Chapter 50

Ye Chuqi had done quite a lot outside, and the big black fish had watched it all. Its clever little head had imagined all sorts of possibilities. It had already decided to cling to this place and live off her hospitality, so it had shown Ye Chuqi the Spatial Bluestone to prove it was useful.

But it needed more ways to prove its worth, so Ye Chuqi would be reluctant to throw it out. Otherwise, it would lose this life of beautiful mountains and clear waters. Unfortunately, it had watched for ages without finding a chance to help. Even if it went outside, it would probably turn into

salted fish

jerky before long.

The night passed without incident.

The moment Ye Chuqi opened her eyes, she saw the big black fish's enormous head resting on the Black Ghost Stone. Its little eyes stared straight at her, as if it wanted to say something but could not. She had told San San to turn off the dialogue bubbles long ago, so even if the fish had something to say, she could not receive it.

San San laughed. "It wants to help, but it doesn't know what it can do. It eats and drinks well here every day, and it's starting to feel a little embarrassed."

Ye Chuqi was surprised. She had thought this shameless brute was incapable of embarrassment. They had gotten to know each other through a fight, and the Red Sun Fruit she had snatched from it was still growing in the spirit field nearby. As for rent, it had already paid with the Spatial Bluestone.

The big black fish rolled over in the water. With a sweep of its tail, it sent a dark cloud flying. Splash! It landed in Ye Chuqi's pool, then drifted down in scattered pieces.

What was this?

"Its scales. The big black fish's scales have excellent resistance to magic. Adding them to armor works very well. Its defense against physical attacks comes from the slime on its body. It wanted to give you some of that too, but I turned it down for you."

Good call.

She knew that slime was valuable, but accepting it would have taken a great deal of courage.

"It also said that if you ever need it in a fight, you can let it out. It can knock a few people flying, at least. It just wants you to remember to put it back before too long. Don't let it turn into salted fish jerky."

Pfft...

Did the big black fish want her to use it as a weapon? How was she supposed to explain it appearing and disappearing out of nowhere? Living creatures could not enter storage spaces directly in this world unless they were placed in a Beast-Taming Cage. Even then, the cage could not be opened inside the space. It had to be taken out before the beast pet inside could be summoned.

Ye Chuqi would have liked to use the big black fish to flatten someone. Given its size and toughness, getting hit by it would hurt. But until she figured out how to explain it, she had better not—

"Flattening people would be hard to explain. How about Magic Beasts?" Ye Chuqi suggested, tilting her head toward the big black fish.

The big black fish shuddered. Most Magic Beasts considered it a tasty meal. Only a few could break through its defenses, which was why it had not become beast fodder. But under Ye Chuqi's expectant gaze, it somehow nodded anyway, then burrowed into the mud at the bottom of the pool and played dead.

Ye Chuqi stopped teasing it. Once she was sure the adventurers had left and there was no other movement nearby, she stepped out of the space and headed north without pause, leaving the clearing behind.

Although San San had confirmed those people had gone, they might still double back without warning. Before coming out, she had changed her clothes, especially her shoes. She had also deliberately covered her tracks as she left. Even if she could not erase them completely, she could make following them a great deal of trouble.

After traveling a little farther, Ye Chuqi chose a quiet spot to stop, lit a fire, and began cooking.

The Lost Forest had a particular quirk: if the surroundings were too quiet, with no small Magic Beasts in sight, it usually meant one of two things. Either a higher-ranked Magic Beast was nearby, or there was some other strange creature, such as one of the forest's plants.

Besides plants with remarkable medicinal properties, some plants in the Lost Forest became fiercely aggressive after mutating. Rumor had it that certain plants could advance just like Magic Beasts and might even develop intelligence eventually.

Of course, that was only a legend. No one had ever seen it happen.

Aggressive mutated plants, however, were a common sight. They were harder to deal with than Magic Beasts and even more dangerous. Few people chose to camp somewhere too quiet. Most preferred to bully weaker Magic Beasts and take over their dens instead.

Along the way, Ye Chuqi had gathered plenty of edible plants. There were no proper books that taught such basic knowledge, but Xiaojiu knew it all: what was edible, what tasted good, and what each plant tasted like. He could list them as easily as the treasures in his own home.

The tubers she was boiling now looked and felt much like potatoes, but they also had a sweet note. They tasted far better than the crystals from the roots of dead trees in the Ashen Wasteland. Ye Chuqi had collected quite a few and had even cleared a spirit field in the space just to grow them. San San was beside itself with distress, saying she was wasting resources.

Once all the low-ranked Beast Cores had been purified, the space's energy was replenished. Not only had its Spiritual Power grown denser, but its boundaries had receded, revealing more fertile land. San San had immediately cleared several more spirit fields. Now they were sparsely planted with the various plants Ye Chuqi had picked up everywhere these past few days. Each stood tall, swaying at the edges of the fields and brimming with life.

Most of the plants had mutated to some degree under the nourishment of Spiritual Power. They had all grown in the space, so even if San San had not known what they were for at first, it knew now. It was the embodiment of this space, the Heart of the Space Spirit. Nothing within the space was unknown to it.

Just as the potatoes in the pot were nearly done, Xiaojiu appeared, drawn by their aroma. He was still sniffing as he walked up to Ye Chuqi. Aside from looking a little disheveled, he had no visible injuries. The front of his shirt bulged with something he had hidden inside.

Xiaojiu crouched beside the fire and, without waiting for Ye Chuqi to ask, pulled out what he had tucked against his chest.