Chapter 37: How Truly Exquisite

With ears burning hot and cheeks flushed, Chu Jiu accepted the string of titles bestowed upon him.

In an instant, the three short orc-like squirrels, who had moments before been terrified and desperate to flee, all exclaimed in unison, their eyes sparkling with admiration as they looked at Chu Jiu: "Friend of the spirits!"

Chu Jiu replied awkwardly, "…Um, yeah."

At least now these little squirrels had calmed down and could communicate.

His embarrassment over the juvenile honorifics hadn’t been in vain.

The three squirrels exchanged glances, finally grasping the situation, and turned to Chu Jiu:

“You saved us?”

“You defeated the monster?”

Chu Jiu hurriedly pointed to Lu Qingyan beside him: “No, no, he defeated the monster.”

Lu Qingyan added, “He was the one who broke the monster’s cocoon and saved you all.”

The squirrels looked up at Chu Jiu, then at Lu Qingyan, and finally bowed deeply in unison, their large fluffy tails raised high, shouting aloud: “Thank you both! Thank you, brave, kind, and just friends of the spirits!”

Hearing such a title, Chu Jiu couldn’t help but lower his head and press his palm against his forehead.

Lu Qingyan’s expression appeared calm at first glance, but his hands involuntarily clasped behind his back.

Once the squirrels understood the situation, they no longer tried to dig their way out in panic. Instead, following Chu Jiu’s suggestion, they found a clean spot and sat in a neat row, beginning to recount their origins and how they ended up trapped here:

These three squirrels were orc brothers who lived in the “Sanctuary Valley.”

Chu Jiu withdrew his gaze from their large tails and asked a question the orcs couldn’t refuse: “You’ve been trapped for so long—you must be hungry. What do you want to eat?”

However, in their memories, no one had ever defeated such a massive monster alone.

At this, the squirrel carrying an axe grew sorrowful, shaking his head desperately while holding his knees.

Chu Jiu immediately shared his thoughts with Lu Qingyan.

Finally, unable to hold back, Chu Jiu burst out laughing: “Hahaha, what’s this? ‘A beautiful and strong human man’—hahaha, that’s a description fit for kindergarteners, not anyone else!”

The orcs were familiar with the cave’s structure and the composition of the rocks. As Lu Qingyan used his abilities to clear away debris, they observed and advised which stones were untouchable and which could be destroyed outright.

In the end, the mixture was poured into wooden molds, pressed tightly, and cooled, forming malt-colored soap bars.

Well, with such big, fluffy tails, it was only natural they’d want to take good care of them.

Chu Jiu whispered to Lu Qingyan, “Has your spiritual energy recovered?”

He was a bit puzzled.

Only then could they proudly return to their tribe.

With everything arranged, Lu Qingyan lightly pressed off the ground, moving with agility beyond Chu Jiu’s imagination, soaring to the cave’s ceiling.

As for what exactly the bug was, why it spewed mud, and why it cocooned its prey, the squirrels didn’t know either and appeared even more bewildered than Chu Jiu.

Chu Jiu nodded: “Alright, alright, we won’t go in again.”

He held his breath and carefully inspected the mud but found no collectible materials.

Fortunately, the soap-making process was straightforward, so Chu Jiu immediately activated the “Virtual Assembly Line.”

The squirrels craned their necks to look at the passage blocked firmly by fallen stones, half in disbelief. In the orcs’ memories, no human possessed such potent abilities to move so much debris.

The three squirrels’ eyes widened: “Really? Really?”

Meanwhile, Chu Jiu received a notification:

For a moment, the squirrels were too caught up to cry or babble; they held sunflower seeds in their paws and began cracking them with their teeth.

It turned out that the orcs, especially those with fluffy big tails like theirs, cared deeply about their appearance.

Fifteen minutes later, the two humans and the three squirrels all ran out of the underground cave.

Unexpectedly, the development points earned from making the cleaning kits exceeded those gained from rescuing them from the cocoon.

As for the “don’t mention him” part, perhaps the local ability users had some secret organization?

The figure soon disappeared into the forest.

“With gems, you can enter the tribe; with gems, you can find the blacksmith.”

Could the candy shop kid’s story be connected to what the squirrels were saying now?

Ah, so they really were mocked!

Chu Jiu was momentarily stunned, thinking he could have the dodo bird take him away, but then remembered that the other person was such a powerful ability user with more important matters to attend to.

Lu Qingyan then led him to the remains of the grotesque bug — or rather, what had once been the bug, now a large heap of mud.

Indeed, only humans carrying enough gems could enter their tribe. Moreover, the tribe’s blacksmith would only accept equipment commissions from humans after receiving gems.

Chu Jiu was taken aback: “Gems? You need gems to enter your tribe?”

But now was clearly not the time to ponder deeply.

[Orc tribe thanks you for saving their lives, gained 300 development points!]

