Ultimate Rice System - Chapter 99 Peaceful Days

“Found it.”

Hei Chilong pulled out a plant that had taken root inside a tree. It was a parasite of sorts. In some areas it would be considered a pest. However in his eyes, it was simply another ingredient to make medicine. The plant screeched for simply a second before it was shoved inside the sack where he had collected all the other plants. Chilong stretched and looked up at the sky. This was his home. It was his home for the last 5 years and would forever be where he wished to stay. He walked around listening for sounds, sniffing for scents. He heard a small growl in the distance. Chilong grinned as he slowly walked towards it. He walked in a slow pace as to not alert the thing ahead.

“Wow…this brings back memories.”

A tiger with scars all across it’s face was sitting there sleeping in the open clearing. This was the king of the forest. Yaomo forest is considered quite safe as long as people knew what they were up against. As Chilong approached, the tiger’s ears perked up. It opened up it’s sleepy eyes to see the boy slowly walking up to him defenseless. The tiger at the sight of it’s foe growled and slowly stood up. It’s fur started to puff up as it was facing a stronger foe.

“Grrrr.”

“This time….Things will be different.”

The tiger pounced at the unarmed boy. Chilong calmly waited as the tiger closed in on him. Just as the tiger was about to bite, his fist moved. With a single punch below the jaw, the tiger was sent flying back. Chilong walked up to the tiger who was still dazed and opened up it’s mouth. There was signs of a regrowing tooth inside its mouth. Chilong wrapped his fingers around the largest tooth inside the mouth of the beast and pulled it out. The tiger howled in pain and started to struggle before Chilong gave a quick blow to the back of it’s neck knocking it unconscious. Chilong gently rested the head of the beast on the ground and walked off.

“I’ll be back next year.”

Chilong walked to an open space where he left his axe. There was a tree that had been recently logged laying on the ground. He took out a few equipment from his bag and placed it on the stump. He started to grind. Each and every plant, he ground to a small powder. He started to store a lot of the ingredients into small bottles of which he would cork up. He was going to save it for future use. On the side, he had a small fire going. He took out a small tin can and heated it over the fire. He threw some ingredients into it and waited for a while before mixing. He waited for the concoction to cool before storing it inside a bottle. With a small knife he sliced a bit of his finger and smeared some of the paste over it. The wound as expected started to sizzle and close up almost immediately. Satisfied with the results, he corked up the bottle and threw it into his bag.

“Hah…”

Chilong blew out the fire and slowly walked through the forest. While the sky was clear, he knew that he had harder times to come. The scenery changed as the forest ended and it became a rocky mountain. However this was not his final destination as he traversed passed the mountains and into another forest.

‘Chilong…I am going to take over from here.”

Chitian walked through the forest until he reached a spot. There was an empty clearing within the forest. All remnants of what was there was no longer there anymore. All that stood there was a stone, a solitary marker of the previous inhabitant’s existence. Chilong took a bowl of sand and placed it in front of the stone. From his bag, he lit an incense stick and placed it on top of the pile of sand letting it slowly burn off. Chitian clapped his hands together and took a solemn bow. Another, much louder clap could be heard as he bowed down once again.

‘May you rest in peace…’

‘Mother…I am no longer alone…’

Chilong silently left leaving the incense to burn out. He had a peaceful expression on his face as he headed back. Although he had been at the forest for around a week, he had finished what he needed to do so he was heading back to the school. As he left, he saw something on the corner of his eye.

*Cluck?*

“What’s a holy beast doing here?”

Hidden underneath a bush, was a familiar bird. It was quite easy to spot simply due to the fact that it was releasing a white aura. The chicken jumped out looking cautiously at him while maintaining a fair distance. Chilong ignored the chicken and traversed the mountain while being followed. He heard the crunching of something behind him. The chicken was breaking down some sort of stone with it’s beak. From simply the appearance, Chilong recognized that it was the stone it took from the snake’s head. The stone was considerably smaller, no larger than a grain of rice between it’s beak. After cracking it once more, the chicken consumed it taking in all it’s power.

*Crack*

Chilong paused for a moment to see what was happening behind him. The chicken’s body expanded outwards almost doubling in size. White tattoo like markings slowly emerged from it’s extending beak. The dusty old feathers started to shed with new, larger feathers taking place. The comb on it’s head changed from a red to a silver white. Even the aura it exuded seemed much stronger. As the transformation completed, it let out the loudest cry.

“CUCKLEDODLEDOOO!”

The voice of this beast resounded across the entire mountain range. The chicken’s wings stretched out displaying it’s magnificent wingspan. The chicken looked at Chilong who was now the cautious one. After all, it is not everyday you see a stage 2 beast breaking through to the next stage. The chicken looked down and pecked through it’s feathers and plucked out a long, silver feather. From just the sheen, Chilong could tell it was different. The chicken bowed it’s head slightly before placing the feather in front of him. Afterwards, the chicken strutted off in another direction exerting it’s aura wherever it went.

“Hmm…a heart feather.”

Chilong picked up the feather and held it in his hands. To his surprise, it had significant weight to it, around the same as a rock. Chilong placed the feather in his breast pocket as a sign of protection. Who knows, maybe it would protect him one day. Chilong headed onward under the clear sky. His heart was clear, ready to face the future.

“Hmm…do you think Xin Fan would battle me again later?”