Chapter 573: Shixiong
Translated by Yan of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
After the two of them settled in, You XiaoMo tugged Ling Xiao into the dimension.
The spiritual energy of the dimension was fairly rich, and it was better to recover in here than outside. You XiaoMo wanted to go work on the magic herb field, so there was nothing Ling Xiao could say to that.
The transcendent level magic herb seed that they had just received couldn’t be left there like low or mid-grade magic herbs, nor could it be reaped any faster if it was planted earlier, especially the Heart Flower Herb. Just scraping together some fertilizer to cover it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t that he had no confidence in himself, but it was more so that he could take precautions.
On the other side, Manager Li found Manager Zhang very quickly.
Coincidentally, Manager Zhang had also been searching for Manager Li the entire time to discuss Su Lang.
After all, he was the one who introduced Su Lang to the pinnacle section, but then Manager Li went and sold the magic herb that Su Lang had preordered to someone else for a higher price. Wasn’t that just slapping his face?
Moreover, Manager Zhang had already heard about how Manager Li sold that magic herb for an exorbitant thirty million spirit gems. Just from the commission alone, Manager Li would earn almost a million spirit gems, never mind the reward from the Magic Herb Hall.
Since Manager Li earned almost twenty million spirit gems for the Magic Herb Hall, the higher ups decided to reward him with a million spirit gems. This was an amount that Manager Zhang couldn’t even earn by working an entire year, so it was impossible for him not to be jealous. Seeing that Manager Li himself came to find him, he just happened to also have something to ask him.
Manager Li had long since guessed that Manager Zhang wouldn’t tell him so easily, and that he would bring up the matter about the Heart Flower Herb. Therefore, he pretended to be ‘touched by emotion’ and ‘willing to act reasonably,’ before bringing up the Magic Herb Hall again as a shield. Finally, he expressed that he would personally go and clear things up with Su Lang before fishing Su Lang’s address out from him.
How would Manager Zhang know his true motives? Furthermore, he also wouldn’t dare to actually offend Manager Li.
In the Magic Herb Hall, there were different tiers of managers too. The higher the tier, the more important the magic herbs that they were responsible for were. Even if they really did start arguing, the higher ups would favor Manager Li, whose status was higher than his. Plus, he had provided a generous contribution to the Magic Herb Hall not too long ago, so Manager Zhang could only suffer this loss.
Afterwards, Manager Li personally went to the inn that You XiaoMo was staying in.
Not even a minute later, Manager Li left the inn, completely satisfied.
The middle of the night, when nobody was whispering anymore, was the perfect time for spies to eavesdrop.
A manor located halfway up the mountain next to the town was currently brightly lit. A wide expanse of magic herbs grew around the manor, with one particular high level magic herb serving as the majority. Restriction seals covered the area around the manor, preventing people from casually entering and stealing things.
You XiaoMo called out his two Golden Winged Insects and told them to gnaw a hole in the restriction seal. Afterwards, he secretly slipped inside with Ling Xiao.
Inside the manor’s courtyard.
Ever since Da Shixiong rescued Su Lang the day before, Su Lang was strictly prohibited from entering and leaving the manor on his own. He wasn’t afraid that Su Lang would go find those two people to get revenge, but he was afraid that You XiaoMo was still in WuShan Town.
Su Lang was someone who liked to have fun, and so he couldn’t bear it anymore after just one night, arguing from morning to night with his Da Shixiong. Sincee there were restriction seals, his passage token was taken away by his Da Shixiong.
“Yan Hui, tell me truthfully. What can I do to get you to return the token to me?” Su Lang barged into Yan Hui’s room after kicking down his door.
Yan Hui was Su Lang’s Da Shixiong. Back then, he acted under orders and participated in XiaoYao Institution’s new student orientation because of Ling Xiao. You XiaoMo could be considered an additional part of it, but at the beginning he hadn’t known that Ling Xiao was his target. It was only when shifu sent over more information that he found out, telling him to keep an eye on them both.
Unfortunately, You XiaoMo and Ling Xiao often weren’t in XiaoYao Institution. Every time, they came back for a little bit before leaving again, and he basically had no way of encountering the two of them for a long time, so he had never been able to complete the task that shifu had assigned him.
Recently, because You XiaoMo and Ling Xiao had a falling out with the Vermillion Blood Clan, the likelihood that the two of them would return to XiaoYao Institution wasn’t very high. Moreover, the situation right now was a little tense, and it was essentially impossible for him to pry the information he needed out of You XiaoMo and Ling Xiao’s mouths.
Since things had already come to this point, shifu finally let him return and wait for further orders. Right now, a lot of people were looking for the two of them, and his shifu wasn’t an exception. But because they had used the teleportation talisman when nobody was there, nobody knew where exactly they had been transported to.
In the room, Yan Hui glanced at the two door panels that had been kicked down, and he rubbed his temples. “Su Lang, you’ve already kicked down my door twice from yesterday till today.”
“As long as you return the token to me, I promise I won’t come to bother you again.” Su Lang said without a single trace of shame. How much could two broken fan doors be worth?