They had come out intending to mine some ore from the Forgotten Forest.

Then, tilting their heads, they said: “We can help, we can help!”

Chu Jiu quickly said, “Let’s go.”

Only then did Lu Qingyan respond, “Alright.”

The squirrel carrying the axe nodded: “Yes, find it, find it.”

He simply sat by the fire, pulled out a volume of “Folk Tales,” and reread “The Adventures of Halifa.”

Chu Jiu frowned: “What kind of gems do you mean?”

Chu Jiu thought that was good—earlier, Lu Qingyan had said his spiritual energy was still recovering. If the orcs could dig out themselves, Lu Qingyan wouldn’t have to exert his power.

As for whether they could accept commissions to craft equipment for humans, the three nodded vigorously.

Especially with their big, fluffy tails.

Is the entrance fee really that expensive?

After politely bidding farewell, the three orc brothers hoisted their axes and shovels, clutched their cleaning kits, and cheerfully left.

Then the squirrels glanced at each other, looked toward Chu Jiu, and said in unison: “We’ll lead you out! We’ll take our kind friend of the spirits with us!”

He quickly shook his head, comforting himself that he would soon see Little Can, while putting his hand into Lu Qingyan’s palm.

Unfortunately, the three squirrels’ language skills were insufficient to describe exactly what Lu Qingyan had done up there; all they could do was wag their tails and indicate to Chu Jiu: “He’s amazing! He’s so strong!”

Lu Qingyan’s eyes curved into a smile: “Good.”

Just after finishing the story, a cool breeze swept overhead, followed by a sound—

As they spoke, the squirrel carrying the iron shovel rested his paws on his knees, shaking his head endlessly, lamenting: “Bad bug, bad bug, lost it, lost it, so sad, so sad.”

Could gems bought in human cities be the kind they meant?

This way, there was no worry about secondary collapses caused by clearing debris.

The brownish mud still faintly resembled the grotesque bug, emitting a nauseating, rotten stench.

“Come find us, find us!”

Lu Qingyan spoke clearly and firmly. Strangely, the squirrels who had earlier been chattering back and forth in front of Chu Jiu now pricked up their ears and lowered their tails, listening attentively.

Hey, can you please stop using that title? It’s really unbearable!

Though humans hadn’t traded with them for a long time, this was an age-old rule that couldn’t be changed.

Usually, for such a powerful monster, its tentacles, skin, and even bodily fluids should be recyclable.

Chu Jiu handed the squirrels three huge sunflower seeds.

“Also, each of you gets a set. How about that?”

The three squirrels, both eating and accepting the gifts, were more enthusiastic than ever, answering Chu Jiu’s questions with a dozen chirps and squeaks.

Having caught their breath, the fluffy-tailed squirrels stood and said to Chu Jiu:

Chu Jiu nodded: “I will. Once I find the gems you mentioned, I will come to Sanctuary Valley to find you.”

However, the squirrels shook their heads: they didn’t know what kind exactly, only that they were colorful, sparkling, small, and pretty. They’d heard such gems could be bought in human cities.

[Ancient Soap], [Little Comb for Grooming Fur], and [Cleaning Cloth] formed the [Orc Tribe Cleaning Kit]. When Chu Jiu handed the kits to the three squirrels, they looked up at him, the soft-hearted god, tears falling one by one from their eyes.

Chu Jiu was stunned for a few seconds, but Lu Qingyan quietly said beside him: “If they stay so sad and depressed, you won’t get the answers you want.”

Following Chu Jiu’s gaze to the surrounding woods, the man added:

This mud was very similar to the sludge left by the [Swamp Sticky Monster] they had defeated earlier.

Hey? Did that usually expressionless, serious man just curl the corner of his mouth?

Chu Jiu had intended to run out on his own, but the man showed no sign of letting him down; instead, he continued flying swiftly through the cave with him.

*

When they arrived at this underground mine, they hadn’t yet found any rare ore before the monster bug cocooned them and locked them underground.

Chu Jiu took a small detour nearby, trying to call out: “Dodo? Little Can?”

The comb was simple to make; with spiritual power, three could be made in a minute.

*

At that moment, Lu Qingyan said solemnly beside him: “Returning the way we came will be faster.”

If it were common crystals, they could collect them on another map.

Therefore, Chu Jiu didn’t ask further or try to keep them any longer, only expressing his sincere thanks again.

Chu Jiu said: “Such small things are indeed hard to find once lost—but I can make you a set now.”

“There’s a blacksmith in the tribe!”

The system’s initial beginner’s gift pack came with basic daily necessities like toothbrushes and soap, so Chu Jiu had never made soap before and lacked a quick crafting recipe.

Now, the three brothers could only return to the tribe dirty and grimy.

Chu Jiu hurriedly said: “What I’m looking for is gypsum. I had already gathered some before the monster appeared. If that’s not enough, I can go to Sanctuary Valley; there are plenty of ores there.”