Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• After Ye Chuqi seemingly vanishes with the Nine-Leaf Green Flower, the crowd assumes the High-Rank Magic Beast swallowed both. They attack it together, tear it apart, and search its remains—but find neither Ye Chuqi nor the flower.
• Bai Fenghua realizes Ye Chuqi likely escaped using Big Black Fish’s spatial ability. He secretly tries to sense where she went through a scale, while keeping quiet about her survival.
• Ernie approaches Bai Fenghua and insults Ye Chuqi, blaming her recklessness and upbringing for her apparent death. The Bai Family restrains its anger and leaves the decision to Bai Fenghua; Third Elder Bai suspects Ye Chuqi escaped because he feels no death in their shared bloodline.
• The adventurers continue searching for the flower. A wounded Magic Beast seizes and swallows the dead High-Rank Beast’s core, triggering a dangerous, painful advance. Fearing it could lose its mind and become a monster like those from the Beast Abyss, it flees into the Lost Forest.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Fenghua understands Ye Chuqi’s plan and protects her secret, even as he struggles to conceal his worry and irritation at Ernie.
• Third Elder Bai trusts Bai Fenghua’s judgment but is prepared to defend Ye Chuqi against Ernie’s disrespect.
• Ernie remains tactless and self-serving, treating Ye Chuqi’s apparent loss as an opportunity to criticize her and provoke Bai Fenghua.
• The wounded Magic Beast chooses flight over remaining among its enemies, though its power-up may endanger its body and mind.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Everyone believes Ye Chuqi is dead, while Bai Fenghua and Third Elder Bai recognize signs that she may have escaped.
• Greed and mistaken assumptions: The belief that the flower remains inside the High-Rank Beast drives the crowd to destroy it.
• The peril of power: Absorbing a Beast Core can bring rapid advancement, but at the risk of agony, madness, and monstrous transformation.
• Family loyalty and restraint: The Bai Family’s concern for Ye Chuqi shapes its response, while Bai Fenghua chooses secrecy over explanation.

Key plot points and events

• After the Nine-Leaf Green Flower disappears, the High-Rank Demon Beasts and humans remain at the scene, convinced that the suspiciously vanished Ye Chuqi may have taken it. The beasts surround the searching humans and refuse to leave without an explanation.
• Ye Chuqi stays hidden in her Portable Space. She worries about Xiaojiu, whom she left outside, but knows that returning now would make her look guilty—and might put her in immediate danger.
• Inside the Spirit Field, San San catches the flower’s falling blossom in a Jade Box. The blossom is its most valuable part, and the flower itself can be cultivated and propagated in the space.
• The Big Black Fish proposes a possible escape: use his newly awakened spatial ability to take Ye Chuqi into his internal space and teleport. The plan is complicated and risky, and Ye Chuqi is uneasy about being swallowed—though she suspects the fish may be too small to manage it safely.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi remains cautious and resourceful, prioritizing concealment while feeling guilty about leaving Xiaojiu and Bai Fenghua outside. She understands the Big Black Fish’s proposal but hesitates to trust its execution.
• Xiaojiu waits outside with Ye Chuqi’s silver sword, holding himself back from acting because he believes she will return. His loyalty and concern are clear.
• The Big Black Fish reveals unexpectedly advanced spatial abilities, developed with help from Spatial Bluestone and the Portable Space. He tries to find a way to rescue Ye Chuqi, though his convoluted idea baffles both her and San San.
• San San safeguards the flower’s blossom and is described as having pervasive control over the Spirit Field, though even San San cannot immediately resolve the strange spatial paradox.
• The Demon Beasts and humans remain locked in an uneasy standoff: the beasts suspect human involvement, while the humans search under the pressure of being watched.

Significant themes

• Trust and loyalty: Xiaojiu’s faith in Ye Chuqi contrasts with the suspicion of the gathered beasts.
• Resourcefulness and risk: Ye Chuqi and the Big Black Fish consider an unconventional escape from an impossible-seeming situation.
• Power and cultivation: The flower’s rarity, San San’s abilities, and the fish’s emerging spatial power show how valuable resources and unusual talents can reshape events.

