Chapter 89 [VIP]

Jiang Zhuochen took a breath after hearing this. How long will it take to find them?

"Because we are the only species here, the dumplings like to roam around, and you can probably find them anywhere," the Heavenly Father added. "So I haven't kept count of their exact numbers."

"Is there a way to gather them all together?" Jiang Zhuochen pressed.

“This…” The Heavenly Father hesitated. “The dumplings are used to being free and undisciplined. It’s hard to get them together unless there’s something important.”

Jiang Zhuochen was unwilling to give up and wanted to ask again, but he heard the Heavenly Father continue the conversation on his own.

“However, there will be an annual harvest festival in a while, and all the dumplings will come back to worship here.” The Heavenly Father’s tone became a bit forceful. “Without exception, there will be guards patrolling in various places to ensure that no dumpling is missed. If any dumpling does not come to pray devoutly, we will catch it and put it in solitary confinement.”

Jiang Zhuochen and Xu Xing exchanged a glance, their hearts finally easing a little. "How much longer?"

“About a month,” the Father replied. “Until then, you will have to search on your own. If you need help, please don’t hesitate to ask. I hope you can find those two troublemakers soon.”

“Okay.” Jiang Zhuochen nodded. A month here wouldn’t have been long in their original world, so they could wait. “Thank you, Heavenly Father.”

The two then settled down in the forest. After determining that the two ghost cultivators were most likely disguised as the local inhabitants, they went out early and returned late every day.

Xu Xing's detection ability cannot currently cover the entire territory, and given that the ghost cultivator has been there for a month longer than them, it's hard to guarantee that when the other party notices them immediately, they will deliberately avoid their search.

The forest was teeming with swarms of little mushrooms. Their favorite activity was to disguise themselves as a cluster of mushrooms under the trees. Wherever the two of them passed, they would shrink into a bunch of mushrooms, only to pop out again after they left. They were so lively that you couldn't tell them apart unless you stopped them to observe them.

They won't stay in one place; once they get tired of playing, they scatter and run to the next spot.

Aside from the different colors, they are all exactly the same, but each color is not unique and can correspond to hundreds of different dumplings.

Jiang Zhuochen sighs every time he opens his eyes. Apart from hoping to sense different auras, he really has no way to accurately identify the two disguised ones from this pile of dumplings.

Just as a cute brown glutinous rice ball jumped away from Jiang Zhuochen's hand, another glutinous rice ball of the same color climbed up, grinning. It put its hands on its hips and smiled as if it were old friends.

"We're going to explore Bitterwater Pool. Would you like to come with us?"

"What kind of place is that?" Jiang Zhuochen leaned on Xu Xing's shoulder and asked in a drawn-out tone, "Don't you guys hate all flavors except sweet ones? Why are you going to Bitter Water Pool?"

"Those are just ordinary dumplings." The brown dumplings proudly raised their heads and puffed out their chests. "We're going to be warriors someday. Brave dumplings aren't afraid of the terrifying bitter water pool, or even acid rain and spicy honey! Aren't you brave people?"

"Hmm." Jiang Zhuochen responded perfunctorily, not taking this childish chatter to heart.

"Go ahead." Xu Xing gently smoothed a strand of hair from his chest. "Wait until you've rested enough."

"Mmm." Jiang Zhuochen closed his eyes and lazily hummed a sound from his throat, soft and gentle, with a unique obedience towards Xu Xing.

They were originally going to rule out all the suspicious locations anyway, but having someone to guide them was perfect.

The little brown dumpling nodded in satisfaction. "Okay, our Forest Warriors team welcomes you."

Jiang Zhuochen couldn't help but chuckle, but didn't reply.

Xu Xing took the zongzi from the other person's hand so that he could concentrate on resting. The zongzi also cooperated by stepping into Xu Xing's hands, putting its hands to its mouth, and loudly calling out to its friends.

