Under the octopus's frenzied fishing, the seafood on the boat piled up like a small mountain. Su Muqing quietly threw the seafood that the octopus couldn't finish eating into the space's sea.
Then, one night, under the cover of darkness, Su Muqing brought the octopus into the space and tossed it into the ocean specially prepared for it.
At first, the octopus was a bit confused seeing the new sea area suddenly appear. But after being put in and taken out multiple times, it seemed to understand something.
So, for the following period, the octopus began to furiously catch all sorts of seafood, day and night, as if it had gone mad. Su Muqing even started to worry if it would deplete all the creatures in the sea!
Most of what it caught were the foods Su Muqing liked, as well as its own daily rations. It even caught cute babies like dolphins and whales, and many marine creatures that she didn't recognize. The octopus had become the sole boss of this sea area.
Looking at the increasingly rich variety of species in the space's ocean, Su Muqing mused that if this were modern times, she could open an aquarium. Even if she charged only ten yuan per ticket, she would likely make a fortune.
They continued their journey, fishing as they went. After another ten-plus days at sea, the group finally entered the waters of Wanfeng Kingdom. They sailed for another five days, finally docking at the port of Weites City on the evening of the second day of the second lunar month.
Wan Yan'er was also excited after disembarking. Returning after being away for several months made her feel quite homesick. She invited a few people to stay at the City Lord's mansion for a while, but Lu Yuzhi and the others declined.
Considering the appearance of the black bears, they were afraid of frightening the city's residents. Moreover, they were all eager to return home and didn't have much inclination to linger outside.
After crossing this sea area, traversing that strange mountain, and traveling for a few more days, they would reach Huaxia City. It had already been half a year since they set out from Zhengyi Mountain to Huaxia City, and then from Huaxia City to Tianzhao Kingdom.
Now, they hurried their journey. With the eagle carrying them across the sea and mountains, perhaps in another two or three days, they could return to Huaxia City, giving them time to prepare and celebrate the New Year with everyone.
Wan Yan'er felt a bit disappointed when she heard they wouldn't be accompanying her, but she understood. The black bears were truly too unique, and the Octopus King had disappeared early this morning. Su Muqing said it was waiting for them ahead.
So, Wan Yan'er bid farewell to everyone at the dock. She had already made plans with Kebi Na. Once the matters of waterwheels and hot pot in Tianzhao Kingdom were settled, he would come to Weites City to find her, help renovate the restaurants there, and then they would travel together to Huaxia City to find Su Muqing and the others.
After Wan Yan'er had gone, Su Muqing put the black bears, along with all their luggage and belongings, into the space. Lu Yuzhi returned the large ship to the shipping company and settled the wages of the boatmen. By the time these matters were concluded, it was already late at night.
Su Muqing also put Leng Ren, Leng Feng, and the little milk bun into the space. She and Lu Yuzhi sat on the eagle's back, and the eagle carried them across the strait at night.
Around eleven o'clock at night, they stopped at a small island they had passed before to rest and eat. After dinner, everyone was arranged to sleep well in the space, especially the eagle, which would be serving as their transportation throughout the journey.
In any case, time in the space flowed several times faster than outside. Even delaying for an hour was enough for them to get a good rest.
At midnight, the few of them had already slept a sleep in the space. The plan was still for Su Muqing and Lu Yuzhi to leave the space and continue their journey. If the little milk bun showed any signs of crying, they would have to bring him out and pacify him. Otherwise, if he started to fuss, no one would be able to continue their journey.
The eagle was responsible for transportation. When encountering islands during their journey, they would land to rest before continuing.
Thus, they flew and stopped, and by the morning of the next day, they arrived at the foot of the mountain where they had first encountered the eagle. As the eagle flew them up to the cliff, it specially went back to check on its previous cave.
Actually, Su Muqing felt that apart from the slightly higher terrain, the eagle's location was quite good in other aspects. The platform was large enough, the living space was spacious, and the surrounding environment was pleasant. There was also a natural advantage: the temperature inside the cave was suitable, warm in winter and cool in summer, making it very comfortable.
After surveying the entire cave, Su Muqing said to Lu Yuzhi, "Brother Lu, let's tidy this place up! Let's make it our secret base."
Lu Yuzhi never opposed her wishes; he always went along with whatever she said. "Okay! Tell me how you want to arrange it?"
"Hmm~ then we'll section off this area, install walls and a wooden door to block out dust, and then put some furniture inside. When we have time later, we can come here for a few days. As for the remaining area, we'll divide it into living spaces for the eagle and the black bears. What do you think?" Su Muqing said animatedly, gesturing towards the cave.
Lu Yuzhi, seeing her happy and excited face, also felt very pleased. "Okay! We'll do as you say."
The eagle watched the two of them drawing plans for its territory, thinking they were helping to clean it. It had no idea that its cave had already been designated.
Without delay, Su Muqing released Leng Ren and the others. Since no living creatures had been there for a long time, the cave was covered in thick dust. The eagle flapped its wings a few times, sending clouds of dust into the air.
Once the dust was mostly cleared, Su Muqing took out the various materials she had purchased from the mall, and then they all began to set up.
The first step was to section off their living area, initially designating two large rooms. They first cleaned the cave walls and floor, and when they got tired, they would rest in the space.
It only took them a day to move in and out, filling all the uneven areas with cement. After cleaning the walls and floor, they used lights to enclose the area overnight.
Seeing several men in ancient clothing diligently working with cutting machines and welding equipment, Su Muqing covered her face, thinking how the world was deviating more and more because of her arrival.
After several more hours of work, the remaining walls of the designated area were also installed. The wall between the two rooms was filled with thick foam glue for better soundproofing.