Plot and events

• To help Ye Chuqi escape safely, Big Black Fish proposes creating a temporary space inside himself. With San San’s guidance, he can try to hold Ye Chuqi there while using the Spatial Bluestone to open a passage.
• Ye Chuqi fears being cast into a dangerous spatial rift, recalling her near-fatal ordeal there, but agrees because she trusts San San. San San takes charge of the attempt and helps Big Black Fish practice.
• While Ye Chuqi recovers inside the Portable Space, the searchers continue combing the forest without finding evidence that she survived. Bai Fenghua and Xiaojiu search for clues separately, with Bai hoping to locate and protect her before anyone else can.
• Bai Fenghua senses a faint spatial fluctuation through the Big Black Fish scale Ye Chuqi left him. She had intended it only as reassurance, but he recognizes it as a possible clue.
• Big Black Fish successfully transports Ye Chuqi. The difficult feat damages his Beast Core and nearly destroys the Spatial Bluestone. San San explains that Big Black Fish is exhausted and pretending to be helpless to get Spiritual Liquid, then decides to help him recover and evolve.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi remains frightened by the risks but chooses trust over fear, relying on San San. Her instinctive gesture of leaving Bai Fenghua the scale also shows concern for his peace of mind.
• San San acts as the cautious controller of the plan and grows fond of Big Black Fish, treating him as a companion whose wellbeing matters.
• Big Black Fish proves his loyalty and ability by pushing beyond his limits to save Ye Chuqi, though the effort leaves him seriously strained.
• Bai Fenghua and Xiaojiu work together searching for Ye Chuqi, but Bai alone detects the scale’s spatial signal. His attentiveness may give him an advantage over the other searchers.

Significant themes

• Trust amid danger: Ye Chuqi accepts a frightening plan because she trusts San San.
• Loyalty and sacrifice: Big Black Fish risks lasting harm to get her to safety.
• Connection across distance: The scale becomes an unintended signal linking Ye Chuqi to Bai Fenghua.
• Care and companionship: San San’s concern for Big Black Fish marks a growing bond, beyond simply using him to carry out the plan.

Plot and events

• Big Black Fish is revealed to have deliberately teleported Ye Chuqi to his old territory, a pool on the northern outskirts of the Lost Forest. After confirming he is unharmed, he returns to his little puddle in her spatial storage, showing no reluctance to leave home behind.
• The Compass can no longer guide Ye Chuqi toward Kru Town: she has strayed far from her original route, and its green glow has disappeared. She will have to find a new way out, though her position near the forest’s outskirts should make escape manageable.
• Ye Chuqi reflects on her recent fighting. She has grown accustomed to wielding the Greatsword and can control its force, but her injuries still prevent her from projecting Sword Aura.
• Her encounters with beasts become less frequent. Having repeatedly beaten them for practice without killing them, she has inadvertently become a terrifying figure in local animal gossip. The weaker beasts flee, and Mid-Rank Magic Beasts begin appearing nearby, perhaps to challenge her and claim authority.

Character developments

• Ye Chuqi has gained confidence and precision with her Greatsword. Seeing powerful magic and Fighting Spirit has strengthened her ambition to display her own Sword Aura someday. A new insight has slightly eased her cultivation bottleneck despite her damaged Meridians and low Spiritual Energy.
• Big Black Fish reveals a practical, long-held plan to return to his former home. His eagerness to hide in Ye Chuqi’s storage afterward suggests he is attached to her company—or at least afraid of being left behind.
• San San teases Ye Chuqi about how frightening her “training” must be for the beasts.

Themes

• Growth through adversity: Ye Chuqi’s injuries and setbacks have not prevented mental and spiritual progress.
• Ambition and self-discovery: Witnessing the world’s combat arts inspires her to imagine a greater future for herself.
• Unintended consequences: Ye Chuqi means only to practice, but her treatment of the beasts spreads fear and disrupts the local order.
• Companionship and independence: Big Black Fish returns to his home but quickly chooses to stay close to Ye Chuqi.

Character interactions

• Ye Chuqi jokes that she might search Big Black Fish’s pool while he is unable to move; he immediately dives away, confirming her suspicion that he is fine.
• She later observes Big Black Fish’s lack of sadness at leaving home, while he clings to his puddle in her storage.
• San San playfully suggests that a single decisive blow might have made Ye Chuqi’s intentions clearer to the beasts—though their fear is already spreading.

• Plot and events: Ye Chuqi encounters and fights a rare fourth-rank Black-Skinned Pig. San San distracts her by talking about how tasty its meat is, but Chuqi defeats the beast with a blow to its forehead, a kick that topples it, and her sword pinning it down. Big Black Fish unexpectedly kills it with a swift cut from one of his fins, then returns carrying a long, living-looking vine.
• Character developments: Chuqi shows confidence and strength against a Mid-Rank Magic Beast, while her playful humor emerges when she teases Big Black Fish about taking the Beast Core. Big Black Fish is eager to prove useful, but panics at the thought that Chuqi might distrust him. His unusual evolution is becoming more apparent: he has awakened spatial power, and his fins are remarkably sharp.
• Interactions: San San jokes casually with Chuqi and translates Big Black Fish’s squeaks. Big Black Fish explains that he wants to help with the “dirty work,” and San San reassures him that Chuqi only meant to tease. Chuqi accepts his contribution and reflects on how much he has changed.
• Themes: The chapter highlights the growing trust and companionship between Chuqi and her companions, alongside the importance of loyalty and gratitude. It also contrasts Chuqi’s familiar, forceful combat style with Big Black Fish’s surprising abilities, hinting that his evolution—and the strange vine he brings back—may lead to further developments.

