Chapter 13: A Bountiful Harvest

Ye Ling led her deep into the Tagar Forest, walking for a while before finally stopping. His body shimmered with a white light, about to take human form, yet he didn’t greet Su Xiyue at all.

Seeing she was about to be left behind, a flicker of irritation crossed her brow as she cursed silently, “Dog of a man, can’t even bother to say hello.”

Just as he was about to transform, she quickly jumped down and landed firmly on the ground.

Ye Ling caught sight of her movement, his brows slightly raised in surprise as he glanced at her. But the expression quickly turned to one of disdain. Coldly, he said, “Stay put and don’t move, or if you die, don’t expect me to care.”

Without waiting for her response, he shifted into his wolf form and swiftly vanished into the forest—it was clear he had gone hunting.

Su Xiyue paid no mind to his attitude, instead scanning her surroundings. To her astonishment, apart from herself, there was not a single other beastman in sight.

So, she had been left here all alone?

Hadn’t her father arranged for Ye Ling to accompany her?

What kind of “accompanying” was this, leaving her all by herself?

Her face darkened.

But staying put was impossible—she had come precisely to gather supplies, so sitting idly by wouldn’t help.

Yet she didn’t rush off immediately. Instead, she gathered some supple yet sturdy vines nearby and sat beneath a large tree to start weaving a backpack basket.

Having a basket to carry things would be useful.

The resources in this beast world were incredibly abundant, with wild fruits scattered across the hills and valleys. Without something to hold them, gathering would be futile.

She selected a long, flexible vine as the main frame of the basket, gently testing its texture and strength—it felt adequate.

She then began weaving the base, crisscrossing the vines to form a circular bottom.

Gradually, she wove upwards to create the body of the basket.

Though she had seen survival shows and watched others weave baskets in her previous life, she had never tried it herself. Thrust into the situation, she had no choice but to attempt it.

Fortunately, she was quite dexterous, and after some trial, she caught on quickly, her movements becoming faster.

Before long, she completed a basket.

Though its shape wasn’t elegant, it looked decent enough, and the base was sturdy—perfect for holding items.

Appearance didn’t matter; as long as it could carry things, it served its purpose.

To make it easy to carry, she carefully tied two thick vines to the top on either side, knotting them securely to prevent them from coming undone.

Looking at her somewhat makeshift but functional basket, a satisfied gleam flickered in Su Xiyue’s eyes. Slung on her back, she set off to gather supplies.

The Tagar Forest was rich with resources—wild fruits like wild bananas, goat milk fruit, jujubes, and wild loquats were everywhere.

It was the height of the hot season, and the hillsides were laden with large, sweet fruit. Before long, she had filled more than half her basket with a heavy load—fortunately, the basket was sturdy.

She didn’t pick too many wild bananas, as they spoiled easily and were hard to preserve.

She gathered quite a few jujubes instead, which could be made into preserves, a delightful snack to enjoy during the snowy season.

She also found two chestnut trees towering high, laden with fruit, many already splitting open.

Chestnuts were a valuable coarse grain—not large in size but extremely filling.

They could be eaten raw, roasted, or boiled.

She first collected the spiky burrs that had fallen to the ground into her basket.

After finishing the ground, she searched nearby for a long, slender stick and carefully climbed the tree.

It was an arduous climb; her body was too heavy and clumsy for such a task.

She stood on the main trunk, which was thick and sturdy, afraid to step elsewhere lest she break a branch and fall.

Holding onto the trunk with one hand and gripping the stick with the other, she struck the spiky burrs clustered on the branches with force.

“Crackling sounds filled the air as the burrs tumbled down.”

Soon, the ground beneath was covered with dozens of pounds of spiky chestnut burrs.

She was happily engrossed in her task when suddenly a voice sounded behind her: “What are you doing?”

Startled almost to death, she nearly fell from the tree but managed to grab the trunk just in time.

