bestfiction Chapter 216 Crystal Cave
Chapter 216 Crystal Cave
Leyou, who was leading the way, didn't need to look back. Just by hearing the commotion behind them, he knew they were in good shape. "Just hang in there, we'll be there soon."
"Ah...you already said that half an hour ago~"
"Twenty minutes ago, ten minutes ago, and five minutes ago, it was always the same sentence, not a single word changed."
Lezhi cried out in pain, his legs were so numb, and he felt like the blood in his lower body was not flowing smoothly.
"Just hang in there, we're almost there." Le Ting quickly came over to comfort him, and also put her hand on Le Zhi's back to give him support so that he could relax a little.
"Waaah, thank you, Leting. You're so kind. I was just complaining, don't take it to heart~"
Feeling uncomfortable that her casual complaint was taken so seriously, Lezhi blushed and adjusted her posture to continue. For the rest of the journey, Lezhi didn't dare utter another complaint. "Alright, we're almost at our destination. Lezhi, Maoqiu, are you ready for a big surprise?"
This time, Leyou wasn't lying. After the last few minutes of progress, a faint light pierced through the distance, indicating that a different landscape was about to appear. Leyou's voice rose, his words filled with the smugness of his impending success in presenting the treasure.
After Leyou and Maoqiu emerged from the low passage one by one, it was finally Lezhi's turn.
"Oh, finally out. Surprised? I'm not the naive person I used to be. So what do you want me to see... my mother tree..."
Lezhi's mumbling stopped abruptly after Leyou grabbed his head and turned him into the correct position, as if he had been choked. He could only gasp in surprise and could not make any other sound.
“Phew, this stretch is always so tiring. If I didn’t know what was waiting for me, I wouldn’t have been able to keep going. No wonder so many of my people never want to come back after just one visit…” Le Ting emerged from the cave, brushing the dirt off his clothes as he casually revealed the truth about how remote and uninhabited this place was.
Yes, that's why he, someone who has never been here before, obediently followed them, right?
Watching Le Ting tidy himself up and even brush the dust off his clothes, Le Zhi felt too embarrassed to cricket and could only continue to gaze at the beautiful scenery before him, not wanting to leave for even a second.
Before them lay a huge cave. The cave itself was nothing special; what was special was the clusters of crystals that could be seen everywhere.
The lichens that are ubiquitous in Jormungand are also growing here in large numbers. Many of them have their own fluorescent light sources, illuminating the entire cave and creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
The crystal clusters grow together with the rock wall, intertwined and inseparable. They seem to have their own light source, like light bulbs, emitting different colors of light from the inside out, telling onlookers what they should look like.
The cave is irregularly shaped and has a very large interior space. The ceiling is so high that Lezhi couldn't even see the top for a moment. All he could see were clusters of crystals shooting vertically from the ceiling, hanging above his head, adding a touch of mystery and fantasy.
The light here is not static; the amount of moisture in the air and the flickering of the plants give the light a sense of breathing.
As Lezhi and the others gradually entered, the flickering light flashed across their faces, reflecting the amazement in their eyes.
"This place is so beautiful!"
Throughout the tour, Lezhi didn't see any two crystal clusters that were exactly alike. Each cluster grew in a unique way. The crystals themselves have no smell, and the ventilation here is excellent, making the air exceptionally fresh—an environment that Lezhi loves.
After walking around here, he felt refreshed and relaxed.
The crystals here seem to absorb negative energy from people, allowing them to return to a state of pure mind, just like when they were first born.
"See? I didn't lie to you. This place is really worth coming to. Let's go inside, the scenery is even better. Come on!" Seeing that Lezhi liked it, Leyou felt a great sense of accomplishment for successfully recommending it to Lezhi and couldn't wait to show Lezhi more beautiful scenery.
Even the fluffy ball and the chicks were dazzled by the strange beauty before them, remaining silent for a long time as they curiously explored the crystal cluster. The fluffy ball even flew into the air to observe the huge crystal cluster hanging from the ceiling up close.
The fledgling bird couldn't fly, so its curiosity was shown to the plants that grew alongside the crystals in the cave. Finding that its guardians weren't paying attention to it, the fledgling bird quietly approached the plant it had been staring at for a long time and started swatting at it.
At this age, it is curious about everything. At home, Maoqiu and Lezhi keep a close eye on it, but when it goes outside, the fledgling bird shows its mischievous nature and displays its innate destructive power.
By the time Lezhi and Maoqiu realized something was wrong, it was too late. The chick had eaten something and collapsed in a corner, unresponsive to any attempts to wake it.
"Tweet~"
"Alright, fluffy ball, I know you're anxious, but don't worry. Leyou said that the chick's breathing is normal, it's just that it fainted and can't be woken up, which is a good thing."
When a child is quiet, they're definitely up to no good. This applies to pets as well, and it's no surprise that a fledgling bird, a combination of a mischievous child and a pet, would do something like this.
He's just frustrated now, wondering why he didn't think of taking precautions sooner, only realizing it now that something's happened.
Seeing that Lezhi was saying nice things to comfort Maoqiu, but he himself was frowning, Leting knew that Lezhi was blaming himself in his heart. "Lezhi, don't think too much about it. This is your first time raising baby birds. Experience is gained from lessons. We'll be more careful next time."
"I'm just afraid..." there won't be a next time.
"Sigh..." Understanding Lezhi's unspoken meaning, Leting didn't know how to comfort her. They had all been careless this time; they shouldn't have let the fledgling run around in unfamiliar places. "Hopefully, Leyou will have good news..."
As if he had a prophecy, before Le Ting had even finished speaking, Le You, who had gone to investigate, exclaimed, "I know! Le Zhi and Le Ting, come quick! I think I know what happened to the fledglings!"
"..."
Startled awake by Le You's earth-shattering cry, Le Zhi had no time to wallow in melancholy. She placed the still unconscious chick in the bundle in front of her chest, picked up the fluffy ball with her other hand and placed it on her head, then quickly ran towards Le You's direction after Le Ting, who had gotten up first.
"What? What did you find out..." Le Ting couldn't wait any longer. Before she could even stand up straight, she fired off a barrage of questions.
Knowing that Lezhi was in a hurry, Leyou didn't keep him in suspense. Seeing that Lezhi had arrived behind him, he handed him his discovery and explained, "Here, this is it. Lezhi, do you remember the 'drowsy grass' that Uncle Lezhong told you about?"
“I remember, could this be…” Reminded by Leyou, Lezhi quickly remembered, took the seemingly ordinary grass from Leyou’s hand, and widened her eyes in surprise.
“Yes.” Leyou nodded affirmatively, the seriousness on his face from when he discovered the baby bird had eaten something that caused it to fall into a coma had vanished. “I saw signs of nibbling in the grass here and that’s how I found this. If I’m not mistaken, the baby bird couldn’t be woken up because it accidentally ate some kind of 'drowsy grass'.”