Back inside the dimension, Li Meirong had transported herself into the very same familiar flower field. However, the colourful, sweet-scented view of the flowers had now been changed into a different type of scenery.
Li Meirong darted back and forth amid the field, scanning the mushroom-filled meadow in bewildered despair. Only a few flowers and herbs had now remained in the area since the majority of the flora had been displaced by a heap of fungi. Huge, thick, stems they were, with glossy auburn, kidney-shaped caps. The polypore mushrooms colonized the whole field, peculiarly shooting straight out of the ground.
In the meadow's middle, one large lingzhi mushroom stood apart from the masses. It looked far grander than its smaller, identical-looking neighbours as it stood aloft, its large red cap shined with a waxy glow under the beaming light rays of the dimension's space.
Li Meirong approached the massive mushroom with a questioning look in her eyes, tapping on its wide top with her knuckles.
The mushroom tilted its cap slightly forward in excitement, 'Distinguished Master, I have been waiting for you!' It communicated telepathically with her, its tone filled with glorious cheer.
Li Meirong's shoulders trembled as she curled her hand into a fist and knocked the mushroom's head, furiously scolding the fungi, "What have you done to my field?!"
She seriously wanted to cry now. Why, all her beautiful, priceless flowers and herbs were all but gone…
'Ahh! Don't hit, don't hit! I told you I'd give you a field of mushrooms, remember?'
"You forgot to mention that you'd decimate my flowers in exchange!" Li Meirong fumed, spreading her arms and pointing at her ruined flower field.
True, it had delighted her to discover the valuable lingzhi mushrooms growing in such large quantities, but… couldn't they do so without ruining her already existing garden?!
'The soil here provides us with rich nutrients, so the weeds simply had to go.' The mushroom explained very logically.
'Weeds?' Li Meirong facepalmed herself.
"Nevermind. No use crying over spilt milk. I need the mushrooms now so I'll be plucking a few."
Sounding as sweet as honey, the sentient Lingzhi rejoiced, 'Go ahead, go ahead! Please give me another drop of blood, and I'll keep taking care of the field for you!'
Li Meirong snorted in response, but went ahead and gave the mushroom her blood after plucking several lingzhi stalks and stuffing them inside the green storage bag which she received from Xiong Mei.
Then, she bent down and dug a few small holes in a patch of unoccupied soil with her bare fingers, planting a few of her preserved spirit grass seeds along with the half moon lilies.
For a while now, she had been curious about the effects of this spatial dimension when it came down to planting herbs brought from the outside, and wondered if their properties would enhance or change in any way.
Following that, Li Meirong summoned a damp napkin and wiped her fingers clean while warning the mushroom "boss" in a low voice, "Don't you dare ruin the herbs I just planted! You need to learn to share this space with the rest of the plants, understood?"
'Understood, understood! Not touching the useless weeds anymore."
She turned around without saying another word and tucked the dirty napkin in her bag as she began to head out towards the library. Right now, she was on a mission and didn't have a lot of time to spare. She had to find a way to help Zhu Qingyue, and perhaps, with the advice of this magical dimension, she'd be able to find a cure.
Just as Li Meirong was about to leave, the sentient mushroom called out to her, 'Wait, Master! You need to make a contract with me!'