The steady drizzle that had lasted two days finally came to an end.
With the start of a new day, morning light filtered through the forest, and crisp birdcalls echoed through the hills.
Pushing open the window, Xilutaiya looked out at the distant fields and sky, feeling a rare sense of clarity and freshness.
She wanted to go for a walk today; she had no desire to stay cooped up inside reading books any longer.
Compared to her, some of the students were even more impatient, already rushing out into the open fields to run and breathe in the fresh air with excitement.
After breakfast, Scholar Haide finally managed to gather everyone together.
"None of you are likely in the mood for a lecture today anyway, so I might as well let you go out, stretch your legs, and get some fresh air. Still, it would be best if you moved in small groups to avoid any accidents." After giving a few more instructions, he waved his hand and dismissed them.
With permission granted, many students sprang into action. Some of the nobles fetched their horses and galloped straight out of the village, presumably going for a joyride.
As for the remaining commoner students, many made plans to head into the hills for a hike and try their hand at hunting.
"During the Rising Wind Season, the mountain forests are full of animals—common ones like rabbits, deer, forest wolves, birds in the trees, as well as foxes, wild boars, and so forth," Suolin said, walking in front and introducing the area to his classmates.
A crowd of commoner students followed behind him, including Xilutaiya and her companions.
"The teacher said we shouldn't spread out too far. Let's just roam around this stretch of hills ahead. If anything happens, shout loudly—we won't be far apart, so everyone will be able to hear."
"No problem," Lei agreed in a muffled, booming voice. Today, he carried a thick wooden club on his shoulder, its front end even thicker than Xilutaiya's thigh.
Aside from him, many of the other students carried weapons as well: iron swords, longbows, or at the very least, simple wooden spears.
Having trained in swordsmanship and combat techniques for so long, everyone was itching to test how strong they had become. Although they had sparred a few days ago, sparring was still just sparring—drawing blood was forbidden, and targeting vital spots was off-limits, which had left them feeling constrained.
With a rare chance to unwind today, many wanted to find prey to practice on. If they could cross paths with a Ti Wolf prowling the mountains, all the better: not only could they test their might, but they could also claim a decent pelt as a trophy.
At that moment, Xilutaiya and the other two girls were also walking through the rain-soaked hills, occasionally steadying themselves on tree branches as they ascended and descended slopes, trekking across damp, fallen leaves.
"Kemiya, do you see the mushroom over there?" Xilutaiya raised a hand, pointing between the blades of grass beneath a large tree.
"Over there? A mushroom?" Kemiya and Kailun looked over.
Treading carefully across moss-covered stones, Xilutaiya made her way beneath the large tree on the slope and parted the wet grass, revealing a mushroom with a subtle, light-blue gradient.
Brushing away the soft soil with her fingers, she carefully picked the mushroom with its pale-blue cap.
[Blue Rain Mushroom] (Quality: Excellent): A rare post-rain mushroom. Mildly toxic. Consuming it directly can dissolve some of the effects caused by the Blazing Sun attribute. Can be used in potion refining.
She had seen this plant in books, but she hadn't expected to actually find one in the forest today. If she remembered the book's description correctly, a single one could sell for one silver coin.
"Whoa, is it poisonous? The color is so unusual," Kemiya and Kailun said as they crowded around.
"Yes, it's poisonous, but it's also very useful," Xilutaiya nodded.
"If we take it to the Apothecary Guild, they'll buy it for good money."
"Doesn't that mean we can make a lot?" Kemiya said excitedly.
"Mm. Let me look around some more; there might be others nearby." Xilutaiya thought of her dwindling savings; she truly needed to find ways to build up her funds right now.
Afterward, she circled the area. Although she didn't find a second Blue Rain Mushroom, she did turn up other useful herbs.
"This one is Gravelgrass, this one is Roosterneck, and this one is Sicklethorn Vine." Though these herbs had not reached a first-order attribute, they were still essential supplementary ingredients for brewing many potions.
"I don't understand any of that, Tiya. How about you just tell us how much they'll sell for~" Kemiya carefully stowed them in her basket.
"These three should fetch about thirty coppers," the young girl replied, holding up three fingers.
"That's more than my dad earns working a whole day!" Kemiya's enthusiasm was completely stoked.
"Let's search together, and we'll split whatever we find equally among the three of us," Xilutaiya suggested. By herself, she truly couldn't carry all that much anyway.
"All right~" Kemiya raised her hand.
Though Kailun felt a bit self-conscious, her family wasn't well-off either, and anticipation sparked in her eyes.
From then on, the three girls had no thought of hunting whatsoever. Instead, they followed Xilutaiya through the post-rain forest, pausing and moving on as they scoured the surroundings for useful herbs and mushrooms.
Beneath the shrubs between towering trees, in secluded crevices between rocks, inside sunken hollows, under the shelter of overhanging boughs—the young girl could always spot those hidden treasures with ease.
Once again, Xilutaiya crouched amid the fallen leaves on a slope, carefully digging up a tender young seedling and cradling it in both hands.
"What's this, Tiya?" the two asked, studying it with curiosity.
