Reincarnated as a bamboo rat, it begins its extreme survival struggle.

"Uncle Bu, what exactly are these ruins that the commander mentioned?"

The new kids who joined the group this year ran up to Blind Bu and asked him questions out of curiosity, wanting to find out about the group leader's past from this veteran member.

As a young boy, he was the only one with the right to inquire everywhere.

"Who knows?"

Blind Cloth patted the child's head, but did not give a definite answer.

But his thoughts drifted back to many years ago, when he was about the same age as this little kid in front of him, and his eyes were still open.

Unlike those little kids who run and play under the sun all day and never know what it means to be tired.

Blind Bu became an adventurer at the age of ten, and at such a young age, he narrowly escaped death several times.

It's not that Blind Cloth has any imperial talent; he was never inferior to anyone from a young age, yet he insisted on risking his life.

But blind man Bu had no other choice but to make a living this way.

He was an orphan who had never seen his parents since he could remember. If the leader of the adventurer's guild hadn't taken him in, Blind Cloth would have been captured and sold into slavery long ago.

The commander treated him very well. At first, he even planned to send him to study in Cangxing City, thinking that he would either become a doctor or a teacher in the future.

Unfortunately, Blind Cloth was not cut out for studying, but he had a good understanding of martial arts, so he decided to become a martial arts instructor.

Blind Cloth, who joined the adventure group at a young age, had a pretty good childhood in the otherwise ordinary adventure group.

At this point, Blind Cloth was not much different from the other members of the adventurer's group. It was just a matter of waiting for him to grow up, officially become a member of the adventurer's group, and then live a life of doing tasks and exchanging rewards.

But as expected, an unexpected event occurred.

On one occasion, while Blind Cloth and the leader were on a mission to exterminate monsters in the bamboo forest, they were attacked by a pack of Fire-Chewing Hyenas.

Monsters are not small animals that can be slaughtered at will. They are very intelligent and know how to defend against human raids and how to deal with lone humans.

In just a few rounds, the commander protecting him was beaten to the brink of death by the fire-chewing hyena, and he himself was blown up by the fireballs spewed by the fire-chewing hyena, leaving him blind.

For Blind Bu, this was a certain death crisis; he had no power to resist the fire-chewing hyenas that were attacking them.

But whether it was divine favor or destiny is unknown.

A bamboo pole was placed in front of the blind man, repelling the pack of fire-chewing hyenas and saving his and the commander's lives.

It was a hooded, round-faced panda warrior.

The Pandaren martial artist took him and the leader back to his bamboo hut to recover from their injuries. The leader was badly injured and took a long time to recuperate.

Having recovered early, he learned a move called "Blind Fighting" from the Pandaren martial artist, making him even stronger than before when he was blind.

During this time, the Pandaren martial artist talked a lot with the two of them.

According to the Pandaren martial artist, he has been here for three hundred years. Before he came, there was not a single bamboo here. Three hundred years later, the bamboo sea is boundless.

The reason why the Pandaren planted bamboo for three hundred years is that this place used to be an endless graveyard of bones. Every time the purple moon rose, countless undead creatures would crawl out of the graveyard.

Chapter 16 The Legend of the Fountain of Youth

No one knows how the Bone Graveyard came to be, not even the Pandaren martial artist who planted bamboo here for three hundred years.

He was only invited to the Bone Graveyard to manage the entire Bone Graveyard by planting bamboo.

Three hundred years is enough time for Pandaren warriors to grow a lush bamboo forest, turning this bone graveyard, which periodically experiences undead hordes, into a bamboo sea with stable resource production.

The scattered undead awakened by the purple evil moon will also be dealt with by the monsters in the bamboo forest.

Without a doubt, the creation of the bamboo forest by the Pandaren martial artists is a great achievement that benefits both the present and future generations.

But while listening to the Pandaren warriors tell these stories, the old leader, who was recovering from his injuries, keenly noticed a problem: these were adventurers who had become mercenaries, doing things for money.

The Panda Man martial artist said he was invited to create the bamboo forest. Although he didn't say who invited him, it's likely that the offer was quite high.

Out of mercenary instinct, the old captain used some tavern talk during the conversation, while the pandaren martial artist in front of him was also very straightforward. He spoke softly and said something that the old captain would never forget in his life.

“My friends wouldn’t let me work for nothing. They found the Fountain of Youth at the heart of the Bone Graveyard and shared it with me. My reward is eternal youth.”

The Pandaren Warrior's expression when he said this was full of nostalgia for friendship.

But these words had a completely different meaning when they reached the commander's ears.

The year he was rescued by the Pandaren martial artist, he was already a middle-aged man whose health was beginning to decline.

Blind Cloth, by a stroke of luck, was able to learn a few tricks from the Pandaren, but he never got that chance.

Every living being fears aging, let alone an adventurer who makes a living through force; the effects of aging are enormous.

