feel shy

The two sat around the fire in the treehouse, chatting casually. Outside, no one cared about the life or death of the criminal on the run. Huaiyu was happily munching on yellow beans when, out of the blue, she asked:

"I praised my cooking skills, so why did you laugh back then? Was the stir-fried beans not tasty?"

If it weren't for that laugh, she wouldn't have been so startled.

Lin Xuefeng thought back to that moment and couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't know. I was standing at the door, debating whether to ask about buying the beans, and suddenly I heard you speak—"

That confident and carefree tone, the kind only a child could have, combined with her bright, clear voice, made him laugh without meaning to.

Afterward, he regretted it. After all, it was a rainy night, in the wild, alone. Suddenly bursting out laughing...

It was the perfect setup for a murder mystery.

Ahem. He probably scared her half to death.

He felt a bit guilty. "Sorry about that."

Huaiyu shook her head. "It's fine! You scared me, but you also helped me out, so it's okay."

Without Lin Xuefeng, she wouldn't have known what to expect when facing a vicious, dangerous criminal all by herself.

After a while, Lin Xuefeng spread his hand. "Share a little more with me."

"It's all gone." Huaiyu shrugged, holding her hand out. "I used half a pound to stir-fry, gave three pieces to Xiao Tian, then we each got half... there's nothing left."

"Xiao Tian is this?"

Lin Xuefeng turned his palm over and, to his surprise, found a transparent wheel... with a tiny, reddish-orange, golden-edged mouse spinning inside.

"Quite good," he said with a grin, watching the little mouse tumble around. "If you live alone, having a pet is nice."

Huaiyu hesitated. "Uh... maybe we should put it down. It doesn't really seem to like the wheel."

"More importantly... I only accepted a little offering from it, not exactly taking care of it."

With a splash, the water wheel broke open, and Xiao Tian dropped with a 'plop' into Lin Xuefeng's palm, quickly being swirled into the water and dumped back onto the ground, wet and shivering.

The little mouse let out a series of angry squeaks, finally retreating to the fire to warm up its fur.

Lin Xuefeng glanced at it, then at Huaiyu. "The beans I ate... they wouldn't have been..."

"How could they?" Huaiyu smiled innocently. "It's just a few other seeds it contributed to help me feel confident eating the beans."

She sighed, looking a little down. "With this heavy rain, the wild vegetables and mushrooms in the forest are no longer edible... I thought I had found a way to get rich."

Now, she had to figure out how to survive again.

Speaking of which, she glanced at Lin Xuefeng. The two hundred contribution points he'd given her had solved her immediate problem, giving her more time to think things through.

Lin Xuefeng sighed. "Just wait a bit longer. The Statistics Bureau issued yellow beans to everyone. Once the legume root nodules absorb the pollution, by May or June, we should be able to plant again."

"Wood-type soul masters are still a bit more efficient than others."

Huaiyu sighed. "Guess there's no choice."

She hadn't finished speaking when Lin Xuefeng asked, "You said half a pound of beans... what about the other half?"

"Since you ate yours, shouldn't you consider going all in for once?"

Huaiyu pointed to a nearby basin. "Well, it's soaking in there. I want to see if I can sprout some bean sprouts."

"If it works, getting them to sprout is much easier than getting them to grow soybeans. When they sprout, I should be able to sell them."

Lin Xuefeng frowned. "This water..."

He reached out to stir the water in the basin, and immediately, his eyes widened. "This water!"

He turned to Huaiyu. "Is the water you drink like this? Where did you get it?"

Huaiyu thought for a moment, a bit hesitant. Could this ability of hers not fall under wood-type powers?

But she still pointed to the mineral water bucket. "The water in the red bucket is purified with purification tablets. The water in the mineral water bucket was boiled and filtered."

"I put a lot of effort into purifying it too."

"Purified?" Lin Xuefeng caught the key word.

"Yeah." Huaiyu nodded. "It's the ability to stimulate plant growth. If I try hard enough, their mutation rate drops, and they taste a lot better."

Lin Xuefeng froze.

After a moment, he reached out to draw a stream of water into his mouth, and then sighed deeply, his expression complex.

"Huaiyu, you aren't just 'Huaiyu'... you should be 'Huai Bi'."

"Wood-type abilities can stimulate growth, but that doesn't mean they can purify. That's two different abilities, and I haven't heard of anyone being able to do that."

He recalled how Huaiyu had said that her plant growth was exhausting, and before, he thought it was due to her weakness.

But now, it seemed... it was exhausting because she wasn't even using the right ability! The fact that it worked at all was amazing.

Huaiyu was a little nervous. "Is it that rare?"

Lin Xuefeng nodded. "As far as I know, you're the only one."

"Keep your secret safe. Even I can only feel a faint wood-type power. If you're cautious, no one else will figure it out."

"Purification right now can only be done with various mutated plants, and the efficiency isn't high. Plus, the degree of purification doesn't reach what you can do... no wonder the beans are so pure."

He sighed, a mix of admiration and regret.

If her ability was strong enough and she could protect herself, Lin Xuefeng would suggest she contact the Academy of Sciences.

But she had no means of self-defense right now, so he didn't even bring it up.

Huaiyu nodded, taking the matter seriously.

But Lin Xuefeng's eyes lingered on the basin of soybeans. "Do you have the ability now? Want to try growing them again?"

"Crispy, tender bean sprouts should taste pretty good... If I had known such delicacies before heading to the Wilds... Huaiyu, if I'd met you sooner, maybe I wouldn't have wanted to go to the Wilds at all."

Huaiyu froze. "No oil? The bean sprouts will be ruined—can't we just not go?"

Lin Xuefeng laughed. "Little girl, what do you know? Just focus on staying safe."

Huaiyu didn't argue, but after a brief pause, she added, "The Rose Corridor seems to be willing to let me approach."

"Mm?" He was surprised.

"Really." Huaiyu pointed to the branch of the rose still blooming on the bedside. "See, that's the one I picked from the Rose Corridor. I've been taking care of it for days."

Lin Xuefeng leaned in, examining it closely. After a long pause, he turned back to her.

"Beautiful."

"I used to hate painting roses," he mused. "They're so expansive and full of life, but I could never capture their essence. I often got low marks because of it."

"But now, looking at it..."

He trailed off, seeming lost in thought. Then, with a sigh, he extended his hand toward the door.

The next moment, the criminal was dragged inside with a loud thud, crashing onto the floor.