"Gaga, Baozi ate so many delicious things! There's a blackboard that's 300 years old, three desks that are 100 years old, and seventeen books that are over 50 years old!" Baozi's voice sounded very proud, with a very annoying tone.
Stone pursed his lips, offering no comment: "Baozi, so what do you know now? By the way, do you know how we can get out?"
Baozi's voice was still irritating: "Hehe, of course the clever, great, and wise Baozi knows everything!"
Hearing this, Stone really wanted to slap Baozi to death. But looking at the little ball of light in front of him, Stone felt his palms getting hot again, so he had no choice but to use his mouth to be sarcastic: "Yeah, Baozi, you're really something! So opening a locked door must be nothing to you, right?"
Baozi was taken aback by what Shitou said, and after a long while, it weakly replied, "Hehe, Baozi doesn't have hands, Baozi can't unlock things!"
Stone rolled his eyes without hesitation: "You've rambled on and on, but you're still no good at all."
"Hehe, Baozi is the best!" Baozi was furious at Shitou's dismissive tone. Suddenly, the little ball of light brightened up, and a flame shot out from the center of the ball of light: "Hehe, Baozi, go burn the door down!"
It burned?!
Stone stiffened, recalling what Baozi had just said—that its flames seemed capable of burning a person to death. What about burning the door? A sudden, ominous premonition washed over Stone: what if Baozi burned down the door and then burned down the whole house too?
"No, no, don't burn the buns yet!" Stone was startled by his own thought and broke out in a cold sweat: "I suddenly feel that this place is quite nice, and I want to stay a little longer."
"Gaga, Master, your ideas are getting weirder and weirder!" This time, Baozi was quite obedient. It obediently put away its little flame and slowly dimmed its light, turning back into a small ball of light.
Seeing that Baozi had finally returned to normal, Shi Tou breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground to rest: "Baozi, tell me, after you devoured the memories, what did you know?"
Baozi seemed to have a natural love for talking. With the stone's permission, it began to chatter on and on. Of all the things it had devoured, the one it remembered most was the blackboard. The blackboard here was similar to the blackboard in the stone's previous life, but unlike the blackboard, which was a white stone slab, the wise men wrote on it with black charcoal.
The blackboard that Baozi swallowed was over three hundred years old. Its memories began in the mine, where it was originally just an ordinary ore, which the dwarves called White-veined Stone. White-veined Stone wasn't a precious ore, but it was usually quite large, pure white, and relatively hard. Its only drawback was that it was afraid of fire.
Actually, white veined quartz has a relatively high ignition point, but it has a strange characteristic. When the ignition point is below the threshold, it remains firmly in place; once the ignition point is exceeded, it shatters instantly with a "pop".
Later, a dwarf accidentally discovered that writing on white marble with charcoal could be easily wiped clean with a simple touch. Eventually, this white marble was polished and used as the first blackboard in the Wise Men's Academy.
This blackboard has a glorious history; it has been in the School of Wise Men for at least three hundred years. It has witnessed almost the entire history of the School of Wise Men, learned all the knowledge of the wise men, and heard countless gossips. In short, this one blackboard alone is enough for Stone to gain a basic understanding of the development history of the Dwarf Kingdom.
After hearing Baozi's story, Shi Tou's mouth dropped open in astonishment. Good heavens! It seemed he hadn't picked up any trash at all, but rather stumbled upon a treasure!
"Baozi, you go ahead and get busy. Remember to eat more, it's free anyway." Shi Tou thought to himself, he'd finally come here, so of course he had to eat his fill! Besides, this place looked like a garbage dump, and Baozi had helped them clean up the mess; they'd be more than grateful. "Baozi, eat up!"
The big steamed bun transformed again, wriggling its plump, white body, and said shyly, "Giggle, Master! Bun, Bun accidentally ate too much!"
You useless piece of trash!
