Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 24

On the first night of camping, Ling Xiao was always restless. He attributed this to hunger. Unable to sleep, he got up and decided to look around, hoping to find some mushrooms to fill his stomach in the wilderness.

Subconsciously, he headed towards the tent where Ying Feng was. It was deep into the night, and all the classmates were asleep. Ying Feng’s tent was as dark and silent as the others around it.

Pretending to be just passing by, Ling Xiao wandered around the vicinity until a small stone snapped and hit him in the chest. The thrower hadn’t used much force; it was clearly just to get his attention.

Following the direction from which the stone came, Ling Xiao unexpectedly spotted Ying Feng sitting under a tree. Ying Feng had noticed Ling Xiao from the moment he showed up, initially thinking he had just gotten up to relieve himself. Yet, Ling Xiao lingered, making Ying Feng wonder about his intentions.

“What are you sneaking around here for?” Ying Feng asked, showing no friendliness to Ling Xiao, who had approached him.

“Why are you here?” Ling Xiao countered. “Why aren’t you sleeping in your tent?”

“I’m not used to sharing with others.” Ying Feng made up an excuse, even though it was true.

The sullenness in Ling Xiao’s heart was immediately swept away. The outdoor air felt fresh, and the stars were bright. Ling Xiao felt that a weight had been lifted from his heart.

Feeling better, his stomach reminded him of its hunger with a growl.

Having seen Ling Xiao’s weakened state during their earlier interaction, Ying Feng understood. “Out of food again?”

Ling Xiao sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “I came out to look for some mushrooms…”

Ying Feng gave him a look as if saying, ‘Are you an idiot?‘. “Are you sure the mushrooms you find with your intelligence are edible? Even if there are, are you planning to eat them raw?”

Ling Xiao felt insulted. “If not mushrooms, there are other things. I remember seeing a banana tree in the forest today.”

Ying Feng didn’t bother explaining that bananas don’t grow year-round. He opened his backpack, taking out half of his food to share.

Ying Feng had helped him out several times before, so Ling Xiao wasn’t polite and began to eat heartily. “I’ll get my living expenses next week and pay you back.”

“So you’ll be hungry again at the end of the next month?”

Ling Xiao was aggrieved. “My financial skills aren’t that bad, okay? I just don’t save money like you do.”

Ying Feng didn’t comment on the financial prowess of someone with no savings. Packing away his things, he failed to notice a bottle rolling out.

“What’s this? Healing medicine?” Ling Xiao asked as he picked it up. “Good, I haven’t treated my wound from today.”

Quickly, he sprayed the contents on his injured arm. By the time Ying Feng managed to retrieve the bottle, it was too late.

“Why were you so fast? Didn’t you check what it was?” Ying Feng was exasperated, but thankfully only a small amount had been sprayed.

“Isn’t it a wound healing spray? I’ve used it before.” Ling Xiao was puzzled, wondering why Ying Feng was generous with food but not his medicine.

“A lot of spray bottles look the same. Don’t you read labels?”

“…Oh.” Ling Xiao finally realized. “What is it then?”

Ying Feng thought, considering it was an inhibitor, it shouldn’t affect Ling Xiao, especially since he hadn’t awakened.

Ying Feng took the bottle back and said, “It’s none of your business. You wouldn’t need it anyway.”

Ling Xiao didn’t press further and quickly finished his meal. Full and at ease, he started feeling drowsy.

“Why aren’t you leaving?” Seeing Ling Xiao about to doze off, Ying Feng urged him to leave.

“Oh.” Ling Xiao got up, brushing dirt off his clothes. “I’ll go back to sleep then.”

Returning to his tent, he had another bizarre dream that night, as strange as the movie he’d watched a few nights ago.

Staying up late and dreaming resulted in Ling Xiao oversleeping the next morning. A tentmate had to drag him out of his sleeping bag.

“Ling Xiao, wake up! We’re about to gather!”

He reluctantly opened his eyes, then suddenly widened them in shock, startling his tentmate.

Half out of his sleeping bag, he quickly scrambled back in. “You go first. I’ll be right there.”

“Are you okay?” His tentmate was concerned, noting Ling Xiao’s sudden flushed face.

