Chapter 407: Quiet Return to School (3k)
Flurries of snow began to fall across the skies of the Dragon Country, pattering against the airplane windows, creating a dull, gray scenery outside that suggested winter was fast approaching.
Feeling the warmth from the air conditioning, Su Jiu leaned back on the soft couch, holding a warm cup of coffee. Her gaze was fixed on the news coming from the laptop.
Bai Zhi:
【What? You busy bee actually remembers to look for me?】
Su Jiu smiled and lightly tapped her lips before typing with both hands, pausing intermittently:
Me:
【Going south to pick up my brother and coincidentally see how someone is doing.】
Bai Zhi paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating something, before finally typing:
Bai Zhi:
【I received the egg you sent and the Fire Magic Crystal from that friend. If it’s possible, could you get me some Ice-attributed Magic Crystals…?】
Su Jiu stared at the words Bai Zhi had painstakingly typed out after much thought, a slight frown on her face. She had just used up all her ice-attributed items, and even buying more locally wouldn’t be enough. However, the mention of that friend caught Su Jiu’s attention. She quickly typed:
【Who is that friend? And why do you need so many Magic Crystals?】
She nervously watched Bai Zhi’s reply on the screen. Su Jiu had always considered the flower fairy girl her own, otherwise, she wouldn’t have given her that special demon egg.
Soon, Bai Zhi’s message appeared on the screen:
【You know that friend too, right? She said she’s your real-life netizen. As for why I need so many Magic Crystals…】
【I don’t know how to explain it. It’s an accident? It’s a bloodline issue.】
“Real-life netizen? Wait… could it be…”
Looking at Bai Zhi’s cryptic words, Su Jiu became even more convinced that the little flower fairy was up to something. Doubi Xi’s words suddenly flashed through her mind, and a drop of cold sweat trickled down Su Jiu’s pale cheek.
Urgent!
The main wife and the wild flower are chatting. What should I do?
Su Jiu suddenly realized that Doubi Xi had added Bai Zhi as a friend at some point, and they had been talking about her. She wondered if Doubi Xi had asked any fatal questions.
Sensing Su Jiu’s unease, Bai Zhi quickly typed to change the subject:
【That person said you like drinking. I have some Flower Brew made by friends a hundred years ago. Do you want some?】
Seeing through Bai Zhi’s clumsy attempt to change the topic, Su Jiu shook her head helplessly. But thinking of that person, a strange sense of joy welled up within her. She continued typing:
【Of course, I do. But I don’t have any Ice-attributed Magic Crystals on me. I’ll see if I can get some later. — I’m going back to school to sort something out first. I’ll come find you afterwards.】
【Mm】
In an office somewhere, Bai Zhi, dressed in a loose white dress, her flowing green silk casually draped over the chair, held her phone. She had opened the chat with the netizen with the little bat avatar, and a flicker of confusion crossed her eyes.
“I wonder who this netizen who calls herself a flirt is, and why she knows so much about the flirt…”
Despite only a few months having passed, her demeanor seemed to have transformed from a distant, aloof flower on a high mountain to a noble and gentle mountain camellia.
Seeing that the office was empty, she gently caressed her slightly protruding belly. Lowering her head, her eyes filled with helplessness as she murmured to herself, “Why is it dual-attribute?”
“Sigh… I have a challenge next month that surpasses the limits of the body, but what will happen to her? Without the control of that potion, can she only give up the challenge?”
She sighed again, her expression darkening as if recalling words from an old friend. She turned to look out the window at the sleeting rain, her gaze seeming to pierce through the distance.
…
Su Jiu’s figure reappeared on the campus. E Huo was sound asleep in her spiritual space.
Seeing the school motto outside the gate again, Su Jiu smiled. It was during class hours, so there weren’t many people around. The Uncle at the gate put on his reading glasses and peered closely at her.
“Student, have I seen you somewhere before?”
“Uncle, I’m a student here. You must have seen me.”
Under the gate guard’s surprised gaze, she waved her hand and walked straight across the bluestone paths, arriving at the very center of the main gate.
Turning her head to face Dean Zi, who stood opposite her, she saw his unwavering smile and responded with a smile of her own, “Dean Zi, you’ve been waiting.”
“I thought it was already amazing that you made it to the top ten in the World Competition, but I never imagined… I never imagined that…” Dean Zi scrutinized Su Jiu again, his wrinkled face unable to hide his joy. He paused and continued,
“You actually defeated a host of top teams to win the championship! Now our Magical Capital University has clinched first and third place. Principal Kuangjian must be grinning from ear to ear, right?”
No one expected that such a formidable student was just a freshman in their school, from the Medicine department. It could be said that Su Jiu could already be compared to the top students in their senior year.
