Chapter 30 Treasure

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Seeing that she hadn't said anything for a long time, the little squirrel got anxious and started jumping up and down. It turned around and scurried back into its tree hole, pulled something out, and threw it at She Ning's feet with a "whoosh".

"Squeak squeak squeak!"

The rustling at her feet and the squirrel's calls brought She Ning back to her senses.

A red gemstone ring lay in the grass at her feet; its luster was somewhat dull due to lack of proper care.

"System task: Explore the mystery of the treasure in Ludong Mountain, progress 0.0002/100." The system progress announcement sounded as soon as he picked up the gem the size of a pigeon egg.

She Ning held the jade and gemstones in her hand, then looked at the squirrel hole in the tree trunk. In her previous life, she had read in the news that someone had dug up silver coins in a rat hole. Now, she was afraid that she had encountered a treasure hidden in a squirrel hole.

But looking at the tree trunk, it didn't seem like it could hold much treasure. She Ning walked around the pine and cypress tree. The raised roots were deeply embedded in the bricks and stones, and there were no traps or mechanisms around it.

Up in the tree, the little squirrel, seeing that the two-legged creature below had not only failed to return the jade but had also kept the red ring it had exchanged for, angrily rushed to the branch in front of her and began squeaking incessantly at She Ning.

The elder was right; the two-legged creatures are the most cunning and the best at deceiving mice!

"Gibberish, gibberish..."

With a pair of pointed little ears, the chestnut-brown squirrel stood on the tree, waving its arms and legs excitedly, looking like it was about to pounce down and attack her at any moment.

She Ning had no intention of taking anything from it, so she handed the jade and ruby ​​to it.

"Here you go," she said.

The squirrel, which had been angrily squealing, was startled by the rubies and jade that suddenly appeared in front of it. After a moment of realization, it snatched the items with its two little paws and turned around to stuff them into its hole.

I was afraid that if I hesitated even for a second, my beloved little stone would be gone.

"Can you tell me where these things were found?" She Ning asked as she stepped forward.

She tapped the tree trunk, and the sound that returned was solid, indicating that the trunk was not hollow. There were no signs of any mechanisms on the ground. Inside the squirrel hole, the system progress only showed 0.2/100, clearly indicating that there were no other treasures present.

The fastest way to find treasure now is to ask the squirrel in question directly.

Upon hearing this, the squirrel, which was stuffing something into its hole, bristled with fur, its bushy tail sticking out of the hole. It turned around in astonishment, an incredulous expression on its furry face.

"Chirp chirp chirp?"

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

"I'm not, I didn't." Listening to the squirrel's increasingly outrageous guesses, She Ning explained with a wry smile, "I'm not a god, I don't know any magic, I just had a tiny bit of luck."

She spent 20 points to buy the animal communication potion from the magical world at the system convenience store.

Animal communication potion

Intermediate Gift Box

Note: This potion was created by Livia, a high-ranking mage in the magical world. Drinking it allows her to communicate with animals and grants her a 90% affinity for them.

Number of uses: 5.

They didn't detect any danger from her. Instead, she had a scent that squirrels really liked. The squirrel, which was originally wary of She Ning, jumped onto a branch less than 30 centimeters away from her.

With its two black, gem-like eyes, it curiously examined her, its bushy tail swaying up and down. "You appeared so suddenly, are you really not a deity?"

It could clearly see the magic trick that made people appear out of thin air in front of the main hall.

“Really, no.” She Ning answered it very seriously.

"Alright." The little squirrel wasn't disappointed. It thought the two-legged creature smelled very nice, making it want to get closer to her. Remembering what she had asked earlier, it tilted its little head and thought for a moment. "I'll take you to find Sparkling."

It waved its paw, signaling her to follow, and then the little squirrel leaped between the branches and ran outside.

She Ning quickly followed.

The little squirrel led She Ning to the slope behind the Taoist temple. It ran too fast, and because there were many trees and weeds on the mountain, She Ning lost track of it for a moment.

"Chirp chirp chirp, here, here." A little squirrel's chestnut brown figure appeared from a crevice in the rocks. Seeing that She Ning hadn't followed, it deliberately turned back to look for her.

What a thoughtful little squirrel!

She Ning stepped forward and examined the spot where the little squirrel had gone. A large pile of boulders was stacked at the foot of the steep mountain wall. She didn't know if it was man-made or if the rocks had rolled down later. Now, the crevice in the rock was only the size of a palm, just big enough for a small animal to pass through.

When the little squirrel saw She Ning following, it turned and darted inside. A moment later, it came out again, holding a diamond the size of a pigeon egg in its three-lobed beak. "Here, it's sparkly."

It placed the diamond in She Ning's hand, then she stepped back and began to shake the dust off her fur.

"System task: Explore the mystery of the treasure in Ludong Mountain, progress 0.0003/100."

"Xiaosong, are there many things like this in here?"

Listening to the system's announcement, She Ning was 80% certain that the location in front of her was the legendary burial site of the Ludong Mountain treasure.

The remaining 20% ​​depends on the system confirming the task's completion.

"Uh..." The little squirrel paused in its dust-shaking motion, its pointed ears twitched, and after thinking for a moment, it finally spoke, "Lots of sunshine."

Sunlight?

Before she could react to what it was saying, She Ning repeated it in a low voice.

The impatient little squirrel, seeing that she didn't understand what it meant, turned around and darted into a crevice in the rock. A moment later, it came out with a small piece of gold in its mouth.

"Sunshine, here you go." It placed the item at She Ning's feet and pushed it forward, indicating that she should accept it.

