Chapter 38: Liang Xiaole
“Oh, by the way, Changyang Xiang Tian, how did you detect us?” A middle aged man asked, his tone full of curiosity.
The other three teachers were curious to know as well as they stared at Jian Chen. The four of them were extremely interested in knowing how they were detected while hiding in the tall grass because they had not made a single sound or made any movement, so there was no way that they would have been noticed by Jian Chen.
Jian Chen laughed and said, “I had found out the moment the honorable teachers arrived.”
“What! You found out the moment we arrived? How is that possible?” The woman cried out in disbelief.
The other 3 people couldn’t believe what Jian Chen said either.
Jian Chen opened his mouth, “While I was fighting the pack of wolves, I was still paying attention to my surroundings. Otherwise, we might have been subjected to random attacks from someone else; how would I dare lose track of what was happening around me at such a crucial point?”
Hearing this, the four teachers nodded, approving of what Jian Chen had just said.
Jian Chen continued to explain, “The honorable teachers didn’t make a single sound at all, but when you arrived I saw a bunch of obvious movements, so I found out since the very beginning.”
Hearing this, the four people realized their mistakes as the elder sighed in admiration, “Amazing, just amazing! Changyang Xiang Tian, I really have no other choice but to admire you. And to think that when I was your age, I was nowhere near the level you are now.” The elder then paused before saying, “Since you students aren’t in any danger, then we’ll take our leave now, after all, there are still students to save.” Although the elder had said that, he looked as if he was reluctant to leave.
“Please wait!” Jian Chen suddenly cried out towards the four teachers. Pointing at Liang Xiaole who was still hiding in the tree, he said, “Honored teacher, could you please help escort this student out? She doesn’t have the courage to stay here any longer.”
The teacher frowned as he thought about it, “This won’t be a problem, but even if she hands over two Class 1 Monster Cores, this will still be considered as a loss. After all, she didn’t stay here for all 3 days.”
“No, I won’t leave, I’ll definitely stay here for all 3 days.” Liang Xiaole said from the treetop as she dropped 5 or 6 meters down onto the ground. In one long stride she went over to where Jian Chen was.
“Hey, these four teachers can take you out of this forest so you won’t have to worry about magical beasts hurting you. Why don’t you want to go home?” Tie Ta was rather discontent, since Liang Xiaole was really too cowardly. The moment she saw a magical beast she cried out loud; this really annoyed Tia Ta…
Liang Xiaole looked at Tie Ta timidly and whispered, “I don’t want to go.”
“Could it be you’re no longer afraid of magical beasts?” Tie Ta asked curiously.
“I am!”
“So you’re scared after all, then why don’t you want to get out of here?”
“Because you two are still here.”
With such a straightforward answer, Tie Ta couldn’t find a response.
Jian Chen looked at Liang Xiaole helplessly before trying to persuade her, “Liang Xiaole, you should go with the teachers, the magical beasts in this forest are many, and so there’s no guarantee that we can protect you.”
Liang Xiaole’s face became miserable as she realized that she would need to depend on Jian Chen. Imploring, she said, “Senior, please let me go with you, this was my first time seeing a magical beast and the first time I’ve been here. That’s why I was scared initially. But I guarantee you, the next time we come across a magical beast, I won’t cry out loud.” After experiencing Jian Chen’s and Tie Ta’s strengths, Liang Xiaole wouldn’t have to worry about getting into any trouble with those two around. Plus, Liang Xiaole had clearly that the four teachers all said that the 2nd region of the forest had nothing that they couldn’t handle. So with such good protection, there was no way she would give up that easily.
Jian Chen suddenly felt a headache coming. Liang Xiaole was a pampered noble since birth, so she would definitely be a burden to them. When they battled any magical beasts in the future, they would have to look after her as well.
“Changyang Xiang Tian, with you and Tie Ta, there are no magical beasts in the 2nd region that can pose a threat to you. so you might as well take her along. Students should look out for one another. And besides, for you two, this shouldn’t even be considered a test anymore.” Laughed the middle-aged woman.
Jian Chen inwardly sighed in exasperation. Since even the teachers wanted Liang Xiaole to tag along, he couldn’t find any reasons to object.
Although Jian Chen was giving in, Tie Ta was still not satisfied, but he didn’t say anything. After this first day, he had already started to see Jian Chen as the pillar of the team. Whatever his decision was, Tie Ta would not object to it. Jian Chen’s mind was better at strategy and he had more experience dealing with beasts than Tie Ta’s. So it could be said that no matter what, Tie Ta would concede to Jian Chen.
After the four teachers left, Jian Chen and Tie Ta didn’t pay attention to Liang Xiaole and instead went to the dead bodies of the Blue Wolves. Since it was over 20 Class 1 Monster Cores, they wouldn’t dare to squander this.
Because the monster cores of the Blue Wolves were in their heads, Tie Ta and Jian Chen were trying to find a way to extract them. They definitely needed to strike and break at the part of the head where the monster core was, so Liang Xiaole’s face went pale as she observed them. Perhaps Liang Xiaole had changed only slightly, it was almost as if she no longer felt out of her league. With great difficulty, she was able to quell the cowardly nature within her, as she diligently watched Jian Chen and Tie Ta work at extracting the cores. It was almost as if she was learning from the experience.
