Chapter 644: Chapter 602: No Choice! (2)
"I need to borrow the Spiritual Medicine Garden for a while!"
"Borrow the Spiritual Medicine Garden for a while *again*?" Hearing these words spoken so casually by Qin Fan, Yao Junxian felt his heart nearly seize up in terror.
Borrow it? If I lend it out again, the Spiritual Medicine Garden will be gone for good! Last time, eighty percent of the garden was destroyed. Many of our Spirit Plants are down to their last specimens. If they were ravaged again, they would likely face extinction!
"Divine Envoy, you know the current state of our Spiritual Medicine Garden! Please, be merciful and spare our Medicine Valley! We can’t take another disaster. The Spiritual Medicine Garden truly can’t withstand any more devastation!" Yao Junxian was on the verge of tears as he pleaded, his voice filled with desperation.
Facing a heaven-defying existence like Qin Fan, he had no other recourse. If Qin Fan were to invade again, they would have no means to stop him. Now, aside from begging for mercy, Yao Junxian, the Valley Master, was utterly helpless.
"Hold on, did you even hear me correctly? It won’t be like last time. I just need to borrow the space inside to bring a group of people for Body Refining. As for the Spirit Plants, yes, I’ll need to use some, but not the rare ones you treat as treasures. Surely Valley Master Yao wouldn’t mind me using a few insignificant herbs? The very fact that I’m asking you this way should be proof enough. Besides, let’s be real, if I wanted to take it by force, could you stop me? Would I even need to be calling you? After this is over, I’ll owe the Medicine Valley a favor, and I’ll owe your Yao Family a favor!" Qin Fan said with a helpless, wry smile.
If Yao Junxian and the five Valley Guardian Elders hadn’t chosen to submit last time, Qin Fan, with his personality, would have likely just stormed in and taken over. In a world where the strong prey on the weak, there was nothing improper about it. For Qin Fan to approach the Medicine Valley this way was a clear display of his sincerity and goodwill.
Sure, it was no different from what a bandit would do, but isn’t that just how this damn world works?
Hearing Qin Fan’s blunt words, Yao Junxian shook his head with an incredibly bitter taste in his mouth.
Qin Fan has a point. If he really wanted to take it by force, what could the Medicine Valley possibly do to stop his monstrous Iron Cavalry? Under the eternal law of the jungle, I’m only just now realizing how powerless I truly am as the Valley Master! So be it. So be it. Since resistance is futile, I might as well go with the flow and ’enjoy’ the favor Qin Fan is offering in this trade! After all, ’the weak get beaten’ is a fundamental truth of this world, isn’t it?
"Divine Envoy, do I have any other choice?" Yao Junxian sighed bitterly, his voice world-weary.
"No!" Qin Fan replied with a flippant smirk.
"I figured as much. Is what you’re saying true? Are you certain you won’t recklessly harvest those rare Spirit Plants?" Even though he was unwilling, at this point, Yao Junxian had no choice but to bow his head and submit.
Little did he know that Qin Fan was amused by this. "Valley Master Yao, I’m not one for making empty promises. Besides, do you really think you’re in any position to negotiate with me? Let’s drop the pointless chatter. I, Qin Fan, have never gone back on my word in my entire life. I wouldn’t stoop to tricking you just to borrow your Spiritual Medicine Garden!"
Hearing this, Yao Junxian froze for a moment. Then, a silent, self-mocking laugh escaped him as his face flushed red. Gritting his teeth in complete resignation, he said, "Fine. Then may I ask how long the Divine Envoy will need to borrow the Spiritual Medicine Garden?"
"Three months at the shortest, six months at the longest!"
Hearing the timeframe, Yao Junxian, whose heart was already in a knot, almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.
Three months at the shortest? Six at the longest? This... this is just bullying! Last time he only stayed for half a month, and the Spiritual Medicine Garden was nearly destroyed. After three to six months, will there be anything left at all?
But no matter what, having reached this point, he could only swallow his own broken teeth. "Fine! When will the Divine Envoy be arriving? I will make the necessary preparations!"
"I’ll inform you when the time comes. If there’s nothing else, that’s all for now." With that indifferent remark, Qin Fan hung up.
He knew Yao Junxian was unwilling, but what did his willingness matter? A general’s rise to glory is built on a mountain of bones. Borrowing a mere Spiritual Medicine Garden was nothing in comparison.
When the call was unilaterally disconnected, Yao Junxian rushed outside, bellowing, "Someone, attend me!"
"Valley Master, what’s happened?" several Elders asked in alarm as they hurried over.
"Have everyone harvest and store all the rare Spirit Plants in the Spiritual Medicine Garden!" Yao Junxian ordered, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Valley Master! It’s not time to harvest! If we pick them now, their medicinal efficacy will be greatly reduced!" one of the Elders exclaimed, looking at Yao Junxian in disbelief. Has he gone mad? How could the Valley Master make such a muddled decision?
"That robber, that bandit, is coming to borrow the Spiritual Medicine Garden again! If we don’t harvest them now, I’m afraid there will be nothing left, not even the roots!" Yao Junxian said in a powerless, mournful tone, his teeth clenched.
Robber? Bandit? Who... who is he talking about?
"Valley Master, who?" another elder asked, his eyes wide in a stunned daze.
"Qin Fan!" Yao Junxian spat the name through gritted teeth, filled with indignation as he walked away briskly.
Behind him, the Elders stood frozen as if petrified. In their stupor, a wave of panic washed over them all.
「Jinling」
After leaving the outskirts, Qin Fan didn’t head back to school right away. Instead, he leisurely made his way toward the bustling shopping plaza in the city center.
In the mobile phone section, as Qin Fan stepped inside, he was immediately captivated by the scene before him. A hunched-back old man stood there, timidly looking around. He was travel-worn, and his clothes were covered in patches. His sudden appearance drew the attention of everyone in the area, customers and salespeople alike.
"Excuse me, miss," the old man said, shyly stopping a passing saleswoman. "Can you tell me where I can buy a Feces Fork?"
"A Feces Fork?" The saleswoman sneered, looking at the old man with disgust. She pointed vaguely toward the Apple counter and said impatiently, "Over there. Go on!" With that, she hurried away as if terrified the old man would keep pestering her.
Seeing this, Qin Fan shook his head with a sorrowful expression. His sorrow wasn’t for the saleswoman’s disdain but for the old man and the story he represented. Although it was just a fleeting moment, his experiences from a past life allowed him to grasp the old man’s circumstances from this single scene.
In his ragged clothes, the old man shuffled toward the Apple counter, his steps faltering and his eyes shifting about with a look of inferiority. In a weak, trembling voice, he asked, "Do you sell Feces Forks here?"
"No! We sell mobile phones here, not dung forks!" a saleswoman replied coldly, looking at the old man outside the glass counter with disgust. She couldn’t stop a contemptuous, mocking sneer from spreading across her face.
"Yes, a phone, that’s right! I want to buy a phone! A phone called a Feces Fork. Could you please get one out for me to see?" Seemingly accustomed to being treated this way, the old man didn’t mind the saleswoman’s cold words. Instead, his finger trembled with excitement as he spoke.
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