Simply Trading

Which was probably why everyone at the School had been rather sympathetic towards Qin Feng, who had somehow drawn that rake-thin old fellow as his immediate supervisor. Well, sympathetic enough that they didn"t try to make any trouble for him.

Or was it simply because they didn"t wish to have to face Elder Ming, should Qin Feng end up complaining about how he was treated by his Seniors?

Not that it mattered, since it gave him a perfectly good reason to visit the grey-haired fellow"s house now and again. Although not so frequently that it would lead to any suspicions among the other Elders in their Residence.

The Elders" Residence was set just behind the Grand Hall, where the Grandmaster and the Administrators of the School held sway. Only the most Senior Inner School disciples were allowed to visit the Grand Hall. And there were several members of the School Guards on duty close by, to make sure that no one broke the rules.

Not that they gave Qin Feng any trouble, of course, despite the hour. Dressed in his somewhat filthy Outer School disciple uniform, and reeking of medicinal plant juices and such, it was clear to all present that he was reporting to one of the Elders who were in charge of the medicine gardens.

So the tough School Guards simply stood aside, and watched him, to make sure that he did not try to step into the Grand Hall. The Elders" Residence was, however, none of the their concern. And they soon turned their attention to other matters, ignoring the late night visit.

Elder Ming Guanhe, on the other hand, was waiting for him at the entrance of the same. And he gestured at a rather deserted little pavilion, set a short distance away from the buildings around it, as soon as he saw Qin Feng. It was clear that he had been waiting for the young man to show up for a little while now.

But he walked over to the pavilion, sitting himself down to wait patiently, as the youth clambered up the short hill towards him, panting softly as he did so. That was, unfortunately, not an act. Qin Feng had spent almost all of his internal strength earlier, coaxing more speed out of his puppet. And his physical body was very tired as well, after almost the whole day in his hidden training room.

"You called for this ... unusual meeting, so I presume you have something urgent to report?" the old man asked at once, when he saw that Qin Feng had more or less recovered.

"You might say that, Elder Ming. I happened to chance upon something that would greatly interest you," he replied with a grin, as he pulled out one of the boxes that he had received from the Medicine Hall.

And slid its cover open slightly, so that the Elder seated across from him could taste the unique aroma that both of them knew so well. After all, it was something that Elder Ming Guanhe had asked him to retrieve for him, from the restricted medicinal fields, close to where he worked.

"You have found another one?"

Qin Feng held up the stalk of Purple Blood Ginger as his smile widened, and handed it over quietly. "I believe that Elder Ming only needs ... another three to four of those, in order to ... settle your upset stomach? That is, if I have not lost count? I am rather certain that I can get my hands on that amount, before the year"s end."

The old man"s face seemed to light up, the moment that he saw the tiny leaf that smelled so heavily of blood in his own hand. And grinned wildly as he looked up at Qin Feng again, when the words finally penetrated:

"You can get your hands on ... more of these?"

"A possibility, sir. No more than a possibility. But I think that I have ... discovered a spot in the Forest where some of these may have been ... planted? A good while back? Perhaps someone was trying to hide his gains from the others in the School, but did not live long enough to ... enjoy the harvest?

"Well, all of his hard work may end up ... in the Elder"s hands, if you know what I mean."

That was the story that they had cooked up together, to cover both of them, if this particular trade ever came to light. Elder Ming would claim that he gave Qin Feng permission to search the Forest, and the latter would say that he was looking for that particular herb, which the Elder needs to settle his upset belly.

Which should be enough to keep them both out of trouble. If they were ever discovered.

Elder Ming looked perfectly ecstatic for a moment, before he recovered, and turned his sour-looking eyes on Qin Feng again. "You wouldn"t be telling me this if you don"t have something that you want from me. And probably something that is going to cost me dearly. Hurry up then! Tell me what you want!"

"Elder Ming is more understanding than I had hoped. Well, I do have a small request, to tell the truth. I have been concentrating my efforts in the medicinal gardens for almost three years now, and I am already close to eighteen. That means I should have been tossed out of the School earlier this Spring, according to the usual customs.

"However, Elder Ping seems to have ignored the usual rules and have tied me to this year-long gardening project of his. The one that requires one to ... utilize his own Blood Essence? That is a little ... overdoing it, don"t you agree? Elder Ming?"

The bald old man sniffed, and made a face at him. "You are just trying to get out of more work, aren"t you? But Ping Jiexian is trying to poach one of mine? How brave of him! Don"t you worry about that! I"ll soon settle this!"

Then he paused, and shot Qin Feng a strange look. "But ... Have you made a decision about joining the School as a custodian? Unless you miraculously demonstrate an apt.i.tude for alchemy or formation building, you are seriously going to be tossed out next Spring for certain. We might be able to avoid it this year, but I doubt that we can play that trick over and over again.

"You will have to leave next year if nothing changes over the next two seasons."

* * *