"So.....who is this certain lady?"
Ah Qing looked puzzled and poked Ansheng who was sitting on the sofa and asked.
Same-city courier service, Ah Qing has used it before, but today's courier felt very off to Ah Qing.
The delivery guy took out a receipt for the little fox to stamp with a plum blossom seal, then released the items, took out an apron and cutting board from the plastic bag, and started chopping vegetables.
This delivery service...
If you don't privately add an extra three to five hundred, it probably wouldn't happen, at least Ah Qing had never seen such attentive service.
"Most likely...it's your senior Wang Qiqi, right?" Ansheng glanced at the hotpot being prepared and quipped:
"I met her earlier, she said if I roll over and show her my belly to pet, she'll treat me to a late-night snack."
"???" Ah Qing looked shocked and exclaimed at the little fox, "They asked you to show your belly, and you really showed it?"
"You should be more cautious! Fox Fox needs to protect himself outside. This time you encountered good people, next time they'll grab your paws and say, 'Hey folks, found a fox, think he wants to come home with me'."
Ah Qing, after briefly being stunned and shocked, used the Great Wilderness Imprisoning Heaven finger to tap the forgetful brain of Fox Fox.
Nowadays, people are especially nice; on the road, they try to feed cute animals if they see them as relatives. If the animal isn't defensive or fearful, then...need anything else be said? Straight into a bag and taken home.
"You run off with others, they take you home and then they'll slaughter your basket, turn you into little chips from the School of Animal Science next door...."
"Yeah, yeah...." Ansheng rolled his eyes, reluctant to recall the meaty flavor chips from the School of Animal Science.
After a hearty meal, as midnight approached, Ah Qing hugged a presumably fatter fox and went to bed.
The next morning.
The people in the dorm were still asleep when a white bundle jumped high and stomped repeatedly on the mattress of Ah Qing's bed, making a series of chirps:
"Ah Qing! Wake up! It's five-thirty!" Ansheng was on the bed engaging in a fox-reveille to wake up the sleeping Ah Qing.
"Hiss—"
Ah Qing opened her eyes, looking at the already awake and active little fox in disbelief.
"You.....how could you possibly wake up earlier than me? Xiaolan surely never wakes up earlier than me."
"This dream, was more like a tactile experience...Goodnight, little fox in the dream."
Ansheng: "......."
Watching Ah Qing truly lay down and sleep without joking, Ansheng quickly lifted a paw, patting Ah Qing's belly to force her to wake: "Wake up now, you're going to be late for class..."
"Are you really Xiaolan?" Ah Qing's face bore a sleepy confusion, but more so a strange expression as she looked at the little fox who had risen early.
Little fox may not smoke, drink or perm hair, but staying up late browsing symbos and pulling all-nighters was just regular fare.
After four in the morning, Ah Qing even saw Xiaolan clutching chips in his mouth watching TV dramas, but never witnessing him go to bed early, even if he did, he'd sleep until noon before rising....
"What's with that look? Admit your crush, no need to stealthily peek from the corner of your eye."
On the edge of the bed, Ansheng's two little paws drooped over the side, looking at Ah Qing stealthily observing while brushing teeth and washing face, he quipped.
Ah Qing was heading to Mawang Village field for class, where excavation work was underway; archaeologists traced the Treasure Tree ants to the location of its roots, investigating Master Treasure Tree's movements from months ago.
Master Fuli rose early, preparing to head to Mawang Village field to oversee the work.
Master Treasure Tree had created Ba Mountain mosquito, Treasure Tree ants.
And according to clues found these days, the Tree Master had been secretly gathering remnants of ancient civilizations.
Digging out ceramic boxes didn't bother Ansheng, but if the King of the Universe, out-of-control Dragon People, or some tribal era "Immortal of Xia Country" were dug up, the fun would be immense.
Once those antiques came into contact with Spiritual Particles, they could potentially awaken any time.
Then, if the Tree himself got beaten up, so be it.
The Security Bureau might still have to help clean up.
......
Yawning, Ah Qing started the class, first dealing with crop arrangements in the campus experimental field, then riding with classmates in an electric tricycle packed with fertilizer, drone, and herbicide to Mawang Village.
"Ah Qing, I'm gonna take a dump..."
Arriving at Mawang Village field, Ansheng notified Ah Qing before running into the woods, lifted a rear leg, and sprayed a yellow stream onto the ant hole.
The great-headed ants sensed the warm nectar, poking their heads out one by one, enjoying the divine gift from above.
"Tszz—"
The ant queen, full of admiration and courage, gazed at the majestically cloud-like Immortal.
"Just like before, go and mess up the neighboring nest, the grandmother of the Red Fire Ant tribe got taken by me, so you're sure to win today..."
Ansheng said to the bright red big-headed ants.
The Supreme Emperor and ancestors of the Red Fire Ants have been captured and arrested, but the regular Red Fire Ants remain in the fields.
With Spirit Particle Potion diluted in water, Treasure Tree ants and the Ant Queen were too lazy to deal with regular Red Fire Ants, transformed into mammals sipping milk bottles handed out by the Security Bureau, living a life of divine intoxication, reluctant to consider nostalgia.
Ansheng, adhering to the principle of finishing tasks completely, gave big-headed ants a dose of hormones before heading to the old housing area.
"Good morning, Master Fuli!"
Just arriving at the old housing area, seeing the originally half-collapsed old house gone and replaced by vibrant steel sheets towering around forming a high barricade, Monkey King and golden snub-nosed monkey sat by an electric motorbike roadside, enjoying breakfast.
Monkey King greeted Master Fuli.
"Care for some flaky pastry? Pretty good." Monkey King grinned at Master Fuli.
"I'll pass on the flaky pastry, I just ate a few lamb ribs in the canteen..." Ansheng glanced at Monkey King: "How's the situation at the archaeological site? Any clues?"
"Excavation began last night, however, before digging the hole identified by Treasure Tree ants, we conducted a probe with an endoscope into previous holes dug by them....."
"Ultimately, the result was no result." Monkey King took a bite of the flaky pastry: "The endoscope cable length, has previewed three hundred meters, yet still hasn't reached the bottom."
"Insect detection drones were deployed, extending fiber to the end but still unable to detect the bottom of the hole."
Monkey King showed a helpless bitter smile, said: "Although it may sound a bit heretical, the Security Bureau's initial hypothesis is....
"The growth of Treasure Tree roots wasn't developed downward, rather it's like....pierced from underground up."
"Tree Master, may be an inverted tree, crown down and roots up..."
"I feel the speculation is extremely absurd."
The holes childhood Treasure Tree ants dug were paths previously traversed by Master Treasure Tree's roots.
Treasure Tree ants cut off a section of root, but for the Tree Master, that section was only a single root tendril.
The Tree Master's roots retraced the path, leaving behind an endless abyss-like hole.
Compiling all current clues, the Security Bureau's intelligence analysis department concluded...
The Tree Master's existence is undeniable, yet its existing form might differ from other trees, transitioning beyond a photosynthesis phase, redefining itself into a state more capable of amassing Spiritual Particles.
"For specifics, Master Fuli might need to ask Professor Wang Ya, I completed the handover an hour ago, my intelligence is only from an hour ago." Monkey King suggested.
"Wang Ya is back?"
Ansheng showed a hint of surprise, clearly astonished to find Wang Ya at the excavation site.