Key plot points and events

• Big Black Fish finds a rare, sentient Wood Vine and brings it to San San, hoping to win favor with both San San and Ye Chuqi. The vine attacks, but Ye Chuqi uses San San’s scan to locate its Crystal Core, subdue it, and transplant it into her space for San San to care for.
• Near the forest’s edge, Ye Chuqi senses something unusual. San San identifies a small Demon Beast about three li away, barely alive.
• Ye Chuqi finds a wounded white creature and considers whether a Red Sun Fruit could save it. San San detects traces of the Laws of Time and Space on its body, suggesting it may have traveled between worlds.
• Ye Chuqi offers it the fruit. The creature unexpectedly bites through her defenses and draws blood, though it also swallows the fruit.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi continues to indulge San San’s enthusiasm for unusual plants, while relying on its abilities to manage the Wood Vine and assess the injured beast. Her compassion leads her to risk helping the creature despite uncertainty—and despite being bitten.
• San San is delighted by the Wood Vine and helps locate its Crystal Core. It also shows caution and concern when it recognizes the strange traces on the wounded beast.
• Big Black Fish displays shrewdness, bringing San San something it wants in hopes of improving its own standing.
• The white Demon Beast appears helpless but retains enough strength to attack Ye Chuqi, leaving its motives and nature unclear.

Significant themes

• Care and responsibility: Ye Chuqi takes in the Wood Vine and tries to save the injured creature, while San San becomes responsible for tending the plant.
• Trust and self-interest: Big Black Fish’s gift is motivated partly by its desire to stay in favor.
• Mystery and interworld travel: The traces of Time and Space laws hint that the wounded beast may have crossed worlds, echoing earlier experiences in Ye Chuqi’s life.
• The limits of appearances: The nearly helpless creature is still capable of a forceful, unexpected bite.

Plot points and events

• The injured Demon Beast bites Ye Chuqi and accidentally swallows the Red Sun Fruit along with her blood.
• It uses an innate ability to create a Soul Contract with her. The bond shares its Source Power, healing and strengthening Ye Chuqi, but drains the already-wounded creature until it loses consciousness.
• San San recognizes the bond and feels jealous, since the newcomer seems to have entered its familiar place in Ye Chuqi’s life. Ye Chuqi reassures it that it remains irreplaceable.
• The Demon Beast wakes the next day. San San finds that its internal injuries are severe, despite the Red Sun Fruit and healing potion. Ye Chuqi has also been unable to repair her damaged meridians and is saving the Nine-Leaf Green Flower until she can consult Bai Fenghua.
• Once cleaned, the creature is revealed as a fluffy, two-tailed white fox—an unusual sight in this world. Ye Chuqi suspects it may come from her own Cultivation World.
• Having left the Lost Forest, Ye Chuqi settles in a quiet place. The fox opens its eyes after secretly observing her and sensing its surroundings.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi responds to the creature with immediate tenderness, cradling it and choosing to care for it herself. She is puzzled by the strange bond but remains cautious about using the rare Nine-Leaf Green Flower.
• The little Demon Beast forms a deep, one-sided Soul Contract that lets it find Ye Chuqi even across reincarnations. Though proud and sensitive, it is vulnerable and clings to her even while unconscious.
• San San reveals possessiveness and jealousy, especially because Ye Chuqi plans to look after the fox personally. It accepts her reassurance and reluctantly gives the newcomer a chance, while privately intending to establish its authority later.

Significant themes

• Connection and loyalty: The Soul Contract binds Ye Chuqi and the fox through shared life and power.
• Belonging and jealousy: San San’s reaction shows how new attachments can unsettle even longstanding bonds.
• Care and vulnerability: Ye Chuqi’s compassion toward the badly injured creature shapes their relationship from the outset.
• World-crossing and identity: The fox’s unusual traits raise the possibility that it, like Ye Chuqi, has ties to another world.

Chapter 88 Summary

• Ye Chuqi feeds and cares for the injured little fox. The two-tailed creature wakes beside her campfire, and Ye Chuqi offers it pork-bone soup. It eats with surprising elegance—and an enormous appetite—leaving little for Big Black Fish, who is still amusing himself in her space. Afterward, the fox curls up against her leg and falls asleep.
• Ye Chuqi grows attached. Its fluffy appearance tempts her to pet it, though she worries that she might frighten it away. San San jokes that she will probably name it “Little White,” a prediction Ye Chuqi privately admits may come true. She adds Wasteland Grass to the fire and prepares another medicinal decoction to help the fox recover.
• A party of Adventurers arrives. San San warns Ye Chuqi that four travelers are approaching the Lost Forest by a less-traveled route—a choice that suggests they are capable risk-takers. They keep a cautious distance and speak rather than approaching aggressively.
• Ye Chuqi declines their invitation. The Adventurers notice she is alone and invite her to join their party. She refuses, explaining that she has just come out of the forest. Their attention shifts to the herbal decoction she is brewing, and they ask whether she is a Potion Maker.

