Chapter 232 - 231: Quite Pitiful, Too

"There’s another patch of Beast Plants up ahead."

Lu Qi, who had sharp eyes, suddenly called out.

Zhang Qin scouted ahead first. "It’s safe."

Lu Yi’s figure shot past. "Let’s go."

Zhao Jiangyou looked up blankly as a crowd of people brushed past him.

His eyes widened. "???"

Like a swarm of locusts.

In just a moment, a third of the Beast Plants had been picked clean.

Zhao Jiangyou stood where he was, lost.

He hesitated, unsure for a moment whether he should join them or not.

Jian Yu turned her head, a vibrant green D-rank Beast Plant still in her hand.

Her eyes were large and looked very friendly. "Don’t you want any?"

Zhao Jiangyou couldn’t snap out of it. His fingertips curled slightly, his expression indecisive.

’Is this a trick?’

’Just like Yan Ying, luring me with an A-rank Beast Plant, only to turn on me and beat me down the moment I happily took it.’

Zhao Jiangyou’s steps were unsteady and hesitant, as if he were weighing his options over and over.

The group noticed that Zhao Jiangyou hadn’t moved.

They thought he was just being shy, or perhaps felt like he couldn’t fit in with the team.

Zhang Qin looked at Jian Yu like a daughter and at Sheng Yue like a cold, aloof son-in-law.

Now, seeing Zhao Jiangyou standing there dumbfounded, his gaze softened with a bit of affection.

He spoke in the tone one would use to coax a grandson. "Come on over. We’re easygoing. It’s all about how fast your hands are—whatever you pick is yours. If you can’t use it, you can take it back to the academy and trade with the underclassmen for things you want."

Lu Qi quietly added, "A lot of freshmen will trade EV value for them. Once you’ve accumulated enough, you can use the EV value to exchange for High-level Beast Plants."

Zhao Jiangyou didn’t know what EV value was, but it sounded like some kind of point system Weis Lan Noble Academy set up for students, which could then be used to redeem resources.

His mind felt like mush as he dazedly joined the large harvesting party.

He harvested twelve stalks, including one C-class Beast Plant that had two Beast Fruits growing on it.

Zhao Jiangyou was so satisfied he could have cried.

And indeed, he couldn’t stop his eyes from secretly turning red.

’What a miserable life I’ve led all these years.’

The team continued onward without delay.

’Hm? What’s that smell?’

Zhao Jiangyou sniffed the air.

The scent of dried blood hung in the air.

"Wait." Zhang Qin, who was at the very front, raised a hand to halt the group.

Zhao Jiangyou started to speak, but when he saw Zhang Qin’s sharp, hawk-like gaze, he silently shut his mouth.

’Zhang Qin’s expression suddenly doesn’t look so kind anymore,’ he thought. ’This isn’t the time to be deepening our team camaraderie.’

Sheng Yue tilted his head slightly, catching a strange sound carried on the wind.

Jian Yu faintly heard someone gasping for breath.

Perhaps her face was too deceptive. Even after killing Yan Ying, everyone still subconsciously protected her in the center, as if she were a fragile mascot without an ounce of strength.

Sheng Yue looked unhappily at his own hand. A trace of warmth still lingered on it, and he could even recall the softness from when he held hers.

He had been pushed aside.

Because everyone was protecting Jian Yu.

But him? A 3S Awakener, the Chief of Weis Lan... no one thought he needed protection.

Sheng Yue pressed his lips together, his eyes dark.

The source of the sound grew closer.

"Help!"

Jian Yu gazed into the distance.

Her vision focused, and she saw a Half-awakened in tattered clothes being chased by a Mutant Beast.

Jian Yu’s gaze fell on the Mutant Beast behind them.

It was a Mutant Beast covered in red lumps, its fangs jutting out. It bore no resemblance to any known animal.

Jian Yu looked away.

There was no thought of rescue in her eyes, only a fervent desire for the Beast Crystal. "It’s a Mutant Beast with an Attack Attribute."

’S-Class. We can take it.’

Jian Yu was certain that assisting in killing the Mutant Beast would also level up her soul domain, but she didn’t want to waste energy.

"Using a Skill on a group drains too much. One person should go; I can provide support."

"I’ll go." Certain he could handle it, Zhang Qin charged straight out.

He wasn’t fast, but his Attack Power was immense.

Jian Yu provided an attack buff.

Zhang Qin kicked off the ground, shooting a Beast Needle into the Mutant Beast’s eye.

