Chapter 511: Stir-Fried Bamboo Shoots with Meat

After thoroughly defeating General Pu Dao, the aftermath turned out to be far less troublesome than Luo Mu had anticipated.

Stripped of his armor and utterly humiliated, General Pu Dao slunk away with his clansmen, relocating overnight to the edge of the bamboo forest.

Meanwhile, the wild Pokémon of other species inhabiting this bamboo forest gradually returned, resuming their lives here.

Luo Mu took Okidogi and the others back outside the bamboo forest to share this good news with Rhod and Phil.

Watching Okidogi, Tinkaton, and Volcarona puff out their chests with the proud air of heroes who had rid the land of a menace, Luo Mu smiled gently, raised his camera, and snapped a photo to commemorate the moment.

Rhod and Phil were equally gracious, heaping such praise upon the three Pokémon that they were nearly bashful.

Assuming the two might know something, Luo Mu asked, "Do you know of an orchard near the edge of the bamboo forest, roughly around the Raging Falls, where a large number of Applin gather?"

The two exchanged glances, and Rhod replied, "I'm sorry."

"We only just arrived in this area; due to the lack of circulating information, we weren't aware of this matter."

They had merely been traveling past this bamboo forest when they encountered General Pu Dao leading his clan in a roadside robbery, so they had heard nothing about such things at all.

Perhaps some travelers or Trainers knew the situation, but because of General Pu Dao and his kind, those people had no mind to chat about it and simply hurried away.

Still, why did Luo Mu care about those Applin? Seeing the blank looks on their faces, Luo Mu did not press the question further.

As if anticipating their confusion, Luo Mu took out another Poké Ball and said, "Come out, Flapple."

A red light flashed.

Flapple appeared; its size was actually not large, even slightly smaller than Volcarona.

"Puruu~"

Fortunately, having grown larger and unable to hide inside an apple anymore, Flapple's personality had changed considerably.

Upon seeing strangers like Phil and Rhod, it no longer shrank fearfully into its shell but instead lifted its eyes to greet them with a simple, honest demeanor.

Meeting Flapple's gaze, Phil covered her mouth in surprise.

"Eh, are those eyes? I thought they were ears!"

Rhod twitched his nose slightly, carefully sniffing the scent in the air.

"It smells so wonderful; even without tasting it, one can feel an irresistible sweetness."

If Rhod were to make a comparison, it was like the flavor of a honey-glazed apple skewer he had bought from a row of stalls at a local festival when traveling with his parents to another region as a child.

Sweet yet retaining the original flavor of the apple, the stunning fusion of the two had lingered in his memory until this day.

Rhod examined Flapple; he recognized this Pokémon, as some people at the academy used Flapple as partners, along with Appletun or Applin.

Yet none of those Pokémon had ever emitted such a marvelous fragrance as this Flapple.

Patting Flapple's apple helmet, he explained with a smile, "I mentioned before that my main profession nowadays is a farmer; therefore, I intend to try my luck and see if I can catch a few Applin to bring back to the farm."

"Don't let their appearance fool you; when it comes to fruits, these Applin are all experts."

Without holding anything back, Luo Mu broadly explained the relationship between Applin and fruit trees to the two.

"Applin live on fruits, and at the same time, they can bring about better growth for the fruits of fruit trees. Textbooks contain no such knowledge whatsoever!"

Phil became somewhat excited, clasping her hands together, her cheeks flushing slightly from the emotional surge.

She felt that Luo Mu was not only powerful but also incredibly knowledgeable; he was truly amazing, no wonder he could become a dean! In contrast to Phil, who was enthusiastic about knowledge, Rhod's reaction was entirely different.

His eyes fixed again on the pie-crust lattice on Flapple's back, and he subconsciously wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.

It looked exactly like the lattice crust on the apple pies his mother baked at home, even smelling sweeter.

Such a thought suddenly arising in his heart, Rhod could only apologize guiltily to his mother in his mind.

But, this really smelled delicious.

Phil also leaned in, staring at Flapple's back, her quiet demeanor vanished, revealing an expression of drooling anticipation.

These two, who had nothing whatsoever to do with farming, had no idea that Luo Mu had casually revealed Kitakami's commercial secrets to them, nor did they even realize the value of this information.