“Impossible!” Yan Hui refused without even thinking about it. “Before shifu sends the information over, you can only stay in the manor. When the time comes, I’ll relay the matter back to shifu and ask him to make the final decision.”
“Bah!” Su Lang spat and said, annoyed, “In the end, you just think I’m an eyesore. Yan Hui, let me tell you, if you still don’t return the token to me, I’ll make you pay for it, and then we can see if shifu will trust you or if he’ll trust me.”
Yan Hui was a little surprised by how certain he sounded, and he said, astonished, “Why do you think shifu side with you?” He knew that shifu was fond of Su Lang, but he was also someone who made a clear distinction between his public and private life.
At this, Su Lang’s expression suddenly became pleased. “Do you know why I wanted to buy that Heart Flower Herb?”
“Why?” Yan Hui responded.
Su Lang placed his hands on his waist. “Because I’m preparing to give it to shifu.”
Yan Hui didn’t believe him. “With shifu’s skill, how hard is it to find a Heart Flower Herb? Plus, shifu isn’t a mage, what use is there in giving this magic herb to shifu!”
“Indeed, shifu isn’t a mage, but there are quite a few people at his side who know how to refine pills. I heard that Lady Zuma has been collecting level twelve magic herbs recently, one of which includes the Heart Flower Herb. Lady Zuma is one of shifu’s trusted subordinates, so I can offer the magic herb to shifu and let him give it to Lady Zuma.” Su Lang was very proud of his own plan. If it weren’t for the fact that the magic herb had been stolen away by someone else, he would’ve already gotten it by now.
Zuma was the holy maiden from the previous generation of the Guma Tribe. Her cultivation base was even higher than the current Guma Tribe’s holy maiden’s, but ever since she had been relieved of her position, very few people saw her.
A sly look flashed across Yan Hui’s eyes when he heard this, and he laughed lightly. “Xiao shidi indeed has a good plan. Relying on shifu’s power so that shifu will know how talented you are, while simultaneously allowing Lady Zuma to have a good impression of you. Amazing!”
“Of course, or else do you think I’m an idiot? If I only depend on shifu’s doting, sooner or later I’ll destroy myself. Since shifu won’t give me any responsibilities, then I’ll come up with a way to make shifu notice me.” Su Lang was indeed an impulsive person, but it also wasn’t as if he had no brain.
After finishing speaking, Su Lang walked over to Yan Hui and smiled cheerfully. “Say, Da Shixiong, if shifu knew that you stopped me from going to recover the Heart Flower Herb, and was deceived by someone to the point that I didn’t even dare to go out and regain some face, what would shifu think? Would he punish you, or punish me?”
Yan Hui’s eyelids lowered, and the ice cold look in his eyes was covered slightly. After a while, he said, “Shidi, even if you want to regain your face, you have to have the ability to do so. Or else, if you lose face, I’m afraid shifu will be even more angry. I trust that you also know shifu’s temper, he hates useless and worthless people.”
Su Lang’s momentum was derailed by him, and he was very unhappy. He slapped the table. “If it weren’t for you suddenly forcibly dragging me back, it’s still uncertain who would’ve won or lost.”
“You’re overestimating yourself!” Yan Hui sneered coldly. “His level of strength is clearly above ours. If I didn’t drag you away in time, there’s no way you would be standing here now.”
“Impossible, I’m only twenty-five years old this year, and I’m already a Grade One Rainbow Level mage. Back then, shifu once said that I was TongTian Continent’s number one genius, how can a genius lose to a nameless nobody?” Su Lang said arrogantly. Even though he had only just broken through not long ago, he had always been very proud of himself.
“Then why don’t you tell me why he wanted to buy the Heart Flower Herb? Level twelve magic herbs are only needed when refining pills. If he wasn’t going to refine pills, what’s the point of buying the magic herb?” Yan Hui responded unhurriedly.
Su Lang was unable to answer.
Yan Hui said, “The Heart Flower Herb’s level is even higher than what you would usually buy. That person’s strength must be above Grade Two. If you actually started fighting him, there’s no way you would have been able to defeat him. Moreover, that person didn’t seem to be very old, so your ‘TongTian’s number one genius’ probably has to give up its seat.”
“Yan Hui!” The more he listened, the angrier Su Lang got, and he broke the table in his fury.
Yan Hui laughed, and the slightly stiff muscles in his face suddenly relaxed. He smiled and placated him, “Shidi, what’s the use of being so angry. I’m only making a conjecture, there really aren’t that many people who are more gifted than you.”
He said that there weren’t that many, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t any. This was especially since he knew someone who had become a Grade One Rainbow Level mage before Su Lang. He heard that he was already Grade Two now.
Su Lang didn’t take the bait. “From what I see, you’re just jealous and envious of my natural talent, because when you advanced to the Grade One Rainbow Level, you were already almost seventy years old. Now you’re nearly one hundred years old, and yet you’re only Grade Two Rainbow Level. I’ll catch up to you before long, so you’re afraid now. Aren’t I correct?”