Chapter 49: Covering Everything

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ziyan quickly pulled her hand back, barely saving her arm from harm. Breathing heavily after her narrow escape, she looked back at the medicinal field with lingering fear, then turned to stare at Bai Feiyu as if she were looking at a monster.

The first time, perhaps, could be attributed to coincidence. But this time, Bai Feiyu had simply approached, and the medicinal plants had immediately withdrawn. Such a thing could no longer be called chance.

Most importantly, Bai Feiyu had never set foot in this place before; he couldn't possibly have studied these plants countless times to figure out how to handle them. How had he done it? This was the question in everyone's heart. Liu Guang turned to Bai Feiyu and said,

"Junior Brother Bai, how did you make those medicinal plants wary of you? If you have any methods, I hope you can share them. It would benefit the sect greatly. Of course, I will report this truthfully to the sect, and you will be rewarded accordingly."

On this point, Liu Guang did not resort to threats but spoke sincerely. When it came to matters concerning the sect, he was open-minded and would not let personal grievances cloud his judgment.

Bai Feiyu gave a wry smile and said, "Would you believe me if I said I don't know either?"

The key was that even if he knew, he couldn't tell them; otherwise, his system would be exposed.

Liu Guang and the others were momentarily stunned, but soon understood. After all, Bai Feiyu had never been here before; there must be some special reason behind it. But this attempt to use the medicinal field to humble Bai Feiyu had clearly failed.

"In that case, Junior Brother Feiyu, we'll have to trouble you this time. You alone can collect herbs faster than all of us combined," another member of the Hawk Alliance remarked.

Bai Feiyu nodded. At a time like this, he certainly wouldn't pass up such a good opportunity. With so many medicinal plants to pick, he could absorb a lot of attributes from each one.

However, he underestimated the loyalty—or rather, the admirable qualities—of the Hawk Alliance members. Even though their combined harvest was negligible compared to Bai Feiyu's contribution, they did not idle about or leave all the work to him. After all, they had come here together.

This made Bai Feiyu see them in a new light; clearly, the Hawk Alliance was not as heartless as he had imagined. Still, even if he were greedy, he couldn't very well tell his senior brothers to rest while he worked. Saying such a thing would be tantamount to showing weakness. Although the others weren't so detestable, pride still mattered.

After harvesting this medicinal field, Liu Guang and the others led Bai Feiyu to another one. Four hours passed in a flash.

This time, everyone finished the task ahead of schedule. According to their earlier estimates, it should have taken much longer. The herbs here were precious, and only strong inner disciples were allowed to pick them. It was never an easy task.

But before Bai Feiyu, it was as if all the usual rules had changed. These normally fierce plants became meek and docile in his presence, leaving Ziyan and the others sighing with resignation. Indeed, people could not be compared to one another.

Because they finished so quickly, they did not encounter anyone from the Golden Radiance Sect. At this hour, those disciples had not yet completed their own harvest and couldn't possibly keep up, so they never met.

After descending Mount Daming, the elder stationed here by the Guixu Sect was astonished to see them return so quickly.

"Did you encounter any danger or problems up there?" the elder asked anxiously. The medicinal plants here were vital to the sect’s prosperity; if even the Hawk Alliance members could not handle it, the sect would be in great trouble and would have to send many elders to resolve the matter. This would burden the sect's supply of pills for some time.

"No, Elder. We simply finished the task quickly this time. There were some unusual circumstances, so we managed to complete it sooner than expected," Liu Guang replied, glancing at Bai Feiyu but not revealing his special abilities.

If he did, Bai Feiyu might never leave; the elders would surely insist he stay and pick herbs every day.

"Oh, I see. Then you’ve all worked hard," the elder nodded, showing little interest in the details.

He simply assumed that Liu Guang and the others had encountered some minor difficulties that were still within their ability to handle, and had come down the mountain to fetch supplies or reinforcements, making up the rest to save face.

They did not realize that there are indeed people in the world capable of working miracles.

Liu Guang led Bai Feiyu and the others back onto the flying vessel. Onboard, Liu Qing looked at a scroll and said,

"The next task is to investigate the Toba Ruins, which have been the talk of the cultivation world lately."

"The Toba Ruins are an ancient site that recently emerged. Danger lurks at every turn, and many sects are sending their disciples to explore it."

"This mission to the Toba Ruins will surely be a fierce contest. It's said that not only our sect, but the Hawk Alliance and other major alliances, have all sent disciples to take on this challenge."

"This time, no matter what, we must set aside past grievances and never leave our companions in danger because of previous conflicts."

The last sentence seemed directed at Bai Feiyu. After all, Liu Qing deeply trusted Liu Guang’s character but was unfamiliar with Bai Feiyu. Given that Liu Guang and the others had repeatedly offended him before, Liu Qing feared that once inside the Toba Ruins, Bai Feiyu might ignore his teammates’ plight out of lingering resentment.

After all, one could never truly fathom the human heart.

"Rest assured, Senior Brother Liu Qing. I am not that kind of person," Bai Feiyu replied calmly. "But previously, your Hawk Alliance was rather overbearing, disregarding others’ feelings. Refusing to join was seen as a challenge to you, which I found hard to accept. Still, I would never let such a trivial matter hinder our cooperation."

Liu Qing gave an awkward smile, not expecting Bai Feiyu to speak so frankly. His directness revealed a strong spirit and a magnanimous character; it was admirable, though the bluntness did make things a little awkward.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Liu Qing hurried back to his seat and pretended to fall asleep, hoping to avoid Bai Feiyu’s gaze.

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