With their minds fully occupied by the amusing pie-crust lattice on Flapple's back, and thinking that Okidogi and the others had just undergone a siege battle with astonishing physical exertion, Luo Mu simply invited the two, "We plan to rest a bit and have lunch; would you like to join us?"

"There's dessert after the meal, too."

Luo Mu cast a hinting glance at the two.

The two foodies' eyes lit up, and they responded excitedly, "Please, do take us along!"

It took no time at all.

Curling wisps of cooking smoke rose from the clearing Luo Mu had found; since they were in the wild, Luo Mu hadn't prepared anything too elaborate.

Apart from some homemade seasonings rarely sold in the outside world, most ingredients were sourced right there on the spot, with only a small portion being what he had prepared beforehand.

The bamboo forest behind them hid many treasures, after all.

After busying himself for an hour, Luo Mu soon served up steaming hot dishes.

There was Stir-Fried Bamboo Shoots with Meat, made by slicing tender bamboo shoots found in the ground and stir-frying them with some tender meat slices; similarly, using tender bamboo shoots along with bamboo fungus gathered from the roots of withered bamboo and some side ingredients, he had made a soup.

For the staple food, after washing some fresh bamboo tubes clean, he stuffed them with glutinous rice, green peas, diced carrots, and the cured meat Luo Mu had brought, then steamed them to make Bamboo Tube Rice.

Finally, adding one serving of tender grilled fish in bamboo tubes for each person and each Pokémon, the simple lunch was ready.

What, someone asks where Luo Mu found fresh, lively fish? Anyway, it wasn't by fishing.

He had just quietly run to the Raging Falls with Dragonite, and accompanied by a certain flash of light, those fish voluntarily jumped into the landing net in Luo Mu's hand. When Rhod and Phil saw the table of steaming hot food Luo Mu had prepared, they were stunned.

Immediately afterward, tears accidentally streamed down.

Phil, being a girl, hadn't cried yet, but Rhod was sobbing as he complained to Luo Mu, lamenting what miserable lives they had been living while traveling in the wild.

Every day they had to gnaw on dry rations; if they accidentally got lost and exhausted their carried food before finding a city for supplies, they could only put on a show of surviving in the wilderness.

Heaven knows how many months ago it was since they last ate a steaming hot meal.

Especially since the meals Luo Mu prepared were super delicacies they had never eaten before, yet completely stunned their taste buds!

Listening to the two's tearful complaints, Luo Mu could indeed empathize. When he had first started his journey, due to insufficient funds, he and Luxio had relied on resources from the wild to solve their hunger problems.

Nowadays, life had certainly improved.

Watching Tinkaton, Okidogi, Dragonite, and Flapple devour their food with great relish, Luo Mu couldn't resist taking out his camera again to snap another photo of them, then transferred it to his phone, connected to the internet, and sent it to Oranguru and Lei Guan Wang, who was currently online in the game.

After a hearty meal, Luo Mu, sighing at the fresh, tender, and sweet bamboo shoots, agreed under the Crafty Tinkerer's persistent pestering to transplant a batch of bamboo to Little Hill in some time, hoping to still enjoy delicious winter shoots when the cold season arrived.

For dessert, the lattice crust made from the back of an Apple Pie Dragon was placed over the Poké Puffs Luo Mu had brought, finally drizzled with a calorie bomb of pure sweetness.

Such a dessert might exceed Luo Mu's calorie limits, but for two people who felt they had already starved themselves thin by over ten jin, it was simply the supreme delicacy.

Afternoon.

After solemnly thanking Luo Mu, Rod and Phil set off to continue their journey.

The two also stated that once this trip ended and they returned to their alma mater, they would definitely visit Luo Mu again.

Luo Mu, for his part, did not intend to demand any reward in return.

He had treated them to a meal merely for the fate of this chance encounter, plus the virtue they showed by stopping people outside the bamboo grove; rounding it up, the two could be considered students he had never met in his past life.

Judging by their route of advance, their target being Glaseado Mountain was nine times out of ten certain.

As Glaseado Mountain stood as Paldea's most treacherous frozen mountain range, the two probably wished to complete their objective before the winter blizzards arrived.

Regarding this, all Luo Mu could do was contact Mr. Tron in Montenevera, asking him to lend a hand should he encounter the two while they were in some kind of predicament.

Having done all this, Luo Mu shouldered his backpack and stepped back into the bamboo grove.

Since the two had insisted on washing the dishes and cleaning up after the meal, he felt much more relaxed.

