Nan Nan froze, then gave a helpless, bitter smile. "Wanyu, you give me far too much credit. I'm just someone struggling desperately in a mire. How would I dare play mind games with you?"
Dongfang Wanyu lifted her eyelids, signaling for her to continue.
"I want to beg you to save my brother." Nan Nan suddenly dropped to her knees before Dongfang Wanyu, giving her quite a fright. "I know this request puts you in a difficult position, but I have no other choice. If you can heal my brother's legs and let him stand again, I'll do anything you ask."
Dongfang Wanyu scoffed. "I'm not a pharmacist. You've come to the wrong person."
Nan Nan shook her head. "No, I haven't. I know you're not a pharmacist, but you're a triple-element Spirit Practitioner. You'll definitely get into the Royal Academy."
Dongfang Wanyu's eyes widened instantly. She seized Nan Nan by the throat. "How did you know I'm a triple-element Spirit Practitioner?"
She hadn't even told her ninth sister about this. That a stranger knew was simply unbelievable. She really had underestimated her.
Nan Nan couldn't breathe under her grip. She smiled bitterly. "Don't-worry. I won't-tell anyone." She was still counting on her to heal her brother's legs.
Seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, Dongfang Wanyu leisurely released her. "How could you tell?"
Nan Nan coughed several times. She had keenly sensed the other woman's killing intent. If her answer failed to satisfy her, she would show no mercy.
Nan Nan held out her hands and murmured a few words. A tiny, fiery-red figure suddenly darted out, leaping onto her shoulder and affectionately rubbing against her cheek. "This is my magical pet, Little Civet."
"A Fire Civet Cat, an evolved fire-element mutant magic beast. Only level two at present, but with eyes that can see through things. No wonder you were exposed so early," Qing Mo murmured.
Little Civet seemed hostile toward Dongfang Wanyu, swishing its tail and taking a fighting stance.
"Since you're a Spirit Practitioner, why not try the Royal Academy yourself?" Pinning one's hopes on someone else was foolish in the extreme.
Nan Nan lowered her head and stroked her magical pet. "My talent isn't good enough. Even if I went to the Royal Academy, they wouldn't accept me."
"Given your current situation, if you don't go to the Royal Academy, that wastrel from yesterday will keep humiliating you. Not just you-your brother will suffer too." Dongfang Wanyu knew she was a proud young woman, but reality was this cruel in the face of absolute power and strength. "My advice is to give the Royal Academy a try. If they take an interest in you, they can at least offer you some protection. Then we can discuss whether your brother's legs can be saved."
"We can save you once, but not a second or third time. Think about it. If you die, what will happen to your brother?" With that, Dongfang Wanyu left her kneeling alone on the ground.
Dongfang Minghui kept peering outside. Bored with waiting, she began "chatting" with the wild grass outside.
From them, she learned that a massive explosion had occurred here long ago. Flames had shot in every direction, burning everything to ruins. Only two children had survived.
Just as she asked another question, Dongfang Wanyu returned.
"Ninth Sister, let's gather information near the Royal Academy today. We won't go to the northern district for now."
"All right."
Although Dongfang Minghui agreed readily, she felt miserable inside. If the heroine entered the Royal Academy, they wouldn't see each other for at least a month. How was she supposed to make her presence felt? How could she raise her favorability?
They had little to take with them. After bidding Nan Nan farewell, they headed straight for the Royal Academy.
They arrived at the teahouse closest to the Royal Academy and went upstairs to rest. Dongfang Minghui had been gloomy the whole way, with "WORRY" written large across her face.
Dongfang Wanyu assumed she was sulking because they hadn't gone to the northern district. To cheer her up, she specifically ordered the Snow Capital's signature pastries and tea.
"Ah, the queues outside the Royal Academy stretch across two whole streets. Look at this weather. Heaven itself is putting them to the test."
"Long queues won't help. A good friend of mine teaches at the Royal Academy. He told me their department is only taking a hundred people this time."
