Gray Tail

It was the first time Cheng Shuili had encountered such a self-recommendation, but after some thought, she realized that keeping Aunt Huo seemed to have only benefits and no downsides.

This beastman only loved to conduct research; what kind of trouble could she possibly cause?

Cheng Shuili did not know that she was still being far too optimistic.

Long after, when many members of Black Feather came to complain to her, their leader, about the mobile plants in the territory, Cheng Shuili would finally realize the gravity of the problem.

But for now, Cheng Shuili naturally agreed with pleasure: "That is fine, welcome to Black Feather."

The wrinkles on Aunt Huo's face smoothed out instantly, blooming like an old chrysanthemum. She rubbed her hands together in excitement and said repeatedly: "Good! Good! Lord Leader is wise! You will never regret today's decision!"

"However," Cheng Shuili changed the subject. Now that the person was staying, it was time to set some rules!

"Since you are joining the territory, you must abide by its rules. You can discuss the specific responsibilities and obligations with Zhou Zhuxing; she has been in charge of the fields until now. I can mark out a test field for you, but you must report your research direction and results to me. You cannot conduct overly dangerous research, and you cannot damage the interests of the territory."

Aunt Huo was so happy that she barely paid attention to what Cheng Shuili was saying, only hearing the part about discussing things with Zhou Zhuxing. She nodded: "Lord Leader, rest assured! Zhou Zhuxing and I are like teacher and student, and also friends. Our collaboration will surely be nothing short of perfect!"

After saying this, she prepared to go find Zhou Zhuxing, but Cheng Shuili grabbed her and took a Territory Servant Card out of the Abyss Ring.

Aunt Huo was sharp and immediately stated her attitude: "Oh, Lord Leader, look at my brain! I was too excited and forgot about this. Please use it, use it quickly! If I don't use this, I will be kicked out in two hours, so it must be done."

It was also the first time Cheng Shuili had seen her so eager. Fortunately, there were no restrictive conditions for using a Territory Servant Card.

After completing this step easily, Aunt Huo hurried off to find Zhou Zhuxing. Before leaving, she asked Cheng Shuili one more thing: "Lord Leader, I can move my property from the beastman town into our territory, right?"

This was naturally no problem, but Cheng Shuili was still a bit surprised that such a thing was even possible, and could not help but ask a few more questions.

When it came to matters unrelated to land or seeds, the beastman's attitude instantly turned cold: "Of course. The beastman town is also considered a territory, and like your territories, it has restrictions on entry and exit. The houses where beastmen live are their own private property, so of course they can be moved according to the beastman's wishes."

Although Aunt Huo did not want to say more, since the Lord Leader asked, she told everything she knew: "There are two types of houses in the beastman town. The one I live in is my own exclusive property; it is not a shop, so business is naturally not good. As for those shops in the good areas, those shopkeepers only rent the rooms. There is only one true landlord, and that is—"

"The Rat King?" Cheng Shuili continued.

"Correct," Aunt Huo nodded, looking at her with some surprise. She had not expected this budget Lord Leader to know so much. "Those beastmen need to pay rent to the Rat King, and at the same time, they must give up a portion of their earnings. Moreover..."

She held back for a moment, briefly observing the expressions of Cheng Shuili and Su Rui. Satisfied that these two seemed to have no special affection for the Rat King, she continued:

"The Rat King adopts a last-place elimination system. The beastmen who turn in the least profit will lose the qualification to rent their houses the following month. Furthermore, it only notifies them at the end of the month, giving these beastmen no chance to prepare. Lord Leader should know the consequences of losing one's job in the beastman town, right?"

Cheng Shuili nodded. She had already planned to pay a visit to Bao Chi. Just as she intended to say something else, Aunt Huo turned and left without a hint of reluctance.

Cheng Shuili wanted to tell her not to call her "Lord Leader" and that "Boss" would suffice, and also mention the Shadow Seed.

The beastman, however, did not give her any chance at all.

Cheng Shuili stared at her back for a moment in silence before letting it go. Now that this beastman was already in her territory, it would be convenient later.

With only two hours to stay in the beastman town, she had to make good use of her time.

There were three things to do in the beastman town!

The first was to find the old gardener, the second was to go to the town central hospital to retrieve medical supplies from the warehouse, and the third was to see Bao Chi.

Now that the old gardener's matter was resolved, the two of them rushed toward the hospital without stopping.

