Star anise, Sanqi, Danggui, Pine Knot, Cyperus Rhizome, Cassia Seed, Astragalus Root...
SQUEAK... SQUEAK...
Xu Chang'an tilted his head back, gazing at the tall shelves arranged in neat rows before him. The shelves were methodically lined with medicinal herbs.
With memories from his past life, he could, of course, read.
Xu Chang'an's eyes scanned the shelves, row by row.
'Time is limited. I should pick the most valuable ones.'
'Found it!'
Xu Chang'an's beady little eyes brightened.
A grey figure shot up the shelf in a blur.
Lingzhi!
'This is it!'
With a bit of skill and all his strength, he pulled the drawer open. Inside lay perfectly preserved Lingzhi.
'Time to dig in!'
Without a moment's delay, Xu Chang'an darted into the drawer, opened his mouth, and began to gnaw furiously.
The panel could absorb the spiritual essence of all things and convert it into Energy. The only way to do this was for Xu Chang'an to eat them.
'To cultivate, you need a good set of teeth!'
One stalk, two stalks, three stalks...
Xu Chang'an ate at an incredible speed. His little mouth was a gnawing machine.
As he ate, he could feel a warm current surging through his body.
Unfortunately, these Lingzhi weren't very old. So far, the Energy on his panel hadn't changed at all.
Time passed, bit by bit...
The supply of Lingzhi in the drawer slowly dwindled.
Xu Chang'an didn't stop, clutching a piece of Lingzhi larger than his body as he gnawed.
Hm?
Xu Chang'an's two tiny ears suddenly twitched.
He heard a stir in the courtyard.
Glancing out the window, he realized that dawn was already breaking.
'It's getting light!'
The warm current was flowing through him nonstop, but the data on his panel remained unchanged.
Xu Chang'an wasn't ready to give up.
'Keep going! Just a little more!'
'It's only just dawn. Even if someone is up, they won't come straight here.'
As time ticked by, the sounds of conversation started to drift in from outside.
Xu Chang'an had gnawed through the entire drawer of Lingzhi, picking it clean.
He was tempted to move on to another drawer, but reason told him it was time to stop.
WHOOSH!
His body became a dark blur, darting down from the shelf and squeezing back out through the crack under the door, the same way he came in.
The sky outside wasn't fully bright yet. Two people were washing up in the courtyard; they were probably the apprentices from the Fang Family Pharmacy. At this hour, the family itself had not yet woken up.
Being so small, Xu Chang'an went completely unnoticed by the two apprentices. Using the surrounding objects for cover, he easily made his way out of the courtyard.
'I ate all night, and the panel's Energy still hasn't changed.'
'It's broad daylight now. It's not safe to stay out here with people moving about.'
With a flick of his beady eyes, Xu Chang'an darted into a small house nearby.
'The place I was staying before is too far away. It's inconvenient to go back and forth.'
During the day, Xu Chang'an spent most of his time hiding in the cracks of the house, occasionally stealing a bit of rice from the rice jar whenever he felt hungry.
When night fell, Xu Chang'an repeated his routine, slipping back into the rear courtyard of the Fang Family Pharmacy.
The crack under the door was still there, but now there was some rat poison scattered inside the room.
'It seems the people at the Fang Family Pharmacy have discovered that a rat is stealing their herbs.'
As he passed the rat poison, he had to admit, it smelled quite fragrant.
If Xu Chang'an hadn't gained Spiritual Wisdom, he probably would have gone right up and eaten it.
Cistanche!
'This is the one!'
Having found his target, Xu Chang'an zipped up the shelf and began to feast heartily.
SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK...
Only a faint, tiny sound could be heard from within the room.
He ate for nearly the entire night, but the Energy Value on his panel still hadn't changed.
Seeing that dawn was near, Xu Chang'an decisively retreated.
Based on yesterday's experience, the people from the Fang Family Pharmacy would surely come here to check first thing in the morning. It would be just his luck to get cornered here.
Sure enough, not long after Xu Chang'an had left, the two apprentices from the Fang Family Pharmacy rushed over the moment they woke up.
"Damn rat! All this poison and it still won't kill you! Quick, look and see if there's a dead one nearby!"
"No need to look. It was back again last night!"
"What herbs did it eat?!"
"Cistanche!"
"Damn it! How many rats are there for them to eat so much?!"
"Look around! Maybe it's hiding in here!"
...
Xu Chang'an didn't know what happened at the Fang Family Pharmacy that day. He just hid in the nearby residence, listening to the homeowners' conversations, stealing a little rice when he was hungry, and drinking a little water when he was thirsty.
As soon as the sky grew dark, Xu Chang'an set out for the Fang Family Pharmacy. But instead of going directly inside the building, he hid in the shadows to the side, observing.
The lights in the building were already out. After waiting a long while with no sign of movement, Xu Chang'an finally made his way toward the building.
He squeezed through the crack under the door and was just about to search for some suitable herbs to eat.
Xu Chang'an's fur stood on end. His entire body went rigid, as if facing a mortal enemy.
By the light of the moon, he could clearly see a yellow and white housecat lying not far away.
At that moment, a pair of eyes, gleaming in the gloom, were fixed intently on Xu Chang'an.
'It's seen me!'
MEOW~
The housecat transformed into a dark shadow, pouncing on Xu Chang'an with the force of a falling mountain.
WHOOSH!
Without a moment's hesitation, Xu Chang'an darted out of the building.
SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK...
'That was close. I almost died in there!'
He might have gained Spiritual Wisdom, but at the end of the day, he was still just an ordinary rat.
Faced with a natural predator, he was instinctively terrified.
'There's a cat inside. Tonight is a lost cause!'
Without a second thought, Xu Chang'an fled the Fang Family Pharmacy.
The next morning, the people at the Fang Family Pharmacy were quite happy. With the housecat standing guard, the herbs had indeed not been stolen.
"This is great! All the herbs are untouched."
"Of course! I asked around before I bought him. This fellow can catch seven or eight rats in a single night. A renowned rat-catching expert."
...
The cat's presence, and the resulting safety of the herbs, kept the people at the Fang Family Pharmacy happy for several days.
However, while the herbs were no longer at risk of being eaten, the cat, being cooped up in the room all night, would inevitably piss in one corner and take a crap in another. Cleaning it up during the day was also a hassle.
Seeing that the herbs remained safe for several days in a row, the staff of the Fang Family Pharmacy took the cat out.
They figured that after a few days, the rat wouldn't dare to come back anyway.
SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK...
Inside the room, a tiny Grey Rat was perched in a drawer, gnawing on a piece of Antler.
With the cat around, he couldn't get in to steal herbs.
But he had come to check every day. And today, as luck would have it, he got his chance!
After eating for the better part of the night, Xu Chang'an felt a warm current surging through his entire body.
Name: Xu Chang'an
Bloodline: Ordinary Grey Rat (Unranked)
Lifespan: 1 Year
Realm: None
Skills: None
Energy: (1/3)
Xu Chang'an looked at the panel only he could see, his heart pounding with excitement. His last wisp of worry vanished into nothing.
'It's just like before! It really works!'
'This little rat... I have a shot at Longevity! I really have a shot at Longevity!'
He gnawed for a while longer, then saw that the sky was about to light up.
Xu Chang'an quit while he was ahead, darting out without a moment's hesitation.