Chapter 11: Planting
After Wen Nanxi’s explanation, Su Muyao now had a better understanding of the mutated beasts. She finally realized that in the eyes of the people from the Beast Emperor City, being exiled to the Guluo Tribe was essentially a death sentence.
The climate here was harsh and brutally cold. Mutated beasts were rampant, food was scarce, and when the snow season arrived, many beastmen would freeze or starve to death if they hadn’t stored enough food. During the snow season, the mutated beasts would disappear, and everyone could stay safely within the tribe. But without enough food and animal hides, freezing and starvation were still a very real threat.
This beastman world also had four seasons; it was just that in the cold northern regions, winter was called the snow season. According to her calculations, it was currently early July in the lunar calendar. The snow season would likely begin around October. That gave her about three months to prepare and store food.
If she could upgrade her pocket dimension and unlock access to the supplies she had stockpiled within these three months, she wouldn’t have to worry about a thing. For now, however, she had to focus on gathering more food.
After processing all this new information, Su Muyao’s expression shifted. “Thank you. I’m fine now. I’m going to rest. You all should go get some rest, too.”
Although her tone was gentle, they could sense a hint of distance in her expression, as if she were pushing them away. It was clear she wanted them to leave.
In the past, when she had beckoned them closer, they had wished for nothing more than to be as far away from her as possible. But now, just as their opinion of her was beginning to change, she was the one pushing them away, and it left them with an unsettling feeling.
By now, Su Muyao’s hair was dry. Wen Nanxi took out a comb and gently brushed it for her before helping her lie down and tucking in the corners of her blanket.
“Rest well then, my lady.”
“I’m just next door. If you need anything, you can call for me at any time.”
Su Muyao nodded. All she wanted right now was to get into her pocket dimension and take a look around. After watching them all leave, she vanished and reappeared inside her personal space.
“Host, look at these!” the system announced proudly.
Su Muyao saw that a variety of seasonings had appeared on the field in her dimension: vinegar, soybean paste, soy sauce, and packets of various spices.
Her eyes lit up at the sight. “With these, I can make so many delicious things! I was just wondering how I was going to stew that pork offal. Salt alone wouldn’t have been enough to bring out the flavor. Now I can make braised dishes!”
Sensing Su Muyao’s joy, the system was happy as well. Looking at the sweet potatoes piled up in the space, it said, “Host, these sweet potatoes are twice as big as the ones you stockpiled before!”
Su Muyao had noticed this as well. The food in this beastman world was larger than the food from the post-apocalyptic world. The green onions, ginger, and sweet potatoes were all nearly double in size.
“Although they’re bigger than the ones from my old world, they taste about the same, and the sweet potatoes are just as sweet,” Su Muyao explained. “And these are all organic, grown without any pesticides or artificial additives. Food cooked over a wood fire is especially fragrant. This beastman world may be different in some ways, but the soil in the forest is fertile. There must be a lot of ingredients out there.”
Despite the mutated beasts, she liked it here. It was better than the apocalypse. As long as she had enough supplies, she could create all sorts of culinary delights.
“Let’s plant these sweet potatoes in the dimension first.”
With just a thought, she could plant them. But first, she needed to use her ability to encourage them to sprout. Once they had sprouted, she planted them in the field of her dimension. She hoped that when the dimension leveled up, the field would expand as well. In the past, when her dimension was at a high level, the field had been vast, spanning over a thousand acres. She could plant whatever she wanted, and the crops would grow quickly and yield a high harvest.
Meanwhile, after leaving Su Muyao’s room, Hua Linye and Xiao Jihan were on their way back to their own rooms.
Noticing Hua Linye’s unusual silence, Xiao Jihan asked in his clear voice, “Did you discover something?”
Hua Linye’s voice was low and thoughtful. “You know, my true form is a nine-tailed fox. We are extremely sensitive to scents. I can smell our lady’s pheromones, and they are completely different from before. But according to the records of my clan, even if a person’s pheromones change slightly, they would never transform into a completely different scent.”
A flicker of understanding crossed Xiao Jihan’s cool eyes. “You’re saying her scent has completely changed?”
“What’s the difference?” The ability to smell pheromones was unique to the nine-tailed red foxes, a skill they used for self-preservation.
Hua Linye’s expression was grave. “Before, her scent was cold and sinister, with a strange undertone that was repulsive. Just being near her made me want to get away. But now, her scent is clean and warm, like a fragrant, elegant flower, or like bathing in warm sunlight.”
It was a scent that made one want to draw closer. The two sensations were so completely different that Hua Linye was utterly bewildered. He couldn’t make sense of it. How could a person change so drastically?
A thoughtful look crossed Xiao Jihan’s face as an idea occurred to him.
After they returned to their rooms, neither of them could sleep, both lost in their own troubled thoughts. Before long, an urgent knock sounded on their door.
“Little sister, are you home?”
Su Muyao, who was busy in her dimension, heard the voice from outside.
Is that Sister Lin from next door?
Su Muyao quickly exited her dimension. Her predecessor had been a vicious and unbearable person. Ever since arriving at the tribe, she had acted with extreme arrogance and had a poor relationship with everyone. No one wanted to talk to her. The only exception was her next-door neighbor, Sister Lin Qin, an exceptionally warm person who seemed oblivious to her predecessor’s cold shoulder, always greeting her affectionately. She would even share things she had gathered. She was a straightforward and generous woman.
As soon as Su Muyao stepped out of her inner room, she saw Wen Nanxi.
“Did the noise at the door disturb you, my lady?”
Su Muyao shook her head. “It’s fine. It’s Sister Lin. She must have something urgent to come knocking this late at night. Let’s see what it is.”
Worried she might be scared, Wen Nanxi said, “I’ll go with you.”
At that moment, Xiao Jihan and Hua Linye also appeared in the courtyard, though she hadn’t seen them come out.
Without a word, Su Muyao walked to the gate and opened it. She saw not only Lin Qin standing there, but two other people as well. From her predecessor’s memories, she recognized them as the tribe’s chief and his wife.
“Little sister, the chief and his wife are here to see you,” Lin Qin said. She had only come to help knock on the door. The truth was, the chief and his wife were a bit intimidated by Su Muyao’s notoriously bad temper. They had no choice but to ask Lin Qin, who was on relatively good terms with her, to help them out.
The chief spoke cautiously, “Miss Su, it’s like this… my daughter was injured by a mutated beast. The wound is severely infected, and even the shaman can’t heal it. I have no choice but to shamelessly come and ask for your help. As long as you are willing to save my daughter, we will do anything you ask.”
The chief’s wife also looked at Su Muyao with pleading eyes.
The chief and his wife were highly respected and powerful figures in the Guluo Tribe. They had never had to lower themselves to beg anyone for anything, but now, for the sake of their daughter, they were desperate. They had heard earlier that day that Su Muyao had awakened a healing ability. At the time, they had been skeptical. But now, with their daughter Ningning bitten by a mutated beast, they were hoping with all their might that the rumors were true.
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