"Think about it. At that rate, the academy's total intake probably won't even reach this number."
"You've blown your boasts clear into the sky. A friend of yours, huh? Well, the dean's my father."
An assortment of people from every walk of life held forth upstairs like storytellers, their voices loud enough to carry downstairs.
Dongfang Wanyu didn't even lift her eyelids as she sipped her tea.
Dongfang Minghui propped up her head and looked outside, seemingly not listening at all. Her fingers tapped lightly on the table as she rejected one idea after another.
"Seventh Sister, why don't we go have a look near the academy?" she suddenly suggested. Hearing more rumors was pointless. They might as well stake it out themselves.
Dongfang Wanyu pointed at the pastries and tea on the table. "It's hot outside. Have a few sips before we go."
"Wow, these are my favorite hibiscus cakes!" Dongfang Minghui picked one up and took a bite. Threads of spiritual energy immediately entered her mouth. She looked at the heroine in surprise. "Seventh Sister, try one too. These pastries actually contain spiritual energy!"
Dongfang Wanyu took a piece as well. "Just what you'd expect from a teahouse in the Snow Capital. Everything here must be made with ingredients containing spiritual energy. Yours hasn't recovered yet, so eat more."
There were only four pieces on the plate, and three went into her stomach. After another sip of tea, she promptly let out a satisfied burp. Dongfang Minghui felt rather embarrassed.
When they reached the vicinity of the Royal Academy, they indeed saw two queues stretching like long dragons.
Dongfang Minghui stopped someone who looked fairly approachable. "Excuse me, could I ask why you're all lining up here?"
The man glanced at them both. "In three days, the academy will begin recruiting people with exceptional talent, but they're only taking five thousand. I saw everyone queuing, so I joined them."
Dongfang Minghui was speechless. It wasn't as if the academy was accepting the first five thousand people in line.
She asked two people, and both gave equally absurd answers: others were queuing, so they queued too.
Dongfang Minghui spread her hands and scratched her head. "Seventh Sister, I don't think anyone with a brain would do something this stupid. They're probably hiding up in the trees, resting or sleeping."
After all, the reclusive masters in the novels she read never followed the beaten path.
Dongfang Wanyu led her into the shade of a large tree. "Wait here. I'll check another gate."
"All right." Dongfang Minghui nodded obediently.
As soon as Dongfang Wanyu left, she abandoned all concern for appearances and tried to climb the tree. Between sitting beneath it and sitting up in it, the latter was obviously cooler, with a better view too.
A piece of bark flew straight at her forehead.
"That's strange." Something had hit her. Dongfang Minghui looked around, but after searching for a while, she still couldn't find what it was. She guessed some mischievous little creature was responsible.
Dongfang Minghui kept climbing. Before she could get onto the trunk, something struck her squarely again, with the same force as before.
"Who's there?"
Dongfang Minghui patted the tree and whispered, "Tree, tree, tell me which troublemaker hit me. I'll give you more spiritual energy later."
Without a moment's hesitation, the tree swayed and playfully curled its branches around her, slowly lifting her up to its trunk and letting her sit against it. Then a slender branch lashed toward a spot two or three trees away.
Dongfang Minghui's eyes widened. She saw a young man with his hands pillowed behind his head, his feet propped up, and a blade of grass between his lips. He was treating the tree as a bed.
"Tree, let me borrow something from you." After discussing it with the tree, she received several pieces of shed bark and hurled them in his direction.
The young man twisted around, sprang from that tree to another, and sat down. Smiling, he winked at her. "Little girl, how do you get that tree to listen to you?"
Dongfang Minghui glared at him. "I'm not telling."
The young man rested his chin in one hand and clicked his tongue, shaking his head at her. "A wood-element Spirit Practitioner, then. But that spiritual power of yours is a little strange..."
Dongfang Minghui swung her legs and turned her head away guiltily, deciding to ignore him.
