Jane and Hero watched the spirits of Davy-chan and Hisa-chan. They had long been curious about these two's origins and why they had followed them this far. Davy-chan and Hisa-chan sat at the table Chang Long had set up. After she lit the incense sticks and put it in front of two spirit tablets, they started eating the food offered. Jane's eyes widened, and she could not help but ask Chang Long.

"Those two are eating the food for your spirits, Chang Long. Is that ok?"

"Who are they, anyway? They've been following us the whole time and haven't spoken to anyone,"

Hero added, crossing his arms and eyeing Davy-chan and Hisa-chan with curiosity.

"Those two are my spirits,"

Chang Long replied. Jane, Hero, and Zhang Yijie all looked at Davy-chan and Hisa-chan in shock as they quietly ate at the table. So, there were ghosts in this game—ghosts that were not classified as beasts.

"Really!"

Jane and Hero exclaimed simultaneously, making Chang Long cover her ears.

"Hehehe, I didn't expect to have a spirit keeper visit my humble cottage,"

Zhang Yijie laughed heartily, amused by the surprises the small child brought.

"Missy, give me some liquor,"

Davy-chan said to Chang Long, leaving Jane and Hero even more astonished.

"They can talk!"

The two friends exclaimed again.

"Hmph, of course, I can talk. I'm not a mute ghost,"

Davy-chan said, giving Jane a superior look. The two friends were stunned into silence, while Chang Long, Kitsune, Siegfried, and Zhang Yijie laughed at Davy-chan's sassy response.

"Hehehe, well, the dew is starting to fall heavily. Let's go inside quickly. Chang Long, you want me to help lift the curse, right? Come inside, and we'll discuss what you need to do in return,"

Zhang Yijie gestured for them to follow. They left the two spirits to enjoy their meal in the romantic evening ambiance.

"I'm curious how you got cursed by the baby mushroom. Those are extremely rare, and only the unluckiest people encounter them,"

Zhang Yijie began as they settled into his guest room.

"That's exactly why. I ended up like this because Kearick told me about it after we left the Land of the Dead, shoosh!"

Chang Long complained, looking frustrated.

"The land of the dead shrooms!!"

Hero repeated, confused. He had never heard of such a strange place in the game and wondered what kinds of mushrooms grew there.

"Chang Long probably means the Land of the Dead. We were doing a quest there and only found out we'd be unlucky for a whole day afterward," Siegfried explained, knowing that letting Chang Long's speech would make them need more time to decipher.

"Sigh... I see. For a moment, I thought there was a place with such a peculiar name. I even imagined what it might look like,"

Hero sighed in relief, patting his chest glad there was no such bizarre place. The mushrooms in his imagination were so...

"Really! You guys have been to that place? That's one of the game's mysteries!"

Jane exclaimed in astonishment.

"No wonder. You must be special. So, you're exceptionally unlucky,"

Zhang Yijie nodded understandingly. He invited Chang Long to sit closer and examined her hands and arms, finding a small fragment of a baby mushroom thorn on her left hand.

"Ouch!"

Chang Long cried out as Zhang Yijie, the Miracle Doctor, used a small knife to make a cut on her finger. He then used silver tweezers to extract a small black triangular thorn from her finger, applied a clear ointment to the wound, and wrapped it with a clean white bandage.

"This should help you speak more clearly,"

Zhang Yijie said with a kind smile, noticing Chang Long's pained expression. Her childish demeanor seemed to have intensified along with her smaller body.

"I didn't even feel any pain before, even with that thorn stuck in my finger,"

Chang Long said, puzzled by the lack of pain despite having a thorn embedded in her finger.

"That's exactly why the poison never subsided. Even though you've been cursed for days, the venom's effects didn't lessen. Next time you encounter something like this, you must inspect your wounds more carefully. Never be complacent!"

Zhang Yijie advised. Chang Long nodded and returned to sit beside Siegfried, who calmly lifted her onto his lap without batting an eye.

"And what task must we complete for you to help Chang Long?"

Siegfried asked, his ears turning slightly red as Chang Long's big, adorable eyes stared at him.

