Chapter 58: Greenhill City

After much deliberation, Shi Xianyu finally made up her mind to help the child find his mother.

She knew very well that the chances of success were slim, but she simply could not stand by and watch a child be left to fend for himself. Even if she failed to fulfill the child's wish, at the very least, she could ensure he reached a relatively safe place rather than leaving him to survive on his own.

The world had become a post-apocalyptic wasteland, but there should still be safe bases or something of the sort out there. As long as she followed the tire tracks on the road, she would eventually find one.

Shi Xianyu remained quite optimistic.

Her only real concern was the mutated beasts. However, since vehicles could still move about freely, it meant staying inside a car was relatively safe. That giant python couldn’t possibly chew through metal, could it?

She discussed with the Attendant Spirit whether they should buy a vehicle—ideally a camper van that would allow her to eat, sleep, and travel all inside.

But how would she get a vehicle over there? She needed to pass through the Celestial Palace to reach that world, and to enter the Celestial Palace, she had to go through the basement. She couldn’t possibly drive a car into the basement—unless it was a baby stroller.

The Attendant Spirit said, “Now that the Celestial Palace has been properly relocated, the Mustard Seed Space is no longer needed for its accommodation. My Lady can place any necessary items inside the Mustard Seed Space and retrieve them at will.”

Shi Xianyu suddenly remembered that with the palace moved out, the Mustard Seed Space was now empty.

With that space, it was like having Doraemon’s magic pocket—she could store all kinds of things from now on.

This realization gave her a surge of confidence, and she began frantically shopping! She bought rice, flour, oil, and water—plenty of water, since the desolate cities showed not a single tree, a clear sign of water scarcity! She needed to be well-prepared!

In addition to food, she stocked up on basic medicines and clothes for all four seasons, children’s picture books and toys, towels, bath towels, toothbrushes, bed sheets, blankets—everything imaginable!

And most importantly, a huge canister of chili extract—the most cost-effective weapon she could find.

Strangely enough, when she went to find Shen Xiao before, a single backpack had seemed sufficient. Now, with the Mustard Seed Space and all these supplies, it still felt insufficient. She wasn’t sure what kind of mentality was at work here.

Shi Xianyu reminded herself to stay restrained.

Restraint!

She then picked a batch of cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, and radishes from the Spirit Herb Garden and stored them away.

...

Shi Xianyu noticed that while ordinary fruits and vegetables grew rapidly in the Spirit Herb Garden, the produce contained scant spiritual energy. The rarer plants, like the Hundred Spirit Fruit, grew much more slowly. Even now, the sapling was only palm-sized, with no sign of flowering or fruiting any time soon.

Besides the Hundred Spirit Fruit, there were several other slow-growing seedlings that Shi Xianyu had transplanted into the same flowerbed, making them her special wards.

With all her supplies prepared and only waiting for Saturday to pick up the vehicle, Shi Xianyu calculated that this trip would cost her nearly half her savings—the camper van alone was several hundred thousand.

She had no income now, living off the property and savings her parents had left her. Spending so much at once, it was impossible not to feel a pang of regret.

If she failed to save the child, would all her efforts and expenses be for nothing?

Once she started weighing gains and losses, the meaning of her journey became tainted. She quickly admonished herself: keep a broad perspective! Immortals should act like immortals!

She could never be as magnanimous as Shen Xiao.

With a few days left before collecting the vehicle, Shi Xianyu decided to visit Shen Xiao in Qingshan City.

She mounted her ram and prepared to set off. The Attendant Spirit, standing by her side, wore a subtle expression, as if he wanted to say something.

Shi Xianyu tilted her head and asked, “What’s wrong?”

The Attendant Spirit lowered his gaze, said nothing, and silently opened the gateway to Qingshan City for her—

As he watched her departing figure, the Attendant Spirit’s heart grew heavy.

What to do now? My Lady seems to still be dwelling on me...

...

A light drizzle fell from the sky, drenching the mountain vegetation in vivid green. The summer heat had abated for now, leaving the air cool and refreshing.

Shi Xianyu strolled leisurely along the mountain path with an umbrella, and from a distance, she saw a square courtyard shrouded in rain and mist.

This was the home Lord Xu had built especially for Shen Xiao, to shelter the children he brought back from the wild.

When Shi Xianyu arrived, Shen Xiao was out scavenging for more children and wasn’t home. There were only a dozen or so children washing clothes and cooking. The older ones cared for the younger, the younger for the youngest, all in perfect order.

Shi Xianyu brought them some fruit candies, pouring them out like colorful crystals onto a plate. The children loved them and each got a handful.

Sadly, Xiao Man couldn’t have any.

Before leaving, Shen Xiao had instructed that given Xiao Man’s current condition, he was not to eat any human food.

He could only stand barefoot in the courtyard on rainy days, letting the rain wash over him so the mycelium could absorb nutrients and water from the soil.

Xiao Man wasn’t pleased with this unusual way of feeding. Though his body was outside, his mouth was pouting in grievance.

He wanted to play with everyone else, not be left alone in the rain.

