from her pocket and placed them in a basin, picking up a plump, black-and-white seed to examine it carefully. These seeds could grow into a large field of sunflowers, right?
She opened this romance novel—oh no, agricultural book—once more. The poem on the title page remained as eye-catching as ever.
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Sunflower
By Wang Yaping
The golden, solemn sunflower,
Opens her blossoms toward the sun.
The sun casts its radiant feathered arrows,
Onto her bright, tranquil, and tender corolla.
She possesses the noble virtues of a warrior,
She mocks the grass that slumbers in the darkness.
At night, wind and rain strike down her petals,
In the morning, she still faces the sun.