Summoner Wang Jun

"Expelled?"

Sister Qi frowned when she heard that. She had been thinking of protecting the little cat and keeping it in the shop. Maybe it could refine even more powerful pills.

Even if it only refined Moisture Pills, she, as the owner, would still gain considerable benefits and a large share of the profits.

Yet now, this apprentice named Niu Yanan actually wanted Qin Yue expelled, cutting off the owner's commission. She had to be out of her mind.

Niu Yanan's talent was poor. She would never reach the little cat's level in pill refinement. If she were not so good at flattering and ingratiating herself, Sister Qi would never have kept her around.

But now, Niu Yanan was actually clamoring to expel Qin Yue and drive away an alchemist. She was practically courting death. Sister Qi's brow furrowed tightly, and she was thoroughly displeased.

"Sister Qi, I suggest expelling Qin Yue. An apprentice who refuses to obey your orders must be expelled, or she'll only push her luck.

"Someone like her doesn't understand respect for her teacher. Her talent is poor too, so she isn't suited to become an alchemist at all. Even if she answered the questions correctly earlier, she might have cheated."

Seeing Sister Qi frown, Niu Yanan assumed Qin Yue was about to be expelled. She immediately rattled off a long string of complaints, all about Qin Yue's faults and why she had to be expelled.

The more Sister Qi listened, the angrier she became. Finally, she shouted, "Shut up! You're expelled. Get out!"

"Did you hear that, Qin Yue? You're expelled. Get out," Niu Yanan immediately said to Qin Yue after hearing Sister Qi.

Smack!

A crisp slap rang out. Sister Qi slapped Niu Yanan across the face, leaving a bright red handprint.

"Sister Qi, y-you hit me? You hit the wrong person!" Niu Yanan said blankly.

"I meant to hit you. Get out! You're expelled," Sister Qi said loudly.

"Ah? I'm expelled? Why? Wasn't Qin Yue the one being expelled?" Niu Yanan froze. Her mind buzzed as if it had been stuffed with paste.

The people around them were equally stunned, all staring foolishly at Sister Qi.

No one could understand it. Qin Yue had clearly been the one who was supposed to be expelled, so how had it become Niu Yanan in the blink of an eye? Everyone was utterly confused.

After quite a while, they finally came back to their senses. One disciple could not help saying, "Sister Qi, Qin Yue was the one occupying the alchemy room, not Niu Yanan."

"Shut up! Who asked you to talk? Niu Yanan, hurry up and get out. I don't want to repeat myself!"

Sister Qi rebuked her angrily. She could recruit as many ordinary apprentices as she wanted, but Qin Yue's little cat was one of a kind. If expelling Niu Yanan could win the little cat's favor, Sister Qi would have gladly expelled ten thousand apprentices.

Her expression was ice-cold as she stared fixedly at Niu Yanan.

"I-I understand. I'll leave right away." Thinking of the forces behind Sister Qi, Niu Yanan hurriedly apologized. But her mind was still buzzing, and she could not figure out what had happened.

The people around them were just as confused. Even Qin Yue and Song Xiaomei wore dazed expressions, as if they were dreaming.

Only the little cat lay on Qin Yue's shoulder, yawning lazily with an air of complete indifference.

"Fine. From now on, Qin Yue can use the alchemy room whenever she wants. Also, Qin Yue is officially my disciple. Oh, and Xiaomei too."

Sister Qi announced it without hesitation, taking Qin Yue and Song Xiaomei as her disciples.

Qin Yue and Song Xiaomei were left stunned, their little minds even more muddled.

As for the remaining apprentices, they all frowned and carefully recalled what had just happened, trying to understand the situation.

But no matter how hard they thought, they could not figure it out. It simply felt as though something had gone wrong when they left home that day.

"Alright, get back to work. Qin Yue, from now on, you can watch me refine pills whenever you wish. This book is for you. Study it well.

"When you refine pills in the future, just give them to me. I'll help you sell them for a better price."

Sister Qi beamed at Qin Yue as she slowly took out a book on pill refinement and placed it in Qin Yue's small hands. Her attitude could not have been better.

"Th-thank you, Sister Qi," Qin Yue said foolishly.

"What a good girl. Work hard. These five Giant Flowers are for you."

