Chapter 9: Chapter 9

She placed her hand on a tree, closed her eyes, and felt the natural energy within. Finally, she scooped up some water and poured it around the roots.

The trees by the lake certainly didn’t lack water, but the benefit was in the drops of the Spring of Restoration she’d added. The amount was small, so the effect wasn’t obvious—just enough not to attract attention.

“Luoluo, look! What’s she doing?”

Cheng Wei had just gotten up and saw Mu Ying standing motionless in front of a tree, a few sparrows perched on her shoulders.

Liu Luoluo glanced over and looked away. “Who knows? If you want to know, go ask her yourself.”

“Fine, I will!” Cheng Wei huffed, slamming the door as she left. Liu Luoluo had been snarky ever since they got back yesterday—why take it out on her just because Mu Ying wouldn’t let her move in?

As Cheng Wei approached, the sparrows on Mu Ying’s shoulders all turned to stare at her, their beady black eyes fixed intently.

“What’s with these sparrows? Aren’t they afraid of people?”

The closer she got, the largest sparrow gently pecked Mu Ying’s shoulder.

Mu Ying snapped out of her communion with nature. These sparrows had been drawn by the water in her bucket, and were unusually bold, not afraid of people at all.

A thought struck her, and she used her Wild Affinity to persuade them to keep watch while she meditated, offering them water laced with spring water as payment.

After taking turns drinking from Mu Ying’s palm, the sparrows flew off under the lead of their mother.

“Are these sparrows spirits or something?” Cheng Wei was stunned.

“Huh? No, it’s just that I’m a druid, so I’m closer to nature. That’s why they act like this.” In truth, it had taken Mu Ying quite a bit of effort to reach an understanding with them.

Cheng Wei looked at Mu Ying’s class with envy. “I didn’t even see druid as an option when I picked my class. You said druids can heal too—is it like a priest…? Hey, what’s moving in your pocket?”

Mu Ying reached into her pocket and pulled out a restless ball of fluff. “This is my animal companion.”

“A panda?” Cheng Wei’s envy was practically overflowing. She quietly tucked her own magical pet—a slippery toad, commonly known as a bullfrog—deeper into her pocket.

“Yeah, but it’s still too little. All it does is eat and sleep, not much help yet.” Mu Ying stroked Gun Gun’s fur.

Creak—

Mu Ying and Cheng Wei turned at the sound. The door of Treehouse No. 1 slowly opened, and out shuffled an old man in a tattered, earth-colored robe tangled with plant roots and stems. His hair was white, and he was hunched over.

He placed a seed by the wall, tapped it with his finger, and lush green vines flowed out like water, intertwining to form a sign: “Oak General Store.”

The old man stepped back, looked at the sign, nodded in satisfaction, and went back inside.

“So he’s the store owner? An NPC?” Cheng Wei muttered. “He looks more like a vagrant.”

“Probably,” Mu Ying thought, impressed by the old man’s display.

By now, the others from Treehouse No. 3 had come out as well. Li Wei was the most enthusiastic—he was a seasoned gamer and figured the store owner might have a quest.

“Is this treehouse really that big inside?” That was everyone’s first impression upon entering.

The treehouses they’d rented were only as large as they looked from the outside, but this one was several times bigger.

Only Mu Ying realized that all the treehouses were actually the same size—this one had definitely been magically expanded. Just the counter and shelves took up as much space as a normal treehouse, not to mention the small lounge area and another room in the back that couldn’t be seen clearly.

The whole place was filled with a vibrant, natural atmosphere, with lush plants everywhere.

The old man was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a black bird was running the shop. It wore a colorful little vest and a gemstone ring on its claw. When it saw people come in, it hopped off the cushion on the counter and pointed at a small blackboard with its wing.

“Welcome to Oak General Store. I’m the clerk, Wu Yaya. To buy adventure supplies, please check the product list at the counter. To sell plant seeds or seedlings, please see Old Man Xiao Mu in the back.”

“The crow can talk!” Xu Shan, at the front, exclaimed in surprise.