"This is a Bubble seedling," Xilutaiya replied, recalling the illustrated guide she had read before.
"Bubbles are very fragile, especially when blooming. But once fully in bloom, their petals wrap around each other into a sphere. Whenever the wind blows, they float lightly into the air, flying to tremendous heights."
"This kind of plant possesses the rare Firmament attribute. If cultivated properly, it yields extremely valuable raw ingredients." Holding it in her hands, Xilutaiya inspected it carefully.
There were no other Bubbles anywhere nearby; it was quite likely that a Bubble seed had drifted down from the sky from who knew where.
Dropping into these hills out of nowhere—the thought suddenly reminded her of when she had first awakened in the forest.
Carefully wrapping it in a piece of cloth from her tunic, Xilutaiya put the Bubble seedling away.
Seeing that they had gathered such a rare plant, the other two were also thrilled.
"So, Xilutaiya, are you planning to take it back and carefully cultivate it?" Kailun asked curiously.
"Mm. But I don't know much about the conditions needed to grow Bubbles, so I'll probably have to figure it out as I go." Now that she had the Emerald Pupil Potion, however, she could resolve many of those questions.
Over the next two days, the three of them spent almost all their time trekking through hills, riverbanks, and ravines, searching for useful herbs, preserving them carefully, and bringing them back to the village.
It was not until the third day, when Scholar Haide resumed his lectures, that their herb-foraging expedition came to an end.
"You all must have had quite a fruitful harvest from hunting these past few days," Scholar Haide remarked. Almost every day, he had overheard the students gleefully discussing what they had caught.
Compared to ordinary people, these students generally knew a Breathing Method. Whether in physical stamina, endurance, or combat strength, they were far superior. Animals that villagers couldn't catch or dared not pursue, they would charge right after.
"Of course! I hunted down two Ti Wolves," Baron boasted, proudly displaying the orange-yellow wolf pelts in his hands.
"Suolin caught two as well," someone muttered under their breath.
"From hunting, I took four Ti Wolves, three deer, twelve rabbits, and a night falcon," Mick said calmly, as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
"Whoa, that many? He couldn't have cheated, could he?"
"How could anyone cheat at something like this? Did he go buy them just now?" someone countered.
Everyone was astonished by Mick's haul. Only now did many students truly take notice of the triangular-eyed youth. He looked somewhat fierce, but who would have thought he was such a skilled hunter?
"Mick, you grew up in the mountains, didn't you?" Scholar Haide asked, stroking his beard.
"Yes." He nodded, his somewhat menacing gaze sweeping over those who had just doubted him.
"Very good. Everyone has their own strengths; there is no need to compare yourselves in this regard." Scholar Haide shook his head slightly, then turned his gaze toward the black-haired girl with glasses off to the side.
"Tiya, why don't you tell everyone what you gathered over the past two days?"
*Sigh, do I have to say it?* She had originally intended to keep a low profile and quietly develop her abilities. Xilutaiya was a little surprised, but since Teacher Haide had spoken, she could hardly keep concealing it.
"I didn't go hunting. Instead, I went gathering herbs and mushrooms with my companions," she explained simply before continuing her report.
"We harvested about 321 herbs, of which 181 are relatively rare, along with 58 rare mushrooms and 17 medicinal vine plants." As she spoke, she retrieved some from her pouches and set them out in front of herself.
"That many?!" Many students were thoroughly stunned.
Even a renowned herbalist from the Apothecary Guild couldn't possibly gather so much in just two days. Besides, Goldenrain Village was hardly an untouched wilderness overflowing with medicinal herbs; if there were truly so many valuable plants around, others would have picked them clean long ago.
Seeing that many students were skeptical, Scholar Haide clapped his hands to quiet them down.
"I have already examined the herbs Tiya gathered. The numbers are correct, and some of them are of exceptional quality," he said, nodding in approval.
"As I said before, everyone has their own strengths. Tiya possesses extraordinary talent and skill as a gardener."
"Not everyone must walk the same path, and what the majority praises may not necessarily suit you. That is why I am very pleased to see you find what you truly love and walk that path with resolve."
Being held up as an exemplar by the teacher—the feeling inexplicably reminded Xilutaiya of her middle school days in her past life. She shook her head slightly.
In truth, her swordsmanship and combat prowess were quite good as well; she was nowhere near as one-sided as the teacher made it seem.
Still, now that everyone misunderstood, it seemed like a good outcome. At least it saved her a lot of trouble. Otherwise, she would have had to find ways to explain why, despite never receiving guidance from famous masters or practicing the sword every single day, her actual combat ability was superior to that of her peers.
Explaining all of that would be far too troublesome, and she happened to be someone who disliked trouble.
Throughout the rest of the day, Teacher Haide continued teaching them about various matters in the mountains—such as the habits and activity cycles of many animals, common herbs found in the wilderness, and so on. However, due to limited time, he only covered the most practical parts for now.
"That concludes today's lecture. Tomorrow you will have another day of free time, and the day after tomorrow we head back."
"Whoo!" the students cheered enthusiastically once more.
Chapter 37