Chapter 142 – Racial Talents
“So…” Tu Ran pondered, “What is the purpose of your existence as mountain gods?”
The old turtle replied, “Probably… maybe… it should be… to seem a bit mysterious.”
Tu Ran was left speechless. “Alright then.”
The sky outside had completely darkened, and the cave was pitch black. Tu Ran used her backpack as a pillow and went to sleep.
Before closing her eyes, she reminded Pangpang, “Don’t eat too late. Go to bed early; we need to set off tomorrow.”
“Got it,” Pangpang agreed obediently.
Thus, Tu Ran fell into a deep sleep amidst the sounds of a thousand-year-old turtle and a gluttonous pheasant.
She slept soundly with no dreams.
When she opened her eyes, the sky was already bright.
Pangpang was sleeping next to her, right against her, which was why she felt a bit warm. Its feathers were not for show.
Tu Ran gently sat up without disturbing Pangpang and looked around.
The old turtle’s figure was no longer there.
It must have gone to sleep.
The ground was covered with heaps of melon and fruit rinds.
Pangpang had indeed eaten all the fruit.
Instinctively, Tu Ran glanced at Pangpang’s belly, which had grown rounder, looking more like a ball than before.
Outside the cave, the sky was clear and sunny—a perfect day.
Tu Ran stepped outside, found a clear stream, and did a quick wash. On her way back to the cave, she picked two fruits to snack on.
Back in the cave, Pangpang was still asleep.
As long as she didn’t wake it, it would sleep until dark.
Tu Ran nudged it, “Wake up. We need to get going.”
Pangpang groggily opened its eyes and yawned.
“Is it time for breakfast?” It perked up and sat up.
However, there was no food, and Tu Ran only had a half-eaten small red fruit in her hand.
“You ate so much last night and you still want breakfast?” Tu Ran said in disbelief. She thought Pangpang would be too full to want anything in the morning, so she hadn’t prepared any food for it.
Pangpang’s mood darkened, and its green bean-sized eyes filled with tears.
Tu Ran stood up, “Alright, alright. I’ll take you to eat something. Stop pretending to be pitiful.”
“Okay,” Pangpang quickly brightened up, slinging its crossbody bag over its shoulder and following Tu Ran.
They arrived at the fruit orchard they had visited the previous day.
Under Tu Ran’s astonished gaze, Pangpang ate another hearty meal.
This updated Tu Ran’s understanding of its appetite. It turned out she hadn’t prepared enough food for it in the past few mornings.
It had managed to endure it all this time without saying anything.
The countless sentiments she felt ultimately condensed into one sentence: “Eat slowly, no need to rush.”
For the rest of the day, Tu Ran followed Pangpang as they left this mountain and arrived at the base of the next one.
The forest of trees and shrubs was no different from the place they had stayed before. If Pangpang hadn’t said they had reached the base of another mountain, Tu Ran wouldn’t have believed that the seemingly flat path was actually an uphill climb.
By the Federation time, it was already nine in the evening. Tu Ran and Pangpang found a nearby spot to sleep for the night.
Early the next morning, they continued their journey.
After walking for the whole morning, Tu Ran noticed the differences between this mountain and the one guarded by the old turtle.
The fruit trees on this mountain were noticeably fewer, the soil was drier and more solid, and the fruits were mostly very sour, small green ones, only about the size of a thumbnail.
Pangpang wasn’t fond of these fruits, and its intake at each meal had been reduced to half of what it used to be.
However, its actions were unaffected; its short legs still moved quickly, and it continued to introduce Tu Ran to everything along the way.
“Aren’t you hungry after such a small breakfast this morning?”
“Not hungry. Pangpang has stored all the food in its belly. Pangpang can go three days without eating and still not be hungry,” Pangpang said, patting its belly.
Tu Ran was left speechless. “Alright then.”
So that’s what this layer of fat was for.
By noon, neither Tu Ran nor Pangpang had found any edible food.
Tu Ran took out two glucose tablets and gave one to Pangpang.
Pangpang was thrilled. It had been eager to try this thing for a while.
It broke it open, put it in its mouth, and savored it, its eyes shining. “It’s sweet. Pangpang likes sweet things.”
Tu Ran ate her own tablet and had a few bites of compressed biscuits, sitting against a tree.
“Let’s rest for a bit. We’ll continue later.”
Pangpang immediately lay down on the ground, right at Tu Ran’s feet.
It was the type who would lie down if given the chance rather than sitting.
“You mentioned earlier that you’ve encountered different kinds of alien species in this forest. What types have you met?” Tu Ran asked.
This was her primary concern and the reason she was climbing mountain after mountain.
Pangpang thought for a moment. “There are quite a few Celestial Horses here, but they’re very afraid of other species. They’ll fly away if they see something different from themselves, so we usually don’t see them.”
“And anything else?”
“The Feiyi tribe seems to live around here and occasionally visits this mountain.”
Pangpang paused and then continued, “There are also the Fuzhu, which look like deer. They frequently appear on this mountain. The last time Pangpang was here, it even encountered one.”
“They’re really beautiful, with four lovely antlers, white fur, and they’re very slender and agile, running fast.”
From Pangpang’s description, Tu Ran could roughly imagine what these creatures looked like.
“What racial talents do they have?”
For example, the Pao Xiao’s racial talent was invulnerability, and the superpower she gained from the Pao Xiao leader was [Diamond Body].
The Henggong fish’s racial talent was the ability to speak various otherworldly languages, and she obtained the [Language Talent] superpower.
The Hook Snake’s racial talent was memory reading, and by consuming the Hook Snake’s inner core, she gained the [Memory Reading] superpower.
Tu Ran speculated that the racial talent of each species might be related to the superpowers obtained from their inner cores, suggesting that the higher-level inner cores in these species would be closely related to or associated with their racial talents.
The Dang Hu tribe was an exception.
The [Superpower Recognition] superpower in the Dang Hu tribe leader’s body did not seem to have any clear connection to the racial talents of this bird species.
Or rather, up until now, she hadn’t discovered any racial talents for the Dang Hu tribe.
“Fuzhu, huh? They bring rain. Wherever they go, it rains.”
So, if the Fuzhu tribe had inner cores, would their inner cores grant the superpower to control rain?
If she consumed their inner cores, would she gain a rain-calling buff?
However, Tu Ran quickly noticed something that didn’t make sense.
“Didn’t you say they frequently appear on this mountain? Then why is it so dry here? It’s not at all as humid as the mountain guarded by the old turtle.”
Pangpang pointed its leftmost toe towards Tu Ran, showing admiration.
This was something it had learned from Tu Ran, who would always give a thumbs-up when praising it.
But for Pangpang, who had only four claws, making this gesture looked rather comical.
