Chapter 165: Chapter 160: Who Else? (Part 2)
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Zhao Lin took out his herb container and opened the lid.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Two herbs flew out of the container.
’Why did the herbs just jump out on their own?’
The crowd was puzzled, but when they got a clear look inside the container, they couldn’t help but gasp in shock!
The container was stuffed full of all sorts of herbs. There were so many that they were piled and pressed together, so when the lid was opened, the ones on top were forced out.
Unlike the other disciples who picked out their herbs one by one, Zhao Lin simply turned the container upside down and poured them all out onto the large rock.
More than sixty herbs spread out across the rock. The sheer number was astonishing, and a quick glance revealed no fewer than ten high-grade herbs among them. Sharp-eyed disciples immediately cried out in alarm.
"Lonely Immortal Grass, Purple Mulberry Ganoderma, Earth Luo Fruit... Am I seeing things?"
"This is unbelievable!"
"Holy cow, I’ve really seen it all today. I thought there weren’t many herbs left on Five Finger Mountain, but it turns out they were all here!"
And that wasn’t all. Zhao Lin then took more herbs out of his bundle—all of them root-type herbs: Amber Sunflower, Red Kudzu Root, Bamboo Rhizome Ling, Fierce Centipede Vine...
Now, even the elders and deacons couldn’t remain calm. The shock on their faces grew deeper and deeper.
In all the years of the Autumn Harvest, no disciple had ever managed to gather so many herbs.
This was especially true for the root-type herbs, which grew deep underground. Without years of herb-gathering experience, an ordinary disciple would never be able to find them, even with the help of a mystical beast!
’Oh well. Even without the herbs from me and my brother, he’ll still take first place.’
Xiang Bao sighed, a sense of relief washing over him.
The tall, thin disciple and the short, fat disciple felt the same, and even felt a hint of vicarious pride.
Zhong Yewu hadn’t expected to be defeated in such a crushing manner. He gave Zhao Lin a look filled with complex emotions.
"Haha..."
Elder Water Mirror was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter. His laughter grew louder and louder, seeming to pierce the heavens.
The disciples of the Water Mirror Department were all astonished. The elder was always so composed; they had never seen him laugh so unrestrainedly.
Elder Water Mirror quickly realized his loss of composure and stifled his laughter. He sized up Zhao Lin with a grin, liking him more and more the longer he looked. ’Thank goodness I snatched him for the Water Mirror Department over two months ago,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, how could I have ever felt this happy?’
As he reveled in his triumph, he remembered something and glanced over at Fire Jade. He found the other elder with his hands clasped behind his back, staring up at the sky as if he had lost all interest in the world.
The deacon from the Medicine Pavilion, who was acting as the scribe, had a difficult expression. He took out a separate sheet of paper and scribbled on it for a while before finally announcing:
"One top-grade herb, thirteen high-grade herbs, twenty-two mid-grade herbs, and forty-eight low-grade herbs..."
"And one common herb, a Nine-headed Crow."
The elders of the other departments could only shake their heads and smile wryly. Zhao Lin’s harvest alone was equal to that of their entire departments. Now, whether for individual or department rankings, there was no longer any suspense.
Zhang Xiaoshan muttered to himself, "So ’eight’ actually meant ’eighty’? Is he messing with me?"
Zhao Lin gathered the herbs, set them aside, and walked back to Elder Water Mirror, holding the Nine-headed Crow.
"Elder, this herb isn’t a martial cultivation ingredient. I’d like to take it home for my family to eat. I was wondering how much I would have to pay to buy it?"
Elder Water Mirror said with a beaming smile, "By convention, you would have to buy it at market price. However... since you gathered so many herbs, I can make an exception for a small matter like this. Just take it with you!"
"Thank you, Elder," Zhao Lin said respectfully.
After the Water Mirror Department came the Fire Jade Department, but for a long while, no one went up.
Xiang Bao was supposed to be the first, but he kept dawdling, hesitant to step forward.
