Chapter 23: All Set
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In no time at all, a crocodile hunt began.
Liang Yuexin, now standing on the small island, watched the scene before her with a dark expression.
'Is this what you call having quality time?'
Although Zhu Rong's plan had worked and successfully distracted the whole group of beasts, she couldn't help but feel a little pity for that first crocodile now swimming like crazy as far away as possible from the rest of the group.
She instinctively threw a glance at the guy behind her, thinking to herself that this person's wickedness went beyond what she'd imagined.
Zhu Rong, who had already started gathering the herbs, didn't think that this simple act of his would worsen his already bad reputation.
It was already midnight, and the evening mist herbs had begun to glow, creating a breathtaking scene.
They were at their peak right now, perfect for harvesting.
Even Liang Yuexin, seeing this sight, couldn't help but admire those flowers.
Unfortunately for her, before she could even get closer and take a better look, a faint glint of a sharp blade flashed, and in the next second, all the flowers vanished, leaving behind only their stalks,
now swaying like headless necks.
The beautiful scene from just a moment ago now looked more like something out of a horror story.
Liang Yuexin: "..."
Without paying the slightest attention to Liang Yuexin's expression, Zhu Rong placed the flowers into some bottles he'd prepared beforehand, a joyful look on his face.
'There's so many of them… damn, with the rest, I can make all sorts of medicine that'll sell like hotcakes at the market.'
He thought to himself as he sealed the bottles with pieces of paper covered in inscriptions.
It was a seal he prepared before coming here, meant to prevent the evening mist flower from wilting.
It wasn't a high-level seal, but it would be enough to keep the flower alive for a few days, plenty of time for him.
He finished packing away the flowers and stood up, ready to head back.
There wasn't much time left before the effects of the aphrodisiac he'd prepared would wear off, and he'd already gotten what he needed.
Hm?
He turned around, ready to leave with Liang Yuexin, but was met with the girl's expressionless face, and couldn't help but wonder why she was looking at him like that.
'What's with that face now? '
***
It was already midnight, and the various lights around the academy had long since gone out, a sign that people had gone to sleep.
Some were resting while others cultivated in the quiet of the night, but for a certain group of people, this was their work hour.
At the east gate of the academy, two guards were on patrol, both wearing bored expressions.
They were cultivators at the second stage of the Mortal Realm, so going without sleep for a few days wasn't a problem for them.
That said, while it wasn't hard, it was still boring.
They stood there like spears stuck in the ground, their gazes sharp and alert, ready to act at any moment.
Even though the academy was relatively safe, they were required to stay vigilant in case anything happened.
There had already been a few cases where disciples secretly left the academy at night and got away with it, and the principal was not happy about it at all.
He gave the guards an ultimatum, and they could only nod and follow orders to the letter.
Time passed, and the nighttime atmosphere was calm, marking yet another long and boring night,
or at least, that's what both guards expected.
But soon they noticed movement on the path ahead, and both instantly snapped to attention.
"Who goes there? Identify yourself immediately," they said in unison, spears pointed forward and ready to strike.
The movements grew clearer, and at one point, someone stepped out into the moonlight.
The figure of the boy looked ragged, and for a moment, the two guards thought it was some beggar.
Seeing the guards, the person raised his hands and said,
"Hold up, I'm a disciple," as he pulled out his identification token.
It was Zhu Rong, who had just returned.
Because of the nocturnal beasts, the trip back wasn't as smooth as before, and the two of them ended up running into several beasts.
At one point, even a third-stage one showed up, and he'd had no choice but to step aside to avoid getting caught up in the battle.
Just thinking about how Liang Yuexin was frying that poor beast to death gave him the chills.
For some reason, he had the feeling she wasn't in a good mood, but in the end, he didn't dwell on it too much, thinking it was because she was tired of dealing with monsters at this hour of the night.
In the end, he reached the gate, and before he even realized it, he was already alone.
He only heard a murmur from her telling him to give her the technique the next day, before that too disappeared.
'Tch, that woman… is she scared of being seen with me or what?' he thought as he grabbed his token and stepped inside.
It was already long past curfew, but luckily he had gotten permission to stay out late, and that was all thanks to Liang Yuexin's authority.
He didn't waste any time and went straight to one of the sect's training rooms.
These rooms were open 24 hours a day, after all, cultivation waited for no one, and plenty of people preferred to train at night when it was quieter.
He still had a few points he hadn't spent yet, so he used them to book a room.
He had taken his share of the money before leaving, and had already bought most of the materials he needed beforehand.
To his surprise, from that commission payment, he got 20 gold coins, nearly 20% of the total.
Old Han told him this covered not only his timely help with the commission but also the price of the runic mold he had provided to the forge.
Zhu Rong had thought of giving it to the forge as a gift, but Old Han said there was no way he could accept something like that for free, and that honestly, he should be paying him even more considering the value of that mold.
So in the end, he ended up with way more than he expected, and didn't waste any time buying everything he needed.
Part of the shopping he had already done during the day, and the rest he finished up before heading out to pick the evening mist flower.
Now that he had everything ready, he didn't waste any more time and got to work.