CHAPTER 1314: CHAPTER 1315: LINATA TOWN

The next day, Feng Yuan and his group went straight to the small town where the flower field was located, tickets in hand. Because the local flower fields were exclusively for that perfume shop, there wasn’t much of a tourist route along the way. Upon arriving in the town, Feng Yuan handed over the tickets and was guided to the entrance of the flower field.

A rich fragrance filled the air. Unlike Hua Street, the floral scent here was intense but not overwhelming. Feng Yuan glanced at Xiao Ji, who shook their head at him, relieving Feng Yuan of his worry. He had been concerned that Xiao Ji wouldn’t be able to adapt to the aroma of the flower field, but now it seemed he had worried unnecessarily.

"As expected of a raw-material production site, it’s not as spectacular as other flower fields."

Veronia remarked as she observed the meticulously arranged flower fields. After all, this place wasn’t developed as a tourist attraction. The fields were tailored for mass cultivation, with orderly flowers swaying in the wind. At first glance, they were striking, but after looking for a while, they seemed to lack a certain vitality.

"It makes sense since it wasn’t designed for tourism."

Feng Yuan shrugged, speaking matter-of-factly. Truthfully, he had no expectations of the scenery here. Combining raw material production with aesthetic beauty was nearly impossible; maximizing yield meant sacrificing appearance.

"Ooh~ The fragrance here is really potent, but oddly, it’s not bad."

Long Boduo sniffed the air curiously, speaking his thoughts. He had thought it was just his imagination but finally realized the floral scent was indeed strong yet unblended. Nearby, a smiling staff member explained,

"Of course. The flowers here are all meticulously planned before planting to avoid any cross-contamination of scents."

Since they were used in perfumes, controlling the scent was crucial. If the aromas of different flowers mixed accidentally, though there might be occasional surprises, the quality would become unpredictable. Especially with these flowers, which were half-spirit medicines—if they mixed inappropriately, not even Feng Yuan could eliminate their effects.

"Avoid cross-contamination? How do you achieve that?"

Long Boduo scratched his head, puzzled. From his view, he could see fields of flowers all in the same color, but the colors varied between different fields. He didn’t notice any greenhouses or other structures; how did they manage it?

"Using space walls? That’s such an extravagant approach."

Veronia instantly saw through the truth, as the spatial fluctuations were too obvious. Yang Hongzhi, confused, asked,

"Why not use wind walls? Wouldn’t that be cheaper and more convenient than space walls?"

Wind walls could be created by strong Wind Attribute Spirit Beasts, whereas space walls were rare, requiring powerful Space-attribute Spirit Beasts. Why would they opt for the more difficult option?

"Well, wind walls might be used by smaller perfume ingredient farms, but for us, it’s absolutely not an option."

The staff member smiled as she spoke, though she didn’t fully understand why either. She assumed it was just the boss being a perfectionist.

Veronia tilted her chin thoughtfully and said,

"That makes sense. After all, wind walls involve air circulation. With flower fields this close, any use of wind walls would inevitably lead to cross-contamination between adjacent fields. For stricter requirements, the raw materials from the entire field might become unusable."

"By contrast, space walls, aside from some degree of energy radiation, don’t pose any other issues."

No matter how sophisticated the technique, spatial energy condensation would naturally have some impact. However, spatial energy wasn’t likely to negatively affect the raw materials, and its radiation range was relatively small anyway. Worst case, they could avoid using materials near the space walls.

"Ah, no wonder the flower fields using wind walls rarely supply high-end products."

The staff member nodded as if enlightened. Feng Yuan cast a surprised glance her way and said,

"You didn’t know this?"

"Ah, come on, the boss would never explain things like that to us! I always thought the boss just had too much money to spend!"

She stuck out her tongue and replied sheepishly. Feng Yuan looked her over with mild exasperation and said,

"Talking about your boss like that—aren’t you afraid he’ll punish you?"

