Holding the Poochyena in his arms, Liu Mu had no idea what had happened and could only comfort it. "It's okay, it's okay, I'm right here," he said, gently patting the Poochyena's back.
After a little while, the Poochyena calmed down, and Liu Mu set it back on the ground. Seeing that it had recovered, Liu Mu asked, "Did something happen?" The Poochyena shook its head to indicate that nothing was wrong. Seeing this, Liu Mu knew he wouldn't get any answers by pressing the issue, so he simply said, "Well, let's eat first."
Liu Mu took out some Dark-type food and poured out some Normal-type food as well. Seeing the food, the Poochyena decided to bury the matter deep in its heart—if it ever got the chance, it would slaughter those bugs for sure. For now, the most important thing was to eat its fill and accompany Liu Mu on his exploration.
Watching the Poochyena gobble down its food like a starving ghost, Liu Mu figured it couldn't have been anything too serious.
After finishing their meal, Liu Mu led the Poochyena toward the right to fetch some water.
Along the way, four Wurmple crossed their path, all of which were rushed by the Poochyena and bitten to death on the spot. Watching the high-spirited Poochyena, Liu Mu had no idea how those bugs had offended it, but it didn't make much difference. The bugs ended up in his Spatial Backpack as materials anyway.
Upon reaching the pond, Liu Mu first scanned the surroundings to see if there were any pearls to pick up. A quick glance revealed none; it seemed he couldn't rely on luck after all. After filling a few bottles of water, he continued heading to the right of the pond.
Holding his dagger, Liu Mu proceeded slowly with the Poochyena, scanning his surroundings until he spotted some red mushrooms under a certain large tree and walked over.
"Are these small mushrooms? They seem like they might be worth a bit of money. I'll pick them." With that, he squatted down to harvest the mushrooms. Suddenly, some silken threads shot down from the tree. Liu Mu instantly jumped back, though he still got caught by a few strands. The Poochyena immediately channeled its energy and charged forward. A few rustling noises came from the tree, followed by the falling bodies of two Caterpie, and then the Poochyena leaped down with another one clamped in its jaws.
After pulling off the bug silk, Liu Mu remarked, "Spirits are even starting to use fishing scams now." He then stored the three carcasses and four small mushrooms into his Spatial Backpack and pressed onward.
They hadn't walked far when Liu Mu heard the sound of flapping wings. He instantly became alert, signaled the Poochyena to conceal themselves, and slowly crept toward the noise.
From a certain distance, Liu Mu spotted a fruit tree laden with Pecha Berries, which were specifically used to detoxify poison, guarded by a pair of Dustox, while several Silcoon hung upside down nearby.
Taking in the situation, Liu Mu analyzed the threats: only the two Dustox posed any danger, while the Silcoon were completely immobile and presented very little risk. Once he figured this out, he made his move.
Today, the two Dustox brothers were carrying out their routine duty of guarding the fruit tree and their unevolved siblings. One of the fatter ones complained, "How boring. You know, the two of us just stand guard here every day—we can't eat them, and we can't leave. What's the point? In this forest, who would dare mess with us?"
The other Dustox replied, "Cut it out with the nagging and just patrol properly. Otherwise, if the others catch you slacking off, the two of us won't even get anything to eat."
"Fine, fine." With that, it flew down from the tree.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the nearby bushes. The fatter Dustox immediately flew over to investigate. When it was five meters away from the bushes, the Poochyena lunged straight out, knocking it to the ground. Its fangs surged with Dark-type energy as it viciously bit down on the Dustox's head, giving a fierce yank that tore the head right off. The other Dustox reacted quickly and immediately launched Confusion.
The Confusion hit the Poochyena, doing little more than tickling it. After swallowing what was in its mouth, the Poochyena unleashed a fierce kick using Sand-Attack, directly blinding the remaining Dustox. It then broke into a sprint, its jaws filled with dark-black energy, leaped forward, bit into the lower half of the Dustox's body, and clamped down with savage force, killing the Dustox instantly.
After the battle ended, Liu Mu walked over with his dagger and looked at the two corpses, which could be pieced together into a single Dustox. He muttered speechlessly, "They're not going to be easy to sell looking like this. Oh well, extra meal for you tonight." With that, he stored the two carcasses away, and then walked over to the Silcoon with his dagger in hand.
Liu Mu swung his dagger, cutting the threads from which they hung upside down, then thrust the blade into their eyes, gave it a twist, and stabbed them a few times more for good measure.
"That's four in total. The silk from these Silcoon is good stuff; the Department Store buys them."
After finishing up, Liu Mu turned his attention to the fruit tree—this was the real prize.
Climbing the tree, Liu Mu harvested a total of 17 Pecha Berries. After putting them into his Spatial Backpack, he realized the bag was almost full and knew it was time to head back to town.
Returning to the tree hollow with the Poochyena, he packed up his tent, strapped it to his back, and headed in the direction of the town.
After walking for more than half an hour—killing five clueless Spirits along the way, though unfortunately there was no room left in his backpack—Liu Mu and the Poochyena finally reached the gates. This time, the main gates were not tightly shut, and Liu Mu walked right inside.
As soon as he entered the town, Liu Mu spotted two familiar figures. Seeing Liu Mu return, Xu Mao hurried over and said, "You're back, Liu Mu! How did it go? Everything alright?"
Hesitantly, Liu Mu replied, "I'm fine. Xu Mao, do you know this person?" He asked, looking at Xu Mao in confusion.
Xu Mao happily announced, "This is my old man. Let me introduce him—this is the captain of our Suzuki Town Guard Team, Xu Hao." Xu Mao's father was none other than the man who had tried to scare Liu Mu at the gate.
With a wide grin, Xu Hao looked at Liu Mu and said, "Not bad, kid. Strong smell of blood on you—now *that* looks like a Trainer." Because of the scar on his face, Xu Hao's smile looked terrifying.
With a blank expression, Liu Mu replied, "You flatter me, Uncle." Internally, he thought: *Xu Mao, are you and your father cut from the exact same cloth?*