Chapter 49 Fallen Meteor

These past few days, Chi Sui has been extremely busy.

Of course, an even busier soul is probably Green Tooth, whose abilities are constantly required for both the surface and underground fields.

Running back and forth for days, the snake has actually lost weight, lying listlessly next to the farmland.

Luo Luo has also been quite busy lately, occupied with expanding its empire. Ever since returning from the underground, it has experienced explosive reproduction, with the number of pink-ringed bees growing from just a few to now over a hundred. The magnificent pink gems are now officially sparkling across Ping'an Ranch.

Meanwhile, the star grass in the surface flower beds boasts incredible vitality, with some specimens even sprouting flower buds. Before long, that moss-covered first layer of the underground will be blooming all over with tender yellow little flowers.

As the star grass takes root underground, Chi Sui's relationship with the mushroom folk has grown increasingly close. Just a couple of days ago, she asked the mushroom folk to clear a passage connecting the beehive directly to the underground. By sheer coincidence, the area right beneath the beehive happened to be that very mushroom field.

By now, the mushrooms in that plot have been entirely harvested and placed into the freezer, while the remaining soil has been furnished with potted flowers brought from the Cecil Ranch. That section connects to the surface, receiving ample sunlight and a steady supply of water, allowing the flowers to thrive under Green Tooth's meticulous care.

Luo Luo's hive is also being constructed simultaneously above and below ground. With the help of the mushroom folk, the pink-ringed bees only need to build the upper section, and through their combined efforts above and below, Luo Luo's castle is already taking preliminary shape.

Nowadays, when Chi Sui goes underground, she no longer uses the crude hemp rope ladder; instead, she directly rides the slide built by the pink-ringed bees—easy, convenient, and effortless, though her landings tend to be a bit disheveled.

To help Luo Luo accumulate energy and give birth to even more pink-ringed bees, the white sugar in Chi Sui's possession has been completely depleted, but the ranch has gained a brand-new agricultural product in return—honey.

Although the yield is not high at the moment, once the star grass underground blooms, the ranch's honey production will reach a whole new level.

Of course, the flowers of the star grass cannot yield the legendary "pink gold" from the pink-ringed bees, but the quality of the honey produced will still be exceptionally high.

Hector finished touring around the Suifeng territory and finally returned yesterday, bringing back the agricultural products she wanted to procure, gradually enriching the variety of ingredients in the freezer.

Now, out of all the preparations she has been making, only one final task remains.

She walked into the beehive castle under construction and, through the doorway specially reserved for her, entered the slide leading to the underground.

The users of this passage include both herself and the swarm of pink-ringed bees. The bees have very few demands when descending, but to accommodate Chi Sui, the mushroom folk thoughtfully added plenty of cushioning to the slide, which specifically manifested as several looping circles.

Perhaps it was a bit too thoughtful with all those loops, because by the time Chi Sui's feet touched the ground, she was pressing both hands over her mouth and barely managed to keep from vomiting.

This slide still leans a bit too heavily toward the entertaining side.

After taking a long time to recover, Chi Sui greeted Guduo, picked up the lantern prepared for her in advance, and headed toward the second layer.

Guduo is the very first mushroom person Chi Sui ever encountered. Among the four little mushroom folk, she was born the latest, yet she is the most receptive to light.

Out of sheer fondness, Guduo spends every day on the first underground layer, whereas the other mushroom folk generally return to the mushroom village on the second layer once construction work is finished.

However, the person Chi Sui is looking for right now almost never appears on the first layer.

"Knock, knock, knock."

With three rhythmic taps, Chi Sui stood before the largest mushroom house in the mushroom village.

Unlike the other low-ceilinged dwellings, this mushroom house is built to the scale of a normal human's habitation. It appears enormous down here in the underground, and its builder likely had more than just their own accommodation in mind when constructing it.

The door swung open shortly after being knocked. Looking at that heavily bearded face, Chi Sui broke into a smile:

"Good morning."

