After seeing Chifeng off, Gu Xiaomai stared at the transplanted mint plant wrapped with a strip of cloth.
It had been quite a while already. Why hadn’t she heard its thoughts?
Was the special liquid ineffective on it?
Or did this mint plant simply not have any thoughts?
Or perhaps plants didn’t have inner voices at all?
…
The next day, just after Gu Xiaomai finished a round of Tai Chi, Chifeng came rushing over excitedly.
“Gui—gui—” Woman, I’m here! Let’s trade!
“There’s no rush. Let me practice Tai Chi five more times first.”
Gu Xiaomai began another form.
“Gui—gui—” I’m in a rush! A huge rush!
Seeing her leisurely practicing, Chifeng was so anxious it practically wanted to stomp its feet. It had been looking forward to this all night!
No matter how agitated it became, Gu Xiaomai calmly completed six full rounds of Tai Chi.
She still wasn’t sure whether the appearance of the special liquid had anything to do with the number of times she practiced.
Realizing that no amount of impatience would make Gu Xiaomai give it the delicious water first, Chifeng finally settled down and stood nearby watching.
The moment Gu Xiaomai finished, it immediately hopped in front of her.
“Gui—gui—” Well? Well? Can I drink the tasty water now?
Gu Xiaomai brushed it off.
“Quiet! I’m about to activate my technique. Wait for my signal.”
After speaking, she closed her eyes and carefully sensed the changes within her body once again.
Chifeng also quieted down.
Soon, its gaze on her fingertip became increasingly fervent.
When Gu Xiaomai finally opened her eyes, it cried out excitedly:
“Gui—gui—” Quick! I want to drink it!
It immediately lunged toward her fingertip.
After observing today’s special liquid and finding it no different from the previous two days, Gu Xiaomai flicked the droplet directly toward Chifeng.
“Gui—!”
Ah! So comfortable!
The cry was filled with pure delight.
“Shouldn’t you hand over the tasty plant you promised in exchange now?”
Chifeng shook a small pouch off its back and signaled for her to open it.
Gu Xiaomai reached inside and pulled out…
A pea sprout?
Looking closely, it really was a pea sprout.
Chifeng had apparently used too much force when pulling it out, snapping it off at the root.
[The leaves and pods of this plant are both delicious. I really like it.]
[This woman should like it too, right?]
Seeing that Gu Xiaomai didn’t look particularly happy, Chifeng became a little nervous.
Afterward, it thought shamelessly:
[Even if she doesn’t like it, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already drunk the tasty water. It’s not like I can spit it back out.]
Gu Xiaomai paused while rummaging through the pouch.
This rascal chicken!
A single rootless pea sprout, and it wanted to exchange that for her precious, rare special liquid?
What a loss!
A huge loss!
Next time, she’d inspect the goods before handing over the special liquid!
Continuing to search the pouch, she pulled out ten bright red March berries.
When fully ripe, March berries turned this vivid scarlet color. They were rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other nutrients, making them highly beneficial to human health.
Gu Xiaomai’s mood instantly improved.
These must have been the delicious fruits Chifeng had mentioned as thanks for helping choose its name.
She carefully set the ten berries aside and then felt around in the pouch again.
This time she pulled out something the size of a fingernail that looked remarkably like a diamond.
She had no idea what it was.
Pointing at the crystal-like object, she asked, “What’s this?”
[This woman is so ignorant! It’s a healing stone!]
[Back when I got injured in fights, Mama White Rabbit always had me lie on this kind of stone. After sleeping on it a few times, I’d recover.]
[If this weren’t the smallest stone in my collection, I wouldn’t have been willing to give it to her as an apology gift.]
[Sigh, whatever. I still have others. I’ll just consider this one charity.]
“Gui—gui—” This is compensation for scaring you yesterday. It’s a stone that can heal injuries.
“Mm. I’ll accept it. We’re even now.”
Gu Xiaomai answered calmly.
In reality, her heart was anything but calm.
She suspected this might be the special energy stone Jiang Chen’an and Yumi had mentioned before.
The original owner of her body had been sentenced to labor reform on a land-reclamation team for stealing one of these incredibly rare stones.
Neither Jiang Chen’an nor Yumi had ever seen one in person, but there was one thing everyone knew:
Special energy stones could rapidly heal wounds.
Whether it truly was one or not, Gu Xiaomai carefully stored the stone away.
Even if it wasn’t a special energy stone, any stone capable of healing injuries was extraordinary.
“These March berries are your thank-you gift for helping name you yesterday?”
“Gui—”
Yep.
Chifeng nodded.
[Lots of little animals like eating these fruits. I specially picked them this morning.]
Gu Xiaomai handed one to it.
“Here, have one. Where can these fruits be found? Are they easy to pick?”
Chifeng pecked up the fruit and swallowed it.
“Gui—gui—” Very far from here. You have to cross one mountain, then another.
“Gui—gui—” Woman, are you thinking about going there?
“Gui—gui—” Forget it. There are lots of very fierce animals there…
Seeing Chifeng chattering nonstop without any unusual reaction, Gu Xiaomai finally relaxed.
She held the remaining berries over the transplanted mint plant and rinsed them with drinking water.
Her mouth immediately filled with saliva.
A moment later, she popped one into her mouth.
Sweet and tart, bursting with juice.
Delicious!
After more than a month, she was finally eating fruit again.
Remembering Jiang Chen’an’s claim that the more purified organisms one consumed, the easier it was to awaken supernatural abilities, Gu Xiaomai ate the remaining nine berries one after another while carefully monitoring her body’s reactions.
Nothing happened.
She wasn’t disappointed.
They were only nine tiny berries. It was perfectly normal to see no changes.
She could simply eat more in the future.
“The remaining plant—is this what you’re trading for today’s tasty water?”
“Gui—”
Yep.
Chifeng nodded again.
“Then you’re taking advantage of me.”
“The tasty water I give you is extremely precious and rare. Have you ever seen it anywhere else besides with me?”
“You can find more pea sprouts just by looking around a bit. The value of these things isn’t equal at all.”
“Right now, it’s a seller’s market. You should understand that I don’t have to trade with you.”
“You’re the one who kept pestering me for this exchange.”
“…”
“But this time, we’ll let it slide. If next time all you bring is one tasty plant, I won’t trade with you anymore. Got it?”
Dizzy from Gu Xiaomai’s reasoning, Chifeng finally relaxed when it heard her say she’d let it slide this time.
Then her next sentence made all its feathers stand on end.
“At that point, even if you’ve already drunk the tasty water and can’t spit it back out, I can still slaughter a phoenix and eat phoenix meat.”
“I’ve lived this long and never tasted phoenix before.”
“Gui—gui—” You woman, don’t even think about it!
After a lengthy back-and-forth, the human and the bird finally negotiated the quantity of purified fruits required for the next exchange and settled on a trading schedule.
“My cultivation technique still has a tiny bit of room for improvement right now.”
“Come find me again after you’ve counted through all four toes on your claws once.”