To her surprise, he leaped straight from his tree to land in front of her. Dongfang Minghui nearly fell off in fright, but fortunately, the tree caught her around the waist with a branch.
"What are you doing?" Dongfang Minghui grew furious, her little face scrunching up. Though the man before her looked gentle and had a mild air about him, she decided she hated him.
The young man looked her up and down, a trace of teasing in his eyes. "Such a pretty little girl. Why don't you come home with me?"
"Help-" Ah!
Dongfang Minghui thought she'd encountered a pervert, so of course she immediately cried for help. Yet after those first words, her voice suddenly stopped working.
"You, you, you..." Dongfang Minghui pointed at his nose, her face full of disbelief.
"Little girl, I was joking. Why take it seriously? If you shout like that, my spotless reputation will be ruined in your hands." He even winked at her.
Dongfang Minghui had never met anyone so shameless. Whose spotless reputation was being ruined? Hers, obviously!
She simply patted the tree and asked it to put her down.
The tree curled its branches around her and slowly lowered her to the ground.
"Hey, hey, little girl, don't run off!" The young man was dumbfounded, apparently not expecting her to simply walk away.
Once beneath the tree, Dongfang Minghui hugged its trunk and patted it. "I'll come tomorrow and give you some spiritual power so you can grow a little faster."
The tree shook its branches happily, nearly shaking the young man out of it.
"Hahahaha, nicely done!" Dongfang Minghui hugged the tree, rather delighted by his misfortune.
That evening, they tried several inns in succession, but all were overcrowded. Finally, they chose a fairly shabby-looking one and booked two rooms.
Most of the people coming and going at the inn were fierce-looking men, tall, broad, and powerfully built. They traveled in groups and carried a strong scent of blood. Their exposed arms were mostly covered in scars of every kind. They were probably mercenaries who lived by licking blood off the edges of blades.
Thus, most guests at this inn were a motley assortment of people from every walk of life.
Dongfang Minghui asked the inn for a medicine grinder, shut her door, and ground her last treasured Red Peony and a stalk of purple green grass into juice. She poured it all into a porcelain pill bottle, intending to water the tree with it tomorrow.
Looking through the remaining supplies in her storage ring, she felt that buying even a few more medicinal plants would leave her unable to support herself.
Medicinal ingredients were outrageously expensive. The few plants that had restored most of her spiritual power last time had also consumed most of her savings. It seemed she had no choice but to find a job for the days ahead.
With that thought in mind, Dongfang Minghui had nightmares all night. She dreamed of doing odd jobs at someone's teahouse and being harassed.
Her face looked rather sickly when she got up. Why had she dreamed something so ridiculous?
"You don't seem to have slept well last night." Dongfang Wanyu found the faint dark circles beneath her eyes rather odd.
Dongfang Minghui nodded and yawned, complaining, "That's right. I had a bad dream yesterday and spent the whole night running around in it. I'm exhausted."
Dongfang Wanyu couldn't help laughing. "Why don't I go to the Royal Academy alone today? You can rest at the inn."
She immediately shook her head. "No, I'm going too."
Leaving her alone here to face these hulking men would be the truly terrifying option.
The two ate a little food and went out.
"Seventh Sister, go take care of your business. I'll cool off in that tree again." The morning sun wasn't actually scorching. She was merely making an excuse to give the tree some spiritual energy. She was someone who kept her word.
Seeing her obediently remain beneath the tree, Dongfang Wanyu felt reassured and went off to handle her own affairs.
As soon as she left, Dongfang Minghui took the porcelain bottle out of her storage space and poured its contents over the tree's roots. "Tree, this is all I have left. I'm giving you everything."
The tree shook its branches, sending green leaves fluttering down as though scattered by the wind.
Once she finished watering it, a branch curled around her waist and lifted her onto the trunk. It played with her, tickling her palm with its leaves.
"Ah, stop tickling me! I actually have something to ask you."
