The Cornflower Witch Chapter 37

Chapter 37: The Mushroom-Picking Girl

The continuous two-day drizzle finally ended.

On the new day, the morning light pierced through the forest, and crisp bird songs echoed in the mountains.

Opening the window, Hylial looked at the distant fields and the sky, feeling a rare clarity and freshness.

She wanted to go out today and didn’t want to stay in her room reading.

Compared to her, some students were even more eager to rush into the fields, excitedly running and breathing the fresh air.

After breakfast, Scholar Hyde finally managed to gather everyone together.

“I suppose everyone isn’t in the mood for class today, so I’ll let you go out and move around instead. However, it’s best if you go out in 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 noble students saddled their horses and rode straight out of the village, probably to take a joyride.

As for the remaining commoner students, many also agreed to go hiking in the mountains and try hunting.

“The mountains in the Aurora Wind Season are full of various animals, common rabbits, deer, forest wolves, birds in the trees, and foxes, wild boars, and so on,” Solin walked ahead, introducing them to his classmates.

At this moment, a group of commoner students, including Hylial and her companions, followed behind him.

“The teacher said we can’t spread out too far. Let’s just move around in this mountain area ahead. If an accident happens, just shout loudly, and we’ll be able to hear it from not too far away.”

“No problem,” Lei rumbled in agreement. Today, he was carrying a thick wooden club, the front part of which was even thicker than Hylial’s thigh.

Besides him, many other students also carried weapons, some with iron swords, some with longbows, and even the least equipped had simple wooden spears.

Having trained swordsmanship and combat skills for a long time, everyone was itching to test their strength. Although they had sparred a few days ago, sparring was still sparring; it couldn’t draw blood or directly attack vital points, leaving them somewhat constrained.

With this rare relaxation today, many wanted to hunt for practice. If they could encounter a Teewolf running in the mountains, that would be even better; not only could they test their strength, but they could also get valuable fur as a trophy.

Hylial and her two companions were also walking through the mountains after the rain, occasionally using tree branches for support as they navigated the slopes, traversing the still damp fallen leaves.

“Komia, did you see the mushrooms there?” Hylial raised her hand, pointing to the grass between the trees.

“There, mushrooms?” Komia and Karen turned their gaze.

Hylial carefully stepped on a moss-covered stone, reaching the big tree on the slope. She parted the damp grass to reveal mushrooms with a light blue gradient.

She continued to use her fingers to gently brush aside the loose soil, carefully picking the light blue-capped mushroom.

[Blue Rain Mushroom] (Quality – Excellent): A rare mushroom found after rain, with some toxicity. Direct consumption can slightly alleviate the effects of the ‘Blazing Sun’ phase. Can be used for refining potions.

She had seen such plants in books, but she never expected to find them in the forest today. They seemed to sell for 1 Silver Coin each, she recalled the description in the book.

“Wow, is this poisonous? The color is so unique,” Komia and Karen gathered around.

“Yes, it’s poisonous, but also very useful,” Hylial nodded.

“If we take them to the Apothecaries’ Guild, they’ll buy them.”

“Doesn’t that mean we can earn a lot?” Komia exclaimed, excited.

“Hmm, I’ll look for more. There might be some nearby.” Hylial thought of her dwindling savings. At this point, she really needed to find a way to accumulate some money.

Afterward, she walked around the area again. Although she didn’t find a second ‘Blue Rain Mushroom,’ she did find other useful herbs.

“This one is Gravel Grass, this one is Chicken Neck Flower, and this one is Sickle Thorn Vine.” Although these herbs hadn’t reached the first-order phase, they were essential auxiliary ingredients for refining many potions.

“I don’t understand, Lia. Why don’t you just tell me how much money they can sell for?” Komia carefully put them into her basket.

“These three can probably sell for about 30 Copper coins.” The girl held up three fingers.

“That’s more than my dad earns in a day,” Komia was completely thrilled now.

“I’ll help look too, and then the three of us can split the earnings equally,” Hylial suggested, as she couldn’t carry much by herself.

“Okay~” Komia raised her hand.

Although Karen was a bit embarrassed, her family wasn’t particularly well-off, and a glint of expectation appeared in her eyes.

Then, the three of them completely forgot about hunting. Instead, they followed Hylial through the rainy forest, stopping and starting, searching everywhere for useful herbs and mushrooms.

Under the shrubs between the trees, in hidden crevices in the rocks, in sunken hollows, and under the cover of tree branches, the girl always easily found those hidden things.

Once again, Hylial squatted among the fallen leaves on the slope, carefully digging up a young sprout and carefully bringing it out in her hands.

“What is this, Lia?” the two asked curiously, observing.

“This is a young Bubble Flower,” Hylial recalled the illustrated guide she had seen earlier.

“Bubble Flowers are very fragile, especially when they bloom. However, after blooming, the petals wrap together into a球 shape. When there’s wind, they float lightly and fly very high.”

