Mushroom Man

Chapter 306 Fickle Attitudes, Prejudice in People's Hearts

"Wu Shuai..."

Ao Miaoyin smiled faintly and remembered the name.

'Wu Shuai' was the first human mushroom master she came into contact with.

He was also the first human mushroom master to express great goodwill towards dragonmen and not to discriminate against them.

While in the Dragon Palace, she often heard her people say that humans were bad in this way and that way.

Unexpectedly, she was so lucky that the human mushroom master she casually saved turned out to be a good person among humans, not some ungrateful villain.

The improvement of relations between humans and dragons may have started from this moment, which is certainly worth remembering.

However, Ao Miaoyin also knew...

Once this person has recovered from his injuries, he will soon be sent to see his father and have his memory erased.

Therefore, from now on, she will probably be the only one who remembers this good deed.

Even if they meet again someday, 'Wu Shuai' probably won't remember that he once had a good relationship with the Dragon Man.

When Ao Miaoyin thought of this, she couldn't help but sigh.

She showed no outward signs of distress, maintaining a gentle and smiling demeanor throughout.

Ao Miaoyin blinked her beautiful eyes slightly, as if she had thought of something, and said in a soft voice with some curiosity, "Then Miaoyin will call you Young Master Wu from now on."

"When Miaoyin first met Young Master Wu, she saw that he was covered in wounds and unconscious."

"I wonder what danger Young Master Wu encountered, how did he end up in this sea area, and how did he get so badly injured?"

As far as Ao Miaoyin knew...

The sea area where the Dragon Palace is located is shrouded in storms all year round, and tsunamis often occur.

Therefore, within a radius of thousands of miles, it is highly unlikely that any human mushroom masters would idly wander around this sea area.

If it weren't for the attitude behind this "Commander Wu's" words, he wouldn't seem like the kind of person who is treacherous, cunning, or has ulterior motives.

Ao Miaoyin might actually suspect that this person's coincidental encounter with her was actually for some ulterior motive, a deliberate attempt to get close.

Perhaps he was afraid that Wu Liang would misunderstand.

Ao Miaoyin paused for a moment, then added a sentence at the end.

"Miaoyin is just curious. If Young Master Wu doesn't want to tell me, that's fine too."

Upon hearing this, Wu Liang gave a wry smile and said, "There's nothing I can't say..."

"To be honest, I am actually a righteous mushroom master from Beihai."

"Years ago, when I passed through a fishing village, I happened to see a demon who wanted to extract people's souls to refine mushrooms."

"I stopped that devil at the time, but that offended him in the process."

"Now that demon has mastered cultivation, his power far surpasses mine."

"He learned my location through the villagers of that fishing village, so he came to my door, intending to kill me."

"I fled all the way, but they forced me into a corner. With no other choice, I jumped off a cliff and fell into the sea, where I lost consciousness."

As Wu Liang spoke, his face was filled with bitterness, conveying a sense of sorrow that good people don't always get rewarded.

The story he told is actually true.

However, the protagonist is not him, but the former Blood River Ancestor.

Moreover, the Blood River Ancestor was not a good person either, but a demon who wanted to extract souls and refine mushrooms.

When the Blood River Ancestor lived a second life and embarked on the path to ascension again, he urgently needed a large number of souls to refine mushrooms to strengthen his soul, thereby enslaving mushroom beasts to protect him.

Unexpectedly, a righteous mushroom master, blind to the danger, appeared out of nowhere and wanted to protect the villagers.

At that time, the Blood River Ancestor's cultivation level was low, and he was unable to defeat that righteous mushroom master.

Later, when the Blood River Ancestor achieved success in his cultivation, he returned to that fishing village, always seeking revenge.

At that time, the villagers betrayed the righteous mushroom master who had protected them from the demon's soul-stealing without hesitation.

As a result, the Blood River Ancestor captured the righteous mushroom master, skinned him alive, removed his tendons, crushed his bones to dust, and stuffed his soul into a blood puppet, condemning him to eternal damnation.

This is what it means for good people to go unrewarded.

This is what happens when you meddle in other people's business.

Wu Liang cleverly switched the beams and pillars, speaking with such ease and without batting an eye.

After he finished speaking, he sighed softly and said, "That demon's methods are extremely terrifying, especially his expertise in the blood path and the soul path."

"Don't be fooled by my apparent non-existence; my soul has already been wounded and is riddled with holes."

"The physical injuries have been healed by Miss Miaoyin."

"Only this injury to the soul, without methods to soothe the soul or a long period of quiet recuperation, will likely still lead to certain death..."

Wu Liang shook his head, looking melancholy.

At this moment, he looked utterly miserable.

"This……"

Ao Miaoyin covered her mouth.

She really hadn't expected that 'Wu Shuai's' situation was so complicated.

She originally thought that "Wu Shuai" had only suffered minor injuries such as broken bones, fractured tendons, and ruptured internal organs.

A single Vitality Herb is enough to fully heal it. After it awakens, it can be sent out of the Dragon Palace.

But looking at it now...

The injuries Wu Shuai sustained were actually more serious than she had imagined.

His soul was riddled with holes; he almost lost his life.

