A Beekeeper in a Magical World

Chapter 107: Return to the Brass City

This journey went pretty smoothly, with just a trivial incident in between.

Hua Mi returned home with collected seeds and the unexpected prey.

If there was something valuable on the griffon, it was its "Sound Organ."

Located in its throat, it produced highly penetrating sonic waves that had a stunning effect on targets. If one's mental power wasn't high enough, a single roar could easily induce a blank state of mind, allowing the griffon to dive in for a fatal attack.

Hua Mi sliced open its throat and retrieved the Sound Organ.

About the size of a walnut, it was wrinkled on the surface, highly elastic, rich in wind elements, and a commonly used alchemical material.

Similar to the various body parts of the Shifter Beast before, it was preserved by freezing for now.

These were all genuinely useful resources. Even if he didn't use them himself, he could trade them for money.

The other body parts of the griffon held no significant value.

Hua Mi simply tossed them into the compost well in the greenhouse.

The primary tasks ahead were greenhouse expansion and breeding the Mirage Flowers.

After about a week, the purchased materials started arriving bit by bit, and Hua Mi promptly put them all into the well.

No need to worry about waste; the excess would be stored in the material storage for future use. As long as the greenhouse existed, these materials wouldn't disappear. So, without calculating usage, he could simply go all-in.

Hua Mi expanded the greenhouse by two more areas on the original basis, making the total area inside about 40 mu.

These two new areas comprised a Mirage Flower zone and a mixed zone of Mirage Flowers and Feathered Attires.

Currently, he had roughly over twenty thousand Mirage Flower seeds on hand, and Hua Mi decided to plant this portion first.

When gathering seeds in the canyon, he specifically observed the distances between the remains of Mirage Flowers on the ground, estimating the planting intervals for this flower.

Quite large.

It could be said to have the largest planting interval among the several flower types he had.

Planting over twenty thousand Mirage Flower seeds took up nearly 4 mu of land.

At this rate, continuing the breeding process at the original speed would fill this field area after one more round.

As for the mixed zone on the other side, it required only half the number of Mirage Flower seeds.

"In another two weeks or so, the planting work for the new field area should be done."

Expanding the flower fields meant the bee colony had to keep up.

Hua Mi purchased a total of 89 regular Chinese bees in batches from several different suppliers.

Why 89? Because he had one regular Chinese bee colony left.

It just rounded up neatly to a total of 90, satisfying his OCD tendencies.

Out of these 90 regular bees, he converted 60 into Power Bees, 10 into Azure Flame Bees, and 10 into Bloodsucker Bees.

The 60 Power Bees and 10 Azure Flame Bees were all used for honey collection in the new field area, divided equally.

As for the 10 Bloodsucker Bees, combined with the original 2, totaling 12, eight were evenly distributed among the four field areas for honey collection, while the remaining 4 were carried as combat bees.

Azure Flame Bees and Bloodsucker Bees were primarily aimed at their by-products; their contribution to honey production wasn't that significant.

The Bloodsucker Bees, due to their fast flight speed, were relatively productive.

However, they produced blood honey, which might only be suitable for vampires or derivatives... and he only knew one derivative at the moment, so there wasn't a need for too many.

These workflow routines were already second nature to him.

After sorting out the greenhouse and bee colony matters, Hua Mi took some time to visit Alyss, inquiring if she could help construct a portal to the Brass City.

The ore-like byproduct produced when the Bloodsucker Bees brewed Thunderflower Honey had been bothering him, and he wanted to understand it better.

This time, the little Flower Spirit also tagged along.

Ever since her birth, she had been curiously observing this world.

A rare opportunity arose, and she also wanted to see the Brass City.

Unlike the Pseudo-Flower Spirits, Flower Spirits weren't dependent on a specific environment.

From the moment of their birth, they were already independent individuals theoretically capable of going anywhere.

Considering the trip wasn't particularly dangerous, and in a way, the Brass City was also half her homeland, Hua Mi didn't refuse her.

...

"You seem to be quite popular among the spirits," Alyss teased, glancing at the little Flower Spirit sitting on his shoulder.

"Lucky, I guess. I don't know why, but I always seem to encounter interesting souls," he joked before steering the conversation toward business.

Alyss informed him that he was indeed fortunate; she still had enough materials here to activate the portal once more.

If he wanted to use it again, he'd have to prepare the materials in advance.

That wasn't a big issue since he didn't plan on going there all the time.

Having a favor to ask, Hua Mi didn't come empty-handed and brought several bottles of Graceful Flower Honey for her.

Despite Alyss staying indoors all day, her mental energy wasn't consumed only during battles.

Engaging in long-term research on architectural design and spatial magic was also quite taxing on the mind.

The Graceful Flower Honey should be a satisfying gift for her.

As expected, upon hearing the honey's benefits, Alyss gladly accepted it, visibly wearing a smile on her face.

With the foundation left from the last time, this time, it only required a restart.

Before long, Alyss opened the portal.

Remembering Alyss's instructions, Hua Mi, along with the little Flower Spirit, passed through the portal.

After a brief sensation of weightlessness and compression, Hua Mi's feet landed once again on that grassy field.

The familiar scorching air, the familiar light pollution... everything seemed just like the last time he was here.

"Is that you?"

The little Flower Spirit suddenly noticed something and tilted her head, looking behind him.

Hua Mi turned to look.

"..."

Beside the original Nuwa King statue in the square, there was now an additional statue.

A human figure in robes, wearing a hood, one hand slightly raised forward, while the other gripped a seemingly heavy sword resting on the shoulder, exuding a righteous aura.

Once again, he couldn't help but admire the Nuwas' forging skills.

This statue was lifelike, an exact replica of himself.

It should have been an honor.

But for some reason, there was an odd sense of embarrassment...

Perhaps the pose was a tad too edgy.

Did I strike that pose back then?

I don't think so.

I was numb from the neurotoxin, hardly in the mood for posing.

It must be the Nuwas' imagination.

...

He hadn't walked far towards the Nuwa King's palace when three Nuwas came out to greet him.

One of them was unmistakably the translator from last time, that can-like Nuwa.

He ran too fast, accidentally tripping and rolling down the steps clattering all the way down.

Being so round, he rolled swiftly.

Hua Mi maneuvered the bee colony to help slow him down, eventually bringing him to a

stop.

The can-like Nuwa hurriedly got up and respectfully said, "Lord Swordsman, welcome back to the Brass City!"

"Long time no see, Can." Hua Mi replied.

"Can?" The Nuwa was puzzled. "..."

Uh, it just slipped out.

Seeing him resembling a can, I gave him that nickname in my mind.

What was his actual name again?

Forgot it.

This is awkward.

The Nuwa was puzzled for a moment but suddenly bounced up, happily declaring, "Lord Swordsman has named me! From today onwards, I shall be called Can!"

"..."