Chapter 11: Spirit Monsters in the Mountain
In the blink of an eye, spring had arrived again, and Li Boyang had already grown to about three or four months old.
Though the child still couldn’t speak for the time being.
Chen Yun still carried him in her basket, letting everyone in the village see this legendary "Non-crying" Baby.
Of course, to prevent others from noticing the strange phenomenon with Li Boyang’s hair, Chen Yun had especially bought him a red baby cap.
Not only that, but Li Boyang also wore a hefty string of Peace Pendants and Protective Talismans from various temples around his neck, looking both strangely abstract and resigned.
As for those little fangs starting to take shape?
Apart from needing to be a bit careful while breastfeeding him, Chen Yun wasn’t too worried about others finding out.
Once spring officially arrived, all the adults, including Chen Yun, gradually became busy, so the responsibility of minding the baby naturally fell entirely to Big Girl.
Thus, among the fields of Li Family Village, you could often spot the half-grown figure of a child with a basket on her back, running everywhere like a wild thing.
The other village kids simply couldn’t catch up with her and could only watch her scampering silhouette in envy.
Because all the kids knew, for sure it was the Non-crying Baby discovering some new herb again, then directing Big Girl to pick up a lucky find.
As a child favored by the Mountain God,
everyone had long gotten used to the strange happenings that followed the Non-crying Baby.
The older kids who often played with Big Girl had even seen, with their own eyes, the Non-crying Baby confronting a civet cat.
That older child swore up and down that the Non-crying Baby was definitely talking to the civet cat, only regular folks just couldn’t hear it.
Amid such half-true rumors, the Non-crying Baby became a legend in Li Family Village.
Whether child or adult, everyone who caught sight of the silent, uncrying baby in the basket couldn’t help but reveal a trace of awe on their faces.
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"Little Brother! Is it here?"
With Li Boyang’s guidance, Big Girl quickly dug a big hole in the ground and dug up an unknown herb from it.
Big Girl didn’t recognize the herb, and neither did Li Boyang.
But ever since the Evil Qi entered his body, Li Boyang could vaguely sense anomalies deep within the earth.
Most of those anomalies, out of place with the land, were old medicinal herbs, with a rare few being deeply buried bones.
Pa!
A light tap on the basket.
This had become a tacit communication between Li Boyang and Big Girl over the past few months.
Though this way of communicating wasn’t as convenient as words,
for Li Boyang, who couldn’t speak yet, it was already the best option.
"Little Brother, how many days of full meals do you think this herb will buy us?"
At Li Boyang’s prompt, Big Girl instantly stuffed the herb into her pocket.
For simple-hearted Big Girl, every time she found a herb like this, it meant she could have enough to eat for the next few days.
Thanks to this, Big Girl’s cheeks had become much rosier than when they first met.
If only there was a Wild Doctor in the village who could compound medicine, Li Boyang would’ve loved to save these herbs and make nourishing tonics or soups.
Li Boyang didn’t expect to cook anything fancy or luxurious.
Ordinary things like Eight Treasure Porridge, ginger water, or restorative soups would be more than enough.
Unfortunately, for Li Boyang right now, even these simple demands were still a bit too high-reaching.
Pa! Pa!
Thinking this, Li Boyang gently tapped the basket twice again.
Feeling the light taps from her back,
Big Girl immediately nodded in understanding, her smile growing even brighter.
Because she knew that was Li Boyang answering her question.
When Little Brother tapped the basket twice, he was telling her this herb would let them eat their fill for two days.
"You two kids are quite the interesting pair..."
Just then, a somewhat sharp voice suddenly called out from behind a tree.
"One born divine, one bold to the bone..."
"If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would hardly believe you were merely human children."
Big Girl guarded the basket behind her warily, eyeing the figure that stepped out from behind the tree.
It was a rabbit, pure white except for a patch of red on its head.
Compared to ordinary rabbits, this one was as big as a hyena, and its ears were much longer than normal too.
"Don’t be scared, I don’t eat meat."
The rabbit hopped forward again—and astonishingly, its body shifted into the very image of Big Girl herself.
"Hmm, you humans really are a hassle. Every time I take your form, I have to walk on two legs."
Standing up gradually from the ground, the rabbit disguised as Big Girl complained like this.
"I’m called Deceit Beast, but you can also call me Er Tu. I’m a Spirit Monster of these woods and mountains."
"I’ve been watching you for days—you always seem to find especially rare herbs..."
"You like to eat meat, I like to eat grass. Why don’t we make a deal?"
Stopping about ten paces from Big Girl, Er Tu grinned widely as it spoke.
"From now on, you give me the herbs you find, and I give you some bloody meat in exchange. How about it?"
"Don’t worry, I won’t shortchange you!"
"At the very least, the meat I give you is worth way more than the rice you get from the Wild Doctor."
"Of course, if you prefer ’Guifang Kingdom’ Big Money, I can also trade with money instead."
At this point, Er Tu’s voice paused a moment.
"But I don’t have cash on me—after all, Spirit Monsters like me don’t have the habit of saving up."
"If we trade with Big Money, I figure I can only exchange with you once a month."
"I, Er Tu, have quite a reputation among humans. Many Mountain People and Wizards are happy to store their valuables with me."
"But before that, can you set aside all the herbs you find?"
Watching Er Tu chatter on to itself, Big Girl couldn’t help but look to Li Boyang in the basket for help.
This was, after all, her first time meeting a Spirit Monster who could shape-shift to look like a human. It’d be a lie to say she wasn’t scared.
But the instant she saw Li Boyang, the fear vanished from her mind.
—It’s just a talking giant rabbit, right?
—Little Brother’s hair can catch fire, you know!
—And he’s got a little sword that can fly around!
"Little Brother, is it telling the truth?"
Hearing Big Girl’s low whisper, Li Boyang blinked in response.
Only now did he finally understand where that feeling of being watched over the past few days had come from.
"Yah!"
Li Boyang nodded to Big Girl, deciding to trust Er Tu for now.
After all, if the other really meant them harm, it would’ve made its move days ago.
Besides, judging by its actions, this so-called "Deceit Beast" of a rabbit was clearly very cautious, but not especially powerful.
Even when facing nothing but two human children, it never got closer than ten steps, always keeping a safe enough distance in case it had to turn and run.
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