Heart pounding, she turned to see Xuan Ming standing there, his expression strange as he stared at her, clearly puzzled by what she was doing.

Relieved to see him, she glared angrily, “Do you have no sense of quiet? Don’t you know that startling someone—or rather, startling a beast—can be deadly?”

Xuan Ming said nothing, only stared curiously at her perched in the tree.

He wondered how such a heavy person could climb up there.

In his mind, Su Xiyue was lazy and gluttonous, spending her days lying in a cave waiting to be fed.

It was hard enough to get her to walk quickly, let alone climb a tree.

Now, she was not only active but diligent and bold—following him hunting and even climbing trees?

Could it be that her newfound abilities had changed her?

Seeing him silent, she paid no heed, tossed the stick aside, and carefully slid down the tree.

Then she crouched to gather the chestnut burrs.

She wanted to shell the chestnuts to bring them back, but it was too laborious, so she opted to collect the burrs and shell them later.

Xuan Ming watched and asked, “What are you doing with these? They’re prickly and the nuts inside are small, barely enough to fill your teeth.”

Almost no one in the beast world bothered with these; they were too prickly, the yield too little, and hunting meat was far more practical.

Su Xiyue glanced at him, “Don’t underestimate them. They taste good, are very filling, nutritious, and store well—perfect for winter.”

She resumed collecting until her basket was full.

There was still a pile of burrs on the ground with nowhere to put them.

Fortunately, vines were abundant, so she gathered more and crouched to weave another basket.

Hearing that the burrs could be stored long-term, Xuan Ming was surprised.

Where had she suddenly learned so much?

He didn’t dwell on it, however; the nuts were too little to matter much.

Watching her pull vines and weave, he didn’t understand at first, but as the basket took shape in her hands, he began to comprehend.

His gaze settled on the basket filled with burrs—it was clear she had made it for carrying supplies.

His expression lifted slightly; it was indeed very convenient for storing things.

“What’s that called? How do you know how to weave this?” he asked.

Su Xiyue paused, replying casually, “It’s called a backpack basket, used to hold things. As for how to weave it, I just figured it out on the spot.”

She couldn’t very well admit she’d learned from watching survival shows back in her previous life, so she kept it vague.

Xuan Ming remained silent, his gaze heavy and unreadable.

She ignored it, focusing on weaving.

This time, the basket was much prettier and she worked faster.

Just then, a system voice echoed in her mind: “Ding! Xuan Ming’s favorability has changed. Would the host like to check?”

Startled slightly, she glanced at Xuan Ming but didn’t check immediately. Instead, she asked inwardly, “What is his current favorability?”

“-40,” the system answered succinctly.

She was somewhat surprised—this morning, his favorability had been -60.

In less than a day, it had risen by 20 points.

It must be because she had revealed her abilities and now was weaving baskets and gathering burrs.

A diligent and capable female naturally elicited more goodwill.

A small smile played on her lips as she looked at Xuan Ming and cheerfully asked, “Aren’t you going hunting?”

He had no prey with him, so either he had not caught anything or hadn’t found any signs yet.

“Of course, I’m going hunting. Be careful yourself,” he said, casting her a glance.

A black light flickered around him, and in an instant, he transformed into an enormous black wolf, leaping away and disappearing into the forest.

Su Xiyue watched him go with a faint smile before looking away.

She placed the two full baskets beneath the tree for the time being, planning to return for them later.

No one in the beast world would want these, so she wasn’t worried about theft.

There was still plenty of time, so she prepared to explore the area further.

With an empty basket on her back, she walked on.

After a short distance, she suddenly stopped, her gaze drawn in one direction.

“Huh? Is that wild ginger?”

Not far ahead, a patch of plants grew that looked remarkably like wild ginger, flourishing with broad, verdant leaves that looked very inviting.

Though compared to the wild ginger she knew from her previous life, these were stouter and the leaves bore subtle differences.