Chapter 371: Gray Tail

Cheng Shuili also saw such self‑recommendation for the first time, but after thinking she realized that keeping Huo Po has only benefits and no drawbacks.

This beast‑person only loves research, what trouble could it cause?

Cheng Shuili didn't know she was still being overly optimistic.

Only after countless Black Feather members came to Lao Da to complain about the wandering plants in the domain did Cheng Shuili realize the seriousness of the problem.

And now Cheng Shuili readily agreed: "Fine, welcome to Black Feather."

Huo Po's wrinkles instantly relaxed like a blooming old chrysanthemum; she rubbed her hands excitedly and kept saying, "Good! Good! Lord, you are wise! You will never regret today's decision!"

"However," Cheng Shuili turned the conversation, "now that the person stays, we must start setting rules!"

"Since you're joining the domain, you must obey its rules. You can discuss the specific rights and duties with Zhou Zhuxing; she has always handled the fields. We can designate a test field for you, but you must report your research direction and results to me, avoid overly dangerous studies, and not harm the domain's interests."

Huo Po was so delighted she barely cared what Cheng Shuili was saying, only hearing "consult Zhou Zhuxing." She nodded, "Lord, rest assured! Zhou Zhuxing and I are both teacher and friend; our cooperation will be perfect!"

After saying that, she prepared to find Zhou Zhuxing, but Cheng Shuili grabbed her and pulled out a domain servant card from the Abyssal Ring.

Huo Po got on board immediately, stating, "Hey, Lord, look at my mind! I'm so excited I forgot this. Use it quickly, use it now! If I don't, I'll be kicked out in two hours, so it must be used."

Cheng Shuili was also seeing her this urgent for the first time, but fortunately the servant card has no conditions.

After easily completing that step, Huo Po rushed to find Zhou Zhuxing, and before leaving asked Cheng Shuili, "Lord, can I move my property from Shou Ren Xiao Zhen into our domain?"

Of course that was no problem, but Cheng Shuili was surprised such a move existed and couldn't help asking a couple more questions.

When the topic shifted away from land or seeds, the beast‑person's tone instantly cooled: "Of course. Shou Ren Xiao Zhen is also a domain, subject to the same entry restrictions as yours. The houses the beasts live in are their own property, so they may relocate at the beasts' will."

Huo Po didn't want to elaborate, but since the Lord asked, she answered fully: "There are two kinds of houses in Shou Ren Xiao Zhen. The type I live in is solely my own property, not a shop, so business is naturally poor. The good‑area shops are rooms rented by shop owners; the true landlord is only one, that is—"

"Rat King?" Cheng Shuili prompted.

"Yes," Huo Po nodded, looking at her with surprise, not expecting this cheap Lord to know so much, "the beasts must pay rent to the Rat King and also increase the percentage of their earnings. Moreover…"

She left it hanging, briefly gauging Cheng Shuili's and Su Rui's expressions, confirming they had no particular fondness for the Rat King before continuing:

"The Rat King uses a bottom‑out elimination system: the beast with the lowest reported earnings loses the right to rent a house next month. Moreover, the notice comes only at month‑end, giving the beasts no preparation time. Lord, you should know the fate of losing a job in Shou Ren Xiao Zhen, right?"

Cheng Shuili nodded, already planning to go find Bao Chi and think about what to say, when Huo Po turned and left without a hint of lingering.

Cheng Shuili still wanted to tell her not to call her "Lord" but "Lao Da," and also mention the Shadow Seed matter.

This beast‑person gave her no chance at all.

Cheng Shuili stared at her back in silence for a moment, then let her go; now the beast‑person is already in her domain, which will be convenient later.

And she only has two hours to enter Shou Ren Xiao Zhen, so she must hurry.

There are three tasks in Shou Ren Xiao Zhen!

The first is to find the old florist, the second to go to the town's central hospital and retrieve medical supplies from the warehouse, and the third, well, to see Bao Chi.

Now that the old florist matter is settled, the two sprinted straight to the hospital.

The hospital's furnishings hadn't changed, but the staff seemed like a new batch. Their morale improved greatly, and their service became much more proactive.

As soon as they entered, the rabbit nurse behind the triage desk greeted, "Hello, how can I help you?"

