When Mu Wanwan heard her words, she fell silent for a second. Thinking of the thin little chirp at home that acted cute and rolled around, she said, “It was alright. Quite fresh.”
“Exactly, especially fresh. But after all, it’s still a mortal creature. Eating it leaves behind quite a lot of impurities, so it’s only suitable to eat occasionally,” Hongye said. Then, sounding a little excited, she added, “Madam, after I finished plucking the mountain sparrow feathers yesterday, I sent a few to Steward Chen near the forbidden land. Guess who I saw?”
Mu Wanwan frowned slightly. “Bai Shuiyao?”
“Haha, yes, her.” Hongye laughed, looking very pleased at someone else’s misfortune. “Where was the arrogance she had back when she followed my brother? When I went there yesterday, she was watering the vegetable garden, dressed in coarse clothes, all dusty and dishevelled.”
“I think whatever treasure she claimed to have back then was probably a lie.”
Mu Wanwan listened to Hongye’s words but did not respond. She guessed that Mu Shan might have given Bai Shuiyao some treasures, but they definitely would not be very high-level. Otherwise, with Bai Shuiyao’s personality, she should already have turned things around by now. However, her greatest reliance was not whatever treasure Father Mu had given her, but the golden finger she possessed as the female lead.
Mu Wanwan felt somewhat relieved that Bai Shuiyao had now been punished and sent to the side hall near the forbidden land, where there were only women. That Steward Chen also seemed to have a ruthless personality and kept her firmly suppressed. After all, as long as there were men around, Bai Shuiyao would have room to display the halo of an erotic novel’s heroine.
Seeing that Mu Wanwan did not speak, Hongye thought she was not interested in this topic and stopped continuing. The two reached the elf market in silence and separated as usual.
After agreeing on the time to return, Mu Wanwan carried the basket on her back, paid the entry fee, and entered the market.
She had not set out particularly early tonight, and by the time she arrived at the market, quite a few people were already there.
After thinking for a moment, Mu Wanwan still decided to find a place with decent foot traffic and sell the vegetables first. But there were many people today. She searched quite a few places along the way and could not find an empty spot.
Mu Wanwan sighed and decided to forget it. She would just give all the vegetables to Uncle Zong to eat.
Following the scent of various foods, she walked toward the alley where there were fewer people.
When Mu Wanwan reached the front of his shop, she saw that the shop door was half open. She could faintly hear arguing from inside.
“Brother, why are you so stubborn?”
“When did it become your turn to meddle in my affairs?”
Mu Wanwan accidentally overheard a couple of sentences and felt that she had probably come at a bad time. She turned around and wanted to leave, planning to come back later.
But she had only taken a few steps when a tall, broad, angry-looking beastman slammed the shop door and stormed out. He looked about thirty percent similar to Uncle Zong, only younger. There were also three beast markings on his forehead. When he passed Mu Wanwan, he even glared fiercely at her.
Mu Wanwan pretended that she was only passing by and did not go directly to Uncle Zong’s shop. Only after the beastman had gone far away did she turn back and knock on Uncle Zong’s shop door.
“Get lost. We’re closed today.”
Uncle Zong was clearly also furious. His head was lowered as though he was thinking about something. His face was full of murderous energy, and he looked distracted and dispirited. Without even checking who it was, he threw out a “get lost.”
Mu Wanwan was a little speechless. She thought that Uncle Zong only dared to be this fierce because he was close to fourth rank and was considered fairly strong among the elves. Feeling somewhat helpless, she said, “Uncle Zong, it’s me.”
As soon as her voice sounded, Uncle Zong froze. Then he lifted his head with quite a bit of delight. “It’s you!”
Mu Wanwan put down the basket. “Uncle Zong, you didn’t forget me, did you?”
Uncle Zong muttered twice, “You finally came. You finally came.”
Mu Wanwan felt that his excitement was a little off. Through the veiled hat, she watched this beastman shoot to his feet and stare at her with eyes almost bloodshot. “Did you bring Blue Star Grass fruit?”
Mu Wanwan did not know what had happened to him, but she did not hesitate. She directly took out the Spatial pouch and placed the Blue Star Grass and Hundred Treasures Fruit she had organised last night onto the table in front of Uncle Zong.
Uncle Zong could not hide his joy. He grabbed a handful of Blue Star Grass and Hundred Treasures Fruit, gave her a deep look, then immediately lifted the cloth curtain and left.
Mu Wanwan was not stupid. She could more or less guess a little—
Had Yun’er’s health worsened again these past few days? That beastman just now was Uncle Zong’s younger brother. Judging from the content of their argument, most likely Uncle Zong had done something for Yun’er recently, causing his younger brother to be unable to stand it anymore.
Mu Wanwan sighed inwardly. Uncle Zong really was a deeply devoted beastman. Compared with the original body’s scumbag father, he was simply heaven to earth. Back when Mr. Dragon was defeated and the Mu residence was implicated, Mu Shan had decisively treated both of his daughters as abandoned pieces in order to pledge loyalty to Ao Qin.
Although Bai Shuiyao had always said how much Mu Shan loved her, that was only compared with Mu Wanwan. The person Mu Shan loved most was still himself. Having him go all out for a loved one like Uncle Zong was impossible.
This was not Mu Wanwan’s first time at Uncle Zong’s place. She guessed that the wait this time would be rather long, so she found a stool placed near the front and sat down, beginning to observe the spiritual plants and seeds on the two rows of shelves.
She thought she would first look at the seeds on Uncle Zong’s side so she would not need to spend too much time later.
