Zilan's heartache, evolution begins!

Back in the second-floor Plant Room—Zilan's private "bedroom."

As Yuanming Pet Food Shop's top seller, she had seen Lin Yuan's parents improve her living space many times while they were alive.

And its current location was prime real estate—

For one thing, it brought out her spiritual power to the fullest, letting every Purple Star Vine planted on the second floor bask in her energy and grow better.

For another, it was close to Lin Yuan's bedroom, subtly strengthening his constitution.

Lin Yuan's parents had been sensitive to both heat and cold, but Lin Yuan had enjoyed fairly good health since childhood.

Of course, not every Purple Ghost Orchid could become the heart of a pet food shop. That depended on the trait it awakened.

Most Purple Ghost Orchids awakened Purple Ghost, which supplied growth energy to Purple Star Vines but could not produce valuable floral dew.

Zilan, however, was among the one percent of Purple Ghost Orchids that possessed Purple Dew.

Throughout Lin Yuan's childhood, his mother had showered Zilan with praise, affection, and admiration.

Even on days when the cold left her unable to get up, she still had to stroke Zilan's petals.

Now Lin Yuan opened the package.

He looked at the two most important Evolution Materials.

The Sweet Rain Pearl was roughly the size of a marble and transparent, with countless bubbles layered inside it.

It rested in a jade box, as exquisite as a precious piece of jewelry.

The Spirit Treasure Liquid was smaller still: a single drop no bigger than a teardrop inside a clear bottle.

Yet it seized the eye. Despite its tiny size, it seemed to have absorbed every trace of light and spiritual energy, like a dazzling orb compressed into a droplet.

He had to handle both materials carefully, making sure his hands never touched them during Zilan's evolution.

Looking at these materials, worth over a hundred thousand Alliance Coins, Lin Yuan felt a surge of emotion. They were worth more than his family had saved through years of hard work.

That made him even more cautious.

He absolutely could not mess this up.

The other materials ranged in value from hundreds to thousands of Alliance Coins, and Lin Yuan laid each one out with equal care.

Zilan, meanwhile, could feel the surging energy before Lin Yuan and the irresistible pull of those materials.

That drop of liquid in particular seemed capable of holding everything she had experienced and felt over the years.

When her young master had said a few hours ago that he could help her evolve this week, she had thought it sounded more like the grand ambition of youth.

It reminded her of when she had first arrived in this home and produced her first valuable drop of floral dew. She had told her old master that one day she would produce more dew, better dew, and give the whole family a good life.

That had been her hope for the future, fresh from gaining a new ability.

But after all these years, her old master had still passed away from illness. She had learned that promises made in youthful passion could be shattered in an instant by the weight of life and hardship.

It was not that she did not trust Lin Yuan.

After living for more than a decade, everything she had experienced had left her unable to trust herself.

She had reached Ordinary Level 10 eight years ago.

She had met the requirements for evolution even then.

Since then, she had attempted to evolve twice.

Both times, her old master had invited a Beast Breeder to help her.

But each time, they had poured liquids and materials steeped in resentment all over her.

She had hated them.

Both attempts had failed.

For the past two years, she had kept wondering what would have happened if she had pushed down that awful feeling and evolved back then.

Could she have earned more money for the family?

Perhaps her old master might have lived longer...

So when she felt the pull of that evolutionary energy, her first reaction was not joy. It was, What if I waste the materials again?

Lin Yuan was still carefully arranging the materials in the order required for evolution.

Living Creature Affinity let him sense Zilan's emotions and hesitation.

He felt that fleeting joy, gone after a second or two, and the worry and anxiety that flooded in afterward.

For two years, Lin Yuan had seen Zilan's status panel every day.

With her sensitive nature, she often wrestled with tiny details from the past.

Lin Yuan knew what she had been through, and he knew the knot in her heart.

Evolving a pet beast was not just a matter of piling up materials and throwing them all in.

The beast's state of mind during evolution, and its trust in the Beast Breeder, mattered just as much.

More important still, a pet beast had to want to evolve and believe it could.

While looking through the information earlier, Lin Yuan had already made up his mind: before helping Zilan evolve, he would help her prepare herself mentally.

