Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 34 - 33: Harvesting the Fruit

The calm after the storm.

Like a submarine surfacing, a giant dog’s head emerged from the bottom of the swamp, covered in mud and resembling a revolting mud monster.

In its mouth, it held an arm.

No, it wasn’t holding the arm; the hand was gripping its nose tightly, and although it couldn’t feel pain anymore, Chaichai still felt wronged.

The rest of Lyle was being held in Chaichai’s mouth, who had considered him a good friend ever since Lyle touched its nose.

Watching Lyle about to be swallowed by the mud, Chaichai intended to swallow him to protect him inside its belly.

Being inside a ghost’s stomach wasn’t dangerous at all, and it planned to release him through etherealization, which was supposed to be simple.

But who knew that Lyle’s hand, which was grasping Chaichai’s nose, wouldn’t let go, and Chaichai didn’t dare to exert force because its teeth couldn’t clench with Lyle in its mouth.

Poor Chaichai had to dog-paddle through the mud while enduring the relentless flow of black sludge into its mouth; although it couldn’t taste, it still felt unacceptable in its heart.

Finally, Chaichai crawled back to its home, all sticky, like a black wax candle monster.

Etherealization it was.

Lyle and the black mud on him fell through its body and hit the ground, while Chaichai walked out, shook its ghostly fur, and became the most brilliant pup within a hundred miles of Lafillin.

Lyle was still struggling in the mud, and Chaichai looked at him with disdain, as if looking at a dung ball, and scooped Lyle out with its right front paw.

It barked affectionately and licked Lyle clean of the mud with its tongue.

The touch of the tongue felt like cool silk fabric brushing against the skin, and without the annoyance of dog slobber, Lyle felt exceptionally clean. It seemed that Mr. Dragon was right; petting a ghost dog was indeed very pleasant.

After a thorough licking, the two officially met. Unlike their initial hostility, Chaichai sat down on its haunches, with its large tail swishing across the ground like a big broom, devastating the small patch of plants into broken flowers and willows.

"Chaichai!"

"Woof!"

Chaichai barked joyfully, its tongue hanging out, looking silly, and its ferocious appearance instantly comical.

Lyle felt the urge to pet the dog.

He reached out to Chaichai, and it seemed the nose-touching game was a one-time play, but Chaichai instantly understood Lyle’s intent and stretched its head forward, very obligingly extending its chin.

Lyle got to pat it successfully, and the touch of a ghost was indeed nice—cool and refreshing, perfect for the hot summer days. The fur of the ghost dog was silky smooth, slippery, and it was hard to imagine how it could have bristled like steel needles at first. Accompanied by Chaichai’s happy purring noises, Lyle enjoyed a fine time.

Alright, playtime was over, and it was time to get to work.

With William scared off, all these strange plants were his for the taking, and Lyle began his gardening work with pleasure.

Chaichai couldn’t stand being alone and often rubbed its tongue or large face against Lyle, not mindful of its strength, which led to Lyle being pushed over repeatedly, causing no real pain but plenty of bother, especially when he had to expend a lot of effort getting back up while picking plants.

Clearly, Chaichai was also enjoying itself, stretching out its paws in preparation; as soon as Lyle got up, Chaichai would push him over again—and down he went, over and over. Chaichai barked happily several times, thoroughly enjoying itself.

Being toyed with repeatedly, Lyle was anything but happy. He casually picked up a Strange Wood root and threw it at Chaichai’s face.

Chaichai was a bit stunned by the hit but then seemed to recall something. It picked up the short twig with its mouth and placed it in front of Lyle, looking at him expectantly.

He got it; it was the game of fetching sticks, a favorite among dogs. Lyle didn’t mind playing; if he threw the stick far enough, Chaichai would stop disturbing his work. It was a win-win situation.

"Chaichai, watch closely." Lyle stood up, swung the stick in his hand through the air twice, and then threw it with all his might.

As the stick flew out, Chaichai rushed after it like a hurricane, and in the instant it landed, he picked it up and ran back like the wind, all in less than ten seconds.

This won’t do, this silly dog runs too fast.

Lyle picked up the stick again, and this time, he ignited a leftover Featherfall Talisman and the stick shot into the sky like a rocket.

With Chaichai’s mouth wide open in awe, the stick became a speck in the sky, and without complaint, Chaichai ran off in that direction, disappearing from Lyle’s view.

Now without the dog’s disturbance, Lyle hummed a little tune and officially began his harvesting work.

It wasn’t until the white moon was brimming that Lyle finished his work. This place was not Earth after all, which is why he and Chaichai had bumped into it, Lyle had made a common-sense mistake.

This is Another World, where summers don’t have extended daylight; around six o’clock, the sun fades away, and a crescent moon hangs in the sky. At this time, it is white, and as time goes on, it becomes full between ten and eleven o’clock. Afterward, the moon will start to ooze red, turning into a red moon in the deep night.

Lyle had finished his work, just as the sound of whimpering came from the distance. It was Chaichai returning, with a stick in his mouth. Surprisingly, he had actually found it.

Chaichai spat out the piece of wood, indeed a silly dog. It was a log as thick as a thigh, not the original one, and it was blue-black with no annual rings on the cut surface. What kind of wood was this?

Lyle reached out curiously.

A chill burst from the wood, followed by a mournful cry that sounded both human and ghostly.

Smoke billowed from the wood, forming a vague human face, and it scared Lyle quite badly.

Chaichai was by his side, huffing goofily. The silly dog had somehow found this ghostly thing.

After getting over the initial shock, Lyle realized that this log was just for scaring people and then turned down the cold air.

Could this be, the Strange Wood mentioned by Mr. Dragon? In any case, it was no ordinary item, and Lyle stashed it into his Chimera Pouch.

This was an unexpected find. Now for the main event, the Spectral Moss in Chaichai’s nest.

Faced with the rabbit hole less than thirty centimeters in diameter, Lyle was stumped. How was he to get in?

He reached in tentatively with his hand but found nothing.

Chaichai understood. He barked twice, nudged Lyle aside with his body, called out to Lyle twice as if to say, "Watch me."

He raised his paws high and with a smack eliminated the entrance, then his front paws moved rapidly, and the silly dog began to dig out his own den.

Finally, a large hole was opened up. Lyle slid down the slope, and the space below was not small; it resembled an underground garage.

The walls were covered with a softly glowing plant. This was probably the Spectral Moss because it was the only plant in Chaichai’s nest, taking up all the space.

It looked like ordinary moss that glowed, with its only unique feature being a sort of visual haze, as if the Creator had added a few extra strokes on it, and you could see a clear double image.

Lyle cut a large piece of Spectral Moss and after securing it, he noticed that the cut spot still held the original moss. What was going on? Had it regrown instantly?

It was an Etherealization. His hand passed through the moss as they hovered in their original places, just like the real moss. They were the ghosts of the moss. Perhaps, given enough time, they too would transition from ethereal to tangible and then acquire their own spectres.

Having achieved his objective, Lyle prepared to leave. He rewove a pair of reed sandals and then cuddled with Chaichai for a while, emphatically warning Chaichai not to follow him, and finally waved goodbye to Chaichai.

Chaichai sat on the ruins of his nest, barking at the departing Lyle, not moving an inch until he was out of sight, when his barking turned into whines.