Ten Thousand Years of Making Mushrooms
At the end of the mycelial corridor of the Mushroom Illusion stands a sturdy, soft tree with a round arch carved into it.
Standing beside the tree was an old man with a large umbrella-shaped head and a long beard, resembling a mushroom.
The old man who guarded the area, the gate, and also guided and explained things to visitors looked both kind and intriguing.
It officially opened the door for Xie Jinhui and me, allowing us to enter the illusion.
The old man's features were indistinct, but from beneath the mushroom-shaped umbrella came his respectful yet ruthless voice.
"My two esteemed gods, the Gu Ming clan has a special identity, and some of our secret techniques cannot be shared with other clans. Therefore, even if you transform into mushrooms, you will never be of the Gu Ming clan."
As for what kind of mushroom it will turn into, I suggest you two leave it to fate and accept whatever comes your way.
Hey, not bad!
I'm willing to experience the hardships of mushroom growth, but the thought of having to decompose a mortal body like the Mushroom Clan...
Well……
I did have some reservations, but when I heard that this step would be skipped, Xie Jinhui and I both nodded with relief.
"I understand, I understand. If we were to actually eat the body, we wouldn't be able to handle it either."
Many thanks to the understanding and compassion of the Gu Ming clan.
I smiled politely, and Grandpa Mushroom dutifully stepped aside, allowing us to enter the illusionary realm through the tree gate.
"Don't worry, I won't let you eat people. Just eating dirt is bad enough..."
The old man offered us a cold, mushroom-flavored consolation.
The tree hollow looked like a hundred thousand star-shaped scallions, stirring up all kinds of mushrooms.
It looks exactly like a bowl of dark, swirling, pungent mushroom soup.
I figured that once I went inside, the first type of mushroom to be tainted by the immortals would probably be the kind of thing I wanted to become.
What kind of mushroom should I choose?
Struggling to choose which one?
No need!
It doesn't matter what kind of mushroom it is, it has to stand upright for 100,000 years.
At that moment, Xie Jinhui grabbed my hand, and I didn't object.
If we were to be boiled in the soup and ended up in different places, separated by the ends of the earth, unable to even sing the same folk song, that would be truly awful.
Besides, a mushroom can't split its primordial spirit like Emperor Zangli did, splitting its branches and using two pairs of legs to find and get closer to each other.
Well, it's better to be together, even if we're like a pair of conjoined mushrooms, it's better than being separated by the world.
I was just wondering if the warm feeling emanating from Xie Jinhui's palm would eventually turn into a sticky, icy mushroom, indistinguishable from a whole body.
What would that feel like?
All expectations are not the real surprises; the taste and experience can, of course, turn out to be unexpected at any time.
As soon as Xie Jinhui and I stepped into the mushroom soup, not to mention feeling him, even feeling myself became a problem.
I thought that once I entered the illusion, I could just pop up and grow a mushroom.
Unexpectedly, we'll have to start growing from spores.
Haha, my theory that everything originates from a speck of dust applies here too.
So, for a moment, I felt a little lost, and I had no objection to turning into spores all at once.
I heard the old man with mushrooms kindly reminding me.
"If you two have any requests, it's best not to make any."
If you have any questions, I, Old Mushroom, might be able to answer them, but don't expect it..."
Thank you so much for your kind words, even though you said nothing.
Yes, yes, whose life path is always answered? And who can immediately have a mushroom pop up to guide them when they encounter a problem?
We have to take it one step at a time, and figure everything out on our own.
Moreover, I am but a lonely, helpless speck of dust, drifting like a tumbleweed in the blue sky and white clouds, in the reflection of the gray ocean currents, a mere spore preparing to become a mushroom.
I wanted to find Xie Jinhui among the thousands of spores that drifted with me, but I was frustrated because I couldn't recognize him at all.
Why doesn't it glow, become electrified, and attract my attention?
Let me be alright, I flipped and nimbly floated toward him.
Who knew I'd have ears!
There was a sound like bubbles, bubbling and gurgling, reaching my spore ears.
"Fly high, my love, I'm right behind you."
In an instant, all my feelings of helplessness and drifting vanished.
I am truly delighted that, amidst this fateful and turbulent journey, Xie Jinhui, born from nothingness, is able to ride the wind, steadily navigate his own path, and control the trajectory of his heart's desire, following behind me.
Not long after, we were laid to rest.
No, it fell onto the soft soil covered with loose, withered branches and fallen leaves.
Occasionally, I, with my keen eye, noticed something.
I don't know what kind of eyes I used to see that the other spores that were just floating around with us in the air were actually just decorations.
None of them floated down to become neighbors with me and Xie Jinhui.
When Xie Jinhui's inconspicuous spore fell, I realized that no matter what he became, he would probably always be the most pleasing to the eye in my eyes.
He was right beside me, separated by the fluffy, decaying grass and leaves.
"It smells so good!"
We unanimously expressed our deepest and most sincere satisfaction with this birthplace of top-quality food.
However, I still noticed that this growing environment wasn't entirely favorable for mushrooms.
For example...
I could see glimpses of blue sky and white clouds through the gap above.
