Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 753 - 18 Walking in the Mud_1

Chapter 753: Chapter 18 Walking in the Mud_1

Crossing the vast and shining expanse of the Tear of the Gods, saying farewell to a group of optimistic and passionate Lizardman fishermen, the seven of them once again returned to the gloomy swamplands. The return to darkness was somewhat psychologically uncomfortable for the girls, but the mental fortitude of the adventurers enabled them to quickly adjust, facing the vast swamp land. As they ventured deeper in, the characteristics of the swamp began to appear. The soft ground started to turn muddy. With each step taken, their boots would get stuck in the mud, with only the upper part of the ankle visible. Remembering Galantis’s introduction, that crossing the lake could bypass an area known as the Muddy Land, they wondered, if the normal terrain within the swamp was already this muddy, what could the area specifically referred to as Muddy Land look like?

"Hiss, actually this place should also be part of the Muddy Land, hiss, consider it as the edge of the Muddy Land." Galantis traversed quite easily. The unique broad and flat lower limb claws of the Lizardman, connected by translucent webbing between their long toes, when walking on the mud, due to a larger area of exertion, they wouldn’t get stuck in it. Watching the girls struggling, the Lizard Lady explained about her homeland: "Indeed it’s a bit difficult to get through here, hiss, but once we cross this, it should be a lot better, hiss hiss, I’m truly sorry, hehe, I didn’t think it’d be this hard for you. Had I known earlier, I would have taken a detour."

"That’s all right, it’s not a big problem." Catherine wiped the sweat off her forehead. The knight girl’s face was specked with a lot of mud, but it was exactly this face, coupled with her silver knight-chain mail and the expression of soft determination on her face, made it quite appealing. However, what Catherine did next was hardly charming. After consoling Galantis verbally, Catherine immediately turned towards Pannis and stretched out her hand, saying: "Hand it over."

"Ah? Hand over what?" Pannis blinked, looking utterly innocent, saying naively, "Did I take something from you? Why don’t I know anything about it? This is really strange; I have no idea what you want."

"Keep pretending, try harder." Catherine rolled her eyes and said, "don’t think you can fool me. I saw you sneakily stuffing a lot of twigs and reeds into the bag while packing in the morning. Am I right?"

"Ahahaha, those are just swamp specialties." Pannis laughed awkwardly, "Indeed, swamp specialties. I was saving them to gift as souvenirs when I return to the City of Knowledge. I planned to give them to Ansha and Michelle, and also to Little Deer and Annie, and to the Flower and Grass Sisters, oh, and also Nicole and Rachel, so I picked up a lot of specialties, haha, is this what you meant?"

"Yes, the swamp specialties, hmm, but you definitely didn’t think of this. When you were trailing behind us just now, I secretly observed you. I saw you using those specialties to mysteriously weave something unknown, with that silly smile on your face. You usually have this expression when you’re up to something mischievous." Catherine snorted, drawing up close to Pannis, staring directly into his eyes, "I have grown to thoroughly understand your behavior. You must have foreseen the current predicament, and as you’ve been to the swamp before, you must have a countermeasure in mind. Hence, I have every reason to believe that the object you were weaving is meant as a countermeasure. But you, the trickster, definitely wanted to laugh at us and so you chose to not bring it out earlier but laugh on the side. Unfortunately for you, I noticed you laughing just now. Hmm, do you still wish to argue? Hand over the object now."

"Huh, huh, the weather today is so nice." Pannis laughed dryly, looking up and stammering, "You misunderstood me, haha, those things I was weaving were indeed just souvenirs, haha, but now that you’ve mentioned it, I recall, those souvenirs could indeed be used to ease our travel in the swamp, haha, how could I deliberately hide them and laugh at you? I’m really hurt by this accusation. Yes, truly very hurt."

Catherine side-eyed him, dismissed Pannis’ nonsense, and grabbed the woven objects from his hands. Upon close examination, these were several pairs of shoes weaved from twigs and reeds. The shoes looked strange, they could fit perfectly over the girls’ boots, and the shoes’ bottom portion was made into an elliptical disk with a width of about twenty centimeters and a length of roughly forty centimeters. The disk was woven tightly with twigs and reeds, so the mud wouldn’t easily penetrate it. Wearing these shoes over their boots, they wouldn’t get stuck while walking in the Muddy Land, making their movement much more convenient.

The girls put on the shoe covers and tried walking a few steps. The movement felt awkward, but far more convenient than the previous struggle of extracting their feet out of the mud. Once they got used to this peculiar way of walking, their walking speed wouldn’t be much slower than in normal conditions. After changing into the new shoes and with mixed feelings, the girls took turns to lightly punch Pannis on the back, unsure whether it was a sign of gratitude or punishment. However, judging from Pannis’ peculiar expression, the element of punishment might not have been entirely effective.

