The fragrance of catnip lingers in the main hall of the main tower of Uzza Temple. Elder Atal is sitting cross-legged on a spacious stone chair above. Around him, there are many cats, napping lazily.
As he dozed off, his wet nose wrinkled from time to time.
Humans can't smell the smell of catnip in the air, but for cats, it is the ultimate enjoyment.
On both sides of the main hall, there are all kinds of cats standing or lying down. The variety of cats will definitely amaze cat experts. They are black, white, gray, orange, variegated, tabby, etc., civet cats
, Isle of Man cat, Angora cat, short hair cat, fold ear cat...
It is precisely because there are so many cats here that the ancestors, who are like prisoners in the middle of the hall, can't help but tremble slightly.
Zu Geli was also caught, and was also there, and of course the evil Zu Geli was beaten until his nose was black and his face was swollen.
Gu Jun, Wu Shiyu and other twelve humans from Earth stood at the back of the hall near the door.
"Meow, the Zu tribes provoked a war for no reason." An old civet cat was saying, "It destroyed the hard-won and long-lasting peace between our two tribes. They also tried to blow up our temple and burn down the entire Wu tribe.
Sazhen is extremely vicious and sinful!"
"What kind of sin..." Zuge still wanted to defend his clan, "Didn't it not burn? There were no casualties among Zuge, cats or people..."
The evil ancestors over there immediately slapped the ground after hearing this, "No, patriarch, there are casualties, I'm injured, I'm injured..."
"You don't call it an injury." The ancestors looked at the clan members and said, "It's just a few scratches that are normal when playing with cats. Don't talk nonsense."
The evil ancestor's little eyes were wide open. He was already covered in blood, and several pieces of his ears were missing...
The ancestors remained calm and continued to talk to the cats and humans around them: "Geely said that humans have a festival called April Fool's Day. In fact, that's what our ancestors meant today. It's just a joke! Otherwise, we will talk to the black businessman.
After so many years of dealing with each other, do you not know their evil intentions? Will you be deceived by them? No, what we bought was originally inferior gunpowder, just a joke..."
However, the patting sounds of the ancestors gradually stopped and they did not continue to say anything.
Because the eyes of the cats around him became more and more evil, even those cats that were napping and enjoying the fragrance opened their squinted eyes.
"Illusions and lies are not true after all." Great Elder Atal said slowly.
That profound demeanor is exactly what Gu Jun said many times about the scheming elder.
"Our joke... is a bit too big..." Ancestor patted his belly, "It has had some bad effects and frightened all the cats and residents in Usa. To express our apology, our ancestors will each give 1,000
A grouse, 1,000 quail, and 1,000 pheasants as an apology."
But the cats in the palace remained unmoved, and their eyes continued to become fierce.
"Do you think we are Zu Ge?" the old civet cat asked.
The ancestors each disagreed, "From now on, every year's tribute will be one more apology... two more... and three more."
Regardless of whether it was the evil ancestors, Ji Li, or other ancestors, they couldn't help slapping and wailing. This is really a waste of money. Life is already difficult, and now the tributes have to be doubled. This
Tell them what to eat in the future.
Ji Li saw that the old patriarch wanted to continue to increase the number, while Gu Jun and others continued to listen quietly.
After all, it was Zuge who cared about his clan. He couldn't help but hugged Gu Jun's thigh, hugging the talker of Tianxuan team, and patted him with runny nose and tears:
"Doctor Gu, please give me some face and help me... We have been to the Worm House together, used golden aloe vera together, and worked hard in Mobei... You don't want to see our ancestors separated from each other and a large number of people out of school.
Xiaozu makes a living by wandering and begging, you don’t want to see it..."
Ji Li tried his best to bring up old feelings, knowing that human beings are animals that miss old feelings, and this nightmare man actually has a soft-hearted side.
"Just now you planned to burn us all to death." Gu Jun said.
Ji Li looked at Wu Shiyu in bewilderment, but Wu Shiyu just tilted his head. He was right.