The hospital's decor had not changed, but the staff seemed to have been replaced. Not only was their mental outlook much better, but they were also much more proactive in providing service.

As soon as the two entered, the rabbit nurse behind the triage desk greeted them: "Hello, do you need any help?"

In terms of work enthusiasm, she was absolutely on par with a certain little yellow sponge.

Cheng Shuili and Su Rui looked at each other, both surprised by this sudden enthusiastic service. Before they could reply, the other party recognized them first.

Thus: "Benefactors?! The benefactors are here?!"

The rabbit nurse roared, attracting the attention of every beastman on the first floor of the hospital.

The new doctors were unaware of the situation, but the old doctors and nurses, especially the bear-race and wolf-race beastmen, swarmed over as if they had caught the scent of bait!

"It really is the benefactors!"

"Humans! Welcome to our hospital!"

"We are truly indebted to you! Now that the hospital's atmosphere has been corrected, we can finally save lives and heal the wounded!"

...

The cacophony of gratitude instantly submerged the two of them.

A tall bear-race doctor squeezed to the front, excitedly gripping Cheng Shuili's hand: "Are you here to see the Dean? Shall I take you to see the Dean?"

He did not even give Cheng Shuili a chance to refuse. A group of bear-race beastmen crowded around the two humans and headed toward the Dean's office.

Outside the crowd, a wolf-race beastman doctor, who had been flattened like a meat patty, struggled to lift his hand, his voice utterly miserable: "King! King... King!"

There were too many people around Cheng Shuili, so she naturally did not hear him.

Just like that, Cheng Shuili and Su Rui sat down opposite Xiong Ji.

Dean Xiong adjusted his glasses, immediately noticing the two humans' distress. After chasing away all the beastmen who were there to watch the commotion, he smiled and poured a cup of tea for the two humans: "Our hospital is very welcoming to you."

Cheng Shuili had already experienced this "welcome" firsthand. She did not feel much surprise, only distress, so she sighed and told Xiong Ji the purpose of her visit.

After listening, Xiong Ji nodded and said: "There are indeed quite a few medical supplies in the warehouse, but those things only account for a small portion; there are more spare instruments. According to what you said, your medical station should not be lacking in anything. How about I trade these spare instruments for medical supplies for you?"

"That would be even better." Cheng Shuili agreed immediately.

It is always easier to get things done with acquaintances. With such a batch of supplies, Black Feather would not need to worry about medical issues for a long time.

Cheng Shuili curled her lips; she was in a really good mood. This trip today was truly a bountiful harvest.

With Aunt Huo here, there was no need to worry about seeds. With these supplies, the medical problem was also solved.

What bountiful harvest? It was like a pie from the sky had hit her!

Cheng Shuili felt light as air. Watching Xiong Ji call over several bear-race orderlies, and then watching them move out crate after crate of supplies, she also tidied up the space inside the Abyss Ring while counting the items.

So many things...

It seemed no matter how she organized it, there was no room left, so she might as well just stuff them directly into the territory.

Perhaps she had used up all her bad luck yesterday; everything today was going smoothly.

Cheng Shuili packed up the items, and Xiong Ji stood up, intending to say goodbye. He knew that humans were busy and did not want to waste Cheng Shuili's time.

However, Cheng Shuili stood up and suddenly frowned.

There was only one drop left in the Vials of Eternal Life. Since it was easy to come to the beastman town, why not refresh them?

Cheng Shuili was originally a bit hesitant, feeling it was too wasteful of materials, but after seeing the gift exchanges with Xinxue, she made up her mind immediately.

It was only one hundred energy stones; how could they be more valuable than her time?

Besides, this thing was a lifesaver!

Compared to saving one person's life and spending one hundred energy stones to save three people's lives, Cheng Shuili naturally chose the latter.

Led by a bear-race beastman, the two of them went to the morgue again. After paying one hundred energy stones, the usage count for the Vials of Eternal Life was restored.

What was worth noting was...

Cheng Shuili stared at the golden medicine bottle in her hand. It looked as if it had cracked, with a small gap appearing in the middle.

The gap was almost empty, with only a little emerald green dotted at the very bottom, looking like a loading progress bar that had just begun.

Cheng Shuili opened the description of the bottle and read it again, but could not see any changes, so she had to put it aside for the time being.

It was not late yet. After checking out Bao Chi's shop, today's trip would be perfect!

Cheng Shuili and Su Rui went upstairs to say goodbye to Xiong Ji again before heading toward Bao Chi's bakery.