"No way! The boss is such a nice person; that’s impossible. But, dear guest, please promise to keep this a secret!"

The staff member clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture. Feng Yuan rolled his eyes and replied,

"Relax, we’re not that petty."

Still, seeing such carefree staff made Feng Yuan think that this place’s boss seemed to treat his employees very well.

In the exhibition hall of the estate, the top-tier perfumes not available in the shop caught the interest of Veronia and Belusir, but Feng Yuan showed little enthusiasm. Yawning, he turned to Dou Yanlan and asked,

"Don’t you like this stuff?"

Dou Yanlan glanced at Qi Chen before shaking her head and saying,

"There’s no point. We don’t have the luxury to indulge in such things."

If they stayed in cities all the time, perhaps it would be different. But as Beastmasters who ventured into the wild, wearing such potent fragrances was practically asking for dangerous creatures to target them. Although Spirit Beasts generally didn’t have much interest in humans and might even avoid them, the same couldn’t be said for peculiar and hazardous creatures.

Wild animals were one thing, but aside from Spiritual Medicine and Materials, there were countless venomous bugs that posed serious threats. These creatures weren’t necessarily weak—on the contrary, their specialized traits could even endanger Spirit Beasts.

At least according to current knowledge, the major dangers of wilderness expeditions included accidentally entering perilous terrains, venturing too deep and encountering self-defensive Spiritual Medicine and Materials of great power, and the venomous bugs scattered everywhere.

Some of these bugs could bypass Spirit Beast energy barriers, while others could ignore solid barriers. Using perfume in the wild was undoubtedly an open invitation for trouble. Fortunately, venomous bugs, like the hazardous zones, tended to align with certain levels of danger.

Human researchers speculated this was connected to Earth Energy Circulation. All danger zones were essentially outlets for Earth Energy Circulation, where the released energy not only shaped treacherous landscapes but also spawned potent Spiritual Medicine and Materials, as well as venomous bugs.

This was why Feng Yuan gave Xiao Ji a scented sachet. If he weren’t accompanied by two Divine Beasts and lacked considerable personal strength, Qi Chen and the others might have advised him against it as too risky.

Scratching his head, Feng Yuan chuckled and said,

"True enough, but you can still use it in the city~"

"I don’t attend fancy parties. Someone like me—a sort of Cinderella—has no use for such things,"

Dou Yanlan said with a touch of melancholy in her expression. Qi Chen lightly patted her shoulder reassuringly and said,

"No, you’re not. Don’t forget your academy exam scores were better than mine."

Dou Yanlan smiled faintly and rested her head on Qi Chen’s shoulder. Feng Yuan, munching on snacks noisily, caught Xiao Ji’s perplexed glance as the Spirit Beast tilted its head, trying to figure out why the atmosphere had shifted oddly. Long Boduo eyed the snack package labeled "Premium Dog Food" and curiously asked,

"What is that thing you’re eating?"

"Dog Food brand chips. Want to try?"

Feng Yuan held out a chip. Long Boduo hesitated but took a nibble, realizing it tasted just like regular chips. Seeing the confused look on Long Boduo’s face, Agunas flicked its tail dismissively and explained,

"They’re ordinary chips; he just had the store label them as dog food."

Agunas glanced at Qi Chen’s group. That guy’s stash of custom-labeled snacks seemed to be running low. Who knew if he’d restock them?

Qi Chen took a brief look at Feng Yuan but refrained from commenting further. He didn’t fully understand the man’s eccentricities, only feeling they were, indeed, odd.

"Hehe~ You didn’t really think it was actual dog food, did you?"

Feng Yuan grinned at Long Boduo, who nodded and replied,

"I don’t get why you insist on giving snacks such weird names."

If Feng Yuan didn’t frequently take on his Little Husky form, Long Boduo wouldn’t have misunderstood. He’d even wondered if Feng Yuan’s tastes changed when in Husky form, just like Beastmasters’ human forms differed.