“I’m fine. Just go. Don’t be late.”

A person who hadn’t gotten out of bed was reminding another not to be late. The scene seemed completely illogical. The classmate mumbled and left. Once he was sure the classmate was gone and wouldn’t return, Ling Xiao finally sat up. He secretly pulled apart a small opening in his sleeping bag and, as expected, saw his overly enthusiastic lower half.

This was Ling Xiao’s first time dealing with such a situation. He had no idea what to do. Could he even put on pants like this? It would surely be noticeable. If discovered, he would definitely lose his field practice qualifications.

Frantically, he tried to recall how he had handled such a situation last time. He was taking a shower… Right, cold water!

There was no way he could take a cold shower in this environment. Holding his sleeping bag, he hopped over to his luggage, rummaging through it until he found an emergency ice pack. The ice pack was normally at room temperature, but once the seal was broken, the liquid inside would rapidly cool below freezing.

Without hesitation, Ling Xiao tore open the ice pack. As the surface quickly condensed with moisture, in his complete lack of knowledge and without considering the consequences, he placed the ice pack where it was needed most. The coldness was so intense that he let out a mournful scream.

Just at that moment, Ying Feng, who happened to be passing by, thought something terrible had happened inside the tent and opened the tent flap. “What happened?!”

“Don’t come in!” Startled, Ling Xiao quickly threw the ice pack at the intruder. In the ensuing chaos, he ended up tripping over his sleeping bag.

Luckily, Ying Feng was quick to catch the thrown ice pack, which gave him a jolt from its coldness. He then heard a thud. Setting down the ice pack, the scene before him was of Ling Xiao, wrapped tightly in his sleeping bag, sprawled on the ground in a very undignified manner, looking up at him with big eyes.

Ying Feng’s lips twitched. “What are you doing?”

The large caterpillar-like figure on the ground blinked innocently twice.

Forget it. Ying Feng threw the ice pack back, not wanting to get involved in the mess. However, just as he was about to close the tent, he heard Ling Xiao call out to him, “Wait!”

“What now?”

The tent flap was pulled open again, but Ling Xiao frantically gestured. “No, no, close it. Let me put on my pants first.”

After all the commotion, the once enthusiastic part of Ling Xiao finally calmed down. He managed to put on his pants, quickly threw on his shirt, grabbed a water bottle, and ran out to see Ying Feng waiting outside, evidently impatient.

“Done causing a scene?”

“There was a little accident,” Ling Xiao said sheepishly, holding up the water bottle. “I need to wash my hands.”

Ying Feng wasn’t amused. “Why?”

“Uh… I twisted my foot earlier and used the ice pack on it.”

Ying Feng really wanted to punch him at that moment.

The morning’s drama finally ended. Ling Xiao and Ying Feng both rushed to the assembly point, but they were still late.

The instructor was a straightforward person. With a wave of his hand, he ordered, “Run ten laps around the camp.”

Ling Xiao felt guilty. If not for him, Ying Feng wouldn’t have been late either. Seeing Ying Feng start without any explanation, Ling Xiao quickly followed, “Should I run for you?”

Without turning his head, Ying Feng retorted, “Didn’t you twist your foot?”

“…I recover fast.”

“No need.”

After completing the ten laps, they returned to find that all their classmates had disappeared, with only the instructor remaining.

The instructor had a plan in mind. He intended to recommend the two for the admission exam at the Royal Sky Military Academy. To do this, he needed to enhance their skills, and their tardiness that morning gave him an excellent excuse.

“Sir, where is everyone?” Ling Xiao looked around, puzzled. Both he and Ying Feng had maintained an even pace during the run, which impressed the instructor.

“Today is an endurance training day, mountain climbing with a load. The other students have already started.”

“Oh,” Ling Xiao replied, unfazed. “Can we still catch up?”

“Today, the two of you have a special training task,” the instructor interjected. “Endurance training isn’t enough for you. I hope you can take this opportunity to strengthen your combat training.”

“Combat?” Ling Xiao’s curiosity was piqued.

The instructor produced a chip similar to the one Zhen He had given them earlier. He threw it into the air, and it expanded into a map.

“This is the map of the entire mountain area. See the red dot? That’s our current location.”

