Chapter 13: Zi Yan Advances!
"You just said treasure hunting?" Jiang Yun seized on the key word in Zi Yan's earlier outburst.
Hearing Jiang Yun bring up treasure hunting, Zi Yan's expression immediately flipped. A beaming smile climbed back onto her cheeks, and she grabbed Jiang Yun, dragging him outside in a rush.
"That's right, treasure hunting! I just sensed a ton of good stuff, all just waiting for us to dig it up!"
Her tremendous strength left Jiang Yun utterly helpless to resist. Even the elation of his recent advancement was shattered on the spot.
The next instant, all one could see was Zi Yan, towing a small, young figure, bursting through the door and vanishing within a few leaping strides.
They left behind a collection of bewildered students!
"Did something just run past?"
"Did it?"
"I think so...?"
"Did they come out of that dorm? Has someone moved into that dorm?"
"It's not enrollment season right now. Where would new students even come from?"
Everyone looked at each other, expressions all uniformly blank.
The Outer Academy. Outside a tall and spacious loft, two sneaky figures appeared.
On a massive Fire Cloud Tree, two small heads slowly peeked out from the canopy. The lush, flame-like leaves served as their cover.
"Zi Yan, this isn't right, is it?" Jiang Yun looked at the two large characters, 'Medicinal Ingredients,' hanging in plain sight on the loft. It was all too clear where the 'treasure hunting' Zi Yan spoke of was.
"Slurp—" Wiping away a string of drool, Zi Yan pressed both hands on Jiang Yun's shoulders, her whole body draped over his back, her little head resting atop Jiang Yun's, and declared with righteous conviction, "What's not right about it? Old man Su Qian said himself he'd let me eat my fill! I'm just sparing him the trouble of running back and forth between the Inner and Outer Academies because I care about his age. Eat first, report later—what's the difference?"
Jiang Yun was rendered momentarily speechless. At the same time, he inwardly began to pity the First Elder. Of all the things you could have said, why did you have to promise to let Zi Yan eat her fill? Was a Taixu Ancient Dragon cub something that could be filled up so easily?
Aside from a few Dou Di clans, just look across the entire continent—was there any faction that could pat its chest and confidently claim it could afford to raise a Taixu Ancient Dragon?
"Enough chatter. Stick with me, and you'll feast on the finest delicacies from now on!" Zi Yan patted Jiang Yun's shoulder and spoke with the air of a seasoned veteran.
Looking at this burst of heroic bravado from Zi Yan, Jiang Yun could only be thankful his surname wasn't Lü; otherwise, he'd be sorely tempted to chime in with a 'My lord, if you do not find me unworthy...'—ahem, wrong script.
"So how do we get in?" Jiang Yun looked at the patrol team in the distance and said seriously.
As the Outer Academy's medicinal ingredient storehouse, while it wasn't as critical as the Inner Academy's, it was still heavily guarded.
Not only was there a Dou Wang elder stationed here, but beneath him were several instructors patrolling twenty-four hours a day. Such an area was generally off-limits to ordinary students.
Just like now—right below them were five instructors at the Da Dou Shi level, patrolling with eyes as sharp as burning torches.
"Heh! Just watch me!" Faced with Jiang Yun's question, Zi Yan tilted her head up and declared with all the bravado in the world.
As she spoke, Zi Yan led Jiang Yun around the instructors to a blind spot in the sightlines. In the next moment, one could see Zi Yan's arm press into the wall before her as if sinking into water.
"Quick, go!" Opening the 'spatial door' seemed to have cost Zi Yan a great deal of energy. Her forehead was now covered in sweat, and she anxiously grabbed Jiang Yun, instantly pulling him inside.
After the two of them disappeared, the wall returned to its original state.
After a brief passage through pitch-blackness, their vision brightened once more. Jiang Yun saw that they were now standing in a corner of a room.
All around them was quiet. Only the drifting fragrance of medicinal herbs in the air signaled the importance of this place.
"So many tasty things!" A muffled exclamation of delight came from beside him. Zi Yan's eyes were shining, and a very undignified string of drool had escaped the corner of her mouth. Had her remaining shred of reason not reminded her that they had entered through improper means, she would have pounced already.
Jiang Yun, by contrast, was quite calm. The white jade walls around them and the floor tiles stirred no ripples in his heart whatsoever. It was only the countertops, holding all sorts of strangely shaped medicinal ingredients, each faintly exuding a different medicinal fragrance, that made him glance slightly sideways.
He didn't recognize the medicinal ingredients of the Dou Qi Continent, but judging by the medicinal properties they gave off, the ingredients here were of no low grade. They were materials for refining high-tier pills. No wonder Zi Yan couldn't hold back at the sight.
"Little Yunzi, look..." Just as Jiang Yun was sweeping his eyes across the many ingredients, Zi Yan suddenly leaned close to his ear, her little finger pointing toward a counter ahead. The scorching heat in her eyes practically screamed her desire to swallow the thing whole, bones and all.
On the counter sat an exquisite jade dish, looking no different from the rest around it. Yet, the object upon it appeared anything but ordinary.
