Ba-da~ Ba~
Once they realized that the Saint Ash Rabbit might be leading everyone somewhere, the atmosphere shifted.
Before Su Qi had joined, the members of the Cangyou Wildcat Team had already explored every passage on this floor thoroughly.
After a brief discussion, everyone put aside their impulse to capture the little creature, kept a safe distance, and followed its footsteps, curious to see what the little one was up to.
Every time the little fellow walked on the ground, it made a series of amusing sounds, unexpectedly soothing to the ear.
However, the members of the Cangyou Wildcat Team, knowing that traps might exist here, didn’t dare to relax.
Especially An Xiaoling, serving as the scout, whose sparkling, alert eyes watched every corner ahead with utmost seriousness, worried that she might accidentally trigger a trap.
The Saint Ash Rabbit, although leading the way swiftly, was so timid—or perhaps simply too cautious—that even a drop of water falling or a monster’s roar deep within the passage would make it bristle and dash far away.
Only after confirming nothing was amiss would it timidly return to lead the way again.
This repeated many times.
After more than an hour, the Saint Ash Rabbit finally led everyone to the entrance of a passage.
An Xiaoling, looking at the passage, shook her head in confusion and opened her map, saying, “This is Passage 13. We checked it before, and there was nothing unusual inside—just a few Scavenger Dog Beasts that we already dealt with. Why is the little guy bringing us here?”
Hearing this, Big Mountain, who stood at the very front of the team, quickly responded.
“No idea. Maybe there’s something we don’t know here. Since we’ve followed it this far, it would be a shame to give up now.”
Seeing this, everyone nodded and cautiously entered the new passage.
Unlike the Snake Spirit Brambles passage, which went down, this one led upward.
Walking on this new passage, Su Qi marveled at its maze-like and ingeniously crafted design.
At the same time, he felt a strange premonition—a feeling as though something in the dark was calling out to him.
It was similar to the sensation he’d had back at My Joy Plaza when he saw the Blood-red Bridal Dress.
While Su Qi was experiencing this mysterious sensation, everyone followed him onto a new floor.
Boom~
Suddenly, ahead, came the thunderous sound of stone moving.
Before Su Qi could even figure out what was happening, he felt his body grow light; the next second, Lin Xue was holding him and soaring a great distance away.
The members of the Cangyou Wildcat Team also immediately spread out, vigilant and on guard.
After waiting for over ten seconds for the dust to settle, everyone discovered that the stone wall in what resembled a circular bomb shelter had been opened by a hidden mechanism, and the tiny Saint Ash Rabbit had vanished without a trace.
Seeing this scene, Su Qi and the Wildcat Team were momentarily stunned.
Could it be that the little one had opened the door for them on purpose? What was inside?
After carefully tossing in torches a few times and confirming there were no traps inside the stone chamber, the Cangyou Wildcat Team hesitantly entered the hidden room.
Once inside, Su Qi noticed that, unlike the fortuitous chambers in some novels that hide rare gear or items, this room was unexpectedly simple, even dilapidated.
What met their eyes were a few basic, broken tools: a rusted iron shovel, a Q-version Chainmail that looked ready to fall apart at a touch, several small dirt mounds resembling stone beds, a crude stone pot, and a battered spatula.
Of particular note was a dusty, grass-woven, badly worn rabbit-shaped doll sitting atop one of the little mounds.
Carefully examining the room, the members of the Cangyou Wildcat Team all had the same thought—could this be the Saint Ash Rabbit’s own little home?
Brother Hao gently poked at the Q-version Chainmail hanging on the wall—who knows where it was picked up from—and with a single touch, the already tattered chainmail was punctured right through.
Seeing this, Brother Hao said in confusion, “I really don’t get it. Why did the little guy bring us here? We can’t use any of this equipment! And judging by the quality and grade, there’s not a trace of Lingwu energy. Weird.”
While Brother Hao was grumbling, Su Qi, following a familiar feeling in his body, instinctively walked over to the stone pot.
For some reason, both the pot and spatula gave Su Qi a faint sense of attraction.
As Su Qi drew closer, perhaps it was his imagination, but the spatula resting beside the stone pot seemed to glow faintly, as if welcoming him.
Intrigued by this magical occurrence, Su Qi gripped the spatula, wanting to try a cooking motion.
But the instant his hand closed around the spatula, a flood of memories surged into his mind.