“Mm,” Ling Xiao nodded.

The instructor pointed towards a faint blue area to their southwest. “There’s a lake here, and by its side grows a unique mushroom…”

Upon hearing this, Ling Xiao gave Ying Feng a triumphant look as if to say, “I told you there were mushrooms here.”

“…I want you to find that lake and bring back your assignment objectives. I have two sticks here. Whichever you draw, that’s your target,” the instructor finished, pulling out two boxes.

“I’ll go first.” Ling Xiao took one box, and Ying Feng took the other.

Upon opening his box, Ling Xiao saw a white glow, from which an image began to emerge.

“Mine’s a red mushroom,” he said before looking at Ying Feng’s. “Yours is a white one. Why does it look bigger than mine?”

The instructor replied cryptically, “Regardless of the type of mushroom, once it’s removed from its native soil, it’ll die within three minutes. The only solution is to transplant them, along with the soil, into the boxes I’ve given you. Remember, you must bring the mushroom back intact. It’s worth noting that this is the wild, and dangers you can’t anticipate may arise. So, both of you must stick together, understand?”

He displayed his tablet, showing the positions of every student marked by light points. “I’ll be monitoring your locations. If anyone acts alone without considering their partner, today’s grade will be annulled.”

Both ran towards their destination. The team doctor, who had listened to the entire exchange, appeared.

“The mushrooms they’re fetching, they’re Qi mushrooms, right?”

“Yes,” the instructor confirmed.

“You’re making one fetch the Zhu mushroom and the other the Zi mushroom*. Isn’t this just toying with them?”

*Clarity: The mushrooms are named after Qizhu and Qizi.

“This was also one of the questions for the entrance exam at the Royal Sky Military Academy last year. Those who apply for Royal Sky are strong, so the school has designed a question that’s neither too hard nor too easy, to test their on-the-spot teamwork.”

“When they’re on their own, both are competent. But those with strong individual skills can be very self-centered. I worry that this test of teamwork might be their biggest obstacle in the entrance exam.”

“So, you’re starting to nurture their synergy from now on?”

“I hope so. After all, for such mushrooms named after the unique partnership of the ‘Tianxiu’, they can’t be harvested by just one person.”

With the map’s guidance, they easily located the lake the instructor mentioned. In the woods by the lake, mushrooms of two colors grew everywhere.

Ling Xiao was right; the white mushrooms were indeed bigger than the red ones. Strangely, wherever they were, both types always grew together, never alone.

“There are so many mushrooms here,” Ling Xiao remarked in surprise. “Is it just as simple as taking them back?”

As he spoke, he pulled up a red mushroom. The moment it left the soil, it wilted rapidly, as if all its moisture had been forcibly drained.

“Watch out!” Before Ling Xiao could contemplate the mushroom’s rapid change, a powerful force pulled him backward.

Following Ying Feng’s warning, the white mushroom on the ground exploded. The blast was powerful, and Ling Xiao would’ve been injured had he remained there.

“What… What just happened?” Ling Xiao, shocked, stared at the red mushroom’s remains and the debris of the white one.

But before they could investigate further, a new enemy appeared. From the spot where the pair of mushrooms grew, a monstrous creature manifested, roaring and charging at them.

Ling Xiao reacted first, kicking the creature. Ying Feng moved behind it, targeting its neck with a knife-hand strike. The creature emitted a painful shriek and exhaled green smoke from its mouth.

“Be careful of its poison!” Ying Feng warned. Both leapt away. Ying Feng quickly drew a dagger from his waist and threw it, pinning the creature to a tree. Struck fatally, the creature howled and disappeared like smoke. If not for Ying Feng’s dagger embedded in the tree, the entire event would’ve seemed like an illusion.

After this lesson, they became more cautious. This time, Ying Feng carefully plucked a white mushroom. Seconds later, his face turned pale as he threw the mushroom, which exploded mid-air.

“Look!” Ling Xiao pointed to the ground. Without him mentioning it, Ying Feng noticed the red mushroom left in place had wilted just like before. After dealing with another mysterious creature, they realized that once one mushroom was pulled, both would die and summon a vengeful spirit-like entity. How could they possibly bring them back whole as the instructor requested?

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