Shi Tou was almost about to burst into a tirade. She knew that God wasn't so kind. She had finally managed to get Baozi a decent skill, but then He restricted it! What did this mean?
I'm so full! Is this like a skill cooldown in an online game? I wonder how long the cooldown will last! If it's only once a day, that's fine, but if I can only eat like this once every few years, then this skill, which was already a bit useless, is practically worthless.
Stone was too exhausted to even complain. He collapsed onto the ground, looking utterly disheveled, and said weakly, "When are you going to digest this?"
Big Baozi said something in a low voice, but Shi Tou didn't hear it at all. Looking up in confusion, Shi Tou asked, "Why are you suddenly acting like a lady? Can't you speak louder?"
Suddenly, Stone felt a chill run down her spine, because she saw that after hearing what she said, Big Bun's whole body turned red as if he were shy.
Good heavens! Even steamed buns blush! Aren't their bun skins the thickest in the world?!
Stone felt like she was going crazy, but then she realized how pathetic she was, because Baozi said something extremely shyly:
"Hehe, I ate too much and I'm constipated!"
I'm constipated, I'm constipated, I'm constipated...
In an instant, Stone felt a flock of crows cawing overhead.
++++++
Extra chapter today...
☆, Chapter 26: Memory Devouring and Copying
After taking a few deep breaths, Shi Tou forcibly suppressed the urge to curse and tried to put on a gentle expression as he asked Baozi, "So, Baozi, what exactly do you want?"
The big steamed bun continued to wriggle its chubby little waist, and said shyly, "Giggle, the bun is constipated, the bun needs to push, mmm mmm..."
Stone stared at the giant steamed bun in front of her, its face contorted with rage. For a moment, she didn't know whether to cooperate with it or just smash it to death with a brick!
"Gaga, Master, you can't peek! Mmm..." The big bun turned around, facing the stone with the other side, and continued to make that extremely "soulful" sound.
Poor Stone was now in a terrible state. Seriously, does a plump, white steamed bun have a front and a back?! Does it?! Does it?! Swallowing a mouthful of blood, Stone turned around and began examining the pile of old, worn-out antiques beside him.
Huh? Stone reached into a pile of junk and grabbed a dark pebble. He rubbed it hard with the hem of his clothes, and it turned out to be a gemstone! It was as black as satin, like the night itself. Looking closely, it was like mist and twilight. Stone was stunned.
"Baozi, shine! I want to take a closer look at this stone!" The stone brought its whole face close to the black pebble, but unfortunately, Baozi turned back into its bun shape. Although it still emitted a faint glow, it couldn't become too bright.
"Mmm~~~" With a seductive and enchanting moan, Baozi finally finished: "Gah, that felt so good!"
Cool……
A few beads of cold sweat appeared on Shi Tou's forehead as he said in a low voice, "Baozi, turn into a ball of light."
"Gaga, Master, you have no idea! Constipation is so painful!" Baozi complained incessantly while obediently turning into a ball of light as the stone requested.
Actually, Stone had figured out Baozi's abilities.
First, there's the black diamond-shaped bun, incredibly hard, practically indestructible, and with an extremely high ignition point. Didn't you hear it say it can be burned in a furnace for months without any problems?
Then there's the bun in the form of a ball of light, capable of emitting varying degrees of brightness according to its own preference. Moreover, Stone speculates that it can also conjure extremely hot and highly destructive flames.
Finally, there's the steamed bun in its baozi (steamed bun) form. Originally, Stone thought this form of steamed bun was the most useless. But now Stone doesn't think that way anymore, because it turns out that this form is the original form of the steamed bun, and it even has the ability to absorb memories.
However, there's always a "but." When the steamed bun transformed into a ball of light, the dimly lit room was instantly filled with light again. Stone stared at the steamed bun and the large pile of unidentified objects behind it; even though she was mentally prepared, she was still so shocked she nearly bled.