"That plan has nothing to do with me. My mission is to bring you here..." Ji Li said bitterly, "Some of my compatriots are used to living a hard life and don't even know what it's like to live a good life, so they think of beating and killing.
Kill to solve the problem, Doctor Gu, I absolutely support you, just say something."
Gu Jun felt that it was almost done. Under the attention of all the beings in the palace, he stood up and spoke out the mediation proposal from the human side.
"Zuge continues to pay tribute to the Cat Clan, but the tribute is borne by humans. The tribute is limited to grouse, quail and pheasants..."
As soon as he started talking, the old civet cat shook its tail and said: "We have long been tired of eating grouse, quails and pheasants. If we want to eat them, we can catch them ourselves. If humans want to help Zuge pay tribute, then
Just give it to Catnip, I think this thing won’t disappear if you bring it here, so it’s just right to use it as a tribute.”
To put it bluntly, all the items brought by the team have disappeared, including some of the medical items that were usually left behind in the past.
Those cat toys will also disappear, leaving only catnip, not a single one is missing, and it will still be fragrant and pleasant to cats.
Gu Jun looked at his teammates. Everyone agreed that this was feasible. Catnip was cheaper and easier to transport than grouse.
Yu Chi thought about it and became a little anxious. Catnip is a valuable treasure! Just like silk and tea in ancient times, it can be used as hard currency for the cats in the Dreamland, provided that the supply is exclusively monopolized by humans on earth.
Yu Chi almost pounced on them and ate the catnip with stems and roots that the team brought this time. They couldn't let Cat and Zu Ge steal the seeds and plant them.
All those roots, stems, and seeds have to be pinched off, and only the leaves can be brought over in the future...
"Okay, humans will give catnip to the cat tribe as a tribute." Gu Junxian initially agreed, and then looked at Zuge, who had his eyes wandering and thinking about something, "In exchange, Zuge will provide intelligence to humans, and send clan members
People come to the Earth world to work for us.”
"This is fair." Elder Atal added, "But the deeper the connection between your world and the dreamland, there will be unknown consequences."
The senior leaders of both worlds had considered this issue before the team set off. The current situation is that they must take the initiative.
At that moment, the ancestors murmured and slapped each other, and they all felt that this deal could be done, and there would be no need to pay tribute in the future. The food would be left in real terms. As for providing information to humans and doing part-time work, they would be able to work when the time comes.
Not contributing, being lazy, staying out of things...what can humans do...
Based on this plan, the ancestors solemnly patted their heads and concluded the deal!
From then on, Zuko and the humans on Earth stood together.
"Meow..." the old civet cat reminded Gu Jun and the others: "These ancestors are very cunning. They may not work hard if they take your things."
"It is possible." Gu Jun raised his voice and told the ancestors: "We humans treat friends with loyalty, but treat enemies with other things. If you don't work hard, we won't
If you provide even half a stick of catnip to the Dreamland cat clan, it will be Zuge's fault."
The cats who were originally too lazy to participate in the negotiations became furious one after another, and their dissatisfied meows formed a sound like an ocean storm.
Have you made any mistake? What does the matter between you humans and Zuge have to do with our cat clan?
"You won't even sell it?" the old civet cat asked. The normal practice is to resume paying tribute from each ancestor, and then make transactions between humans and cat tribes, right?
"No." Gu Jun shook his head, "If you want to blame it, blame the ancestors for not working hard."
Is it a better choice to form a direct alliance with the Cat Clan? Gu Jun and the higher-ups have also considered this question. The power of the Cat Clan is unknown, and they have gods they believe in. They may be more capable, but they are no easier to bully or cooperate with than Zuge.
Furthermore, Gu Jun tested it out before, but the cat tribe showed no sign of interest.
"You give us catnip," said the old civet cat, "and we will give you wine."
"No." Gu Jun shook his head firmly, "The catnip we gave you is actually Zu Ge's tribute."
At this time, the expressions of the ancestors changed again.