Mu Wanwan had already thought it through. When she returned this time, the temperature would probably drop. There was also a fluffy chirp in the bedroom, so she definitely had to buy warming stones, as well as thick clothes. The clothes she was currently wearing were already a little cold. Actually, she also wanted to raise some spirit chicks or something similar.
Her gaze swept over the wooden shelves in Uncle Zong’s shop. Mu Wanwan was a little surprised to discover that most of the compartments that had still been full last time were now empty. The remaining compartments contained only some less valuable plants. On the seed side, there were still some things like Burning Grass, which was not even first rank, but not much remained either.
Had everything been sold?
Mu Wanwan secretly guessed. After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, Uncle Zong finally came out from behind the cloth curtain as if a heavy burden had been lifted. Mu Wanwan had not noticed earlier, but the corners of his eyes were dark and a little red, making it clear he was exhausted.
“You really helped me greatly this time.” Uncle Zong’s voice was a little hoarse. “Thank you.”
Mu Wanwan waved her hand. “Uncle Zong, you’re too polite.”
“Sigh.” Uncle Zong sighed. This strong beastman now looked utterly helpless and dejected. He stepped forward, closed the shop door, and said softly, “When you came, did you see a beastman leaving?”
Mu Wanwan nodded. “Mm.”
Uncle Zong smiled bitterly. “I won’t hide it from you.”
“He’s my younger brother. He came this time to persuade me to give up on Yun’er.” Uncle Zong clenched his fists. “After you left last time, the Blue Star Grass fruits you left behind were very effective. She stayed awake longer, and even the beast markings on her back, which had almost disappeared, showed some improvement. At first, I thought Yun’er was about to recover.”
Hatred flashed through Uncle Zong’s eyes. “But who would have known? That curse back then, that damned witch clan!”
The beast markings on Uncle Zong’s forehead appeared and disappeared, his veins bulging. “I originally thought—I originally thought he was just an ordinary fourth-rank witch clansman, and that the curse would at most drain Yun’er’s talent once. Who knew I had underestimated the viciousness of that curse, and also underestimated the rank of that witch clansman? The day after Yun’er’s beast markings recovered a trace of vitality, her talent was drained dry again.”
Mu Wanwan listened with fear in her heart and could not help saying, “How could there be such a curse?”
Uncle Zong seemed to have aged a great deal. “It’s all my fault. All my fault. I knew she wanted a child. But two very powerful beastmen have great difficulty conceiving offspring. After several decades passed, I thought she had already given up. I felt that not having children was nothing…”
As Uncle Zong spoke, he could no longer continue. But Mu Wanwan had already combined this with the curse mentioned earlier and guessed what he wanted to express—
Yun’er had been deceived by the witch clan because she wanted a child and had fallen under a curse.
“After the spiritual plants you gave me a few days ago were used up, she began suffering again. I almost sold off all my family wealth just to help her hold on until now.” Uncle Zong wiped his face. “It’s also my fault. How could I have known my younger brother had always been thinking that since I had no children, he could inherit the wealth I had spent so many years risking my life to build?”
Uncle Zong gave a mocking laugh. “Now that he saw me frequently entering and leaving the auction house these past few days, he got anxious and came to argue with me.”
Mu Wanwan frowned slightly. “Is Aunt Yun’er better now?”
Uncle Zong calmed down a little and said, “She’s better. The spiritual plants you cultivate are very effective. They even seem to reduce the effects of the curse. She ate a little just now and woke up.”
Mu Wanwan looked at Uncle Zong. She felt a lot of sympathy, but there was not much she could do. Her current ability was limited; she could only cultivate as many spiritual plants as possible. After all, Uncle Zong’s situation was somewhat similar to hers.
Thinking about it, if Mr. Dragon were about to die, she definitely would not be able to stand by and do nothing either. She would probably risk everything to help him.
At this thought, Mu Wanwan became a little anxious again. Uncle Zong was a powerful beastman at third rank approaching fourth, and after so many years of risking his life, he had accumulated quite a few treasures. That was why he could help his loved one when something happened to her. But she currently had nothing. If anything unexpected happened to Mr. Dragon, she would probably only be able to stare helplessly.
Thinking of this, Mu Wanwan could not help sighing too, which eased the atmosphere a little.
Uncle Zong smiled. “Sigh! I told you so much because I also want you to cultivate more spiritual plants in the future. From what I see, you seem to have advanced, right?”
Mu Wanwan knew she could not hide it from Uncle Zong and did not conceal it. “Uncle Zong, I came this time precisely because I wanted to discuss getting some second-rank seeds from you.”
Uncle Zong nodded. “For nourishing the body, second-rank Hundred Treasures Fruit and Blue Star Grass are still better.”
He did not hesitate. He also knew Mu Wanwan’s difficulties. He took two bags of seeds and handed them to her. After thinking for a moment, he took out four mid-grade spirit stones and more than ten low-grade spirit stones from his Spatial pouch and handed them over as well.
Mu Wanwan was a little stunned and hurriedly waved her hand. “Uncle Zong, you’re giving too much.”
The rough lion beastman laughed instead. “Spiritual fruits like yours, which can reduce the effects of a curse when eaten, are very rare on this continent. Since you’re willing to keep selling them to me, I’m the one taking advantage of you.”
Uncle Zong’s brown eyes looked at her. “The spiritual fruits you brought this time are far more important to me than this money.”
Author’s note:
Mr. Dragon: “I had no scenes this chapter and only lived in Wanwan’s mind, yet somehow it’s damn sweet.”
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