"This...this..." Shi Tou pointed to the pile of junk that looked like a small mountain in front of him, and for a moment he couldn't even speak properly: "Baozi, what...what did you do?"
Baozi looked completely innocent, its tiny ball of light dimming slightly, its voice filled with grievance: "Hehe, Baozi was constipated just now, and Master dislikes Baozi!"
Constipation… Stone thought it best not to think about that word anymore, otherwise, she didn’t know if she might impulsively step forward and slap this big bun to death: “I mean, where did that pile of stuff behind you come from? Was it there just now?” Stone tilted her head and thought for a moment, confirming that the middle of the room all the way to the door had been very empty before, so where did this pile of stuff come from?
Upon hearing Stone's words, the little ball of light that Baozi had transformed into seemed to brighten considerably, almost blinding Stone: "Hehe, Master, Baozi is trying its best to pull them all out!"
"Pull it out..." Stone choked on his own blood again, coughing several times before he could catch his breath: "Baozi, you're saying this stuff is all your poop?!" Good heavens, what kind of world is this?! A big steamed bun can not only talk, act cute, eat and drink, but now it can even poop, and what comes out is such a dirty pile of junk.
"Giggle, Master, you forgot! Baozi gained memories after eating food, and then it has to poop out all that food! Otherwise, Baozi's belly will burst!"
"Wow! Wow! Wow!" Stone can't help but feel a headache coming on whenever he hears Baozi's signature "wow!" sound. He pats his chest to catch his breath and points at the pile of things, trembling, and asks, "That's all the 'food' you just ate, uh, you mean, you ate?!"
The ball of light seemed to nod, bobbing up and down rapidly: "Hehe, Master has finally become smart! He ate all the food memory buns, so they're useless now!"
Stone suppressed his nausea and slowly crawled to the pile of things. Sure enough, it was a tattered blackboard, several desks missing arms and legs, and stacks of books of varying thicknesses.
It seems that Baozi doesn't digest food as Shitou imagined; instead, it puts everything into its big belly and then vomits it all out... wait, no, Baozi said it poops out.
For some reason, Stone felt that the word "pull" in "pull out" was really painful!
"Baozi, you ate these foods, but they didn't cause any real harm to them, right?" Shi Tou asked that because he noticed that although the things Baozi excreted looked tattered, they were clearly old wounds. In other words, those things didn't suffer any damage except for going through Baozi's stomach?
"Giggle, no harm, no! Baozi is a good baozi, baozi won't harm any food!" The light swayed left and right, as if trying to prove to the stone that it was a kind-hearted baozi.
Stone couldn't help but purse his lips. Actually, although Baozi could be a bit provocative at times, she was actually quite cute. Thinking of this, Stone couldn't help but smile: "So you ate their memories, didn't you?"
"Giggle, no, no, they told Baozi their memories, and Baozi ate all the memories, but their memories are still there!" Perhaps afraid that the stone would misunderstand, Baozi tried desperately to explain, his voice trembling with nervousness. The little ball of light flickered on and off, like a faulty light bulb.
The stone was so disturbed by the flashing light that it almost brought tears to its eyes. It quickly spoke up to stop them, saying, "I understand. They copied the memories. What you're consuming is the copied memory. It hasn't harmed their original memories at all, has it?"
Big Bun suddenly fell silent, as if pondering Stone's words. After a while, it said, "Giggle, yes, yes, Master has become smarter! Copy, yes, that's it! Why didn't Bun think of that word? Bun needs to remember it, copy, copy, copy..."
Watching the big, wobbly steamed bun wobble and mutter to itself, Stone's mood inexplicably brightened. Seeing the bun's adorable antics, Stone felt a deep sense of relief; even if the bun truly couldn't do anything, she wouldn't dislike it anymore.
Big Baozi, from now on, you are family to me, and I will never abandon you.
☆, Chapter 27: An Ominous Premonition Returns
"Giggle, Master! Baozi has pooped all the food out, but Baozi still wants to eat!"
