Jiang Nannan

Huo Yuqing obediently followed behind the stunning young woman upstairs.

The wooden staircase seemed somewhat old. Every step stirred up dust, and under their weight, it let out creaks as though it could barely bear the load.

The second floor looked more spacious than the first, and the air was filled with a pungent, bitter smell. Along the wall to the left stood many complicated Soul Tool devices, as well as transparent containers filled with various liquids. On the right were several tightly shut doors.

"Emerald Elixir Hall also deals in scattered medicinal herb transactions. Upstairs is where herbs are temporarily stored and processed. After the herbs undergo preliminary treatment, they're sent elsewhere to be refined into pills." Noticing Huo Yuqing's curious gaze, the girl stopped to explain.

"Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Jiang Nannan, and I'm also studying herbal medicine under Teacher Lu. If you study medicine under Teacher Lu too, then you'll be my junior brother!" Jiang Nannan smiled, her eyes curving into beautiful crescents.

Huo Yuqing asked somewhat nervously, "Sister Jiang Nannan, is herbal medicine difficult to learn?"

"Why call me Sister Jiang Nannan? That's so formal." Jiang Nannan raised a hand and tapped Huo Yuqing on the forehead. "Just call me Sister Nannan."

"Got it, Sister Nannan."

"Herbal medicine is profound, but as long as you put your heart into it, it isn't difficult at all." Jiang Nannan smiled. "I only started learning recently myself, but I've already mastered a lot of knowledge related to herbs... Oh, right, little Yuhao, I heard earlier that you're a spiritual-type Soul Master?"

Huo Yuqing nodded. "Yes. My martial soul is Spirit Eyes—in other words, my eyes."

"Then you have an even greater advantage in learning this!" Jiang Nannan said enviously. "After learning to identify herbs and process them initially, the next step is pill refinement. Now that there are Soul Tools, all Soul Masters can refine pills, but Teacher Lu said that the higher one's Spiritual Power, the more effortlessly one can refine pills."

Huo Yuqing was somewhat surprised. Ever since she was little, nearly everything she had heard about spiritual-type martial souls was that spiritual-type soul beasts were extremely difficult to find and lacked any direct offensive power. Without suitable soul rings, they had little value in being cultivated.

This was the first time she had heard someone speak so plainly about the prospects of spiritual-type Soul Masters.

"And let me tell you a secret." Jiang Nannan glanced toward the stairway and lowered her voice like a thief. "As a second profession, alchemists make the most money."

Gold Soul Coin symbols seemed to gleam in the stunning girl's eyes. "Soul Tools can make money too, but making them takes far longer than refining medicine, so the time cost is much greater... Besides, here in the Douluo Three Kingdoms, the Soul Tool market isn't that big. Soul Masters don't place much importance on Soul Tools; at most, they equip one or two, while Soul Engineers make Soul Tools for their own use... But alchemists are different. Some pills can even be taken by ordinary people."

Hearing this, Huo Yuqing's eyes lit up as well. She was short on money too!

"I'll definitely study hard!" The girl nodded like a pecking chick.

Jiang Nannan narrowed her eyes with a smile. It looked like little Huo Yuhao had officially been reeled into Emerald Elixir Hall's grasp.

This was the first time Teacher Lu had so openly expressed fondness for someone. As her thoughtful student, of course Jiang Nannan had to help ease her worries!

"Let's stop talking in the corridor. Come take a look at your room." As she spoke, Jiang Nannan opened the door to the innermost room. "Here, will you be staying here? The view is quite nice—you can see the Golden Tree directly from here! The other rooms are packed with all kinds of medicinal herbs. Some herbs aren't needed for the time being, so they can't be kept in Storage Soul Tools all the time."

The room was not very large. Against the wall stood a metal-framed bunk bed. There were no blankets or bedding, leaving the bare wooden boards exposed. On the other side was a simple wooden table with several books placed on top.

The window was open, and the curtains drifted in the breeze.

The curtains were woven from a kind of plant fiber that Huo Yuqing did not recognize. They were a pale brown, rough to the touch, and carried a fresh scent of grass and wood.

