When Lin Ze heard Xiao Yi Xian's plans, he couldn't help asking, "Are you planning to find another pharmacy and work as an apothecary next?"
Xiao Yi Xian shook her head. "Maybe after a while. I'm planning to travel around and clear my head."
"Come to think of it, ever since I can remember, I've spent most of my time in Qingshan Town. I've never really left."
"Now that I've left Wan Yao Zhai, I want to travel around Dou Qi Continent and see the medicinal herbs that grow in other regions."
Xiao Yi Xian spoke with shining eyes, full of longing and anticipation.
Lin Ze's heart stirred, and he asked, "How strong are you now? Would you be interested in studying at Jia Nan Academy?"
"As one of the top academies on Dou Qi Continent, Jia Nan Academy naturally has Mentors who've studied medicinal herbs in depth. Some are even alchemists."
"And the academy's alchemists are the easiest for ordinary people to get close to."
Lin Ze's words caught Xiao Yi Xian's attention. Her eyes lowered as she seemed to ponder for a moment.
"My strength is only at the Eighth Stage of Dou Qi. I don't know if I can get into Jia Nan Academy."
"No problem!" Lin Ze replied with certainty.
"Jia Nan Academy's requirement is to reach the Eighth Stage of Dou Qi before you turn eighteen."
Xiao Yi Xian was stunned.
She hadn't expected that she could meet Jia Nan Academy's admission standards.
She'd heard mercenaries talk about Jia Nan Academy before. They might have spoken with disdain, but they couldn't hide the envy in their eyes.
What Xiao Yi Xian knew about Jia Nan Academy was limited to what she'd heard from mercenaries.
This was the first time she'd learned about its admission requirements.
"Really? I can get in too?" Xiao Yi Xian asked nervously.
Seeing her like that, Lin Ze smiled faintly.
Xiao Yi Xian's experience was still limited to Qingshan Town.
It was only natural that she'd feel intimidated by the legendary Jia Nan Academy.
"Of course you can."
"Since you're interested, come with me when the time comes."
"I want to leave Qingshan Town too and see the wider world."
"To witness those legends, and see the people and things I've heard of—and those I haven't."
"Otherwise, spending my whole life cooped up in Qingshan Town would be far too dull, at least to me."
Xiao Yi Xian gazed at the young man without blinking, listening to his bold words.
It was as if she could see endless mountains and rivers in his deep eyes.
Imagining the things he described, Xiao Yi Xian found herself longing for them too.
"Sure. Then it's settled."
"Of course. We're both from Qingshan Town, so when we leave home, we should look out for each other."
In the ordinary little courtyard, the two agreed to travel together.
After temporarily settling Xiao Yi Xian in, Lin Ze focused all his attention on the Flame Mercenary Group's headquarters.
Using his identity as Wang Wu, a servant, he went around the Flame Mercenary Group's grounds, sweeping and doing odd jobs.
The Flame Mercenary Group was relatively elite, but no matter how elite it was, it was still a mercenary group.
The mercenary profession was naturally associated with freedom and a lack of discipline.
Expecting them to follow orders like an army and keep their secrets under strict guard was unthinkable.
They were even more relaxed since they were inside their own headquarters.
As a result, Wang Wu, who had blended in as a servant, managed to uncover quite a bit.
The most important piece of information concerned Mu She's risky trip into the Fire Wolf Lair.
He'd found out that the Fire Wolf King had given birth to not one cub, but two.
When he learned this, Lin Ze couldn't help reflecting that Mu She was indeed decisive—and truly ruthless with himself.
Although Mu She was a Wind Attribute Dou Master and faster than experts of the same level with other attributes, that didn't mean he could escape unharmed after being surrounded by the Fire Wolf Pack.
Mu She had taken an enormous risk with this operation.
But he'd been willing to take that risk.
Though Mu She had been killed by an Over-level Challenge in the Original Work, he certainly hadn't lacked resolve or decisiveness.
That was clear from both his offer of a bounty of over ten thousand gold coins for Xiao Yan and his decision to mobilize the entire group to hunt Xiao Yan down.
And Mu She had been willing to risk so much by sneaking into the Fire Wolf Lair.
In Lin Ze's view, it was probably because the previous mission had failed, and the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's people had been caught by the Flame Mercenary Group.
That had left Mu She with no choice but to take a risk.
Judging by the outcome, Mu She's gamble had clearly paid off.
The Fire Wolf King had given birth to two cubs, laying the groundwork for the two mercenary groups to cooperate.
They could work together to seize the Fire Wolf King's cubs.
Once the job was done, each mercenary group would get one.
That way, the Flame Mercenary Group could still achieve its original goal, and Huo Lie would have an explanation for his men.
With their interests aligned, the Flame Mercenary Group wouldn't keep holding the previous incident against them.
At worst, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group could pay some compensation, and they'd let the matter slide.
And thanks to Mu She's gamble, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group now had a chance to obtain a Fire Wolf King Cub.
As for why Huo Lie chose to work with the Wolf Head Mercenary Group instead of the other mercenary groups in Fire Wolf Town, it was because those groups were based in the same town. If the Flame Mercenary Group wanted to grow stronger, it would inevitably encroach on the others' interests.
After all, there was only so much to go around. If you took a bigger share, someone else would get less.
But working with the Wolf Head Mercenary Group didn't bring the same concerns.
Even if their interests eventually clashed, that would only happen once each group became the strongest in its own town and gained the strength to expand outward.
With this crucial information in hand, Lin Ze no longer found it strange to see people from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group at the Flame Mercenary Group's headquarters.
"But why did the Flame Mercenary Group suddenly recruit a batch of servants?"
The thought came to Lin Ze.
There was no smoke without fire, and the saying applied here too.
They'd recruited more than a dozen servants this time.
If that mercenary hadn't spent such a short time recruiting, Lin Ze could have slipped in a few more Death Soldiers.
Unless the Flame Mercenary Group had dismissed all its previous servants at once, it couldn't have had such a large shortage.
"Wait. The two mercenary groups are about to move against the Fire Wolf Lair, and they suddenly start recruiting servants on a large scale?"
"This setup... Why does it feel like they're recruiting cannon fodder?"
Lin Ze had never been reluctant to assume the worst of others.
It wasn't just because the hardships he'd suffered before awakening his Awakened Wisdom had taught him how dangerous the world could be.
It was also because after awakening his Awakened Wisdom, he'd learned that Dou Qi Continent was a world where the strong ruled and the weak were preyed upon.
High-level cultivators could do whatever they wanted to those of lower levels, and there was no shortage of cultivators who took the Evil Path in search of shortcuts.
When you were weak, danger lurked everywhere. You had to stay cautious at all times and assume others had the worst intentions.
You couldn't naively believe that everyone meant well.
Lin Ze's thoughts raced. The two mercenary groups were plotting to seize the Fire Wolf King's cubs, and they might use his Death Soldiers as cannon fodder too.
A plan to turn the tables began to take shape in his mind.
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