A round, gold-plated disc lay quietly at She Ning's feet. "So this is sunlight," She Ning thought to herself. "It's quite a vivid image." Smiling, she squatted down to look at the little squirrel at eye level and reached out to stroke its fluffy little head. "Thank you."

"Chirp chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp." There's still a lot inside, do you want more? I'll get you some more.

The little squirrel stood on the rock, patted its chest with its two little paws, and said...

"Give me all of them?" She Ning joked.

"Chirp chirp chirp." "It's all yours," the little squirrel said generously.

“I’ll trade you food.” She Ning took out the spirit rice that she had previously stored in the storage compartment from the system, gave it one-third of it, and then took out all the ingredients such as walnuts, cashews, and peanuts that she had collected from the market to make nut candy and gave them to it.

The mountain of ingredients piled up on the ground astonished the little squirrel, its black gem-like eyes wide with amazement. It jumped around the pile of nuts, especially after discovering the spirit rice.

In the cultivation world, rice is not only good for the stomach and spleen, but also promotes longevity. Its inherent spiritual energy is also naturally attractive to animals.

Lying on the rice, the little squirrel took a deep breath of the rice's spiritual energy, then with a determined look in its eyes, it got up and darted back.

It reappeared in a flash.

A yellow jade seal and a red gemstone ring appeared on the ground in front of She Ning.

"Chirp chirp." Here you go.

Completely devoid of the excitement of having her beloved possession snatched away, the little squirrel pushed the item on the ground without a trace of hesitation, gesturing for her to take it. Then, it lay back down on the pile of spirit rice, as if a cat had encountered catnip, completely intoxicated and unable to resist.

Seeing it sprawled out on the spirit rice like a pancake, She Ning shook her head with a smile, picked up the treasure from the ground and put it into the system's storage compartment, then continued to examine the rock in front of her.

The rock, as tall as a person, was huge and solid, and it was a huge undertaking to move it by manpower.

If we use the power of the system, it would be very convenient, but how do we explain this suddenly appearing cave?

"A-Ning, A-Ning, where are you?" Suddenly, She Hongmei's anxious voice rang out from the mountains.

After signing the contract, She Hongmei waited at the farm for a long time but no one came back, so she went up the mountain to look for them.

"Mom, I'm here." She Ning quickly left the rock, and as she walked, she instructed the squirrel that was high, "Little Squirrel, quickly hide everything."

"Chirp chirp chirp." Don't worry. The little squirrel sprang to its feet with a quick leap, rummaged around for things, and hid in its secret hideout. People say a cunning rabbit has three burrows, but this little squirrel has more than three. When She Ning turned around again, the mountain of items on the ground was gone.

The little squirrel returned to the tree.

"How did you get here?" They met on the stone path not far from the Taoist temple. Looking at the deserted temple, She Hongmei asked worriedly.

The saying "No one should enter a temple" is not just a saying.

She originally thought She Ning would just walk halfway up the mountain, but who knew she would come so far up? As she walked up the mountain, she became more and more worried.

Throughout the journey without finding the person, She Hongmei was filled with regret, wondering how she could have been so careless as to agree to let her go out alone. This mountain, though not large, was still quite big, with lush trees, making it difficult to find bad guys hiding inside.

If something really happens, she will regret it for the rest of her life.

Seeing She Ning now, She Hongmei finally felt relieved, but she couldn't bear to blame her. She took her hand and was about to lead her down the mountain.

The spot where their hands were clasped was hot and moist, so hot it made one's heart tingle.

Ludong Mountain is not high, but it is very wide. She Hongmei usually works in the fields without getting out of breath or blushing, but at this moment her face was covered in sweat and her breathing was heavy. She Ning could hardly imagine how panicked and anxious she had been on her way up the mountain to find someone.

After searching through countless places, they finally found her.

"Mom, I'm sorry for making you worry." The joy of finding the treasure vanished at this moment.

She Ning took her hand and apologized.

She seems too self-righteous. Relying on the help of the blind box system, she acts without considering the consequences, always doing things on a whim. She forgets that she is no longer alone; she has family.

If she gets hurt, her family will worry and be sad.

She Hongmei was walking ahead when she heard this. She stopped and turned around, her eyes meeting She Ning's guilty gaze. She was taken aback for a moment, then smiled gently. With her other hand, which wasn't holding hers, she gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes were tender. "Silly child, you don't need to apologize to your mother."

She Ning's eyes reddened slightly, and she avoided eye contact, not daring to look directly into her gaze. "I've been too hasty in my work lately. I promise I won't do it again."

She Hongmei squatted down to be at eye level with She Ning, gently took her hand, and conveyed warmth through her palm. "Ning, Mom knows you have a lot of drive in your heart, which is a good thing. But you must remember that no matter what you do, you must think about the consequences first, and think about the people around you. Mom is worried about you because I love you, not because you did anything wrong."

"There's no need to rush to do many things; each stage of life has its own unique scenery."

“Mom has her responsibilities, and you have yours too. Let’s work together, okay?” She Hongmei patted She Ning’s head and said softly.

She Ning met her gentle eyes, tears welling up in her own eyes, which she held back. She Ning nodded vigorously.

"Silly child." She Hongmei gently wiped away the tears from She Ning's eyes and took her hand. "Let's go home."

She Ning grabbed her.

She Hongmei turned around in confusion.

"Mom, look." She Ning took out the treasures from the system's storage compartment, concealing them in her pocket. She opened her palm and saw a yellow seal, a red gemstone, a sparkling diamond, and a golden coin.

"I think I've found the location of the treasure."