Pleased with Dean Zi’s praise, Su Jiu chuckled and humbly extended her hand, blinking, “Just so-so. It would be great if the school could show some appreciation. I’m a bit short on cash lately.”
“Short on cash? You…”
Dean Zi was momentarily taken aback by Su Jiu’s almost direct request for rewards, but he quickly shook his head, took out a storage bag from his pocket, and handed it to Su Jiu, chuckling, “This is some personal stuff. It contains some medicinal herbs, no Battle King level herbs, but plenty of War General level ones.”
He knew Su Jiu’s background: a single-parent family, with a father who was an honest official, and a younger brother of the same age. For a girl to have come this far, she must have endured considerable hardship.
Taking the storage bag, Su Jiu examined its contents. Indeed, there were many low-level herbs and some lower-grade potions. Although not rare items, they would be very useful for energy replenishment and realm comprehension. This bag alone looked to be worth over ten million.
She cupped her fist in a gesture of thanks and said sincerely, “Thank you.”
After that, the two stared at each other. Su Jiu was still waiting for another, more important item, which was the primary reason for her visit.
“Oh, right…”
Seeing Su Jiu still looking at him, Dean Zi finally remembered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of dark purple potion, approximately 50ml, and carefully handed it to Su Jiu, saying earnestly, “I almost forgot. This is the potion you asked me to make with the Nine-Transformation Soul-Returning Grass. If your pet has any issues, just feed it to them, and it can cure almost any illness.”
“Hehe, thank you, Dean Zi. If you ever need my help in the future, just ask!”
Receiving the potion, a burden in Su Jiu’s heart finally lifted. She joyfully took the potion and couldn’t wait to bring it into her spiritual space. Then, she used her mental power to feed it to Bai Nisi, who lay in her spiritual space like a sleeping beauty. The purple liquid slowly diminished…
As for Bai Nisi, threads of light began to surge through her body again. She needed a true rebirth from fire. Perhaps when she returned next time, she would have truly reached the Battle King level.
Watching the scene unfold, Su Jiu suddenly felt relieved.
The promises made when she was weak could finally be fulfilled. Now, all she needed to do was sell some of the low-grade alchemical items to the wealthy students in the school and earn some more money.
After confirming Bai Nisi was alright, Su Jiu came back to her senses. Like a little fox, she put her hands behind her back and flashed a cunning smile at Dean Zi, “Dean Zi, I heard that during the upcoming holiday break, our school will be holding a league with the other four major universities. All freshmen from each school will participate.”
“What? You want to participate in this league too? This league is usually a place for outstanding students to showcase their talents, but you…” Dean Zi sized up Su Jiu from head to toe, but hesitated to say the rest. You, who can defeat Intermediate Battle Kings with your bare hands, coming to stir up trouble, isn’t that a bit much?
Put nicely, it’s called ‘fishing,’ but poorly put, it’s being a troublemaker.
“I’m naturally not here to participate in the competition, but rather…”
Su Jiu knew exactly what Dean Zi was thinking. Her purpose for mentioning this was not to participate in such a childish interaction. She then took out a Level 1 War General grade Kapala ornament from her pocket, her small fangs slightly visible. She smiled and said charmingly, “I want to do some trading with our schoolmates. I’m not very talented, but I have another identity—an Alchemist.”
“Is this… a decoration?”
Hearing Su Jiu’s words, Dean Zi’s gaze swept over the Kapala ornament in Su Jiu’s hand with surprise. He saw the silvery-white luster emanating from it, feeling that it was no inferior to the craftsmanship of Magical Capital’s best alchemy workshop, which made him even more astonished.
Su Jiu smiled and handed it over, “You can check its attributes. I definitely wouldn’t cheat my juniors and juniors.”
“It’s indeed a good item.”
Dean Zi immediately took the Kapala bone ornament, feeling a refreshing sensation in his mind as he sensed its attributes. Although its effect wasn’t significant, it genuinely enhanced his mental perception.
It was clearly an item targeting mental power. Such ornaments were usually quite expensive, and ordinary freshmen likely couldn’t afford it, costing over five million.
After a brief observation, Dean Zi returned the Kapala bone to Su Jiu. As if knowing Su Jiu’s intentions, he asked with a smile, “This bone ornament is indeed a good item, but you probably have more than just this one, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have mentioned the freshmen.”
This time, Su Jiu was a bit surprised. She thought that old people were indeed wise. She then displayed a slight smile and said somewhat bashfully, “Yes, I have about a hundred or so more, and these are just relatively low-grade alchemical artifacts…”
“As expected, there are still a hundred or so more. But the grade probably isn’t low, being an ornament. Wait… how many?!”
After Su Jiu’s reply, Dean Zi nodded thoughtfully, stroking his beard and continuing to speak. Suddenly realizing something, he tugged his beard so hard that he almost pulled out a bunch of it.