Character Developments and Interactions

Ye Chuqi shows both tenderness and practical caution: she feeds the fox, prepares medicine for it, and remains focused on her brewing despite the strangers’ arrival. Her playful attachment to the creature contrasts with her careful approach to the Adventurers. The fox appears trusting enough to sleep beside her, while San San teases her about its likely name and keeps watch for approaching danger. The Adventurers act cautiously and politely, testing whether Ye Chuqi might be a potential companion without forcing contact.

Significant Themes

The chapter emphasizes compassion and growing trust, as Ye Chuqi cares for a vulnerable creature that gradually settles close to her. It also highlights survival and risk in the Lost Forest: remote routes offer greater danger as well as better opportunities, and even a seemingly harmless lone traveler may have valuable skills. Finally, the contrast between Ye Chuqi’s warm meal and the Adventurers’ dry rations underscores how small comforts can affect people on a difficult journey.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi meets four members of the Bale Mercenary Corps, a reputable group ranked ninth on the continent. Their leader, Boris, identifies himself and offers to camp nearby and take the night watch.
• Mistaking Ye Chuqi for a self-taught Potion Maker, the mercenaries treat her with careful respect. Boris lends her a Magic Tent without making it seem like charity.
• Ye Chuqi reveals that she does not need the tent, then gives medicinal decoction to her sleeping Little White Fox. Boris is startled that he had not noticed the fox until then.
• The fox drinks the unpleasant medicine for its health, receives peanut brittle as a reward, and promptly falls asleep again.
• Boris’s attempt to build rapport turns toward a possible exchange. Ye Chuqi invites him to say what he wants, but makes clear that any trade must offer her something worthwhile.

Character developments

• Ye Chuqi appears gentle and harmless, having disguised her identity and distinctive features. Beneath that appearance, she is self-assured, practical, and alert to the value of her supplies. She lets the mercenaries misunderstand her medicinal work rather than explain it.
• Boris is considerate and cautious, especially because he believes Ye Chuqi is a Potion Maker. He tries to earn her trust but realizes that he is more interested in her goods than she is in what he can offer.
• The Little White Fox is shown as sleepy and picky, but willing to endure unpleasant medicine because it knows it will help. Its brief, ominous red-eyed look suggests it may be more perceptive or powerful than its cuddly appearance implies.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Ye Chuqi’s innocent disguise conceals her identity and capability; the fox’s cute appearance also masks something unusual.
• Trust and reputation: The Bale Corps’ standing helps Ye Chuqi judge whether the strangers may be safe to cooperate with.
• Practical exchange: Courtesy and goodwill matter, but Ye Chuqi approaches trade with clear attention to mutual value.
• Care and affection: Ye Chuqi’s treatment of the fox—medicine followed by a sweet reward—shows her fondness and protectiveness.

Character interactions

• Boris carefully offers Ye Chuqi shelter and protection, while she responds politely but maintains control of the encounter.
• Ye Chuqi’s affectionate handling of the fox distracts Boris and reveals a softer side of her.
• The fox accepts Ye Chuqi’s care, even when the medicine tastes foul, reinforcing their close bond.
• Boris and Ye Chuqi begin negotiating from unequal positions: he wants what she may have found, while she has no particular need for his goods.

Key plot points and events

• Boris clarifies that his group is open to trading, though they have limited funds. Ye Chuqi offers food instead of pursuing a specific deal.
• She gives Boris and his companions jerky, roasted meat, and unusually fresh, carefully preserved herbs useful for treating wounds and blood loss.
• Boris notices the herbs’ freshness. Before Ye Chuqi can explain, he assumes she has a special preservation method and politely decides not to ask.
• Ye Chuqi and San San discuss how anything taken directly from their space looks suspiciously fresh, whatever they do to it.
• The next morning, Boris’s group leaves for the Lost Forest. They are too shy to accept the nourishing meat porridge Ye Chuqi has prepared for them.
• Ye Chuqi gives the porridge to Little White Fox, explaining that its recovery calls for lighter food. The fox objects to the herbs and scarcity of meat, but reluctantly accepts it.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi is generous and practical: she offers supplies, shares food, and tries to build goodwill, while remaining wary of drawing attention to her unusual resources.
• Boris is friendly and tactful. He is impressed by Ye Chuqi’s supplies but avoids pressing her for explanations, preferring his own plausible assumptions.
• San San points out that the herbs’ freshness cannot easily be disguised, so it may be better to let others draw their own conclusions.
• Little White Fox remains demanding and adorable, while Ye Chuqi shows affection and restraint by feeding it food suited to its recovery.

