The boxes of pills sent by Ning Fengzhi caused a minor stir at the Shrek Academy.
That very evening, Flender moved the boxes into the warehouse, counted them himself, locked the door, and put the key in his pocket. The next morning, he called everyone to the meeting room and distributed the pills.
"One Meridian-Warming Pill per person. One Soul-Fortifying Pill per person as well." Flender pushed up his glasses, his tone unusually serious. "That's all for now. Once you've eaten them all, that's it. Whether you can get any next month depends on luck."
He read out the names of the Shrek Seven Monsters one by one and gave each of them two pills. After distributing them, there were three Soul-Fortifying Pill and three Meridian-Warming Pill left in the box. Flender glanced at them, closed the box, and locked it in the cabinet.
"Dean, aren't you keeping one for yourself?" Oscar asked, holding the pills he had been given, and then looked at Flender's empty hands.
Flender waved his hand, his face full of righteous indignation. "I'm the dean, why would I take things from you? Keep these three as reserves, in case anyone needs a boost when they break through, then come to me for them."
Zhao Wuji coughed beside him and added Youyou, "What the boss means is, he can't afford it."
Flender's lips twitched, but he pretended not to hear. Dai Mubai leaned back in his chair, a smug smile playing on his lips. Xiao Wu burst out laughing, but was glared at by Flender and quickly covered her mouth.
As for the special type of pills— the Martial Soul Strength Enhancement Pill was given to Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, and the Flexibility Strengthening Pill was given to Xiao Wu.
The Speed Amplification Pill was given to Zhu Zhuqing, and the Food System Quality Enhancement Pill naturally went to Oscar. Tang San didn't ask for any special-type pills, only taking the Meridian-Warming Pill and the Soul-Fortifying Pill.
Oscar held the three pills he had been given, examining them over and over, his eyes shining. "Dean, will this Quality Enhancement Pill turn my Recovery Big Sausage into Super Recovery Big Sausage after I eat it?"
"You'll only know after you eat it," Flender replied irritably.
"If it really changes, I'll call it the Super Recovery Big Sausage from now on," Oscar said seriously. "The price will double, and our academy's funding problem will be solved."
"You'd better change those weird spells of yours first," Dai Mubai added casually.
Everyone burst into laughter. Oscar sat down sullenly, still muttering something like "spells are art."
Despite his laughter, Flender glanced down at the ledger in his hand, and his face fell again. The first batch of pills given by Sect Master Ning was free, but starting next month, he would have to pay for the Meridian-Warming Pill and Soul-Fortifying Pill himself.
He spent half the night calculating – at 70% of the market price, ten Meridian-Warming Pill and ten Soul-Fortifying Pill a month would be enough for the Shrek Academy to live frugally for more than half a year.
"Dean, is there any money left for next month's pills?" Dai Mubai leaned back in his chair and asked directly.
Flender's lips twitched, and he slammed the ledger on the table. "Yes. At worst, I'll just go back to the gates of the Suotuo City's Mansion and take on a few high-level Soul Master commissions."
"The payment for that caravan escort job you took on last time hasn't been settled yet," Oscar muttered to himself.
"And then there was that mission to hunt Soul Beast the time before last. The client said the beast's horn broke during the fight and refused to pay the final payment," Ma Hongjun interjected, a rare occurrence for him.
"And the time before that--"
"Alright!" Flender slammed his hand on the table, his glasses nearly slipping off his nose. "I know what I'm doing with the commissions. You guys just focus on your training!"
Everyone wisely kept quiet. Zhao Wuji chuckled softly to himself, only to be met with a fierce glare from Flender.
Ning Rongrong sat at the other end of the long table, holding the Meridian-Warming Pill she had been given, without saying a word.
From the start of the meeting until now, she has barely spoken, sitting quietly between Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, her gaze fixed on the table, occasionally glancing up at Flender before looking down again.
Ma Hongjun sat diagonally opposite her, staring at her ever since he entered the room.
He received the same pills as everyone else— Meridian-Warming Pill, Soul-Fortifying Pill, and Martial Soul Strength Enhancement Pill. But everyone knew that the one he needed most was not among them.
" Rongrong." Ma Hongjun suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but everyone in the conference room fell silent.
Ning Rongrong raised her head.
