Chapter 742: Chapter 742 A Five Thousand Year Decoy
Ms. Zackary examined the herb closely, her face creasing with confusion as she muttered, "A five-thousand-year-old herb? Didn’t the reports say a ten-thousand-year-old one would show up?"
"Ms. Zackary, this really looks like a five-thousand-year-old herb to me." Another person stepped forward and confirmed.
"Yeah, from what I can tell, this definitely isn’t a ten-thousand-year-old specimen."
The crowd’s assessment made Ms. Zackary’s frown deepen even more.
Her own evaluation matched theirs - this wasn’t a ten-thousand-year-old herb.
But the intelligence she’d received clearly stated that a ten-thousand-year-old herb would emerge today.
"Maybe the information was bogus?" Ms. Zackary wondered aloud, her brow furrowed.
Jean Tricia spoke up seriously, "Ms. Zackary, a lot of these reports aren’t reliable. Someone probably mixed up a five-thousand-year herb with a ten-thousand-year one."
Ms. Zackary’s eyes became thin slits.
She pondered for a moment before deciding, "We’ll stick around here a bit longer."
Ms. Zackary and her purple-robed followers lingered at the spot, showing no signs of leaving anytime soon.
More than thirty minutes ticked by, and the area remained completely calm.
It really looked like the intel had been wrong. Ms. Zackary pushed herself up from the ground.
She tucked away the five-thousand-year-old herb and grumbled under her breath, "What a waste of resources for just a five-thousand-year-old herb! Hardly worth the effort!"
"Tell me about it. All of us traveled this far and came away with nothing." Someone nearby complained.
Ms. Zackary shot him a look and snorted, "Nobody dares to steal from the Capital City Martial Arts Association."
Though everyone felt frustrated, what Ms. Zackary said rang true.
Few people had the guts to challenge the Capital City Martial Arts Association - after all, not everyone was Mason Raymond.
"Since we’ve got the herb, we should head back." Ms. Zackary announced.
"Ms. Zackary, can I... tag along with you?" Jean Tricia jogged up and asked.
Ms. Zackary gave a slight nod, "Sure, come back to the Capital City Martial Arts Association with me."
"Thank you so much, Ms. Zackary!" Jean Tricia lit up with joy, nodding eagerly.
Ms. Zackary departed from the scene, and naturally, the others had no reason to hang around either.
They scattered one by one, while the man with the mustache and I were still posted in the southeast area.
"There was just a flash of light and this intense smell coming from the east - did we mess up our calculations?" I found myself frowning.
The afternoon was already here, but the supposed ten-thousand-year-old herb was still nowhere to be seen, which made it hard not to have doubts.
"Let’s give it more time." The man with the mustache frowned too.
I stayed quiet and could only keep waiting in this spot.
Right then, Ms. Zackary and her crew came walking toward us from nearby.
Spotting Ms. Zackary, I frowned a bit and instinctively got to my feet.
Ms. Zackary glanced my way and scoffed, "We’ve already secured the herb - what are you still hanging around for?"
"Secured the herb?" My expression shifted when I heard this.
Before Ms. Zackary could respond, Jean Tricia said smugly, "That’s right! You didn’t trust my divination skills, did you? Well, the herb showed up in the east just like I predicted!"
"Meanwhile, you haven’t spotted a damn thing, have you?"
Hearing Jean Tricia’ taunts, the man with the mustache and I looked at each other.
Could it be... that our divination had actually been off?
"Ha! This place doesn’t look like it could produce any kind of treasure at all." Jean Tricia sneered.
I wasn’t ready to give up. I stared coldly at Ms. Zackary and said with a smirk, "Are you just talking big? If something really emerged in the east, why is everything so quiet? You think all those people would just let you walk away with the herbs?"
Ms. Zackary’s eyes narrowed, "You disrespectful brat, just because you don’t know your place doesn’t mean everyone else is the same!"
"Who would dare to grab what the Capital City Martial Arts Association has claimed?" Ms. Zackary snorted coldly.
"Don’t talk big. If you didn’t get the herb, you didn’t get it. What’s with all the bragging?" Guy Noble also mocked.
Ms. Zackary’s eyes became slits, and she sneered, "Little punk, trying to goad me into something?"
I kept my mouth shut.
Just like Ms. Zackary had figured out, I was trying to provoke her into showing the herb.
"If you really have the herb, let us see it." I said.
"Old hag, you’re not going to show us because you’re scared we’ll take it, are you?" I said with a half-smile.
Ms. Zackary said icily, "Fine, I’ll put your doubts to rest!"
With that, Ms. Zackary extended her palm, and a crystal-clear herb materialized in it.
The second the herb appeared, a powerful fragrance hit our noses.
I stared hard at the herb, my eyebrows immediately scrunching together.
"No way... this is clearly a five-thousand-year-old herb." I thought to myself.
As someone who worked with alchemy, I was naturally very attuned to determining a herb’s age.
I could tell at first glance what was off about this supposed "ten-thousand-year-old medicinal herb."
Just as I was about to speak up, the man with the mustache quietly tugged my sleeve.
I glanced at the man with the mustache and immediately got it, deciding not to say anything more.
"Little punk, see it now?" Jean Tricia copied Ms. Zackary’s tone.
I looked at Jean Tricia and snorted, "Kiss-ass."
Jean Tricia didn’t get mad; instead, he said smugly, "Smart-mouthed little punk, you dared to question my divination abilities? What a joke!"
I didn’t feel like arguing with Jean Tricia anymore and turned my head away.
"Mason Raymond, don’t forget our deal in half a month." Ms. Zackary said menacingly.
After dropping those words, she took off with her people.
It wasn’t until Ms. Zackary was long gone that I turned to look at the man with the mustache.
"What the hell is happening here? What she’s holding is clearly a five-thousand-year-old herb, not a ten-thousand-year-old herb at all." I frowned.
The man with the mustache sneered, "To be honest, I was starting to wonder if our divination had gone wrong. But after seeing the herb in her hand, I threw out that idea."
I said with some confusion, "What do you mean?"
The man with the mustache explained, "With medicinal herbs, ten thousand years is a major milestone. Once they hit ten thousand years, they become top-tier quality, and they develop intelligence."
"Plenty of ten-thousand-year-old medicinal herbs will come up with different tricks to avoid getting caught when they emerge."
At this point, I seemed to catch on to something.
I said seriously, "So, you’re saying... that five-thousand-year-old herb was just a decoy? It purposely drew everyone’s attention?"
"Exactly," the man with the mustache nodded.
"Using a five-thousand-year-old herb as a distraction, keeping the real prize hidden!"
I felt pretty amazed.
"Is this herb really that clever?" I said in wonder.
The man with the mustache shook his head, "This isn’t being clever, it’s just how ten-thousand-year-old herbs naturally behave when they appear."
"Just wait and see - the ten-thousand-year-old herb will definitely emerge right here!"
