Chapter 4: The Grasshopper

In no time, Ji Chang steadied his mind and looked towards Huang Mang, who was standing still beside him. He said, "Let's find a small leaf first and place it where the splashes of water land. This way, we can collect water and stay safe."

"Sure, sure! Ji Ge, I'll follow your lead. Whatever you say, I'll do it!"

Huang Mang, who had snapped back to reality, nodded enthusiastically.

Then, Ji Chang looked around, searching for leaves they could use. There were plenty of leaves in the small courtyard, but they needed to choose smaller ones, as they had to carry them back to the room. Moreover, they needed leaves with a concave curve to hold the water.

Soon enough, Ji Chang found a suitable leaf from a locust tree not far from the water faucet. Although the leaf appeared slightly yellowed, Ji Chang believed it wouldn't affect their water-collecting endeavor.

Of course, the most important thing was that the locust tree leaf was lightweight.

"Ji Ge, let me handle this!" As soon as Ji Chang selected the locust tree leaf for water collection, Huang Mang stepped forward, rubbing his hands together. "Since I gained extraordinary power, I haven't really put it to use yet!"

As he finished speaking, Huang Mang took out a prepared cement charm. Gradually, his body began to transform into cement! In a short while, Huang Mang turned into a cement-like figure, quite impressively flexing his arms and stomping his feet, emitting muffled 'thud thud' sounds.

Then, with ease, he lifted the locust tree leaf Ji Chang had chosen over his head and looked at Ji Chang, saying, "How's that, Ji Ge? Am I awesome or what?"

Although the locust tree leaf wasn't large and was relatively lightweight compared to other leaves, once they shrank down in size, it was a different story altogether.

Right after Ji Chang had selected the locust tree leaf, he tested it by pulling at it slightly. However, the leaf didn't budge. Yet, Huang Mang, now in his cement-like form, effortlessly raised the leaf over his head. Clearly, Ji Chang's strength had undergone a tremendous transformation after his transformation.

This outcome wasn't a surprise to Ji Chang, as he had speculated about it before. However, seeing it with his own eyes was still astonishing.

"Ji Ge, do you think we could find a larger leaf? I can handle it!" Huang Mang, holding up the locust tree leaf with one hand, looked at Ji Chang.

"This locust tree leaf will do. After all, we need to carry water, and the way back isn't very close. If we're going to carry water back, it will take at least forty to fifty minutes!" Ji Chang shook his head upon hearing Huang Mang's suggestion.

When they came here, they rode ants, which took half an hour. Although they wasted some time figuring out directions, Ji Chang estimated that returning with water would take longer than their arrival.

Moreover, Huang Mang's transformation could only be sustained for about ten minutes at most. If he were to transform again, he would likely need some time to rest afterward.

Resting in the courtyard wasn't an option; it would undoubtedly be dangerous.

"Alright, Ji Ge, I'll listen to you."

Seeing this, Huang Mang responded.

Afterward, as instructed by Ji Chang, Huang Mang placed the locust tree leaf near the water-filled pit.

Once they found the right spot, the two of them stood aside, waiting for the water to drop.

Soon, as they watched droplets fall from the water tap and splash onto the locust tree leaf, a smile appeared on both their faces.

After a few splashes of water, they leaned over the locust tree leaf and drank to their heart's content.

"Wow! This is amazing, Ji Ge! I've never thought drinking water could be this enjoyable!"

While grinning, Huang Mang patted his satisfied belly.

Ji Chang, too, had a content expression on his face.

After waiting for a while and seeing that there was a sufficient amount of water on the locust tree leaf, Ji Chang called out to Huang Mang, who was squatting by the water pit, "Let's go. This should be enough for them to drink."

After this period of time, the two of them weren't as fearful of the dripping water anymore. After all, the droplets from the water tap were falling in the same spot, so as long as they weren't hit by the droplets, there wasn't much danger.

At this moment, Ji Chang looked at Huang Mang's posture. If it weren't for his fear of being hit by the dripping water, he would have loved to take a dip in the water pit.

When Huang Mang was not carrying water, he could easily lift the locust tree leaf in his transformed state. However, when it was filled with water, he struggled. He had to resort to dragging it.

Moreover, they had to prevent the leaf from shaking too much during the dragging process to avoid spilling the water. So, Ji Chang had Huang Mang and the ant go ahead, while he held onto the tail end of the leaf.

"Mangzi, can you control it so that only your arms turn into cement? This way, you might be able to maintain the transformation for a longer period, right?"

After walking for a while, Ji Chang looked at Huang Mang, who was breathing slightly heavily, and asked after some thought.

From the time they found leaves to the present moment of returning with water, although Huang Mang hadn't maintained his transformation for extended periods, he had transformed multiple times. Added to that, he was now dragging a leaf filled with water. Ji Chang felt that it must be taking a toll on Huang Mang.

Compared to Huang Mang, Ji Chang did experience some fatigue, but it wasn't particularly significant. He only felt the consumption when he was giving commands to the ant or guiding it.

...

Upon hearing this, Huang Mang replied, "Sure, I'll give it a try!"

After a few breaths, Ji Chang saw the cement on Huang Mang gradually recede. In the end, only his two arms remained in their cement form.

"Haha, it worked! I do feel much lighter!" Huang Mang, who had kept his eyes closed to feel the changes, opened his eyes and excitedly looked at his cement-covered arms.

However, just as they were about to continue walking back, they suddenly heard rustling sounds around them.

Subsequently, they felt a violent trembling beneath their feet.

Seeing this, Ji Chang couldn't help but furrow his brow.

"Ji Ge, what's going on?"

The abrupt change caught Huang Mang off guard, and the cement-like appearance that had just disappeared from his body covered him again.

The ant, which was pulling the leaf, immediately ran toward Ji Chang.

As the ant reached Ji Chang's side, a massive dark shadow suddenly descended not far from them.

With the shadow's landing came a strong gust of wind.

Fortunately, Huang Mang had already fully transformed, becoming a cement-like figure, and Ji Chang managed to hold onto the ant tightly, narrowly escaping the situation.

However, when they saw the true appearance of the dark shadow, their hearts raced.

The shadow turned out to be a grasshopper!

Staring at the grasshopper with legs thicker than their own, covered in spikes, Huang Mang couldn't help but gulp, sneaking a glance at Ji Chang beside him and whispering, "Ji... Ji Ge, what do we do now? It... It won't come over to eat us, will it?"

While he had felt quite confident when he lifted the locust tree leaf earlier, now that he saw the grasshopper not far away, Huang Mang felt incredibly small...