"Little one, your name is Bambu?" Pútáo's mental projection carried a sense of kindness and warmth.

"Yeah." Bambu swayed his antennae in response, happily tinkering with the small pile of Cypress seeds in front of him.

Fáncù Bān Máo was right; not only was Pútáo wealthy, but also generous, as he had gifted Bambu a full 20 Cypress seeds!

Pútáo looked at Bambu with interest, smiling warmly as he asked, "Polite and clever Bambu, are you counting? Do you know how many Cypress seeds there are?"

Bambu thought for a moment and replied with his mental projection, "20 seeds."

Pútáo was astonished. "Little one, you've actually learned to use mental communication! Are you currently a junior warrior at the age of four?"

Bambu drew four horizontal lines on the ground with his forelimb toes.

Pútáo wasn't sure and asked, "Four ages?"

Bambu swayed his antennae, replying, "Yes."

"You will be an outstanding warrior!" Pútáo praised generously, turning to Fáncù Bān Máo, continuing to praise, "Fáncù Bān Máo, you're a qualified elder; you've actually taught a junior warrior at the age of four to use mental communication!"

Fáncù Bān Máo felt proud, modestly saying, "Haha, I didn't teach much; it's mainly Bambu's cleverness."

Bambu was speechless: You barely taught me anything, didn't you?

Fáncù Bān Máo continued with some regret, "I was planning to teach Bambu some hunting skills, but he's too timid."

To this, Bambu silently muttered, "Damn it."

Pútáo said seriously, "Bambu is only a junior warrior at the age of four, so it's too early for him to learn hunting. Fáncù Bān Máo, you should help him grow quickly."

"Yes, that's what I intend to do," Fáncù Bān Máo agreed.

Pútáo turned to Bambu and asked, "Little one, you should have incubated three seedlings, right?"

Bambu replied, "Yes."

Pútáo asked, "What plants did you choose?"

Bambu sighed and transmitted with his mental projection, "Xun Grass, Sunfruit."

"Sunfruit is a good choice..." Pútáo uncertainly asked, "Xun Grass?"

Bambu nodded with his antennae, saying, "Yes."

Fáncù Bān Máo helped explain, "When Bambu became a warrior, I was in a deep sleep, advancing to a senior warrior. I couldn't protect the territory, so he wandered alone in the jungle. At that time, the season was not right, it was spring, and he couldn't find other seeds to incubate."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Oh, that's unfortunate," Pútáo sighed, comforting, "Bambu, don't be discouraged; losing one seed won't make much difference. Remember to choose wisely in the future."

"Yeah," Bambu nodded with his antennae.

Choosing Xun Grass as a seedling was indeed a last resort.

Pútáo continued, "Sunfruit is a good choice, but the seedlings must be stored dry, and it's best to sow them in the appropriate season. Next spring would be a good choice."

Fáncù Bān Máo suddenly jumped up, exclaiming, "Bambu, where are your seedlings? Where did you keep them? Are they safe? Bambu, quickly take me there and retrieve your seedlings!"

Bambu pondered. It was undoubtedly the best choice to follow Fáncù Bān Máo until he had the ability to protect himself as a junior warrior. Keeping the seedlings in the Blackstone Nest without supervision was not safe. If they were dug out by neighboring ants and taken away or eaten, the loss would be significant.

Fáncù Bān Máo wasn't stupid. Even though he just received Cypress seeds, he unfolded his wings and urged urgently, "Bambu, come up, let's go back. Let's retrieve your seedlings quickly!"

Pútáo noticed Bambu's thoughts and chuckled, "Little one, you can leave the gifts I gave you here for now. None of them will be missing. Hurry back with Fáncù Bān Máo and retrieve your seedlings, then store them in a safe place. Seedlings are crucial for your future growth, so don't be careless, understand?"

"Understood," Bambu replied, flapping his wings and landing on Fáncù Bān Máo's back.

...

Fáncù Bān Máo carried Bambu back to his own hilltop.

The kind-hearted Pútáo followed along, landing after them. After surveying the seedling plants on the hill, he earnestly advised:

"Fáncù Bān Máo, your seedlings are growing well, but it's not enough. I've taught you; loosen the soil, fertilize more, they can grow better."

"I plan to loosen the soil and fertilize them in the spring," Fáncù Bān Máo replied casually, then asked, "Bambu, do you remember the location of your nest in the jungle?"

Bambu was currently scanning the area. Sure enough, many raspberries were missing from the bushes. It seemed that Fáncù Bān Máo had been returning alone at night to pick and eat them these days.

It was understandable; the growth of a senior warrior required a large supply of primal energy, necessitating distance from the fruit to strengthen the body. Currently, Fáncù Bān Máo's seedling plants only had raspberries hanging, and it was living a very frugal life.

Bambu extended his forelimbs and pointed in a direction, transmitting the message with his mental projection, "Stream, black giant rock."

Fáncù Bān Máo immediately took off towards the jungle.

...

Two very obvious landmarks, especially the black giant rock, were conspicuous and easy to find from above.

Fáncù Bān Máo landed on the giant rock, looking around and asked, "Bambu, is this it? That's a Xun Grass seedling on the verge of death; it seems this is the right place."

Bambu fluttered his wings, gliding down in front of the Xun Grass seedling, carefully observing. It was only early autumn now, and the leaves were starting to wither and turn yellow. From the trend, it definitely wouldn't survive the winter.

That feeling of "the same breath, connected life" was still there; Bambu could feel that the Xun Grass seedling was very weak at the moment. The root system still had vitality, storing nutrients and transitioning into dormancy.

Pútáo followed suit, landing on the black giant rock, also inspecting the Xun Grass seedling. Suddenly, he said

, "Bambu, if you don't take care of it carefully, your Xun Grass seedling will freeze to death in winter."

"Huh?" Bambu sent a message of confusion with his pheromones.

Were there still chances for the Xun Grass seedling to survive?

Pútáo continued, "You should take measures to keep it warm in winter, cover it with grass leaves to resist the invasion of cold air."

Bambu only half understood.

Fáncù Bān Máo also didn't understand and asked, "Pútáo, how exactly should we do that?"

Pútáo extended his front claws, pointing at the Xun Grass field, saying, "Bambu, you cut the withered grass leaves from the root, cover them above the roots of the Xun Grass seedling. Fáncù Bān Máo, you go cut some moderately-sized branches from the oak tree, crisscross them and press them on top of the withered grass, preventing them from being blown away by the wind."

Could the Xun Grass seedling really be saved?

It was an easy task.

Bambu and Fáncù Bān Máo acted with hesitation.