Even Jiang Yun, who knew nothing of medicinal ingredients, found himself unconsciously ignoring the surrounding materials and was captivated by it at first glance.
It was a palm-sized fruit, half red and half white. Even from this distance, Jiang Yun could feel the scorching heat and freezing coldness seeping from within it.
Two diametrically opposite attributes, mutually reinforcing yet counteracting, were fused so perfectly into a single fruit. One had to admit, nature was truly incomparably wondrous.
"This is...?"
"The Ice-Fire Dragon Whisker Fruit?!"
Looking at that somewhat 'familiar' fruit, Jiang Yun murmured under his breath. This was one of the precious few medicinal ingredients from the original work that he actually recognized. He hadn't expected it to appear here.
Was this a coincidence?
"Ah— Little Yunzi, you recognize it? And you said you don't know medicinal ingredients!"
With her keen hearing, Zi Yan could clearly hear Jiang Yun's murmur even from ten meters away—let alone when the two of them were only three fingers' width apart.
Feeling that she had been 'deceived,' Zi Yan 'furiously' rammed an elbow into Jiang Yun's stomach.
"Oof!" The unexpected blow left Jiang Yun gasping for breath. Fortunately, Zi Yan still knew how to hold back, and after a few breaths, he returned to normal.
"Coincidence. Just happened to be one I recognized." Jiang Yun clutched his stomach and offered a forced explanation.
"Hmph—"
Zi Yan bared her teeth and glared at Jiang Yun, then said, "Stay right here and don't move. I'll be right back!"
Having said this, before Jiang Yun could answer, the space around her rippled, and Zi Yan vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Sigh—" Helplessly watching Zi Yan's disappearing silhouette, Jiang Yun wondered whether he should properly learn the application of spatial power from her.
He possessed such a talent himself, yet it was like owning a treasure trove without the key. If Jiang Yun were to research it on his own, who knew how many detours he would take. Having the darling of space itself, a Taixu Ancient Dragon, right at his side—it would be a waste not to make use of such a 'resource.'
After all, on the Dou Qi Continent, spatial energy was exceptionally active. At the Dou Zong level, one could already make rudimentary use of spatial power. Yet if he could learn it in advance, before reaching Dou Zong, it would be an invaluable trump card.
At that time, it would also allow him to break through the Dou Zong barrier all the more smoothly!
But then again, did it make any difference whether he came or not? Looking down at his feet, Jiang Yun gave a helpless sigh. He'd just treat it as keeping Zi Yan company.
At that very moment, inside the cabinet where the Ice-Fire Dragon Whisker Fruit was displayed, an extremely slender little hand appeared as if out of nowhere, smoothly whisking the Dragon Whisker Ice-Fire Fruit off the jade dish.
The barriers the academy had placed on the cabinet were as though nonexistent before that little hand.
"Let's go!"
Just as Jiang Yun was spacing out, a small hand hoisted him from behind. The next instant, just like when they had arrived, they exited once more through the wall behind them.
Just as they were leaving, Jiang Yun's expression flickered. He turned his head back and saw an old man with completely white hair and beard expressionlessly watching the two of them. Catching Jiang Yun looking back at him, the old man's expression froze for a moment, and then he cast Jiang Yun a meaningful, amused glance!
At this moment, Jiang Yun couldn't help but feel a surge of embarrassment. So Zi Yan's supposedly flawless operation had been carried out entirely under someone's watchful eye this whole time, and the other party simply hadn't bothered to intervene.
Or rather, someone had given instructions beforehand!
Seeing that the old man made no move to stop the two of them, Jiang Yun suddenly understood everything. The reason the Ice-Fire Dragon Whisker Fruit had appeared here—this was clearly someone giving Zi Yan special treatment behind the scenes!
At this thought, Jiang Yun couldn't help feeling a surge of emotion. The First Elder was truly a generous and considerate man!
After the two had completely vanished, the elder who had remained on-site spoke. "Those two little ones aren't bad. The First Elder's eye for talent is as sharp as ever."
"Still, what race is that little fellow? To be able to wield spatial power at rank 4—with such a bloodline, her origins are surely extraordinary."
"I merely didn't want this place to be wrecked by Zi Yan. As for her race, even I haven't been able to discern it." Su Qian's figure slowly materialized. He clasped his hands behind his back and spoke calmly.
"Heh heh!" The elder surnamed Yang let out a soft chuckle. Though he hadn't learned what Zi Yan's race was, witnessing the First Elder's tsundere side was more than worth the price of admission.
Hearing the chuckle behind him, Su Qian's expression stiffened. He turned his head back to look at the other and said meaningfully, "I hope Elder Yang will still be able to laugh in a few years."
Su Qian's words left Elder Yang completely baffled. But Su Qian had already departed and could no longer provide him with an explanation.
Back in their dormitory.
Unable to wait a moment longer, Zi Yan pulled out the Ice-Fire Dragon Whisker Fruit, opened her 'gaping maw,' and fiercely bit down with her neat, snow-white little teeth. Instantly, a small chunk vanished from the Ice-Fire Dragon Whisker Fruit.