The mushroom person stepped sideways, making room for Chi Sui to enter before replying at a leisurely pace:

"There is no such thing as morning down in the underground."

"That's fine, then I'll just act as the timekeeper."

No particular expression could be discerned on the mushroom person's face. Hearing this, he simply fumbled around in the kitchen in the dark.

"Is there something you need this time?"

Chi Sui had already naturally placed the lantern on the table, watching the mushroom person's back by the lantern light.

"Nothing special, just wanted to say the flowers on the first layer are about to bloom. Have you been up to take a look recently?"

The noises in the kitchen suddenly paused, and the surroundings instantly fell quiet.

After a moment, the mushroom person replied: "I did hear Guduo mention it, but I haven't gone to see it yet."

Hearing this, Chi Sui nodded. Regardless of whether the other party could see her or not, she stared at the lantern and spoke with a casual air:

"You seem to particularly dislike light."

The sounds from the kitchen stopped once again.

Only this time, the mushroom person emerged into the light carrying two cups.

"It's not that I dislike it, it's just that there's too much of it."

With that, the mushroom person placed one of the cups right in front of Chi Sui.

"Care to try? A specialty of the underground—water-absorber bug juice."

Chi Sui's hand, reaching for the cup, suddenly froze in mid-air.

Bug?

She gave a dry laugh and said, "Thanks, but I'm not thirsty for now."

The mushroom person did not insist, picking up his own cup instead and sitting down across from Chi Sui.

Chi Sui had no intention of letting the previous question go, and steered the conversation right back.

"Last time Guduo and the others dug the passage to the surface, they didn't seem to have any adverse reactions."

"Does the surface air really make it that difficult for you all to survive?"

Clearly not expecting this question, the mushroom person was visibly stunned.

He shook his head and said, "When the sunlight is intense, it's hard to see clearly, and energy consumption accelerates. At night, it's probably fine, I suppose."

The mushroom person's straightforward reply was something Chi Sui had not anticipated. She remained silent for quite a while before continuing:

Then what you said before about the surface air being hard to breathe was..."

Before she could finish, the mushroom person interrupted, "I was just used to it."

"Chi Sui, I'm different from Guduo and the others. Ever since I was born, I've been in the deepest depths of the underground. I've grown accustomed to the thin air of the underworld and this lightless place. Up on the surface, I would only feel like I don't belong, and back then, I didn't even have the courage to step foot up there."

"After he left, I kept wondering why things turned out this way. Later on, I figured it out—I was just full of self-doubt."

Chi Sui moved her lips, yet she had no idea what to say.

The mushroom person's words continued:

"After Guduo and the others were born, this mindset improved a lot, but I still hate places that are too bright. So once the moss on the first layer grew in, all the subsequent construction work was carried out by Guduo and them."

Chi Sui suddenly chimed in:

"Did you know that the flowers currently planted on the first layer are called star grass?"

"They're tender yellow little flowers that emit a fluorescent glow at night, just like stars in the night sky. Though their light isn't intense, they are still beautiful."

The cup in the mushroom person's hand slipped from his grasp, hitting the table with a muffled thud.

"Stars?"

Chi Sui nodded and continued:

"Yes, stars. The seed my grandfather left behind in Suifeng Town. Every household in Suifeng Town plants them. This little flower possesses incredible tenacity, able to grow in clay just like pasture grass, even in harsh underground conditions without exception."

As her voice trailed off, Chi Sui caught sight of the mushroom person's twitching beard.

...

"Didn't you ask me what my name was before?"

"Dark Star. The name he gave me."

A sense of nostalgia filled the mushroom person's voice, clearly immersed deep within his memories.

"I could never figure out why he gave me such a name—a dim star, a fading meteor gradually losing its light."

Hearing this, Chi Sui spoke gently:

"Perhaps his intention was just like the flower seeds he left behind: a star that continues to shine brightly even within a dark world."

"Gentle, strong, and brimming with vitality."