Investigating sounded grand, but in reality, it just meant going in and starting to dig.
Luckily, she had a hoe now.
Even if it was just a small Gardening Hoe, it was better than using her bare hands.
It was especially perfect when used in conjunction with the Collection Technique.
The Collection Technique was a wonderful thing.
Most of the collapsed section was covered in vines. Besides clearing away the rubble, the most troublesome part was dealing with those vines.
But with each use of the Collection Technique creating a hole, even the toughest vines couldn't stop Lan Qingyou's digging.
However, Lan Qingyou's digging speed was actually quite slow.
Since she could only use it three times an hour, she had to stop and rest after each set to recover her mana before continuing.
Naturally, she didn't waste her rest time, pulling out the handbook to read.
The handbook was only a palm-sized notebook, so it didn't take long to finish.
But there was always something to be gained from reviewing the old.
A handbook from an alchemy master certainly couldn't be fully grasped in a single reading.
Since she wanted to try her hand at alchemy, she had to give it her all and not waste her youth.
Rumble!
After an unknown amount of time, with the snap of a wooden board, Lan Qingyou finally found a descending staircase in the collapsed area.
Lan Qingyou couldn't wait to float down, and a musty smell immediately hit her nose.
It was a basement that hadn't seen daylight in years, so a musty smell was only natural.
Lan Qingyou, currently only interested in scavenging, didn't mind. Her bright eyes scanned the basement back and forth.
The basement was about two hundred square meters and had been pierced by three or four thick tree roots.
Because of those roots, the entire basement was ruined beyond recognition, with much of its equipment destroyed.
Vines, moss, unknown wildflowers, weeds, and glowing mushrooms were everywhere—on the floor, walls, and ceiling.
Indeed, it was thanks to these glowing mushrooms that Lan Qingyou could see the layout of the basement.
“There must be something here.”
Lan Qingyou encouraged herself and began her search.
Although the basement was a mess, it didn't cause Lan Qingyou much trouble.
By the faint blue light of the glowing mushrooms, she immediately spotted a bag hanging from a tree root.
The bag was about half the size of a palm, and the material looked a bit like linen.
Lan Qingyou floated over, took it down, and examined it. She didn't find anything special about it.
But since it had remained intact in a place like this, it had to be something good. She tucked it away for now.
Next, in a corner of the room, she found a large-bellied cauldron about 30 centimeters high and 30 centimeters in diameter, along with a mortar and pestle.
Although all three items were covered in rust, there was a distinct difference in color between the bottom and top of the cauldron, like a dividing line.
Even though they were rusty, they were rare treasures to the current Lan Qingyou.
If nothing else, she could take them back and wash them; at least she'd have something to cook her instant noodles in.
Then, among a pile of rotten wood that might have been a bookshelf, she found a dagger.
The blade of the dagger was translucent, as if made of some kind of crystal. However, looking at its uneven surface, it seemed to have been chipped into shape rather than polished.
Lan Qingyou had seen videos of people making obsidian daggers before, and it had that general feel.
Holding the dagger, Lan Qingyou gave it a couple of light swings. Surprisingly, it wasn't heavy, and she found it quite easy to handle.
She then used the dagger to poke around the rotten bookshelf to see if there was anything else.
With just a bit of force, she accidentally sent a piece of rotten wood flying, slamming it against the wall.
Lan Qingyou stared in shock.
She had a pretty good idea of how much strength she had, and she certainly couldn't have done that.
Did this dagger amplify her strength?
Or was this actually some legendary dagger with +999 Strength?
Well, regardless, a dagger this good-looking definitely had to be taken back.
Haa—
Lan Qingyou breathed on the blade and carefully wiped it with her sleeve, cleaning off some wood chips. Satisfied, she tucked it into the waistband of her pants.
She then pulled out her Gardening Hoe, ready to dig, dig, dig in the pile of rotten wood.
But when she looked down, she saw a book lying where the wooden board had just flown out from.
Lan Qingyou immediately lunged forward and picked it up.
It was a copy of 《Basic Herbology》.
She was happy, but also puzzled.
After all, the other books nearby had been corroded by time until only their outlines remained, yet this book was perfectly intact. She could even smell the scent of ink...
How could she not find that strange?
But it didn't matter. She had nothing else to do, and having another book—especially one she wanted to read—was definitely a win.
A happy Lan Qingyou continued her search.
But after circling twice and rummaging through three piles of rotten wood and four small mounds of dirt, she gave up.
Today's haul was already excellent, far exceeding her expectations. There was no need to be greedy. At least, Lan Qingyou didn't think of herself as a greedy person.
She packed the linen bag, the book, the dagger, and the mortar into the supply chest, then put the chest inside the cauldron. She plucked a few glowing mushrooms from the wall, tossed them in, and tied the cauldron to her back with some vines, preparing to leave.
Since these were things she'd never seen before and weren't recorded in the alchemy handbook, she'd identify them with the small screen once she got back.
They might be useful.
However, when Lan Qingyou floated up, she realized the cauldron was a bit too heavy for her small frame to carry while flying back.
Left with no choice, Lan Qingyou had to switch to carrying it by hand.
Getting out of the basement was a bit of a struggle, though.
She had dug her way in, so the opening wasn't very large. Fortunately, the cauldron wasn't huge either. With some tugging and pulling, she finally managed to drag it out through the tunnel she had made.
“It's dark outside.”
Standing in the uncollapsed room, Lan Qingyou looked at the pitch-black night sky.
It had already been afternoon when she left, and after digging a chest full of herbs and then spending several hours here, it would be weirder if it weren't dark.
“It's fine, I can fly!”
Lan Qingyou muttered to herself as if to bolster her courage, then peeked out cautiously. Seeing that there were no wolf packs or anything nearby, she carefully crawled out from the vines.
After dragging the cauldron out, she pushed off with one hand and flew toward the tree branches.
After all, the sky was her true domain.
And it truly was.
Moving between trees while carrying the cauldron, Lan Qingyou didn't encounter any obstacles at all.
She returned home with ease.
Little did she know, the scene of her moving through the air had been spotted by someone and shared on the Regional Channel, causing a massive sensation.
Rate on N.U.