"Xiang Bao, why haven’t you gone up yet?"
Elder Huoyu urged.
Xiang Bao knew he couldn’t avoid it, so he braced himself and walked to the large rock. He opened his herb container and took out seven or eight herbs.
The disciples were all shocked. They never expected that as the lead disciple of the Fire Jade Department, Xiang Bao’s harvest would be so pathetic. He didn’t even have a single high-grade herb.
Elder Huoyu’s expression was grim. It was one thing for his old rival to win by a landslide, but for his own star disciple to perform so poorly was a total loss of face.
Just then, two disciples from the Earth Department suddenly shouted, "He stole those from us! That’s the exact amount!"
’He did what?’
Hearing this, the crowd was even more astonished. It turned out Xiang Bao hadn’t gathered a single herb himself.
’Then what was he busy with for the past three days?’
Xiang Bao’s face burned with shame, but he couldn’t find any words to refute them. With a dark expression, he walked back to his group.
It was a tough act to follow.
Zhao Lin’s performance was too dazzling, and those who came after him failed to arouse the crowd’s interest. In less than two hours, the count was complete.
The Water Mirror Department ranked first among all departments, and by a wide margin. Second was the Gold and Stone Department, followed by the Outer Institute, with the Fire Jade Department falling to fifth.
In the individual rankings, Zhao Lin took first place without any suspense. Zhong Yewu was second, and Du Zhong of the Earth Department was third.
"Congratulations, Brother Water Mirror! You’ve taken both first-place titles in this Autumn Harvest!"
"To have such a disciple is truly enviable..."
With the Water Mirror Department’s overwhelming victory, several elders came forward to offer their congratulations.
"Not at all, not at all. It was just a bit of luck."
Elder Water Mirror said with a chuckle, his gaze shifting to Fire Jade.
Fire Jade forced a smile that was uglier than a crying face and said with great difficulty, "Congratulations, Brother Water Mirror."
"The joy is mutual."
Water Mirror feigned composure, but inwardly he was blooming with delight. Still, he didn’t provoke the other man any further with his words.
"Elders, the herbs are all packed. We’ll be taking our leave now."
A deacon from the Medicine Pavilion stepped forward and bowed.
"Very well. Thank you for your hard work, both of you."
Elder Gold Stone nodded, glanced at the sky, and said to the crowd, "It’s getting late. The Autumn Harvest will conclude here."
...
By the time the Autumn Harvest group returned to the Xingyun Sect, the sky had already grown dark.
The disciples bid farewell to the elders and returned to their residences to rest, but Elder Water Mirror called Zhao Lin aside to a private meditation room.
"Zhao Lin, you performed very well in this Autumn Harvest, and you’ve brought me a great deal of honor. However, as an elder of this department, there is something I must ask to understand clearly..."
Elder Water Mirror stared into Zhao Lin’s eyes and asked slowly, "What skills did you rely on to gather so many herbs?"
A warm smile appeared on his face as he added, "You don’t need to be nervous. I simply want to understand, so that if the sect asks, I’ll know how to answer."
"If you have a reason you can’t speak of, you don’t have to say anything."
A sense of caution rose in Zhao Lin’s heart, but he had long anticipated this question and already had a story prepared. He replied with a calm expression:
"Yes, Elder. The truth is, I didn’t gather all of these herbs myself. A few of them were taken from two disciples of the Fire Jade Department, but not many. The biggest haul came from Xiang Bao!"
"What?" Elder Water Mirror was taken aback. "You were able to take herbs from Xiang Bao?"
During the entrance tournament, Zhao Lin had already displayed skills that were on par with most disciples of the Wuxiang Institute.
But Xiang Bao’s strength was ranked in the top two of the institute. That Zhao Lin could defeat him was far beyond Elder Water Mirror’s expectations.
Zhao Lin nodded and said, "Perhaps Xiang Bao underestimated me, thinking that since I had just entered the sect, my cultivation was low. He let his guard down, which is how I was able to win by a stroke of luck."
