Five days later, Xiao Yu and the others returned to the Sect with Patriarch Wang.
Emerging Clouds Peak, Thousand Mechanism Hall.
"Senior Brother Fang, I'm back from the Forbidden Grounds! I've come to collect the jade token for the Medicinal Garden's restrictions. Please help me out." As soon as Xiao Yu entered the Thousand Mechanism Hall, he cupped his hands toward a man in his thirties.
Before Xiao Yu had departed for the Forbidden Grounds, Senior Brother Fang had taken back his jade token for the Medicinal Garden's restrictions, claiming that Xiao Yu might lose it if he failed to return alive. He had said he would keep it safe for a few days.
Now that Xiao Yu had returned to the Sect, he naturally wanted his jade token back.
At that moment, Senior Brother Fang was talking to a burly man. Hearing Xiao Yu's voice, he turned to look. When he saw who had arrived, disbelief spread across his face.
He exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, Junior Brother Xiao! I never thought you'd actually make it out of the Forbidden Grounds alive. Congratulations!"
"Heh, just luck. I barely escaped death myself and nearly lost my life," Xiao Yu said, his face still showing lingering fear.
"Anyway, Senior Brother, I'll come chat with you another day. I'm rather tired and just want to take the jade token back and get a good night's sleep."
"Ah, well... all right. Wait a moment, Junior Brother." Senior Brother Fang's expression stiffened. He paused before stammering out his reply.
Then Senior Brother Fang turned to the burly man he had been speaking with.
"Junior Brother He, I'm sorry, but Junior Brother Xiao was the original caretaker of the Bing No. 7 Medicine Garden. This year's term hasn't ended yet, so by rights, he should still be in charge. You can compete for the position after this year is over."
"Why should I? Didn't we just agree that I'd be the caretaker? Now you want to go back on your word? Were you planning to pocket my Spirit Stones for nothing?" The burly man flew into a rage at Senior Brother Fang's words.
"Don't be angry, Junior Brother. Of course I'll return your Spirit Stones. I can also find you another, easier chore. How does that sound?" Senior Brother Fang spoke amiably as he took out several Spirit Stones and offered them to the burly man.
"No. I want this one!" the burly man declared, refusing to take the Spirit Stones.
Senior Brother Fang grew angry at his refusal to cooperate and immediately said coldly, "He Liang, don't think I'm afraid of you. I'm following the rules here. Please cooperate!"
Seeing Senior Brother Fang's firm attitude, He Liang flushed crimson and clenched his fists.
He looked ready to lose control and lash out, but when he saw Senior Brother Fang's composed expression, he seemed to remember something and relaxed his taut body.
Suddenly, the burly man turned to Xiao Yu. "You're Junior Brother Xiao, right? Would you be willing to give up the Medicinal Garden caretaker job? I can compensate you with some Spirit Stones."
Watching from the side, Xiao Yu had already understood what had happened. He did not need to guess: Senior Brother Fang must have assumed that he would certainly die on this trip to the Forbidden Grounds and never return, so he had handed the Bing No. 7 Medicine Garden caretaker job to the burly man before him.
The awkward part was that Senior Brother Fang had never expected him to return, much less catch him in the act. No wonder his expression had looked somewhat unnatural when he greeted Xiao Yu earlier.
It seemed Senior Brother Fang was no fine bird either. All the gifts Xiao Yu had given him over the years had been wasted. He had only been away for half a month, yet Fang had already rushed to hand his assignment to someone else.
Still, since Senior Brother Fang refused to accommodate the burly man, the man probably had no powerful backing or connections. In that case, Xiao Yu had no reason to fear offending him.
Although the man's cultivation was at the thirteenth level, Xiao Yu had already slaughtered several people of that level in the Forbidden Grounds. Besides, he was confident that he would reach Foundation Establishment before long. Then he would have even less to fear.
After weighing the stakes, Xiao Yu replied to the burly man.
"Greetings, Senior Brother. Since Senior Brother Fang has said that this chore remains mine for now, I'll follow his decision. After all, he's the Manager here, isn't he?"
The burly man instantly flew into a rage.
"Boy, I advise you to hand it over. Otherwise, the world outside can be very dangerous," he said menacingly. "There's no need to trouble yourself over that, Senior Brother. I doubt those dangers will befall me. As I said, if you want this job, you should ask Senior Brother Fang first," Xiao Yu replied, his expression as calm as ever.
The burly man stared fixedly at Xiao Yu, fire blazing in his eyes. Had this not been an important Sect location, he might have attacked immediately. After staring for a while, however, he merely gave a heavy snort. "Hmph! Boy, just you wait!"
Then, with a gloomy expression, the burly man took the Spirit Stones from Senior Brother Fang and hurried away.
"Heh, well, Junior Brother Xiao, here's the jade token for the Medicinal Garden's restrictions. Keep it safe. Once again, congratulations on returning safely from the Forbidden Grounds."
Once the burly man was far away, Senior Brother Fang spoke to Xiao Yu with a cheerful smile and handed him a jade token.
"Thank you, Senior Brother. I'll head back to rest, then. And I wish you an early advance in your cultivation!" Xiao Yu put on a smile as well, humoring him with empty pleasantries.
"Of course, of course. We should spend more time together from now on."
"Certainly, certainly. Farewell!" With that, Xiao Yu left the Thousand Mechanism Hall.
Xiao Yu returned to the Bing No. 7 Medicine Garden and activated its array formation. Then, without bothering about anything else, he lay down on his wooden bed and went to sleep fully clothed! He fell into a deep slumber almost immediately, showing just how utterly exhausted he was in both body and mind.
Although he had spent only five short days in the Forbidden Grounds, he had remained highly vigilant every moment, his nerves stretched taut throughout. He had not been able to rest on the journey either, so the moment he returned, he decided to get some proper sleep before doing anything else.
Only two days later did Xiao Yu finally stir awake. He opened his eyes blearily, pushed himself upright with one hand, and gave an exceedingly languid stretch before going to wash up!
A short while later, Xiao Yu was brimming with energy again!
Sitting casually at the table, he curled his lips into a smile and reached into his robes. Several gray cloth bags appeared in his hand. He emptied them onto the floor, and a large heap of items spilled out with a clatter.
These Storage Bags were precisely those Xiao Yu had obtained when he turned the tables and killed several would-be robbers on the final stretch of his journey out of the Forbidden Grounds.
Pressed for time then, he had not examined them closely. He had merely taken out all the boxes containing mature spirit medicine and handed those in. He had not touched any of the other contents.
As for why he had handed in the extra spirit medicine he obtained instead of placing it in his space, it was naturally because doing so would not have been safe.
Only Xiao Yu's soul entered the space; his physical body remained outside, completely insensible. If someone discovered him while he was inside, wouldn't that be disastrous?
Thus, he could only grit his teeth and hand in the extra spirit medicine. Fortunately, there had only been seven or eight plants in total. At most, it would take him a little time to replenish them, so his heartache had not lasted long.
After taking inventory of the items one by one, he found nothing that made his eyes light up. They were all common cultivation resources, such as Spirit Stones, Magic Tools, and Spirit Talismans.
Altogether, they were worth more than two thousand Spirit Stones. He would find a chance to sell them off later.
After putting everything away, Xiao Yu, who had been sitting comfortably, suddenly became perfectly still.
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