Chapter 75: Chapter 75

Now, the natural energy on the surface of each plant was crystal clear in her vision. After staring for a while, she quickly identified two target plants—her efficiency had soared.

Mu Ying checked her status panel suspiciously, but there didn’t seem to be any major changes.

Only belatedly did she realize—hadn’t she been learning spells at a startling speed these past two days?

The spells Frost Metal and Scorching Metal were somewhat similar, but she’d learned both in the time it usually took to master a single Tier 2 spell. Wasn’t that a bit too fast?

In the end, Mu Ying could only attribute these changes to her racial transformation—both elves and green witches were races attuned to the power of nature.

Maybe, in the eyes of Father Nature, she’d gone from being a somewhat favored foster daughter to a true beloved daughter?

Whatever the case, it was a good thing.

She walked up to the nearest target plant—a small tree about twice her height, bearing green fruit.

“Oil-tea camellia, a small tree. Bears spherical oil fruits. When ripe, the skin is hard and brown, containing amber-colored oil inside. Applying it to metal weapons helps maintain them. Not recommended for consumption—it causes diarrhea.”

This was also a mutated plant. The seeds of regular oil-tea camellia could indeed be pressed for oil, edible or used as industrial lubricant, but the oil content was never this high.

Mu Ying picked one of the oil fruits and broke it open. A thick layer of milky white flesh wrapped around a pale yellow seed. She pressed it between her fingers; though not fully ripe, the flesh already felt sticky.

She used her Claw of Recompense to harvest three ripe oil fruits.

The ripe fruits had a hard shell. Mu Ying split them open with her sword, revealing a lump of amber, jelly-like oil inside. She dug out the seeds to save, and stored the remaining oil in a small white porcelain jar.

Now that she was someone who used swords, this all-natural oil might come in handy. She wondered how it compared to the maintenance oil sold at weapon shops.

This was also a plant she’d never sensed before, and the unfamiliar form of natural energy granted her 3 points of professional experience.

The other target plant wasn’t a mutated one, but a wild grapevine with cracked bark.

It wasn’t in great shape. The tree it clung to was thick, and it must have had a growth spurt during the rain.

The grapevine couldn’t keep up and had split open.

Mu Ying helped loosen it, smoothing out its interrupted flow of natural energy, and watered it with some Spring of Restoration to revive it, gaining 5 points of professional experience.

She walked and observed as she went, occasionally collecting seeds and plant products.

[Through your continued protection of nature, your Claw of Recompense has been upgraded. You can now harvest materials from ordinary animals without harming them.]

[The improvement of your Claw of Recompense has drawn the attention of Nature. Your Wild Recognition skill has upgraded to Wild Affinity.]

[Wild Affinity: Druids who have received Nature’s attention are more likely to gain the favor of animals. Ordinary animals will feel friendly toward you.]

Her hunting plans were dead before they even started.

The effect description for the Claw of Recompense on the Nature Bracelet hadn’t actually changed. She could finally fulfill the “harvest materials from plants and animals” part—now including “animals.”

And Nature’s attention? What did that mean? The treatment of a true daughter?

She looked at the Wild Affinity effect and understood.

Of course, there were gains and losses. Her hunting plans had fizzled out before they began, and the battle she’d been looking forward to never materialized.

It really wasn’t her fault.

A sika deer strolled gracefully past her, a big-tailed squirrel tossed her a stash of hidden nuts, and a long-tailed pheasant flapped its wings overhead, none of them seeming the least bit afraid she might harm them.

Even the big wild boar, scratching its back against a tree with its piglets, didn’t charge at her when it spotted her from afar.

Mu Ying walked right up to the wild boar and all she got was a grunt.

The piglets enthusiastically nuzzled around her legs, even crowding around Gun Gun’s legs, only to be poked away in annoyance.

Mu Ying raised her eyebrows at the wild boar—aren’t you going to do something about this?

“Humph,” the wild boar just turned and continued scratching.

“…” Well, I really can’t bring myself to draw my sword against you guys, but I can still use my hands!

[You may choose a piece of wild boar hide, a strip of wild boar meat, or a wild boar bone…]

The oblivious wild boar rubbed against her hand again, then suddenly froze, looking terrified.

(°▽°)!

The wild boar had no idea what had happened, only that its flesh suddenly felt chilly. It immediately ran off with its piglets.

That scene of “harvesting meat” was indeed a bit shocking—it was as if she’d pulled it straight from its body, steaming hot and still dripping blood.

Mu Ying didn’t mind at all, storing the meat in her small storage pouch.

“It’s getting late, let’s head back!”

With even the pigs scared off, there was little chance of finding a practice target today. Mu Ying found herself missing those goblins.

But she was good at comforting herself.

She’d spent a lot of energy today scouting and collecting plants, and hadn’t gone far—she was still near the territory. She’d just continue tomorrow; there was no rush.

Thinking of the fresh pork, she cheered up at the idea of making her own barbecue when she got back.

It was a pity her staff material wasn’t ready yet—otherwise, cooking magic would make things even easier."

"On the way back, Mu Ying took a different route. Although it was a bit out of the way, her night vision was excellent now, so being out a little later didn’t matter.

As she passed the hillside where the cemetery used to be, she glanced over absentmindedly—and immediately had to stop in her tracks.

What was going on with those freshly dug-up graves at the foot of the hill?

Before the apocalypse, this had been one of the best cemeteries in the Binhai area. Rumor had it that a feng shui master had even been invited to bless the land.

But back then, only urns of ashes were buried here.

The rain hadn’t eroded the natural marble headstones; instead, it had made the pines and cypresses in the cemetery even more lush.

The cemetery wasn’t far from the territory. After the apocalypse, some of those who died near the territory were buried here by friends or family—there were no means for cremation, so more burial mounds appeared at the foot of the hill.

But now, all the mounds were gone. Fresh, damp earth was scattered across the ground, and burial shrouds were tossed aside, torn to shreds.

“Could some wild animal have dug them up and made a mess?”

A cold wind swept through the gloomy woods, making Mu Ying shiver and break out in goosebumps.

She gripped her weapon tightly and followed the drag marks on the ground, which led her behind the cemetery.