Significant themes

• Generosity and trust: Ye Chuqi uses food and useful supplies to form a friendly connection rather than insisting on a profitable trade.
• Concealing extraordinary abilities: Her magical storage creates evidence of unusual resources, but Boris’s discretion helps preserve her privacy.
• Care and restraint: Ye Chuqi’s treatment of the fox shows that caring for someone sometimes means denying them what they want.

Plot points and events

• The Little White Fox’s appetite is poor, and it quickly falls asleep, showing that its internal injuries and depleted Mental Power are still serious. Ye Chuqi keeps its food light rather than risking its recovery.
• Ye Chuqi adjusts her route after learning she is far from the road to Monte City. She heads toward Liao Leaf Town to resupply, then plans to decide whether to travel to Orlan City or Monte City. Orlan’s teleportation route reaches the Imperial Capital but costs more.
• Along the way, she meets travelers heading to and from the Lost Forest and, three days later, reaches Liao Leaf Town, a settlement spread through the calming Liao Leaf Forest.
• At the town’s Beast Stable, Ye Chuqi notices that the Beast Companions are unusually relaxed. A stable attendant explains that the forest calms people and animals, and that the town attracts visitors seeking rest and relief from the harmful effects of using Beast Cores.

Character development and interactions

• Ye Chuqi is cautious and practical: she protects the fox’s recovery, reassesses her route, and gathers information before choosing her next destination.
• San San teases her as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and suggests she may be laying a trap; Ye Chuqi rejects the idea, while recognizing that San San often knows things it cannot explain.
• The fox remains dependent on Ye Chuqi, sleeping in her arms as she travels.
• Ye Chuqi chats amiably with the stable attendant, who takes an immediate liking to her and explains the town’s unusual atmosphere.

Significant themes

• Care and restraint: Ye Chuqi’s concern for the fox means resisting the temptation to feed it more heavily while it heals.
• Recovery and refuge: Liao Leaf Town’s calming forest offers a haven from stress and the irritability caused by Beast Core use.
• Adaptability: Ye Chuqi changes plans as circumstances shift, weighing convenience, cost, and safety.

Key plot points

• In Liao Leaf Town, Ye Chuqi learns that the town’s calming influence only temporarily soothes the berserk power affecting Demon Beasts and their companions; it does not remove it.
• The adventurer says that, according to legend, Reedleaf Elves may be able to drive berserk power out. Despite years of searching, nobody has confirmed that the elves exist.
• After paying the entry fee, Ye Chuqi takes the Little White Fox to the Adventurers’ Guild. She asks about traveling to Monte City or Orlan City and offers her skills in herbs and basic potions in exchange for joining a group going that way.
• The receptionist finds a suitable assistant position with an adventurer team accompanying a merchant caravan to Monte City. The group will not leave for at least a week because of the town’s annual festival, so Ye Chuqi accepts a recommendation letter and decides to attend.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows practical curiosity, asking whether berserk power can truly be cured rather than merely soothed. The adventurer is surprised by her pointed question and tells her about the Reedleaf Elf legend.
• Ye Chuqi is eager to travel and willing to work without demanding pay, provided she can share the journey. Her small stature causes comic trouble at the Guild counter, while San San laughs at her predicament.
• The receptionist treats Ye Chuqi gently at first, then recognizes her potential as a Potion Maker and helps arrange an interview.
• The Little White Fox is judged harmless by the guards, a description that prompts an amused, silent reaction from the fox. San San also hints at similarities between itself and elves, though it cannot explain the Heart of the Space Spirit.

Significant themes

• Treatment versus cure: Liao Leaf Town offers respite from berserk power but cannot eliminate its source.
• Legend and uncertainty: Reedleaf Elves may hold the answer, yet their existence remains unverified.
• Chance and opportunity: Ye Chuqi’s travel plans are delayed by the festival, which may bring her closer to the elf legend she has just heard about.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi eats at a tavern before heading to the address on her letter of introduction. A towering mercenary named Duwak stops her, having learned she is a Potion Maker.
• To test her, Duwak shows her a crushed plant. Ye Chuqi identifies it as the highly poisonous Ghost Gold Grass and warns him about handling it. Duwak reveals that he is with the Red Fang Mercenary Corps and takes her to meet the group.
• An elderly, accomplished Alchemist assesses Ye Chuqi by having her brew a medicinal decoction from a supplied recipe. Her work is competent though unremarkable, and the group hires her rather than risk losing a rare candidate.
• Ye Chuqi signs a contract with the Corps. She will assist the Alchemist, who is traveling with a merchant caravan to Monte City to save someone.

