Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Meng Shenji's Inquiry!

On the way back to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"The bullies are back! Move out of their way!"

"I heard they just gave Blazing Fire Academy a vicious beating!"

"And they even stripped them naked and made them walk back like that!"

"I heard the leader was that guy with a little bug standing on his shoulder."

"He beat them until they knelt and begged for mercy, and still wouldn't let them go!"

Seeing Qin Qi and the others approaching, the students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy hurriedly stepped aside.

They were afraid that if they moved too slowly, they would be viciously beaten for blocking the road.

"These rumors are spreading fast, and they're getting more outrageous with every retelling."

"When did I ever make anyone kneel and beg for mercy, then refuse to let them go? This is pure slander!"

"If people hear this, won't they mistake me for some kind of villain?"

Qin Qi felt that whoever was spreading these rumors was simply too wicked. They were clearly smearing his name.

"You weren't a good person to begin with."

Dugu Yan spoke from beside him. She was very self-aware and had never considered herself a good person from the start.

Just like her grandfather, she never cared about good or evil. As long as she was happy, that was enough.

"Yanyan, how can you say that? If I weren't a good person, would I have stood up for you?"

"By the way, remember to bring back those herbs as soon as possible. It doesn't matter what the others want."

"But you need to help me look properly for my herbs. They're very important to me."

As Qin Qi spoke, he took out a sketch of medicinal herbs he had drawn long ago. It was shaped like a chrysanthemum.

"Mm? What kind of herb is this? Why haven't I seen it before?"

Dugu Yan looked at Qin Qi's drawing and frowned. She had grown up following Dugu Bo.

She had seen at least eight or ten thousand medicinal herbs, yet she truly had never seen the one Qin Qi had drawn.

"It's nothing, just an older chrysanthemum. It replenishes qi and nourishes the blood. Your family should have it."

Qin Qi spoke with a serious expression. That was right, it was an ordinary chrysanthemum—its name just happened to sound a little cool: the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.

It was nothing special. No matter how cool the name sounded, it was still just a chrysanthemum.

"Fine. I'll have my grandfather look for it when I get back. What about the rest of you? What herbs do you want?"

Dugu Yan looked at it twice before putting it away, not caring in the slightest how precious it was.

Her family had a mine, and not just any mine, but a top-tier one—the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. They could practically wholesale immortal herbs like these.

"I don't know."

"Same here."

Shi Mo and Shi Mo looked at Qin Qi. The two of them had simply come along to help him.

They had not expected any reward, and they knew nothing about medicinal herbs. Even if they were asked to choose, they would not know how.

"I don't want any. Every medicine has some toxicity. I've soaked in enough medicinal baths since I was little. I don't need anything else."

Yu Tianheng had no interest in medicinal herbs at all. He was the clan chief's grandson, and his family had more money than they could spend.

He had soaked in medicinal baths to improve his physique since birth. It could be said that he had lived in the utmost luxury.

"We're friends."

Ye Lingling looked at Dugu Yan. Her family ran a pharmacy, and a large one at that.

So she did not lack medicinal herbs. She had helped entirely because she considered Dugu Yan a friend.

"Everyone... Lingling, I'm so touched."

Dugu Yan stepped forward and wrapped the petite, adorable Ye Lingling in a hug, then pressed their cheeks together and rubbed against her.

After properly fussing over Ye Lingling, she looked at Qin Qi with an expression that seemed to say—

Look at her, then look at yourself. Can you even call yourself a man? How embarrassing.

"Don't try that on me. I don't have any other strengths, but my skin is thick. I won't feel embarrassed."

"Besides, my family is poor. I can't compare with wealthy people like you."

Qin Qi truly wanted the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. Eating it could grant him an indestructible body, and it was genuinely important to him.

After all, strength-based cultivation had declined.

"Alright, alright, I was just teasing you. They're only a few herbs. My family has plenty."

"The same goes for you, Lingling. Even if you don't need them, take them anyway. I can't let you help me for nothing."

Dugu Yan was exceedingly generous. Everyone who had helped would get a share. She was absolutely not stingy.

"Sister Yan is mighty."

Qin Qi spoke.

"You were calling me Yanyan just now, and now it's Sister Yan. You change your face pretty fast."

Dugu Yan teased.

Meanwhile, the three instructors of Heaven Dou Royal Academy had also received word that Qin Qi and the others had fought with Blazing Fire Academy.

They immediately had Qin Ming bring Qin Qi and the others over. After they arrived—

"Little Qin Qi, I heard you got into a fight with someone outside?"

Meng Shenji looked at Qin Qi and asked.

Oh no, we're going to be held accountable.

Seeing Meng Shenji's stern expression, Dugu Yan prepared to step forward and take responsibility for the matter.

She took a step forward.

"I..."

As Dugu Yan spoke, the others also stepped forward, as if they all wanted to shoulder the blame.

"Hahaha, yes, we had a match against Blazing Fire Academy's geniuses."

"We won big. We suffered almost no injuries, while all seven of them were beaten down by us."

"Speaking of which, I have to complain about Old Yu. That guy had absolutely no teamwork."

"I'm planning to kick him out. I won't play with him anymore."

Qin Qi directly cut off what everyone had wanted to say and grinned.

"Qin Qi..."

Dugu Yan looked at Qin Qi, who had stepped forward alone and taken the initiative to answer the question.

Her eyes held a trace of emotion. Although this guy was thick-skinned, he still stepped up at a crucial moment.

"Little Qin Qi, fighting isn't a problem. You're all at an age full of vigor."

"It's normal for there to be friction between you. Spirit battles between each other are also a way to gain practical combat experience."

"But I heard that after winning, you made them kneel and apologize, and even stripped the girls on their side naked."

"Is that true or false?"

Meng Shenji looked at Qin Qi. Fighting was a minor matter, but what Qin Qi had supposedly done afterward was rather inappropriate.

Meng Shenji and the others felt that, as elders, they had a responsibility to teach Qin Qi proper values.

"False. Those people in the academy who don't like us made it all up."

Qin Qi answered directly without even blinking.

"False? But everyone is saying it, and people on the commercial street saw that Blazing Fire Academy's people really were naked."

Meng Shenji froze for a moment. He did not think Qin Qi was lying; he felt that perhaps there was something wrong with the situation.

"Instructor, you know that my brother and I came from poor families."

"Lingling is withdrawn and doesn't like talking. Sister Yan isn't good at dealing with people."

"The Stone brothers are honest and simple, while Yu Tianheng is arrogant and overbearing."

"Those noble students already disliked us, but they couldn't do anything about our outstanding talent."

"The people in the academy can't beat us and don't like the sight of us, so they made up lies to slander and humiliate us!"

"The actual situation was nothing like that!"

Qin Qi still wore a righteous expression, as though he truly had not done any of those things.

Dugu Yan and the others beside him were all dumbfounded. For a moment, they even began to doubt themselves.

Could it be that they had not been the ones who did those bad things? Could they have remembered wrong?

Otherwise, where did Qin Qi get such confidence from?