Ao Miaoyin has an extremely strong ability to empathize.

After hearing Wu Liang's tragic story, she felt both angry and heartbroken.

"How could that demon and the people of that fishing village be like this..."

"Young Master Wu clearly protected the fishing village, so why did the villagers repay kindness with enmity and reveal his information to the demon?"

"Even if they're afraid of death, they shouldn't betray their benefactors out of gratitude, right?" "Do they think they can survive the devil's clutches just because they betrayed the young master?"

"Young Master Wu is a good man, yet he's ended up in such a state. That devil is truly wicked..."

Even with her gentle nature, Ao Miaoyin couldn't help but stand up for 'Shuai Wu' at this moment.

'Wu Shuai' was her first human friend, and he had no prejudice against dragon people.

It was truly hard for her to accept that such a good person did not receive a good reward.

Wu Liang simply smiled bitterly and remained silent.

Seeing this, Ao Miaoyin felt even more reluctant to let go.

Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she spoke softly, "I wonder what Young Master Wu's plans are next?"

"Now that Young Master Wu still has such a serious soul injury, if he encounters that demon again, I'm afraid his life will be in danger."

"Miaoyin doesn't have any mushrooms that can heal the soul, so she can't help Young Master Wu."

As Ao Miaoyin spoke, she seemed to remember something.

She paused, then couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you just say that a long period of quiet rest can also heal a broken soul?"

"If Young Master Wu doesn't have any particular plans for the future."

"Why don't you stay in our Dragon Palace, Young Master Wu..."

Before Ao Miaoyin could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Huang'er, who had been silent all along and seemed a little jealous of the two of them.

Huang'er looked at Wu Liang with a wary and slightly hostile expression and said, "Princess, don't be fooled by this treacherous human mushroom master."

"Princess, you're too naive. You believe everything people say."

"Humans are all cunning and liar."

"This guy said his soul was injured, but when he took a giant centipede and held you and me hostage, he didn't look injured at all."

"This guy's injuries have clearly healed completely, but he still lies and says he is injured."

"In Huang'er's opinion, this guy is clearly up to no good and wants to deceive the princess and stay in the Dragon Palace by playing the victim."

As soon as this statement came out...

A barely perceptible glint of coldness flashed in Wu Liang's eyes.

He looked at Huang'er, as if to say something.

Unexpectedly, before he could speak, Ao Miaoyin spoke first.

"Huang'er, stop talking nonsense."

"You already had some issues with Young Master Wu before, so why are you going even further now and starting to make wild guesses again?"

"Huang'er, your prejudice against humans is far too great."

"There are good people and bad people. My father once said that we cannot generalize."

"How are you any different from those humans who discriminate against dragons?"

Ao Miaoyin frowned, her tone becoming slightly harsher.

Huang'er looked incredulous upon hearing this.

At that moment, she felt incredibly wronged, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She truly never expected that the princess who had always doted on her would speak of her like that for a human mushroom master she had just met.

In her view, humans were all liars, greedy, and treacherous.

The princess, however, was bewitched and actually thought of believing in humans.

Has the princess forgotten why so few of the dragon people survive, with only the Dragon Palace lineage remaining, forced to live in seclusion here, avoiding the world?
Isn't it because those humans wantonly slaughtered the dragon people, captured them to be used as slaves of other races, or even as mushroom materials?
And even if this so-called 'Handsome Wu' is actually a good person, so what?
The princess belongs to Huang'er, so why is this guy interfering?

She accompanied the princess the longest, and the princess could only have her as a friend.

The princess is now able to reprimand her old friend for the sake of this new friend.

If their relationship develops further in the future, will there still be a place for her by the princess's side?
Huang'er felt more and more wronged and angry the more she thought about it.

Of course, she wasn't angry at the princess, but at Wu Liang for stealing the princess's favor from her.

"Huang'er, you..."

Seeing Huang'er's expression, Ao Miaoyin realized that she had spoken too harshly.

But she also knew that Huang'er was definitely not taking her words to heart.

Ultimately, it was because she spoiled Huang'er too much that he became too slavish.

Now, even if she speaks, Huang'er dares to talk back.

If this were the son or daughter of the Golden Dragon King, and their maidservant dared to be so disrespectful, she would have been punished according to the clan rules long ago.

Ao Miaoyin is too soft-hearted and inherited the indecisiveness of the Silver Dragon King.

If she continues like this, she will harm Huang'er sooner or later.

Thinking of this, Ao Miaoyin made up her mind to change her soft-hearted nature from this moment on.

She opened her mouth, but ultimately did not say anything to make amends as she had done before.

And it was at this moment...

Wu Liang suddenly sighed and spoke.

"Miss Miaoyin, please don't blame Huang'er."

"I can actually understand why Huang'er misunderstands me like this."

"The prejudice between humans and other races has indeed taken deep root in people's hearts."

"Although I have no ill will towards the dragon people, and even have a great liking for them, I also know what other humans really think about the dragon people."

"Non-my family, its heart must be different."

"Whether they are humans or dragons, they cannot trust each other for the time being."

"Prejudice in people's hearts is like a mountain that you can't climb no matter how hard you try."

(End of this chapter)