Character development and interactions

• Ye Chuqi stays composed when confronted by Duwak and cautious about following a stranger. Her practical knowledge of herbs earns her the chance to take the formal test, and her basic brewing ability secures the job.
• Duwak appears intimidating but is straightforward: he tests Ye Chuqi’s skills, identifies himself with his Corps badge, and explains the hiring process.
• The Alchemist is experienced but weakened by age. He needs an assistant for the journey and accepts Ye Chuqi’s adequate performance because Potion Makers are scarce.
• Their interactions are shaped by assessment and necessity: Duwak verifies Ye Chuqi’s knowledge, the Alchemist tests her technique, and the Corps offers her work under contract.

Significant themes

• Skill and opportunity: Even someone without credentials can advance when a rare, useful ability is needed.
• Pragmatism: The Corps cannot afford to be overly selective in a remote town, while Ye Chuqi judges the risks before accepting help.
• Duty and urgency: The Alchemist’s journey is driven by his mission to save someone in Monte City.

Plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi realizes that the old man is traveling to Monte City to treat an important poisoned figure; the Leaf Pearl needed for the cure is already in her storage space. The caravan’s immediate medical emergency, however, is separate: the caravan owner’s youngest son has been poisoned by Ghost Gold Grass.
• Ye Chuqi recognizes the plant despite its resemblance to an ordinary weed. Its sap gradually turns the victim’s body to metal, and although a cure exists, preparing and enduring it is difficult. The old man’s presence may have saved the boy’s life.
• Ye Chuqi prepares the boy’s daily medicine. Duwak wins the assignment to accompany her for safety.
• At Liao Leaf Town’s festival, Ye Chuqi learns about offerings left at an altar for the elusive Reedleaf Elves. According to Duwak, the gifts mysteriously return to their owners after the festival, except for a few chosen offerings whose givers receive a blessing.
• San San suggests that Ye Chuqi offer a Purified Beast Core, since Reedleaf Elves are said to purify violent energy.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi’s exceptional knowledge of herbs impresses the caravan, especially Duwak. Her curiosity also shows in her practical question about who receives the altar’s offerings.
• Duwak explains the town’s customs and sincerely believes the Reedleaf Elves still exist. He joins the offering line with a small, carefully wrapped gift, prompting Ye Chuqi’s amusement.
• Ye Chuqi’s skepticism softens when she hears the offerings return by mysterious means; the elves’ long absence makes their existence and fate uncertain.
• San San nudges Ye Chuqi to take part in the ritual and proposes a gift that connects with the elves’ reputed powers.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and responsibility: Ye Chuqi’s skill identifies a dangerous poison and helps protect a young life.
• Faith, tradition, and mystery: The festival sustains belief in the Reedleaf Elves despite their centuries-long absence.
• Sincerity and reciprocity: The offerings matter for the feelings behind them, while the ritual’s mysterious returns reinforce the town’s trust in its protectors.
• Purification and protection: The elves’ alleged ability to cleanse violent energy echoes the calming properties of Knotleaf Trees and the suggested Purified Beast Core.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi joins Duwak at the Liao Leaf Town festival’s offering ritual. He leaves the same cherished gift at the Altar every year, though the Reedleaf Elves have never accepted it.
• Ye Chuqi places a purified Beast Core inside the Altar’s veil of light. She senses something warm and curious brushing her hand, but leaves without making a wish.
• She and Duwak spend several days browsing the festival stalls and sampling food until Barnard orders Ye Chuqi back to work as the mercenary corps prepares to travel.
• Barnard initially doubts her herbal skills, but discovers that her decoctions are brewed with remarkable precision. He tests her with various tasks; she performs them reliably, though her knowledge seems unconventional and incomplete.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi remains pragmatic and curious: she joins the offering because she is already there, then treats the ritual matter-of-factly. She enjoys exploring with Duwak and proves highly capable at careful, precise work, despite lacking formal training.
• Duwak shows his enthusiasm for the festival and his familiarity with the town. His repeated offering reveals a sentimental, persistent side: he wants to share his favorite possession even after years of rejection. He and Ye Chuqi quickly become companions in exploring the stalls.
• Barnard shifts from cautious skepticism to respect for Ye Chuqi’s accuracy. He recognizes that she has practical ability but an odd, patchwork understanding of herbal medicine, and tries to guide her before their arrangement ends.

Significant themes

• Sincerity and persistence: Duwak’s annual gift matters to him for its meaning, not its chances of acceptance.
• Hidden ability and unconventional learning: Ye Chuqi’s precise results contrast with her limited, unsystematic knowledge.
• Curiosity and discovery: Ye Chuqi’s brief contact with the Altar hints at something mysterious about the Reedleaf Elves or the ritual.

