A Major Crisis

Wen Xiancheng left his phone number with Chen Hua and headed back, unable to quite suppress his excitement.

What a windfall!

A mere ten-second illusion had sold for five high-grade spirit stones!

This was even more profitable than teaching that class!

Wen Xiancheng could barely contain his excitement.

He had an even bolder plan!

He would specialize in making these short illusions, featuring the most popular figures of the moment.

Then he would gradually move on to longer videos, and eventually create game illusions!

That way, he could not only earn a fortune but also hone his illusion arts!

Having made up his mind, Wen Xiancheng excitedly struck a victory pose.

In this other world, having one martial ability-or even several-really did make life better!

Wen Xiancheng even fantasized about becoming a big shot in this other world someday, with both wealth and strength to his name!

But his smile suddenly froze.

Something had happened back at his lodgings!

Of the ten mice that had gone to steal herbs from the Royal Academy's Medicinal Herb Garden, only one had returned so far!

At Wen Xiancheng's lodgings.

The Mouse Clone watched the lone mouse with the severed tail, its pupils narrowing slightly.

Panting heavily, the mouse with the severed tail waved its limbs about, describing the terrifying events of that morning.

They had been ready to head back after stealing their last batch of herbs.

A three-tailed fox and a falcon had appeared before them!

Caught in a pincer attack by the three-tailed fox and the falcon, their entire force had been wiped out. They had all been captured and locked in an iron cage.

Only when the sun rose in the east had the owner of the three-tailed fox and the falcon, an old man with graying hair, let it out!

"It was terrifying! Terrifying!"

The mouse with the severed tail still had not recovered from its fright, muttering those same words over and over.

The Mouse Clone's heart practically stopped.

Why had that old man let the mouse with the severed tail come back?

To follow the vine to the melon, of course!

He had very likely discovered that the ten mice's herb thefts followed a pattern.

It would be easy to deduce that someone had raised these ten mice and deliberately trained them to steal herbs from the Royal Academy's Medicinal Herb Garden!

Wherever the mouse with the severed tail returned would be the thief's hideout!

The Mouse Clone ignored the mouse with the severed tail and hurriedly scurried out of the room.

Cui Qianqian, Xue Ning, and Xue Ruigao had already gone out and locked the door.

Meanwhile, Xiao Xiao crouched on the floor like a block of wood, watching the mouse with the severed tail.

The Mouse Clone climbed onto the barred window above the door and peered outside.

If it was right, someone from the Royal Academy had already followed the mouse here!

A moment later, the Mouse Clone's slowly roving eyes abruptly stopped.

Just as I thought!

An old man with snow-white hair was approaching in a loose robe, a falcon perched on his left shoulder!

The Mouse Clone sighed inwardly.

I'm done for!

Caught red-handed!

If the Royal Academy filed a complaint, even setting aside its status and looking purely at the evidence, he would have no advantage whatsoever.

After all, he really had stolen the Royal Academy's herbs, and many of them were extremely valuable.

The four sets of ingredients for the Aptitude Marrow-Cleansing Pill alone were worth at least fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones, based on the prices he had compared online!

The Mouse Clone felt an urge to have his human self, Wen Xiancheng, take Xue Ruigao, Cui Qianqian, and Xue Ning and flee.

But even if they ran, he had used his real identification to register when renting the place.

The Mouse Clone began to feel utterly at a loss.

Had the turning point in my life only just arrived, only to be followed immediately by my greatest crisis?

What should I do?

What should I do?

The Mouse Clone paced in frantic circles.

His human self, Wen Xiancheng, had already returned.

But what good would that do?

The Mouse Clone gritted its teeth.

I can only give it a try.

Scurrying back, the Mouse Clone used mouse body language to tell Xiao Xiao to hide the four complete sets of ingredients for the Aptitude Marrow-Cleansing Pill inside her abdomen!

Then his only option would be to stubbornly insist that he had not stolen any herbs.

Xiao Xiao was a Machine Puppet belonging to Zhang Lu, the head of Iceheart Hall. Moreover, she looked just like a real little girl. Unless someone paid particular attention, they would never discover that she was a Machine Puppet.

Much less imagine that the herbs were hidden inside her abdomen.

With the Mouse Clone leading the way, Xiao Xiao found the four sets of ingredients and hid them in her abdomen as instructed.

Only then did Wen Xiancheng "finally arrive."

Seeing Wen Xiancheng, the old man pointed at the door in puzzlement. "Young fellow, are you the one renting this place?"

Wen Xiancheng knew full well that the old man had discovered the mouse fleeing inside, but he could only steel himself and admit, "Yes, sir. I'm renting a room in this building."

The old man nodded, sizing Wen Xiancheng up. "Young fellow, are you a martial artist too? What's your cultivation level?"

As he unlocked the door, Wen Xiancheng said, "Yes. I'm only a junior martial warrior at the moment."

The old man asked again, "Do you keep a pet mouse?"

Wen Xiancheng's heart began pounding violently.

He desperately wanted to deny it.

But the man's falcon had followed the mouse here, so it must have seen it.

Trying to argue now would only make the man dislike him even more.

With that in mind, Wen Xiancheng answered honestly, "Yes, I keep a pet mouse. Its name is Little Gray."

A trace of puzzlement crossed the old man's face.

He rubbed a ring on his left thumb, and a business card mysteriously appeared.

The old man took the card and handed it to Wen Xiancheng. "Hello, young fellow. I'm Yang Mu, an alchemy professor at the Royal Academy."

He noticed that, despite Wen Xiancheng's best efforts to conceal it, his expression still looked rather strained.

Yang Mu now had a good idea of what was going on.

He was probably right. This boy must have known about the ten mice stealing herbs.

Yet Yang Mu did not immediately lash out.

On the contrary, he was rather curious.

Those ten mice had clearly behaved in a well-trained manner.

Not only that, they could even identify medicinal herbs.

Such a thing was simply unheard of.

How had this boy, who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen, managed it?

A genial smile appeared on the old man's face. "Here's the thing, young fellow. My falcon is a demon beast. As you should know, demon beasts aren't much less intelligent than we humans are. It spotted a troublesome little mouse that seemed to have fled into your home. So I'd like to see whether it was your Little Gray."

Wen Xiancheng nodded, while the Mouse Clone had the mouse with the severed tail climb into Xiao Xiao's abdomen as well.

Only then did Wen Xiancheng deliberately call into the room, "Little Gray, come out."

The Mouse Clone ran over.

Wen Xiancheng cradled the Mouse Clone in his right palm and said to Yang Mu, "Sir, my Little Gray is very well behaved. It stays home all the time, so it probably isn't the mouse you're talking about."

Yang Mu examined the Mouse Clone, then suddenly broke into a delighted smile.

Wen Xiancheng felt his hair stand on end. With an awkward smile, he said, "You're not going to tell me the mouse your demon beast falcon saw was Little Gray, are you?"

"No, it wasn't," Yang Mu said, shaking his head.

Wen Xiancheng let out a great sigh of relief.

Unexpectedly, however, Yang Mu continued, "Your pet mouse is actually a first-tier, third-stage demon beast, no less intelligent than an ordinary person. Although it wasn't the one that stole the herbs, it can't escape involvement, and neither can you. This room smells of stonecrop, hyacinth, ghost-crying vine, and other herbs. And they're right-"

Yang Mu looked at Xiao Xiao, who had also come out and was standing behind Wen Xiancheng, then pointed at her. "Right on her."

Wen Xiancheng's face instantly turned deathly pale.

Did this old man have a dog's nose?

(End of chapter)