"Oh! Normally, you would need to gather the medicinal herbs required for the cure. But since I already have those herbs, I'll give you a different task... You need to find and bring back the human ginseng. There are only two of them, but they're the ringleaders and often cause trouble for the townspeople. If you capture them, I'll cure Chang Long immediately,"

Zhang Yijie said with a smile.

"But how will we find them? They look just like real children, even Tai Yang can't tell the difference," Hero asked. Even a tiger like Tai Yang, with its heightened senses, struggled to distinguish them, so how could they?

"Exactly. Even if you let Tai Yang come with us, the ginseng will flee as soon as they see him,"

Jane agreed. This quest was not impossible, but it certainly would not be easy.

"I have a way to make the ginseng unable to recognize Tai Yang!"

Kitsune's words drew everyone's attention.

"If it's a disguise, it won't work. The ginseng know Tai Yang very well,"

Zhang Yijie said confidently, having tried several methods to fool the human ginseng before.

"What about this?"

Kitsune stood and pointed at Tai Yang, who was lying at Zhang Yijie's feet, and used a soft voice to activate his skill.

A bright flash of light enveloped Tai Yang, and when it faded, everyone saw a tall, muscular tanned young man with black hair highlighted with yellow streaks, wearing tiger-print boxer shorts, crouching at Zhang Yijie's feet.

"Whoa! / Ahhh!"

Jane and Hero shouted in surprise, but Jane's reaction was more dramatic, with a nosebleed gushing out. Zhang Yijie looked at his beloved pet in disbelief.

"How did you do that!"

Zhang Yijie asked, astonished. Jane, after wiping her nosebleed, turned her attention to Kitsune as well.

"What profession do you have to be able to use a skill like that!"

Hero asked, clearly interested in Kitsune's ability.

"M-master!" Tai Yang spoke human language for the first time, staring at his new form in amazement.

"It's not exactly a profession skill. Uh... it's better if my master explains,"

Kitsune said, walking over to Chang Long. Everyone turned their gaze to her, even Siegfried, who had done many quests with her but never knew Kitsune had such an ability.

"Kitsune, um... is my pet."

Chang Long looked a little uncomfortable answering.

"Pet!"

Jane and Hero exclaimed simultaneously.

"There is only one type of magical beast with such magic... Is your pet a nine-tailed fox!"

Zhang Yijie asked with sparkling eyes. Although the nine-tailed fox had a status that straddled between god and demon, it was considered a creature with high-level magic, full of intelligence and elegance.

"N... not nine tails, just three,"

Chang Long replied, hugging Kitsune tightly with possessiveness as she saw the sparkling eyes of Zhang Yijie, Hero, and Jane all fixed on Kitsune.

"Hehehe, if that's the case, we might be able to find human ginseng. Alright, everyone, let's go rest. Tai Yang, please lead them to their quarters,"

Zhang Yijie clapped his hands. Tai Yang roared in response and awkwardly led the way, as he had never walked on two legs before.

Kitsune had to sleep with Tai Yang to maintain the transformation skill. Jane slept with Hero, so Chang Long had no choice but to share a room with Siegfried due to the limited number of rooms.

Although she knew Siegfried was a gentleman who had never taken advantage of her, she could not help but feel excited about sharing a room with someone she liked. Chang Long tried to fall asleep but could not, so she decided to call out to the young man lying on the lower bunk.

"Siegfried, are you awake?"

Chang Long asked softly, hoping he was fast asleep and would not answer.

"Yes,"

the young man replied immediately, causing Chang Long to nearly fall back in surprise.

"Um... do you think Brother Jie is a profession NPC?"

Chang Long asked after composing herself.

"Probably not. As far as I know, NPCs in this game are divided into regular NPCs, who are found in shops and service points and are real humans. Then there are profession change NPCs, who are AI and usually stay in one area or nearby. Profession NPCs provide profession quests and sometimes skills. Some provide skills restricted to specific professions, while others offer them to anyone."

Siegfried explained.

