Zu An quickly scanned the surroundings. There wasn’t anything different about the mountain valley he was in other than the fact that the air was unnaturally crisp and refreshing.
“Ah Zu, what should we do next?” asked Ji Xiaoxi.
“Let’s just wait here for the time being. There’s something weird about how the rats are reacting to the mountain valley.” Zu An couldn’t see anything amiss about the mountain valley, but he felt that it would be better safe than sorry.
Ji Xiaoxi nodded in agreement. She took out a water bottle from her waist pouch and took a sip. The earlier journey had really tired her out.
After hydrating herself, she passed the water bottle over and asked, “Do you want to have a sip too?”
Zu An shook his head and said, “Nah. I’ll probably finish up the water in that small bottle of yours in a few gulps. You should save it for yourself instead.”
“Don’t worry, this is actually an artifact my father had a runemaster make for me. Despite its small appearance, it’s able to store a lot of water. It’s plenty for the two of us.”
“A storage tool!” Zu An was impressed.
He took the bottle over and examined it, but he couldn’t spot anything different. However, when he tried gulping it down, he realized that there was almost no end to the supply of water it contained.
Ji Xiaoxi couldn’t help but notice that Zu An was drinking right off the rim of the bottle, and her face reddened. She thought that he would pour it into his mouth instead. Isn’t this an indirect…
Nevertheless, she quickly calmed herself and said, “It’s not really a storage tool. It can only be used to store water.”
So it’s a downgraded version of a storage ring, Zu An nodded in realization. “Are storage tools artifacts that only exist in the legends?”
“It’s exaggerating it to say that they only exist in legends, but they’re indeed quite rare. Only top-notch runemasters are capable of forging them, and the space in most of them is limited. Even the larger ones can only store this amount of stuff…” Ji Xiaoxi gestured with her hand to give a rough idea.
So, around a meter cubed big?, Zu An thought.
“Is there anything you want to eat? My father prepared quite a lot of food for me.” As she spoke, Ji Xiaoxi took out all kinds of food from the little pouch. There were desserts, biscuits, and even fruits.
“Woah, are you Dora*mon?!” Zu An was utterly amazed. How in the world is such a small pouch holding so much stuff?!
“This is also another artifact my father had a runemaster forge for me. It should be considered as a type of storage tool.” There was a faint tinge of red constantly lingering on Ji Xiaoxi’s face as she spoke, making her look incredibly adorable.
“…” Zu An.
It was just a moment ago you told me that storage tools are extremely rare, but it turns out that you have two of them with you. Aren’t you trying to show off to me right now?!
“These are osmanthus cakes bought from Xu Ji. It’s absolutely delicious. These are peach blossom cakes, a special product from the neighboring province. If you don’t like sweet food, I also have nuts with me too…” Ji Xiaoxi fished out a large bunch of tidbits and began introducing them one by one. The gleam in her eyes showed that she was excited to show off her little stash.
Zu An was rendered speechless. “It feels like you’re here to enjoy the scenery as a tourist than to explore the dungeon.”
Ji Xiaoxi scratched her head in embarrassment. “I wasn’t planning on taking so much stuff with me, but my father was worried that I wouldn’t have any food to eat while I’m in here, so he stuffed all of these into my pouch.”
“…” Zu An.
Wow, who could tell that Ji Dengtu actually would be such a doting father?
Speaking of which, why didn’t the Chu clan prepare anything for me then? Ahh, this disparity sure is heartbreaking. Hmmm, it doesn’t seem like Chu Chuyan brought anything with her too though. I guess the Chu clan is stricter with its family members; they think of it as a trial.
Zu An tried his best to make himself feel better.
There was an expectant look in Ji Xiaoxi’s eyes when she offered her desserts to him, so Zu An felt that it wouldn’t be good to disappoint her. He tried the osmanthus cake, and his eyes immediately lit up in delight. “It’s fragrant!”
Meanwhile, the army of Goldenfur Monstrous Rats, who were still camping outside the mountain valley, flew into a state of rage. What the hell? It’s tired for us to chase you all the way here too! Do you know how parched our throats are after running so several hours straight? How could you picnic right in front of us?!
You have successfully trolled the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats for +6 +6 +6…
Zu An’s eyes lit up. He was receiving a small number of Rage points from each of the rats, but one must know that there was an army of them here. It was quite a sizeable amount in total.
Knowing that this was a good opportunity to squeeze out more Rage points from them, he turned to look at the army of rats and beckoned them over with a wag of his finger.
“Oh? Why are you all sitting there so pitifully? Why not come in and share our snacks?”
Behind him, Ji Xiaoxi blinked her large eyes in confusion, She couldn’t understand why Zu An was provoking those rats right now, but his tone was so annoying that even someone as mild-tempered as her felt an urge to beat him up.
As for the rats, they couldn’t understand what Zu An was doing, but his provocative tone and gesture were more than enough to fan their anger.
You have successfully trolled the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats for +6 +6 +6…
Some of them couldn’t stand it and tried to charge over, but barely a few steps later, they hesitantly came to a halt before retreating back down.
Looking at the huge influx of Rage points, Zu An was overjoyed. A true keyboard warrior wouldn’t give up on an opportunity to troll, so he continued taunting them gleefully.
You have successfully trolled the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats for +6 +6 +6…
Finally, one of the rats finally couldn’t stand it anymore and charged right in. There was a notable bald patch at the back of its head.
With this rat leading the pack, the rest quickly succumbed to their rage and charged in as well. While rushing forth, some of them pricked up their fur, preparing to shoot their thorns.
“Crap. It looks like I accidentally went overboard.”
Alarmed, Zu An immediately turned tail and ran, only to realize that Ji Xiaoxi was still doltishly sitting on the floor, munching on her snacks. He quickly rushed out to grab and her arm and pulled her away with him.
“Ahhh! My candied fruits! I was just about to eat them!!!” Ji Xiaoxi stared at the snacks she had left on the floor with a horrified look on her face.
“I’ll buy them for you once we’re out of the dungeon!” shouted Zu An.
“You said the same thing when you borrowed my handkerchief last time. You still haven’t repaid me yet,” murmured Ji Xiaoxi in discontentment.
Zu An laughed sheepishly. He had really forgotten about that. “That too. I’ll pay everything back all at once.”
After charging into the mountain valley and seeing that nothing was happening, the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats were further emboldened. With furious squeaks, they continued to chase Zu An tenaciously. That damned human is too hateful! We must rip off his flesh and gobble down his bones in order to vent our anger!
Due to the complicated terrain around the mountain valley, it was much easier for Zu An and Ji Xiaoxi to escape this time around. However, to their dismay, they were still unable to shake the rats off their tail. There were simply far too many of them, and they had a sharp sense of smelling too. No matter how well the two of them were hiding, the rats would find them swiftly and summon their comrades to encircle them.
In the end, they were forced to a corner and decided to seek refuge on a big tree.
Unfortunately, the Goldenfur Monstrous Rats still managed to find them in the end. It took only a few moments for a huge crowd of rats to gather beneath the tree.