“These types of flowers and plants have a rare ‘Sky Sea’ phase. If cultivated properly, they can yield very valuable raw materials.” Holding it in her hand, Hylial carefully examined it.

There were no other Bubble Flowers nearby, so it was likely that the seeds of some unknown Bubble Flower had drifted down from the sky.

It was as if she had suddenly descended into this mountain space; she suddenly remembered the time she first woke up in the forest.

Carefully wrapped in cotton cloth from her pocket, Hylial put away the Bubble Flower sapling.

Seeing the rare flowers and plants they had harvested, the two also felt a wave of happiness.

“So, Hylial, are you going to take it back and carefully cultivate it?” Karen asked curiously.

“Hmm, but I don’t know much about the cultivation requirements of Bubble Flowers. I’ll probably have to explore for a while.” Now that she had the Green Eye Potion, she could solve many problems.

Over the next two days, the three of them basically journeyed through the mountains, by the rivers, and in the valleys, searching for useful herbs, carefully preserving them, and bringing them back to the village.

On the third day, Scholar Hyde lectured again, ending their plant-gathering excursion.

“You must have had quite a successful hunt these past few days,” Scholar Hyde heard students excitedly discussing their catches almost daily.

Compared to ordinary people, these students generally knew breathing techniques, and their stamina, endurance, and combat power were much stronger. Many animals that villagers couldn’t catch or dared not pursue, they would go after.

“Of course, I hunted two Teewolves,” Balun proudly displayed the orange-yellow wolf pelt in his hand.

“Solin also caught two,” someone muttered softly.

“I harvested four Teewolves, three deer, twelve rabbits, and one night falcon from hunting,” Mick said slowly, as if it was a very common occurrence.

“Ah, so many. You didn’t cheat, did you?”

“How can you cheat on something like that? Are you going to buy them now?” someone retorted.

Everyone was astonished by Mick’s haul. At this point, many people truly noticed the boy with the triangular eyes. He looked a bit fierce, but unexpectedly, he was a good hunter.

“Mick, you grew up in the mountains, didn’t you?” Scholar Hyde asked, stroking his beard.

“Yes,” he nodded, his slightly fierce gaze sweeping over those who had just questioned him.

“Very good. Everyone has their own strengths; there’s no need to compare yourselves in this regard.” Scholar Hyde shook his head slightly, then turned his gaze to the black-haired girl with glasses next to him.

“Lia, please tell everyone about your harvest from the past two days.”

Alas, should she say it? She had originally intended to continue living a low-key, developing life. Hylial was a bit surprised, but since Teacher Hyde had spoken, she couldn’t continue to conceal it.

“I didn’t go hunting; instead, I went gathering herbs and mushrooms with my companions,” she explained simply, then continued to report.

“I gathered about 321 herbs, of which 181 were relatively rare, 58 rare mushrooms, and 17 vine-like herbaceous plants.” As she spoke, she took some out of her pocket and placed them in front of her.

“Is there really that much?” Many students were shocked and surprised.

Even famous herbalists from the Apothecaries’ Guild couldn’t possibly have such a large harvest in two days. Moreover, Luanshu Village wasn’t a place rich in herbs or inaccessible to people. If there were really so many valuable herbs, they would have been gathered long ago.

Seeing many students in doubt, Scholar Hyde clapped his hand to quiet everyone.

“I’ve examined all the herbs Lia collected. The numbers are correct, and some of them are even of excellent quality,” he said, nodding in approval.

“As I said before, everyone has their own strengths. Lia has extremely high talent and ability in gardening.”

“Not everyone has to follow the same path, and what the masses praise may not be entirely suitable for you. So, I am very happy to see you truly find what you love and then firmly pursue it.”

Being held up as an example by the teacher reminded Hylial of her middle school days in her previous life. She then shook her head slightly.

Actually, her swordsmanship and combat power were also quite good; she wasn’t as academically skewed as the teacher made her out to be.

However, since everyone had misunderstood her this way, it seemed to be a good outcome, at least avoiding a lot of trouble. Otherwise, she would have to find a way to explain why, without the guidance of a famous mentor and without daily sword practice, her combat skills were still superior to her peers.

Explaining these reasons would be too troublesome, and she was someone who disliked trouble.

On this day, Teacher Hyde continued to explain various matters about the mountains, such as the habits and activity cycles of many animals, common herbs in the mountains, and so on. However, due to limited time, he only covered the most practical parts.

“Today’s lecture ends here. Tomorrow, I’ll give you another day of activities, and the day after tomorrow, we’ll return.”

“Oh~” The students cheered with excitement again.

Thanks to the patronage of readers such as Snowflakes of a Thousand Frosts, Heartwater Thread, uYexi u, Salted Fish Cuisine, Don’t Leave Easily, and Wandering Albatross.

(End of chapter)