Chapter 137: The Exotic Armor Beast Helps
Along the journey, Old Madam Chen’s injuries had long healed, but she was just plain lazy.
She was used to being served, even needing someone to bring her water.
Now, she absolutely did not want Yu Meiyao to go work, leaving her, an old woman, to take care of the crippled Yu Yingying instead!
Hearing their complaints, Yu Zhengqing’s face immediately darkened.
“Xiaoyun is already seven years old—he doesn’t need someone constantly watching him. He’s not a troublemaker. Mother, you just need to keep an eye on him. As for Yingying, isn’t she your responsibility?
If we were in the countryside, you’d still have to work the fields despite your age. So what’s so hard about taking care of Yingying? The real problem is your mindset—you still think of yourself as a marquis’s wife. That needs to change.
Even Huilan and Lan, who were raised in luxury, have been working along the journey. Mother, you were born in the countryside—can’t you stop acting so entitled? If one more person helps gather stones, we’ll have a stone house sooner. This tent may be warm, but wild beasts can break in at any time. There’s no protection at all.”
Old Madam Chen never expected her son to scold her so mercilessly.
And now, he was assigning her chores?!
This was outrageous!
It was simply unfilial!
But no matter how much she resented it, she had no choice but to endure.
Because her only support now was Yu Zhengqing.
Meanwhile, Yu Luo’s family arrived at the location the system had marked.
Looking at the snow-covered ground, she had doubts.
“How could there be a hollow stone cave? And if it’s so big, wouldn’t there be hibernating pythons inside? Also, wouldn’t the cave be flooded with melted snow?”
[No, don’t worry. Just start digging—the stone layer is about two meters thick. The system already scanned inside. With Yu Haojie’s strength, it should take at most one day to carve out an entrance.]
“That’s great! That means we don’t need to build a house. Oh, right! My Armor-Claw Beast has grown a lot—I should check if it can break through stone now!”
With that, Yu Luo summoned her pet Armor-Claw Beast from the system space.
When Yu Luo first found it, the Armor-Claw Beast was only the size of a palm.
But after three months, it had grown to half a meter long!
However, its appetite had also skyrocketed.
Before, it only needed a few cabbage leaves per meal.
Now, it ate an entire white radish at once!
This broke Yu Luo’s heart.
Luckily, she had stocked up on vegetable seeds.
Once the snow melted in a month, she could start farming.
Her system storage still had some vegetables left, but they’d only last a few more months.
“Oh wow, your Armor-Claw Beast has grown so much! Back in the bandit cave, it was only about a foot long. How does this thing grow so fast?”
Seeing the summoned beast, Ye Jiamei immediately remembered how it saved them in the cave and happily picked it up.
Despite the sun setting, its colorful scales still shimmered beautifully.
It looked a bit like a crocodile, yet also somewhat like a pangolin.
Nestled in Ye Jiamei’s arms, the beast stayed perfectly still.
“Huh? Why does it have two sharp horns on its head now?”
Since it had been a while since Yu Luo last summoned it, she was surprised by the changes.
She couldn’t help but exclaim in curiosity.
[Its horns are actually its main digging tool. Did you think the Armor-Claw Beast used its claws to dig?]
Hearing this, Yu Luo felt embarrassed and gently patted the beast’s head.
“Oh, I see! But the horns are still less than 10 cm long—doesn’t that mean it’s still too small to be useful?”
“Whimper, whimper!”
As soon as Yu Luo finished speaking, the Armor-Claw Beast lifted its head and cried out in protest.
It was as if it was desperately trying to prove itself.
[It’s strong enough! Although its horns aren’t fully developed, they are already extremely hard. It might be a bit slow, but it can definitely help. When you start farming, it will be even more useful for digging.]
The system paused, then suddenly added something important.
[By the way, the Armor-Claw Beast has a contract with you. In the future, when you earn more system points, don’t forget to upgrade your Beast Taming Skill. Once you reach Level 3, you’ll be able to understand what it says.]
Yu Luo’s eyes lit up.
“Really?
Then give me more point-earning missions so I can level up faster!”
[Alright! Here’s a task: If you carve open the cave entrance and clean it out by tomorrow evening, you’ll earn 1,000 system points. If you also help Yu Qiang’s family build a second cave, you’ll earn 2,000 system points. The second task must be completed within three days.]
“Haha! That’s practically free points! Thanks, system!”
Yu Luo immediately pulled out tools—a hoe, shovel, basket, hammer, and chisel.
“Let’s clear the snow first. Then we’ll let the Armor-Claw Beast break open the stone. Father, you and the beast will excavate the cave. Mother and I will clear the debris so we can build a wall around it later.”
“It’s so small—can it really dig through rock?”
Yu Haojie looked skeptical as he glanced at the beast in Ye Jiamei’s arms.
“It can! The system said so, so I trust it. It’ll just be a bit slower than an adult one.”
With no time to waste, the three of them got straight to work.
The thought of having a secure shelter by tomorrow motivated them endlessly.
From afar, a group of people noticed Yu Luo’s family hard at work near the hill.
Confused, they whispered among themselves.
“I’ll go see what Second Uncle is doing. If they need help, I’ll lend a hand.”
Yu Chunmu returned to the tent and spoke to Huang Xiaoju.
“Go ahead! The baby is sleeping soundly. After all they’ve done for us, helping them a little is the least we can do.”
As Yu Chunmu approached, he saw three more people heading toward Yu Luo’s family.
Speeding up, he caught up to them.
“Grandfather, are you also going to help?”
Seeing Yu Chunmu, Yu Yongcai and Yu Qiang nodded.
“Your Second Uncle is too stubborn. Since they separated, we don’t know what they’re doing. He’s alone with his wife and daughter, so we’re going to check if they need help.”
