Chapter 18 of 100

Chapter 18

17 min read4,230 words

After driving away the wild boar, Lin Bei picked up the more than ten taro roots that hadn't been eaten and prepared to take them back to where he lived.

Lin Bei was very fond of nature and had an unusually strong interest in plants. For him, watching plants sprout from seeds, grow branches, and bear fruit until the fruit ripened was an unparalleled pleasure. Gao Rou once scolded Lin Bei with a mix of frustration and affection, "You must have been a farmer in your past life." Lin Bei just smiled and didn't respond.

After bringing the taro roots back, he naturally planned to plant them. Lin Bei worked hard to clear a plot of land by the pond. The land below the surface of the pond was mostly hard blue stones, so Lin Bei had to use many pointed wooden stakes to pry them away. This project took three days. With Lin Bei's current physical strength, he managed to clear a plot of land about ten meters long and six meters wide. He then compacted the soil, watered it, and let the water slowly seep in to form a muddy field. After planting the taro roots, Lin Bei was almost exhausted from the effort.

Being a snake was much harder than being a human. Without limbs, everything had to be done with his tail, but a tail was far less efficient than hands. Lin Bei's tail wasn't made of steel, so the whole process was quite challenging.

However, after finishing the work and lying by the edge of the land, looking at his accomplishment, Lin Bei felt it was all worth it. At least these three days were fulfilling, and he didn't think about his past family. For humans, perhaps loneliness was the greatest enemy.

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, the agreed-upon time with the hunters had arrived.

Lin Bei woke up, disturbed by the chirping of birds. The chirping was very soft and delicate.

"Stop it, or I'll eat you," Lin Bei said irritably, looking at the bird's nest beside him, where two newly hatched chicks with downy feathers were chirping.

Lin Bei had been eating bird eggs these past few days. The taste wasn't great, but they kept his stomach from growling. These two chicks had hatched from the eggs, and Lin Bei, who always cherished young life, naturally wouldn't eat them.

The arrival of the two chicks kept Lin Bei busy. Besides taking care of himself, he had to take care of the chicks. Newborn chicks were very fragile, and Lin Bei initially thought they wouldn't survive, but they proved to be surprisingly resilient.

"Chirp chirp..." Seeing Lin Bei wake up, the chicks chirped even louder, flapping their downy wings. They were hungry. Since they saw Lin Bei as soon as they opened their eyes, they naturally considered him their mother. Asking their mother for food was only natural.

Lin Bei sighed and finally gave in, quickly climbing down from the locust tree. If these little guys didn't eat, they would keep chirping.

Lin Bei went to the edge of the stream, observed for a while, and then saw a stone crevice. He stirred the crevice with his tail, then inserted it and paused. After a moment, Lin Bei felt something on his tail and pulled it out, bringing up a crab that he quickly killed.

He washed the crab and brought it to the Green Dragon Stone. He then picked up a small stick, carefully cracked open the crab, exposed the tender crab meat, removed the shell, and washed it again before slowly mashing the crab meat.

The chicks were too small, so Lin Bei had to feed them minced meat to avoid indigestion. On the first day, it took him four hours to prepare the minced meat. Now, he was much more skilled and could prepare it in about an hour.

After mashing the meat, Lin Bei wrapped it in a leaf and threw it to the chicks on the locust tree. "Eat, little ones. I should have thrown you away when I had the chance."

Lin Bei didn't eat as meticulously as this, so he felt quite resentful. Lin Bei's personality was such that, because he had children, he was full of love for all young life.

The chicks stopped chirping and started pecking at the food. Their appetites were small, but they liked to eat frequently. One crab was enough to sustain them for half a day.

While they were eating, Lin Bei swam to the side, where he had placed the bird eggs he had brought back from the bird valley. There were only a dozen left. Lin Bei used a small stick to crack the eggshells and carefully sucked out the egg liquid. He didn't eat the shells, and this was a delicate task. After all, how big were the bird eggs compared to Lin Bei's head? They were hundreds of times smaller, so he had to be very careful to suck out the egg liquid.

After finishing the egg liquid, Lin Bei felt a warm sensation in his stomach. He examined his body and sighed, "I've gotten so thin from hunger."

After he finished eating, the chicks also finished. Lin Bei poked his head over, and the two little ones pecked at his head affectionately before closing their eyes to sleep. They always slept after eating.

He picked up a simple vine cover with his mouth and placed it over the bird's nest, then added a few leaves on top. After checking to make sure there were no gaps, he carefully slid down the locust tree. He was going to the wooden shelter to meet the hunters.

Diving to the bottom of the Dragon Pond, Lin Bei lifted the bear he had tied with vines, carried it with a tree stick, and took one last look at the locust tree before setting off.

Lin Bei wasn't too worried about the safety of the two chicks. Over the past ten days, he had driven away almost all the wild animals within a few miles. For those that refused to leave, he had no choice but to kill them. He successfully spread his scent around, making the area around the Dragon Pond almost a no-go zone. Tigers and leopards didn't dare come near.

The wooden shelter wasn't far from the Dragon Pond, at least for Lin Bei. At full speed, his speed rivaled that of a cheetah, and his endurance far exceeded it.

When he reached the wooden shelter, Lin Bei didn't go directly to it but circled around. He had to be cautious. He wasn't human anymore, so he had to be careful. Although the hunters had a deal with him, Lin Bei couldn't be sure it was entirely safe. For humans, there were too many reasons to kill a snake.

There were no traps around the wooden shelter, and Lin Bei detected the presence of seven people. The large ox was also there, which seemed strange to Lin Bei.

He tapped the ground with a tree stick, and the sound reached the wooden shelter. Almost instantly, the door opened, and six men and one woman ran out, their faces filled with surprise.

"Lord Dragon, you really came."

"That's great."

"I told you, Lord Dragon wouldn't break his word."

Ten days ago, he was called Lord Longchong, but now he was called Lord Dragon. The change in title was quite peculiar. In fact, Lin Bei didn't know that after the hunters returned, they thought the name "Lord Longchong" wasn't good. In folk tradition, snakes were often called "little dragons," so they simply called Lin Bei "Lord Dragon." What else could such a large snake be?

When Lin Bei met the hunters again, he felt a bit of familiarity.

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