The morning sun rose behind a gray veil of clouds, casting soft, diffused light over the quiet valley. A light breeze danced through the air, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and pine needles. Shen sat up slowly in his handmade bed of moss, furs, and regret, rubbing his face and groaning.
Yue was already awake. She had nestled herself into the back of his neck like a living scarf, warm and soft and just heavy enough to make him question whether or not he'd woken up with a boulder on his spine.
"Mmmph—Yue, your butt is on my face," he muttered.
The cub chirped sleepily and wiggled. Her tail flopped over his eye.
"Right. Of course. Who needs vision?"
He gently pried her off, and she responded by rolling in his blanket and sneezing. Outside, a faint drizzle began to fall. The sky grumbled low and soft, like the earth itself hadn't had coffee yet.
"Wonderful," Shen muttered. "Rain. Exactly what I needed when I'm scheduled to dig holes, haul rocks, and ruin my spine."
He stepped outside barefoot, instantly regretting everything as mud sloshed between his toes.
Shen spent the morning tending to the fields—both of them now, since he'd expanded his original plot three days prior. The rain was light but persistent, turning the soil into a squelching pit of effort.
His first crop—spring tubers, wild onions, and a few early-sprouting grains—had begun to break the surface. Thin green shoots peeked up from the earth like the timid fingers of someone unsure whether it was safe to come out.
Shen knelt beside the rows, carefully checking the shoots.
Then frowned.
Some were curling, others discolored.
"Too much water. Fantastic."
He began digging shallow trenches around the perimeter of the plot, allowing the rain to drain off and prevent rot. It was backbreaking, tedious work, but the system rewarded him with a soft chime.
[Farming Skill +1: Level 5 Achieved]
New Passive Unlocked: Soil Sense
— You now instinctively understand the moisture and vitality of soil within reach.
"Huh." Shen wiped his brow. "Useful. Would've been great yesterday."
Yue, meanwhile, was leaping from stone to stone around the edge of the plot. She attempted a jump too far and landed directly in a puddle. Mud splashed everywhere.
Shen blinked slowly as brown water dripped from his chin.
Yue looked up at him, sneezed once, then pranced off like nothing happened.
After finishing the fieldwork, Shen trudged over to the smaller storage area he'd started digging—a cold cellar where he could store roots and herbs. It was halfway finished and now resembled a muddy grave.
With some careful footwork, he climbed in and resumed digging, using a flat stone to scoop mud while balancing on a plank he'd laid across the pit.
Ten minutes in, he slipped.
There was a loud thump, a yelp, and a small fox cub peering in from above.
Shen lay in the mud, eyes closed, breathing deeply.
"This is fine," he said flatly. "This is my life now. I live here. In this hole."
Yue chirped, disappeared, then returned with his discarded boot and dropped it on his face.
"Appreciated."
Later that afternoon, Shen built a rough lean-to cover over the storage pit using salvaged branches and a tarp made from woven bark. It wasn't pretty, but it kept the worst of the rain off.
He also adjusted the fencing, tied new bundles of dried herbs to the roof rafters, and reseeded one corner of the plot after discovering Yue had attempted to "help" by burying three fish bones and what might've been a dead bird.
"I'm not even going to ask where you got that."
Yue stared at him, head tilted innocently.
Shen sighed and planted more onions.
As evening fell, the rain tapered off. Shen dragged himself back to the campfire, sore and soaked to the bone.
He tossed some rabbit bones, tubers, and shredded wild greens into his clay pot and stirred until it resembled food. Yue watched with the solemn intensity of a master chef evaluating a student.
"Don't judge me. This isn't for flavor, it's for survival."
Yue licked her paw and then her nose.
"You're right. I need more salt."
That night, Shen sketched plans for his dream home.
Using a stick and a flat patch of dirt, he outlined the shape of a future stone hut. It had a chimney, two rooms, and a porch where he imagined himself drinking tea while watching crops sway in the breeze.
Yue walked through the blueprint mid-sketch, leaving muddy paw prints everywhere.
"Of course. Feng Shui via tiny demon fox. Very avant-garde."
She wagged her tail.
A system notification blinked to life:
[Sheltercraft Skill +1]
New Goal: Stone Foundation
Reward: Durability Bonus to all Structures
Note: Quarrying stone by hand may be inefficient.
Suggest Tool Upgrade: Hammer & Chisel.
Shen rubbed his temples.
"Right. Just need a forge, metal, a blacksmith, and basic engineering. No problem."
The stars broke through the clouds briefly that night. Shen leaned against the old tree, Yue curled in his lap, warm and purring.
"Let's name this place," he said aloud. "We can't keep calling it 'my muddy pit in the woods.'"
Yue chirped softly.
Shen looked out over the field, the half-built cellar, the crooked fence, and the leaning shack. Everything was wet, slightly broken, and a work in progress.
But it was his.
"Mudvale," he said.
Yue yipped in approval.
"Mudvale it is."
The next morning dawned clear and cool. Mist rose from the damp soil in twisting ribbons. Birds called to each other from tree to tree.
Shen stood at the edge of the field, hands on his hips, staring at the faint green shoots pushing up through the freshly drained rows.
Something inside him stirred.
Not the familiar churn of qi from meditation or martial technique. This was deeper, softer. A slow bloom of warmth spreading from where his feet touched the earth.
[Cultivation Path Update: Rootbound Path — Phase I Complete]
Progression Unlocked: Qi Absorption through Labor
Body attunes to natural flow via land connection.
Passive Regeneration: +1 Qi/hour (Farming State Only)
Shen blinked.
"I'm… cultivating. By farming."
He looked at his dirt-streaked hands. Felt the ache in his back. The burn in his shoulders.
And he smiled.
"Ha! Take that, all you stone-faced sect bastards."
Yue trotted up with a beet in her mouth.
"Okay, maybe not that one."
He returned to work with renewed energy.
The rest of the day was spent reinforcing the cellar walls, planting more hardy root vegetables in the second plot, and sketching blueprints for the water catchment system he hoped to build with Yue's help (spoiler: she knocked the first three barrels over before he could fill them).
By dusk, Shen was exhausted. But his heart was full.
He sat near the fire, staring into the crackling embers, the scent of stew in the air and the sound of frogs echoing in the distance.
Yue climbed into his lap, curled once, then stilled.
Shen stroked her fur and looked out over Mudvale—his muddy little slice of peace.
It was far from perfect.
But it was his.
And it was growing.
[End of Chapter 5]