In the afternoon, I continued to grind levels and also took the opportunity to go to the Cave of the Dead King. There, I gathered some more newly spawned Spirit Recovering Grass, training my alchemy skill until the experience reached 87%. I was missing just a bit more to becoming a Lv10 alchemist and if everything proceeded as planned, I would undoubtedly be Ba Huang Cityâs first.
â¦â¦
Around 5 in the afternoon, I logged off to eat with Wan Er and Dong Cheng only to discover that Tang Qi was also at the bottom of the girls dorm. In his hand, he carried his small turtle shell. Grinning at me, he said, âLi Xiao Yao, you came?â
I glanced over at him and said, âYea, Iâm here to pick up Wan Er, you?â
âIâm here to pick up Dong Cheng Yue, you know thatâ¦â
âHeheâ¦â
âF*ck, who are you laughing at?!â
âWho are you, do I know you?â
Tang Qi was speechless.
A few minutes later, the two beauties came down the stairs, hand in hand. They were incredibly beautiful with their dresses fluttering in the wind. Having seen this many times, I was accustomed to it but Tang Qi was completely mesmerized. His entire person seemed dumbfounded as he murmered, âSo beautifulâ¦â¦â
I glanced at him, then couldnât help but smile. I walked up to Wan Er and asked, âWan Er, what are we eating tonight?â
âLetâs eat barbeque, I want to eat meatâ¦â¦â The beautiful little miss coquettishly decided.
My heart skipped a beat and I nearly cried out but managed a normal reply instead, âAlright. There are a few barbecue places in the school and they all seem pretty good. Letâs head over. Dong Cheng, youâre coming along too, right?â
Dong Cheng giggled, âYup. Of course Iâm going with Brother Xiao Yaoâ¦â
Tang Qi looked at us awkwardly from the side. Wan Er felt a little guilty and asked, âTang Qi, do you want to come too?â
âUh, yes! Yes!â Tang Qi seemed as though he was grasping at straws and sent a gracious look at Wan Er. However, Wan Er quickly grabbed onto my sleeve and dragged me away.
â¦â¦
Within the barbeque buffet on campus, Wan Er and I sat together, busy greasing and sprinkling spices. Dong Cheng quietly sat on the other side, her beautiful eyes emotionlessly staring at Tang Qi. Tang Qi could only shiver from the glare before asking, âLittle miss, exactly what did I do to offend you so much?â
A corner of Dong Chengâs lips twitched into a smile as she said, âNot at all, you havenât offended me. Itâs just, my personality isnât that great, and I just donât feel good seeing you. Thatâs why my face looks like this. You donât have to feel guilty, it has nothing to do with you.â
Tang Qiâs face turned green, âThis⦠How could this not have anything to do with me? Iâm the person involvedâ¦â¦â
Wan Er couldnât help but smile, âAlright. Tang Qi you donât have to panic so much. Dong Cheng isnât a very narrow-minded girl. Sheâs just rebelling against the arrangement made by Uncle. When my dad arranged to have Li Xiao Yao stay by my side, I was irritated at first too. I still got used to it in the end; Now, ifâ¦â
Wan Er paused and cast a glance at me with her beautiful smiling eyes. She continued grinning and said, âIf he were to suddenly disappear from my side now, then I will really feel strange.â
Dong Cheng Yue clenched her fist and pouted, âDonât say anymore, Wan Er. With Li Xiao Yao staying by your side, at least you like him⦠But what about me? Itâs a presumptuous super idiot with intellectual deficiency staying beside meâ¦â¦
Tang Qi shuddered and said, âIâ¦â¦ Iâ¦â¦ Little Miss, when did I become a super idiot? Although I, Tang Qi, am not an elegant and distinguished person, butâ¦â¦ but I am still considered good looking, brave and strong in my hometownâ¦â¦â
Lin Wan Er giggled, âOkay, Dong Cheng. Stop twisting yourself into a knot with these. You are going to stay with me in the future anyway. Tang Qi is just a shadow that accompanies us when we eat and shop, just regard him as air. You can continue teasing Li Xiao Yao. I wonât mind at allâ¦â¦â
I coughed, âI mind, okay?â
Dong Cheng Yue immediately looked at me with hurt expression, âBrother Xiao Yao, you donât love Dong Cheng anymore?â
I twitched my mouth, âSis, when have I ever loved you? Speak clearly, I am not a very careless person, you know. Seriouslyâ¦â¦
Dong Cheng Yue pouted her mouth and sat there reservedly, âIt looks like my days of a one-sided love will still continue for a long timeâ¦â¦â
Tang Qi clenched his fist and exclaimed, âI canât tolerate this any longer. Little Miss, I want to help you uphold justice!â
Emitting a killing aura, Dong Cheng Yue glared at Tang Qi with her beautiful eyes, âDo you have the right to talk here? Get lost!â
Tang Qi was shocked, âSuch a quick change of attitude. Iâ¦â¦ I suddenly feel slightly overwhelmed with griefâ¦â¦ â
Dong Cheng Yue stretched her hand and pointed southward, âThere. A clear lake is near southern side of the library. Many couples are making out there. If you donât mind, you can do a magnificent jump into it. Tsk, tskâ¦â¦â
Tang Qiâs face turned purple, âMy future living environment is really crazyâ¦â¦â
As he was saying, Tang Qi raised his brows and looked at me, âLi Xiao Yao, isnât all of this because of you? Even though you came first, Iâ¦â¦I, Tang Qi, will not give up.â
I grinned, âWhat are you talking about? Why canât I understand? Let me tell you. The three people sitting in this table are [Zhan Long]âs members; just you alone are a member of [Heroâs Mound]. Figure it out yourself. Stay low, if not you will get beaten to death!â
Tang Qi became speechless, ââ¦â¦â
â¦â¦
â¦â¦
After dinner, we strolled on the small path of the school. Wan Er walked rather slowly, so I slowed my pace too. My instincts told me that Missy had something to say right now.
