Chapter 213 - Dori Box (1/2)

Six kilometers away from Safety Sector No. 17, deep into the forest, was an inconspicuous mountain creek. The stream converged at this point and flowed down a little hill, forming a mini waterfall.

Beneath the waterfall was a pond. A little stream branched out from the left and wriggled its way to the south. The scenery was peaceful, but it was definitely not a place that normal people could access.

The natural water source here had reached Level 3 drinking water standards and many animals would come over for a drink every afternoon.

The pond was where the danger lay because a Duba hunter fish lurked in it. It was seven meters long, had sharp teeth and tough scales, and the strong fins on its back and sides allowed it to temporarily leap out of the water to ambush animals.

Tang Ling saw the Duba hunter fish leap out and chomp on a snow spotted deer that was drinking beside the pond and drag it into the water.

In short, due to the different predators like the Duba hunter fish or the mutated beasts and king beasts that would come over for a drink at times, the place was very quiet. The place was so quiet that even warriors on hunting missions would not choose this place to hunt because the slightest mistake would put them in a difficult situation with the beasts.

Tang Ling filled his canteen with water beside the pond. He was hoping for the Duba hunter fish to jump out though, so he could kill it and make some fish soup for Su Siao.

However, it was quiet and nothing happened.

After getting the water, Tang Ling walked along the little stream, going south for less than 500 meters before entering the little forest beside it. The little forest had nothing special but was full of dancing root trees.

Although these trees were not tall, they had an unusually robust root network. They usually grew beside streams and half of their roots were exposed and intertwined, making them look like passionate lovers dancing together, hence the name.

At the end of summer when autumn started to come in, the leaves of the dancing root trees would turn a total of three colors: moss green, periwinkle blue and creamy white. Its colorful reflection from the stream made it incredibly beautiful.

However, Tang Ling was not in the mood to enjoy the scenery. He walked past the trees with mixed feelings to the dancing root tree in the center of the forest and crawled into the roots.

Amongst the roots was a very small hole that allowed only one person to pass at a time and led underground. Inside the hole were the intertwining roots of the trees, but nestled within the most concentrated part that almost formed a mishmash of roots was a large, snowy-white mushroom.

The mushroom was known as the cottage mushroom, the beloved mushroom of the Drifters.

Because its mushroom stem could grow up to five meters and there would always be an opening in the center, it was treated like a little cottage. The mushroom contained enough space to house a person and it had a soft interior. Furthermore, it would also emit warmth at night, so sleeping inside the mushroom cottage was a comfortable way to spend the night.

On top of that, the mushroom also attracted a kind of bug called the big-bellied lighting bug. It was timid in nature and loved flower pollens. The level 1 mutated insect would usually nest in the mushroom, hence bringing light to the little cottage.

The big-bellied lighting bug was a lazy insect and would only spend three to five days in a month looking for food. The rest of its days were spent laying docile. Its belly would emit a soft pinkish light that illuminated the place.

The mushroom cottage had no growing pattern. It could grow anywhere and usually sprung up in the most unexpected places. If one was exceptionally lucky, one could run into a huge one. Somehow, Su Siao had located this mushroom cottage.

With that in mind, Tang Ling crawled into the big mushroom.

Su Siao had decorated the interior into a comfortable lodging. Perhaps, it was his escape plan from the beginning, or maybe it was because he always hid in this place.

There was some simple makeshift furniture in the mushroom like tatami mats, little sofas, and a tea table, plus a few more miscellaneous items and an eye-catching cloth doll that gave out a childish vibe. Tang Ling never thought that Su Siao would have such a hobby. He opened the door of the mushroom cottage wider and started to boil some water.

While Tang Ling’s heart was in pain, Su Siao was unusually quiet. The man was playing around with the black box they found back in the storeroom, but Tang Ling had not shown any interest in it.

The water boiled quickly. Then, Tang Ling added some silver-edge chrysanthemums that he plucked from the pond, poured it into a wooden cup, and gave it to Su Siao.

Su Siao took a sip and the flavourful and the refreshing silver-edge chrysanthemum flavor blossomed in his mouth. His eyes became heavy-lidded as he said, “Hmm, what a nostalgic taste.”

Tang Ling lowered his head, not having the courage to look at Su Siao anymore. It was only less than an hour after their escape.

He carried Su Siao into the mushroom and went out to get more water to quench the man’s thirst, but Su Siao had aged to a bitter state. He used to be a buff and tall man. However, now he had shrunk and withered to half of his usual weight.

Besides his bulging muscles shrinking, his skin was dried up and wrinkled while his white hair turned mostly silver and a lot had fallen off. His tall figure was also hunched and he could no longer stand straight.

His face was older than ever. The wrinkles on his forehead, the crinkles of his eyes, the scar that used to give him a ferocious look wherever he went lost its brutality. His once-rigid chin sagged and his rough beard had withered into several white strands of hair.

“Silver-edge chrysanthemum, the best partner for a journey. Having a cup of silver-edge chrysanthemum tea can clear your tiredness and lower the heat in your body.” With the cup of tea in his hand, he really looked like an old man. As he talked, he tapped the black box on the floor, then he told Tang Ling, “Do you know what this is? I bet you don’t know with your limited knowledge. That grocery store owner is really…”

Tang Ling listened and stretched his body, feigning relaxation. He then interrupted Su Siao, “Uncle, cut to the point please.”

“What point?” Su Siao looked at Tang Ling with a wide smile. “I do have a lot of important points to talk about. Sit over here, you little bastard.”

The smile was very heartwarming. No matter how his face had changed, the angle of that smile and the gaze he revealed when he smiled belonged to the Su Siao that Tang Ling knew, especially the joy the smile contained.

Tang Ling, however, wanted to cry. That smile that used to emit a domineering presence mixed with arrogance was now old and withered.

The nervousness in his heart remained as every second was agony to Tang Ling like his flesh was being cut. Who could accept a close family member aging overnight? Moreover, Tang Ling had to watch, helplessly. Every second was pure torment.

Holding back the painful bitterness from his throat, he asked casually, “Just put the crap aside first. Tell me how do we stop you from aging? I’ll think of something.” He made it sound like Su Siao’s condition was nothing serious and that there must be a way around it.

No matter what Su Siao had turned into, as long as Tang Ling could stop him from further aging, he would be happy to do it.

“There’s no way to stop it. Time is almost unexplainable.” Su Siao blew the silver-edge chrysanthemum that floated on his cup and sounded calm.