He stopped working.

Turning around, he stroked Zilan's petals. "Zilan, don't worry."

"I know failing to evolve twice has shaken your confidence."

"But that wasn't your fault. Those two Beast Breeders made the mistake. They didn't choose the path that suited you best."

"Your fragrance is pure and gentle, and your floral dew is sweet and refreshing. That all comes from the warmth and generosity in your nature, and from the love with which you've protected our home."

"They tried to evolve you into a Purple Grudge Orchid. That isn't who you are."

"You were right not to betray your heart or the fire burning inside it."

At that, Lin Yuan could clearly feel Zilan's emotions settling.

She seemed a little more resolute, too.

"The materials I've prepared will help you evolve in the direction that suits you best."

"I know you've always wanted to evolve, too. It was Mother's wish. She wanted you to become healthier and stronger."

"And you want to evolve because you want to do more for this family and bring us more wonderful surprises."

"You can feel that the materials I've prepared are drawing you in, can't you? In a good way?"

"I've only just awakened my talent, and I've never helped another pet beast evolve. But if you trust me, I can help you evolve into the form that suits you best."

"And I need your help. I need you to believe in yourself as well as in me."

"Believe you were right to hold firm all those years. Believe you deserve a better future, that you can evolve—and that you can evolve into the form that suits you best."

Lin Yuan spoke softly.

But his words swept through Zilan's heart with tremendous force.

She had never imagined her young master understood her so well.

After all, they had no contract binding them. A thin veil still stood between their minds and spirits.

The words were simple, and she heard more than just Lin Yuan's voice in them. She heard an echo of her mistress: the same gentle, unhurried way of speaking, calm yet touched with passion and hope for a better life.

Zilan's flowers swayed vigorously.

Yes! I believe in you, and I believe in myself!

Lin Yuan sensed her feelings and heard her thoughts. The corners of his mouth lifted.

"Then let me finish preparing. We'll start in a moment!"

At that moment, Lin Yuan also noticed that the hidden path's compatibility with Zilan, originally 99%, had become 100%!

He did not know what difference that one percent would make.

But he could now clearly sense that, to some extent, a pet beast's state of mind during evolution also determined the path it would take.

He continued measuring and preparing the materials according to the information on the evolutionary path.

Half an hour later.

"Zilan, I'm going to pour this bowl of prepared nutrient solution into your flowerpot," Lin Yuan said. "Tell me right away if anything feels wrong."

The nutrient solution was not difficult to prepare. He only had to grind and process the supplementary materials, then mix them into a portion of Spirit Spring Water.

But at every step, Lin Yuan checked the information on the panel at least three times before acting.

As the liquid slowly poured in, Lin Yuan could clearly sense Zilan's overall condition improving.

Her buds, which had looked a little shriveled, grew fuller, and the purple of her flowers deepened.

The effect was immediate!

Even without Zilan telling him, Lin Yuan could tell from her condition that he had made no mistakes in this first step.

Another half hour passed.

Once Zilan's condition had stabilized, Lin Yuan picked up the two precious materials.

"Zilan, I'm going to put these into your two flower buds at the same time. Close your petals around them immediately, then slowly absorb their energy."

"Understood?"

Zilan's stems trembled slightly in acknowledgment.

Even that most basic nutrient solution had made her feel as though most of the damage from years of producing too much floral dew had healed.

It had also shown her that her young master had not been making empty boasts.

Before, her trust had come mostly from her unconditional faith in a member of this family. Even if she was only his first attempt, she had been willing to take that chance.

Now her trust had something solid behind it.

She believed in Lin Yuan more than ever.

Lin Yuan carefully picked up the two materials. First, he tilted the jade box holding the Sweet Rain Pearl to an angle that would let the pearl roll out.

Then he opened the bottle containing the Spirit Treasure Liquid.

At the same instant, he placed each material precisely into one of Zilan's two flower buds.

Zilan immediately closed her petals.

The two open flowers became two tightly furled buds.

And at that moment, the energy in the Plant Room seemed to surge with a roar.

Before their eyes, the Purple Star Vines began growing rapidly...