The room received excellent light. The Golden Tree could be seen in the distance, its emerald branches and leaves complementing its golden trunk, while countless birds circled around its crown.

"So beautiful!" Huo Yuqing could not help but exclaim.

"Yes, I especially like taking walks in the square near the Golden Tree. If I have time, I'll stroll around beneath that great tree for a few laps. Whenever I come back, my body feels especially comfortable." Jiang Nannan nodded.

Aunt Rat poked its head out of Huo Yuqing's pocket. It seemed quite satisfied with the environment as well. It squeaked a few times before climbing up the table leg onto the tabletop.

"A brocade rat? Is that your soul beast companion?" Jiang Nannan asked in surprise.

"Mm, yes."

"Then it seems you share quite a bond with soul beasts."

"Sister Nannan, do you have a soul beast companion too?" Huo Yuqing asked curiously.

"I do." The girl nodded and blinked mysteriously. "I'll introduce you to her later."

"This room is actually a little plain." Jiang Nannan smiled apologetically. "There isn't much furniture either. Teacher and I usually only make do upstairs when we're busy."

She went into the next room and brought out two sets of bedding. "These quilts haven't been used much. They're practically brand-new. Little Yuhao, don't dislike them, okay?"

"Hmm..." Before making the beds, she rubbed a hand over the bed boards. "The room seems a little dusty. Some areas still need to be wiped down."

"Sister Nannan, I'll wipe it down." Huo Yuqing hurriedly said.

"The room beside the stairs is the washroom. There's water and rags inside." Jiang Nannan did not stand on ceremony and directly gave her instructions.

Following her directions, the girl fetched water and returned to begin cleaning the room.

"Sister Nannan, were you born in Jade City?" Huo Yuqing asked curiously as she wiped the table. Aunt Rat bounced around the hand holding her rag, seemingly dissatisfied that Huo Yuqing had gotten the place it had chosen for a nest wet.

"No, I'm from the Heaven Dou Empire. I only moved to Jade City two years ago." Jiang Nannan smiled as she used another rag to wipe the thin layer of dust off the bed boards. "But I usually study at Shrek Academy... I've only had time to stay at the shop lately because of the holiday. Once school starts, I'll be entering fourth year."

"Sister Nannan, you're actually a student of Shrek Academy?" Huo Yuqing's eyes widened. She had not expected to meet a Shrek Academy student in Jade City... Tang Ya and Beibei, whom she had met before, also seemed to be fourth-year students at Shrek Academy.

"Little Yuhao, do you want to take the Shrek Academy entrance exam too?" Jiang Nannan paused before asking.

Huo Yuqing nodded.

"Mm..." The girl said hesitantly, "To be honest, although Shrek Academy is highly renowned across the continent, it may not be as good as you imagine... In fact, I'm already planning to withdraw from Shrek Academy."

"Why?" the girl asked in confusion.

Back at the Duke's Mansion, the servants around her had regarded studying at Shrek Academy, where gods had once appeared, as an immense honor. The Duchess's two sons, who studied at Shrek Academy, had been praised to the heavens.

In Huo Yuqing's understanding, as long as one could graduate from Shrek Academy, the future would be smooth sailing.

"The competition at Shrek Academy is extremely brutal." Jiang Nannan gave a bitter smile. "It's a place that allows no room for sentiment and looks only at strength. It's also extremely unfriendly toward Soul Masters from commoner backgrounds. Last semester, I was in third year, and our new homeroom teacher was utterly unreasonable... She expelled ninety percent of the students in our class. I only narrowly escaped expulsion myself."

Huo Yuqing sucked in a breath.

"I think that with my strength, I'll probably find it difficult to meet her requirements in the new semester." The girl shrugged. "I only came to Jade City during the holiday two years ago, and I've only studied with Teacher for two holiday periods."

She remembered her homeroom teacher's teaching methods and couldn't help frowning. "Honestly, I think I learned more during these two breaks than I ever did at the academy."

This girl from a poor background was actually very pragmatic—one could even say bluntly utilitarian. She simply wanted to learn more things that someone of her social standing would never normally have access to.