The tree drew all its branches back, waiting for her question.
Dongfang Minghui had thought it through. With her inability to truss even a chicken, there were only so many things she could do. She wanted to find a job she could manage.
After considering the professions throughout the Seven-Colored Continent, she felt she had some chance of succeeding only as a pharmacist.
"Do you know anywhere in the Snow Capital with large medicinal herb gardens?" Speaking of herb gardens reminded Dongfang Minghui that she still had some Red Peony seeds. Her original plan had been so lovely: once she reached the Snow Capital, she would buy a house and plant a huge patch of herbs there. Instead-she didn't even have enough money to buy a latrine. Sob, sob, sob.
"There's a large medicinal herb garden within a hundred miles. But many people walk around in it every day." An aged voice traveled from the tree into her mind.
Dongfang Minghui sighed. Wasn't that hundred-mile area precisely the Royal Academy's grounds? She already knew that answer without asking. The problem was, could she enter the Royal Academy simply because she wanted to?
"Tree, I can't get into the Royal Academy. Is there anywhere else?"
The tree swayed. "I can only sense the dense vitality over there. Everywhere else is too far away for me to feel."
"All right." The tree was just like her: willing but powerless, with spiritual power far too weak.
Dongfang Minghui hugged the tree and rubbed against it for a while. Before she could lament this wretched academy, something struck the back of her head again.
"Who is it?" Already frustrated by her inability to find work, Dongfang Minghui glared.
The young man from yesterday had appeared barely a foot away from her. With a blade of grass between his lips, he smiled at Dongfang Minghui. "Want to get into the Royal Academy? Are you here to take the entrance assessment?"
Dongfang Minghui pouted, her little face creasing. "Why are you eavesdropping?"
"What eavesdropping? I'm lying here openly. Is it my fault you didn't see me?" The young man shook his leg. It looked as though he'd been here for quite some time. "Do you want to get into the Royal Academy?"
Dongfang Minghui grew even more displeased, her dislike of him steadily climbing. She snorted and said sharply, "What good does wanting it do?"
"True. With your aptitude, you'd be eliminated before making it through the first round."
Dongfang Minghui was speechless. What an expert at driving the knife in.
The young man tossed another piece of bark over, though this time it landed directly in her lap. "Do you want to get into the Royal Academy?"
"Don't tell me you have a way?" Dongfang Minghui mocked him.
The Royal Academy recruited quite broadly, allowing both commoners and nobles to take its assessments. However, ninety-nine percent of those admitted possessed extraordinary talent. Someone like her had originally been a level-one Spirit Master, only to regress to a level-five Spirit Practitioner. Nothing could be more infuriating.
"Of course."
Dongfang Minghui's eyes lit up. "How?"
The young man looked her up and down teasingly. "Tsk, tsk. You're quite a fresh-faced little lass."
Dongfang Minghui immediately crossed her arms over her chest, her face flushing with anger. "Pah! Lecher!"
Seeing that she was genuinely angry, the young man sat upright and toned down his frivolous smile. "You really can't take a little teasing. I can get you in, but I have one condition."
"Tell-tell me what it is." Dongfang Minghui couldn't work out which of his words were true and which were false.
"I'm raising a Blue Star Dream, but unfortunately, it hasn't been doing well lately. I've asked many wood-element Spirit Masters to examine it, only for it to attack them. If you can restore it to its former condition, I'll sort your matter out in no time."
Blue Star Dream? What on earth was that?
She finally understood. So he wanted her to treat a sick plant.
After a brief struggle, Dongfang Minghui agreed. If there was even a sliver of hope of setting foot inside the academy, she had to try. Only by seeing the heroine every day could she forge a revolutionary friendship with her.
"Come with me now."
The young man grabbed Dongfang Minghui and leaped down from the tree.
She stepped back, quickly putting some distance between them. This man was far too improper. "Not now. I still have to wait for someone."
"Huh? Haven't you heard that saving a life earns more merit than building a seven-story pagoda? Time waits for no one," the young man urged.
