Chapter 387 – The Vine and the Mushroom

Chapter 387 – The Vine and the Mushroom

Having not gone to sleep until five in the morning, Mo Lan nonetheless woke at the crack of dawn.

She checked the time — only seven thirty.

She had slept just two hours, yet Mo Lan felt the same as she usually did after seven or eight hours of sleep — fully rested.

After the age of eighteen, a witch’s need for sleep decreased dramatically.

Now that Mo Lan’s mana had reached Peak level, her body required even less sleep. Two and a half hours was enough for her to fully restore her energy and recover her strength.

On the small bed beside hers, Zhizhi was sound asleep clutching a wine bottle — still just a baby, right at the age when sleep came easily and often.

Mo Lan tiptoed out of bed and slipped out of the tent.

Daylight had fully arrived.

Last night’s lively market, the warm bonfire, the bustling crowds of witches — all seemed to have vanished with the coming of dawn.

Only a few scattered tents remained, accompanied by the chirping of insects and birdsong in the early morning air.

Mo Lan took out both of her planting pot cards and materialized them.

She placed the small planting pot for the Burrowing Mushroom at the entrance of her tent, while the larger pot for Zhizhi’s wine bamboo was set in the angled space between her tent and Vasida’s.

They might be stationed here for a while yet, so it was the perfect opportunity to bring them out and let them grow properly.

Mo Lan was using Hybrid Magic to cultivate a bond with the Burrowing Mushroom when Lilith emerged from her tent as well. “Moira, you’re growing a Burrowing Mushroom too? Hehe, I have one as well! I’ve been growing mine for a full year now.”

As she spoke, Lilith also took out a planting pot card and materialized a small pot. Mana surged forth, and a little red mushroom cap immediately poked up from the soil.

It was about the same size as Mo Lan’s Burrowing Mushroom — though Burrowing Mushrooms didn’t grow in physical size; they only expanded their internal space.

“So your Burrowing Mushroom should be willing to let you into its internal space by now, right? How big is it?” Mo Lan asked.

Lilith’s expression froze. “Not yet…”

“Huh? That can’t be right! A year of cultivation should be more than enough for a Burrowing Mushroom to accept its owner—”

Before Mo Lan could finish, she saw a dark shadow leap from Lilith’s wrist into the pot. The Burrowing Mushroom immediately startled as if frightened, springing up and burrowing into the soil.

An octopus-like black vine sat in the planting pot, swaggering triumphantly, even jabbing its vine tips into the dirt!

“You rotten vine, you scared it again!” Lilith snatched up the Vampire Vine and grabbed another planting pot, pressing it inside. “Stay in this pot and behave yourself. If I catch you going over to scare the little mushroom again, I’m cutting off all your blood rations for today!”

The moment the Vampire Vine heard its blood rations were at stake, it instantly became so well-behaved it was like a completely different vine.

“Now you see why the Burrowing Mushroom still won’t warm up to me after a whole year?” Lilith jabbed the little vine in frustration. “It’s all this thing’s fault!”

“…” Mo Lan thought of a certain little monkey still snoring away in bed and felt deeply reassured.

When Sylph got up and heard what happened, she looked at the two planting pots placed far apart on either side of Lilith’s tent and said:

“Could it be that the Vampire Vine thinks that since you have the Burrowing Mushroom for the outdoors, you don’t need it to clear out enemies for you anymore? That’s why it’s acting this way? Even plants without sentience compete for resources — sentient ones would do so even more!”

After all, in the past, whenever Lilith camped outdoors, the Vampire Vine had always served as her guard.

Lilith paused, then looked at the Vampire Vine.

The Vampire Vine twisted around in its pot, turning away with an air of complete indifference.

Lilith and the vine did share a magical familiar contract, after all. Even though the Vampire Vine’s sentience was high enough for it to mask its emotions and thoughts, she could still pick up on certain things from its habits and movements. She asked through Tree Friend:

“Are you really worried it’ll replace you?”

The Vampire Vine acted as though it hadn’t heard a thing, idly fiddling with its own little tendrils.

Lilith: “…”

Case closed!

“Who said anything about replacing you? It’ll be in charge of hiding underground with my tent, and you’ll be in charge of guarding the surface — wouldn’t that be great? Double the protection!” Lilith said.

The Vampire Vine’s tip swiveled toward her. “ヽ(゜Q。)ノ？” Really?

“Really!” Lilith said.

The Vampire Vine pointed at the neighboring pot and demanded: “Then I want to share a pot with it right now!”

Lilith hesitated for a moment, then got a larger pot and transferred both the Burrowing Mushroom and the Vampire Vine into it.

This time, the Vampire Vine sat obediently in the pot without wildly poking at the soil or startling the Burrowing Mushroom. Instead, it sent a message to the mushroom through the root system buried in the earth: “Just relax and stay put. I’ll protect you and our Mistress!”

After breakfast, when Lilith went to check on how the vine and mushroom were getting along, she suddenly spotted a small red mushroom cap peeking out right beside the Vampire Vine.

Her eyes went wide. “Oh my goodness! The Burrowing Mushroom actually came out of the soil on its own!”

Even Sylph was curious enough to come have a look.

“Burrowing Mushrooms only feel safe underground. Unless you lure them out with Hybrid Magic, they absolutely won’t surface on their own!”

“It probably feels like the Vampire Vine can protect it now?” Mo Lan said, not entirely sure.

Lilith poked the Vampire Vine. “Not bad — you got the little mushroom to trust you this quickly.”

The Vampire Vine stretched its tendrils ramrod straight: (｀＾)

Lilith brought out some raw meat, and the Vampire Vine immediately couldn’t keep up its composure, scooping up the meat and burying it beneath its roots.

The Burrowing Mushroom hopped out of the planting pot in disgust, slowly growing larger on the open ground beside it.

“!!!” Lilith whipped around to look at Sylph. “It grew bigger! Does that mean it’s accepted me and is willing to let me into its internal space?”

Sylph smiled and nodded. “Yes. Go take a look!”

Lilith was overjoyed. She had been tending to this mushroom for a whole year without winning it over, and now, the moment the Vampire Vine and Burrowing Mushroom’s relationship improved, the mushroom had invited her in of its own accord!

She excitedly patted the mushroom’s stalk. “Open up!”

A round little doorway immediately appeared on the stalk.

Lilith ducked inside. Before long she came back out, happily telling them: “There’s already enough room in there for a tent! A Tent Card would fit perfectly!”

Mo Lan nodded to herself — it seemed the Burrowing Mushroom had been growing quite fast.

It appeared that even though their Hybrid Magic wasn’t as effective as Sylph’s, making cultivation slightly slower, it still only took about a year before a Burrowing Mushroom had enough space inside for tent camping.

It would be put to good use very soon.

“Good thing I didn’t forget to buy a Burrowing Mushroom Seed Card and a No. 1 Planting Pot Card!” Vasida was also hugging her own Burrowing Mushroom planting pot.

After the Vampire Vine finished its meal, it extended a tendril and gave the Burrowing Mushroom a little poke. The mushroom shrank back down on its own and hopped back into the planting pot.

It settled right next to the Vampire Vine and stayed still.

Lilith stroked the little vine with deep satisfaction, then tapped the Burrowing Mushroom’s cap. “That’s more like it!”