Xi~ xi~ xi~2~
In the vision, a few adorable little Saint Ash Rabbits appeared first, tumbling about in the field and playfully tussling with one another.
Whenever these little ones got bullied, they would scamper toward the main perspective, crying softly.
At this moment, Su Qi felt a sense of warmth and peace.
But good times don’t last. As time passed, the scene shifted.
A human warrior appeared in this land—dressed in golden armor, wielding a silver greatsword, striding with a heroic presence.
Just from his headgear and extraordinary appearance, Su Qi’s mind supplied a word at first glance—Hero.
Many lurking Magic Beasts noticed the Hero’s arrival and attacked together.
Naturally, the Hero lived up to his name.
The memory paused here.
When it resumed, Su Qi found his view shifted to a small house.
Examining it, Su Qi realized this was the very same room they had just entered.
But unlike the dilapidated state now, in the memory, this little house radiated warmth.
In his view, four little stone beds were covered with thin, makeshift bedding; the walls hung with fresh carrots and some dried meat.
There were three cute Saint Ash Rabbits in the room, and the smallest one looked just like the one that had opened the door earlier.
Su Qi could feel, from this perspective, the reluctance and sadness when passing by the three little Saint Ash Rabbits.
After looking at the bunnies, the owner of this perspective took the carrots and a piece of pork belly jerky from the wall, lit a fire under the stone pot, and put them in.
Lifting the iron spatula, she stirred the food gently.
As an expert chef’s gentle wife, seeing such simple ingredients cooked in a stone pot seasoned only by its minerals, Su Qi instinctively thought it would taste awful.
Yet, as the food slowly cooked, Su Qi felt a wave of tenderness.
Once the food was ready, the three little gray rabbits eagerly ran over, drawn by the aroma.
Watching the bunnies devour the meal, Su Qi’s perspective grew misty, as a hand stroked their heads, as if bidding a final farewell.
The vision went black again.
When it returned, the old gray rabbit was in a grand hall lit by torches.
In the center of a broad stage stood a terrifying monster, its presence overpowering, its dark aura filling the space.
The monster was massive, its body covered in pitch-black scales that glinted eerily in the dim light.
Its enormous head was grotesque and twisted, its black skin etched with sinister markings like a fiend from hell.
Just standing there, the beast radiated a pressure so overwhelming it felt invincible.
As for the monster’s savage speech, Su Qi, as a human, couldn’t understand a word.
But from the trembling viewpoint and the frail Magic Beasts nearby, Su Qi could guess this was likely a pre-battle rally—a threatening one at that.
From every angle, Su Qi felt the old gray rabbit with the spatula had no fighting strength; it might only serve as fodder.
After a brief rally, the old gray rabbit and the Magic Beast Army marched forward.
As expected, when facing the heroic Hero, the old gray rabbit tried many tactics and was exceptionally nimble, but ultimately evil could not prevail over good and—
In his dying, blurry vision, the old gray rabbit glimpsed the three little gray rabbits from after the meal, and looked again at the spatula that always cooked for the little ones.
Truly, it was hard to let go…
[Detected host’s Cooking skill has surpassed 100 points, and with Saint Ash Rabbit Favorability above 20, you have successfully triggered the Clan Leader’s Wish memory, and gained the Spirit Weapon: Clan Leader’s Spatula (Lingqi LV1).]
[Clan Leader’s Wish: I truly hope the little ones can grow up safely.]
[Clan Leader’s Spatula: When you are wronged outside, the Clan Leader will always be your support. The Clan Leader will protect you, will always love you, and remember to eat well. Attack Power +3, Cooking Skill +30, food cooked will have a healing power, greatly increasing healing, slightly boosting attributes.]
[Because the host has obtained the Clan Leader’s Spatula, a faint Clan Leader’s aura surrounds you. Saint Ash Rabbit Favorability +40, current Favorability: 60 (Trust)]
As the memory ended, four notifications popped up one after another in Su Qi’s ability interface.
Looking at the four messages, perhaps due to his softheartedness after becoming a gentle wife, Su Qi didn’t feel any joy at acquiring the Spirit Weapon.
Instead, the sadness of the Clan Leader’s Wish weighed heavily on his heart.
As Su Qi sat on the ground, staring blankly at the spatula in disbelief, a small, trembling gray figure approached him under everyone’s gaze.
Ba-da—it hugged Su Qi’s thigh.
“Xi~xi~~~xi~xi”