Dongfang Minghui shook her head. "No. Seventh Sister will worry if she can't find me when she comes back." She would definitely get angry.
Earning even a little favorability wasn't easy. She would never let someone else ruin it.
The young man slapped his forehead. "The girl who was walking with you yesterday? Your seventh sister? I'll have someone wait beneath the tree and tell her. Won't that settle it?"
After several more rounds of urging, Dongfang Minghui wavered. She was then taken to a large separate residence. An enormous medicinal herb garden filled its grounds, every plant brimming with vigor. They even greeted her when they saw her.
There were many herb attendants in the courtyard, whose purpose was to tend medicinal plants. They handled all the daily care. Even when a stranger entered, they kept their eyes on their work and continued with their tasks.
"Follow me."
The young man's name was Situ Hao, and all these herb gardens belonged to him. Dongfang Minghui couldn't help looking at them enviously. She wanted a herb garden this vast too.
She followed Situ Hao into a smaller courtyard within the residence. A thorn-covered plant stood there, reaching straight into the clouds. It towered so high that it looked nothing like a sapling. Broken branches littered the ground, with large splashes of blue liquid scattered nearby.
"Blue Star Dream?"
Situ Hao stood with her at the entrance. "Yes, this is the Blue Star Dream I told you about. Those branches on the ground broke off when it attacked the Spirit Masters. The blue liquid flowed out of its body. Since it won't let anyone approach, none of them dare come in to clean up."
Dongfang Minghui asked in surprise, "Didn't you say it was still young?"
Situ Hao nodded. "I planted it myself. Before, we'd dig up its roots to check its age. But half a year ago, it suddenly started shooting up, and it attacks anyone who approaches. So we aren't sure how old it is either."
Dongfang Minghui shook her head slightly at his words. With Blue Star Dream so large and tall, short roots beneath it couldn't possibly support its entire body.
"I'd like to spend some time alone with it," she suggested.
Situ Hao was astonished and warned her, "It's attacked wood-element Grand Spirit Warriors and Spirit Kings before. Are you sure you want to stay alone?"
"Yes. Do you want it treated or not? If you do, listen to me." For once, Dongfang Minghui spoke with complete confidence. In truth, she was frightened too. What if this plant was as monstrous as Little Lecher?
"Fine, fine. But if you're in danger, you'd better shout." Still uneasy, Situ Hao reminded her repeatedly.
After he left, Dongfang Minghui sat on the ground not far from it. "Hey, hey, what's your name?"
She asked three or four times in succession, but it never answered.
This was the coldest, most aloof plant she had ever seen. Covered in thorns, it looked terrifying and didn't suit its name at all. She even suspected Situ Hao had raised a mutant plant.
"It's so boring talking all by myself when you won't say anything. My name is Dongfang Minghui. You can call me Minghui." Propping up her head, Dongfang Minghui rambled on. "I'll tell you a secret. I ran away from home. I've only been in the Snow Capital for two days. I wanted to find a job, but I don't know how to do anything. I'm really useless."
Blue Star Dream shook its trunk, but because the trunk was so enormous, it only managed to shed a few leaves in the end. They drifted down in front of Dongfang Minghui.
She picked one up and found that Blue Star Dream's leaves were very strange-their veins actually formed circles. "Wow, your leaves are so pretty. Could you give me two as keepsakes?"
The tree shook hard twice, shedding even more leaves.
Dongfang Minghui gathered them up one by one and carefully tucked them into her spatial ring, though she was actually thinking about trading these leaves to Situ Hao for silver later.
After all, he treasured Blue Star Dream, too.
But a tremor swept through the space inside the ring, and every leaf she had just put in was sucked dry by a surge of energy.
"Quick, ask for more leaves." Little Lecher's voice was weak.
"Oh, Little Lecher, you're awake!" Dongfang Minghui was overjoyed. She had thought Little Lecher would only wake once she became a Spirit Warrior.