In other words, I don't have enough dark, warm beds.
Fortunately, there was a large patch of shadow swaying, which I think must have been the sparse shade cast by the tree canopy.
Upon arriving in this esteemed place, I find it to be a place blessed with exceptional natural beauty and natural resources.
A light drizzle began to fall, as if knocking on Ye Zi's door.
New mushrooms are living under the leaves.
We feel extremely comfortable when our bodies are damp.
Immediately, the life force bursting forth from the leaf within his body was revealed.
After transforming into this mushroom of unknown species, all my senses are still present.
Buried in a pile of dead leaves, Xie Jinhui and I chatted casually, sharing information about our growth and how we felt.
But I'm in a hurry!
He's all over my mushroom head.
I want to see him, but even if I did see him now, it would only be a mushroom-headed guy.
After a night of being nourished by the damp rain and decaying grass, I not only gained a head that could shake slightly, but also a leg that grew wildly.
I shouted excitedly in Xie Jinhui's direction.
"Xie Jinhui, Xie Jinhui, look! I've sprouted!"
Xie Mushroom burrowed into the leaves, her voice quite serious.
“Yuan’e, you are a mushroom, not a bamboo shoot. You need to be patient and calm down. We’ll grow slowly.”
"No, I want to be taller than you."
I want to see you.
I blurted out in my impatient mushroom-headed mouth.
I could clearly feel the mushroom nest next to me stirring.
Xie Jinhui seems to be growing taller too.
If he had that kind of idea, wouldn't he suddenly rise to great heights?
My plan to outdo him would be ruined, and that won't do!
My tiny roots stretched out with all their might into the waterlogged soil and began to suck up the water with a gurgling sound.
With each breath, the body becomes increasingly hydrated, and the person begins to grow taller rapidly.
Aside from my unusually small mushroom head and the possibility that my brain might not be very sharp, I am extremely satisfied with everything else I've learned.
Then there was a "poof" sound.
I lifted a large leaf from my head, and saw the sky full of stars staring blankly at me.
"An illusion is just an illusion, okay? Even the stars don't blink!"
I peeked out, feeling quite smug.
Xie Jinhui, who was next to me, hadn't even developed a bulge in his swollen cheeks, so I immediately teased him.
"Xie Jinhui, quickly call me 'sister,' I've shown myself!"
Ha ha ha ha! "
Although I mocked him, I was still afraid that he would suddenly rise up and surpass me.
Therefore, to prevent future problems, I drank all the water in the puddle without wasting a drop.
I grew taller and taller, reaching the height of my index finger, breaking through the line of sight obstructed by the bushes.
Then I saw a large, soft tree.
Then, I stared blankly for a moment, because it was the same tree that Xie Jinhui and I had seen when we entered the Mushroom Illusion.
After all that time we drifted as spores, we only ended up landing at the foot of this big tree!
Thanks to its shade, we weren't dried out by the daytime sun.
I have to thank it.
The night seemed very quiet, with small insects, small animals, and even small fruits falling from the trees.
The fruit landed right in front of me, and I froze in place in fright.
The main problem is that I can't move.
A huge little beast picked up the fruit and even glanced at me.
I was shaking all over.
The little animal seemed to have chosen the fruit over me, and then it scurried away.
I looked down at Xie Jinhui with lingering fear, but he still hadn't made a move.
I desperately wanted to bend down and pry him out, but there was nothing I could do.
"Xie Jinhui, come out here! Look at the starry sky tonight, it's so silly!"
A soft laugh came from the pile of leaves.
“Yuan’e, I feel that our lives won’t last long.”
"Why can't it last? Aren't we supposed to be together, standing here for a hundred thousand years?"
I said, puzzled.
Xie Jinhui's mushroom must have finally figured it out, because it pushed up the grass leaves, revealing a white, tender mushroom head that was much bigger than me.
“Yuan’e, it’s true that it’s been 100,000 years, but we’re going to grow mushrooms, not bean sprouts.”
It was only later that I realized the flavor from the distinctly short and stocky shape of the mushroom it had grown.
That means I'll most likely die young...
Sure enough, the night wind came unexpectedly.
The wind didn't seem very strong; the surrounding grass only swayed slightly.
But once the wind blows on me!
I instantly transformed into a bow ready to shoot down a giant eagle.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no, I'm going to fold it now."
As I drew the bow, I screamed in terror.
Just when I thought I was doomed, I saw out of the corner of my eye that Xie Jinhui's white mushroom actually sprouted from the ground.
“Yuan’e, lean against me,” he said.
I had to lean on it, so I forcefully controlled the mushroom stem and leaned hard against its stem (or maybe it was an embrace).
Then I heard a "plop!"
Xie Jinhui smiled somewhat embarrassedly, "Yuanhe, I was careless, I'm not fully grown either."
So Xie Jinhui died, and I lay on top of him, withering away and dying in the blink of an eye.
The moment my consciousness sank into darkness, that familiar feeling of drifting enveloped me once more…
I suddenly opened my eyes! And then burst out laughing!
Hahaha, I realize, we've been reborn!
