The Green Ghost of the Abandoned Forest

"Ugh... I failed again."

Lan Qingyou sighed. She gathered Magic Power in her palm and erased the ruined Alchemical Array, then started over with a face as black as soot.

This was her thirteenth failure.

But she had made obvious progress, too.

At first, she'd ruined the array after drawing just two patterns, before she'd even had a chance to draw the circle.

Now she was failing on the very last stroke. Wasn't that another kind of success?

At least, that was how she encouraged herself.

After countless attempts, as the afternoon gave way to night, a golden light finally shone from the iron base, and the Alchemical Array was complete.

The array consisted of an outer circle, a triangle inside it, and a few symbols. It looked very simple.

"Whoa! A legendary gold!"

Seeing the faint golden-yellow glow along the array's lines, Lan Qingyou clasped her face in both hands and excitedly quipped.

As she spoke,

three thick legs curled outward from the tips of the triangle on the iron Alchemical Array Base.

"No wonder the cauldron doesn't have legs. It's meant to be used with the base."

Looking at the three legs, Lan Qingyou glanced up at the night beyond the window, then turned to the clockwork alarm clock on the table. It was a little past eleven at night.

"It's already this late? I'll grab a bite and head out."

Muttering to herself, Lan Qingyou turned and left the workshop.

The later it got, the more likely she was to run into danger. Lan Qingyou understood that perfectly well.

Flying through the night sky and feeling the breeze brush against her face, Lan Qingyou couldn't help but spread her arms wide.

That was the scent of freedom;

that was a hymn to life;

that was... the smell of Material Treasure Chests!

At that moment,

Lan Qingyou was holding a Material Treasure Chest in her arms, and there were nine more in her Medicine Bag.

If she hadn't worried that the chests would crush the herbs stored in her Medicine Bag and diminish their medicinal properties, she would have put this one in there, too.

Mm, there's one over there, too.

Without hesitation, Lan Qingyou swooped down, reached out and scooped it up, then used the momentum to float back into the air.

Her movements were smooth and effortless. She didn't stay on the ground for more than three seconds—she was clearly a seasoned offender.

In fact, Lan Qingyou had been deliberately honing her little tricks for flying over the past few days.

After four days of practice, she had more or less figured out how to move while flying, what kind of force to use for propulsion in different conditions, and how far she could travel.

Now, aside from her uncontrollable legs, which inevitably dangled onto the ground whenever she descended, she could even gather herbs without landing.

Knowing when to call it a day, Lan Qingyou happily returned to her shelter with a Material Treasure Chest tucked under each arm.

Today's haul had been excellent: eleven chests in all.

For food, she got Bread*4, Instant Noodles*3, Canned Food*3, Self-Heating Hot Pot*2, Big Meat Bun*3, Old-Fashioned Steamed Buns*2, Ham Sausage*1, and one pack of 12 Chive and Pork Frozen Dumplings.

For drinks, she got Mineral Water*3, Chafan*1, Leibi*1, Bingkuoluo*1, Canned Beer*3, Xiaohong Classmate*1, and Bull Energy Drink*1.

As for miscellaneous items, there was a lot.

Shufen Sanitary Pad*1, Cotton Sports Bra Set*2, Tissues*1, Enamel Mug, 200 ml*1, Northeast Floral Padded Coat*1, Bashu Red Apron*1, Warm Memory Pillow*1, Little Yellow Duck Crossbody Bag*1, Xiaobao Facial Cleanser, 100 ml*1, and Stainless Steel Hangers, 10-piece set*1.

They might look like a random assortment, but every single one of them was useful to Lan Qingyou.

Take the red apron, for instance. Put it on while making alchemy, stand in front of the cauldron, and the atmosphere instantly came together. It also kept boiling potions from splashing onto her.

After happily putting everything away, Lan Qingyou went over to the Magic Desk.

She had to collect the trade requests once a day. That was what she and Shang Chuan had agreed on.

Another twenty-odd boxes of test tubes today. Nice.

Once she had enough test tubes, Lan Qingyou bottled up the entire batch of potions she'd brewed the day before yesterday and put them straight up in the shop for exchange.

After a few days, Lan Qingyou had grown familiar with her talent, and the same was true for everyone else.

Their gathering speed hadn't improved much, but dealing with Devilish Creatures and handling everyday tasks had become a lot easier.

Devilish Creature Crystal Cores had now begun appearing in the Trading Post, but they could still only be exchanged for Mana Potions, at the same rate of 1:10.

Quite a few people were urging Lan Qingyou every day to hurry up and brew more potions.

After all, getting used to their talents meant using up a lot of Magic Power.

But Lan Qingyou didn't respond. She simply carried on at her own pace.

After adding the potions, Lan Qingyou switched over to the Chat Channel.

"It's here! It's here! That Ghost is back!"

As soon as she clicked in, Lan Qingyou saw someone warning everyone that the Ghost from that night had appeared again.

"You looking to get your ass kicked or what?"

That was how the hotheaded guy replied.

"No, I really saw it this time! The angle lined up perfectly with my Magic Desk, and I even got a picture. Proof right here [image]."

Lan Qingyou clicked on it. Against the pitch-black night sky was an object glowing a ghostly green.

Holy crap, there really was a Ghost?

Lan Qingyou broke into a cold sweat.

She'd been out messing around for over an hour just now. Good thing she hadn't run into it.

"Damn! There really is a Ghost!?"

"I saw it too. It was wearing a white dress that looked old and kind of dirty. Long hair, no face."

"The eerie green glow outlined its shape. I'm guessing it was a female Ghost."

"Yeah, and its flying posture was strange."

"I saw it too. It was a 7! That silhouette was definitely a 7!"

"Green glow? That doesn't sound right. Didn't Zhao Dulai say it was blue before?"

"Bullshit. The day before yesterday, someone clearly said it was a faint blue-green glow."

"You've got a picture and still don't believe it. What would you believe?"

"Since when can the Magic Desk take pictures? How come I didn't know?"

"It's on the Small Screen. Look into it when you've got time. The Small Screen has plenty of features."

"Okay, thanks, bro. I'll go check it out."

"Enough about that. Lan Qingyou's selling Mana Potions again. Damn, she just put up several hundred bottles at once."

"I'll be right back."

"Smart people buy first and chat here afterward."

"Damn! You guys are fast."

"@Lan Qingyou, got any more? Put them up, hurry!"

Everyone went wild when they saw the potions, constantly urging Lan Qingyou to list more.

But at that moment, Lan Qingyou was drenched in cold sweat. She couldn't care less about putting up more potions.

A silhouette like a 7? White dress? A little dirty? No face? Glowing ghostly green?

Holy crap. Could the Ghost they were talking about be me?

The Green Ghost of the Abandoned Forest?

The more Lan Qingyou looked at the picture, the more she felt it showed exactly what she'd looked like while holding a Material Treasure Chest.

Great, just great. The Ghost I'd been worrying about this whole time was me?

So when I'd been sneaking around looking for treasure chests, afraid the Ghost might spot me, I'd just been fighting with thin air?