Guarding the River of Time-Chapter 324 - 315: Granting You Freedom, Freedom Beyond the Long River
Walking along, he came across a Little Turtle lying on its back on the riverbank. It must have been stranded; it couldn’t possibly be sunbathing.
As he approached, Su Mu squatted down, picked up the Little Turtle, and sighed, "Little guy, be careful not to get lost next time."
With that, Su Mu tossed the Little Turtle into the river, dusted off his hands, and sighed, "Ah, the river is too calm now, too peaceful, making it easier and easier to profit."
The next second, thirty Favor Points were credited to his account.
If it had been two years ago, he definitely wouldn’t have wasted the time bending down to pick up this stranded Little Turtle to earn Favor Points. As the saying goes, when a second of your time is worth a hundred US Dollars, would you bend down to pick up one US Dollar off the ground?
Although this logic is filled with the flavor of success-driven thinking, one must admit, it’s quite reasonable.
After walking a few more steps, he encountered more stranded little fish, shrimp, and turtles on the riverbank, and Su Mu saved them one by one. After all, even small mosquitoes are meat.
Looking up, he noticed that a lot of weeds had grown on the riverbank, and a lot of rapidly growing algae had accumulated at some bends of tributaries, causing blockages.
It turned out that these past two years, Su Mu had been focusing too high up, dealing with major situations like collapsed dikes and broken bridges, completely ignoring these small situations and changes.
Su Mu adjusted the straw hat on his head, rolled up his sleeves, and bent down to start cutting grass, cleaning up the blocked weeds and trash.
A few hours later, Su Mu wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled as he looked at the clean river section.
Although he was busy all morning and only earned four hundred Favor Points, Su Mu felt much calmer and no longer as restless.
Recently, earning Favor Points had become more and more difficult, and Su Mu was very irritable and aimless when he left home every day. Aside from situations worth more than five hundred Favor Points, he was reluctant to deal with anything else.
Having gotten used to the affluent life of earning thousands of Favor Points with just a bit of effort in the morning, Su Mu was not accustomed to suddenly returning to a life of earning only a few hundred Favor Points in the morning.
However, after a morning of weeding and picking up trash, Su Mu felt a great sense of peace.
Unknowingly, his mindset also improved.
One must not only see the distant mountains but also pay attention to the pebbles underfoot. This way, the journey will be longer and more stable.
Just like that, Su Mu kept bending over, cutting weeds, dealing with pebbles, and cleaning up trash, busy for a whole day. Although he only earned a total of eight hundred Favor Points, he felt much more at ease.
Looking up, watching the glistening, shimmering water surface, a gentle breeze blew past Su Mu’s clothes, making him smile unconsciously.
It had been a long time since he had seriously appreciated the scenery here. Unexpectedly, it was quite beautiful and pleasant.
Time to call it a day!
Su Mu put away his tools and started to head home.
As he was nearing home, he received a Spiritual Sense and made his way to the riverbank.
The next second, a Golden Python and a large Red Crab about a meter long came to the shore.
"Old Three, Xiao Wu?"
Seeing it was Old Three and Xiao Wu, Su Mu also smiled and said, "It’s only been a year since we last met, and you two have grown a lot."
While speaking, Su Mu picked up the Red Crab, weighed it in his hand, and exclaimed, "Not bad! It seems you’ve been working hard during this time."
"What happened to you?"
"Such serious injuries?"
Su Mu discovered that Xiao Wu’s internal organs were severely damaged, its vitality very weak.
[Would you like to spend "five hundred Favor Points" to heal?]
Su Mu didn’t hesitate.
He used five hundred Favor Points to heal all of Xiao Wu’s injuries, and in an instant, it was full of life, lively and energetic.
Old Three only had some external injuries, no major wounds, but Su Mu still spent three hundred Favor Points to heal its external injuries and some hidden wounds.
Su Mu always treated his Spirit Pets equally and fairly.
Just like that, he spent eight hundred Favor Points in total, equivalent to a day’s work, but Su Mu didn’t feel it was unworthy. Even if it required eight thousand Favor Points, he wouldn’t hesitate.
Although he’s stronger now and doesn’t need his Spirit Pets to help much anymore.
However, when he first arrived at this river, he relied entirely on his Spirit Pets to find treasures for him, allowing him to gradually develop.
Later, when Su Mu had grown to a certain extent, he gave them some freedom, allowing them to grow, live, and lead their own lives, without requiring them to find treasures for him anymore.
...
"Alright, go on."
"Next time, stay away from the big guys in the river."
"As always, if you can’t win, come find me, or if you’re hurt, just come find me."
Su Mu stood up, patted the heads of the Red Crab and Golden Python, and waved with a smile.
The next second, the Golden Python slowly opened its mouth and spat out a small box.
Su Mu received the small box, and with a quick scan of his Divine Sense, he realized there was something unusual about it.
But he didn’t rush to open it and instead said, "You got hurt while trying to find treasure for me?"
After his words fell, the two beasts didn’t answer, but Su Mu understood largely.
Su Mu spent four thousand Favor Points, giving each beast two thousand, to help them grow.
The next second, Old Three and Xiao Wu’s aura immediately received a huge boost!
Come to think of it, Su Mu hadn’t spent Favor Points to enhance their growth in over a year.
"I’m very satisfied with this treasure."
Su Mu praised with a smile.
Compared to the rewards given by their master, the master’s affirmation was even more exciting for Old Three and Xiao Wu, because didn’t they fight and strive for their master just to gain his approval?
"Alright, go on."
"Don’t be so reckless next time."
Nowadays, Su Mu didn’t force his Spirit Pets to find treasures for him and gave them certain freedom.
Because he was stuck on this river, he couldn’t be so selfish as to make them stay here with him all the time, which was one of the few kind things about Su Mu, as most of the time, Su Mu was quite selfish.
As for Little Tiger Head, Su Mu had also advised it many times to develop on its own and go wherever it wanted.
But Little Tiger Head was too stubborn and insisted on staying on the river, helping him patrol the waterways.
...
After Old Three and Xiao Wu left.
Su Mu put the wooden box away, not rushing to open it.
Instead, he returned home to have dinner with Nannan.
Come to think of it, Su Mu had been too anxious lately, sometimes not returning home for several days and lingering outside. Today, he realized that some things just couldn’t be rushed.
At the dinner table, seeing Nannan quietly eating, Su Mu thought of something.
