Treetop market district.
“Little Ji—!” Ailawen’s cry rose again, each time starting with desperate courage, only to end in a faint, faltering note.
Shame burned across her cheeks and ears, each breath scalding hot.
This was the third day. She forced herself to project her voice clearly, staring straight ahead, deliberately ignoring the gazes around her.
She regretted it now. If only she had searched this area with her brother earlier…
But thinking of Little Ji possibly in danger, alone in the forest, she drew a deep breath, crushed down her fear, and called out again.
Not far away, two beautiful elf girls, who had been watching her, frowned. One, a blonde with a jeweled parrot perched on her shoulder, turned away with open disdain.
“Hey! Enough already, Ailawen?” Her clear voice was sharp with annoyance. “This isn’t your private hunting ground! Don’t you know how loud you’re being?”
She was Veyrannia, someone Ailawen knew.
Her companion added, “Yeah! What are you so pitifully searching for this time? Another one of your weird little ‘treasures’?” She deliberately emphasized the word “treasures.” “The bear, the python, that fuzzy ball cub? At least the parrot was normal.”Leena counted them off on her fingers, her mocking smile widening with each name: “Like master, like pets—every one of them strange.”
Ailawen lowered her head, not meeting their eyes. Her hands clenched for a long moment before she decided to leave.
But Veyrannia suddenly said, “Why leave? Tell us! What incredible thing is it this time? Who knows, maybe we’ve seen it.”
Ailawen hesitated, then forced out a few awkward syllables: “Pu… Puji… with wings…”
“Puji?!” Veyrannia exaggerated the word, exchanged a glance with her friend, and both burst into shrill, mocking laughter.
“Puhahaha! Those lowly, stinking mushrooms that only grow in muck and dark caves?! Ailawen, you’ll really pick up anything, won’t you?!”
Their laughter shook the branches.
But at its peak—
The jeweled parrot perched on Veyrannia’s shoulder suddenly vanished into thin air!
Only one bright tail feather fluttered down at her feet.
Her laughter cut off at once, shock and confusion flooding her face. “Liuli Feather? Where’s my Liuli Feather?!”
Her friend’s laughter choked too. “Wha… what happened?”
Both frantically looked around, but no trace of the parrot remained.
Then—
“Pop!” “Pop!”
Two faint snaps, almost lost in the marketplace noise, sounded.
The two elves suddenly felt their belts loosen!
“Ahhhhhh!”
“What the—?!”
Before the stunned crowd, the two young ladies clutched at slipping trousers, squatting in panic, their faces red with shame and rage.
Not far away, Ailawen blinked in confusion at the chaos. Then—
A familiar, heavy weight settled on her head.
“Little Ji!” Warmth and reassurance surged through her, washing away all the humiliation and strain.
Invisible, the Scout Puji tapped her head with its feet, urging her to leave.
In truth, more than one elf present could see through [Optical Invisibility]. Lin Jun noted at least two nearby whose panels showed the ability. But none spoke up.
And that was why the Puji had limited itself to snapping belts—just a small retaliation, not actual bloodshed.
Even without knowing their words, the scene alone made clear: these two had bullied his elf rider.
Too many people here…
Only once they returned to the quiet forest below did Ailawen lift the Puji from her head.
It released its invisibility, revealing its round body.
“Little Ji! I finally found you!” Ailawen hugged the soft mushroom cap with delight, then, as if by habit, slipped her hand beneath it to its belly pouch. She pulled out the unconscious jeweled parrot.
“So it was you helping me just now? You’re the best!”
The Puji extended a mycelium tendril, as if to stuff its “trophy” back inside.
But Ailawen gently stopped it. “Be good, Little Ji. Let this one go, okay?”
The tendril hesitated, then reluctantly withdrew.
When the parrot awoke, it trembled in Ailawen’s palm, cast one terrified glance at the Puji, and then beat its wings in panic, fleeing into the forest.
Its [Radiant Plumage] skill intrigued Lin Jun—maybe he could cultivate rainbow-colored mushrooms?
But there was time. Once the Mycelium Carpet spread here, he could “visit” again, even with Ailawen watching.
When they pushed open her door, Feifei the parrot swooped down excitedly—only to spot the white figure on Ailawen’s head. It braked hard midair, whirled around, and bolted straight into the back garden.
The Scout Puji hopped lightly down and followed.
In the garden, Feifei was trembling, buried in the thick fur of Big Bear.
Douding and Bubble instantly crouched low to the ground when they saw the Puji, while only silly Hairball continued basking lazily in the sun.
The Puji patted each one’s head with its tendrils—even the unwilling Feifei.
Watching Little Ji get along so “peacefully” with her companions, Ailawen felt her heart melt. All her exhaustion and humiliation of the past few days vanished like smoke.
From then on, the Scout Puji spent its days drifting among potion shops, and returned to Ailawen’s cabin each night. It even scouted out the homes of Veyrannia and her parrot.
Carefree, just waiting for the Mycelium Carpet to spread here…
Meanwhile, far away on the northern icefields, an uninvited guest appeared.
Broad-shouldered, heavily muscled, his body covered in dark magic runes.
This Demonoid, named Garon, level sixty, was detected by the Mycelium Carpet long before he reached the tribe.