"That Origin-Returning Flaw-Mending Pill," Ma Hongjun said, his knuckles white as he gripped the pill box in his hand, "Is it really impossible to buy, or does your father simply not want to help us buy it?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuji coughed, Flender frowned, Dai Mubai lowered his arms from his chest and glanced at Ma Hongjun. Xiao Wu opened her mouth as if to say something, but Zhu Zhuqing gently tugged at her sleeve, causing her to swallow her words back.
Ning Rongrong looked into Ma Hongjun's eyes. In those eyes were grievances, resentment, and the restlessness unique to the Evil Fire he was desperately suppressing.
The last time he had a fit of Evil Fire, he spent an entire afternoon alone in the back mountains, and when he came back, his lips were white. She saw it and how could she not feel sorry for him?
"My father said," Ning Rongrong's voice was very soft, "That the main ingredient of the Origin-Returning Flaw-Mending Pill is of Immortal grade, and the Pill Pavilion can only refine a small amount at present. The Nine Heart Begonia Clan was willing to the Pill Pavilion as a whole, so the Pill Pavilion made an exception and allowed them to refine it. Shrek Academy is not currently within the Pill Pavilion's core cooperation scope."
She wasn't lying; she just didn't tell the whole truth.
Ma Hongjun opened his mouth, as if to say something, but Flender raised his hand and pressed it down.
"Alright Hongjun." Flender's tone was unusually gentle as he patted his disciple's shoulder. " Sect Master Ning's assistance in obtaining this batch of pills is already an immense favor. We can discuss the Origin-Returning Flaw-Mending Pill later."
Ma Hongjun lowered his head, tucked the box of pills into his robes, and said nothing more. But his hand remained clenched around the box, his knuckles turning white.
Flender felt a pang of sympathy seeing him like this. He was Ma Hongjun's master and had watched the boy suffer from the torment of Evil Fire since he was a child.
He would be happier than anyone if he could get the Origin-Returning Flaw-Mending Pill. But he also knew the calmness in Ning Fengzhi the pills.
That wasn't the look of someone who would grant any request; it was the look of a father drawing a line for his daughter.
Yu Xiaogang remained silent throughout. He sat next to Flender, his hands clasped on the table, his expression as calm as still water.
But Tang San noticed that when Ma Hongjun pressed Ning Rongrong for answers, the teacher's gaze shifted slightly, landing on Ning Rongrong's face for less than a second before returning to his own.
Tang San couldn't quite put his finger on that fleeting look in his eyes. Was it scrutiny? Assessment? Or some deeper calculation?
The meeting adjourned. Everyone returned to their rooms to prepare for testing the elixirs, and the courtyard was bustling with activity for a while.
Oscar was the first to rush out of the meeting room, eagerly swallowing the Quality Enhancement Pill. He released his Martial Soul, staring at the Recovery Big Sausage in his hand from left to right, muttering incantations.
Dai Mubai walked past him, glanced at him, and tossed out a comment, "Still so thin." Oscar was so angry that he chased him around the yard three times, insisting that he "witness the birth of the Super Recovery Big Sausage."
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing sat under the eaves. One was playing with the Flexibility Strengthening Pill she had just received, while the other had already taken the Speed Amplification Pill and was closing her eyes to meditate.
Ma Hongjun went to the backyard alone, his back looking somewhat lonely. Zhao Wuji leaned against the warehouse door, watching the group of boys making a ruckus. Unusually, he didn't scold them, but just shook his head with a barely perceptible smile on his lips.
Flender stood by the conference room window, observing everything. These children were all promising talents, and the elixir could help them grow even faster.
He glanced down at the ledger in his hand, smiled wryly, and decided to go to the Suotuo City's Mansion first thing tomorrow morning to get back the overdue payment from last time.
On the other side of the courtyard, under the eaves, Ning Rongrong sat alone on the steps.
Behind them were the sounds of Oscar and Dai Mubai chasing and playing, Xiao Wu's occasional laughter, and the faint glow of a fire in Ma Hongjun's backyard.
Ning Rongrong simply sat there, holding the Meridian-Warming Pill in her hand, her gaze fixed on the branches and leaves of the old tree in the courtyard, lost in thought.
The noise in the courtyard gradually faded away.
Oscar stopped chasing at some point, Dai Mubai returned to his room, and Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing also stood up from under the eaves.
Only Ning Rongrong remained sitting there, the Meridian-Warming Pill in her hand slightly warm from the heat of her palm.
She didn't go back to her room. There were some things she needed to think about alone.