At the same time.

Deep within the mountain range outside Artazon, the Iron Valiant sitting in meditation opened its eyes and scanned the surrounding environment once more.

Confirming that Cangyan Cangyan Rengui had not yet arrived, it slowly closed its eyes again, quietly waiting for its nemesis to appear.

A rushing waterfall fiercely scourged the rocks and pool water, while several dull-witted Psyducks poked their heads above the surface, their three tufts of ahoge swaying slightly under the splashing spray.

Holding their perpetually aching heads with both hands, several Psyducks stared with blank, large eyes and moved in perfect unison to leave the pool.

They queued up, walking over the damp earth and then onto the soft-feeling grass, before finally lifting their heads to stare blankly at the fruit trees laden with fruits, a glimmer of longing suddenly appearing in their stagnant eyes.

At this moment.

Several bright red apples were placed one by one onto the heads of the Psyducks by a pair of large hands.

"If you don't mind, go ahead and eat them."

Smiling, Luo Mu waved at them and turned to leave.

Although their every action appeared dull, these Psyducks possessed excellent bodily balance.

The apples, looking plump with flesh, rested steadily on their heads without the slightest wobble.

These Psyducks did not mind the apples pressing down on their only three ahoge, which would disappear upon evolution, but instead stared woodenly at Luo Mu's departing figure; no one knew what they were thinking.

A little while later.

The several Psyducks moved in unison.

With a slight exertion of force from their heads, the apples were immediately tossed into the air by them.

When the apples in the air descended following the guidance of gravity, the Psyducks tilted their heads back, opening their flat mouths like basketball nets waiting in place, anticipating the apples' arrival.

The apples did indeed hit their mark, except what they hit were the Psyducks' skulls.

After several crisp sounds, a few apples rolled clatteringly onto the grass; the Psyducks, as if crashed or feeling no pain, stood dazed in place for a moment, then moved in perfect unison to pick up the apples, swallowed them whole, and displayed expressions of satisfaction.

By the time they queued up to return to the pool, they seemed to finally realize the delayed pain, letting out miserable "Quack-quack-quack" cries as they rolled around in the water.

At the same moment.

Luo Mu also returned to the depths of the orchard.

Handing the remaining apples in the basket to the gluttonous Volcarona, he smoothly sat down on the ground, and before long, his body was covered in crawling Applin.

His ears were filled entirely with the "chirp-chirp" cries of the Applin.

Beside the Apple Pie Dragon nearby, the situation was exactly the same.

Thanks to the "blessings" of General Pu Dao and the others, whether at the chaotic waterfall or deeper within the bamboo grove's orchard, there was currently no trace of any sightseeing tourists, giving Luo Mu a strange, sour thrill of having the entire scenic area to himself.

In reality, it had been barely close to two hours since he entered this orchard.

The reason so many Applin could gather around him was entirely thanks to the Apple Pie Dragon.

As an evolved form, it seemed very popular among these Applin; even though most Applin, due to their innate personalities, were unwilling to approach them to varying degrees, a few naturally brave Applin had still gathered around them.

Just as Mr. Xiao En had said, this orchard was indeed experiencing a "mass outbreak of Applin," and one could even say the quantity far exceeded that of mass outbreaks in the game.

Not counting those Applin maintaining their apple camouflage, the number he had witnessed was no less than one hundred, while those gathered around him and the Apple Pie Dragon numbered a full twenty-odd.

Luo Mu asked the Apple Pie Dragon to inquire about the willingness of these Applin, seeing if any among them were willing to leave with him and live in the orchard of his farm.

The result was equally gratifying; more than half of the Applin became interested in the farm environment described by the Apple Pie Dragon and agreed to return with them.

Luo Mu also promised them that normally they only needed to live in the orchard and tend to the fruit trees alongside the Apple Pie Dragon; food would be plentiful, and safety need not be mentioned.

In the eyes of these Applin, living anywhere was still living; following this strong member of their own kind away might even prove safer.

Furthermore, regardless of their Ability, growing alongside fruit trees was the instinct of their species.

According to Luo Mu's statistics, a total of fourteen Applin actively chose to leave with Luo Mu and the Apple Pie Dragon.

Among them, eight possessed the "Ripen" Ability, five had the "Gluttony" Ability, and only one had the Hidden/Dream Ability "Bulletproof."

(End of Chapter)