The night passed quickly and peacefully after the initial Blue Wolves raid.
As the dawn sun slowly rose over the edge of the horizon, the cross-legged Jian Chen finished his cultivation, and stood up to stretch.
Just as Jian Chen stood up, he heard Tie Ta start to awaken as well. He followed Jian Chen up, and although the two were in the middle of cultivating, they were still aware of their surroundings. They had put up a guard while cultivating, and as long as the wind blew through the tall grass, then the pair would be able to track anyone.
“Tie Ta, go find some dry branches for the fire. I’ll go fetch the magical beast meat; it’s about time we prepare some breakfast,” Jian Chen said.
“Oh!” Without any objects, Tie Ta turned around and entered the forest to search for some dry firewood.
Soon after, Tie Ta carried over a pile of dry firewood. At the same time, Jian Chen had prepared a huge chunk of bloody magical beast meat from the Blue Wolves that had been killed by them last night.
Since there were no sources of water in the area, the magical beast meat was not washed. Instead, it was directly skewered with some sticks, and was placed above the bonfire to begin roasting.
Not long after, the roasted magical beast meat began to emit a fragrant aroma. Although it did not have any spices, the quality of the magical beast meat was originally high. Moreover, the higher the class of the magical beast, the more delicious its meat would taste, and the more beneficial it was to the body. It was said that a Class 5 Magical Beast’s meat could even boost one’s strength.
Perhaps because she could smell the magical beast meat’s fragrance, Liang Xiaole awoke from her nap on top of the tree, and jumped down. The 5-6 meter height was nothing to Liang Xiaole, who had reached the 8th Saint Force layer.
“Wa…it smells so good.” Liang Xiaole bounced over to the bonfire, and seeing the golden magical beast meat dripping in rich oils, she could not help but swallow hard. Although she had eaten many exotic delicacies, she had never eaten wild game like this before. After all, eating the same type of meat for so long, one would obviously think of anything else as more appetizing, even if it was just some cabbage.
Tie Ta shot a dissatisfied glance at Liang Xiaole, and murmured in a quiet voice, “Last night you were crying so loudly; now you’ve forgotten about it all so quickly. I hope that when we encounter more magical beasts later, you won’t start wailing again.”
Tie Ta’s voice was extremely soft and unclear. Most likely, aside from himself, nobody would have been able to clearly hear what he had whispered, even Jian Chen.
Liang Xiaole looked at Tie Ta in curiosity, “Tie Ta, what are you saying?” Last night, the four teachers had called out Jian Chen’s and Tie Ta’s names, so Liang Xiaole had already learned their identities.
“Ah, nothing.” Tie Ta waved his hands as if he was feeling guilty for something.
Liang Xiaole didn’t pay any mind to it. She gazed at Jian Chen and Tie Ta and smiled, “No wonder you two are so powerful that you can kill 20 Class 1 Magical Beasts. It turns out that you two are actually Tie Ta and Changyang Xiang Tian. The fact that I was able to meet you two was really great luck.” The current Liang Xiaole seemed to be an entirely different person from the person yesterday evening. After only a single night, she seemed to already have pushed yesterday’s events to the back of her mind. Now, her face didn’t show a single trace of fear and dread from the thought of magical beasts.
Jian Chen lifted the well cooked magical beast meat, and then ripped of a section, throwing it over to Liang Xiaole, asking, “There are a lot of magical beasts in this forest. Moreover, if we don’t stay for 3 more days, then we definitely cannot leave. Aren’t you afraid?”
Liang Xiaole accepted the piece of magical beast meat, and while she lightly chewed it, she said, “Although I’m still scared, I believe that I will eventually get used to it. In addition , the two of you are not much older than me, yet you both faced those fierce Blue Wolves last night without a trace of fear. The two of you even managed to slaughter all of them. This is much more impressive than those other boys. Hmph, those boys were so useless; the five of them together couldn’t defeat a single magical beast. In the end, their incompetence forced me to get separated from my sisters.”
Liang Xiaole suddenly stood up, and loudly declared, “I’ve decided now. I will definitely use these next two days to properly learn from you two seniors.”
Hearing this, Jian Chen inwardly nodded to himself. Liang Xiaole’s statement had already gained Jian Chen’s approval. Although she was timid, and was extremely afraid of magical beasts, that wasn’t important. The most important factor was she was willing to change her ways, and to learn more.
After all, nobody was born with the ability do and understand everything. All knowledge retained is a result of one going out to learn it. Of course, Jian Chen was an exception.
On the other hand, Liang Xiaole was born as the eldest daughter in a noble household. She had been spoiled since she was young, and had grown up in a sheltered environment. Obviously, she had never experienced any hardships. Thus, it was to be expected that she would inevitably be frightened during her first encounter with a savage magical beast. After all, this was the equivalent to an average person meeting a ghost for the first time; anyone would feel fear.