Just as Stone was filled with emotion and preparing to say something touching, the unruly bun interrupted, ruining the atmosphere. Stone gritted his teeth and nodded: "Eat! Just eat! You'll stuff yourself to death!"
The steamed bun couldn't understand the stone's implied meaning. Having received permission, it instantly transformed back into its steamed bun form from the ball of light and quickly rushed into the pile of debris, where it began to devour its food with a "whoosh." Its manner was almost like that of an African refugee who had never had a full meal.
Watching the big steamed bun eat with such unrefined manners, Stone irritably fiddled with the black gemstone in his hand. He'd caught a glimpse of the pebble in the steamed bun's light; though small, it was indeed a high-quality gem. However, remembering that gemstones were practically worthless here, Stone's initial excitement vanished. He casually tossed the gemstone into his pocket and simply sat down on the ground with his arms crossed, taking a nap.
She was in a daze and didn't know how much time had passed when she suddenly felt something hard slam into her waist, and she screamed in pain, "Ouch!"
"This is it, it's Stone's voice! My sister is locked up here." A familiar voice came from outside the door. Stone was startled and subconsciously looked at where the big bun had been. Unexpectedly, it was pitch black all around, without a single ray of light.
"Giggle, Master, the steamed bun is in your pocket!" The big steamed bun's voice suddenly appeared, but unlike before, Stone didn't hear it with his ears; the voice abruptly appeared in his head. Having experienced this once before, Stone instantly understood that this was the steamed bun communicating with him telepathically. However, Stone immediately became furious. So, the one who had hurt him just now was that stinky steamed bun!
Reaching into his pocket, Stone put the black diamond to his lips and threatened viciously, "You little brat, you just wait!"
The black diamond trembled slightly in the stone's hand, but did not transmit any further sound. Because at that moment, the door opened.
"Oh my god! Stone!" A figure rushed to Stone, scooped him up, and showered him with kisses on the face. Stone was incredibly embarrassed. Was it really necessary? It had only been a few hours! Did they have to act like it was a matter of life and death?
"Stone, are you alright? Do you feel unwell?"
Stone squinted and looked inside. It was actually her eldest brother, Flame! For a moment, she was stunned. How could it be her eldest brother who came to save her?
"Hungry, Stone is hungry!" What could possibly be wrong with her? Apart from being startled by the big steamed bun a few times, she was perfectly fine. Of course, it's normal to be hungry after not eating for several hours, right?
"Okay, Stone, let's go home right away and ask Mom to make you something delicious!" Eldest brother Flame carried Stone out of the dark room and immediately noticed something was wrong with Stone: "Stone, why are you all dirty? What happened?"
Shi Tou was stunned at first, but then she realized what was going on. How could it not be dirty? First, that so-called wise elder threw her onto the floor of the dark room, then she crawled around on that uncleaned floor for who knows how long, and then she picked up that black gem and spent ages wiping it with the hem of her clothes. If it was still clean, she would definitely suspect that her clothes were some kind of unknown magical artifact!
Seeing that Stone hadn't spoken for a long time and was frowning, the eldest brother Flame naturally assumed that she didn't know anything either, and comforted her with great heartache: "Alright, alright, it's okay. Just ask Mom to change Stone's clothes when we get home. Sweet Stone, let's go home together."
Stone pouted cutely, perched on her older brother's shoulder, and looked around: "Stone wants an older brother just like me." Actually, Stone had already memorized the names of her brothers, but she felt that a child who was not even two years old should not know so much. Therefore, as long as conditions allowed, she decided to carry out this great policy of pretending to be young to the end.
Hmph, she's only a year and a half old anyway, so what if she pretends to be young?!
Flame paused for a moment, not expecting Stone to ask this question. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Firebeard and Firebeard came to me and said that Stone had been taken away by someone else. They should have been taken to Elder Wise to be punished."
Should I be punished? Or go to the wise elder?