Dangkang's Tooth

"Chen girl, I really do need your son's help this time."

Xiluo stared at Chen Yun with a sincere gaze, and her solemn tone succeeded in making the latter hesitate.

It wasn't as though Chen Yun hadn't noticed all the unusual things about her son.

She had previously thought some mountain god or spirit had taken a fancy to him.

That was why she had been so anxious, praying to every god and Buddha she could find.

Now that she knew it was Xiluo who had taken a fancy to her son, the worry that had weighed on Chen Yun's heart eased instead.

Although she had never seen a temple nearby that enshrined Xiluo,

Chen Yun still held the red civet in much higher regard than those Ghost Gods of the mountains and wilds.

Aside from her nasty personality and her habit of tricking children out of their candied hawthorns...

The red civet was indeed a worthy mountain god.

At the very least, when Chen Yun had gotten lost, this civet had patiently led her through forests and across rivers until she finally found her way home.

"Even so..."

Before Chen Yun could finish, Xiluo's eyes darted around. She suddenly extended a paw and pointed at the fields behind her.

"If I can help you loosen the soil in these fields, would you be willing to lend me your son for a few hours?"

At the start of every spring, the villagers loosened the soil on their land.

While removing weeds, they also improved the soil's fertility and aeration.

But it was hard physical labor, and working the land with care and precision took no small amount of effort.

Though Li Yu and Chen Yun worked well together as husband and wife,

they had completed less than a tenth of the work so far.

Women like Chen Yun, in particular, couldn't work as efficiently as those burly men.

With Li Yu having to attend to the village's defenses and hunt in the mountains, most of the work of loosening the fields' soil had fallen on Chen Yun's shoulders this year.

"Well..."

Xiluo could tell that Chen Yun was clearly hesitating.

So Xiluo decided to press her advantage. She opened her mouth and spat out a crystal-clear tooth.

"What's that?"

It wasn't just Chen Yun whose attention Xiluo had caught.

Even Li Boyang and Big Girl, who were standing nearby, fixed their eyes on the tooth.

It wasn't one of Xiluo's own teeth, but a tooth like a wild boar's tusk or an elephant's tusk.

It was only the size of a palm, though, far smaller than a real wild boar's or elephant's tusk.

"It's a Dangkang's tooth."

"Of course, some people also call it a Fang Boar."

Xiluo gave the tooth a gentle pat, and it began to twitch as though it were alive.

The next second, the surrounding soil began gathering around the tooth, quickly turning into a huge creature that resembled a wild boar.

Buzz, buzz, buzz...

The monster was green all over, about six feet long and four feet tall.

It had two large ears on its head, and four great fangs jutted from its mouth, shaped like elephant tusks.

"It isn't a real Dangkang, but a puppet made of piled-up soil."

"See those four fangs? They're the best tools for plowing, and they can help you loosen the soil this year."

As if to prove Xiluo's words,

the wild boar with four fangs obediently walked into the field and began skillfully rooting through the soil.

It turned up the weeds and small stones in the earth.

It also deftly swallowed the snakes, insects, mice, and ants hiding in the soil, looking thoroughly satisfied.

"If it were a living Dangkang, its dung would be the best fertilizer too..."

"Unfortunately, this is only a Dangkang's Tooth. It can only help people clear and plow land."

As Xiluo spoke, a long-forgotten nostalgia showed in her eyes.

It was as though, many years ago, Xiluo had seen a Dangkang working and plowing the fields for people with her own eyes.

"This..."

Chen Yun's eyes widened in surprise. Naturally, she could tell at a glance just how useful Dangkang's Tooth was.

It wasn't as though this world had no cattle or horses for working the fields.

But the limitations of plowing tools and the difficulty of domesticating cattle and horses meant that ordinary Mountain Folk simply couldn't afford to use them.

The Fang Boar, on the other hand, had four fangs that were the perfect tools for working the land.

Though it wasn't yet clear whether the Fang Boar's eating served any purpose,

it was clearly much smarter and more capable than ordinary cattle or horses.

Most importantly, the Fang Boar had none of an animal's viciousness. Even an ordinary woman like Chen Yun could handle it.

"Well?"

"This Fang Boar is pretty good, isn't it?"

Xiluo came back to her senses from her memories and looked at Chen Yun with complete confidence.

"I'll lend you this Fang Boar until I bring your son back!"

Chen Yun took a deep breath and first glanced at Xiluo.

Then she turned and stared at Li Boyang beside her for a long while before finally relenting.

"All right, but I have one more condition. Big Girl has to go with you too."

"If she isn't there to keep an eye on him, I won't be at ease."

As Chen Yun spoke, she crouched down and wiped Big Girl's thoroughly dirty face.

Then she reached out and wiped the traces of mud from Li Boyang's face before turning back to Xiluo and speaking with great seriousness.

"You're a mountain god. I trust that you certainly won't let the two children do anything dangerous."

"If they aren't back before dark..."

"No matter which mountain god temple you belong to, I'll smash every mountain god temple in the area!"

Chen Yun's warning was earnest and solemn. No one would doubt whether a mother had that kind of resolve.

"Don't worry. I'll bring them back before dark."

A little while later, after Xiluo had left, the Fang Boar was already hard at work.

Watching the green wild boar root back and forth through the field, Chen Yun suddenly realized that she seemed to have been freed up all at once.

With the Fang Boar's help, Chen Yun only needed to take care of some finishing work, and this year's plowing would soon be done.

"Non-Crying Child, Big Girl..."

As these thoughts ran through her mind, Chen Yun raised her head and gazed at the sky with a complicated expression.

That was the direction in which Xiluo had taken Li Boyang and Big Girl, and it was also the first time Chen Yun had witnessed the power of a deity.

Taking the form of a red leopard, riding clouds of fire beneath her feet...

Xiluo's battle form had left a far greater impression on Chen Yun than she had imagined.

And for a mountain god like that to seek help from her child...

No matter how accepting Chen Yun tried to be, she couldn't help doubting her choice.

Yet when she recalled the expectation and hesitation in Li Boyang's eyes when she had looked at him, she knew she had made the right choice.

Her child was no ordinary person, and she would not become a stumbling block in his path.

"No matter what you want to do, your mother supports you."