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"Of course, I should act surprised—Qi Chen, why did you bring Professor Yan here?!"
Feng Yuan complained as he picked up the garbage bag that had fallen to the ground while Professor Yan stared at him with a stern expression.
"To prevent you from being attacked by the G Organization! You even dared to sneak out of the city!"
"I told you it's fine. Look, it's been so long and nothing has happened."
"That was before! Do you have any idea how often the G Organization has been spotted around Maomu City recently?"
Seeing Professor Yan looking at him so fiercely, Feng Yuan shrank his head and said in a low voice,
"I already said there's no problem..."
"Do you think your Eggshell Chicken can take on those lunatics? Or do you think you're stronger than those lunatics?"
"But I still want to go to the wilds... The Turtis Tree I discovered before should be bearing fruit today."
As he backed away from the angry Professor Yan, Feng Yuan drew his head in, while Xiao Ji, scared, hid inside the little hut and peeked out at Professor Yan. Hearing Feng Yuan's words, Professor Yan and Qi Chen froze, and Professor Yan looked curiously at Feng Yuan and asked,
"What do you want the Turtis Fruit for? Isn't that Spiritual Medicine used by Wood Spirit Beasts?"
"It's for Xiao Ji, and besides, it can be used to make some special potential potions—"
"You... don't need to go that far..."
Qi Chen looked at Feng Yuan with a complex expression, arms crossed in front of his chest. Feng Yuan pretended to be dismissive and replied,
"What are you talking about? I'm doing it for Xiao Ji—"
When Professor Yan glanced at Qi Chen and understood Feng Yuan's intent, he sighed and said,
"Alright then, let's make the trip. Where did you find the Turtis Tree? If it's too far from the city, you should give up."
Upon hearing the softening in Professor Yan's tone, Feng Yuan quickly took out his phone, pulled up a map, and pointed to a location,
"Right in this area."
"Here? It's not too far. Okay, let's make it quick."
"All right."
After Feng Yuan called Xiao Ji out and locked the door, he casually tossed the trash into the garbage bin. Suddenly, he froze, looked around for a while, searching for something. Xiao Ji also seemed to sense something, cried out in surprise, and started to explore. Seeing Xiao Ji looking around, Feng Yuan continued to search while speaking,
"Xiao Ji, did you sense it too?"
Xiao Ji nodded at Feng Yuan.
"What's up? Found something?"
Qi Chen found it odd that Feng Yuan wasn't keeping up. After searching to no avail, Feng Yuan kept glancing around as he caught up with the others,
"It seems like something is spying on us."
"Really?"
"Yes, I think there is."
"Could you have made a mistake?"
Seeing that Qi Chen seemed skeptical, Feng Yuan complained,
"I'm telling the truth! Xiao Ji sensed it too! Right, Xiao Ji?"
Seeing Xiao Ji at Feng Yuan's feet nod in agreement, Qi Chen's expression changed, and he hurried to catch up with Professor Yan. After listening to Qi Chen, Professor Yan came over, looked at Feng Yuan seriously, and said,
"Is what you just told Qi Chen true?"
"Yes, it's not just me; Xiao Ji sensed it too."
Xiao Ji met Professor Yan's gaze and affirmed with a sound. Professor Yan thought for a moment, then took out his phone and walked aside to speak with someone. When he returned with a rather grave expression, he said to the two of them,
"Let's go, make it quick."
"Okay—"
Feng Yuan replied nonchalantly, picking up Xiao Ji and placing it on his head.
"Xiao Ji, open your mouth—"
On the bus, Feng Yuan occasionally took out a piece of Spirit Beast Food and gave it to Xiao Ji on his head. Qi Chen glanced at Professor Yan sitting upright nearby and whispered to Feng Yuan,
"Do you know who the person spying on us at school is?"
"No idea. Isn't the school supposed to take care of things like that?"
"It isn't one of the G Organization crazies, is it? Didn't Professor Yan say they've been active around our city recently?"
```
Feng Yuan glanced at Qi Chen, who was looking at him with a worried expression, and fed Xiao Ji a piece of Spirit Beast Food, saying
"Don't worry, if the G Organization really sneaked into the school quietly, the security department would have to step down."
"But..."
