Chapter 38: The Farewell Scene was Quite Touching

Lu Yang choked for a long time, utterly at a loss for how to evaluate this method that challenged both human ethics and patterns of thinking.

"It is well enough that the matter is resolved."

In the end, he squeezed out such a sentence.

Old Man Ba also felt that a resolution was a good thing, not to mention it was a method born of his own mind.

Old Man Ba patted Lu Yang on the shoulder: "The little medicine kings are all quite mischievous. It has been hard on you these days. Take out your jade pendant."

Lu Yang did as he was told, and Old Man Ba tapped lightly upon the jade pendant: "The three hundred contribution points awarded for the mission are already within your pendant."

Effort brought harvest, and diligence was not in vain; three hundred contribution points were considered a vast fortune to the likes of Lu Yang.

Then a sudden thought struck Lu Yang—three hundred contribution points seemed a great sum, yet it appeared insufficient to purchase even the foot-washing water of the little medicine kings.

The exchange board stated clearly that the Medicine King Spiritual Liquid was divided into a regular version and a deluxe version.

According to Lu Yang’s understanding, the regular version was the foot-washing water of the little medicine kings, while the deluxe version was their bathwater.

"Bid farewell to the little medicine kings. Opportunities to enter the medicine garden do not come often, and in the days to follow, I fear you will have no chance to come here..."

Old Man Ba choked halfway through his words, suddenly remembering that, seemingly, so long as Yun Zhi bade Lu Yang come, he would have to obediently allow passage, lacking the courage to intercept him.

"Cough, in any case, go and bid your farewells first."

Lu Yang let out an 'oh', sensing that Old Man Ba had left something unsaid.

Upon learning the news of Lu Yang's departure, the little medicine kings felt somewhat reluctant to part after all.

"We are friends after all. You may take this old ginseng root of mine—oh, this is far too valuable, I cannot bear to part with it."

"Then this old ginseng skin of mine... it hurts too much, let it be. I have nothing of value here either, so I shall simply say goodbye to you in words." The ginseng child bid Lu Yang farewell.

When it had parted from Scholar Gu Yue in the past, it had likewise given nothing.

"We are all cultivators of immortality. A month’s time is not long; if you must go, then go, what need is there to say a word?" The Three-Leaf Star Grass spoke with words that betrayed its reluctance to see him leave.

"The vitality of my vines and leaves is far too overflowing; if you were to obtain them, your body would undergo abnormal mutations. To be safe, it is better not to give them to you." In the course of their time together, Lu Yang had come to know that the true form of the Qilin Undying Medicine was a green vine.

The Qilin Undying Medicine spoke the truth; during this month of companionship, the little medicine kings had all suppressed the vitality within their bodies, deeply afraid that Lu Yang might perish from a moment's carelessness.

If they were to give a part of their bodies to Lu Yang, it would require dozens of layers of seals, and even if Lu Yang obtained it, he would not dare use it.

"You are already saying goodbye, yet you still will not give us any gifts?" The Flower of Time's End turned the tables and demanded a gift from Lu Yang.

Lu Yang was moved by the atmosphere, his eyes welling with hot tears: "In a short while, I will surely have Eldest Senior Sister come visit everyone."

The little medicine kings hastily drove Lu Yang away.

The farewell scene was quite effective at hurrying him along.

……

Without comparing it to the Medicine King Spiritual Liquid, these three hundred contribution points were a grand sum for Lu Yang, who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage.

He was eager to try his luck, intending to go to the Mission Hall to purchase some fine items.

He could not always rely on Eldest Senior Sister to give him things; he had to earn wealth through his own endeavors.

"Oh, I was just saying I would go to Tianmen Peak to look for you, I did not expect to meet here." Meng Jingzhou was somewhat astonished to see Lu Yang walking out of the medicine garden, though upon recalling that Yun Zhi was his direct Eldest Senior Sister, it no longer seemed strange.

Beside Meng Jingzhou stood a large man dressed in a scholar’s robe, refined and gentle, yet possessed of formidable strength.

The scholar-robed giant cupped his hands: "Brother Lu, it has been a long time since we last crossed paths. Counting it up, this is our first formal meeting."

