Simply Trading

So he had simply left things as they are, and let Senior Disciple Chen Xing draw his own conclusions. As long as he was left alone to deal with his medicine field, and his cultivation, the rest of the School could keep on making all those erroneous a.s.sumptions about him!

Besides, he had other more pressing matters to deal with, such as the next Hunt:

He took care to make sure that he wasn"t late for his second Hunt, since he already had a better idea of what to expect. And he had set off a little earlier than the last time he took part in the same. That, he thought, would be enough to silence the rest of the Hunters partic.i.p.ating.

Strangely though, there were no repeats in the group that he joined. Everyone, apart from him, of course, was new. Which was enough to have him wondering what was going on.

But since he was new, and obviously younger than this second group of Hunters, he didn"t have much of a chance to speak to them before Elder Ming arrived. And the old man seemed repeat his performance, and insist on Qin Feng joining him exclusively, while the rest of the Hunters were split up into two small teams of four each.

By then, word about Elder Ming taking particular care of a more junior disciple from the herb-growers had already made the rounds. So there wasn"t as much of a ruckus as there had been, like during the first trip. And things went about similar to the first Hunt that Qin Feng had taken part in.

That is, until Elder Ming brought him to a totally new campsite.

And one that was clearly deeper into the Southern Forest, compared to their original campsite. There was merely a thin stretch of cleared ground, covered with tall gra.s.ses, between this new site and the forest. Which certainly meant that he would have a shorter time to respond, if any Beast attacked.

Something that Elder Ming Guanhe was quick to warn him about:

"This place is closer to the more dangerous border between the Outer and the Middle Zones here in the Southern Forest. So you shall have to be a bit more cautious than you were the last time. Concentrate your gathering to the West, where there are only smaller Spiritual Beasts, and don"t take any risks.

"And if you do see any unusual plants and animals close by, don"t approach them recklessly. You can always alert me when I come back from my rounds, and we can go pick them up later, hmmm?"

Qin Feng nodded in agreement to the Elder"s warning, and smiled to himself. It was clear that Elder Ming was a lot more cautious about him compared to their last visit to the Forest together. And he was certainly wondering if this young disciple was more capable than he had thought.

Of course, all of this had been well within Qin Feng"s expectations. There was a faint scent that clung onto the Elder"s outer robe, that told him that the older man had already used the Red Smoke Root that he had found the last time that they came out here. While he didn"t know just how effective or useful it had been to Ming Guanhe then, it was clear that the Elder was paying him a lot more attention due to his unexpected familiarity with some of the rarer plants present.

Something that he stood to exploit to his advantage, if Qin Feng was not mistaken about Ming Guanhe"s intentions. He would just have to wait, and see what sort of role the Elder had planned for him.

As it turned out, he didn"t have to wait very long.

Ming Guanhe waved him over, shortly after he was finished with setting up their little camp. There were a few more precautionary measures that the Elder had not set up when they were at the old site. And he had included a few traps, that he was quick to point out to the youth.

Then he went on to what seemed to be more important matters:

"Listen closely, Qin Feng. You and I are here to look for some unusual herbs. Have you heard of Dragon Beard Gra.s.s? Do you know what it is used for?"

"Dragon Beard Gra.s.s! That is a miraculous herb! If it is used in a medicinal bath, it can boost a person"s cultivation by almost two small stages! But ... isn"t it rather rare? And it will only grow in the shade, and high up where the mist can condense on its leaves. Doesn"t it?"

Elder Ming smiled then, as the tiny scars all over his face seemed to give off a slightly reddish hue. "You are correct about that! The only place that fits that particular description, the only place where the Dragon Beard Gra.s.s is likely to grow, is up there in the Verdant Cliffs!"

He turned, and pointed at a sheer face of dark grey stone, that loomed over the forest in the distance. Then he looked back at Qin Feng, who had already plastered an expression of awe on his face.

"But do not worry! I am not bringing you there with me. I only need you to look through the herbs that I bring back, and check to make sure that they are the ones that we need. Especially the Dragon Beard Gra.s.s!"

"This disciple understands, Elder."

Qin Feng managed to put on a slightly disappointed look then. And let his shoulders sag slightly. Which seemed to satisfy the old man.

"Do not worry. I will be bringing back other herbs as well, although they may not be as potent as the Dragon Beard Gra.s.s that I had just mentioned. And you can also look around the camp, to see if there is anything that might be useful. Just remember that this is supposed to be a secret mission."

"A secret mission? For the ... Elders" Council?"

Ming Guanhe shook his head in response to that question. "No, not them. This was a personal request from the Grandmaster himself. Which is why I am taking risks, by bringing you along. Your knowledge of medicinal herbs is greater than mine, after all. So you will have to keep your mouth tightly shut regarding this matter.

"After all, the aim today is to get our hands on the medicinal herbs that would help the selected Inner School Core Disciples break through to the Completion Realm!"

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