Tears at the Corners of His Eyes Could Not Be Held Back

Those great powers all kept exotic beasts by their sides as mounts. It was not because those beasts were stronger than them; they were purely for show!

Lord Lao rode an ox, Bodhisattvas rode hou beasts... Oh, right, the Bodhisattva should still be a Daoist at this point. He just did not know whether he had emerged in this era yet.

But thinking about it, the mounts of those great powers were all imposing and majestic, if not notorious ferocious creatures. Yet he was riding a big dog. This...

In the end, Wu Chu still ruthlessly refused the Howling Moon Wolf Clan's pledge of loyalty. Though there was no reason to turn down a mount delivered right to his door, he was powerless. If these troublesome big dogs kept provoking formidable enemies for him every other day, could he still live a peaceful life?

Wu Chu put on a stern face and pretended to lecture the giant wolves for a few moments. Then, while they stood there with baffled expressions, he forcibly plucked a tuft of fur from each of their tails.

Of course, Little Moon Spirit was the one who actually plucked the fur from their tails. Wu Chu had not even been able to pull feathers from a wild chicken back then. Although his strength had grown considerably during this time, these giant wolves were hardly comparable to that chicken. He was afraid of making a fool of himself.

Though the giant wolves found it strange, they did not dare act rashly. They only assumed this was Wu Chu's punishment for borrowing his power to drive away their enemies earlier. The punishment did little harm, but it was deeply humiliating. Thus, they did not dare linger, afraid that this strangely dressed Daoist might do something even more excessive to them. They nodded to Wu Chu, turned, and swiftly departed.

"Brother A Chu, what use is this wolf fur?"

Little Moon Spirit looked at the tufts of wolf fur with utter confusion.

Though the giant wolves were huge, their fur was not as thick as he had imagined. It was indeed far thicker than his hair, but it would still work for making a toothbrush.

If he wanted to make writing brushes, however, it was somewhat too coarse.

Of course, it could probably be used to make large brushes.

As for how to degrease the fur, without limewater, he could only use plant ash. Thinking of that, Wu Chu thought of soap...

"Brother A Chu, Brother A Chu..."

As Wu Chu's thoughts drifted away, Little Moon Spirit's voice pulled him back from his reverie.

"Oh! This... you'll find out later." Wu Chu smiled, then asked, "By the way, Yueling, how do you usually brush your teeth?"

"Brushing teeth? There's no need!"

Yueling had seen Wu Chu brush his teeth, so she was not unfamiliar with it. As she spoke, she bared her little white teeth, neat and silvery, sparkling beneath the moonlight.

Wu Chu froze for a moment, then asked with a smile, "Then how do you usually clean your mouth? What if there's an unpleasant smell in your mouth?"

"Well, just use magical power to get rid of it!"

"..."

Sorry for bothering you! Farewell!

Wu Chu took the wolf fur and turned back toward the house, with the Little Wolf Cub wagging its tail as it followed closely behind.

In truth, Wu Chu was also someone with magical power now. It was simply too weak, and he was afraid that poor control might injure his own mouth. Otherwise, he could also use magical power to clean his mouth—it was convenient and economical.

After returning to the little wooden house, he filled a bamboo basin with warm water and added some plant ash. Once the ash settled, the plant alkali within it would dissolve into the water. He then placed the trimmed wolf fur into the alkaline solution to soak and degrease it.

Under Little Moon Spirit's curious gaze, Wu Chu began carving toothbrush handles.

"Don't you need to cultivate?"

Wu Chu glanced at Little Moon Spirit, who was squatting nearby like an inquisitive child.

Little Moon Spirit shook her head. "It's fine if I don't cultivate for a day or two."

Wu Chu nodded. "Then go help me hunt a somewhat fattier prey animal!"

At that, Little Moon Spirit's eyes brightened slightly. She licked her little tongue, narrowed her eyes into crescents, and revealed a sweet smile. "Brother A Chu, did you think of another new dish?"

"Ahem! I just want to render some animal fat so I can make some cleaning supplies. Of course, if the prey tastes good, it can be used for cooking too."

"Okay! I'll be right back..."

"Will it be dangerous? It's so dark outside..."

"It'll be fine!"

Before her words had fully faded, she had already drifted away.

Wu Chu was not actually too worried. He knew that after Purple Jade Daoist died, Little Moon Spirit, the first to take human form in this hunting ground, had become the sole ruler of this place.

But Wu Chu had not expected Little Moon Spirit to return before he had even finished carving the toothbrush handle.

The mountain-like prey was carried on a floating cloud and lightly dropped in front of the little wooden house.

Bang...

The floating cloud dispersed, and several withered leaves and specks of dust scattered in the wind.

Wu Chu looked up and could not help staring blankly, because the prey was not some strange or unusual species. It was the very black bear he had frightened away before.

"Y-you killed it?"

Little Moon Spirit lightly descended onto the mountain-like bear carcass. "Brother A Chu said to find a fatter wild animal. It looked quite fat! Can't it be eaten?"

"Of course it can be eaten. Bear paws, if prepared well, are a rare delicacy—truly a top-grade ingredient among mountain treasures."

Wu Chu stood and walked over to the bear carcass. He kicked the mountain of flesh, silently wiped away the sympathetic tear at the corner of his eye, then shook his head with a pretentious sigh. "I did not kill Bo Ren, yet Bo Ren died because of me. Brother Bear, I'm truly sorry!"

He decisively picked up the kitchen knife from the stove and handed it to Little Moon Spirit. "Come on! First skin this bear. Once the bear hide has been degreased and tanned, it can be used to keep warm..."

Wu Chu felt that this was truly like receiving a quilt just when he felt sleepy.

What a fine bear!

He had been worried that nights in this world would be too cold, and now a bear hide had been delivered right to him. Excellent!

Thus, under Wu Chu's guidance, Little Moon Spirit got to work at her proper trade as a "butcher woman," cheerfully waving that tiny kitchen knife as she skinned the bear.

Little Moon Spirit was petite, like a girl of six or seven. Though the kitchen knife was small, it looked a little too large in her hands.

While Little Moon Spirit skinned the black bear, Wu Chu filled several large bamboo buckets with water and added the plant ash he had saved up, soaking it to make an alkaline solution.

The bear hide was enormous, so Wu Chu had Little Moon Spirit cut it into several pieces. Then he had her use magical power to control the alkaline solution and completely envelop and soak the pieces of hide.

"Brother A Chu, how long does it need to soak before the grease can be removed from the bear hide?"

"I'm not quite sure either, but will this interfere with you doing other things?" Wu Chu asked. Then he continued on his own, "You can try controlling the alkaline solution while doing other things. This is called multitasking. If you can..."

"It won't interfere!"

Wu Chu paused and swallowed the rest of his words. "That's good, then. Keep it up!"