"Finally, everyone’s ready, hiss. Shall we press on, then?" Galantis had been waiting patiently next to them. After she saw the girls getting comfortable with their new gear, she waved a plant that she had plucked from the swamp corner and said, "Let’s go, hiss. Since you have new shoes now, the walk should be faster."

"Well, sorry for the wait." Catherine apologized to the Lizard Lady with a smile, ducking to avoid a plant that Galantis had unintentionally waved about. Frustrated but amused, she asked, "Why do you suddenly yank it out? It didn’t bother you."

The plant in the Lizard Lady’s hand looked like a mini bamboo, around two meters tall, just as straight and segmented, without any branches. Its texture was more akin to regular wood. Surprised by Catherine’s question, Galantis quickly swung her tail, snapping the plant in two with a loud crack. Just like bamboo, the inside of the plant lacked solid wood growth, but instead, it was filled with a milky white liquid, similar to milk. A faint, sweet aroma rose from the liquid exposed to the air. As the Lizard Lady took a sip, nostalgia crossed her face. The profound love for her homeland, for every grass and tree after years away, was vividly revealed in front of the girls. Delightedly, she explained, "Hiss...this is a gem! Hisss...These are bamboo-joint trees, a unique shrub in the swamp, which only grows in especially muddy areas. They’re not particularly useful; the wood is too fragile and easily breaks. They can’t be used for construction or tool-making, nor for consumption. However, every once in a while, they fill up with this milky liquid that’s sour, sweet, and carries a hint of woodiness. Try some, it’s absolutely delicious, so addictive that one sip will have you hooked."

The girls took the bamboo-joints passed to them by Galantis and, following her example, broke one open to find it was indeed filled with the flowing liquid beneath its semi-transparent, soft layer of the wood membrane. Tentatively tasting it, they found it to be even more delicious than the juices sold in some Holy City shops, and they couldn’t help but finish all the liquid in one go.

"If we could sell this in the Holy City, I bet we’d make loads of gold coins." Catherine asserted, "It’s seriously so delicious; why isn’t anyone trying to sell this outside?"

"Can’t be done. Bamboo-joint trees die if they’re separated from the ground for more than twenty-two hours. They only grow in the murkiest parts of the swamp, and the liquid inside starts to spoil just a few hours after leaving the tree. So whether transporting the whole tree or only the liquid, it’s difficult to get it outside. Even if a small amount could be carried out, we could hardly sell it." Having no answer to Catherine’s question, Galantis just shrugged, while Pannis explained, "When Alcmene was trying to strengthen contact with the outside world, she considered this route but ultimately found no solution. Even with magic to freeze the liquid into ice, it cannot delay the spoilage of the bamboo-joint liquid."

"That’s such a shame, not being able to drink this delicious beverage after leaving the swamp." Catherine sighed with regret. As a knight of noble origin, she enjoyed life’s comforts, but for various reasons, she had learned to deliberately suppress such sentiments. The knight girl shook her head in resignation. "And moreover, even though it could be a way to earn countless gold coins, due to this reason it can only be rejected. It’s hard to accept. So, Galantis, what do we do with the bamboo-joint tree after drinking? Is it totally useless now? If so, I’ll throw it out."

"Don’t! Hisss..." Galantis immediately prevented that, "Bamboo-joint trees are very vigorous, hiss. Like this, you just stick it back into the mud, and soon it’ll regain its vitality. And here, hiss hiss hiss, the other half, turn it upside down and place it into the mud as well. Hiss hiss, then even the half piece can survive. They reproduce this way."

Just as she spoke, a rustling noise arose nearby, and a magical beast about half a person tall pounced from the shrubs not far away. In the Magical Beast Handbook, this type of beast is known as Swamp Walkers. Their appearance is similar to an anteater, but they are covered with thick scales which are very tough and not easily pierced by ordinary attacks. These magical beasts have sharp claws on their limbs that can easily cut through plants and dig up soil. But they are just herbivorous magical beasts. As long as these peaceful creatures are not provoked, they won’t pose any danger.

The Walker strolled leisurely to a cluster of bamboo-joint trees, swung its claw skillfully, severing one of them, and drained all the liquid from it in one go. It licked its lips and faced, seemingly unsatisfied, and continued its assault on the next bamboo-joint tree.

"Damn it, hisss, that’s my drink!" Galantis yelled just like a child whose toy was taken away, shouting in annoyance at the Walker, "You greedy thing, hisss, go find other bamboo-joint trees."

The Walker gave the Lizard Lady a lazy glance, completely disregarding her, and continued to leisurely cut the second bamboo-joint tree. (To be continued. If you like this work, please support it by voting for it and subscribing on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)