Chapter 16: Calm Before the Storm
Translator: Mike Editor: Chrissy
"Should I give it some fertilizers?" Chu Feng pondered. He cleared out an area at the parterre in the yard for the seeds to grow, but he hesitated before he buried them.
Because of the importance Chu Feng had attached to the seeds, he took every step of the cultivating process very seriously. He was cautious too, so he supposed that the fertilizers for everyday use might not come as an asset to the seeds.
He crooked his head to see Yellow Ox. It was still making mockery of him with its signature grin on its face. It looked at Chu Feng with a sympathetic appearance, as if it felt sorry for Chu Feng for committing such a fruitless action. To Yellow Ox, the shrivelled plants had no chance to sprout, let alone flourish and blossom.
"Yellow Ox, I need you. The seeds need you. Their survival depends on your effort."
Seeing his solemn face, Yellow Ox was dumbstruck. It seemed confused and bewildered. It made a bellow, as if it was questioning why Chu Feng said such things.
"Look, the soil in this parterre was mostly used for growing flowers and grasses. It lacks nutrients, so how about we extract some fertilizers from you, my friend?" Chu Feng demanded in a calm and explicit manner.
At first, Yellow Ox still seemed lost, then as the moment of realization came, it instantly widened its eyes, glared, stared and lurched to its feet. White puffs of mist vented out from its nostrils. It fixated its furious glare at Chu Feng.
"Hey, hey, hey, Brother Ox. Don't go all sulky just yet. This almost means nothing to you. It's something that comes and goes, happening in nature as it should. I know you were too shy to excrete your bowel mass in my garden, but for the sake of our beloved seeds, I will give you special permission to discharge what you need to rid at my garden from now on."
Yellow Ox's ears started smoking. The expression in its eyes speak of murder. At the same time, one of its fore hooves was pawing the dust on the ground, ready to charge at Chu Feng at any moment.
"No, no, no. Don't be so agitated. I won't give you a cold shoulder or anything for that. Are you afraid that it might smell stinky? Then let it be. I can well endure it." Clueless of the danger associated with his reckless remarks, Chu Feng continued going.
Pong!
Yellow Ox rushed over, bounced up to Chu Feng, and sent him into the air. Fortunately, it did not use its pair of golden horns, but even so, the force still knocked Chu Feng out as he landed head-first down on the soil of his parterre.
Chu Feng finally understood the feeling of Zhou Quan. It was a bet on one's life to negotiate with a capricious bull.
In fact, Yellow Ox was angrier than Chu Feng. It glared at him with its flaming bovine eyes. It started doubting whether this guy was in fact even more flippant than that fatso.
Chu Feng struggled to get up as he gently rubbed against his swollen elbow. "Don't you know that these were some rather holy seeds?" Chu Feng sighted. "I was afraid that normal fertilizers might not be able to sustain their lives, and seeing how mystical you are and how potent cow dung is as a fertilizer as a matter of fact, I wanted...."
"MOOOO!"
It was a deafening bellow. Although the calf did not have a towering height, its voice echoed in the yard like a muffled thunder. It was so blaring that Chu Feng had to cover up his ears.
"Okay, okay. I give up," Chu Feng said before the calf made a second charge at him.
"Now it's only going to be you and you alone," he murmured.
Because of the extensive length of age that the seeds had stayed buried, Chu Feng was not sure whether or not his struggle would, in the end, prove to be frivolous.
However, if it was something godly, something divine, then it should have a tenacious vitality. Despite the unfavorable environment in which it had been planted, it should, in the end, resurrect from death and give the world an extra hint of green.
"It may be even better without cow dung," Chu Feng said to himself, because he realized a very serious problem.
Yellow Ox did not exactly have a friendly look as it heard Chu Feng saying these words. At the same time, it also seemed baffled.
Chu Feng explained, "If these seeds become Tsi Wang Mu or Fairy of the Ninth Heaven by any chance, then I would be as good as dead once they learned that I have used cow dong to cultivate them."
Yellow Ox was dumbstruck at first, then it turned angry from embarrassment. With a rowdy bellow, it was ready for another charge.
