In the morning, a nest of snakes crawled out of their holes, searching the mountains for food. Qin Zhui was also looking for food, a twig in his hand.
A snake had coiled around a wild boar. The snake and the boar tumbled on the ground. It was that old man, his head repeatedly bumping against the ground, grunting with each thud, refusing to let go.
Qin Zhui dropped his twig and ran over, grabbing the boar’s tusks and pulling with all his might, "Hoo, hoo."
A nest of snakes slithered over, some entwining the boar's legs, others its mouth.
Lifting the boar was a comical scene: Qin Zhui, holding the boar's tusks, walked ahead, with a nest of snakes on either side. The smallest snake was not even as tall as Qin Zhui's calf, it wriggled along, holding the boar's tail.
Qin Zhui was given a leg of wild boar.
He dragged the boar into the cave, the old man came out, and Qin Zhui started a fire.
"Which tribe are you from?" the old man asked, sitting down.
"Not from the human tribe, and I don't know which branch I belong to," Qin Zhui replied.
The old man transformed into a human shape and placed his leg next to Qin Zhui's. The old man's leg was bare.
When the Ji Zhou arrived, Grandpa was rolling up the pants leg of the one who had "fainted." Fainted was the name Ji Zhou had given to the new arrival.
Qin Zhui's pants leg was rolled up, revealing a leg covered in fine hair.
"Many beastmen have hooked toes, whether they have hooks or not, they have hair," Ji Zhou said.
Qin Zhui breathed a sigh of relief, glad to be associated with the "beast" category, as a relative. If they were relatives, he wouldn't have to be afraid.
"Those with hooked toes eat meat, those without hooks eat grass," Ji Zhou added.
Qin Zhui was placing the meat on the fire to roast.
"I eat grass too," Qin Zhui said, meaning leafy vegetables were also a type of grass.
"Try eating one."
At this moment, he would have been willing to try eating two.
Qin Zhui plucked a handful of grass and put it in his mouth, chewing with his mouth agape.
"Grandpa, what eats both meat and grass?"
The old man was troubled, unable to recall which tribe ate both meat and grass.
The little snake child crawled over, coiling around Qin Zhui's leg and climbing up. Qin Zhui held his hand, which was only about the size of one of Qin Zhui's fingers.
The little snake child pointed at the meat with its other finger; the little one was asking for food. Qin Zhui crushed pieces of meat and fed them to him.
The atmosphere suddenly became harmonious.
"I've watched you for two days. It's so dangerous to just wander around like that."
This statement made Qin Zhui's heart pound. Would there be danger in cultivating Quantum Arts?
An era born from high technology should be a beautiful era, shouldn't it? It shouldn't involve... mortal danger, should it? But all six old miners who came before had died, would he die too?
To die just after arriving in the Measurement Path Era...?
"Ji Zhou, how can I avoid wandering aimlessly and being dangerous?"
"Return to your own tribe."
"But that's not discussing with Grandpa which tribe and branch I belong to."
"Grandpa, I look like a werewolf."
Werewolf? Definitely not, absolutely not.
"Werewolves have hooked toes, my toes are not hooked. Werewolves only eat meat, not grass."
"I just look like it."
The problem is, it can't just be about appearances. If I went to the werewolves' place...
Next, they felled trees and built a simple shed. Until he understood what the Measurement Path Era was, Qin Zhui had no intention of leaving.
If he wasn't leaving, he needed a place to live.
The shed was built not far from the entrance of the snake people's cave, about a meter off the ground.
A nest of snake people gathered to watch the excitement, a pregnant snake woman holding the little snake child.
Qin Zhui toiled for several days, and the shed was completed, braced between four trees. First, they spread mud on the roof of the shed, then plastered leaves onto the mud one by one, and finally covered it with another layer of mud.
At night, for the first time since entering the Measurement Path Era, Qin Zhui slept soundly.
Soundly meant that after exiting the Xi You, he didn't have to worry about being eaten by ferocious beasts.
In the Measurement Path Era, there was only one chance to cultivate as a Mine Opener. If eaten by a beast, that chance would be gone. (After the merger of "Measurement Path Era" and "Mining Planet K," "Measurement Path Era" had a large number of original players, and players from "Mining Planet K" cultivated as Mine Openers in this Xi You.)
... After exiting the Measurement Path Era, Qin Zhui wanted to visit Planet K to see the mine owners and fellow miners.
However, he could no longer enter.
The mine owners and fellow miners might still be looking for jobs, still living in the work sheds of the 5290 Mining Area; or perhaps they had found jobs and moved to a new mining area.
At this time, it was the beginning of the workday. Dressed in their cold-weather gear, they were gradually emerging from the work sheds.
Qin Zhui turned off the Xi Ji and took the elevator down to the Xiushui River.
