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墨書 Inktalez
"Why? Why is it that you let him in but not us? This is unfair!"
"Exactly, this is unfair!"
"Hmph, you think you deserve fairness? You should look at your own worth! Who gets in and who doesn't is our decision. If you have any complaints, feel free to take it up with Elder Qian."
As soon as the name of Elder Qian was mentioned, the few disciples who had been feeling good about themselves immediately lost their spirit.
One of them muttered in frustration, "What a narrow-minded view!"
Seeing the gatekeeper's angry expression, he quickly took a few steps back and hurried down the mountain, followed closely by the others.
If we can't go up the mountain, then so be it. After all, we only have one chance today; we can always wait until tomorrow.
"Forget it, Meng Shidi. Coming back tomorrow will be the same."
One of the disciples called Meng Shidi grumbled in dissatisfaction, "How can it be the same? The herbs I pick are all fresh. If I miss the time, they'll lose their potency."
"If we come back tomorrow, how will I complete my task? Wouldn't that mean I've made a wasted trip?"
The others exchanged glances; there was nothing they could do—this was Elder Qian's order after all.
"By the way, I have important matters to attend to in town, so I'll take my leave first."
"I'll leave too."
One by one, they clasped their fists in farewell, leaving only Meng Shidi behind, pacing back and forth with a deep frown on his face.
As he wallowed in his frustration, a clear voice suddenly rang out.
"If you can't get in directly, why not think of another way?"
Meng Yuan looked up and saw a strange figure perched on a tree branch. He didn't even have time to be surprised; feeling annoyed, he retorted, "It's easy for you to say that—why don't you help me think of a solution?"
In the next moment, two fingers were waved in front of him.
He looked up and met a pair of bright, smiling eyes.
The person grinned and said, "Money can make even ghosts push mills; haven't you heard?"
Meng Yuan swallowed hard; he felt a flicker of temptation. However, he was barely getting by himself—where would he find extra spirit stones to bribe others?
He tightened his grip on his pouch and turned away defiantly. "There's no way I'm giving money to that bunch of freeloaders."
"Hey, don't be so rigid! If you don't pay up, are you really willing to watch your hard work go to waste? Picking herbs isn't easy either, right?"
Meng Yuan found himself wavering at those words.
Common herbs had already been mass-produced and were clearly priced; they could easily be bought at the Apothecary. However, the herbs required for tasks were rare and had strict growing conditions.
Not to mention how difficult they were to pick; just finding them was often a matter of luck. Therefore, completing such tasks usually came with generous rewards. If he missed this opportunity, whether he could find the same type of herb again was uncertain.
Meng Yuan hesitated for a long time, but ultimately could not resist the temptation of the generous reward. Gritting his teeth, he made his decision. However, to his surprise, the gatekeeper disciples were adamant about not letting him in.
"Fine, I'll give you another mid-grade spirit stone," he offered. "This is the highest price I can offer, so don't push your luck."
The small bag of spirit stones made the gatekeeper disciples wince just by looking at it. Although it wasn't their own spirit stones, refusing it felt like carving out a piece of flesh from their own bodies.
Elder Zhao had issued a strict order: anyone whose identity could not be confirmed was not allowed entry.
Confirming identity? Meng Yuan's eyes flickered as an idea struck him. "So you want to confirm my identity, right? Alright, I'll be straightforward. The herbs I collected this time are for Sister Liang from the Medicine Hall. If you don't believe me, feel free to ask her directly or bring her over to verify my identity."
After a moment of hesitation, the gatekeeper disciples thought this was a viable solution. It would confirm his identity and allow them to collect spirit stones.
No, that wasn’t their primary goal; they were there to better serve the other disciples.
After summoning a water mirror to contact Sister Liang from the Medicine Hall, the gatekeeper disciples confirmed that there indeed was a Meng Yuan among the outer disciples, and both his name and face matched.
They unceremoniously took the spirit stones and waved him through.
"Wait for me!" Meng Yuan called out as he ran a short distance back to find Qi Xiao.
"Brother, thank you! If it weren't for your encouragement, I might still be hesitating," he said gratefully. "I see you squatting here; you must also be a disciple of Yun Palace, right? Have you been stopped by them too?"
"I just verified my identity; I'll take you in with me," Qi Xiao replied with surprise. "How can I do that?"
He immediately pulled out two mid-grade spirit stones and shoved them into Meng Yuan's hands.
Meng Yuan swallowed hard, his eyes widening in disbelief. "This isn't right."
Earlier, Senior Brother had negotiated with those disciples and spent quite a bit. Since Senior Brother was willing to take him along, he felt he should share some of the burden. If Senior Brother refused, he would feel uneasy.
Although Meng Yuan initially wanted to refuse, he found himself swallowing those words again in front of the two spirit stones.
These two spirit stones were worth more than what he had just paid; not only did he not lose out, but he also made a small profit.
He stuffed the spirit stones back into his bag and assured Qi Xiao with a somewhat dazed expression, "It's all good."
With Meng Yuan vouching for him, the two gatekeeper disciples naturally had no doubts. However, having just taken advantage of Meng Yuan once and seeing another opportunity arise made them feel a twinge of greed.
Qi Xiao understood the situation clearly. Just as he was about to take out the spirit stones, he was suddenly stopped by Meng Yuan.
Meng Yuan stood in front of Qi Xiao, a hint of anger in his voice. "You all just took so many spirit stones from me; isn't that enough? Are you planning to collect spirit stones from every disciple you see? Using your position for personal gain—aren't you afraid I'll report this to Elder Qian? A little greed is acceptable, but being insatiable is going too far."
The gatekeeping disciples immediately felt guilty, awkwardly touching their noses and chuckling nervously. "No, no! We didn't mean it that way; you've misunderstood us." They quickly let them pass.
Once inside the Cloud Palace, Meng Yuan was eager to complete his task, while Qi Xiao had other matters to attend to, so they clasped their fists in farewell.
As Qi Xiao pondered how to discreetly ask for directions, he suddenly spotted a group of patrolling disciples passing through the square, heading deeper into the palace. He quickly followed behind them.
Meanwhile, inside the Cloud Palace, several young girls sat together with tears in their eyes, quietly sobbing.
"Sister Jiang, do you really think there is a Dragon Lord? Are we just being sent to our deaths?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"Throwing a few living people into the water—how could anyone survive that?"
"Sister Jiang, I miss my parents. I don't want to be here; I'm so scared."
"Mm-hmm."
Ji Linglong responded absentmindedly while holding a jade talisman, occasionally glancing around. Qi Xiao said he had been here before; where was he? Why hadn’t he arrived yet?
Suddenly, the jade talisman in her hand trembled slightly. Ji Linglong glanced down at it and silently tucked it back into her sleeve, gathering the girls closer together.
"I have a way for us to escape. Do you want to try?"
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