Drop by drop of red-and-blue liquid dripped from the gap. As her teeth continued to chew, juices of red and blue spilled from the corner of Zi Yan's mouth.
"Pah, pah— so gross!"
As time passed, Zi Yan's initial excitement turned to agony. Her little face scrunched up into a knot, and she even rolled her eyes in an adorable grimace.
With difficulty, she swallowed the pulp in her mouth. Zi Yan looked at the remaining fruit in her hand with a conflicted expression. Ultimately, the temptation to mature won out over taste. She crunched down two more big bites, chewing rapidly. The only constant was her still deeply pained expression.
"Once I break through to Dou Zhe, I'll be able to control flames. When that time comes, I can help you turn medicinal ingredients into pills that suit your taste. They won't be this nasty anymore."
Watching Zi Yan suffer yet delight at the same time, Jiang Yun spoke quietly.
"Hm?" Zi Yan's raised hand paused mid-air. She suddenly looked at Jiang Yun with shining eyes, let out a joyful cry, and then launched herself toward Jiang Yun in a single pounce.
"Little Yunzi, I adore you to death!"
"Bang—" A violent collision rang out. Jiang Yun was brutally pinned to the ground by Zi Yan. To put things in perspective—at six years old, Jiang Yun was still a full size smaller than Zi Yan, and Zi Yan was a full four stages higher than him.
Thus, this tragic outcome was born.
"Zi Yan..."
"Ah! Sorry, sorry!" Seeing Jiang Yun sprawled beneath her, Zi Yan instantly panicked. This was her future meal ticket—nothing could happen to him!
"I'm fine!" Propping himself up with Zi Yan's help, Jiang Yun replied helplessly, casually reaching out to touch her ponytail.
Seeing that Jiang Yun bore no serious harm, Zi Yan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Then she pouted, grumbling, "Little Yunzi is so weak!"
The moment those words fell, Jiang Yun saw Zi Yan's face begin to flush crimson. The hand he held in his palm had also grown scorching, like a furnace.
"Hm? This is... about to advance?" Jiang Yun looked at Zi Yan, quickly catching on. His face lit up with delight.
"It seems... yes!" Zi Yan's head was now feeling dizzy and groggy, as if she could fall into a deep slumber at any moment. Yet she still fought to keep the last shreds of clarity, looking at Jiang Yun as she said, "Little Yunzi, while I'm away, if anyone bullies you, just run if you can't beat them. Once I come out, I'll avenge you!"
Jiang Yun's expression froze. Watching her, muddled as she was yet still worrying about him, his expression softened exceptionally. He murmured under his breath, "Silly girl."
As if having heard Jiang Yun's words, a smile appeared at the corner of Zi Yan's mouth. Rich purple light surged out from within her body, and solid energy crystals began to form on her body's surface. A purple cocoon of light, over a zhang wide, slowly enveloped her entire form.
Just as the cocoon of light was about to fully seal, a weak, barely audible whisper drifted out. "Little Yunzi... after I come out... I want candy!"
Jiang Yun was suddenly caught between laughter and tears. He reached out and stroked the giant purple cocoon, saying with a smile, "Alright, once you come out, I'll definitely have candy ready for you, enough to eat your fill!"
As his words faded, the purple cocoon of light trembled faintly, as if in response to Jiang Yun.
Watching Zi Yan, who even in slumber hadn't forgotten her gluttony, Jiang Yun couldn't help but chuckle. He gazed tenderly at the flickering cocoon of light.
It seemed he needed to work hard as well. He had no idea how long Zi Yan's breakthrough would take this time. If she emerged and he still hadn't broken through to Dou Zhe, wouldn't that make him an oathbreaker?
Jiang Yun was no oathbreaker. So Dou Zhe—it would come soon, very soon!
"Since First Elder is already here, please show yourself!"
As Jiang Yun's words fell, a figure flickered inside the room. Su Qian's form slowly materialized.
"It seems your soul power is considerably terrifying. I underestimated you earlier."
After appearing, Su Qian didn't go to look at Zi Yan. Instead, he stared at Jiang Yun with a trace of shock in his eyes.
"Er—" Seeing Su Qian so astonished, Jiang Yun scratched his head with a bit of embarrassment. "This junior was merely guessing. That Ice-Fire Dragon Whisker Fruit suddenly appeared in that place—it must have been specially prepared by the First Elder. So when Zi Yan advanced, I guessed the First Elder might be nearby."
"I didn't expect my guess to be correct!"
Watching Jiang Yun explain, Su Qian let out a rueful laugh. He never imagined he'd be 'fooled' by a small child one day.
"To have such a mind at your age—that itself is quite remarkable!" Su Qian was no petty man. He praised Jiang Yun approvingly, his eyes filled with gratification. The two little ones he'd brought back were anything but ordinary.
After praising Jiang Yun, Su Qian looked at the pulsating cocoon of light, a trace of surprise flickering in his eyes.
(End of Chapter)