Atira glared at Luo Yu and examined the bloodstains on his hand, "This is really self-inflicted, go bandage it."

"Is this really Tianlan?" Fang Hong always felt that the little cat's behavior was vastly different from Tianlan's usual demeanor.

"Shapeshifting Mushrooms can affect a person's mind to a certain extent," Gita explained softly.

"There won't be any aftereffects, will there?"

The young girl shook her head, "The effects of the transformation only last for a while, and the person will only remember some vague details. There won't theoretically be any aftereffects."

"She's stupid enough as it is, at least this thing won't make her even stupider," the Papalarian said, puffing up his glowing cheeks.

"Shut up, Parker," Atira said sternly, "Look at yourself. Are you in any position to talk?"

The Papalarian's condition had worsened, his eyes bulging like a frog's, glowing eerily: "Freedom of speech."

"I think I saw traces left by Night Lizard People in the forest," Reed said, putting down his pipe.

Parker nearly jumped up, "Wait, where?"

"Who knows?"

The former shivered, no longer daring to boast, and quickly covered his neck as he hurried back into the carriage.

The series of events triggered by the mushrooms soon passed, and Atira confiscated the remaining Fluorescent Mushrooms and Shapeshifting Mushrooms from the two troublemakers, handing them over to Fang Hong.

These two types of mushrooms were also rare and scarce in the wild, often used in the preparation of magic potions and alchemy ingredients. It was a mystery how the two of them had managed to strike it lucky.

Fang Hong, with her current Level in Alchemy, had no idea what to do with these mid to high-end materials, so she could only store them in glass bottles, alongside the raw materials for the β Crystal, in the secret compartment under her bed.

Meanwhile, the aftereffect of consuming the mushrooms for Parker was that he'd completely turned into a light bulb, expected to remain in that state until the evening.

Tianlan had returned to her true form, but the young girl, blushing, hid in the room and stubbornly refused to come out and face anyone.

Atira sternly told Luo Yu to go and apologize to her, and Luo Yu obediently nodded in agreement.

But when Fang Hong saw the guy standing at the door, pondering his words for a while before sincerely saying, "Tianlan, you actually looked quite nice as a cat, you sort of resembled a kitten I used to have—"

"Get lost!"

Tianlan screamed, and a book flew out, hitting him on the head, followed by a bang as the door was shut. Afterwards, the young girl locked it from the inside and refused to come out, no matter who tried to persuade her.

This was indeed a case of bringing up the very thing one ought not to mention.

Seeing this, Fang Hong couldn't help but face-palm.

By the time three or four in the afternoon arrived, the sun finally burst through the clouds, casting a rainbow over the mist-filled valley.

The others took a brief rest—shared afternoon tea on the platform, aside from Tianlan and Parker—before diving back into the laborious tasks of road building and bridge construction. It was a tough job, first involving cutting down the surrounding trees, then hauling them out to lay down a path through the mud.

And if a Burden Beast accidentally got stuck in a mud pit, the trouble would be even greater.

Fang Hong, Luo Yu, and the Big Catfolk were all covered in wet mud, which, when dried on their arms, necks, and legs, itched unbearably. A scratch would peel it off in chunks, revealing the reddened skin underneath due to allergies.

Insects swarmed in the forest, and even burning pine resin to drive them away was virtually ineffective. Some of the blood-sucking mosquitos, the size of a palm, even yielded experience when killed.

Their terrifying nature was evident—

Luo Yu was bitten and nearly immediately withdrew from combat. Only the Big Catfolk remained unfazed, with his tough Lion People heritage and a long tail that he swished around to fend off the mosquitos.

Interestingly, the insects seemed to purposely avoid Fang Hong. Wherever he stood, the mosquitos would scatter away in disarray.

The Big Catfolk teased him as the King of Mosquitos, but Fang Hong knew it was the Ring of Golden Flame on his body that was at work.

The ring seemed to be constantly emitting a faint dragon's breath, discouraging wild animals and insects from getting too close.

After a few experiments, he came to this conclusion, but unfortunately, its effect was limited in range and only affected the wearer. Looking at Luo Yu's miserable state, Fang Hong couldn't help but feel grateful for the hefty golden ring, which had turned out to be quite a handy item.

During the crossing of the riverbed, there had almost been an accident as the Burden Beast almost tipped over due to its own considerable weight getting trapped in the mire.

He and Reed tried everything they could to salvage the situation, but Mr. Greyrock was inevitably injured.

The first day of the journey was not as smooth as expected; flooding seriously disrupted their itinerary.

Although they still managed to reach Emerald Pass before the dusk descended, they were still far from the Andelita Waterfall, and the plan for the first day was pretty much scrapped.

After crossing the Emerald Pass, the storm had not yet managed to invade the mountainous region beyond, so the mountain trail became much easier to navigate.

They spent an hour or two walking out about ten miles into a dense forest. Then, as the sun gradually sank into the mountains, night fell.

Gloomy clouds obscured the afterglow, and the foul weather prevented the sunset from painting even half the sky red before the surroundings plunged abruptly into the dense night.

In the forest, Guy Crystals floated, and the Primordial Crystal Stones containing the Element of Light emitted a faint glow at night.

Scattered all around, they twinkled like fireflies.

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