"Man Gu, your entry under the Fourth Elder's tutelage back then caught everyone by surprise."

Lu Yang returned the salute and smiled: "Are you looking for me for some matter?"

"Can I not look for you if there is no matter?" Meng Jingzhou feigned anger.

"Come, let us drink tea, sit down, and speak slowly." Meng Jingzhou led Man Gu and Lu Yang to a teahouse.

The family upbringing of the Meng Clan dictated that when discussing matters, it was best done at the dining table; in this manner, if the discussion was pleasant, the Meng Clan would treat, and if the discussion was unpleasant, everyone would split the bill equally.

"Gentlemen, what would you like to drink? My teahouse possesses every manner of tea." The tea doctor asked deftly.

Lu Yang likewise could not see through the tea doctor’s cultivation.

Lu Yang asked in a low voice: "Brother Man Gu, what is the cultivation of this tea doctor, can you discern it?"

Man Gu replied in an equally low whisper: "As far as I know, we newly recruited disciples are the weakest existences in the sect. Even the chickens on the mountain possess higher cultivation than we do."

Meng Jingzhou ordered a very famous tea.

"Then let us have a pot of milk tea."

The tea doctor momentarily suspected that Meng Jingzhou had come to the sect to cause trouble.

"Oh, I misspoke. Bring a basin of milk tea; I recall it is a specialty of the regions near the Far North." Seeing the tea doctor’s displeased countenance, Meng Jingzhou hastily gesticulated to show he harbored no ill intent.

Only then did the tea doctor understand that Meng Jingzhou wished to drink freshly made savory milk tea.

Before long, the tea doctor brought a scalding iron charcoal basin, inside of which lay fried rice, butter, beef jerky, and milk skin, and soon after, he brought up a pot of milk tea.

Lu Yang and Man Gu looked at each other, not knowing how to proceed, and could only leave it to Meng Jingzhou.

Meng Jingzhou first roasted the ingredients in the basin slowly until they became fragrant, stir-frying until the fried rice turned yellow and gave off a crunchy sensation, before lifting the pot of milk tea and pouring it all in with a heavy splash.

When the milk tea met the red-hot iron pot, accompanied by a sharp sizzling sound, the fragrance of the milk tea drifted forth, lingering about the tip of the nose.

Lu Yang took a small sip and smacked his lips—it was salty, the taste was quite marvelous, and it was rather pleasant to drink.

Man Gu took a sip, then gulped it down like an ox, finishing a whole bowl.

"Do you have a mission at present?" Meng Jingzhou asked.

Lu Yang shook his head; he had just completed Old Man Ba’s medicine garden mission and had not yet selected the next one.

"There are not many missions suited for us; those in the Mission Hall are not enough for us to do. I found it strange—if they are not enough for us to do, could they possibly be enough for the senior brothers and sisters of the previous generation?"

"Therefore, I inquired with the senior brothers and sisters and learned the inside story."

"What is the story?"

"It is not only by completing the missions issued by the Mission Hall that one counts as completing a mission. Finding a mission yourself and completing it can also earn you contribution point rewards. You report the results of the completed mission to the sect, and once the sect verifies and ensures the results are genuine, they will grant you the corresponding rewards."

"Do you know how the missions in the Mission Hall come to be?"

"How do they come to be?"

"It falls into three situations. First, based on the mutual aid agreement of the righteous path between the Five Great Immortal Sects and the Great Xia Dynasty, when the Great Xia Dynasty encounters matters requiring the deployment of cultivators but lacks sufficient manpower, they will submit a request for assistance to us. However, this situation is rare."

"Though everyone belongs to the righteous path of the human race, for the grand court of a hundred thousand years to seek assistance from a sect is somewhat face-losing."

"The second situation is when someone seeks help from the Five Great Immortal Sects, hoping we will uphold justice, though the prerequisite is that the Great Xia Dynasty does not intervene, such as your mission to catch the parrot."

"The third situation consists of clues discovered by our Daoist Sect during our travels abroad, which will be published as missions in the Mission Hall, and the sect will prepare the corresponding rewards."

"This third situation is precisely where our hope lies."