"Uh-huh~,"

Chang Long nodded, looking down at Siegfried while he sat up and explained, thinking it would be rude not to face the person speaking.

"Brother Jie is likely a profession skill NPC. You can request a quest, and he will grant you a skill, either profession-specific or general. The last type of NPC I know of is the hidden NPC, like Prince Duck you met in Suvarn city, and Sabia in the starting town. These NPCs blend in with other AI to avoid drawing attention unless someone curious like you find them,"

Siegfried continued, smiling up at Chang Long, who was hanging her head attentively.

"Ah!"

Chang Long exclaimed in surprise when her hand slipped, and she fell from the top bunk. Siegfried quickly caught her, pulling her into an embrace in his shock.

"That was close... You're not hurt, right, Chang Long!"

Siegfried held her tightly, and she could clearly hear his heart pounding from shock in his chest.

"N... no, I'm fine..."

Chang Long replied softly, thankful for the dim light in the room that hid her bright red cheeks and ears.

"Phew!"

Siegfried sighed, loosening his embrace slightly to avoid making the small Chang Long feel too uncomfortable.

"S... Siegfried, I... I'm sleepy now,"

Chang Long whispered in his ear, causing him to shiver slightly as her breath tickled his ear. Realizing he was still holding her in an embrace, Siegfried quickly released her with a face as red as hers.

"S... Sorry!"

"N... Not at all, I'm the one who should thank you,"

Chang Long said with a faint smile. Siegfried gently lifted her back onto the top bunk, carefully ensuring her small frame did not bump into the bed's edge.

"Chang Long,"

Siegfried called softly.

"Hmm?"

Chang Long turned to look at him.

"Sweet dreams,"

Siegfried's smile remained warm and gentle as always.

"Mm... you too,"

Chang Long replied with a soft smile. She burrowed into her blanket, hiding her face as she smiled to herself. Siegfried was no different, grinning widely to himself on his own bed. The two continued talking a little longer before both drifted off to sleep, having some of the best dreams they had ever had.

The next morning, Draco received a message from Siegfried. They had arranged to meet up to help Chang Long with the quest in Longsan City. After hearing the details from Draco, the group set off immediately. Kimhant, who had very low swift movement skills, grumbled because he had to use all his strength to keep up with the group. Draco allowed him to ride on Firetail as a special case.

"Whoaaaa. Slow down, Firetailll. This is terrifyingggg!"

Kimhant shouted, gripping Firetail's spikes tightly, afraid that if he fell, he would lose some parts of his organs. Firetail, on the other hand, was excited, thinking Kimhant enjoyed its flying style. It then performed daring maneuvers, swerving left and right and doing multiple somersaults in mid-air to impress Kimhant even more.

"Hehe, is Firetail pranking Kimhant!"

Lidded Wet Trash Can asked, half amused and half sympathetic as he watched Kimhant's plight.

"I don't know, but it seems to enjoy having a passenger,"

Oliang laughed until tears streamed down his face, seeing Kimhant's distressed expression.

"Who knows how much bigger it will get after evolving again? Lucky for Kimhant that he's small enough to ride Firetail. Otherwise, he'd have to catch up on his own later,"

Draco could not help but laugh at Kimhant's pitiful state.

"What do you mean by that, Co? I'm small too! So is Mi. Don't lump us in with you guys as tough and sturdy!"

Peach Blossom complained irritably.

"Tough and sturdy!"

Aden repeated, inspecting his own body.

"Come on, Peach Blossom. Draco only let Kimhant ride Firetail because he's the slowest in the group,"

Oliang quickly defended his friend.

"Hmph!"

Peach Blossom turned away from the young man so sharply that her neck almost twisted, but she pretended nothing was wrong, even though tears of pain almost fell. The sulky girl ran to join Valentine, leaving Oliang standing there, dumbfounded.

"Hehe, what did you do to make her mad this time, Oliang?"

Wet Trash Can ran back to ask his still-stunned friend.

"Who knows!"

Oliang replied, bewildered.

"She must really dislike you!"

Wet Trash Can shook his head, wondering if everyone around here was just as slow to pick up on things.

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