Plot points and events

• After Barnard’s advice, Ye Chuqi continues prioritizing her identity as a Sword Cultivator. Her work as a Potion Maker has kept her from practicing, and she envies the Red Fang Mercenary Corps as they train.
• When the caravan departs, Ye Chuqi sees its young master: a frail boy whose gold-tinted skin and stiff movements indicate severe Ghost Gold Grass poisoning. Barnard has stopped the poison from worsening, but the standard antidote is painful and has brought little improvement. Ye Chuqi recognizes that the existing formula and preparation are sound; meaningful progress would require a better formula or substitute ingredients.
• San San privately asks whether she has an idea, hoping to draw her toward medicine. Ye Chuqi dismisses the thought and remains committed to sword cultivation.
• Ye Chuqi compares the modest Red Fang corps and caravan with the wealthy Red Wind group she previously encountered. She realizes that her own Portable Space, possessions, and Beast Companions may make her unusually rich.
• The caravan offers her a carriage ride, but she politely declines, saying she may ask for help if she cannot keep up. Duwak doubts she is as delicate as she looks, given her stamina and survival of the Lost Forest.
• The chapter closes by explaining the long-standing arrangement between the caravan and Red Fang: the corps guards its trading trips, while taking other jobs, gathering supplies, and sometimes investing in the trade route to supplement the modest escort fee.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi remains stubbornly devoted to sword cultivation, despite her evident medical knowledge and San San’s belief in her talent. She is perceptive about the young master’s illness and increasingly aware of her own unusual wealth, but keeps her abilities and background private.
• San San continues preparing in medical knowledge in case Ye Chuqi ever wants to study medicine, while repeatedly trying to encourage that change.
• Duwak recognizes that Ye Chuqi’s delicate appearance is misleading and privately questions the caravan’s assumption that she needs protection.
• Barnard has managed the young master’s condition as far as the standard treatment allows, though the treatment remains harsh and ineffective at producing further improvement.
• The caravan treats Ye Chuqi considerately because of her role preparing the young master’s medicine; she declines their offer of a ride without rejecting their kindness.

Significant themes

• Calling versus talent: Ye Chuqi’s medical aptitude conflicts with her firm choice to pursue sword cultivation.
• Appearance versus reality: Ye Chuqi looks fragile but may be capable and resourceful; the caravan’s apparent wealth is also modest compared with the exceptional rich.
• Limits of established knowledge: A correct treatment can still cause great suffering and fail to deliver progress when its formula or ingredients cannot be improved.
• Cooperation and economic necessity: The caravan and mercenary corps maintain a mutually beneficial partnership, supplementing a low escort fee through shared work and investment.

Key events

• The Red Fang Mercenary Corps is prospering along several trade routes. Duwak, having grown friendly with Ye Chuqi, asks whether she would consider joining, but she explains that she is headed to Monte City to see the Imperial Capital Academy.
• Ye Chuqi reflects on the different roles of adventurers and academy graduates: adventurers help keep the continent balanced, while many graduates join the Imperial Capital Legion and defend humanity at the Beast Abyss. She respects soldiers, though she disapproves of the academy’s extreme methods.
• The morning after the festival, Ye Chuqi finds a Purified Beast Core on her pillow. San San reveals that shy Reedleaf Elves visited during the night, returned the gift Ye Chuqi had offered, and left it beside her while singing and dancing. One elf even gives her a secret kiss.
• Duwak also receives his gift back, as he does every year. Ye Chuqi tells him hers was returned too, though it is actually an ordinary, unpurified Low-Rank Beast Core. San San explains that the returned gifts carry the elves’ faint but pure blessings.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows respect for the varied ways people serve the continent and curiosity about the academy. Her encounter with the elves brings out her amused, gentle side.
• Duwak remains warm and open with Ye Chuqi, inviting her to join the mercenaries. His yearly offering reveals his sincerity: he keeps giving the same gift despite its repeated return.
• San San acts as Ye Chuqi’s watchful companion and reveals the hidden visit through its ability to perceive the elves.
• The Reedleaf Elves are timid yet affectionate. Their careful return of the gifts, joyful celebration, and one elf’s kiss suggest they appreciate Ye Chuqi even as they send her offering back.

Significant themes

• Different paths of service: Adventurers and soldiers contribute to humanity’s safety in distinct ways.
• Sincerity over outcome: Duwak’s unchanged yearly gift matters because he offers it wholeheartedly, whether or not it is kept.
• Hidden wonder and blessing: The elves exist unseen alongside ordinary people, and even returned gifts can carry spiritual significance.