Wu Yaya shot him a sideways glance and said sarcastically, “How strange! People can talk too! And for your information, sharp-eyed customer, I’m a raven, not a crow.”

Xu Shan scratched his head awkwardly, realizing he’d been rude.

“Hello, Mr. Wu. Is there anything we can help you with?” Li Wei asked confidently—the universal line for picking up quests.

“Help?” Wu Yaya’s eyes darted around, and he sniffled dramatically. “Old Man Xiao Mu is so heartless. Poor me, a juvenile raven, always hungry and cold, forced to work for a living. So, could you help by spending all the money in your pockets here?”

“…” Xu Shan was silent for a moment. Maybe this animal NPC needed money to increase favorability—sometimes you have to give to get. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out a copper coin. “Here, take this and buy yourself something to eat.”

“That’s all you’ve got?” Wu Yaya looked at Li Wei with pity. This guy was even poorer than he was.

Li Wei figured maybe the NPC needed more money to trigger a quest. He turned to the others. “Anyone else have money? Maybe if we pool it, we’ll get a good quest.”

“Forget it, we don’t have much copper left. Besides, I don’t think this raven—uh, raven, not crow—acts like a typical NPC. Wouldn’t surprise me if it was a real person,” Xu Shan said hesitantly.

Wu Yaya took a deep breath, reminding himself that it was the first day of business and he needed to make a good impression. The apocalypse game had only been online for two days—these country bumpkins were poor and inexperienced, that was normal.

He patted his chest several times to suppress the urge to kick them out, then impatiently flipped open the product catalog. “Take a look yourself.”

A few copper coins could only buy some trivial odds and ends, which didn’t interest Li Wei. Still, he was determined to increase the NPC’s favorability. “This is my only copper coin. I’ll give it to you. Can we be friends?”

“Thanks, but I, Wu Yaya, am a hardworking employee—I only make friends with gold coins, not beggars, okay?” Wu Yaya eyed Li Wei suspiciously.

Was this guy right in the head? Even if he’d put on a pitiful act, with the beautiful gemstone ring on his claw and the fine silk vest, did he really look like he needed a few copper coins? If he dropped them on the floor, he wouldn’t even bother to pick them up.

Li Wei’s face turned red and white by turns, clutching his copper coin. Damn crow, so rude—he was going to leave a bad review!

Cheng Wei tugged at Li Wei’s sleeve, signaling him to let it go. “Mr. Wu Yaya, your ring is beautiful—is that a ruby? I have a piece of jade here. Does your store buy it?”

She took out a jade Guanyin pendant from her pocket and placed it on the counter. The pendant was of excellent quality—she’d picked it up from a classmate, and she remembered it was worth at least as much as Wu Yaya’s ruby.

Wu Yaya poked at it with his claw, then said disdainfully, “What jade? It’s lifeless inside, no energy at all—might as well be a rock. We don’t buy that! Look at mine—now this is a magic gem rich in fire element.” He proudly lifted his foot.

Mu Ying leaned over to look at the product catalog. “Flour, 1 copper per pound; candles, 1 copper each; torches, 1 copper each; black bread, 2 copper per loaf; … oil lamp, 10 copper each; basic meal, 10 copper per serving…”

It was all basic supplies—things you could find substitutes for elsewhere, so it didn’t seem worth spending money here. But the information about buying plant seeds was interesting to her.

She didn’t have anything to sell right now, though—maybe next time."

"Since there was nothing she could buy, Mu Ying quickly lost interest in the shop. She left first, returning to her own treehouse to continue studying spells.

She needed to gain some means of self-defense as soon as possible.

Yesterday, she had already learned two cantrips (0-level spells). Today, she planned to try a 1st-level spell.

There were fewer than twenty 1st-level spells to choose from, including attack and healing spells, but most were support-type spells.

Right now, Mu Ying urgently needed to improve her combat ability, so offensive spells were her top priority.

There were three attack spells, each with its own focus: Oak Club was suited for close combat, while Thorn Whip and Firebolt were better for ranged attacks—though the latter wasn’t suitable for the forest environment.

After careful consideration, Mu Ying decided to learn Oak Club first.