Chapter 36: Study Hard, It’s All the Content They Learned These Past Months

Since they could not reach the market, their goal each time they visited the Magic Plane shifted to finding items imbued with magic to extend the duration of their Transit Passes.

At the same time, they did not forget to collect various upgrade materials.

If nothing else, the Small Pier had at least begun to take shape. As long as they upgraded it two more times, it would be strong enough that even the strongest sea winds should not affect the boats on the water.

When that time came, they could move the boat over.

In addition to the Small Pier, they spent time building a woodshed and a habitable room in a secluded spot on the island.

The woodshed was simple to build, needing only to provide shelter from the wind and rain. After upgrading it twice to expand the space, they moved all the firewood previously stored in the Rain Pavilion there, allowing the Rain Pavilion to return to its original purpose.

“This thing looks a bit like… that piece of skin we brought back from the Magic Plane a few days ago.”

“Do you mean the skin that has the same texture as the water bladder? I remember that.”

As Bai Xi spoke, she quickly went to find the skin and placed it next to the Upgrade Card for comparison.

“It really is the same, but what does this mean? There is skin on the left, but no skin on the right.”

Bai Yu looked at her. “Shall we try it?”

“Let’s try. We don’t have much use for this skin for now anyway; using that water bladder to hold water is enough for us to drink.”

As they spoke, they had Bai Miao hold the Upgrade Card and bring it close to the skin, clicking the option that included the skin.

They then waited quietly for the house to upgrade.

The house was still a wooden cabin, but after two upgrades, it had transformed from a crude shack into an exquisite wooden house. With this upgrade, it went directly from a single-story cabin to a two-story house.

But even more surprising than the two-story house was the pool that appeared in front of it.

As well as the layer of material lining the bottom of the pool.

Bai Xi stepped forward quickly, reached out to touch the lining, and immediately said, “It’s the skin we just used.”

Bai Yu, holding Bai Miao, also crouched down to feel it and asked in confusion, “That’s not right. The piece of skin we used didn’t seem that big. How did it become like this?”

Bai Xi suddenly looked at her. “Eldest Sister, do you remember what we said two days ago when we were filling that water bladder?”

“We said…” Bai Yu quickly recalled, “We said that water bladder could hold quite a lot, that it could actually fit so much water.”

As she spoke, she looked again at the skin spread out before her, completely covering the pool.

“So it wasn’t our imagination that day; that water bladder really can hold a lot of water,” Bai Xi said excitedly. “This feels even more miraculous than the Flying Carpets in the Magic Plane. Such a small piece of skin can actually stretch this wide!”

“If just a piece of skin is this special, other things might have wonderful uses too.” Bai Yu felt a sense of trance. Their life was clearly just slightly better than normal, yet they had encountered many things that completely exceeded their imagination.

The Flying Carpets on the Magic Plane were one thing, and this skin that could stretch so large was another.

Even though they had already encountered many extraordinary things, crouching by the pool now, they were still shocked by it.

“There are too many things we don’t understand,” Bai Xi said while crouching, her brow furrowed. “There are things I want to say, but I don’t know where to start. It’s… it’s as if we are all standing on a beach, and all these things we encounter are right there. Although we can see them, we haven’t actually stepped onto the land yet. Do you understand what I mean, Eldest Sister?”

“I think I understand,” Bai Yu held Bai Miao tighter, her expression equally solemn. “We know too little.”

Bai Xi looked at her.

Bai Yu looked back at her.

After a moment, Bai Yu said, “Next, let’s upgrade the Small Pier. Everything else is mostly done. We should use the rest of our time for studying. We need to learn more about the knowledge of the Magic Plane and the White Mist Plane. At least… so we can communicate smoothly with the people there the next time we go to the Magic Plane.”

Bai Xi nodded solemnly.

With the two older sisters in agreement, the focus of their lives shifted toward learning.

The classroom specifically provided by the Check-in Shell was very useful. They could not only learn the knowledge provided by the classroom itself but also study any written content they brought back from the Magic Plane and the White Mist Plane through this classroom.

Although the knowledge of the Magic Plane and the White Mist Plane always had different explanations belonging to those two planes due to differences in language and culture, fortunately, they had enough time. Even if they didn’t understand something immediately, they could spend a lot of time grasping the content.

During this process, through Bai Miao’s actions, they gradually discovered that the items with text and diagrams from the White Mist Plane were actually a method to become stronger. One could increase their strength by absorbing certain things from the air.

And whether they were on the island or in the Forest Plane, what they needed most was sufficient strength.

Therefore, after discovering that they could cultivate at the White Mist Inn to increase their strength and speed more quickly, they made time almost every day to cultivate there.

At the same time, they did not forget their trade with the Magic Plane.

Once the two sides became acquainted, Bai Yu and Bai Xi were very clear that Nancy and the others on the Magic Plane truly needed meat without Magic Elements. The other party also knew that as long as they had items and those items were suitable, they could exchange them for meat. They gradually grew bolder and settled near the cave where Nancy lived.