The Mushroom Realm, which has existed for 100,000 years, will not end because of one or two deaths!
My light, brand-new spore body floated together again with those spore brothers and sisters who were masquerading as prosperous spores.
Oh sky, my cradle, where are you taking me?
Ha ha ha ha.
I realized with a smile: life and death, death and life, it's just like this, drifting and drifting.
It may seem lively and bustling, but it's actually just a solitary cycle of life and death, a weariness of living alone.
I accepted the fact that the dead can be brought back to life.
In this life, I really want to grow into a mushroom.
Because, even in solitude, there is always a mad god behind me, unafraid of ten thousand years, accompanying me all the way, drifting with me.
Even after landing, Xie Jinhui and I still didn't know what species we were.
The leaves covering us are needle-shaped and have the fresh scent of pine.
Because of my reckless actions last time, I incurred the sin of being blown down by the innocent wind.
I've decided that this time I'll listen to Xie Jinhui. We'll grow slowly and not show ourselves until we've reached a very mature stage.
And so, we patiently bided our time underground.
Even when it rains, we control the amount of water we absorb and only take a small sip.
Xie Jinhui said that during the years he was sealed in the Moxu Chenyuan, it was this stable mindset that allowed him to overcome one test of inner demons after another.
When I asked him what his inner demons were, he retorted with a single sentence.
"A question you already know the answer to."
I wanted to say the same thing, but I wouldn't let him grow the mushrooms and then smugly know that he was my inner demon.
Keeping it to yourself is like growing a head but not legs.
Hold it in! Hold it in!
Oh, Heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility upon this mushroom...
Having a big head does indeed broaden one's thinking. My big mushroom-shaped head and Xie Jinhui's head broke through the pine needle wall that separated us and came together.
I bump into him, he bumps into me, it's quite fun.
Even if it remains underground for 100,000 years without ever showing its face, it will never get tired of it.
I've come to love this snuggling, because it makes me sleep soundly.
Even with small animals sniffing on the ground and ants crawling among the leaves, I still felt that the years in the Mushroom Dreamland were peaceful and tranquil.
However, can such good times last?
Probably.
On days when no ground was being broken, I counted hundreds of sunrises and sunsets based on the light...
Until, during the humid rainy season, a torrential downpour brought a great river...
The mushroom roots that Xie Jinhui and I had were swollen from soaking in the muddy water, and I asked Xie Jinhui.
"Hey bro, are you growing taller?"
Xie Jinhui's large, red mushroom was so red it looked purplish-red, and it didn't look healthy at all.
He sighed and said, "It won't grow anymore, my roots are rotten."
Sure enough, not long after, I rotted too.
It seems that neither aggressive growth nor patient, doomed growth is the right path.
The weather is unpredictable, but mushrooms are not. So how can one fixate on a single method to measure one's mushroom life?
Why!
Next time we start over, Xie Jinhui and I will make a promise: we will choose "living freely like mushrooms".
This time, following the seasons and phenology, and our own physical characteristics, we grew into two plump, yellow-fleshed, top-quality happy mushrooms that sprouted naturally and freely.
Just as we were happily breaking through the soil together, root by root, that little beast that had picked up the fruit earlier and complained that I was too thin came along.
It stared with greedy little eyes, opened its drooling mouth, and swallowed me and Xie Jinhui one after another without even chewing them.
I was furious inside the little beast's esophagus, pointing at the sky where I had no sense of direction and cursing.
"Are you really going to play like this? Don't you want to experience the hardships of growing up as a member of the Mushroom Clan?"
"They just pop their heads out and get eaten, they just pop their heads out and get eaten, how can that be an experience?!"
I think I heard the old mushroom gatekeeper respond to me, but unfortunately, I got to my stomach and immediately became sour that I died.
Once again, I landed on the grass as a new kind of mushroom spore.
Through the gap, I seemed to see Grandpa Mushroom's beard floating in the sky.
Not only did they float around, but they also made righteous and eloquent guarantees.
"For you two gods, being eaten is also part of your suffering."
However, Old Mushroom can assure you that, in order to experience suffering more fully, you will never be eaten again.
After saying these words, Grandpa Mushroom disappeared again.
You know, getting a definitive answer about one's fate is incredibly exciting for a mushroom.
You won't be eaten anymore, just like telling people you won't cry anymore, but you still won't escape what you're meant to experience.
For example, Xie Jinhui and I finally managed to stand up after overcoming numerous difficulties and saw the old soft tree with our own eyes once again.
Xie Jinhui was taller than me, and he unfolded his large white mushroom-shaped umbrella with a little skirt attached for the first time.
I'm so envious my head is itching to get over it.
Just as Xie Jinhui was patiently teaching me how to open the parachute, encouraging me that I would definitely succeed...
The large, soft tree suddenly began to sway, and then, with a crack, it fell down.
Xie Jinhui and I turned into two flattened mushroom muds and looked at the soft tree coffin lid that covered our entire bodies.
He glanced at the other person in a strange, inexplicable way.
We looked at the sky, and the sky looked at us; neither of us spoke.
Immediately, we closed our eyes without saying a word, and that was it!
Let's try again!
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