The closer they got to the familiar street, the more Cheng Shuili felt that the atmosphere was wrong.

Bao Chi had good skills and loved making bread; usually, the whole street was filled with the wheat aroma of bread. But today, from far away, she could see a small group of beastmen surrounding the shop, pointing and whispering. Cheng Shuili had sharp eyes, and through the gap in the crowd, she saw the door, which usually only opened a crack, standing wide open.

Something must have happened!

Cheng Shuili's heart tightened, and after exchanging a look with Su Rui, she immediately quickened her pace.

Pushing through the onlookers, the sight inside the shop made Cheng Shuili's eyes widen.

The originally neat and cozy shop was a mess, with several cute-shaped loaves of bread scattered on the ground, trampled beyond recognition.

The counter glass was shattered all over the floor, and flour and powdered sugar were spilled everywhere.

Bao Chi was huddled in a corner, his body trembling slightly. His fluffy tail was wrapped tightly around himself, his ears were pressed hard against the back of his head, and his amber beast pupils were filled with terror and helplessness. There was even a shallow scratch on his face.

This was... they actually used force?!

Cheng Shuili's brows furrowed tightly. Having cooperated with Bao Chi for so long, he was practically an old friend!

She had always been protective of her own; she was very good to her own people. Although Bao Chi did not count as one, she had taken advantage of him for so long, and Cheng Shuili was naturally grateful! She pushed through the crowd, took a few steps to Bao Chi's side, squatted down, and asked softly: "Bao Chi, what happened? Who did this?"

Su Rui turned around tacitly, facing the onlookers. Her gaze swept across them coldly. Those beastmen who were still whispering felt her gaze, their voices involuntarily lowering, and some even subconsciously took a step back.

Seeing Cheng Shuili, Bao Chi seemed to have grabbed a lifeline. His tense body relaxed slightly, but his voice was still trembling: "It... it was the hyena beastmen from the neighboring district... They said my, my bread ingredients were not fresh and made their stomachs sick, so they wanted me to pay compensation... I refused, and they started smashing things..."

"Ingredients not fresh?" Cheng Shuili's voice turned cold.

She knew of Bao Chi's obsession with bread quality. And for food, whether it was fresh or not could be tasted!

With Bao Chi's miraculous culinary skills, which were just as amazing as Wanyue's, and his meticulous care for food, framing him with such nonsense was simply absurd!

Cheng Shuili could also tell that the other party was just looking for trouble!

She stood up, looking around at the ruined shop, her gaze finally landing on the scratch on Bao Chi's face, her eyes becoming increasingly cold.

"Which direction did they go? How long ago?"

"They, they just left not long ago..." Bao Chi pointed in a direction. "They should be heading back to their own territory..."

Cheng Shuili took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to chase after them immediately.

The priority was to comfort Bao Chi and deal with the mess in front of them.

"Su Rui, help me tidy up."

Cheng Shuili said, already starting to lift the fallen chairs.

Su Rui nodded and immediately took action. Her movements were clean and efficient, and she soon helped put all the tables back in place.

It was just a pity about the bread that had been trampled; it could no longer be eaten.

Seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, and because these two humans were so tough and looked like people not to be trifled with, the beastmen outside the door simply dispersed.

As soon as the beastmen dispersed, a shrill, fawning voice rang out at the door: "Oh my! Brother Bao Chi, your shop... tsk tsk, what a disaster from the sky!"

Cheng Shuili looked up to see a rat-race beastman wearing a silk vest, short and lean, with a thin mustache, standing at the door. He held an account book in his hand, his bean-like eyes darting around, appraising the mess in the room with undisguised calculation on his face.

Seeing the visitor, Bao Chi's body stiffened significantly. He whispered to Cheng Shuili: "He is the rent collector under the Rat King, Gray Tail."

Gray Tail acted as if he did not see these two strangers, or rather, he did not care at all. He walked in, tapping his palm lightly with the account book:

"Brother Bao Chi, look at your shop being messed up like this. How many times has this been now? If this continues, your rent for this month will be at the bottom, right? If this keeps happening, I'm afraid your business for next month is also in jeopardy. If things go on like this, you will be at the bottom. According to the rules, once you are at the bottom, our Lord Rat King can take back your shop."

He dragged out his tone, carrying a kind of smugness from holding someone else's lifeblood in his hands.

"So... what exactly have you considered regarding my proposal?"