Before long, a group of little dumplings stood at Xu Xing's feet. His gaze swept over the surroundings, under the trees, by the grassy ditch, and even the running groups were closely followed by many dumplings.

"Will you be left alone?"

"Alone?" The brown dumpling tilted its head, then denied it: "No, we live in groups, and dumpling hates being alone. If you encounter one, be sure to take it to a lively place, otherwise it will die of depression soon!"

Jiang Zhuochen interjected, "Is it that serious?"

No wonder this little world is so big; in the past few days, wherever they went, they encountered only colorful dumplings traveling together.

This is also a clue; at least when they see only one or two dumplings, they can be more vigilant.

“Yes.” The little dumpling opened its mouth and, without being asked, blurted out everything: “And we love sweets the most. If you see any dumplings that like sour or bitter foods, they must be sick. You should take them to God the Father for healing.”

"So," Xu Xing asked, "Bitterwater Pool is also a place you don't often visit?"

“Yes. Bitter water pool, acid rain forest, wasteland…” The little dumpling counted on its hands, “These places make the dumpling uncomfortable, so usually no dumpling goes there.”

“But I’m very brave,” the little dumpling said, becoming proud again, “so I’m not afraid.”

"You're really amazing." Jiang Zhuochen gave a perfunctory compliment, then suddenly opened his eyes, looking curious: "Hey, Xiao Zong, I have a question for you. Everyone looks the same, how do you tell who's who?"

"How did you know my name is Zong Jiuyi?" Zong Tuanzi asked casually, not intending to listen to Jiang Zhuochen's answer. "As for how we can tell the difference... hehe, we can't tell either, so when we play together, we all avoid the same color."

Jiang Zhuochen choked, his expression freezing for half a second. Xu Xing saw him like this and the corners of his lips curved silently.

He began, "But you don't seem like strangers."

"Of course." Zong Jiu Yi got tired of standing and plopped down on Xu Xing's hand, looking down at his friends. "You'll be able to tell the difference after playing for a while. Also, we can remember names. My name is Zong Jiu Yi, and that one was called Zong Yi Bai. That's another way to tell us apart."

The name sounds so casual, as if each dumpling of the same color was named according to its birth order. If that's the case, then if there are 250 of the same color, should we call them Brown 250?

"Hey, are you rested enough?" Zong Jiu kicked his legs at Jiang Zhuochen.

"How rude." Jiang Zhuochen rubbed its smooth head, and only after hearing it let out a howl did he speak: "Alright, let's go."

Following the guidance of the dumplings, they walked deeper into the northwest forest.

Far from the river and residential areas, there is an area that even birds avoid.

The air here carries a hint of bitterness; the tree trunks, no longer vibrant and strong, have taken on a bent, dark brown hue, and even the canopies overhead appear darker and heavier. Sunlight filters through sparsely, and the surroundings remain perpetually shrouded in a hazy, damp atmosphere.

The dumplings that had been shouting all the way about defeating all the monsters inside suddenly fell silent and spun around right under the two of them.

Brown Nine trembled uncontrollably, muttering to himself, "I am a warrior, I am not afraid, I am a warrior, I am not afraid..."

Green 83: "Waaah, Heavenly Father, this place is so scary!"

Zi Yilingsan: "I'm not afraid. As long as I successfully get out of here, I'll be a warrior!"

The originally gloomy environment was transformed into a lively scene by the noisy group of dumplings that couldn't shut up even when they were scared.

Jiang Zhuochen looked around. "Master, can we sense anything here?"

Xu Xing shook his head slightly, "In the Nine Netherworld, divine sense cannot be dispersed."

Jiang Zhuochen sighed, then thought of something: "Since this is the Nine Netherworld, could those two ghost cultivators be hiding here?"

After all, this place is beneficial to their character.

"perhaps."

Relying on intuition was a poor choice, since their souls were severed, and both ghost cultivators were now puppets, devoid of any aura. These past few days had been less about intuition and more about gathering information.

As they ventured deeper, the silence grew, and the children dared not utter a word, frequently glancing back.