In terms of work enthusiasm, it definitely rivals a certain yellow sponge.

Cheng Shuili and Su Rui exchanged a glance, both surprised by the sudden enthusiastic service; before they could reply, the other side already recognized them.

Then, "Benefactor?! The benefactor has arrived?!"

The rabbit nurse shouted, drawing the eyes of every beast on the hospital's first floor.

The new doctors were clueless, while the old doctors and nurses, especially the bear‑clan and wolf‑clan beasts, swarmed like small fish smelling bait.

"It really is a benefactor!"

"Humans! Welcome to your visit!"

"It's truly thanks to you! Now that the hospital's atmosphere is right, we can finally save lives and heal the wounded!"

……

A chorus of thank‑you voices instantly engulfed the two.

A tall bear‑clan doctor pushed forward, gripping Cheng Shuili's hand excitedly, "Are you here to see the dean? Let me take you to the dean."

He didn't even give Cheng Shuili a chance to object; a crowd of bear‑clan beasts swarmed the two humans and headed to the dean's office.

Outside the crowd, a wolf‑clan doctor flattened like a meat patty raised his hand with a pitiful voice, "Wang! Wang… Wang!"

So many surrounded Cheng Shuili that she naturally didn't hear it.

Thus, Cheng Shuili and Su Rui sat opposite Xiong Ji.

Dean Xiong adjusted his glasses, immediately noticing the two humans' predicament; after shooing away all the meddling beasts, he smiled and poured them tea, "Our hospital truly welcomes you."

Cheng Shuili had already felt the "welcome"; she sensed little surprise, only inconvenience, so she sighed and told Xiong Ji the purpose of her visit.

Xiong Ji listened, nodded, and said, "The warehouse does contain a fair amount of medical supplies, but those are only a small portion; most are spare instruments. By your account, your medical station lacks nothing; shall I exchange those spare instruments for medical supplies?"

"That would be perfect," Cheng Shuili agreed immediately.

Familiar faces are truly helpful; with this batch of supplies, Black Feather won't have to worry about medical needs for a long time.

Cheng Shuili curled her lips, feeling quite good; today's trip was truly fruitful.

With Huo Po, there's no worry about seeds; with this batch of supplies, the medical issue is solved too.

"What a rich harvest?" she thought—it was like a pie falling from the sky and hitting her!

Cheng Shuili felt light as a feather, watching Xiong Ji summon a few bear‑clan orderlies and seeing boxes of supplies being moved; while tallying them, she also reorganized the space inside the Abyssal Ring.

So many things…

No matter how she arranged them, they wouldn't fit; better just shove them straight into the domain.

Perhaps yesterday exhausted all bad luck; today everything went smoothly.

Cheng Shuili packed the items; Xiong Ji stood to say farewell, knowing humans are busy and not wanting to waste Cheng Shuili's time.

Yet Cheng Shuili, upon standing, suddenly frowned.

The Eternal Life Bottles at both ends have only a single drop left; a trip to Shou Ren Xiao Zhen is easy, why not go refresh them?

Cheng Shuili originally felt a bit conflicted, thinking this was a waste of materials, but after seeing the gift exchange with Xinxue she immediately made up her mind.

It's only a hundred energy stones; how could her time be worth any money?

Moreover, this thing is life‑saving!

When it comes to one person's life versus spending a hundred energy stones to save three lives, Cheng Shuili of course chooses the latter.

The two, led by a bear‑tribe orc, went to the morgue again, handed over the hundred energy stones, and the usage counts of both Eternal Life Bottles were refilled.

Worth noting is…

Cheng Shuili stared at the golden medicine bottle in her hand; it seemed to have cracked, a small fissure appearing in the middle.

The fissure was almost empty, with only a hint of emerald green at the very bottom, like a progress bar just beginning to load.

Cheng Shuili reread the bottle's description but saw no change, so she set it aside for the time being.

It's getting late now; let's go check Bao Chi's shop again, and this trip will end perfectly!

Cheng Shuili and Su Rui went upstairs once more to say goodbye to Xiong Ji, then headed toward Bao Chi's bakery.

