Chapter 14: How to Deal with Filth!

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Under the resentful gaze of the alligator, who seemed disappointed she wasn’t living up to expectations, Lu Li hurried to help. She cupped some muddy soil, just about to scatter it, when the willow branch wrapped around her wrist tugged gently, halting her action.

Lu Li looked down at her wrist; the tender green leaf tips pointed forward. She dropped the handful of mud and followed the willow’s guidance.

Upon reaching the designated spot, the willow branch extended downward, prompting Lu Li to squat. The soil was damp and carried a faint rotten smell. The alligator watched nearby but made no move to approach.

As her fingertips touched the soil, the tender green shoots on the willow branch trembled with excitement, spinning around joyfully.

This forest truly was vast; even the trees knew how to find their own fertilizer.

Lu Li raised her hand to eye level and brushed aside the willow leaves. “You want the soil here?”

The willow leaves eagerly pried open her fingers, stretching down with such urgency that the leaves twisted out of shape.

It was making a request, and with the alligator nearby for protection, Lu Li considered bargaining. After all, she hadn’t participated at all in their previous arrangement.

Watching the willow branch jump up and down anxiously, while the alligator looked on disdainfully, unwilling to come closer, Lu Li pressed her foot into the soft earth, feeling uneasy inside but maintaining a calm exterior.

Yet, what was so special about this soil? One loves it openly, another clearly despises it.

Curious, Lu Li plunged her fingers into the earth. The soil was unusually loose, lacking the sticky muddiness of clay, and grew softer the deeper she went.

She turned it over—and the stench hit her. The strange texture before her made everything clear, but also filled her with dismay. Her stomach churned violently, her chest heaving.

Her hands coated in filth made her nauseous beyond words. Lu Li wanted to slap herself—why did she always have to be so unlucky?

She couldn’t help but wonder whom she had offended to be dealing with excrement every single day.

With her hands thoroughly dirty, she felt it only fair to give the willow tree a good shake for causing such mental torment.

Grabbing a nearby willow branch urging her on, she wiped her hands as best she could on it and shook off the green ring around her wrist.

“I’ll dig through the dung for you, but what will you give me in return?”

The willow branch pointed toward another willow tree.

“Ginger shoots?”

The leaves nodded lightly.

“That doesn’t count—that’s between me and him. It’s none of your business!”

The willow branch wrapped around Lu Li’s wrist froze momentarily, then seemed to sense something, swaying left and right with great pride.

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Looking at the perked-up willow branch and the leaves standing tall, Lu Li couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.

The leaves rustled softly as willow branches wove themselves into nets, drifting through the air. The willow grove burst into joyous celebration, while the alligator excitedly lifted its head and grunted.

Why, if we’re all non-human, can’t I join your conversations?

Squatting before the dung pile, Lu Li rubbed her soiled hands, bewildered by the forest’s revelry.

The willow branch poked her, signaling her to look up.

Above, willow branches wove a net that scooped up a plump, round green shape. Amid the noisy chorus of “ribbit, ribbit,” Lu Li felt like she was losing her mind.

Another willow branch urged Lu Li to dig faster. The alligator watched the frogs bouncing wildly inside the willow net, spitting a mixture of clear saliva and mud into the pit.

“Hmm hmm!”

The alligator’s mud-covered snout opened and closed, making urging sounds. It glanced at Lu Li, then plunged its muzzle deeper into the mud, clawing and scrambling faster.

The willow branch pointed at the large, round frog—bigger than a basketball—and then tapped Lu Li’s foot.

Lu Li was pleased the alligator’s habits hadn’t changed, but surely her own habits hadn’t changed either!

She didn’t eat bullfrogs; how could she possibly eat a frog bigger than her own head?

Watching the slippery, slimy frog thrashing and croaking in the net, Lu Li’s scalp tingled.

“I’m not eating that!”

Both the alligator and the willow branch froze, staring at Lu Li in disbelief.

The alligator didn’t even bother grabbing mud, crawling over to the net instead. It pulled out a fat, round frog with a sparse, blunt set of fangs, snapped its jaws shut with a sharp “pop!” The frog burst inside its mouth, and the alligator chewed the mixture of white flesh and green goo. The frog’s legs were firm and the skin elastic.

The alligator looked fully satisfied, displaying the frog’s deliciousness. Seeing Lu Li unmoved, it was deeply disappointed. The willow branch was similarly deflated, curling around Lu Li’s wrist, its drooping leaves wilting.

Squatting before the dung pile, Lu Li felt utterly unlucky: all that digging in manure just for a frog.

Ignoring the willow branch’s pleading, she turned to wash her hands. Suddenly, her foot hit something sharp; she lifted her leg instinctively.

A black-and-white quill stuck to her shoe sole. Without hesitation, her filthy hand plucked it up—sharp, rigid, and surprisingly heavy.

A porcupine quill?

A cheerful broadcast voice echoed in her mind: “Low-pollution wild boar! 100,000 contribution points!”

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Lu Li held the long quill, breathing lightly. Porcupines counted as boars, right?

She prodded the dung pile with her foot, finding a few more quills nearby. There had to be a porcupine around!

Excited, Lu Li shook the drooping willow branch, forgetting to wash her hands as she hurried over to the alligator.

Just before her hand touched the alligator’s head, its pig-like snout snorted sharply, mouth wide open, emitting a protesting grunt.

Startled, Lu Li immediately withdrew her hand. Seeing the alligator’s muscles tense and its tail stiffen, she felt a pang of fear. She had been too excited, too careless.

“Alligator, let’s keep that tail in check, no need to go that far!”

The alligator gave her a cold sideways glance, then distanced itself disdainfully before tilting its head.

“Oh, right… Alligator, do you know where to find a porcupine?”

Lu Li held up the long quill. “This! Do you know where an animal with these grows?”

She brought the porcupine quill close to the alligator’s face. The alligator abruptly turned away, uninterested, and returned to its task. It clicked its jaws a few times in satisfaction, tapping its tail against the water’s surface, signaling Lu Li to wash her hands.

Having gotten no information from the alligator, Lu Li turned to the willow trees. She rustled the willow branches and asked, “Sister Willow, do you know where porcupines live? If you help me catch one, I’ll dig dung for you to make fertilizer.”

“I’m skilled in all kinds of composting techniques! I promise to help you grow taller and stronger!”

“So, Sister Willow, what do you say? Think it over?”

The tree trunks shuddered slightly, seeming to agree. Lu Li then resumed negotiating with the alligator. She washed her hands, cupped the porcupine quills, and approached it with a flattering smile.

“Alligator…”

A trace of helplessness flashed in its vertical pupils. The alligator nudged Lu Li in agreement.

With these two guarding her, Lu Li felt confident. She helped with the work of composting, holding her nausea as she scooped dung into the pit’s bottom. The alligator, however, disdainfully gave up and left Lu Li to shovel the manure, pile the mud, and fill the soil.

When finished, under Lu Li’s eager gaze, the alligator slowly crawled to the willow net, grabbed a big fat frog, and tried to offer it to her.

Lu Li recoiled in horror. The alligator, frustrated by her stubbornness, swallowed the frog whole and looked regretfully at her.

“Oh, and Alligator, can you keep an eye on the willow trees? They said if I dig dung for them, they’ll help me catch a porcupine!”

At Lu Li’s urging, the alligator quickly finished the frog. Then, led by the willow branches falling densely like snow, the three of them departed the willow grove, heading determinedly into the mountains.