Chapter 77: The Road of Exile, Part 19

“Floral essence is a fascinating thing. It doesn’t belong to any classification; it possesses both plant and animal properties. Its most remarkable trait is its innate ability to alter the environment. No matter what animal it parasitizes, it transforms the host to suit its own survival needs.”

He Su opened the book in his hand and pointed to a photograph of the Grand Flower Lizard for Shi Xianyu to see.

“For example, this creature—according to our research, it was originally a Komodo dragon. After being parasitized by floral essence, its body changed, and a red, six-petaled flower grew from its spine. The flower uses its potent toxins to protect the dragon from external harm, while the dragon feeds itself and supplies nutrients to the flower on its back. Both benefit from each other, forming a perfect symbiotic balance.”

Shi Xianyu barely managed to understand. She pondered, “So… this floral essence causes animals to mutate, and it has the ability to modify the survival environment. That’s why you collect the hides and bones of mutant beasts, and use the floral essence they contain to improve the soil?”

He Su smiled and nodded. “That’s pretty much it. In fact, mutant beast flesh also contains floral essence, but in much smaller quantities. Most of the flesh is water, which easily rots and breeds bacteria in hot climates, so teams that go out usually only bring back hides and bones.”

Shi Xianyu fell into silent thought, suddenly feeling that the giant lizard outside the oasis was in rather a dangerous situation.

“Is it possible…” she hesitated, “I mean, just for example, what if you cut off the flower on its back and extract only the floral essence from the flower, without harming the host animal? Is that possible?”

He Su shook his head with a smile. “It may look as if the flower grows outside the body, but its roots have already penetrated deep into the organs and are tightly entwined with every nerve. Once the symbiotic state is disrupted, the host dies as well.”

Shi Xianyu sighed, “The way you put it… floral essence is pretty terrifying. If it were to parasitize a person, wouldn’t there be absolutely nothing that could be done?”

“Parasitize a person?” He Su was stunned.

Shi Xianyu noticed his confusion and was surprised herself. “What’s the matter? Has it never happened before?”

He Su stared at her as if he had never considered that possibility.

Shi Xianyu felt oddly anxious under his gaze, wondering if she had said something wrong. Then she thought, if a person were parasitized, would they have to capture the mutated person, strip their skin and bones, and use them to improve the soil? The thought alone was chilling!

She regretted her words, feeling she was terrible at conversation. Embarrassed, she said, “I was just speculating, don’t mind me. I don’t know anything, I was just thinking out loud…”

At that moment, Dr. Zhang returned with two bottles of water, smiling. “Hey, what were you two talking about? You seem to get along well.”

Shi Xianyu managed a strained smile, thinking if he hadn’t come back, she would have killed the conversation completely!

“Dr. Zhang, let’s go somewhere else,” Shi Xianyu stood up. “I’d like to see the children’s activity areas and the safety facilities…”

Anything to avoid more awkward chat in the cafeteria.

Dr. Zhang glanced curiously at He Su, then at Shi Xianyu. “Oh… all right, I’ll show you around.”

Shi Xianyu hurried after Dr. Zhang.

He Su was left alone in the cafeteria, dazed. He glanced down at his book and muttered, “Yes… why has there never been a case of floral essence parasitizing a person? If it can transform any creature to suit its survival, then why not humans…?”

…

Shi Xianyu followed Dr. Zhang on a walk around, and when she judged time was about right, she returned to the class to pick up Lu Li.

As soon as the classroom door opened, the children rushed out. Lu Li was among them, cheeks flushed and holding newly issued pens and books, looking quite happy.

The teacher came out behind them, smiling. “Lu Li is really clever. We played a quiz game, and after only two rounds, she figured out the rules. At first, I worried she wouldn’t speak and might be shy, but she’s actually very expressive. When she can’t write a character, she draws it instead. Everyone likes her!”

Shi Xianyu had been worried, but hearing the teacher’s words, she felt relieved. She bent down and pinched Lu Li’s cheek, smiling, “Would you like to come to class here every day?”

Lu Li’s eyes sparkled as she nodded.

Dr. Zhang was also pleased for Lu Li. He said to Shi Xianyu, “She’s still young, so we’ll take it slow. She’ll attend classes with the other children at the nursery for now. Once her health check comes back clean, we’ll arrange accommodation and a governess for her.”

Shi Xianyu’s recently lightened heart grew heavy again.

Once Lu Li has a governess, she’ll fully move into the park nursery, and Shi Xianyu won’t need to worry about her anymore…

She pursed her lips and gently stroked Lu Li’s head.

Though they’d only spent a few days together, she still felt reluctant to let go. But there was no choice; moving into the nursery was the best arrangement for Lu Li.

…

At noon, Shi Xianyu accompanied Lu Li to eat with the nursery children in the cafeteria, then took Dr. Zhang’s car home.

