Without the threat of spiritual riots and uncontrollable manic episodes, the natural healing abilities of high-ranking mimics are nothing short of a miracle of rebirth.
As long as Liele was given enough rest and with the help of medication, he could heal back as if new. If he can use a healing cabin, his road to recovery will be faster, and the sooner he can return to his humanoid form.
But it's better to report back on his injuries while he's still stuck in his juvenile mimetic form. In this way, his retirement will surely be nailed in securely; even his father cannot dig him out of the pit.
Hua Lian was excited that her companion was no longer constantly out of commission. She's really afraid that her tiny buddy was not just sleepy but in a coma. These days, she has been taking him wherever she goes, almost wanting to plant a flower in her head for his nest.
Feeling itchy, she extended her sinful hands and touched his sparkling wings, and he responded by brushing them to her fingertips.
Hua Lian was given an inch and wanted a mile. She poked him lightly, and Liele flew to the side. She then tried to pinch his wings, but Liele immediately fluttered away.
Who knew that the suffering of living a pampered life was because the golden patron was too enthusiastic compared to his lazy bones?
One of them chased, and the other ran off. After a few back and forth, the history lecture turned into a physical education.
"Really, you are so active today!" Hua Lian cheered. Her happiness overflowed, causing an elongated leaf to stick out of her head, bouncing from there to here, waving in a dance number.
Liele, "...."
Is that equivalent to a stupid hair?
How cute.
Hua Lian touched the pointed ears that also came out. Twitching them, she decided to keep them. Anyway, they have been living together, and controlling her spiritual power from overflowing in random ways was tiring.
"Ok, no more. Don't let Eggy hear us." Hua Lian offered peace.
[It's you who's rough.] Liele's thick skin allowed him to fight off a younger, rowdy brat.
"My fault. My fault. I won't force you anymore, I'll be gentle."
Liele believes in her ghost. He dodged her sinful hands and parked himself on her shoulder.
"You're not sleepy again, right?!" Hua Lian gasped in disbelief at how fast he was drained.
The word 'incapable' seemed to echo in Liele's ears.
As a man, his capabilities cannot be doubted.
[No,] he said in a strong defense. But as an inspiring salted fish, some things must be made clear. [I just don't want to move.]
It's better to be the kind of salted fish that won't flip over.
"Oh, Oh, I understand." Hua Lian bobbed her head. "Don't worry. I'll do all the heavy lifting."
[That's a good deal.] What a nice girl his dear patron is. [Then I'll reluctantly use my mouth.]
Liele felt an interest in downloading some expression pacts in his light brain, or else the fun in coaxing his financial boss would lessen.
Hua Lian really did the heavy lifting. She lined up all of their flowering pots and somehow procured a big jar of water.
"This was filtered water from the nearest river." Hua Lian paused. "Well, my bath water too."
Liele, [Your mimic form is a ginseng??]
He searched his memory of the legendary ginseng and thought of a fatty running bare buttocks.
Limbs shaped similar to humans, quite chunky, and indeed tiny, with red fruit bobbling in its head.
The image was quite fitting.
"No! My mimic form is a glowing tree!"
Liele's brain lagged, having no idea what kind of tree was glowing, though he remembered trees close to Hua Lian's physique. [A bonsai!]
He was so confident that Hua Lian was scared.
"Don't talk about it. Don't! It makes me nervous."
Her kind only have a general idea of their form. As for what their final outcome in the future is, it still depends on the environment, care, and how they're raised. If her growth ends up stunted, she might really be a bonsai tree!
They are indeed stunning works of art, but can't she have a preference?
She cannot afford the collapse of her ideal self.
Hua Lian breathed in. "Ok. I'm still young and tender; don't talk about the adult world."
Her hopes and dreams are still alive and kicking; don't bury them so early in youth.
Hua Lian prepared a new pot already filled with soil. "This was dug and transported from the prairie. Due to the increase in plant activity after its formation, the soil there was healthier."
She added a mixture of compost and fertilizers made from a variety of nutrient solutions to the pot before setting it aside. Sighing, she said, "Before, I had killed countless plants just for a pot of loose and healthy soil."
And that almost sent her into the cycle of reincarnation as well.
Liele was helpless. [Don't mention killing plants outside.]
Either you will be beaten in a sack, or, knowing that you are a plant mimic, the guys at the Botanical Research Institute will perform live fainting acts in front of you, even a heart attack included for further dramatic effect.
"Don't I just say this to you?" Hua Lian mumbled.
Pollination can trigger the death of a flower. The reason for floral death was to remove it from the competition of the remaining blooming flowers for pollinators. So as her pollinator, Liele must be prevented from being stingy and learn to be more broad-minded.
Even if countless flowers die for a single fruit, he must not be distressed.
"Okay. I will show you how to propagate flowers from cuttings." Hua Lian took the nearest rose plant, and with a swiss of the scissors, she cut segments of the newly blooming stems from the sides. After taking multiple cuttings, she removed all the flowers and buds from the stems. Even most of the leaves did not escape with mercy.
Liele trembled after witnessing the ruthless beheading. He had only seen Hua Lian blooming flowers as if performing a spectacular magic, and only now did he realize that she was a professional plant murderer instead.
No, he should have expected it when she didn't even blink when batch after batch of spiritual grasses were weeded out.
"Flowers and excess leaves will only consume energy. What you want is to encourage the stem to focus its survival energy on root production. It's enough to leave the top set of leaves for photosynthesis."
But even that was cut in half.
"Also cut off the remaining stem portion above the top set of leaves as well as a fresh cut at the bottom. Just below the stem node," Hua Lian showed the bump on the stem. "Now it's ready to be planted."
She poked holes into the soil using her fingers and inserted the cutting, then patted the soil around before using the 'bath water' to moisten the soil.
"Cover it to retain moisture. It will take a few weeks for the roots to form and a year to bloom on their own in the nursery."
A drone took the newly planted cuttings and brought them down to a brightly lit area of the nursery.