She called out for quite a while, but Little Lecher gave no further response.
"Leaves?" Surprised, Dongfang Minghui picked another leaf off the ground and put it in her mouth for a taste. It was bitter and astringent, but rich with spiritual energy.
Could this be why Little Lecher had woken up?
Dongfang Minghui understood. If she could get more medicinal herbs containing spiritual energy, Little Lecher would wake sooner.
That realization only strengthened her resolve to attend the Royal Academy.
"Blue Star Dream, I want to discuss something with you. A little friend of mine is injured, and your leaves seem to help." Dongfang Minghui knew full well that plants were simple-minded creatures. The more you beat around the bush, the more confused they became. It was better to speak plainly and get straight to the point.
Blue Star Dream shook its trunk, and leaves came fluttering down.
"Thank you. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Dongfang Minghui diligently gathered the leaves while communicating with it through her thoughts. Her second principle for befriending plants was an equal exchange.
Perhaps the gentle aura she exuded was especially strong, for Blue Star Dream's anxiety actually eased. It suddenly spoke. "I like your scent. Could you come keep me company every day?"
Dongfang Minghui stared in astonishment. Its voice sounded so young, like a child's. Was it really still a juvenile, as Situ Hao had said?
"I could, but once I go to the academy, I won't be able to come play with you." Dongfang Minghui explained patiently.
"Can't you take me with you?" Blue Star Dream curled a thorny branch around Dongfang Minghui's wrist, but its thorns pierced her skin, instantly leaving two holes that bled freely.
The moment the thorny branch touched blood, it snapped back.
Like a child who had done something wrong, Blue Star Dream fell silent.
Dongfang Minghui tore a strip from her hem to stop the bleeding and stroked its trunk. "Blue Star Dream, I could take you with me, but you'd have to assume human form first."
Blue Star Dream really wanted to know what assuming human form meant, but it still said nothing.
"My little friend Little Lecher can turn into a little child. My friend can't come out right now, but once everything's better, I'll introduce you two. How does that sound?"
Blue Star Dream happily waved its thorny branches. But as soon as one brushed Dongfang Minghui, it recoiled as though frightened.
Dongfang Minghui patted its main body and touched the thorns on its branches. "Get some rest. I'll come see you again tomorrow."
Blue Star Dream drooped all over, utterly unhappy.
Only when she was almost out of the courtyard did Blue Star Dream speak in its childish voice. "Are you angry?"
Dongfang Minghui was puzzled. "Why would I be angry? What makes you ask that?"
Blue Star Dream waved the branch still stained with blood in front of her. "I accidentally hurt you just now."
Many people had entered this courtyard before. Whenever they were injured, they attacked it like mad, breaking many of its branches and making it lose a great deal of sap.
That was why it did not like them at all.
"No, you didn't do it on purpose." Dongfang Minghui stroked it. She had dealt with many plants. Their way of showing affection was to tease you with their branches and green leaves, drawing close to you.
Plants were inherently simple and generally would not attack anyone unless threatened.
Blue Star Dream gave a coquettish shiver. Her touch felt wonderful. "Pet me some more. I really like it."
Dongfang Minghui soothed it for quite a while and explained many things before it finally agreed to let her leave.
Situ Hao had been rather worried that Blue Star Dream would swallow the little girl whole, but when he secretly peeked over the wall, he nearly tumbled off it.
Instead of bloodshed and violence, he saw a heartwarming scene between Dongfang Minghui and Blue Star Dream. She sat beside its main body, stroking it now and then.
"See? It's perfectly fine. Stop calling wood-element Spirit Warriors to treat it. It's just too lonely and has no one to play with." Dongfang Minghui covered her wrist and glared at Situ Hao.
Situ Hao was speechless. Why did the problem sound like nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum when she described it? Still, he praised her. "You're the first person it hasn't actively attacked."
Dongfang Minghui raised her injured wrist. "Compensation."