"Don't you come here. I'm telling the truth though. If they know what I did now, I reckon it will be the worst kind of blasphemy. To let peace befall me, I'd better stay frank and well-behaved," Chu Feng said with a smile.
Fumes of mist were still breathed from within the nostrils of Yellow Ox. It gave him a nasty look before it turned around, heading to some piles of pineapples.
"Oi! Apples and grasses are yours! Pineapples are mine!" Chu Feng chased after it.
At last, he buried the seeds in three different places. Because of the difference in soil type, he supposed that separation might mean better insurance of survival of at least one of them.
"I do hope they can sprout soon." Chu Feng was expectant. He was ever so curious and eager to see what plants he would yield.
"But I mean, I shouldn't be too worried if a fairy were to be the yield of this. It's me who made them, so to them, blasphemy should be a non-existent concept. Even better, she may become a loyal servant of mine." His face was beaming with a smirk.
"Moo!"
The bellow interrupted his daydreaming.
Yellow Ox looked askance at Chu Feng with a scornful look on its face. Supposedly, it was making a mockery at the brimless world conjured in his mind.
"Piss off!" Chu Feng drew away from the thrust of the ox head. He started to become a little speechless after being repeatedly mocked by a calf.
Pftt!
Suddenly, he heard a tittering sound. A glow of fire was visible within sight in the distance. It rushed into the vault of heaven with a garish flare.
"Missile!"
"Is this a mission against those extra-terrestrial plants in space?" Chu Feng shuddered in fear.
Yellow Ox had a sensitive instinct. It stared at the flare with wildness in its eyes. It sensed danger even before Chu Feng as the flesh of its body tightened. Its furs rippled with waves of golden glow.
It was a sign of stress and fear. The calf sensed danger.
It was a rare occurrence indeed, because such a scene would have never been seen by anyone on a usual day.
"I can't believe I saw it with my own eyes. This could mean it was ejected from somewhere not far from here, and it also means it's a serious business." Chu Feng's face looked solemn.
He had been hearing many rumors and hearsays about the potential use of military-grade weapons against those extra-terrestrial plants and creatures. It came as a rumor, and it stayed as a rumor.
He decided to look it up on the internet. There should already be reports on this sighting now.
At the same time, his communicator also came to ring. It was Zhou Quan trying to contact him. The excited voice of Zhou Quan was instantly heard as soon as he picked up the call.
"Man! Have you seen that? It's bloody marvellous! Oh blimey, blimey. How magnificent it was! It was like a sword piercing through the sky right into the outer space. I can't believe I had the honor to witness such a sight. I reckon this would most likely clear out those strange plants."
"Hopefully, it's effective," Chu Feng replied, but he also suggested that they should get ready to run for it at any minute in case something terrible and awful happened.
Then, he asked Zhou Quan how he felt after consuming the fruit?
"Huge changes... ha-ha... nah, let's not talk about it. I feel drowsy all the time, and now I feel like I'm going to fall into slumber at any second now." Zhou Quan's hollow laugh had no mirth in it. He sounded very unnatural.
"Why are you evading my question? Wait! Don't tell me you've got a tail now, have you?" Chu Feng doubted.
"No way!" Zhou Quan shouted an unearthly cry. He did his utmost to explain that he had not become some hideous monster.
"Then, what's wrong with you? Why do you sound so equivocal?" Chu Feng asked.
"I... there is a horn on my head now!" Zhou Quan grieved without tears, then he burst into a tirade of curses, "I knew it! I knew this must have been the doing of that freaking Demon Ox! It looked exactly like an ox horn!"
He cursed rather loudly.
Chu Feng's communicator drew Yellow Ox's attention. It fixated on it, and at the same time, he also heard the angry curses of Zhou Quan which prompted it to thrust itself even closer to the communicator. "Moo, moo, moo..." It was, admittedly, rather unkind of it to try to make mockery of Zhou Quan in this situation.
"Demon Ox! Are you saying that I look like a cow and that someday I will make these exact sounds you are making? Go fxck yourself!" Zhou Quan got rather exasperated.
"Clap!"
Zhou Quan hung up the call in blazing rage, but Yellow Ox still seemed rather entertained. To the calf, there seemed to be a certain charm in seeing Zhou Quan going berserk in rage and fury.
