How Embarrassing!

Lan Qingyou found the chat message rather baffling.

What was going on? How had this somehow become about her?

So she scrolled up to see what had happened, and discovered that it had all started with Xintianle's call to action.

At first, people had gone along with Xintianle's call and talked about helping one another.

Then someone started stirring things up, gradually turning the discussion toward her.

"If you ask me, Lan Qingyou has the most supplies and materials in our zone. She makes a fortune from her potions—a single one costs dozens of basic units of materials. Selling a hundred or so a day would keep us all busy."

"I did the math. She sells at least two hundred a day. Even if we use +30 Mana Potions for a conservative estimate, that's 6,000 basic units. And that doesn't even include the +50 Mana Potions or the +30 Healing Potions."

"I hadn't realized it before, but now that you've worked it out, she really does make a lot."

"Good grief! So Lan Qingyou has that many materials?"

"Don't count it too closely. Don't count it too closely."

"At a time like this, we should all be helping each other."

"@Lan Qingyou, give everyone a hand."

"@Lan Qingyou, it's just a little money. You'll earn it back in one day of Mana Potion sales. Don't be so stingy."

"@Lan Qingyou, listen to your uncle. You have to take a loss sometimes to get along with others. Everyone will be supporting your business from now on, won't they?"

"@Lan Qingyou, you've made so much. Shouldn't you give some back now and do everyone a good turn?"

"@Lan Qingyou, you wouldn't just stand by and let people die, would you?"

A bunch of people started tagging Lan Qingyou, hoping she'd give them a hand.

"Heh!"

Lan Qingyou let out a cold laugh, blocked the few people stirring things up, and went upstairs to read.

If they thought they could guilt-trip her, they had picked the wrong person.

And they'd support her business in the future? As if they wouldn't buy from her if she didn't give them anything.

One word: shameless!

As for standing by and letting people die... In the Valley of Villains, eight out of every ten people were former criminals. The place would be quieter if they died.

Once upstairs, Lan Qingyou calmed herself and began studying the book in her hands.

At some point, she fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake until after ten the next morning.

"I can't believe I slept so well even with the thunder outside. Was it because of the lullaby?"

Sitting up, Lan Qingyou leaned halfway out to check the weather.

Just like the past few days, the sun was shining brightly. Last night's Mana Turbulence seemed never to have happened, like a summer thunderstorm that had passed.

That seemed like a good thing, at least. It meant her daytime routine wouldn't be disrupted.

Lan Qingyou floated up from the mattress, then carried the Air Conditioning Quilt out onto the balcony.

She draped the Air Conditioning Quilt over the railing and looked around. Nothing seemed to have changed nearby.

Only then did she take a hot shower with peace of mind.

Afterward, she used the water from the bucket to refill the Water Tank, then decided to go to the creek and get enough water to fill the Water Bucket.

After all, the beginner period had ended—and it had only just ended, making this a particularly critical time.

If anything in the house wasn't fully stocked, Lan Qingyou felt uneasy.

She was about to brew medicine, which would take eight hours.

Who knew what might happen over that long stretch of time?

But as Lan Qingyou floated toward the creek, she passed a fairly small stone and suddenly plunged toward the ground, completely out of control.

There were weeds below, but also bits of gravel. She hit the ground hard.

The Water Bucket flew from her hands and rolled several times before stopping by the creek.

Fortunately, she was already close to the creek and wasn't flying very high—only about two meters up.

No one could imagine what might have happened otherwise.

Even so, a pebble had cut Lan Qingyou's forehead, and blood poured from the wound.

But Lan Qingyou didn't get up right away or even cover the wound.

She simply lay there, breathing in the scent of dirt and wild grass, her eyes filled with shock, alarm, fear, and confusion.

For a brief moment, she hadn't been able to feel her Magic Power. That was why she had fallen from the sky.

What was going on? Had her talent disappeared?

Her mind was full of questions. She wanted to draw on the Magic Power inside her, but she was also afraid of confirming that it had vanished.

She didn't want to go back to the life she'd had before, when all she could do was lie in bed, unable to do anything.

Then she noticed the Moonlight Stone Dagger that had fallen from her body when she hit the ground.

She reached out and gripped its handle tightly.

Come on. Use it!

If my Magic Power really is gone, then I might as well die here and be done with it.

It's a shame I never got revenge, but maybe now isn't the time to think about that?

No!

I can't just die here.

Even if I can't move, I still have the magical knowledge I learned in another world.

I can crawl back. I can do whatever it takes to get back to the tree hollow. There has to be a way.

After taking a deep breath and steeling herself, Lan Qingyou tried to draw on the Magic Power inside her.

Her Magic Power was still there!

Lan Qingyou's eyes lit up. She cast the Lightness Technique on herself and slowly floated into the air.

Unlike before, simply controlling it took a great deal of effort.

It felt as if the Magic Power inside her body was surging in every direction, impossible to grasp.

Wait!

Mana Turbulence!

Suddenly, Lan Qingyou realized what was wrong.

Her Magic Power hadn't disappeared, and her talent hadn't failed. The Mana Turbulence from last night was to blame.

It had disrupted the flow of Magic Power in her body, causing what had just happened.

It was only a guess, but it seemed very likely.

"What? So that's what it was."

Lan Qingyou slid the Dagger back into her belt, then swayed as she picked up the Water Bucket and, with great difficulty, filled it.

Then...

As soon as she lifted the Water Bucket full of Creek Water, Lan Qingyou slammed it against a fairly small stone nearby.

Her full-strength blow, powered by her 32 points of strength, smashed the Water Bucket against the stone and shattered it.

"Fuck!"

With blood all over her face, Lan Qingyou threw away the half of the Wooden Barrel that remained in her hands, her expression twisted with rage.

Humiliating!

The more she thought about how terrified she'd been, and how she'd wanted to end it all, the angrier she got. In an instant, she was fuming and completely lost it, taking out her rage on a wooden Water Bucket.

Her Magic Power had only vanished temporarily, and she'd only been unable to use her talent. How had she gotten so scared?

Honestly, this would go down as one of those mortifying moments that would make her feel awful every time she remembered it.

At least no one nearby had seen. Otherwise, it would have been worse than being killed.

"Huang Wei! I won't let you die so easily!"

Lan Qingyou wiped the mud and blood from her face with a hand wet from the creek. Her dirty little face was fierce and menacing.