But Shrek Academy placed greater emphasis on practical combat. Whether it was team battles, one-on-one fights, or two-on-two matches, the academy loved having students gain experience through actual combat.

As for theory classes... they were either about Shrek Academy's glorious history and the great figures in its past, or extremely superficial lessons on classifying martial souls and Soul Skills, identifying soul beast ages, and the like.

As for more profound theoretical knowledge... students would have to enter the inner academy before it was taught.

Even Teacher Lu's casual remarks contained more than what they taught at school, Jiang Nannan grumbled inwardly.

"In that case, I might as well drop out as soon as the term starts and save the tuition for the new school year. If I get eliminated halfway through and sent home, Shrek Academy won't refund my tuition... Shrek Academy's tuition increases every year. Fourth-year tuition costs forty Gold Soul Coins—that's no small sum." As she spoke, the girl gave the bedding she had taken out a shake. "Besides, I've already figured out what I want to do in the future... I want to become an apothecary like Teacher Lu too. The income is high, and I can save many people."

"Sister Nannan, have you settled down in Jade City?"

"Yes!" Jiang Nannan nodded. "I come from a single-parent family. My mother has a very serious heart condition, and she was already close to not being able to hold on. But the doctor at the clinic where my mother was being treated told me about the legend of Jade City... so I brought my mother here."

She sank into recollection, her gaze drifting vaguely toward some point in empty space. "Back then, I was practically at the end of my rope. The doctor said that if I wanted to cure my mother, I could buy an extremely expensive pill, but I had neither connections nor money... It was truly dangerous. I don't even know what I was thinking at the time, daring to bring my mother deep into the Star Dou Great Forest when I only had two rings... Maybe that was the courage born from desperation."

"But Teacher cured my mother." The girl smiled, and a special radiance lit her beautiful face—perhaps hope, or longing. "Teacher said my mother's illness was very unusual. It wasn't something a healing-type soul master could cure just by pouring in some Soul Power. She called many apprentices over to examine my mother and research a treatment plan, and she even waived the medicine fees I was supposed to pay."

"After that, we settled down in Jade City. The environment here is wonderful, very suitable for Mother's recovery... Looking back, this was truly the greatest stroke of fortune in my life." A trace of embarrassment appeared on her face, and her voice grew softer. "Actually, that's part of why I want to become an alchemist too. Teacher said you don't necessarily need a healing-type martial soul to save people. I also want to... well, help other people."

Having received help herself, the girl's fate had also changed.

Jiang Nannan no longer wanted to limit herself to being a simple agility-type soul master, muddling through life by growing stronger and advancing, then earning others' respect through sheer power. She had found what she truly wanted to pursue.

Fate was not yet set in stone. At this moment, no one could say whether her choice was good or bad... but that was the charm of fate. Jiang Nannan could not see the road ahead, but she knew it held not only thorns, but dreams and hope as well.

"That's wonderful," Huo Yuqing sighed softly.

Her mother had died from injuries and illness, so she was even happier for Jiang Nannan, whose experiences resembled her own.

"What about little Yuhao? Do you want to settle down in Jade City too?" Jiang Nannan asked as she knelt beside the bed and spread out the bedding.

She turned around and happened to see the flash of envy and loneliness on Huo Yuqing's face. Realizing something, she fell silent as well.

In the end, she raised a hand and rubbed the girl's head. "Jade City is a wonderful place. Stay, okay?"

"Sister Nannan, actually, I..."

"Nannan, are you girls done upstairs?" Lu Mingyou's gentle voice came from below. Though it was not loud, it seemed to echo right beside their ears. "I remember receiving a Yellow Crystal Ginseng the other week. Nannan, could you pluck off one ginseng rootlet and bring it down?"

"Coming, Teacher!" Jiang Nannan answered loudly. "Yuhao, I'll be right back."

Huo Yuqing leaned against the window, gazing into the distance at that beautiful Golden Tree.

Countless bird-type soul beasts rose from its branches and descended again. They sang crisp, pleasant calls as they flew around the colossal tree.