Chu Feng began to search for all kinds of reports. He was yet to see any official ones, since usually, the government would rather stay quiet on things that related back to themselves, but reports sourcing from all kinds outlets and magazines seemed to have been always inexhaustible on these kinds of breaking news.
There were even pictures uploaded. They did bear a striking similarity to what Chu Feng had witnessed.
This was not a sole event happening only in Chu Feng's close proximity. Sightings of missiles firing had been sighted around the world. It was a salvo of firearms from around the world in unison. They fired at different locations, but all were directed at the same target. Some people even reported seeing remains of plants falling out of the sky.
"The storm is coming," Chu Feng murmured to himself, frowning fiercely.
Later in that morning, Chu Feng also read a few other reports. As expected, people were burning in enthusiasm to discuss supernatural abilities. Even as today's world had keyed up about the use and regulation of firearms, there were still many people discussing the acquirement of superhuman power.
The Silver Wing, Kong Kim, Fire Spirit and White Tiger were the names given to the legendary four who had acquired their power. People all had a different version of their respective ability, but everyone seemed to have reached a consensus as to the extent of their power and their capacity. Everyone agreed that one day, they would become the gods of this new world order.
Chu Feng turned off his communicator. He was a bit worried. He worried about the uncertainty that lay in the future, but he knew he must do something now.
Yellow Ox seemed very discontented as Chu Feng turned off his communicator. It signalled him to turn it on again. To the calf, those sounds and videos were ever so attractive.
Chu Feng tossed his communicator at the calf, then he left home by himself.
He strolled along the street for a few li, before arriving outside of a large yard. This was the house of Grandpa Zhao, and it was also a workshop for the forging of swords, spears and other cold weapons.
Nowadays, this kind of craftsmanship had almost been lost in antiquity. The Family of Zhao was the only family in which this kind of workmanship had been passed on from generation to generation. Grandpa Zhao became one of the family members who had carried the torch for this kind of handicraft.
The Family of Zhao was also keeping pace with the times. They had been making tools and cutters with the materials that had been invented in the present era, which resulted in supreme quality renowned to both the locals and those around the country.
The folding crossbow Chu Feng brought to Tibet was a gift from Grandpa Zhao.
"Hello! When did you arrive here?" Grandpa Zhao had a visceral smile when he saw Chu Feng with surprise. Grandpa Zhao was in his sixties, but he was still hale and hearty. His hair had all turned silver white, but every strand was thick and firm.
Upon seeing him, one could instantly tell that he was a man firm in attitude.
"I came back after midnight yesterday. I had a quite hearty sleep, then I walked here to visit my dear grandpa as soon as I woke up," Chu Feng said.
"Oh, how flattering! But I bet you've been thinking about taking something from me again this time," Grandpa Zhao said with a smile.
"Yes. I would like you to make some crossbows and arrows for me." Chu Feng clarified his intention for coming over. The ever-evolving world meant ever-evolving risks and dangers. He was unsettled, so he wanted to arm himself for protection.
For him, firearms were out of luck. Those were heavily restricted, so it was impossible to buy them from anywhere. But in the current era, it was legal to buy cold weapons as long as one held a relevant certificate of approval.
After a few more rounds of exchange of words, Chu Feng parted from Grandpa Zhao.
He learnt from Grandpa Zhao that many people had recently paid him a visit in request for all kinds of weapons. The supply seemed never adequate to the demand in recent days. But of course, the ones Chu Feng demanded would be made prior to all the others.
On his way home, Chu Feng heard a continual string of bellow of Yellow Ox. At once, his suspicions were all aroused. It was still a fair amount of distance to his house, but the noise sounded all so lively and clear.
Soon, he found the source of the problem. It was the communicator. Yellow Ox was fondling with it in a very joyful and devoted manner.
But wait a minute, what is he seeing? Chu Feng was astounded at the sight when he approached Yellow Ox. Yellow Ox had opened a contact list. It seemed to have been conversing with someone on the phone.
Chu Feng felt dazzled by this sight.
Especially as he looked closer at the names that appeared on the contact list, he almost spat out blood because of anger. There seemed to be names such as Lin Naoi and others.
"Demon Ox, you son of a bxtch! I'm gonna bash out that bovine brain of yours!"