Chapter 54: The Gourd Brothers?

Although the toad monster seemed truly dead this time, Shen Lie remained cautious, recalling its previous feigned death. He kept a safe distance and struck it again with the Hammer of Apocalypse. Seeing the creature was flattened and still unmoving, he finally confirmed its demise.

Before Du Lili and Duan Yu reached him, Shen Lie quickly retrieved the fiery red pearl the toad had spat out. Despite the monster being of fire attribute, the pearl felt icy cold in his palm, exuding a chill.

“Hm?” Suddenly, Shen Lie sensed a movement from the pendant hanging around his neck. Upon closer examination, he realized that after picking up the pearl, the pendant on his chest reacted faintly.

“What’s going on? Could this pearl conceal a spatial rift?” The pendant’s anomaly startled Shen Lie. Aside from alerting him to a hidden crack in his home’s bathroom before the apocalypse, the pendant had shown no further reaction. Its jade surface had shattered, and now it was made of some unknown material, much smaller than before.

Shen Lie was unaware that the pendant had once saved his life when he fell into the teleportation cave below the Golden Palace. He had been unconscious then. After leaving the Golden Palace, he studied the pendant many times but found nothing unusual. Moreover, since arriving in Dongfeng Town, he had been on high alert, and the pendant, after breaking and shrinking, had lost its ability to sense spatial rifts. Gradually, he forgot about it, never expecting this pearl would stir it once more.

“King Shen, you’re just too ferocious! Brother, I admire you to the core!” Shen Lie was about to examine the pendant when Duan Yu’s voice sounded behind him, prompting him to pause and discreetly slip the pearl into his pocket.

Du Lili and Duan Yu had both noticed the red pearl, but neither mentioned it. The monster had been vanquished almost entirely by Shen Lie alone, so the spoils naturally belonged to him.

“This toad monster will surely be of interest to Professor Liu. Why don’t we take it back with us?” The three gathered around the corpse, and Du Lili spoke up.

Shen Lie had no objections. The creature’s meat was not safe to eat; bringing it back for Professor Liu’s research could yield something valuable, and he’d have reason to claim a share.

Since Shen Lie had no opinion, Duan Yu could say even less. The beast had nothing to do with him; without Du Lili and Shen Lie, he would likely have died here. So he cooperated, calling over his two subordinates to haul the toad’s body to the car.

With the biggest obstacle eliminated, Shen Lie noticed Duan Yu’s spirits lift, confidence surging as they approached the gourds. Indeed, neither the swarm of hornets nor the fish in the pond posed any threat.

Du Lili’s Fire Dragon spell was the nemesis of the hornets. One dragon wiped out two-thirds of them; the remaining third fled, abandoning their nest entirely.

As for the fish, Shen Lie’s two mighty blows with his hammer sent them scurrying to the far side of the pond, feigning weakness. Even stripping the pond’s edge of vegetation wouldn’t lure them back.

The trio reached the gourd vines with ease. Both Shen Lie and Duan Yu were excited, Du Lili no less so. There were twenty or thirty gourds, all larger than the one Duan Yu had previously shown. Several had begun to yellow, nearly ripe.

“One, two, three, four, five, six.” Shen Lie counted the mature gourds from a distance—six in total. Their capacity surely surpassed the others. If they were ten times larger, they’d be priceless treasures.

Six ripe gourds, three people—perfect for dividing. Shen Lie, without hesitation, walked over and picked all six, handing them to Du Lili and Duan Yu, then turned to gather the green gourds.

Suddenly, his eyes gleamed. He spotted a very small gourd hidden beneath the leaves at the top of the central vine. Though tiny and green, its shade was a deep, inky emerald, etched with winding patterns—clearly extraordinary.

The small gourd, tucked under a leaf, was easily overlooked. Shen Lie placed the gourds he’d picked on the ground and reached for the little one.

“Ah!” Just as Shen Lie plucked it, a sharp cry from Duan Yu rang out behind him. Shen Lie spun and dodged sideways, glancing back as he moved.

What he saw nearly made his eyes pop out. Six dwarfs stood neatly on the ground—not exactly humans, but humanoid creatures covered in fluffy white fur. These six were baring their teeth and glaring at Du Lili and Duan Yu, who stood in stunned, wary silence.

“What the hell is this? Gourd Brothers?” Shen Lie stared at the gourd fragments scattered at the feet of the little creatures, his mind racing.

“What happened?” Seeing the six little beings weren’t attacking, Shen Lie swallowed and asked, though the bizarre scene stretched his nerves to the limit.

“I don’t know. I was about to check the space inside these ripe gourds. Before I could cut them open, all the gourds suddenly cracked, and then—this happened.”

Duan Yu looked on the verge of tears. He’d come for the mature gourds, yet now not a single one remained; all shattered, and these gourd spirits had appeared. It was heartbreaking. The green gourds’ spatial capacity was limited; doubling or tripling it wouldn’t be much use, nor could they be traded for anything valuable. Worse, he owed a major favor. Had he known, he’d never have come!

“Careful!” Shen Lie knew better than to judge a creature’s strength by its size in this era. He kept his gaze fixed on the six small beings, noticing one’s eyes suddenly turning red, its chest heaving as if preparing a powerful attack. Instantly, he cried out a warning.

His timing was perfect. Duan Yu, still muddled, snapped to attention and activated his speed ability, darting several meters away.

Speed ability was indeed a lifesaver. Just as Duan Yu moved, the little gourd spirit opened its mouth and shot a fire arrow, striking the spot where Duan Yu had just stood.

“Damn, it really breathes fire! Are these things truly Gourd Brothers?” The sight terrified Duan Yu, who screamed wildly. Even Du Lili grew serious, raising her hand to unleash a miniature fire dragon at the six creatures.

After the recent flurry of abilities, both Du Lili and Shen Lie had nearly exhausted their bloodline power, while Duan Yu, largely a bystander, remained relatively fresh—but his offensive ability was weak.

“Squeak, squeak!” The little fire dragon sent the six spirits scrambling in panic, squeaking as they dodged. Yet one remained still, opened its mouth, and shot a water arrow that struck Du Lili’s fire dragon. Their collision produced a sizzling sound, neutralizing each other!

“No way—is this the fifth brother, who sprays water? The fire one must be the fourth brother. Damn, could there be an invisible sixth brother? Everyone, stay alert!”

Upon seeing the water arrow, Duan Yu began shouting, even as he ran farther away.