Mushroom or human, girls are troublesome to meet, troublesome to please.

Three months since my first encounter with the mushroom had passed by, and the mist had descended once more upon the trees. The mushroom was a talkative creature, but recently her periods of silence and slumber had been increasing. On the rare occasion awake, she would be dazed and in a reverie.

I felt as if her soul was wandering away from the earth in those moments. I wanted to sit down and interrogate her, but my efforts in trying not to pry into her history would be wasted. My brain itched.

"Do you wonder where the mist leads?" She abruptly questioned, startling me.

"Granpa Ling said its dangerous." I responded and swung the axe down upon the log, smoothly splitting it into two, "Winter is starting soon? Does your body feel temperature? Do I have to prepare for mushroom-shaped clothes?"

"This village…is delightful," She confessed, "The villagers are pleasant and kind people, the air is fresh and sweet, there are not many wild beasts or bandits around. But I can't stay here. I shouldn't stay here."

I paused and gazed at her, perplexed. The mushroom did not have any wedges or spots representing her face, it was always a mystery about how she possessed five senses, so I could not see her expression or understand her emotions.

"I am going to enter the mist." She announced, her voice filled with conviction, "Do you want to come with me?"

"Good luck." I responded, taciturn, "I won't be giving you farewell gifts-"

"Wait, hold on!" She objected, her voice grouchy, "I haven't completely explained! In the mist, there is a fairy circle! It's a gate to a secret land! If you go with me, you will get innumerable priceless treasures, and even forget your master!"

"Master said, those who openly bribe people even suffer terrible ends!" I counselled solemnly, "Those who get bribed and ruin their relationships suffer worse conclusions!"

"What bribe? Do I have anything to bribe with?!" Morose, she cried, "Look at me, I am a mushroom! If I encounter danger, how will I defend myself!"

"Master also taught me to take heed of those who act pitiful!" I countered.

"Are you a parrot?" The mushroom fumed, "How could you be so proficient at recalling your master's words? Why is your master so chatty! Aren't you just borrowing your master's name to speak out your own thoughts?!"

"Master said…Friends don't owe each other. So friends should help each other through thick and thin." I retold, slowly.

The mushroom instantly perked up.

"But we are not friends. You and I have no relationship. You are just a freeloader I have tolerated these few days." I finished.

"Fine! Fine! Fine! Stay here!" The mushroom stomped up and down, furious, "Stay here and become an immobile fungus! Rot in here for eternity!"

The mushroom did not utter a word to me, for the entire day. Queerly, I felt restless. Sudden urges swelling up in my heart, I prodded her for words but she stubbornly disregarded me.

"My master told me something before he kicked me out." I conceded and broke the cold war, divulging the entire tale of my glorious senior brother and my master's for throwing me into the wild, "Some say he was right to elope, others say he was the shame of the sect. I really don't know who's right, who's wrong."

The ringing silence returned.

"Isn't this just a matter of perspective?" The mushroom finally reacted, "For those who consider wealth and status as important, he is wrong, for those who consider relationship and loyalty as important, he is brave. Isn't it that he is neither wrong nor right?

Although abandoning your relationships and loyalty for materials is a universal evil, money is a universal requirement. Nobody would like to see their loved ones in hardships. If your time and energy are exhausted by labour, how would you expend effort into relationships?

But if you are only left with wealth but no relationship, ain't it lonely at the top? There's only so much wealth one can expend for themselves.

Thus, Wealth and relationships are equivalent. Compromising either would be a mistake."

The mushroom paused, "But this is his choice. He made it. Whatever people comment, it's entirely in his hands whether this choice was correct or wrong. Why waste time on other life decisions? It doesn't concern us."

"You sound like Master." I smiled, "But these are still your words, not mine. Don't you hate me for iterating my master's quotes? This answer is still not mine. Similarly, adventuring through the misty forest is your desire, not mine.

Even If I went without encountering you, it would only be because other cultivators would have done the same. In fact, that is the reason, I have not explored it myself. Because Master loathed me following the crowd. So I will try not to do what most will do.

If I make such a choice, would it not be my choice? If I took your hand, would it not be my choice?"

"If you don't want to go, don't go!" The mushroom barked, "Do you have to be so long-winded? I won't force you!"

"But your actions say otherwise." I helplessly massaged my temples.

"Why do you care? Who are you to care?" She scoffed, "I thought we didn't have any relationships!"

"I was wrong, I was wrong." I apologized instantly, "It's me being a fool! You and I are master and servant."

This was my master's most famous line. It always worked.

"Who's the servant?!" She exploded, "You dare call me a servant-"

"It's me! It's me!" I coaxed, "You are the master!"

The mushroom harrumphed unsatisfied.

"Don't ignore me. You acting like this really makes me-"I rubbed my chest, "Feel stuffy. Uncomfortable."

"You…You really are sly." The mushroom relented, "Alright, I'll forgive you. I'll go alone."

The mushroom lingered around for another month. Soon it was half a year since my master tossed me out. The days passed surprisingly quick and smooth without any action. I felt fidgety as the mist descended.

It seemed I was unwilling to let this little mushroom go. With her, my days were filled with a bit of cheer. But my opinion didn't matter. I walked with her till the edge of the mist, near the river where we first met.

"I am leaving." The mushroom whispered, traces of disappointment in her voice, "Thank you for toleration me and my bad temper during this period of time. Though you are a bit annoying, you are a good person."

I did not reply. The mushroom did not wait. I watched as she stepped into the mist, her figure growing blurrier with each step. My eyes widened. Her silhouette flickered, and instead of a mushroom, there was a girl glancing back, her eyes meeting my own. A small sad smile tugged at her lips.

Ah. So she was truly a girl.