"Chu Chen, is that you?"
"Elder Huang, it's me."
In the past, whenever Chu Chen entered the Medicine Hall, he would be cautious and slightly embarrassed when he handed in his share of spiritual herbs. He always hoped that the elder would take pity and record his take at a heavier weight so that he would be able to pull through for that month.
In the past, when Elder Huang was in a good mood, he would be more generous to the disciples who were paying up their herb quota. The opposite would occur if he were in a bad mood.
That was why many disciples would ask each other how Elder Huang was feeling that day before they went to pay their herb quota.
Now that Chu Chen had herbs in his hand, he did not panic. With the treasure of Black Fog Valley behind him, he would never have to depend on others to live the life he wanted.
"You have already handed in your herb quota for this month."
To Chu Chen's surprise, Elder Huang said something completely unexpected.
"Is it Junior Sister Tong?"
Chu Chen was taken aback momentarily but immediately reacted as such when he snapped out of it.
The external elder frowned slightly, "Tong Meng was originally very motivated, but it seems like she is affected by you. This month, she refused to pay up her share of herbs. How could it be her; it is Qi Fei."
When Chu Chen heard the words 'Qi Fei', his heart immediately felt warm. This genius fatty was a really good friend that was close to his heart. He was still taking care of Chu Chen even after he had left the sect for so many years.
Qi Fei was Chu Chen's childhood friend. The two had known each other since childhood, and they had been good friends since then.
Qi Fei came upon fortuity in his early years. He was discovered by an elder of Crystal Spring Sect when the elder was traveling. The elder noted that he had excellent roots, accepted him as a disciple, and brought him to Crystal Spring Sect for him to become a sect disciple.
It was because of him that Chu Chen's parents learned of the age limit criteria for when Crystal Spring Sect recruited disciples, and it was only after that when Chu Chen finally became a part of Crystal Spring Sect.
Qi Fei joined the sect much earlier than Chu Chen. He was different from Chu Chen, who was seen as a waste of space. He was talented and had a smooth path of cultivation, and he made a name for himself for being a prodigy.
He was also the record-breaking genius who took the least time to join the internal sect through the external sect.
However, Qi Fei had a bad hobby, which was that he liked to fight. It was said that when he was still in the external sect, he even dared to fight the external elders. If it were not for his master looking out for him, Chu Chen was afraid that Qi Fei's life in Crystal Spring Sect would become extremely difficult.
Unsurprisingly, Chu Chen found that many external elders had very unfriendly expressions whenever there was mention of Qi Fei.
Not long after Chu Chen arrived at Crystal Spring Sect, there was an opening for a disciple to be sent to the Supreme Sword Sect. It did not come as a shock that Qi Fei got votes from most of the elders. As a result, Qi Fei was sent to said sect which had good relations with the Crystal Spring Sect.
One must know that the Supreme Sword Sect was a sect one level higher than the Crystal Spring Sect, so many disciples were extremely envious. However, Qi Fei was extremely depressed. He was worried about who would take care of Chu Chen when he's gone, thinking about what Chu Chen would do if he were to be bullied?
In the end, it was Chu Chen who persuaded the little malignant star of Crystal Spring Sect to leave.
In the past three years, even though Qi Fei was not in Crystal Spring Sect, he still cared about Chu Chen.
Every six months or so, he would send Chu Chen a large package, ranging from elixirs to cultivation methods, from delicious to fun items, and everything in between.
Along with the package, there would be a short letter. The fatty did not like to write, but his few caring words always made the struggling Chu Chen full of emotions.
Part of the reason why Chu Chen gritted his teeth and pushed on in Crystal Spring Sect was that he also hoped not to disappoint the fatty. In his heart, he did not want the distance between the two good friends to be widened by the huge difference in ability.
"If you need anything, write it to me in a letter and send it through a spiritual crane, take care."
After he was done reading the letter, Chu Chen said in his heart, 'Brother, thank you very much... One day, I will make you proud!'
Chu Chen patted his head to get rid of the messy thoughts in his mind, and then respectfully bowed to the external elder again. "Elder, please include the portion of my spiritual herb for Tong Meng."
Elder Huang, who had always looked down on Chu Chen, was taken aback. He did not expect that this external disciple who had been riding on Tong Meng's back like a kept man would act as such and proffered to pay for Tong Meng's herb quota.
"You have to think carefully, what will you do next month? Don't end up regretting it."
"Don't worry about it, I've decided that I will never again be in a situation where I am unable to hand in my quota of herbs."
The firmness in Chu Chen's eyes gave Elder Huang an indescribable feeling that would drive him to look at Chu Chen differently from then on. He actually liked Tong Meng very much, and he also knew that Tong Meng had been hiding her cultivation of the sixth level Spiritual Droplets Stage from Chu Chen.
After all, Tong Meng would often come to the Medicine Hall once every month to plead for Chu Chen. Through the frequent contact, with the cultivation skills and knowledge of an external elder, he had long deduced that the girl had cultivated to sixth level Spiritual Droplets Stage.
Although he had kept it to himself, he always felt that Tong Meng was being held back by Chu Chen.
Elder Huang was quite angry when Tong Meng refused to cough up her herb quota this time around. He faintly understood that this girl's thoughts were centered around this good-for-nothing.
This time, this good-for-nothing had a heart and gave a plum in return for a peach; He paid for Tong Meng's herb quota for this month, and he had lived up to her idea of him.
Therefore, after the external elder thought about it for a moment, he waved his sleeves, and in a flicker of light, the herb quota that Chu Chen was holding was taken by him.
"The first level low-grade spiritual herb, a total of two catties three taels four candareen. One catty of the 'first level middle-grade spiritual herb 'Withered Wood Ganoderma', which is worth a catty five taels of low-grade spiritual herb...The excess amount will count toward the next month's quota. "
The formulaic voice of the external elder sounded. Chu Chen nodded and let out a long sigh of relief.
He could stay! He could finally stay, and the next thing was to start thinking about how to counterattack Yao Jinghai.
When Chu Chen respectfully bid farewell to the external elder and was about to walk out of the elder's Medicine Hall, a thin figure suddenly walked in from outside the hall. When he saw Chu Chen, his small eyes immediately showed a hint of ridicule.
"Are you coming to ask the elders to offer you a few days of grace again? What is a good-for-nothing like you still doing in Crystal Spring Sect? I would advise you to leave the sect soon."
This disciple with small eyes who dressed as a scholar was also a person who often sought trouble with Chu Chen, and his name was Zou Jie.
Zou Jie could be said to be Yao Jinghai's confidant and could be regarded as another follower of the external eldest senior brother. Unlike Yao Long, who was vicious, Zou Jie was particularly sinister. There were a lot of disciples of Crystal Spring Sect who had been taken advantage of by him.
On the surface, he looked noble, but in reality, he always relied on Yao Hai to exploit other disciples.
"What now, Chu Chen, is there still no progress in your cultivation? If it doesn't work, you can cry and beg Junior Sister Tong to forcibly transfer spiritual energy to you to improve yourself. You're such an expert at being a burden, and the herb quota will be given to you by a woman. What else could you be embarrassed about?"
Zou Jie's eyes had a look of contempt. Like a cat playing with a mouse, he deliberately stopped in front of Chu Chen.