Chapter 99: Barnyard Grass Tree
As the evening breeze blew, the dampness on her body made her feel chilled to the core. Huai Yu sniffled, feeling messy as she headed back into the house.
After changing clothes and drying her hair, she stood by the pond. From a distance, she could finally see the full shape of the barnyard grass.
But can this really still be called barnyard grass?
This has to be called a barnyard grass tree!
At the pond’s edge, there was a… well, it looked like an oversized version of barnyard grass, a large tree about five or six meters tall, with a crown that looked like it spanned more than ten meters.
The deep green stem resembled a tree trunk that several people could hug, and the side branches spiraled upward from the main stem, making the tree appear especially thick and sturdy.
The originally thin and long leaves were now plump, thick, and a rich green, with only a slight curve downward at the tips.
From a distance, no one would think this was barnyard grass; instead, it looked like a robust old willow tree that had long been nourished by the rain and dew.
Since it was planted by the pond, half of its stem was submerged in the water.
But it seemed to be hollow, like a water pump, as large water droplets gushed out from the top of the stem, then slid down the leaves and splashed back into the soil at the roots, eventually returning to the pond.
Each droplet was so large, it looked like a water-filled balloon.
Huai Yu stood there, dumbfounded.
She opened her hand and, unable to believe her eyes, repeatedly examined her palm:
“So I’m this strong?”
She glanced at another barnyard grass, the one she had only used her purification ability on.
Thank goodness, it hadn’t grown that tall—only about two or three meters high.
It stood by the pond in the same form, looking like a large bunch of lush reeds, with no water droplets pouring out. It didn’t seem as sturdy either…
This one seemed much more normal.
Wait a minute!
Huai Yu suddenly realized—how could a two or three meter high barnyard grass be normal?!
Wasn’t the mutation supposed to occur at its roots?
She had originally planted it by the pond to see if the roots could grow five, six, or even eight meters deep, and then ask the goslings if they would help her dig up the roots.
The soil tightly held by the roots should be easy to form into clumps and dug out.
Such a dug-up pit would work as a natural filter, like a low-tech well, so she wouldn’t have to filter water so much at home in the future.
But now, looking at it…
What kind of strength would she need to dig up this barnyard grass tree?!
She thought for a moment, then put on her raincoat and walked over to the barnyard grass tree that had just dropped water on her, speaking seriously:
“Can you… understand me?”
But no matter how carefully she listened, all she could hear was a string of meaningless sounds, as if it were drinking water—
“Gululu… gululu… gululu…”
She stood there, looking at the tree, still perplexed.
She hadn’t noticed the pollution value of the water when it had suddenly splashed on her. But if it was water drawn from the roots…
Then, could it be…
Her eyes brightened. She quickly looked up and saw that no large water balloons had emerged yet. She ran back to the house and soon grabbed a bucket.
Positioning the bucket under the leaf tip, Huai Yu waited in anticipation. Not long after, a huge water balloon appeared once again. She adjusted the bucket eagerly, hoping to catch it—
“Smack!”
The leaf couldn’t bear the pressure of the water balloon, bending downward, and the massive water balloon dropped, hitting her face directly.
Then, it slid down the raincoat’s hood, dampening her hair and neck, flowing all over her body without wasting a drop.
Huai Yu: …
Got it, it’s impolite.
“Big Gosling! Little Gosling!” Huai Yu shouted.
Soon, two sea-urchin-like goslings appeared from the tall grass at the pond’s edge. They waddled over with their feet flapping and their tails swinging.
“Peck it!”
Huai Yu really felt that the water splashing earlier was intentional, and she was quite angry now! But…
“Don’t break it, just peck at the side branches.”
“Ahhh!”
The goslings complied, and with a peck, they revealed a small crack—surprisingly tough, much tougher than the wild wolfberry.
With that single peck, the whole tree shook, and several large water balloons fell from the top, smashing onto the ground and forming small puddles, before flowing back into the pond.
But the goslings bent their heads and started pecking the small puddles, stirring them up wildly.
When they lifted their heads, half of the water in the puddle was gone.
Huai Yu: …
She stared at them for a while, then placed the bucket under the leaf again, adjusting the angle and moving a little farther away.
After a while, new water balloons fell into the bucket with a precise “smack.”
This time, the front leaf didn’t even wobble.
Case solved—this barnyard grass tree was really something!
Huai Yu sniffed, grabbed the bucket, and saw that the water balloon inside had filled a third of the bucket.
The evening breeze was so cold, and the raincoat couldn’t block the dampness from sticking to her skin. She carried the bucket back to the house, then reached out to feel it—
Hmm, still “dirty.” The mutation value hadn’t changed at all, and it was just like the pond water.
But this water…
She scooped some into a bowl to take a closer look, noticing that it was clear, with only a slight dust that could only be seen from a certain angle. Other than that, it appeared completely pure.
Huai Yu was stunned.
A moment later—
“Achoo!” After a forceful sneeze, she finally became happy again—though it wasn’t an underground filtered well, she had a surface-level faucet now! This barnyard grass was really good!
As for the other one…
She looked over and shook the branches, finding that it was still as quiet as a regular barnyard grass tree, with no “gululu” sounds or movement. It seemed like just an ordinary plant.
She wasn’t in a hurry, though—it was right next to her pond, and eventually, she’d figure out the mutation direction.
She glanced at the remaining half-basket of Krang balls and decided to give some to the barnyard grass.
Drink it, she wouldn’t drink it herself, and neither would Crazy Beast. It was too little to be useful as compost.
Might as well feed it to the barnyard grass!
As she placed the Krang balls at the roots, she muttered to herself:
“I heard barnyard rice is edible… You’ve grown this big, should be able to produce a lot, right? Please grow more and let me see. What if it’s tasty…”
Sigh.