Huo Yuqing truly liked this place—the beautiful giant tree brimming with the aura of life, those soul beasts that were friendly toward humans and their pure, curious eyes, as well as the friendly gazes of people on the streets, untainted by disdain.

These beautiful things seemed to fill in some small part of the darkness in her heart.

The girl felt somewhat dazed. Just one week ago, she had still been in the woodshed of the White Tiger Duke Estate, thinking about how she could take revenge in the future.

And now, she sat in this bright room, having absorbed a million-year first soul ring. Her future life now seemed to have found direction as well.

She had the Imperial Auspicious Beast to thank for that, and Wang Rui too. She had an agreement with the Imperial Auspicious Beast, but how was she supposed to thank Wang Rui?

Huo Yuqing knew perfectly well that Wang Rui's background was probably extraordinary.

Wang Rui had only offered his help on a whim. To him, it was merely the simplest of trivial matters, and he himself did not seem to regard such assistance as anything worth mentioning.

But to Huo Yuqing, it had helped her begin an entirely new life. Saying that he had given her a new life would not be an exaggeration, so naturally, she had to do everything she could to repay this kindness.

Still, Wang Rui's name had the character Rui in it, and Imperial Auspicious Beast... also had Rui in its name. The two of them seemed rather fated...?

"You could always offer yourself to him!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm abruptly chimed in, interrupting her thoughts.

"Don't spout nonsense!" Though Huo Yuqing's ears reddened slightly.

"Offering yourself to someone is the least valuable thing there is. How could it possibly repay such a kindness?" she murmured.

Huo Yuqing thought of the ill-fated relationship between her parents... Her mother had given herself to the White Tiger Duke, yet it had amounted to nothing.

"The most important thing for me now is still to make myself stronger. If I become strong, then I'll be able to do many things for Wang Rui, right?" Huo Yuqing said softly. "There's no need to talk about offering myself to him. Without feelings, it would be completely meaningless."

Although the girl occasionally imagined what sort of person she might like or fall in love with, and had some rather nonsensical fantasies in her head.

Most of the time, however, Huo Yuqing both feared and yearned for love.

She yearned for such feelings. Whenever her mother spoke of her love for Dai Hao, an incomparably beautiful brilliance would burst forth in her eyes, making that face, weathered by life's hardships, radiate a special glow.

But she also understood that love was the chief culprit behind her mother and daughter ending up in such circumstances. And in the few times she had seen the Duchess, all the madness and jealousy like festering mud in that woman's eyes had also arisen from love.

Thus, she feared such feelings as well.

...Besides, this was not the time to be thinking about such things.

"I didn't expect you little brat to be so clear-headed..." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said awkwardly.

"What are you looking at?" Wang Rui's voice came from behind her.

Huo Yuqing turned around.

The boy was leaning against the doorframe, a gentle smile on his face. His red hair fell messily beside his ears, while a pair of golden eyes watched her intently—like beautiful sunlight, flowing honey, or any of the beautiful things Huo Yuqing could think of.

The girl's eyes curved unconsciously, and she revealed a sincere, beautiful smile. "I like it here. Thank you, Wang Rui!"

She did not say a single word about repaying him.

But the girl would keep every kindness firmly engraved in her heart and never forget it.

4.8k words, rawr! If anyone says I'm short and weak again, I'm getting mad! ()

Jiang Nannan had not actually been pulled in by Wang Rui; she had come looking for him herself, and she had taken a path different from the original work... I quite liked this sort of thing, I guess (:з"∠)

Then there was Huo Lolita. She might have had some girlish fantasies, but she was rational too. She understood that, weak as she currently was, it was not the time to think about romance. She also understood that what Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said about offering herself in marriage to repay a debt was completely wrong, so she pulled back the little feelers of attraction that had started to emerge (?).

A blockhead just like those unromantic blockhead soul beasts (:з"∠)

I didn't really understand how the rankings were calculated either. Watching them go up and down was giving me a heart attack. There were 4.8k saves yesterday; today there were 560 new ones, bringing the total to 5,071. Did readers make a run this morning...?

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