#31 - New friends revealed
Before midnight, Mu En once again witnessed the awakening of the magical tree.
The vines were slenderer than the willow tree, so the magical glow they produced covered a wider area.
When the glow had completely receded, a two-meter section of the vine became usable wood for crafting wands.
Seeing that the moon was already setting in the west, Mu En handed the Bowtruckle to Cedric and, after a few words of instruction, ran back to the dormitory alone.
Today was the day to return to Xilin, and Mu En didn't want anyone else to know this secret.
Having witnessed the changes in the magical trees twice, Mu En had grasped the method of finding them.
He believed that the reason wizards couldn't discover such magical trees was because the Bowtruckle concealed their energy, making them look no different from ordinary trees.
Recalling what he had seen and heard that night, Mu En quickly ran towards the common room.
However, as he rounded a stairwell, a small, mottled furball appeared.
It was Mrs. Norris.
As the trusted assistant of the castle caretaker, Filch, this cat's name had been mentioned by Ron and Harry several times.
In the dormitory, Mu En often heard his roommates complaining that the cat's nose was too sensitive, and it could always accurately catch people in the corridors.
Mu En had never considered that he would become the caught, rule-breaking young wizard, especially tonight.
"Meow!"
Upon discovering Mu En's presence, Mrs. Norris was also startled and jumped back.
Just as it was about to return to call Filch, a clear chirp rang out.
"Chirp!"
Bung Bung, who had been sleeping in Mu En's pocket, jumped out, its little eyes looking at Mrs. Norris in surprise.
The mottled cat suddenly stopped, turning its head to look in amazement at the Niffler that had jumped out of the young wizard's pocket.
Bung Bung's actions were completely unexpected to Mu En; it actually ran up to Mrs. Norris and patted her head.
The mottled cat let out a soft meow.
"Meow ~"
This scene astonished Mu En.
Just as he was about to ask Bung Bung what was going on, Filch's voice suddenly came from the stairs below.
"Oh, my dear, have you found a wandering, misbehaving young wizard again? Don't worry, I'll be right there."
A swaying patch of light came from the dimly lit stairwell; it was from the oil lamp in Filch's hand.
Hearing the footsteps getting closer and closer, Mu En picked up Bung Bung and ran to another section of the stairs.
"Quick, tell me, dear, where is the misbehaving young wizard hiding?"
Filch's hoarse voice echoed in the place where Mu En had just been standing, but then the footsteps gradually faded away.
Only after the footsteps disappeared did Mu En come down from the stairs and quickly run towards the Gryffindor common room.
"Mrs. Norris is your new friend?"
After returning to the common room, Mu En looked down and asked Bung Bung.
The lazy little creature stretched and replied with a chirp.
"Alright, let's go back to sleep."
Bung Bung had been accompanying Mu En for the past three nights, and the little guy was now exhausted.
Mu En tiptoed back to the dormitory, put Bung Bung back in its tree-hollow house, and quietly lay down on his bed.
-----------------
Back in Xilin, Mu En first caught up on some much-needed sleep, and only got up to find Uncle Neil after he was fully rested.
When he parted ways with Neil last time, Neil said he would ask the timber merchant about Mu En learning seedling cultivation.
Because of the war, all timber had become controlled goods.
Gunpowder production required charcoal, and charcoal production required felling trees.
Even small saplings that hadn't grown up yet had to do their part for the war.
Having cooperated with Neil for seven years, the timber merchant, named Merrick, readily agreed to Mu En's request to visit the forest farm.
The forest farm was located north of Xilin Town, half a day's ride by carriage. When you could see a range of low hills, you had arrived at Merrick's forest farm.
"These four mountains in front were planted in the last ten years. Behind them are the ones my father planted, which are already thirty years old. As for the deeper areas, there are hundred-year-old trees, but we generally don't go there."
Riding on his horse, Merrick introduced his family's private property with great pride.
Mu En nodded and smiled in response, but his eyes were constantly searching for his predetermined target.
There were many trees in the forest farm, even far more species than in the Forbidden Forest.
After giving Mu En a good meal at noon, Merrick found a forest farm worker.
This was a middle-aged man named Zalan Knight. He held a large yellow dog on a leash, and he had an old-fashioned hunting rifle and bow and arrows on his back.
His most distinctive feature was a black eye patch over his right eye.
"You're Neil Scarlett's nephew?"
After entering the dense forest farm, Zalan looked curiously at Mu En beside him.
"Yes, Uncle Neil arranged for me to come to the forest farm this time."
"Oh, you can tell me directly what you want to see. I was the one who hosted Neil last time he came. There's no place in this forest farm that I don't know about."
Zalan took a sip of the liquor from his goatskin bag and continued to lead the way, but Mu En didn't answer directly.
Because he didn't know if he could find trees with magical properties.
......
"You want to see everything?"
After walking for half a day, Zalan put down the goatskin bag in his hand and stared seriously at Mu En.
Realizing that Mu En's attitude was very serious and he wasn't just messing around, Zalan sighed helplessly and then walked ahead to lead the way again.
"Alright, thankfully there are temporary supply points for the lumberjacks on the mountain, otherwise we would have had to go back to prepare food."
Mu En didn't notice the change in Zalan's expression. He directly skipped the small trees that hadn't grown enough and followed the forester deeper into the forest.
After entering the area with thirty-year-old trees, the trees here had become lush and leafy, and the canopies densely covered the sky, making it difficult for light to penetrate.
Even though it was daytime, after entering here, Mu En felt like the sun hadn't risen yet.
......
"There's nothing you're looking for here either?"
The two of them, who had been walking for a day and a night, were now sitting on a flat hillside.
A bonfire had been lit in front of them, and a cooking rack was set up on top of it.
"No."
Mu En casually answered the other party's question, then suddenly reacted and looked at him.
"How do you know I'm looking for something?"
Mu En's nominal reason for coming to the forest farm was to observe and learn, but he hadn't told anyone his true intentions.
"Heh, didn't Neil tell you? I was his comrade-in-arms for ten years. Your actions along the way can't fool my eyes."
Zalan said, pointing to his only remaining left eye, and then took a bite of the grilled meat and continued.
"You've been looking around all day, especially at night, you look at the trees even more diligently. Are you looking for some precious wood?"
Hearing the other party say this, Mu En took a deep breath.
"It seems that my disguise isn't good enough. I am looking for wood, but not the precious wood you're thinking of."
Hearing Mu En's self-revealing answer, Zalan smiled, took a swig of wine, and also took a deep breath.
"Heh, disguise isn't something an eleven-year-old child can master."
Zalan just mocked Mu En's little thoughts. As for what he was looking for, he didn't ask much.