Humans are really hard to satisfy.
It hasn’t been long since she had nothing, and now, she was getting a bit tired of eating the cheap old rice.
…
A busy evening passed, and Huai Yu took out her spiritual nourishment, frowning while reading, but couldn’t help but glance up at the roses in the vase.
After a while, she set the book down and lay back down on the desk.
In the largest round-bellied white porcelain vase, a large bouquet of vibrant roses was blooming lavishly.
They didn’t seem withered from being pruned, nor were the petals quickly falling; instead, they absorbed the most ordinary water in the vase and quietly blossomed.
Crazy Beast’s bamboo branches had begun to yellow, and the light blue primroses had withered, but the pink and white roses were still blooming passionately.
The room was filled with a faint fragrance.
Huai Yu stared at the roses, lost in thought.
Mutated plants are so powerful, and those with personalities like Crazy Beast, most of them need to be suppressed before they patiently listen to you.
There are also those whose mutation direction is simply to grow their body and bear more fruits, like the large pine trees on Mount Sanqing—they have good temperaments to begin with.
But… the rose corridor?
Crazy Beast was so powerful on the mountain, unable to even resist, yet the rose corridor was easily suppressed, with no effort at all.
She didn’t understand Zhou Qian’s precautions about it. She even thought they were exaggerating.
Even Lin Xuefeng, so powerful, was afraid of the rose corridor’s anger during a rainy night, not giving the criminal any chance to struggle.
It was clearly so powerful, but why could she get close to it?
Why could she come and go freely and even prune and place it in a vase?
Huai Yu remembered what Zhou Qian had said:
“The rose corridor was desperately nurtured by General Wu Yue.”
But… why does the rose corridor feel pleasant, while Wu Yue just thinking about him is annoying?
And he wanted to take Lin Xuefeng’s ice sculpture but couldn’t even stop the ice sculpture’s sealed power—
Though Zhou Qian didn’t directly say it, he had been injured, so Wu Yue must have been too. If he had the ability, he could have blocked it.
That means, Wu Yue’s ability couldn’t surpass Lin Xuefeng’s.
Then… the rose corridor, which even Lin Xuefeng feared, was really nurtured by him?
But if not, there are so many smart people in the world, surely someone would have discovered it by now. Why hasn’t anyone questioned it?
She opened her hand and thought about the barnyard grass’s rapid growth today, feeling deeply puzzled.
Then, a terrifying thought flashed in her mind—
What if the rose corridor really was nurtured by Wu Yue, but it treated her kindly…
Could she have some connection with that annoying person before she lost her memory?
No, no, no!
Huai Yu shook her head frantically: bad luck! Really bad luck!
She hadn’t met Wu Yue yet, but just thinking about him was enough to make her dislike him. She didn’t want to have anything to do with him.
Maybe the reason she lost her memory was because her previous memories were too terrible?
But if the rose corridor treated her well not because of this, then… could it have been nurtured by her?
But that’s impossible!
After all, she was really useless right now, barely surviving on her own.
And even if she had nurtured it, her abilities should have been strong back then. She couldn’t have been insignificant, right?
But now, she’d never heard any stories about a powerful person named “Huai Yu.”
Huai Yu furrowed her brows, unable to make sense of it.
The night grew deeper, and the floral scent in the air became stronger.
The evening breeze gently blew through the door gap, carrying the fragrance of flowers into the room.
Huai Yu thought about it for a while and started to feel sleepy. She had no choice but to push aside these unanswerable questions and lie down on her bed.
In her dream, there were underground river streams, the evening breeze blowing through different forces in the air. She opened her arms, feeling every pore in her body working hard to close…
Trying to grow.
Then, she was quickly enclosed in a small box, her body curled up tightly…
Huai Yu woke up in the pitch-black night, the image of the tree cocoon she had crawled out of flashing through her mind.
Next time! Next time she must go up the mountain and see that tree cocoon, maybe even bring it back…
…
But when she woke up early the next morning, she couldn’t remember her dream, only feeling dizzy, sneezing uncontrollably, and lacking energy.
Good grief.
Huai Yu discarded her previous guesses, since no strong person would catch a cold from having a bucket of water poured over them, right?
She didn’t even have any cold medicine—sigh! Next time, she’d better stock up on some common medicines, especially since her place was so remote.
So, she just drank more hot water, feeling especially drained whenever she used her abilities.
But still, she had to get up.
Because the little chicks, much weaker than the big goslings, still needed feeding. Also, the vegetable garden had dried out a bit after several days without rain…
Ah, it’s so hard!
Huai Yu carried the water bucket in the garden, drowsily lamenting: If the rose corridor really was nurtured by me, then my anonymous life is so tragic!
At least bring a few strong male servants over?
She looked at the culprit that made her sick—the barnyard grass tree, still swaying and dropping water balloons.
Angrily, she grabbed another bucket and placed it firmly under the leaves.
…
By the time she gathered her strength to finish everything, the sun was already high in the sky.
Huai Yu felt like she was radiating heat and barely made it back inside to grab a bag of nutrients. She touched her forehead, unsure whether she had a cold or a fever.
But… it was only her here, and if she collapsed in bed silently, no one would know, right?
She gritted her teeth, got up to make herself some saltwater, and then finally felt reassured enough to lie back down.
As soon as her head hit the pillow, the dreams rushed in, and she felt as if she were in a vast jungle.
There were many strange, towering trees in the jungle, with small yet resilient branches spiraling around decaying tree trunks, blossoming with gentle flowers.
She walked through the dense forest, calling, “Where are you?! Where are you…”
But the trees remained silent, and the wind, too, was still, almost like… a piece of forest had become completely abandoned.
