It was slightly before dawn. The sun was not up yet, but the rays were gently peeking through. The sky was purplish gray in color with tiny stripes of white light. Most probably, dawn will arrive soon. However, the rainforest was still shrouded with inky darkness due to the thick canopy covering the top part of the forest. The sounds of the forest were louder than usual as Hana shivered slightly when a damp stray leaf brushed over her face as she ducked over a low branch. Her feet were already uncomfortably wet from the morning dew. It felt squishy inside her sandals. She was feeling slightly regretful for agreeing to the little fish's request. 

Rewinding back a few hours before they embark on this adventure, the little fish had said that she was looking for an aromatic white herb which was supposed to grow in the vicinity of where lightning had once struck. The herb was said to appear only once a year during this time. If she missed this window of opportunity, she might not be able to concoct the medicinal pellet for her dear great grandfather. Since she herself had never seen it with her own eyes, she was unsure with the appearance of the herb. She only heard about it from an old senior who passed by a few weeks ago and felt inspired. It was said to have the ability to calm the spirit and increased the attunement with nature. The properties of the herb were what she needed to complete her Water Barrier Advancement pellet!

Once Hana heard about the little fish described the herb she was looking for, it struck her with a name. The termite mound mushroom (1). She had never eaten them because they were not sold in retail due to its special features and scarcity, but the mushrooms went viral for quite some time during its harvesting season once a year. One could only buy it through serendipity, as the illusive fungi only lived for five days in a year. It was sold on the roadside on random rural roads by villagers who went picking for them at dawn in bushes or palm oil plantation sites with termite mounds nearby, hence the name. It had a few other names; the Yearly Fungi, or the Lightning mushrooms. The young ones will then arrogantly upload their great finds in social media while bragging happily. It left a deep impression in her. She wanted to eat some of it too T.T!

Once again, she had seen Ara in a new light; the naive little noveau-riche was a pharmacist who can make medicine! She was totally impressed! She had heard the fish bragged that she was already fifty years old this year! However, Kuro had poured cold water over her head by whispering in her head that it was equivalent to a six-year-old in Human years. She face-palmed herself and shook her head. She nearly fell for it again! She though they had befriended a valuable pharmacist. It seemed that this girl might as well be a dangerous quack doctor. 

However, the existence of the termite mound mushroom was real as far as she knew, though she was unsure it will be as precious as how Ara described and whether this forest will harbor some or not. She had asked for Markisah's help to draw a scaled down new map on the cave wall. She then asked for Ara to add in the location she had gone through in the map. Kuro also contributed by adding two places which has been struck by lightning. However, he had never cared about trivial termites, hence he hadn't notice any. 

At the moment, the small entourage was moving towards the first place indicated by Kuro together. Hana adamantly wanted to follow because she was afraid the kids might choose the wrong mushroom. Poisonous mushroom could send everyone into the hospital after an hour of consumption! There's no hospital in the vicinity, only a single hopeless quack doctor whose credibility was greatly questioned! She didn't know that her own little black snake could neutralize any kind of poison easily. Until today, our oblivious but cute aunty only know that her pet was too adorable and harmless. She had selectively brushed off the confrontation between Kuro and Ara just yesterday afternoon.

How much longer to reach that location, Ku-chan? Hana asked telepathically while evading a large twisting buttress root. She was too afraid to talk loudly inside this deep dark forest.

Just a little more, Mommy. You can do it. Kuro encouraged his mistress. He was in a better mood once he realized the effect of the spiritual herb Hana cooked last night can be seen on her vigor. The aunty's stamina was so much better than yesterday. She hadn't realized she had traversed for more than ten kilometers already. Her limit was usually capped at one to two kilometers before she collapsed from exhaustion. Kuro was leading the way as he was the only one who knew the location. Meanwhile, the others were crowding around the aunty, leading her forward while protecting her at the same time.

Hop on my back to get some rest if you're tired, Mom. Shiro offered.

Aww, it's alright Shi-chan. How can I burden you with my weight?! You're even lighter than me, you know. Hana blushed in shame. She still remembered the first time she had dragged the wounded fox. The boy was only about 20 kilos. She was more than three times heavier than him! Exactly how much? No one knows except herself! It's a lady's secret!

Everyone blinked speechlessly. They wanted to say it, but afraid to hurt the aunty's feelings. She's the weakest one in the group and the one who dragged the overall travelling speed down.

As usual, the sweet little snake gave a hard stare to everyone present when their mistress was not looking to stop them from talking shit!

...

Meanwhile, two floating balls of water bubbles were moving from within the waters of the Crystal-veined stream towards land. Lord Tittua was tracing back his lingering spirit sense to find the location of the snake's lair. He was puzzled for not detecting the snake again. After following the traces left behind, he stopped in front of a small cave with a strange entrance. However, the entrance was blocked with a stone about the same size as the entrance. 

Lord Tittua wanted to enter but was stopped by Watershade, "Lord Tittua, remember, we're not starting a war over here. A little constraint please." Entering someone's lair without permission was considered a very big slight, especially if the other party was considered a lord-level spirit beast who owned the land. It will be considered as a challenge to wrestle away that piece of land. That was what the snake did previously in order to carve a small territory he could own in a new locale. He was very overbearing and blood-thirsty!

Lord Tittua repressed his aura, tuned himself down. Watershade moved forward and spoke from outside the cave entrance, " Lord Lightning Serpent, we would like to seek an audience to grace your abode! The great Lord Emperor Crystal-veined Stream wishes to meet you." Although the young snake was not a Lord level spiritual beast, he wasn’t far from it. It wasn’t wrong to flatter him with the title. Watershade was the one responsible to maintain cordiality with numerous experts in the vicinity.

Both of them waited for a few minutes.

They looked at each other. Lord Tittua gave a nod towards Elder Watershade. The catfish emitted a ray of azure energy from its two whiskers at the stone blocking the cave entrance. He tried to examine the inside of the cave when he encountered a restriction which will warn the snake if it was broken. This is will not prevent them from entering, but it will alarm the snake once it was broken.

"Lord, I believe the snake went out. He laid a restriction as an alarm here. Shall we wait for him?"

Lord Tittua paused to consider the options, "No. We still need to check with the others. Aranye's presence here is just a speculation. If we only focus here and no other place, we might miss some spots. If no news from others by this evening, we'll return here again. I'm sure the snake will be here by that time."

With that, the aunty's little entourage narrowly missed the confrontation with the strongest existence in the area.

... 

Hana was getting tired as her face was getting paler from exhaustion. Moreover, this was not just a walk, it's a fast-paced jog! 

She nearly stumbled several times when her foot was tangled up with random roots along the way. Coupled with the dim atmosphere, she could barely see where she was going. Little that she knew that her eyesight was getting much better and she could see clearer that before. After her smartphone went momentarily missing when she stumbled for the first time, she didn't dare to use it to torch her way anymore. She could only follow Markisah's bright yellow feathers a few paces in front of her. She eyed Shiro's back longingly but steeled her heart. She had said courageously that she won't take advantage of the poor fox before, it's too late to shamelessly ask for a ride again. 

Are we there yet? Hana asked again for the n-th time while panting a lot from exhaustion.

Before Kuro could answer, her vision was suddenly blinded by sunlight. 

…

Author’s Note:

(1) Termite mound mushroom = it’s real. Also known as [cendawan busut/kulat tahun/kulat petir]. The ones in Malaysia usually grew around Jan to March, depending on the location. Mrs Mooncat had never heard anyone artificially cultivating them yet. All mushrooms grew wild and handpicked by villagers or palm oil estate owners and sold on the roadside.