"I really don't think the G Organization would be so bored as to attack our school. If it's about influence, our city's best high school is First High. As for attacking me? If they wanted to, they would have done it already."
"All right, stop worrying about the school. We're almost at our stop. Aren't you going to let Ah Mu out of your backpack?"
"Ah, are we almost there? Okay."
Xiao Ji looked at Qi Chen with a puzzled expression.
After getting off the bus, Feng Yuan said to Teacher Yan with a cheeky grin,
"I'll lead the way later~ I'm familiar with this route~"
Teacher Yan frowned, glanced at Feng Yuan, and finally nodded in silence. Feng Yuan waved to Qi Chen, saying
"Let's go~"
As the surrounding woods became denser, Qi Chen had no choice but to follow closely behind the two. Suddenly, Xiao Ji stopped, called out to Feng Yuan, and pointed its little wings excitedly in one direction.
"Hey, this can be used for your potion. Let's collect some~"
Following where Xiao Ji was pointing, Feng Yuan saw a fruit tree and, without waiting for a response, ran straight over with Xiao Ji to pick the ripe fruit.
"Here you go."
"Why are you giving this to me?"
Seeing Qi Chen accepting the fruit with a puzzled look, Feng Yuan said irritably,
"This thing is useful for Ah Mu too. Oh right, Teacher Yan, do you want some?"
"No, thanks."
Teacher Yan kept her watchful gaze on their surroundings as she moved alongside the Meditative Child, while Qi Chen helplessly accepted the fruit Feng Yuan handed over and put it in his backpack. Along the way, Feng Yuan collected many materials for crafting potions, sharing plenty with Qi Chen and some with Teacher Yan for her use.
"Aren't we there yet? My backpack is almost full."
"We're close~ just ahead~"
"Are there really that many Spiritual Medicines in this forest?"
Seeing Teacher Yan looking at her skeptically, Feng Yuan chuckled a few times and ran forward a few steps with Xiao Ji. Realizing Feng Yuan had deliberately taken a detour, Teacher Yan sighed and continued on, keeping an eye on Feng Yuan and Qi Chen's safety.
"We've arrived~ look, that's the Turtis Tree~"
Feng Yuan said, pointing at the mysterious tree with mystical patterns in the distance. Seeing the fruit on the tree emitting a pale blue light, Feng Yuan ran towards it, shouting cheerfully,
"We're in luck~ they're just about to ripen~"
Feng Yuan's actions seemed to awaken memories in Teacher Yan, while the Meditative Child, who was vigilantly observing the surroundings, noticed Teacher Yan's distraction and quickly called out. Teacher Yan's reminiscing was interrupted by the Meditative Child's voice; she shook her head and resumed her silent surveillance of the area.
"Qi Chen, bring your backpack here."
"What are you up to now?"
"Hey! Don't snatch it!"
Watching Feng Yuan grab his backpack, Qi Chen shook his head in resignation and asked bewilderedly,
"What are you up to now?"
Feng Yuan picked out several Spiritual Medicines from the backpack and started processing them as she explained,
"I'm preparing the Potion. The Spirit of Wood Potion needs the Turtis Fruit that hasn't ripened for more than five minutes."
Seeing Feng Yuan taking out various potion crafting tools from his own backpack, Qi Chen exclaimed in astonishment,
"You don't plan to make the Spirit of Wood Potion right now, do you?"
"What else? I'll feed it to Ah Mu right away; the effects of the Spirit of Wood Potion only last thirty minutes."
Feng Yuan continued tinkering with the tools, not looking up. As the pale blue light of the Turtis Fruit deepened to dark blue, Feng Yuan swiftly picked the ripe Turtis Fruit. After a moment, she handed the light green Potion to Qi Chen, saying,
"Here, the Spirit of Wood Potion."
"Teacher Yan, would you like some?"
Turning to Teacher Yan, who was on guard and looking around, Feng Yuan asked. When Teacher Yan shook her head, Feng Yuan packed the remaining Turtis Fruit into the backpack, noticing that Ah Mu had already consumed the Potion and fallen asleep. Just as Feng Yuan was about to speak, her expression changed suddenly, and a pitch-black sickle materialized behind her. Grabbing the sickle, she swung it forward,
Clang! A dark arrow of energy was blocked by the sickle, dissipating into smoke.