Ning Shu became deeply focused on her practice, putting everything else aside. She was no longer the glutton she once was, and her body had begun to change in strange ways.
A faint energy now flowed through her, warm and soothing as it moved, strengthening her body and filling her with vitality.
Her mind was clearer than ever, her thoughts calm, and she felt a newfound appreciation for the world's beauty.
It was a magical sensation. Rubbing her arm, Ning Shu noticed that while her skin was still smooth and satiny, it now had an underlying energy. Thankfully, she hadn't turned into a mass of muscle!
After achieving this great feat, she felt triumphant. She gathered a group of servants and headed to the imperial family's Manor Garden, which originally belonged to the host.
The Manor Garden was vast, containing orchards, farmland, and various vegetation.
Ning Shu had a plan. Among the necessities of life—food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—food was the top priority. She wasn't sure if this world had crops like sweet potatoes or potatoes, which were high-yield and drought-resistant. In case of a natural disaster, those crops could be lifesavers.
She strolled through the entire garden but found nothing close to what she had in mind. Disappointed, she asked the garden manager, but he confirmed they didn't grow anything like that.
"Huh, that's odd," Ning Shu thought. Sweet potatoes have been around since at least 2000 BC in recorded human history. Yet, here they didn't exist?
Could it be that people in this world hadn't discovered these life-saving crops yet? Ning Shu grumbled to herself—it was exhausting being a princess. Even though she was royalty, she still had to farm.
Determined, Ning Shu ventured into the forest alone, hoping to find wild potatoes or sweet potatoes.
The forest was dark and chilly. Years of fallen leaves had created a thick layer on the ground, home to ants and various bugs.
Using a branch, Ning Shu pushed through the underbrush, examining the ground for any sign of potato vines.
The deeper she went, the thicker the trees grew. Their dense leaves blocked out the sky, trapping the air, which was now thick with fumes.
Ning Shu hesitated. The fumes were likely from decaying leaves and could be toxic.
She spent the whole day wandering the forest. When she got hungry, she caught a rabbit, roasted it, and ate it. To her surprise, she was much more agile now; catching the rabbit had been almost effortless.
After her meal, she continued her search. While there wasn't much to show for her efforts, she did find a few small wild pepper plants. She carefully dug one up and brought it back with her.
Back at the garden, Ning Shu was ready to plant the pepper herself. When Yuan Dong saw this, she anxiously offered, "Princess, why don't you let me handle it?"
In truth, Ning Shu didn't know much about farming either. But thanks to the age of the internet, she knew a little. Still, the garden had managers and tenant farmers who likely had far more experience than her, so it was probably best to leave it to them.
The next day, Ning Shu returned to the forest. She wasn't expecting much but refused to give up. How could there not be any wild sweet potatoes? It just didn't make sense.
After wandering for half a day and finding nothing, she sat down on a tree branch to rest. She pulled out some rations and began to eat while gazing at the trees around her, wrapped in a soft white mist.
It all felt quite mysterious.
She was lost in thought when a sharp pain shot through her hand. Glancing down, she saw two tiny red dots on her finger, and her food was gone.
Gone! What the heck just happened?
Panic set in. What had bitten her? She hadn't even seen anything. Quickly, she squeezed her finger, unsure if the bite was poisonous.
She pressed on it for a while, but the blood that came out was normal—bright red, with no signs of poison.
"Good grief, this place is too dangerous," Ning Shu muttered. "I need to get out of here. Maybe sweet potatoes have been banned in this world… or they just don't exist at all?"