Qimeng closed her eyes, sensing the boundaries of her new territory.
The underground water vein was like a pulsing blood vessel, the Red Stone Vein sat firmly like a heart, and the outer Firefly Garden was like a gown, cradling the core Tree Court in the center.
“Hmm... quite a bountiful harvest.”
She wore a satisfied smile, a look of leisurely ease that came from having everything completely under her control.
A few days later, the morning sunlight fell upon the tree canopy.
The light-green flower buds that had been preparing to bloom finally opened at this moment.
The petals unfurled, revealing pale-yellow pistils, and a sweet, fresh fragrance drifted quietly through the forest with the morning breeze.
Qimeng squatted by the tree trunk, propping her chin on one hand.
Her eyes reflected this newly bloomed touch of spring.
“Oh, they've finally bloomed.”
She lightly touched a soft petal. It felt slightly cool, accompanied by a lively pulse of mana.
These fist-sized flowers dotted the branches, light green and pale yellow interwoven. They were incredibly pleasing to the eye, a perfect ten out of ten as a facade.
Just as she stood up, planning to enjoy her sunbath, a strange buzzing sound broke the silence of the forest.
The frequency of the sound was very low, full of a unique rhythm, and laced with a certain mana resonance.
Qimeng looked up in curiosity, her gaze catching a little creature flitting out of the forest.
It was a young girl.
Of course, that was if one ignored the flexible, yellow-and-black-striped bee abdomen behind her waist and the two twitching antennae on her head.
Wings as thin as cicada wings vibrated at high speed, keeping her hovering in midair.
She had bright, light-golden short hair and dark-brown eyes.
“Oh my, a monster girl?”
Qimeng blinked, recalling the obscure bestiaries she had flipped through before.
In environments with high mana concentration, the probability of magical beasts undergoing humanoid evolution was very low, but it did exist.
Such individuals usually possessed superior intelligence and highly eccentric personalities, making them extremely rare species in the forest.
Clearly, this bee girl was currently in a state of utter intoxication from the floral scent, unable to extricate herself.
As a Demon Tree integrated with the forest, Qimeng's presence was virtually imperceptible, leaving the bee girl completely unaware that a predator stood right beneath her feet.
She leaned close to a cluster of flowers and took a deep sniff, her expression freezing as if a binding spell had been cast on her.
“Hey there,” Qimeng suddenly spoke.
The bee girl's intoxicated expression froze. Shaking violently as if struck by lightning, she looked down and locked eyes with a pair of cool, emerald eyes.
In the next second, her survival instincts kicked in.
The bee girl pivoted her wings, turning into a streak of golden light as she fled toward the sky.
“Hmph, quick reflexes,” Qimeng murmured with a smile. She didn't even bother to stand up, simply flicking her finger.
The ground swelled, and underground roots wove into an inescapable net, blocking off all aerial escape routes.
The bee girl crashed headfirst into the net, the immense rebounding force sending her bouncing right back.
Before she could stabilize herself, several branches had already wrapped around her wrists and bee abdomen, binding her in midair.
“Let me go! Let me go right now!” she shrieked, her voice filled with grievance.
Qimeng walked over, examining her like a novel collectible.
Up close, the bee girl's skin possessed a translucent luster, and the soft fuzz on her abdomen was fluffy and enticing, emitting a faint fragrance.
“You sneaked a taste of my flowers and now you want to slip away?”
“I didn't sneak a taste! I clearly just smelled them! Clearly!”
The bee girl squirmed frantically, but the more she struggled, the tighter the branches bound her.
Qimeng tilted her head. Looking at her fierce yet adorable appearance, she flashed a radiant smile.
“The pollen got on you, so that makes you my property now.”
“Where on earth did you learn this bandit logic?!”
“Logic can't fill a stomach.”
Qimeng squatted down to look the bee girl in the eye, her gentle demeanor downright spine-chilling.
“I'll give you two options, little cutie.”
“First, become my vassal and help me tend to this garden.”
“Second...”
