Elder Ming Guanhe"s eyebrows rose as he watched Qin Feng take out the medicinal roots from his sleeve. They were not pungent at all, and the old man didn"t appear to recognize them. But Qin Feng had taken pains to collect the whole of the two plants, even though only their roots were used in medicines, so it didn"t take very long for Ming Qingsong to identify them. It seemed she had not wasted her free time at home, poring over the medicinal texts that her father had brought back from the Library.There was no hiding the excited look on her face, the moment that he had set those two medicinal herbs down on the narrow dressing table beside the father and daughter pair:
"Fire Leopard Leaf! And Gold Striped Purple Ganoderma! How did you manage to find these two plants? My father has been looking for these for a long time!"
Ming Guanhe, on the other hand, did not say a word. But the shocked expression on his scarred face was enough to tell Qin Feng of his surprise. And the gratification that he must have felt, for Qin Feng"s efforts in retrieving those tow medicines.
Of course, the young herb-grower had always known that the Elder"s ability to identify, and search for herbs in the wilderness was nothing compared to his own skills in that area. So he was not particularly surprised by the old man"s reaction. And he knew better than to rely on the old man"s grat.i.tude. Hadn"t he already shown that he was willing to sell Qin Feng away, so long as the benefits were sufficient? Particularly in his dealings with Elder Xuan?
The fact that Ming Qingsong was able to identify the medicines as well, however, was something that he had not expected at all!
And that had him looking at the young, adolescent girl with different eyes.
But there was a question left hanging in the air. So he took the opportunity to offer the scarred Elder a quick dip of the head, as he answered it:
"I had chosen to make my camp a little further away from the river, and among the Basalt Rocks slightly further East in the Southern Forest. And that so happened to be rather close to the spot where these two plants were growing. I suppose that my luck was a little better than usual, this time," he laughed.
"Luck? You might call it that, but I am well-pleased, all the same. You have done better than I had expected you to, on this Third Hunting Trip of yours!"
Ming Guanhe laughed heartily, as he picked up the two herbs in his hand, and shot his daughter a confident grin. Qin Feng knew why, of course. He had taken the pains to run through the various journals in the Library, and had already confirmed that the Elder would know how they could be used. He, on the other hand, already had that information in his memories, which was why he had taken the trouble to pick out these two particular medicinal plants in the first place!
However, the old, scar-faced man was taking a little too long, staring at the pair of them, rather than hurrying to set them aside. Was he really going to spend all night congratulating himself, on having managed to find a herb-grower who knew what he was doing?
"Perhaps Elder Ming should put those away, before they attract ... unwanted attention?"
Ming Guanhe scowled at the two medicines in his hand as soon as he heard that. And took a moment to consider his options, before giving Qin Feng a grim nod. "You are correct. I shouldn"t waste any time putting these two items away. If someone has been keeping an eye on what I have been collecting, they might try to stop me. As I recalled, I had warned you about some of the people here in the Heaven Sword School earlier. So you should know what I mean."
Qin Feng merely smiled back, and dipped into a quick bow. That should be enough to rea.s.sure the old scar-faced man that he understood what was being said. As well as what was not being said.
Ming Guanhe didn"t waste any time after that, and signaled for his daughter to keep Qin Feng company as he scurried off with the two medicinal roots in his hands. No doubt, he was moving them to some safe storage that he had already arranged, elsewhere in the house.
That, of course, left Qin Feng alone with Ming Qingsong in her narrow little room!
Qin Feng, naturally, was more than a little cautious when he realized that. After all, hadn"t they just been talking about Xuan Mei and his a.s.sociation with her? This was a little awkward, wasn"t it? To be left alone in a young woman"s bedchamber like this? What if Xuan Mei learned about this? Wasn"t she going to throw another tantrum?
Ming Qingsong smiled as she sat down on her bed, and gestured for Qin Feng to take a seat at her dressing table stool that she had closer to the far wall in her room. The slight smile that she had on her lips expanded into a broad grin, however, the moment that she sensed his unease.
"Worried about what people would say, if they knew that you had entered into a young woman"s bedchamber while her father isn"t around? I think you should already know that your so-called engagement with Elder Sister Xuan Mei is nothing more than an elaborate scheme by Elder Xuan, so she would definitely not take offence, even if she finds out about it.
"You can rest a.s.sured about that."
Qin Feng was surprised again, when he heard her explanation. Did she know about that as well? Just how many people had Elder Xuan, or Xuan Mei, told about this little scheme of his? And why had he been left in the dark? Wasn"t he supposed to be one of the leader actors in this play?
To be honest, Qin Feng was more than a little annoyed. Just what sort of game were they dragging him into? All of a sudden, he had a feeling that it was far more complicated than just a simple romantic, comedic sketch!
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