I'll Go with You, Then

After Dongfang Chen brought up the commission.

Lingling's haughty expression froze.

She grumbled, "Not yet. Our Hunter Station has gone over the deadline on this commission, so we'll give you a ten percent discount on the fee."

Dongfang Chen asked curiously,

"Didn't you say online that you'd already found Mo Yu Grass?"

"We found it, but we haven't collected it."

Lingling's words prompted a bout of silent grumbling from Dongfang Chen.

What good was finding it if they didn't bring it back?

Unless he verified it himself, how could he be sure that the Mo Yu Grass in this world was the same species as Zi Xuan Grass, with the same medicinal properties?

Lingling knew this reflected poorly on the Qingtian Hunter Club.

So she couldn't help explaining, "The main problem is that none of our hunters are available. My sister originally promised to make the trip herself and pick it for you, but she had to leave on a mission for the Judgment Department at the last minute.

"If you're willing to wait a month, our Hunter Station guarantees we'll bring back the Mo Yu Grass. We can give you another discount on the commission fee then."

A month?

Dongfang Chen sighed.

A month was too long to wait. He planned to reach Dou Wang within the year.

He estimated that a month would be enough time to raise his cultivation by one star.

It wasn't as if he absolutely had to get this medicinal material. After all, his sign-in benefits had been upgraded, and if he kept signing in, he'd eventually get some.

But Dongfang Chen couldn't be sure when it would show up.

He could take his time refining the Dou Ling Pill, but not the Po Ling Pill. After all, the Po Ling Pill affected his chances of advancing to Dou Wang.

Although the Fallen Heart Flame had solved the problem of slow cultivation, the environmental issue remained.

With insufficient Dou Qi in the environment, his odds of breaking through to the next Dou Qi level would also decrease.

If he reached the crucial moment of advancing and failed because he didn't have any Mo Yu Grass to refine into a Po Ling Pill, he'd end up wasting even more time.

Seeing that Dongfang Chen wasn't satisfied, Lingling suggested another option.

"If nothing else works, I can give you the location of the Mo Yu Grass and let you figure out how to pick it yourself. We'll only charge you half the commission fee."

"Sounds good."

Dongfang Chen nodded.

He'd thought he could see the Mo Yu Grass when he came over today, but it looked like he'd have to make the trip himself after all.

"Send me the location. I'm in a hurry, so I'll head over right now."

"Wait! You're going yourself?"

Lingling blinked her big, pretty eyes, looking at Dongfang Chen as if he'd lost his mind.

"Do you even know where Mo Yu Grass grows? It grows in Dongting Lake, where there's an entire Demon Tribe. Even the outskirts aren't somewhere a mere Intermediate Level Mage like you can go."

"You don't need to worry about that. Don't treat me like an ordinary Intermediate Level Mage."

Dongfang Chen knew about Dongting Lake.

It was a new Demon Tribe that had formed in the past twenty years.

Humans classified regions according to the number and scale of the Demons living together.

A region with more than fifty adult Demons could be classified as a Demon Lair.

If a region had more than fifty Demon Lairs, it was called a Demon Tribe.

If a region had more than ten Demon Tribes, it became a Demon Tribe federation.

If one or more powerful Demons ruled over multiple Demon Tribes, they could eventually form a Demon Empire.

For example, the Undead Empire and the Kunlun Demon Empire.

By the number of Demons in Dongting Lake, it qualified as just one Demon Tribe.

Demon Tribes could be strong or weak. Powerful ones were ruled by Monarch Level Demons, while weaker ones only had Commander Level Demons.

The Dongting Lake Demon Tribe was one such weaker tribe.

At Dongfang Chen's current strength, the Dongting Lake Demon Tribe didn't pose much of a threat.

"In that case, Lingling, why don't you go with Dongfang Chen?"

Old Man Bao spoke up at just the right moment.

At her grandfather's words, Lingling could only nod.

"Fine, I'll go with you. But that means I'll have to raise the commission fee."

"You?" Dongfang Chen stared at her.

To be honest, he knew Lingling wasn't like ordinary little girls.

She was more quick-witted and intelligent, and even more mature and composed than many adults.

But at the end of the day, Lingling was still just a little girl who hadn't awakened her magic.

Wouldn't it be too dangerous to take her into a Demon Tribe?

Noticing Dongfang Chen's doubtful gaze, Lingling immediately bristled.

She snorted. "Don't underestimate me. When it comes to escaping, you might not be any better than me. And I'm not going into Demon territory with you. At most, I'll provide support from a safe location.

"I can provide support from Magic City too. You just have to put up with the signal delay."

Lingling was a genius when it came to Demon Sociology, reconnaissance, and surveying.

Dongfang Chen knew just how powerful the support Lingling could provide would be.

So he didn't refuse.

"Then you'd better come with me. Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"Hmph!" The haughty Lingling tossed her twin ponytails. "I don't need you to protect me. You should be worrying about yourself. If you're not strong enough and get surrounded by Demons, I'm not coming to save you."

Seeing Lingling's haughty attitude, Dongfang Chen couldn't help laughing.

"Fine, fine. You're the strongest."

Dongfang Chen instinctively reached out to touch Lingling's twin ponytails, but she warily dodged him.

When he saw her look at him like he was a pervert, Dongfang Chen felt awkward.

He coughed a few times to ease the awkwardness, then asked Lingling, "By the way, you still haven't told me your name."

Dongfang Chen had known Lingling's name for a long time, but the system didn't recognize it.

The rigid system insisted they had to exchange names with each other before he could complete the encounter mission.

If they didn't formally exchange names, the mission wouldn't count, no matter how well they knew each other.

"Hmph! I'm not telling you!"

Dongfang Chen: "..."

Now he finally understood where the term Bratty Girl came from.

Since the Demon Tribe had formed,

most of the cities around Dongting Lake had been abandoned for many years.

The nearest city to Dongting Lake was Kangning City, where Dongfang Chen and Lingling were now.

Dongfang Chen had originally planned to use his military connections to stay at a Military Base even closer to Dongting Lake.

After all, Lingling would be safer at a Military Base.

But when Dongfang Chen heard that the base had recently begun conducting some kind of experiment, he immediately dropped the idea.

Who knew what kind of experiment they were running there? Better not get involved.

Three kilometers beyond the Defense Line.

Lingling stopped and had Dongfang Chen set up a tent for her. After using a magic tool to lay down several barriers, she took out the notebook she always carried with her.

"All right, this is as far as I can go with you. You'll have to handle the rest on your own."

As she spoke, Lingling handed Dongfang Chen an earpiece.

"Keep the earpiece on so we can stay in touch. The Mo Yu Grass grows fifty kilometers beyond the Defense Line. It's within the Dongting Lake Demon Tribe's territory, but only on the outskirts. Be careful, and follow my instructions. You should be able to avoid quite a few Demons."