Chapter 126: Plant Pet Cao Cao (Part 2)

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Plant Pet Cao Cao (Part 2)

"Are you going to talk or not? If you don’t, I’m going back to sleep," Gu Nuan Nuan threatened.

"Master, you’re so mean. Fine, I’ll talk, okay?"

Seeing that its master had truly reached the end of her patience, Cao Cao didn’t dare delay any longer. Its speech was much more normal this time as it began to answer Gu Nuan Nuan’s earlier questions one by one: "Master, the Chu Mountain Continent is an Intermediate-level Cultivation Continent. It’s also the homeland of my kind. Only Wood Element Cultivators who travel there have the slightest chance of obtaining one of us."

"Hold on. If the only way to get you is by going to the Chu Mountain Continent, then how do you explain your presence here?"

Gu Nuan Nuan interrupted Cao Cao, looking at it doubtfully. ’She couldn’t deny that her rebirth was likely Cao Cao’s doing—otherwise, none of this would make sense.’ However, she was highly suspicious of its smug claims about how popular it was among Cultivators. "Your story doesn’t add up. You claim that Cultivators dream of obtaining one of your kind, so a powerful Cultivator must have brought you from that... what was it, Chu Mountain Continent, right? But you also said that Blue Star has no Spiritual Energy, so no one can practice Cultivation here. In that case, what powerful Cultivator would have nothing better to do than come all the way out here? Fine, let’s say one did come. They’d surely have a way to leave, and they’d have to be the unbeatable type, right? If so, why would they go through all the trouble of getting you just to abandon you for no reason?"

"Ah—" Cao Cao was dumbfounded.

"So, I bet you’re not nearly as popular as you say you are. You’re probably just a pretty useless thing that’s more trouble than it’s worth. Cultivators are incredibly powerful, right? They have storage bags, storage rings, and all that. Why would they need a Companion Space like yours that’s too small to hold anything? And besides, only your own kind can stay inside your Companion Space. There isn’t even a spare clump of dirt in there. It’s obvious other plants can’t be put inside, right?"

’I can’t let this so-called Plant Pet get too full of itself,’ Gu Nuan Nuan thought. ’A Plant Pet this flighty, one that loves to act cute and spoiled... if I don’t establish my authority as its master from the start, I’ll end up having to coddle it like a king every single day. Eventually, our roles will completely reverse, and it might as well be my master!’

’I absolutely cannot let that happen. Dealing with a bratty Plant Pet every day would just be asking for trouble.’ Gu Nuan Nuan clenched her fist, then continued her verbal assault, holding nothing back. "In my last life, you were with me for... if not a whole lifetime, at least most of it, right? But look at you. You haven’t grown or changed one bit. So, I’m guessing your growth period is incredibly long? Did it take you a few hundred years just to get this big? And even now, you can only spit out two drops of Plant Essence... no, wait, you spit out two, but you only leave one for your master. Tsk, tsk. No matter how useful your Plant Essence is, it’s worthless if there’s so little of it. You have a long growth period and you’re not very useful. If it were me, I’d have to have nothing better to do to go out of my way to find you. I bet most people just stumble upon your kind, pick you up, and toss you to the kids as a toy. Otherwise, how did you end up with the name ’Plant Pet’? Plant Pet, Plant Pet... it clearly just means you’re treated like a common pet."

"That’s not true! Master, you’re lying! That’s not what my inherited memories say!" As Cao Cao listened, it suddenly burst out crying—the kind with loud sobs but no actual tears. It hiccuped, feeling utterly wronged, but for a moment it had no idea how to argue back, because most of Gu Nuan Nuan’s guesses were frighteningly accurate.

’It’s true, my kind has a frighteningly long growth cycle, just like Master said. Before we’re fully mature, we’re not much use to our masters. And there’s something else Master didn’t mention: our need for energy is also terrifyingly huge. Even in the Cultivation World, no one could afford to raise us unless they were an Inner Sect Disciple of a Great Sect or from the Direct Lineage of a major Cultivation Family...’

’It recalled how its master-before-last, a Cultivator, had found a small spirit stone mine and generously tossed half of it in for it. Without that, it never would have grown enough to awaken its spiritual wisdom. Unfortunately, it truly didn’t know why its last master abandoned it. It had fallen into a deep slumber after absorbing too much energy. When it woke up, it discovered it had a new master—a mortal with Four Spirit Roots had claimed it. In that moment, it felt that life was worse than death. Thankfully, that master later gave it to its current one. Although its current master is also a mortal, she possesses a pure Wood Spirit Root! For a Plant Pet of my kind, following a master with a single Wood Spirit Root is the luckiest thing in the world. Even if my master can’t practice Cultivation, I can still feel a wonderfully comforting aura from her.’

’Maybe my inherited memories are exaggerated and aren’t so reliable after all. My current master is right. I’m just a useless thing. Otherwise, why would my master-before-last have abandoned me? Was it because I was too useless and consumed too many resources?’

Instantly, Cao Cao fell into a deep melancholy. Its sense of superiority vanished, replaced by a budding inferiority complex. At the same time, a worry bloomed in its heart. ’Will my current master start to despise me and abandon me one day, too? This isn’t the Cultivation World. If she abandons me, where would I ever find another master with a single Wood Spirit Root? Or is my fate to just wait in some forgotten corner until the remaining Spirit Stone energy in my Companion Space runs out, and then silently wither away and disappear...?’

"I hit the nail on the head, didn’t I? Alright, alright, stop crying. You’re my Plant Pet now. And since you helped bring me back, I don’t care if you’re a bit useless. I won’t abandon you. I’ll do my best to help you find that... what was it, energy." Gu Nuan Nuan was amused by Cao Cao’s tearless, theatrical sobs. ’Well, my objective has been achieved,’ she thought. ’After all, this little thing is my "benefactor," in a way. I shouldn’t take it too far.’

She softened her tone and tossed out a question she thought would help Cao Cao regain a little of its confidence. "So, tell me more about that Plant Essence. What exactly is it used for?"

Gu Nuan Nuan’s question instantly made Cao Cao perk up. The realization that it—and its Plant Essence—weren’t completely useless made it so excited it was on the verge of tears. "Master, it’s called Plant Essence! You can collect it in a jade container and use it for planting when you need to. You only need to add a single drop of Plant Essence to a large vat of water. Watering ordinary plants with it will allow them to grow without being limited by soil or climate. They’ll also mature faster than normal, and they’ll taste much better!"

"Will it cause pest infestations or make weeds grow like crazy?" ’So the Plant Essence is specifically for plants? I really did use it for the wrong thing before.’