As expected, Wan Er stared at the fallen leaves and asked softly, âLi Xiao Yao, are you really going to fight Tang Qi in the number 7 basketball court tonight at 10 oâclock?
I nodded in response, âYeah.â
âWhy must you?â She gave me a perplexed look and said, âYou know, Tang Qi is the person hired by Uncle Dong Cheng. You being on bad terms with Tang Qi will cause the relationship between my father and Uncle Dong Cheng to become uneasy. Also, it would not be a good thing for Dong Cheng, since we still donât know Tang Qi well enough. If he is someone with malicious intent, then Dong Cheng will be in danger!â
I smiled, âDonât worry. I have my own intentions. I am responsible for your safety as well as Dong Chengâs safety. I must show Tang Qi whoâs the Boss around you two. No matter how strong Tang Qi is, he must obey me during decisive moments, otherwise I canât promise to keep you and Dong Cheng safe. The fight with Tang Qi today is not because of jealousy, but to decide whoâs the Boss!ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Wan Er stared at me with her bright eyes widened. Suddenly, she grinned, âAlright, I really donât understand the world of you boys. But rest assured, Dong Cheng and I will come at 10 oâclock on the dot to watch the fight tonightâ¦â¦What are you planning to do when you get back to your dorm?â
I pondered and answered, âI wanna rush my Lv 10 alchemy. Wan Er, what maps in Fan Shu City do the Lv 9 herbs, Spirit Recovering Grass, spawn in? I have been to all spawn points of this herb in Ba Huang City, so I am thinking of going to Fan Shu City. I am really close to getting Lv 10 Alchemy.â
âHmm. I donât know yet, but I will help you check. With my connections, itâs pretty easy.â
âAlrighty!â
â¦â¦
I returned to the dorm and went online!
âShua!â
I appeared in Ba Huang City. After checking my bag, I dissolved some rubbish weapons I took out from National Beauty and received some God Army Cards. I suited up for the journey and went directly out of Ba Huang City. I then opened the world map, locked onto my destination and sped towards Fan Shu City with my Flaming Tiger God in tow.
âDi!â
The Beauty Cang Tong sent a call request, and I immediately answeredââ
âLi Xiao Yao, I found it. There are three locations that spawn Lv 9 herbs in Fan Shu City. The first one is taken by [Heroâs Mound] and the other one is taken by [Porcelain Goblet]. The last one is quite hidden and not many people know about it. Only this map gives you the possibility of finding some newly spawned herbs.
My eyes lit up, âWhatâs the name the map?â
Wan Er chuckled, âItâs a hidden map located northeast of Fan Shu City, not too far from Ba Huang City. The exact coordinate is (172373,78484), but the levels of the monsters there are extremely high. I heard the monsters there are almost Lv 80. Plus, many top players of Fan Shu City might also be hunting there. You must be cautious. After all, the badge of Ba Huang City is displayed on your shoulder so the people of Fan Shu City might pursue and kill you if they see you.
âYeah, I got it!â
âErmâ¦â¦do you need me to accompany you?â
âErrâ¦â¦ â I pondered and grinned, âNo need. I can gather the herbs myself. I wonât take up any more of your time. You should go training yourself. Muahâ¦â¦â
Wan Er smiled sourly, âFine, then you watch out. Tell me straightly you got PK and I will bring people there to get revenge for you.
I burst out in laughter, âDonât worry. Itâs the Boss of Ba Huang City going to Fan Shu City, how would he get bullied? They should thank the heavens if I donât bully them!â
âTrue that!â
âGet your things done first. I am going to gather herbs!â
âOkay!â
â¦â¦
After dashing for 40 minutes, chunks of boundary stones appeared in the flourishing jungle. Ba Huang was wrote on the obverse side of the monument and Fan Shu was inscribed on the reverse side. This is the borderline of the two cities.
The instant I stepped past, the system bell rang: Attention please! You have entered the boundary of Fan Shu City!
The systemâs map coordinates refreshed and changed into that of Fan Shu City. I saw that I wasnât too far from the coordinate that Wan Er had informed me of. The journey would take just a maximum of 20 minutes. Perfect! I immediately made my way there swiftly!
After crossing the desolate plain, an abstruse jungle appeared ahead of me. Amidst the dense shrubbery were several hills. As I approached the coordinates, the sound of the system bell rang in my earsââ
âDing!â
System Notification: Attention please! You have entered the perilous mapââHills of Despair!
Map Introduction: Hills of Despair; an enormous zone made up of unstably connected mountain ranges. Due to the earthâs magnetic poles, these enormous mountains float in the sky and and are joined together by green vines. Terrifying wild animals inhabit the jungle surrounding these mountains. It is an area that adventurers of mankind wish to avoid. However, some herbs that people desire thrive within this hilly region, therefore the Hills of Despair became the graveyard of adventurers, accompanied by agony and despair.
â¦â¦
I looked up and saw mountains floating in midair. Green vines were hanging below the mountains while the howls of wild animals resounded from the mountain peak. This was a really interesting map.
âPa!â
Grabbing a green vine, I lifted myself up and within moments, ascended the floating mountains.