After installing the walls, they proceeded to install the roof, then the doors, and finally painted everything. Su Muqing had brought out colorful paints and decorated them like a painting, making them vibrant and colorful.
By the time the four of them finished, it was dark again. Although everyone was very tired that day, they all felt fulfilled.
Although their craftsmanship was not exceptional, it was their own work. Looking at the transformed cave, everyone felt a sense of accomplishment.
With one side roughly tidied up, the remaining task was to section off the areas for the eagle and the black bears. Although they didn't undertake such a major renovation as they did for their own living space, they carefully arranged each partition.
The four of them ate a quick meal and then resumed their work. It wasn't until five o'clock in the early morning of February 4th that everyone finally installed the last partition board.
Su Muqing wiped the sweat from her forehead, waved her hand, and took out several bathtubs, letting the three men soak in a bath on the platform. She also needed to go into the space to freshen up.
After washing away the dirt and finishing their preparations, the group finally entered the space. They ate something and prepared to get a good night's sleep.
After working for almost a full day and night, everyone was extremely exhausted. Therefore, they all slept particularly soundly. Even the three men, who usually had very regular sleep schedules, slept for ten hours that day before gradually waking up.
After waking up and having another meal, it was already 7:30 in the morning outside the space. Su Muqing and Lu Yuzhi prepared to leave the space and continue their journey. Seeing them about to leave again, the little milk bun immediately pouted.
"Miss Su! Young Master Xuan is about to cry, please take him out quickly! If he starts making a fuss later, you'll be in trouble again," Leng Feng said, feeling a headache seeing the little milk bun about to cry.
Whenever Su Mu Xuan cried in the space, Su Muqing would immediately get a headache. If Su Muqing got a headache, everyone else in the space would suffer along with her. They had experienced that uncomfortable feeling several times during their journey.
Su Muqing glanced at her younger brother. Su Mu Xuan immediately reached out to her, calling "Sister, sister" in a way that suggested he would cry if she didn't pick him up.
Actually, Su Muqing didn't want to bring him out because it was too early in the morning, and the wind on the eagle's back was too strong. She was afraid he would catch a cold. However, looking at his wet, big eyes, Su Muqing couldn't bear to refuse him. So, she reached out, picked him up, got two cloaks, and then left the space.
She sat on the eagle's back, put on her cloak, then tucked the little milk bun inside her clothes. Lu Yuzhi also put on his cloak and sat behind Su Muqing, embracing them both.
Once all three were seated, the eagle flapped its wings and flew into the sky. Su Muqing looked down at the garishly colored macaron-like walls below, and a smile curved her lips. Besides, the smell of paint in the cave needed time to air out.
The eagle flew to the top of the cliff, and below them was the rapid stream they had swum in before. After flying a bit further, they reached the deep pool where Lu Yuzhi had fallen previously.
The eagle continued to fly upwards, passing the swampy area where monsters had crawled out before. Su Muqing asked the eagle to fly lower. She had heard from Lu Yuzhi that the monsters there had strange appearances, with only one eye growing horizontally above their forehead.
Seeing the swamp bubbling and emitting a dense fog, Su Muqing patted the eagle's neck. "Ba Tian, let's go. The fog here is too thick, and visibility is too low. We'll come back to see it next time!"
The eagle let out a "gugugu..." sound from its throat, then flapped its wings and ascended into the air. The fog was so dense that Su Muqing and the others didn't notice that shortly after the eagle flew up, sticky, greenish-blue heads emerged from the swamp.
And right in the center of those heads' foreheads, there was a single eye growing horizontally.
After flying over the swamp and passing through the narrow gorge, the territory of the red-eyed monkeys was not far ahead. After flying through this dense dark forest, the temperature dropped sharply.
Su Muqing had already felt the temperature decrease when passing through the swamp, but after passing through the dense forest, the feeling became more pronounced.
The eagle seemed to sense it too. It placed the two of them beside the Yin-Yang tree where they had dug up a nest of ginseng. Su Muqing brought them into the space and found some down jackets to wear.
She also reminded Leng Ren and the others that after passing through this mountain, the weather on the other side would be very cold. Before releasing them later, they must put on thick clothes to avoid catching a chill.
After putting on their down jackets, Su Muqing took out a fox fur cloak she had obtained from Chen Yuan during their trade.
When they arrived at Tianzhao Kingdom, Su Muqing had the furs made into cloaks by a skilled artisan Empress.
She had intended to give this valuable treasure to her parents after it was made. However, they said that Tianzhao Kingdom had a high temperature year-round and couldn't use such thick clothing, so she should keep it for herself. Since her parents said so, Su Muqing didn't refuse and kept it.
Because the fox fur was so precious, the Empress only had three cloaks made – one large, one medium, and one small. Even so, half of the fox fur remained after they were made.
Su Muqing stroked the fiery red fur on her body, thinking that it was fortunate she had decided to have it made, as it was proving to be very useful now.
The little milk bun was wrapped by Su Muqing into a small ball of fiery red fur, looking exceptionally cute and exquisite. As for Lu Yuzhi, after being poisoned once, not only did his hair turn silver-white, but his skin tone was also several shades lighter than that of an average man.
Now, wearing this cloak with a touch of black and red fox fur, he looked like jade on a manuscript, a peerless gentleman, a true celestial being descended to the mortal realm, a noble young master.
With the three of them dressed, Su Muqing propped her chin and admired the two ethereal men for a while before leaving the space again.
"Achoo!"
"Achoo!"
As soon as Su Muqing and Su Mu Xuan exited the space, they sneezed simultaneously. They had been flying in the sky and had gotten used to the wind, so they didn't feel that cold. However, suddenly exiting the space into such a drastic temperature difference made them both shiver from the cold wind.
This mountain seemed to act as a dividing line for the weather, with winter on one side and summer on the other, centered around this old tree.