Outside the mystic realm, Su Mingyuan stared at the Cloud-Gazing Finch flying off on its own, his brow furrowing into a tight knot—why was this bird flying off on its own?
Huang Siqi's expression softened slightly. He thought to himself that although those two little thieves had been lucky enough to enter the spirit field first, there were only two of them. No matter how fast they were, they wouldn't be able to harvest much.
Once the others finished off the three Thunder-Patterned Leopards and rushed over, there would still be plenty of spiritual plants left to fight for.
Wu Lianfeng, on the other hand, stared at the Taiyan Sect disciples who were still circling the periphery. He stomped his feet in anxiety and cursed under his breath, “Fools, move inward! Look at them, then look at yourselves! Even a bird is cleverer than you!”
Before long, the Cloud-Gazing Finch flew back. Behind it followed a dense, massive swarm of dusty little figures.
Dozens of Medicine-Harvesting Mice emerged from the bushes. The leaders were slightly larger. They walked hesitantly, constantly looking back, coveting the spirit field but not daring to get too close. Their small, bead-like eyes darted around as they sized up the two humans in front of them.
Su Ye looked at the dense mass of gray fur balls on the ground, his scalp tingling. “Junior Sister, what do you need so many mice for?”
Xue Mingzhao cleared her throat, took two steps forward, and spoke to the group of Medicine-Harvesting Mice in all seriousness, “I know you can understand me. You've been lingering outside this spirit field for who knows how many years, staring longingly at all these spirit fruits and spiritual plants without being able to eat a single bite. Isn't that incredibly frustrating?
“Now, your chance has come. The Thunder-Patterned Leopards guarding this spirit field have already been driven away by me.
“If you help me harvest these spiritual plants, I'll give each of you ten spirit fruits once we're done. What do you say?”
The lead mouse's ears twitched. It turned back to chatter and discuss with several of the larger mice for a moment, then turned back. It pointed its tiny paw toward the spirit field, then pointed at its clan behind it, letting out a few squeaks.
Surprisingly, Xue Mingzhao understood its meaning: What if the Thunder-Patterned Leopards return halfway through? If this human runs away, who are they supposed to ask for the spirit fruits?
Without another word, Xue Mingzhao pulled three hundred spirit fruits from her storage ring, laid them out on the ground, and clapped her hands. “Take these as a deposit first. No matter how much you harvest, you can keep these. Your wages will be calculated separately later, and I absolutely won't shortchange you.”
Three hundred spirit fruits were neatly stacked on the ground, their sweet and enticing fragrance wafting through the air. The eyes of the Medicine-Harvesting Mice lit up in unison.
The lead mouse lowered its head to sniff the pile of spirit fruits, then looked up at Xue Mingzhao. The wariness in its eyes softened considerably.
This human was giving them fruits before they even started working. She didn't seem like a scammer.
The lead mouse took a step forward, about to say something—
Xue Mingzhao suddenly turned her head, staring at the Cloud-Gazing Finch with a shocked expression, her voice abruptly rising, “What? You're saying ten is too many? They can only harvest ten a day at most, and this small spirit field will be cleared in no time, so just giving them five is enough?!”
The Medicine-Harvesting Mice all turned their heads at once, dozens of tiny eyes focusing angrily on the Cloud-Gazing Finch. This human was originally going to give them ten, but this fat bird was actually egging her on to cut it down to five?
What was the meaning of this? Blocking their path to wealth?
Standing on Su Ye's shoulder, the Cloud-Gazing Finch froze with its wings half-raised, completely bewildered. It had clearly been preening its feathers just now and hadn't even opened its beak.
Xue Mingzhao waved her hand righteously, “Everyone is working hard to harvest, so they deserve it! I will absolutely not let any mouse work for free, nor will I give less just because they work fast. That's unfair, and it would be a disservice to the sweat of all you mice!”
The Medicine-Harvesting Mice nodded in unison. Exactly, was it their fault if they worked fast?
Not a single mouse realized: when had they ever agreed to work for this human in the first place?
Xue Mingzhao put on a deeply pained expression, “Your suggestion is too disheartening to the mice. Today, I'll make the call—each mouse gets five more, making it fifteen spirit fruits in total!”
The Medicine-Harvesting Mice were collectively shocked. Fifteen! That was enough to feed them for several days.
Their combat strength was weak, so they could only search for food in remote places. They would never dare enter a spirit field guarded by demon beasts like this one.
Yet this human was actually saying that as long as they helped harvest, she would give them fifteen spirit fruits.
Looking at the mice's whiskers twitching uncontrollably with excitement, Xue Mingzhao added more fuel to the fire, “If you harvest everything within half an hour, each mouse will receive an additional five as a bonus—making it twenty spirit fruits in total!”
Twenty!
The swarm of Medicine-Harvesting Mice erupted in excitement, their squeaks and chatters rising and falling like a boiling pot of gray porridge.
“Think about how you work from dawn to dusk every day, yet only get ten at most!
“Think about how you have to sneak around just to harvest a few small spirit fruits discarded by other demon beasts!
“Think about your anger when facing a spirit field you only dared to look at but never enter!
“Today, let's strip this spirit field bare and show them what we're made of!”
With her command, the Medicine-Harvesting Mice surged into the spirit field. Dozens of them rushed in like a gray tide, their speed so fast they kicked up a small whirlwind. Their tiny paws flew like lightning, their efficiency countless times higher than that of Xue Mingzhao and Su Ye just moments ago.
Xue Mingzhao sat down on a nearby rock, crossed her legs, and watched the bustling harvesting scene before her, sighing in satisfaction, “As expected, professional tasks should be left to professionals.”
Su Ye sat down beside her. After a long silence, he finally squeezed out, “Junior Sister, I admit defeat.”
He was truly in awe. He could hold his own in a fight, but when it came to swindling... even ten of him combined couldn't match his junior sister's level.
Xue Mingzhao leisurely directed the Cloud-Gazing Finch to observe Shen Chaoyue's side, while she sat cross-legged on the rock and began calculating her earnings.
This spirit field could produce at least ten thousand spirit fruits. There were about fifty Medicine-Harvesting Mice. At twenty fruits per mouse, that would deduct one thousand, leaving nine thousand.
And that wasn't even counting the numerous spiritual plants. Selling any single one of them would fetch at least several hundred spirit stones. The harvest from this spirit field alone during this trip to the mystic realm would be enough to sustain the entire Grand Primordium Sect for a very long time.
The more Xue Mingzhao thought about it, the more delighted she became. She couldn't help but sigh, “Thank you, female lead.”
Hearing this, Su Ye turned his head in confusion, “Who is the female lead?”
Xue Mingzhao choked for a moment, then stuffed a spirit fruit into her mouth, muttering evasively, “It's good luck. I meant good luck.”
Su Ye nodded thoughtfully. Then, in all seriousness, he mimicked her tone and cupped his hands toward the spirit field, “Thank you!”
Rate on N.U.