"We..." Black Nine-Seven stammered, about to suggest giving up and getting out of there quickly. Its nerves were on edge, its beady eyes practically bulging like dumplings. Before it could even turn back to its companions to make a suggestion, suddenly there was a 'crack' sound, startling it so much it flew up.

"Aaaaaah, help!" After yelling this, Hei Jiuqi fled in a panic!

The other little rice dumplings, already easily frightened, went blank upon hearing the scream and then ran off in all directions, squealing and yelling.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!"

"A ghost!! Help Tuanzi's life!"

"Heavenly Father! Heavenly Father, save me!"

Jiang Zhuochen hadn't expected that stepping on a dead branch would have such power, and he gasped for breath, feeling a headache coming on.

Xu Xing immediately used magic to stop the dumplings, but the terrified dumplings lost their reason, and the brief moment they were trapped made them even more frightened.

Their boneless bodies, like fluids, slip through any crack they touch, impossible to catch.

Left with no other choice, Jiang Zhuochen had to tie them up with the Immortal Binding Rope and count them one by one.

"Hmm?" Jiang Zhuochen's heart skipped a beat. He counted again and found that one was indeed missing.

"Which one..."

"Don't rush." ​​Xu Xing steadied him and gently comforted him, "I left a wisp of spiritual energy in their bodies, just follow it."

Jiang Zhuochen instantly relaxed. "You scared me to death."

“It’s Black 97,” Brown Nine’s voice trembled slightly, “It’s gone.”

“It’s black.” Jiang Zhuochen understood. He guessed that the color blended too well with the surrounding environment, and he had let one escape without noticing.

Xu Xing took his hand. "Let's go, hold on tight to the rope."

"Hmm." Jiang Zhuochen lowered his eyes, deciding to have Xu Xing send them all away once he had found them all, otherwise it would be too troublesome if even one of them got lost in this place.

The further the two walked, the closer they got to the center of the area. The little dumpling behind them followed in a row of small steps, and seemed much more at ease, perhaps because of the rope tied around its body.

The surrounding scenery became even more gloomy, and even the moss on the ground was slippery and sticky. The dumplings would get stuck with one foot with each step they took, so Jiang Zhuochen had no choice but to lift them up completely.

The aura of Black 97 was very close, and at the same time they could vaguely see a dark area.

The stuffy air here made the group of children howl in pain, feeling extremely uncomfortable, and almost crying out loud.

The two had no choice but to stand still, push aside the obstructing branches, and look into the distance.

Bitter Water Pool is not large, and its water is dark, somewhere between emerald green and pitch black. The surface is unusually calm, without a ripple, yet it cannot reflect the scene above, which is indeed unsettling no matter how you look at it.

Xu Xing turned his head and said gently, "You stay here, I'll go take a look."

Jiang Zhuochen was very reluctant. He shook the rope in his hand, making a series of "ouch" sounds, which made the little dumplings dizzy.

"Why don't you send them back first, Master?"

Hearing this, Brown Nine-One was no longer upset and quickly emphasized, "No, Black Nine-Seven must be very scared right now. It will get sick from fright. We won't abandon it!"

Jiang Zhuochen negotiated with it: "Can't we reunite you right away after we find it?"

"No, no," Zong Jiu spun around like a top, "They have to see us first!"

This is so troublesome...

Jiang Zhuochen sighed silently, then pouted and said to his master, "Alright, I'll wait for you here."

"Hmm." Xu Xing pointed two fingers at Jiang Zhuochen's brow. "Call me if you need anything."

"good."

Jiang Zhuochen stared intently as Xu Xing walked forward, while Tuanzi beside him started calling out again, sometimes worried about her companion, sometimes feeling unwell.

Having no other option, he had to take a few steps back.

Zong Jiuyi was so dizzy from being rocked by the two people "in bed" above and below her that she vaguely saw the leaves above her move.

Is it windy?

A note from the author:

Quietly switched to daily updates