"All right, all right. What do you want?" Situ Hao could be quite accommodating at times.
"First, I want to enter the Royal Academy. We already agreed on that." Dongfang Minghui looked at him.
"No problem. Come to the Royal Academy with me tomorrow. But you have to guarantee Blue Star Dream stays well, or the whole deal is off." Situ Hao lifted his chin again. "What else?"
"I want to find some healing herbs in your herb garden." Dongfang Minghui deliberately raised her wrist again. Her injury was not actually serious; she simply coveted the spiritual herbs she had seen in the garden.
Situ Hao answered casually, "Go ahead. Shall I have an herb attendant fetch them for you?"
Dongfang Minghui shook her head. "I can do it myself."
Soon, Dongfang Minghui found the few medicinal plants with the strongest spiritual energy in the garden. After communicating with them, she took a few leaves and flower stamens, leaving everything else untouched.
Situ Hao laughed nonstop when he saw what she had taken. "Are you sure those will heal your wound?"
Dongfang Minghui ignored him and immediately put what she had gathered into her spatial ring. She soon felt a tremor inside it. Everything she had put in just a second earlier had been absorbed completely by Little Lecher.
"It really works."
"What did you just say?" Situ Hao gave her a puzzled look.
Dongfang Minghui waved her hand. "Nothing. I'll come see Blue Star Dream again tomorrow."
Situ Hao escorted her to the gate, then instructed two warriors to take her back to the inn.
Dongfang Minghui was pondering whether she should shamelessly wheedle some more herbs rich in spiritual energy out of him tomorrow when she opened her door and was pulled inside by the heroine.
"Hiss-"
Dongfang Wanyu had grabbed her right on the injured spot.
"Ow, ow, ow! Seventh Sister, let go!"
"What happened to you?" Seeing blood seeping from her wrist again, Dongfang Wanyu pressed her onto a stool and unwrapped her haphazard bandage. There were several small holes in her wrist. "Explain."
Dongfang Minghui immediately told the heroine everything about Blue Star Dream, leaving nothing out. "It really didn't do it on purpose."
The little fellow didn't know any better. It could be forgiven.
Dongfang Wanyu poured some pills out of a bottle, crushed them, and applied them to her wounds. "Don't get this wrist wet tonight."
"Oh."
When the heroine pulled up a stool and sat beside her, Dongfang Minghui blinked in confusion.
"So Situ Hao agreed to take you to the Royal Academy tomorrow?" Dongfang Wanyu looked at her seriously. "How do you know he isn't deceiving you? What if he takes you somewhere unfamiliar and kills you to silence you?"
Dongfang Minghui: "..." She suddenly felt the full weight of this world's malice.
"Never mind. Get some rest today. I'll go with you tomorrow." With that, Dongfang Wanyu returned to the room next door.
Dongfang Minghui scratched her head for ages but still could not figure out the heroine's intentions.
Still, it was a good thing. With the heroine accompanying her, she would at least be safe.
Early the next morning, the warriors Situ Hao had sent invited Dongfang Minghui to the private residence. Situ Hao handed her the spiritual liquid. "Blue Star Dream is being temperamental and won't let anyone near."
Dongfang Minghui nodded and quietly approached the courtyard entrance, pretending to hide behind the wall. "Blue Star Dream, are you there?"
As soon as it heard her voice, Blue Star Dream's thorn-covered branches shot toward the entrance and gently touched her, expressing its delight.
"I brought you something nice." Dongfang Minghui shook the bottle, making the liquid inside slosh.
Blue Star Dream caught her clothes and tugged her beneath the tree. "Don't want it. Give it to you."
No wonder it had been shooting upward so rapidly-it was watered with spiritual liquid. Dongfang Minghui asked, "Will you really be all right without replenishing your nutrients?"
"Useless. Tastes bad." Blue Star Dream tugged at her, wanting a story.