Ever since hearing those words, the old commander would frequently recall the scene of the Pandaren martial artist saying them.

Even after recovering from his injuries, he still remembered the life-saving grace of the Pandaren Warrior and restrained himself from thinking about those words too much.

But when the Pandaren warrior walked out of the bamboo forest with them, he announced that his task of planting bamboo was complete and that he would continue to travel the world.

An uncontrollable, crazy desire quietly took root in the old commander's mind.

He could not forget the Pandaren martial artist, the Pandaren who had existed for hundreds of years and was still full of energy, whose steps were like flowing clouds.

"If others can drink from the fountain of youth, so can we."

After leaving the bamboo forest, the old leader told Blind Bu this, and they kept this secret to themselves, insisting on coming to the bamboo forest to explore once a year.

Although they did not know whether the so-called Fountain of Youth still existed, nor did they know where the core of the Bone Graveyard was.

But the old leader, whose mindset had become obsessed, continued to lead his men in the search.

Not only did they conduct on-site investigations in the bamboo forest, but the old team leader also consulted materials in libraries in various cities, collected all kinds of folk legends, and spent a lot of money to visit various historians...

In doing these things, the old captain was hardly an adventurer in the conventional sense.

After all, adventurers always seem to be burly and rough, skilled in combat but lacking in cultural understanding; his daily routine usually involves completing tasks in various environments.

They undertake dangerous missions, reap the rewards, and then live a life of debauchery, enjoying the adulation of others.

Although many adventurers would go to places like professional guilds to continue learning various skills.

However, they were not as well-versed as the old leader. In order to find information about the Fountain of Youth, the old leader taught himself many ancient languages, as well as some Elvish languages ​​that were not spoken in human society at all.

His adventurer's camp also contained a large number of ancient books and handwritten notes, making him quite an anomaly among adventurers.

In addition to gathering information for himself, the old leader also spread the word in various taverns that there were ruins containing hidden treasures deep in the bamboo forest, attracting many adventure groups to come and explore.

The various messages sent back by these adventure groups were summarized and analyzed by the old leader, becoming an aid to him.

However, the exploration progress of these adventure groups was far behind that of the old leader who was steadfast in his beliefs.

"I have been exploring the bamboo forest, never in my prime, until I am old and frail. If there are still no results this year, then you should succeed me as the leader of the adventure team."

"At that time, I guess I'll be like you, spending the rest of my life exploring the bamboo forest, after all, this place is just too big."

Another day of exploration came to an end. The old commander sat on the edge of the camp and talked with blind man Bu about something only the two of them could understand.

Blind Cloth made no attempt to hide his inner desire. He knew very well that if he were to take over this adventure team, he would do everything in his power, just like the old leader, to find the Fountain of Youth that the Pandaren warriors spoke of.

He's not young anymore, and in recent years, he hasn't felt any improvement in his martial arts training.

"I have been practicing martial arts for so long, but I am still not even one percent as good as my master. If possible, I would like to have a younger and stronger body, so that I can continue on the path of a martial artist."

Clenching his fists, the blind man felt his strength diminish and fell silent.

The old regimental commander, standing to the side, fiddled with his pipe and chuckled a few times.

"You're still thinking about getting stronger, while I just want to make myself more comfortable."

The old commander patted his body. Every day when he woke up, he could feel pain all over his body. Whenever the weather changed, his old injuries would become particularly sensitive.

Sword wounds on his shoulder, injuries to his knees, broken bones throughout his body...

"Kid, if you can't find any more clues after you take over the adventure team, then take this secret to your grave."

It would be too painful to leave future generations with a vague and fanatical goal.

The old commander took a leisurely puff of his cigarette, and a smile crept onto his face as he looked at the blind man, Bu, who was nodding in response.

He raised this kid from a young age. He's very smart, but he's not good with words.

"This should be my last exploration. I've tried every possible method. This time I found this little guy, who is extremely sensitive to negative energy. Perhaps he will lead us to the thing we've been searching for."

"Maybe."

These two men, who lead groups deep into the bamboo forest every year, ended their conversation in the night.

Ensuring adequate rest and maintaining one's physical condition is an essential lesson for becoming an adventurer.

Even though the bamboo forest wasn't much of a challenge for their adventure group, they wouldn't let their guard down.

After the camp fell silent, the blind man, who had been silent all along, muttered something under his breath:

"Tomorrow, we will arrive at the core of the bamboo forest. May the gods protect us."

Chapter 17 Asking for help

"Phew, there are more and more human traces. Have I wandered to the outer edge of the bamboo forest?"

Reaching the top of the bamboo again, Bell looked into the distance, where he still saw an endless expanse of bamboo.

Looking at this scene, one can only feel that all the efforts of the past few days have been in vain, and that one has no way to get out of this vast bamboo forest.