She lifted her chin, gesturing toward the ring of ash-gray remains beneath the tree roots, the smile in her eyes never fading.
“...become fertilizer over there.”
The bee girl followed her gaze. Her face turned pale, her body trembled violently, and her large eyes filled with tears.
“Are... are you threatening me...?”
“Correct. So, which one do you choose?”
After a long silence, the bee girl hung her golden head, all her bravado instantly vanishing.
“What does a vassal have to do?”
“For now, it's very simple. Maintain the garden, and occasionally run a few small errands for me.”
“Do... do I have to produce honey?”
The bee girl asked tentatively, but in the next second, she shouted at the top of her lungs, “I won't produce honey for you!”
Qimeng raised an eyebrow and pointed at the pile of remains.
“Fertilizer?”
“I'll make it! I'll make it, okay?!”
The bee girl wilted.
Qimeng released her bind, completely unconcerned about her running away.
As long as they were within this Root Domain, she was the absolute ruler.
“Remember one thing: don't even think about playing tricks.”
“Every single inch of this territory is under my watchful eye.”
The bee girl shuddered once more.
“U-Understood.”
“Do you have a name?”
“No.”
“Alright, from now on, your name is Xiaomi.”
“What an ugly name...”
“How about Fertilizer then?”
“Xiaomi it is!”
And so, Xiaomi officially began her job.
She was stationed in the Firefly Garden. In truth, it was just a cleared patch of land planted with all kinds of nocturnal magical flora.
“This place is under your care from now on.”
Qimeng appeared behind her, idly playing with a Wood Spike in her hand.
“Don't let them die. If even one dies, I'll poke you once.”
“Isn't that just a disguised death penalty?!”
“No, no, no. As payment, I'll allow you to enter the Tree Court to eat pollen. We'll split the honey you produce. Sounds fair, right?”
Xiaomi's eyes first lit up, but then quickly dimmed.
“Wh-Where do I live?”
“Wherever you want. In the trees or the garden. Just don't enter my Tree Court unless you have a reason.”
Qimeng left behind a bewildered Xiaomi and walked straight back.
After taking a few steps, she suddenly looked back.
“Oh, by the way, if I find you slacking off, or secretly sending out messages...”
She smiled sweetly, as if talking about an everyday trivial matter.
“After all, I'm always running short on fertilizer here.”
“No! I definitely won't slack off!”
Xiaomi waved her hands frantically, her antennae trembling along with her.
On the eastern side of the territory, next to a withered tree that had been converted into a training ground.
Over a dozen circles were casually drawn on the trunk.
Qimeng stood ten meters away.
She raised her hand and gathered mana, condensing several woody spikes.
“Wood Spike, go.”
She threw them.
Some grazed the edges, some didn't even touch the trunk, and only one barely managed to lodge itself on the rim of a circle, wobbling before falling off.
“Hmm, improvement.”
Qimeng nodded and evaluated seriously.
“Going from missing completely to occasionally grazing the edge, that's a qualitative leap.”
She comforted herself.
Then, she looked up at Xiaomi, who was on a branch trying her best to suppress a laugh.
“What are you laughing at over there?”
“N-Nothing.”
“Hmph.”
Qimeng narrowed her eyes. “Starting tomorrow, you will join the training as well.”
“Eh?! Why do I have to train too!”
“As my vassal, you should at least have some self-defense capability. I don't want to raise a useless freeloader.”
“Then how about you let this useless freeloader go?”
“Fertilizer.”
“I'll train! I'll train, okay?!”
After training, Qimeng headed to the puddle in a great mood.
To be precise, it was her private bath.
After a few days of fine renovations, she had not only expanded its size but also carved out smooth stone steps and stone benches. The bottom was paved with smooth pebbles retrieved from the water vein, and the edges were reinforced to be completely watertight.
“Water Core, Purify.”
The pooled water became crystal clear, refracting a faint blue light.
Looking at the mirror-like water surface, she felt that it could use a bit more of a sense of ritual.
“By the way, let's try out that thing.”
Rate on N.U.
