The Importance of Food

"Crack—squelch!"

The moment Seja's teeth sank into the cold, slippery gel, the plump, springy insect meat burst open in her mouth like the fattest swamp leech.

"Huh?!"

This Moss Monster was far more delicious than she had imagined.

Plump and juicy, with a unique swamp flavor.

Mm... it was the taste of happiness.

Seja felt as if all her worries had melted away, and she had turned into a Slime, happily bubbling.

It was like returning to that midsummer in her memory, when she was still shorter than the wolf-fang dagger hanging at her father's waist, clumsily grabbing a Moss Monster with both hands and biting down—the rich flavor of the plump insect meat still lingered.

She was lost in the moment, feeling warm all over, even her wounds itching with a stirring sense of life.

When she came back to her senses, she realized that Chen Yu had already hunted all the Moss Monsters, and she had unknowingly eaten them all.

Seja's face instantly burned hot.

She understood the importance of food better than anyone, especially in the perilous swamp—food was a Lizardfolk's second life.

Look at what she had done.

She had eaten all the envoy's stored food.

She felt mortified, deeply ashamed.

"So, was it good?"

"If it's not enough, I'll go hunt some more."

Chen Yu thought she hadn't had her fill, but it was normal for a young girl to be too shy to say so.

After all, a friend who could talk had finally come to the swamp—he couldn't let her go hungry.

Seja quickly waved her hand.

"No, no need. I just feel a little... eating so much food..."

"Is it a lot?"

Chen Yu muttered to himself, estimating that this wasn't even half his usual daily intake.

"It's fine. Moss Monsters are everywhere here."

"If we finish them today, a new batch will grow back tomorrow."

Under this oak tree was the Stinger Bee's breeding ground. Whenever the Moss Monster population dwindled, his hardworking neighbor would catch more from elsewhere and bring them back to raise.

There was no way to finish them all—absolutely no way.

If it wasn't enough, he could just ask the Stinger Bees for more; it didn't cost anything anyway.

Recently, though, a group of beetles had moved in under the tree, seemingly eyeing his food supply.

He planned to find some time to have a friendly chat with these new neighbors.

Seja breathed a sigh of relief, but when she thought about how her Lizardfolk tribe was still starving while she was in the Swamp Forest without worrying about food, a strange feeling crept into her heart.

It seemed like following the Slime and living in the Swamp Forest wasn't such a bad choice?

But...

Her gaze swept through the misty forest.

This place was already far from the Reed Riverbank. When night fell, beasts with Dark Vision would come out to hunt.

She had to quickly set up a camp and shelter before dark.

Seja told Chen Yu her plan.

Chen Yu's soft body bounced slightly, as if nodding.

"Better not go too far from here."

"Otherwise, if a beast comes, I won't be able to reach it."

Seja didn't quite understand what "reach it" meant, but she obediently nodded, rested for a while, and then went to find materials for building a camp.

Chen Yu also had things to do. He quietly submerged into the water to observe the movements of the Stinger Bee hive and the beetle swarm.

He was gathering intel.

Lesser Arrow Technique was astonishingly powerful and had a good range, but the skill level wasn't high enough, and the activation time was long, making it troublesome to deal with groups of Demonic Beasts.

He planned to devise a perfect attack strategy and find a chance to wipe them all out in one go.

Originally, Chen Yu had intended to wear down the Stinger Bees bit by bit.

But Seja's arrival gave him a new idea.

Maybe becoming the Oak Lord wouldn't take that long.

Chen Yu half-submerged in the swamp, occasionally bubbling. After watching for a while, drowsiness crept in, and he drifted off to sleep.

When he woke up again, it was already afternoon.

The door of the thatched hut in Xuxuantian was knocked on. Chen Yu woke from his afternoon nap and opened the door to see Shao Qingsong standing there.

"Senior Brother, please come in and sit. I'll go fetch the medicinal liquid."

Shao Qingsong waved his hand.

"Junior Brother, no need to be polite."

"Actually, the main reason I came this time is to say goodbye to you."

"Goodbye? You're leaving the sect?"

"Cough, cough..."

Shao Qingsong's face showed embarrassment.

"Junior Brother's imagination is quite wild—it leaves this Senior Brother unable to guess your thoughts."

"Actually, I just plan to go out and train for a while. I happened to hear that a rare demonic beast has appeared in the forest outside the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave, so I intend to go check it out with some fellow disciples."

"If Junior Brother is interested, you might as well come along with me."

Chen Yu lacked enthusiasm and wasn't very interested in the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave.

Shao Qingsong was good at reading expressions. Seeing his lack of interest, he changed the subject.

Before parting, Shao Qingsong said he would send a Junior Brother to trade with him daily at the Green Bamboo Forest. After exchanging a few pleasantries, his figure disappeared around the corner of the bamboo grove.

Chen Yu put the conversation out of his mind. Feeling a bit hungry, he cooked some rice and ate it with pickled vegetables. After filling his stomach, he sank his consciousness back into the Swamp Forest.

A pitch-black carapace emerged from the swamp. Chen Yu blinked and woke up.

His eyes searched for Seja's figure, finally landing near an oak tree not far away.

In just half a day, the originally messy leaf mold ground had been cleared. Beneath the oak tree, a shelter had been built with thick leaves for cover, and a pile of collected firewood sat nearby.

Seja was crouched in the middle of the camp, seemingly trying to start a fire.

Curious, Chen Yu swam ashore, hopped over behind Seja, and gently bumped her tail.

"What are you doing?"

The sudden sound startled Seja. Turning around and seeing the familiar Slime, she relaxed.

"Starting a fire."

"The Demonic Beasts at night are terrifying, but they're afraid of flames."

"Demonic Beasts are afraid of fire too?"

Chen Yu had thought only wild beasts had an instinctive fear of fire; he hadn't expected that even powerful Demonic Beasts would fear it.

Seja paused, as if she had never thought about this question before.

Were Demonic Beasts afraid of fire? Of course they were.

But if asked why, she couldn't explain it either.

"It... it might be because the power of flames is very conspicuous in the darkness, and the Demonic Beasts mistake it for the radiance of Mana..."

She said uncertainly, though it was just her guess.

Chen Yu watched from the side, seeing Seja hold two angular stones and strike them together. Sparks flew onto the tree bark.

But the forest was damp, making it hard to start a fire. One or two tries weren't enough.

After watching with interest for a while, Chen Yu turned back to hunt Moss Monsters under the tall oak tree, preparing dinner.

The glow of the setting sun fell, bringing a twilight hue to the forest as it gradually returned to unsettling darkness.

Just then, a startled cry came from Seja at the camp.

Because of the distance and lacking the Sound Transmission Technique, Chen Yu couldn't understand what she was saying at all.

Thinking a wild beast had attacked, he rushed back.

But fortunately, that wasn't the case.

He floated in the swamp and looked up.

Flames flickered in the darkness, filling the crevices of the oak's bark and bringing a trace of warmth to the surroundings.

The first flame of civilization in the Swamp Forest had been lit.

It was also the first time Chen Yu had seen fire in the Swamp Forest.