“Xiao Man, when will Daoist Shen be back?” Shi Xianyu called to him from under the eaves.

“I don’t know,” Xiao Man replied, rubbing rain from his face. “He only left a few days ago.”

“What do you all do when the Daoist isn’t around?” she asked.

“In the mornings we practice and write, in the afternoons we help with farm work down the mountain, or go hunting in the hills,” Xiao Man answered.

“Amazing! You even hunt?”

“Daoist taught us to set traps. Every few days, we’ll catch a pheasant or a rabbit or something.”

“Oh? And what sort of practice do you do?” she inquired.

“Breathing exercises, horse stance, boxing, swordplay... Daoist said we must learn to protect ourselves in chaotic times.”

“Then you must study hard...” Shi Xianyu nodded approvingly.

Xiao Man looked at her curiously. “Did you come to see Daoist Shen for something?”

Shi Xianyu smiled, “No particular reason.”

I just... came to copy your homework.

Before long, the rain stopped, the wind scattered the clouds, and sunlight spilled across half the courtyard.

Xiao Man shook the water from his hair and returned, looking unhappy.

Shi Xianyu handed him a handkerchief and noticed a multitude of mushrooms growing on his body, especially in his hair—white, clustered, one after another.

“Does it always happen like this after it rains?” Shi Xianyu asked in surprise.

“Yes, every time. It’s so annoying.” He impatiently shook out his hair, and clusters of white mushrooms tumbled to the ground, soon carpeting the area around him.

Shi Xianyu stared in fascination and couldn’t help asking, “Are those... edible?”

Xiao Man looked at her in disbelief. “You want to eat them?”

“I was just wondering,” Shi Xianyu replied.

“I’ve never tried...” Xiao Man frowned, thinking. “But Daoist said my mushrooms might cause people to lose consciousness, so they all have to be collected and burned. No one must ever eat them by mistake.”

“Don’t bother cleaning them up, just give them to me,” Shi Xianyu said.

Xiao Man: “...?”

...

Shi Xianyu brought back a bag of white mushrooms.

She wasn’t sure if they’d be useful, but since they were free, and considering they had an anesthetic effect, it was impossible to purchase something like this through legitimate means. She decided to store them for emergencies.

In a flash, Saturday arrived, and Shi Xianyu received the keys to her new vehicle.

The camper van looked spacious and sturdy, with fully equipped water and electricity systems. It had a foldable solar panel on the roof that could be used for charging, and when folded, the roof could double as a clothesline—everything was exactly as she’d hoped.

If not for the mutated beasts, Shi Xianyu believed this could have been a marvelous journey.

But life always has its imperfections.

Before departure, she practiced opening and closing the Mustard Seed Space several times under the Attendant Spirit’s guidance, double-checked every item, made sure everything she could prepare was ready, and only when she felt there was nothing left undone did she take a deep breath and hold out her hand to the Attendant Spirit—

“Give it to me,” Shi Xianyu summoned her courage. “I want that.”

The Attendant Spirit: “...?”

“What’s wrong?” Shi Xianyu frowned. “Aren’t you going to give it to me this time?”

The Attendant Spirit respectfully asked, “What item does My Lady require?”

“That thing, like a pearl,” Shi Xianyu said, puzzled. “Without it, how am I supposed to return? I'm still not adept at controlling the Mustard Seed Space; the pearl is simple, just crush it.”

The Attendant Spirit breathed a soft sigh of relief...

“It was my oversight,” he said, drawing his hand from his sleeve and tracing a glowing circle in the air. The circle gently slipped onto Shi Xianyu’s finger, transforming into a silver-white ring.

“A pearl is not convenient to carry, My Lady. With this ring, if you need to return, simply channel your spiritual power into it and I will sense it.”

Shi Xianyu examined the ring on her finger.

It was indeed beautiful and exquisitely crafted, but she still felt uneasy.

“Why not just give me the pearl?” she said, frowning seriously. “What if I get nervous and can’t control my spiritual power? I’m still not even proficient at opening the Mustard Seed Space. The pearl is simple—I just crush it.”

The Attendant Spirit: “........”

Seeing his expression, Shi Xianyu thought he might take the ring back, so she quickly withdrew her hand and said, “I want both. If I lose the pearl, at least I’ll still have the ring. Otherwise, I might never make it back.”

There were risks in traveling to these worlds. After all, she was only a half-baked immortal and could not move freely among the three thousand worlds. If she lost contact with the Celestial Palace, she might be lost forever.

The Attendant Spirit opened the gateway for Shi Xianyu—

Sand filled the skies, dust billowed everywhere. Shi Xianyu donned her goggles and mask, took a deep breath, and stepped into this world that resembled the end of days.

At the same time, a wisp of the Attendant Spirit’s soul slipped in after her.

He quickly searched the surrounding hundred miles for a suitable vessel.

The vessel needed to be fierce and strong to survive in this world; it couldn’t have too many social ties, or “amnesia” would arouse suspicion; and it mustn’t be too attractive—the uglier, the better!