Chapter 98 Summary

• Key events: Ye Chuqi’s gifts from earlier encounters are noted as unusually valuable: she received a monster’s blessing and, most significantly, a Sprite’s blessing on her forehead. On the journey, she stays up each night preparing medicinal decoctions while the caravan travels by day. Though the work is demanding, she remains energetic thanks to her cultivation.
• Barnard, the elderly Alchemist, grows feverish and weak from the journey. Ye Chuqi prepares medicine for him as well as for young Joshua, and urges Barnard to take his bitter dose. He tries to change the subject by asking about Joshua, revealing how concerned he is for the boy.
• Ye Chuqi visits Joshua’s carriage with candied fruit, using Barnard’s concern to help encourage the boy to take his medicine. She tells caravan owner Aiton that Barnard needs a slower pace; Aiton agrees to prioritize his health. By morning, Barnard’s fever has nearly disappeared, though he remains exhausted.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Ye Chuqi proves dependable and compassionate, taking on exhausting work without complaint and caring for both Barnard and Joshua. Her playful humor softens her practical approach.
• Barnard is revealed as devoted to Joshua, worrying about him even while ill. Despite his expertise with medicine, he dislikes taking bitter remedies.
• Aiton appears genial but is also a capable, shrewd businessman. He cooperates readily when told Barnard’s health requires slowing the caravan.
• Ye Chuqi acts as a link between Barnard and Joshua, while Aiton’s patient efforts to persuade his son show his affection and concern.

Significant Themes

The chapter emphasizes duty and care, especially Ye Chuqi’s willingness to support others, and the vulnerability of age and illness during a difficult journey. Its lighter humor—centered on Barnard’s and Joshua’s dislike of bitter medicine—balances the strain of their circumstances.

Key events

• Ye Chuqi persuades the frail, inactive Barnard to leave the carriage by hinting that she can explain how her medicinal food helped him.
• Barnard eats her herbal porridge despite disliking its bitterness. As with the decoction he drank the night before, it restores some energy and leaves him feeling markedly better.
• Ye Chuqi has secretly added diluted Spirit Spring to the food. She never actually promised to explain the effect, and playfully points out that Barnard merely assumed she had.
• Before the caravan departs, Ye Chuqi insists Barnard walk outside and encourages him to advise the Mercenary Corps on gathering herbs. Though exasperated, he recognizes she is trying to care for him.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi uses teasing, ingenuity, and firm hands-on encouragement to counter Barnard’s stubborn habit of staying indoors. Her playful deception is motivated by concern for his health.
• Barnard remains curious and irritable, but his improved energy and Ye Chuqi’s persistence get him moving. He recalls that others once tried—and eventually stopped trying—to persuade him to take care of himself.
• Their relationship has a comic reversal: Barnard used to lecture Ye Chuqi about Alchemy; now she lectures and manages him. Little White Fox also grimaces at the medicinal porridge but finishes its portion.

Significant themes

• Caring for someone can require persistence and practical intervention, especially when they refuse help.
• Knowledge and healing are not always easily explained: Barnard, despite his extensive experience with herbs, cannot identify what makes Ye Chuqi’s remedies so effective.
• The scene balances affection and humor, showing concern expressed through teasing rather than solemn advice.

Key plot points and events

• Aiton worries about Barnard walking instead of riding, since the old man’s health is vital to the mercenary mission. Duwak reassures him that Ye Chuqi knows what she is doing and encourages him to get Joshua outside, too.
• Ye Chuqi has Barnard walk only briefly after his medicinal porridge. He feels tired but also unexpectedly energized, yet she sends him back to the carriage and later withholds medicine at lunch. His resulting discomfort—and his vigorous protest—amuses the mercenaries.
• At dinner, Ye Chuqi gives medicine to both Barnard and Joshua, adding restorative herbs and Spirit Spring water to Barnard’s soup.
• That night, Joshua secretly leaves the carriage to practice walking. When his stiff, weakened body gives way, Ye Chuqi catches him. He recognizes the life-giving sensation he felt from her touch and asks her to explain it.
• Ye Chuqi examines his pulse and realizes his poisoned condition seems to be worsening rather than stabilizing. She asks San San whether her decoction could be responsible.

Character developments

• Barnard gains enough strength from Ye Chuqi’s treatment to walk and becomes eager to keep moving, though he does not yet understand that she has been managing his activity and teasing him.
• Joshua shows initiative and determination by secretly attempting to walk despite his stiffness and weakness. He also begins to trust Ye Chuqi after experiencing her power firsthand.
• Ye Chuqi remains practical and firm, balancing treatment with careful limits. Her concern rises when Joshua’s condition appears to deteriorate.

Significant themes

• Recovery through patience and discipline: Barnard’s brief walk and Joshua’s effort to move suggest that progress requires activity, but at a pace suited to each person.
• Hidden vulnerability and courage: Joshua has kept himself isolated, yet privately pushes himself to improve.
• Healing and uncertainty: Ye Chuqi’s treatment helps Barnard, but Joshua’s worsening symptoms raise doubts about the poison and the remedy.

Character interactions

• Duwak reassures Aiton and gently suggests that Joshua needs to come out of his carriage.
• Ye Chuqi directs Barnard’s treatment, while his growing energy leads to a comical disagreement when she makes him stop walking.
• Ye Chuqi catches Joshua, examines him, and insists he stay still; Joshua responds with curiosity and clutches her sleeve to keep her from leaving.
• Ye Chuqi consults San San internally about why Joshua’s poison seems to be worsening.