After leaving the Academy, Jiang Lan headed straight to the barbecue restaurant beside the school with the six members of the Rocket Class.
It was the same place as last time.
The six took their seats, and Jiang Lan handed Chu Yun the menu.
"Order whatever you like. It's my treat today."
Chu Yun didn't hold back. He grabbed the menu and started marking off dishes with abandon.
Mo Han glanced at him. "Isn't your right hand injured?"
"You don't have to use your right hand to eat," Chu Yun declared confidently, then turned to Jiang Lan and cupped his hands. "Rest assured, godfather. I can eat just as fast with my left."
Liu Shiyu held her cup, looking utterly bewildered.
"Godfather?"
Although they hadn't been far away earlier, the square had been so noisy that Liu Shiyu hadn't heard Jiang Lan and Chu Yun's conversation.
"Don't listen to him." Jiang Lan's expression was blank.
Chu Yun chuckled without explaining further.
The food soon arrived.
Compared with their first meal together last time, the atmosphere was noticeably more relaxed.
Mo Han, in particular, had barely spoken throughout their last meal. This time, although he was still quiet, he occasionally joined the conversation of his own accord.
Halfway through the meal, Jiang Lan pulled several Beast Cores from his pocket and set them on the table.
He looked at Bai Yu and Liu Shiyu.
"Here are ten Tier-One Crystal Cores and two tier-two ones. Take them."
The two exchanged a glance, and Liu Shiyu waved her hands.
"No, this is too much. All we did was tag along and run a few errands. We hardly did anything. This..."
That was all the Ferocious Beasts they had hunted. Apart from the Beast Core from the Third-Tier Ferocious Beast, Jiang Lan was giving the girls every Beast Core.
Even without the blood essence, this distribution was a little disproportionate to their contribution.
Jiang Lan didn't particularly care. He simply waved a hand.
"We're on the same team, so there's no reason for me to keep everything. Besides, I've already kept the blood essence. You two can split the Beast Cores evenly."
Liu Shiyu and Bai Yu exchanged a glance.
After a moment of silence, Bai Yu reached out and took half the Beast Cores from the table.
"Thank you."
Seeing that, Liu Shiyu picked up the remaining half and flashed a sweet smile. "Thanks so much!"
"You're welcome."
Jiang Lan had already kept the most valuable tier-three Beast Core and the blood essence. The rest was small change, so he didn't mind.
"Oh, right."
As he spoke, Jiang Lan seemed to remember something else.
"Take one of the bull horns back with you, too. You two can divide it however you like."
"No, no, no..." Liu Shiyu waved her hands repeatedly. "We've already taken enough. We don't need it."
Beside her, Bai Yu nodded as well.
"Yes. You should keep the horn."
Jiang Lan glanced at the two girls and didn't press them.
After spending so much time together, he had gained some understanding of their personalities.
No matter what he said, neither would accept it.
In that case, he would leave it at that.
They finished the meal quickly.
The bill came to two hundred credit points, considerably more than last time.
But Jiang Lan didn't mind.
For him now, that amount of credit points really wasn't much.
After saying goodbye to everyone, Jiang Lan took the bull horn and materials and hailed a taxi.
He stuffed the horn into the trunk before settling into the back seat.
Once he reached his front door, Jiang Lan pushed it open and entered with the case in one hand, the horn tucked under his other arm, and a backpack on his back.
Shen Qingqiu was sitting on the living room sofa, looking at his phone.
When he looked up and saw Jiang Lan loaded down like that, he froze.
"What is that thing you're carrying?"
Jiang Lan leaned the horn against the corner of the wall and brushed the dust off his hands.
"A Black-Horned Savage Bull's horn."
"A Black-Horned Savage Bull?" Shen Qingqiu frowned slightly. "Tier two?"
"Tier three."
Shen Qingqiu's hands went still.
He set down his phone and sat up straight, staring at Jiang Lan as he asked in astonishment:
"What did you say? What tier?"
"A Third-Tier Black-Horned Bull," Jiang Lan answered honestly. "I encountered it during the assessment."
Hearing that, Shen Qingqiu hurried to his feet, grabbed Jiang Lan's shoulders, and looked him up and down. Only after confirming that he was unharmed did he relax a little.
His face was filled with lingering fear.
"Have you lost your mind? Even an Astral Condensation Realm martial artist would have to think twice before facing a Third-Tier Ferocious Beast, and you dared charge at it alone?"
Jiang Lan smiled. "But I'm fine, aren't I? I didn't even get hurt."
As he spoke, Jiang Lan even spun around on the spot.
Seeing that, Shen Qingqiu sighed softly and leaned back against the sofa.
"Honestly, you..."
"Did you come first?"
"Of course," Jiang Lan replied without hesitation. "Who else do you think could take first place, Auntie?"
Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes at Jiang Lan, then looked away.
That was true. Jiang Lan was still only a student, and he didn't believe any other student could actually hunt down a Third-Tier Ferocious Beast.
"There's something else," Jiang Lan said. "After the assessment, the Academy's vice dean came in person."
Shen Qingqiu paused in surprise.
"The vice dean? Zhou Qing?"
"Yes."
Jiang Lan explained the terms the vice dean had offered.
After hearing him out, Shen Qingqiu remained silent for a long time.
"You've only been enrolled for just over a month, and the vice dean has already come to see you personally..."
He looked at Jiang Lan with a complicated expression, then paused before saying:
"The way you're changing... you're practically a different person every day..."
How long had it even been?
Jiang Lan's strength had probably already left him far behind.
At the very least, Shen Qingqiu didn't believe he could kill a Third-Tier Ferocious Beast alone.
In fact, she couldn't even handle a Second-Tier Ferocious Beast single-handedly.
And how long had it been since Jiang Lan awakened?
At that thought, Shen Qingqiu's feelings grew even more complicated.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Jiang Lan smiled. "This way, you won't have to worry about me every day anymore, Auntie."
Shen Qingqiu gave him a reproachful look.
"What, you don't like me worrying about you?"
"Hehe, of course I do. I'd love for you to worry about me for the rest of my life."
Shen Qingqiu: "..."
After a stretch of silence, he suddenly turned his head slightly aside, his voice growing quieter.
"I'm your auntie. I'll have to get married someday."
Jiang Lan immediately objected inwardly.
Just imagining his auntie marrying someone was completely unbearable.
Was this some kind of joke?
But this was his auntie, after all. Jiang Lan couldn't openly reveal his deepest thoughts.
He paused before speaking.
"Think about it, Auntie. What's the point of getting married?"
"The point?" Shen Qingqiu asked in confusion. "To have a family, of course."
"Rather than having a family, isn't it really about having a stable life?"
"Uh... I suppose that's true...?"
"You're already strong yourself, Auntie. There's no need to rush. Even if you're worried about having no one to rely on in the future, don't you still have me?"
As he spoke, Jiang Lan patted his chest and continued:
"Even if you leave the Salvage Team someday, why don't I just support you? How does that saying go... you raised me when I was young, and I'll care for you when you're old."
Shen Qingqiu felt his cheeks burn and chided him:
"Stop talking nonsense."