Dongfang Minghui declared that storytelling was her specialty. Hoodwinking people posed no challenge at all-no, hoodwinking plants.
"Last time, you said the monkey went up the mountain to find a master."
With such a good memory, Blue Star Dream really was an excellent plant. Dongfang Minghui lavished it with praise.
Halfway through the monkey's story, Dongfang Wanyu arrived. Seeing Dongfang Minghui sitting cheerfully beside a mass of thorny branches made her heart pound with alarm.
"I told you before that your ninth sister was odd. So she actually has the ability to communicate with plants. No wonder that magical plant wanted to form a blood contract with her." That explained the whole series of strange incidents from before.
For instance, when they had first entered the Magic Beast Forest, Dongfang Wanyu had tried several times to shake her off. She had lost the Dongfang Family's guards, but not this girl, who clung to her like sticky candy.
Dongfang Wanyu still found it unbelievable. Rumor had it that only those with simple, pure hearts could hear nature's call. Was her ninth sister such a person?
"Wanyu, I once read about a race in an ancient book. They were called the Longlife Tribe. They were born able to communicate with nature and all living things. Their ability defied the heavens, ultimately bringing disaster upon them, and their entire tribe was wiped out. Supposedly, they were called the Longlife Tribe because their lifespans were extraordinarily long," Qing Mo suddenly said.
A cold gleam flashed through Dongfang Wanyu's eyes. "You think Ninth Sister belongs to the Longlife Tribe?"
"I can't be sure. But if others learn that she can communicate with plants, I believe it will bring catastrophe down upon her."
"I understand." Dongfang Wanyu watched a little longer, then withdrew.
"Seventh Sister, why are you here?" Dongfang Minghui was very surprised.
Dongfang Wanyu pointed at her slashed clothes. "What did you promise me yesterday?"
"But I'm not hurt." Dongfang Minghui spread her hands. Blue Star Dream's thorns had torn her clothes. It had already been very gentle when touching her, controlling its strength as much as possible. Otherwise, more than her clothes would have suffered.
Situ Hao had a headache. "Miss Qian, rest assured, I'll compensate you for all of this. You won't suffer any losses."
Dongfang Minghui glared at him. "I don't want clothes. Let me take some more herbs from your garden. The wound on my wrist hasn't healed yet."
Situ Hao hastily nodded. "Once you're done, I'll take you to the Royal Academy."
Dongfang Minghui selected herbs in the garden while the other two stood outside watching.
Qing Mo could not help chuckling. "Your ninth sister is a shrewd one, too. She may only be picking leaves and stamens, but from what I can see, everything she chooses is the essence where the spiritual energy gathers."
Dongfang Wanyu's lips curved in pleasure. Being too simple-minded would never do.
"All right, let's go." Dongfang Minghui waved the herbs in her hand, then tossed them straight into her spatial ring.
Their party entered the Royal Academy through a small side gate.
Dongfang Wanyu's expression remained unchanged, while Dongfang Minghui looked this way and that, fascinated by every brick and tile of the Royal Academy.
Situ Hao had already arranged everything for her. He led her into the Pharmacy Institute and asked the student guarding the entrance, "Is the dean here?"
The Pharmacy Institute did not fall under the Comprehensive Institute's jurisdiction. It was a separate, independently established department, much like the Alchemy Institute.
Dongfang Minghui blinked. She suddenly remembered that the old man at the Pharmacy Institute seemed to be called Situ Xiong. Both men had the surname Situ.
"Senior Brother, the dean isn't here. If it's urgent, you can wait for him in his office." The student guarding the gate was very polite to Situ Hao.
Situ Hao nodded in acknowledgment, then arranged for Dongfang Minghui and Dongfang Wanyu to tour the mountain behind the Pharmacy Institute. "Let me tell you, our Pharmacy Institute's herb garden is the largest in the three great empires. It contains over ten thousand varieties of ordinary spiritual herbs alone, never mind the other intermediate- and high-grade spiritual
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