Sister Qi took the five flowers from the counter and handed the Giant Flowers, worth one hundred thousand each, directly to Qin Yue as a gift.

The sight left everyone even more bewildered. Some even suspected that Qin Yue was Sister Qi's illegitimate daughter.

"Th-this is too valuable. I can't accept it," Qin Yue said anxiously.

"Meow!"

Li Xuan cried out, waved a little paw, and swept the five flowers into his embrace before quickly starting to eat them.

Qin Yue stared blankly at the scene, unable to say another word of refusal.

"Alright, working hard from now on will be repayment enough. I have something to do today, so I'll be leaving the shop first."

Sister Qi smiled faintly, raised a hand to rub the little cat's head, then turned and left the shop.

Only the stunned crowd and a little cat eating Giant Flowers remained.

The Giant Flowers, worth one hundred thousand each, were quickly devoured by the little cat. Five hundred thousand vanished in an instant, eaten clean.

Meow~

The little cat cried out. Its body felt pleasantly warm, and it gradually closed its eyes, falling asleep.

Seeing this, Qin Yue carefully held the little cat in her arms, worried about its condition.

"Yueyue, take the little cat back to the dormitory. It ate Giant Flowers with such potent medicinal effects, so it definitely needs time to absorb them. It'll be better for it to rest somewhere comfortable," Song Xiaomei suggested.

"Alright, I'll go to the dormitory." Qin Yue hurriedly nodded.

"I'll go with you. And tell me what just happened while we're at it."

The two soon left, leaving the others looking at one another, unable to understand what had happened that day.

One of the girls, named Mengmeng, found an excuse to leave the shop and entered the corner of a dim alley nearby.

A burly man was sitting there in the alley, eating with a two-meter-long white snake beside him.

He was none other than Iron Tiger, captain of the enforcement team, along with his summoned beast, the Lightning Snake.

He had never let go of that matter and often came to investigate Qin Xue's situation.

"Uncle Iron Tiger, something strange happened to the Qin Yue you asked me to watch today."

Mengmeng walked into the alley and quickly recounted what had happened, describing the entire incident exactly as it had occurred.

Iron Tiger had been eating. With no leads for so long, he had almost wanted to give up. But as he listened, he began to sense that something was wrong.

"You're saying Sister Qi suddenly changed her attitude, treated Qin Yue extremely well, and even gave her Giant Flowers worth five hundred thousand?" Iron Tiger asked.

"Yes. She even took Qin Yue as her disciple, and Song Xiaomei became one too. I feel like Song Xiaomei benefited because of Qin Yue, but I can't understand why."

Mengmeng continued explaining, unable to make sense of it.

"Keep watching Qin Yue. Tell me immediately if anything happens," Iron Tiger said solemnly.

"Alright, Uncle Iron Tiger. I'm leaving now. Bye."

Mengmeng skipped away, leaving Iron Tiger alone in the alley, frowning as he pondered why this had happened.

"No time to think about it. I need to patrol first. The city has been getting more and more chaotic lately."

Iron Tiger sighed, swallowed the last bun, and choked on it. He had to gulp down several mouthfuls of water before finally swallowing it.

"Damn it, I almost choked to death."

Iron Tiger left the small alley in irritation and headed toward the city gate.

Things had been very unsafe lately. Several murder cases had occurred near the city gate in particular, so he had to be careful.

However.

Not long after he had walked away, a one-eyed man with a Mad Lion summoned beast suddenly passed by him and continued farther into the distance.

The instant he saw the man, Iron Tiger's expression tightened.

"A Black Iron expert, and one at Great Perfection. He's a level above me. Wait, that face... it's him! Wang Jun, older brother of the alchemist Wang Hao!"

Iron Tiger's expression finally changed, becoming extremely grave.

Back then, after they had secretly captured the alchemist Wang Hao for turning people into puppets, they had interrogated him harshly.

They learned that he had an older brother named Wang Jun, who cared deeply for him.

The enforcement team had been nervous for a while and made preparations.

Unfortunately, Wang Jun had not come. Everyone had assumed he did not dare to come, yet he had actually appeared.

"No, the direction he's heading... isn't that the herb shop? This is bad. He's going to take revenge on Qin Yue!"

Iron Tiger was startled. He quickly took out his phone to contact headquarters for assistance, then turned and chased after him.