Ye Liuyun hadn’t returned yet, so Shi Xianyu and Lu Li went back to their RV, turned on the air conditioning, and poured two cold drinks to cool off.

There was plenty of food in the fridge and vegetables and fruits in their supplies, but living in the oasis with people coming and going, nothing felt quite safe to eat or drink.

Shi Xianyu sighed at the ice cream in the fridge, hesitating to take it out.

Suddenly, there was a knocking outside the RV. She turned and saw, through the window, a man standing outside.

A black tank top outlined his strong shoulders and back, while his lower half was clad in brown-green combat trousers and camel leather mid-calf boots, making his legs look straight and tall, his bearing handsome. But his face, sadly, was hard to look at.

Shi Xianyu was puzzled. She had only met Lin Yuan once and didn’t know why he would seek her out.

“Is there something you need?” She opened the door.

The man wasted no words, handing over a stack of papers. “These are for you.”

Shi Xianyu was baffled, flipping through them. “…What are these?”

“I passed the assessment. I’m now a warrior. The team’s internal network has information on members from every oasis. I printed out photos and personal details for every warrior with facial scars.” Lin Yuan explained.

Of course, he had trouble using computers and printers, which had caused a series of mishaps, but there was no need to mention that.

He stood calmly before her.

“Uh…” Shi Xianyu stared at him in confusion. “Why…”

Lin Yuan frowned slightly. “Isn’t your goal to find Lu Li’s biological mother? To find her, you need to identify the person who took her away.”

Shi Xianyu glanced at him, then down at the A4 sheets in her hands, feeling… odd.

She did need to find someone, but she had asked Ye Liuyun for help, not him. It wasn’t that she didn’t need help from others—it was just, how to put it, this felt really strange.

She snuck a careful look at him, thinking: Why are men in this world so proactive?

Radish had volunteered to fix her car, He Su had offered explanations, and now this man… was actively helping her search.

Once, not a single peach blossom bloomed on the tree; now the whole tree was in full bloom! But the trouble was, she wasn’t in the mood for romance.

Ah, why does love always come at the wrong time?

“Is there a problem?” Lin Yuan stood at the RV door, watching her in confusion.

Shi Xianyu came back to herself, shook her head gently, “No… Please come inside and sit. I’ll let Lu Li look at these.”

The sun was hot and harsh; she couldn’t let him stand outside.

Lin Yuan followed her into the RV, the cool air immediately dispelling the heat. He sat on the right side of the sofa, facing Lu Li. The little girl’s gaze lingered curiously on his half-disfigured face.

He awkwardly turned slightly, pretending to look out the window at the community street—though there was nothing to see.

“Have some water.”

Shi Xianyu placed a glass of water before him, then turned to Lu Li. “Li, take a look at these people. Is the person who took your mother among them?”

Lu Li obediently put down her watercolor pen and began to carefully examine the team members’ profiles—photos of warriors with facial scars, some on the forehead, some on the eye, some at the corner of the mouth… all kinds, deep and shallow. She went through them one by one, not pausing at all.

Shi Xianyu gently reminded her, “Li, if someone even looks a little similar, you can set them aside. Sometimes a person’s appearance changes if they gain or lose weight.”

Lu Li smiled at her and continued, but her pace didn’t slow.

She quickly finished the stack of A4 papers, shook her head, pushed them aside, and resumed her unfinished drawing.

Shi Xianyu couldn’t help asking, “Li, are you sure? Not even a little bit similar?”

Lu Li kept her head down, still drawing, and shook her head again, seemingly uninterested in the matter.

Shi Xianyu was at a loss. Since Lu Li said no, then it was no; she couldn’t force her to say otherwise.

She looked at Lin Yuan with resignation. “Thank you for finding this information, but with so few clues, I doubt there’s much hope of finding Li’s mother…”

Lin Yuan frowned, thought for a moment, and said in a low voice, “Not necessarily. There’s another group I haven’t checked.”

Shi Xianyu was surprised. “Another group?”

“Retired warriors,” Lin Yuan said. “Once they retire, their files are deleted from the database, so it’s harder to search. I’ll need to confirm them one by one.”

With that, he stood and headed for the door, speaking in a calm tone: “I’ll go look into it now. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

He came and went with such decisiveness that Shi Xianyu was caught off guard, hurrying after him. As she watched his receding figure, she felt a strange sense of familiarity.

The way he walked… why was it so…

“Lin Yan!”

She blurted out the name.

Lin Yuan stopped and looked back at her. “What is it?”

Shi Xianyu’s cheeks flushed, wondering what was wrong with her—was she confused? How could he possibly be Lin Yan?!

“No, nothing…” she stood at the door, blushing, mumbling, “I’ll wait for your news.”

Lin Yuan gave her a long look, then turned and left.