Nancy and her group on the Magic Plane could not do without meat lacking Magic Elements, so naturally, they would not harm the three sisters. Once, during a sudden heavy rainstorm, they even shielded the three sisters firmly in their midst.

Thus, every five days, the three sisters would make a trip to the Magic Plane.

Every time they went, they carried nothing, but when they returned, they would be carrying large and small bags of items.

They were still not entirely clear on the specific uses of these items, but many were used during house upgrades.

For example, a fist-sized orb among these items was used during an upgrade of the White Mist Inn, becoming a lighting fixture inside the inn.

Another example was some Miniature Furniture that originally looked like toys. They appeared on the Upgrade Card during a boat upgrade, and after the upgrade was successful, they became tables, chairs, and stools fixed inside the cabin.

“Then it shall be called… scaled down, Miniature Furniture?”

Bai Xi held a pen and paper, writing the words “Miniature Furniture” in her notebook, corresponding to the original name from the Magic Plane. “Normally, these pieces of furniture can turn into normal size after using magic. Although we don’t have magic, the Upgrade Card can read these items and naturally integrate them into the upgraded houses or boats.”

“In the Magic Plane, they are called something like Miniature Furniture, but here, we can also say they are Magic Furniture to distinguish them,” Bai Yu said, looking down at the chair she was sitting on. “But it’s enough that we know; the meaning is similar, there’s no need for it to be a hundred percent match.”

“Alright, then we’ve learned a few more words.”

Bai Xi found another notebook and wrote down the different scripts of the two planes, then pasted the paper on the wall.

Many slips of paper were pasted on the classroom wall, all containing the content they had learned over these past few months. The terminology of the White Mist Plane was somewhat similar to theirs, but the words and characters of the Magic Plane were completely different. They had started by picking apart word by word, and now, just by hearing the general sounds, they could understand the rough meaning. Their progress was truly significant.

By now, whenever they visited the market in the Magic Plane, they could communicate fluently with the locals.

However, they weren’t currently lacking anything, so even when they traveled to the Magic Plane, they didn’t spend time at the market. Although the market had reopened, the area around their residence in the Magic Plane was mostly populated by people without magic. Getting to the market required walking there themselves, which was both time-consuming and exhausting.

On the other hand, the other non-magical people went to the market frequently. They went either to trade for supplies or to exchange items that the three sisters might want.

“Oh, right, we’re running low on fire starters in the kitchen.”

“It’s a good time to go trade for some. Nancy and the others can make fire starters, so we don’t even need to go to the main market for that,” Bai Yu said, closing her notebook. “If we head over now, there should be a small local gathering there. Once we get the fire starters, we can head to the big market.”

“Let’s bring some salted fish to trade while we’re at it. I’m honestly sick of eating it,” Bai Xi complained. “Thank goodness we can occasionally get food from the check-in and find game in the Forest Plane. Otherwise, if I had to eat fish every single day, I really couldn’t handle it.”

“We used to live on the water, and we ate it almost every day back then, too,” Bai Yu said with a smile.

“Maybe it’s… hard to go from luxury back to frugality?” Bai Xi said, using a phrase she had learned recently. “Life wasn’t as good back then. All I thought about was eating fewer meals of stinking fish, and I was happy just to have fresh fish every day. Now that we have so much more, and we haven’t even finished yesterday’s pheasant, I really don’t want to eat a single bite of this salted fish. Eldest Sister, just let me trade it away, okay?”

“I never said I wouldn’t agree. It’s not just you; even Miao Miao and I are tired of it,” Bai Yu said, looking over at Bai Miao, who was focused on her writing. “Miao Miao, are you tired of it too?”

“If Eldest Sister and Second Sister don’t eat it, Miao Miao won’t eat it either.” Bai Miao quickly set down her pen and ran over to Bai Yu, hugging her leg and looking up. “Eldest Sister, let’s go find Qiqi.”

Life near their residence in the Magic Plane was gradually returning to normal. During their visit before last, they had happened upon the people living near the patch of Flammable Grass. They learned that Qiqi’s family was doing well and had asked in advance when they would be heading to the market. If they went today, they might be able to see them.

“Is your homework finished?” Bai Yu reached out and gently poked her forehead. “Just because you know the material doesn’t mean you can skip your homework.”

“It’s finished.” Bai Miao ran back to grab her assignment, handed it to Bai Yu, and then went back to hugging her leg and acting spoiled. “Eldest Sister…”

“Alright, let’s go find Qiqi,” Bai Yu said after checking Bai Miao’s homework. She handed the papers to Bai Xi and then bent down to pick up Bai Miao. “Miao Miao, you’ve gotten heavy again.”

Bai Miao looked up and touched the top of her head. “Eldest Sister, I’m taller.”

“Yes, you’re taller and heavier. When Miao Miao grows up, I’m sure you’ll be taller than Eldest Sister,” Bai Yu said with a smile, playfully bouncing the girl in her arms.

Even though Bai Miao had grown taller and heavier, Bai Yu had been studying the mental cultivation and movement techniques of the White Mist Plane for several months. Her strength had increased immensely. Forget the weight of one Bai Miao; she could carry eight or ten of her without breaking a sweat.