The closer they got to that familiar block, the more Cheng Shuili sensed that something was off.

Bao Chi's craftsmanship is excellent, and he loves making bread; normally the whole street smells of wheat from his loaves. But today, from far away, a small group of orcs gathered outside the shop, pointing and chattering. Cheng Shuili, sharp‑eyed, saw through the crowd a door that used to open only a crack, now flung wide.

Something must have happened!

Cheng Shuili's heart tightened; she exchanged a glance with Su Rui and immediately quickened her pace.

Pushing through the onlookers, the scene inside made Cheng Shuili's eyes widen.

The once tidy and cozy shop was a mess; several cute‑shaped breads lay on the floor, trampled beyond recognition.

The counter glass was shattered everywhere, flour and icing powder were splattered all around.

And Bao Chi was curled up in a corner, body trembling slightly, his fluffy tail tightly wrapped around himself, ears pressed flat against the back of his head, amber beast eyes filled with terror and helplessness, a shallow scratch marring his face.

This is… he actually fought back?!

Cheng Shuili's brows instantly knit; after cooperating with Bao Chi for so long, he was practically an old friend!

She has never protected the weak; she treats her own people well, and although Bao Chi isn't exactly that, having taken advantage of him for so long, Cheng Shuili naturally feels grateful! She pushed through the crowd, took a few steps to Bao Chi's side, crouched and asked softly, "Bao Chi, what happened? Who did this?"

Su Rui, in sync, turned toward the surrounding orcs, her gaze coldly sweeping them; the orcs who had been whispering lowered their voices when meeting her eyes, some even instinctively stepped back.

Seeing Cheng Shuili, Bao Chi seemed to have grasped a lifeline; his tense body relaxed a bit, but his voice still trembled: "It… it was the hyena orcs from the neighboring block… they said my bread ingredients weren't fresh, that it made their stomachs sick, and demanded compensation… I refused, so they started smashing things…"

"Ingredients not fresh?" Cheng Shuili's voice cooled.

She knows Bao Chi's obsession with bread quality, and food—fresh or not—is something you can taste!

Bao Chi's cooking, as magical as Wan Yi's, and his meditative approach to food, being blamed for this mess is absurd!

Cheng Shuili also heard it; the other side was just looking for trouble!

She stood up, surveyed the wrecked shop, her gaze finally landing on the scratch on Bao Chi's face, her eyes growing colder.

"Which direction did they go? How long have they been gone?"

"Just… just left not long ago…" Bao Chi pointed toward a direction, "They should have returned to their own territory…"

Cheng Shuili took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to chase them immediately.

The immediate priority was to soothe Bao Chi and deal with the mess at hand.

"Su Rui, help clean up."

Cheng Shuili said, already beginning to lift the fallen chairs.

Su Rui nodded, sprang into action. Her movements were clean and efficient; she quickly helped reset all the tables.

Only a pity that the trampled breads were now inedible.

The orcs outside, seeing no more excitement and faced with these two humans so resolute, didn't look like anyone worth provoking, so they simply dispersed.

As the orcs scattered, a sharp, ingratiating voice rang from the doorway: "Hey‑hey! Brother Bao Chi, your shop… *tsk tsk*, what a sudden disaster!"

Cheng Shuili looked up to see a short, slender rat‑tribe orc wearing a silk vest, sporting two little moustaches, holding a ledger at the doorway, his bean‑eyed gaze flicking around, appraising the chaos inside, his face showing unabashed calculation.

Bao Chi, seeing the newcomer, stiffened noticeably, and whispered to Cheng Shuili, "He's a rent collector from the Rat King's underlings, Hui Wei."

Hui Wei seemed not to notice Cheng Shuili and Su Rui's unfamiliar faces, or perhaps he simply didn't care; he stepped forward, tapping the ledger lightly against his palm:

"Brother Bao Chi, look at how your shop's turned out; how many times has this happened? If this keeps up, your rent this month will be at the bottom, right? If it stays like this, next month's operation looks shaky. Keep going like this and you'll be in arrears; according to the rules, once you're in arrears, the Rat King himself can reclaim your shop."

He elongated his tone, bearing a smugness that seemed to grip others' fates.

"So… my proposal, what's your final decision?"