The Mutant Beast’s massive body was sent flying, its corpse crashing to the ground with a THUD.

For a moment, only the heavy panting of the survivors could be heard.

"Th-thank you!"

The young man’s face was filled with gratitude.

"My name is Gu Qi. We’re a self-organized civilian Demon Hunting Team."

He was handsome, with delicate features. The tattered clothes and bloodstains on his face didn’t make him look pathetic; instead, they gave him a somewhat broken, fragile air.

"It’s so dangerous here. We don’t have much experience and got separated by accident. I don’t know what happened to my captain and the others."

Gu Qi’s eyes scanned them. "You must be students from Emperor Wolf Star or the Imperial Capital Star, right? I can’t find my captain. Can I follow you for now?"

Zhang Qin dug out the Beast Crystal and casually lied, "We’re from Emperor Wolf Star, but we’re not students. We’re on a mission, so even if you follow us, we can’t escort you out."

’Anyway, if word gets out, people will just say those from Emperor Wolf Star are heartless. It has nothing to do with us from Weis Lan.’

Gu Qi didn’t believe him. "But I heard people from Emperor Wolf Star all wear masks."

Unable to salvage his lie, Zhang Qin just nodded vaguely. "Mhm."

Zhao Jiangyou picked up where Zhang Qin’s lie left off. "Only high-status nobles wear masks."

Zhang Qin casually handed the Beast Crystal to Jian Yu.

Jian Yu’s expression was cold, but her eyes and movements were docile.

She put the Beast Crystal into her Space Ring.

Gu Qi noticed that no one else showed any signs of envy, jealousy, or reluctance.

Gu Qi’s mind raced.

He had been on the internet.

’How could he not know who Jian Yu was?’

’Even if he didn’t know about the rising star Jian Yu, he wouldn’t be stupid enough not to recognize Sheng Yue.’

’The internet was right. Jian Yu’s Awakened Soul Beast must be incredibly strong; otherwise, she wouldn’t have won over several chiefs just a few months into the school year.’

’The chiefs were powerful, influential, and strong. Why would they be willing to share the same woman, all of them wrapped up in scandals with Jian Yu?’

’It couldn’t be that they all liked her, right? He didn’t believe that.’

’There was only one possibility: Jian Yu had something the chiefs could use, something whose value outweighed their possessiveness.’

’It wasn’t them choosing Jian Yu, but Jian Yu choosing them.’

’She has a Space Ring, and her teammates protect her.’

’And that S-Class Beast Crystal... they bypassed Sheng Yue and gave it to Jian Yu without the slightest hesitation.’

’Her status is anything but ordinary.’

Gu Qi concluded that Jian Yu was the one with the real authority.

’The grind is too tough. I’d rather find a meal ticket.’

He deliberately stumbled, his weak voice tinged with a tremor and a sob.

He looked pitifully at Jian Yu. "Please let me follow you... Otherwise, I’ll definitely lose my life out here."

Sheng Yue’s expression was indifferent, his lips pressed into a thin, straight line.

He sensed a threat.

Yin Jiu’s gaze was hostile. *Master, we can’t let him follow us. The way he looks at her is shifty.*

Of everyone present, only Zhao Jiangyou felt a pang of pity, though he didn’t dare to speak up.

After all, he was a newcomer himself.

Sheng Yue had no such reservations. "No."

A sharp glint flashed in Gu Qi’s eyes. "We... I know a place. There’s a five-hundred-year-old Vermilion Fruit Plant growing there. As thanks, I can take you to it."

Zhang Qin exclaimed, "A five-hundred-year-old Vermilion Fruit Plant?"

Gu Qi watched Jian Yu with reddened eyes. "The thing is, there are several Mutant Beasts there. I can’t beat them."

His eyes welled with tears. "I live nearby, so I’m fairly familiar with the terrain around here."

Sheng Yue frowned.

’He did not like this man who was staring at Jian Yu and playing pitiful!’

Jian Yu wanted the Beast Plant.

Beast Crystals could only replenish energy, but Beast Plants could expand her soul domain.

Ordinary Beast Plants didn’t have much of an effect.

And she didn’t have many High-level Beast Plants on hand.

Jian Yu couldn’t hold back. "Five hundred years... that would be a 3S-rank Beast Plant, right?"

Jian Yu blinked. ’How did I say that out loud?’

She paused, then said with a sympathetic expression, "I mean, it’s a pity that you got separated from your teammates."

Everyone: "..."