Knowing where the Female Intern Doctor liked to go to relax, he spotted her immediately, sitting with that man on a leisure chair, very close to each other.
One day, the pregnant snake woman gave birth, laying three eggs.
A nest of snake people rejoiced and invited Qin Zhui to see them in the snake cave. Qin Zhui's clothes were torn as he crawled in.
The snake lair was actually spacious.
The three eggs were placed in a small snake den. Then, the eggshells cracked, and tiny hands stretched out from within. Next, small heads, crowned with sticky egg white, pushed through the shells, opening their eyes.
Qin Zhui was so moved he cried. He cried, wishing that tiny legs had come out instead of hands.
But what emerged were tiny tails, crawling around on the "bed."
"Little darlings, little darlings," Qin Zhui cooed, tears streaming down his face.
Qin Zhui was pushed out by Ji Zhou. He could barely squeeze in when entering, but got stuck when trying to exit.
Outside the cave, Qin Zhui knelt down again, poking his head back inside. Ji Zhou was still in the cave, and they began to chat like this.
"Ji Zhou, why is it bright inside your home?" Qin Zhui asked.
Ji Zhou didn't react immediately.
"When I close the door at home, it's dark. How do you get light in your home?"
Ji Zhou propped his hand on his chin.
"I won't tell you."
Qin Zhui rested his chin on the back of his hand. "Ji Zhou, tell me, please."
"If you give me something, I'll tell you."
"Give you what kind of thing?"
"I won't tell you that either."
"If you don't tell me, I won't know what to give you."
"I don't even know your name yet?"
"A'Zhui."
"A'Zhui, are all you beastmen this silly?"
"Beastmen aren't silly, only I am silly."
"My grandpa says all beastmen are silly. But you're not too silly, you know how to build a nest."
That wasn't a nest, it was a house.
The little snake child arrived, squeezing between their faces.
Qin Zhui backed away, picked up the little snake child. The little one had come to ask Qin Zhui for food.
Ji Zhou didn't follow. Several younger siblings had been added to the family. They could run as soon as they hatched from the eggs, and if not careful, they'd dart into crevices, having to be pulled out by their tails one by one. The cave was filled with joyful laughter.
Qin Zhui sat at the entrance of the shed, crushing meat and feeding the little one.
The little one would crawl back into the cave by itself after eating its fill.
Qin Zhui sighed, popping pieces of meat into his own mouth.
Looking out through the gaps in the trees, the "bird" that had fallen was no longer there.
Ji Zhou came out and slithered to Qin Zhui's side, sitting down. He propped himself up with his hands on the wooden floor, his tail dangling down, and said:
"It's too noisy at home."
Qin Zhui felt that a noisy home was a happy thing.
Ji Zhou took out a bone and gave it to Qin Zhui. The bone was small and semicircular, hollow inside, with a network of connected marrow threads.
"It glows at night," Ji Zhou said.
"What kind of bone is this?" Qin Zhui asked.
"A snake person's bone."
Qin Zhui's heart skipped a beat.
"It's okay, take it."
"...How did they come about?" Qin Zhui asked.
"My great-grandfather's bones. The bones left by your ancestors would also glow."
"Really?"
"I forgot. You haven't seen your own kind."
"But what I'm eating is also beast meat, isn't it?"
"They are not half-Dao beings."
"What are half-Dao beings?"
"Beasts who have undergone the influence of the Dao are half-Dao beings."
"Undergone what Dao?"
Ji Zhou looked at Qin Zhui. Those with two legs were either Daoists (Dao cultivators) or half-Dao beings. This fellow had two legs but knew nothing.
"You wouldn't be looking for your own kind, would you?"
"No, I'd rather be with you all."
"You will be lonely if you are not with your own kind."
"I'm used to it."
"I'll take you to see my ancestors' sacred site."
Qin Zhui put down the meat and followed Ji Zhou into the mountains.
At the bottom of a cliff was a huge cave. The two of them entered, and the cave was crystal clear. Qin Zhui stood stunned at the entrance. Inside the cave, giant snake bones were piled up layer by layer.
The open ground in front of the snake bones was completely covered with a layer of snake skin.
"Come in," Ji Zhou called.
Qin Zhui walked down the steps.
Ji Zhou picked up a snake skin and measured his own height.
"What is this?" Qin Zhui asked.
"Here, when we reach adulthood, we shed our skin at our ancestors' sacred site. After shedding, we become like you," Ji Zhou said. "Look at this one, it was recently shed, not much taller than me."
"After shedding, I can walk on two legs?"
"Of course, or you can choose not to walk on two legs."
"Why must one shed their skin here?"
"It's a rule set by our ancestors. Grandpa said that our ancestors made a vow to let their descendants shed their skin at the sacred site to feel the pain of being burned by the Primordial Fire."
"Why were they burned?"
"I don't know."
Qin Zhui wondered what the Primordial Fire was.