CHAPTER 79: CALAMITY AFOOT

"Let's all settle down now," Gao Qingyu said in a calm manner. "Don't rush, let's discuss the matter slowly while we eat."

He poured himself a bowl of Iron Will Wine as he spoke, then took a sip before remarking, "Not bad! This is exactly what Gao Yunqi and Zhou Yi's breath smelled like that time they came to me for a heart-to-heart conversation."

"I copped the same treatment as well," Huang Yifan mused as he also took a sip of wine while glaring at Old Man Shen out of the corner of his eye.

Even though Fang Che and Old Man Shen had only eaten a little bit of the food on the table, as a woman, it still felt a little unsanitary to Meng Hejun, so she pulled out a few dishes from her spatial ring to replace the original ones, then pulled out two additional jars of wine as well.

After that, she also pulled out a jade bowl for herself. "Do any of you want a bowl? I have more than enough for all of us."

Huang Yifan, Gao Qingyu, and Old Man Shen shook their heads in response.

In their eyes, the wine was the key, the drinking utensil hardly mattered. Even if they were using an ashtray, as long as it was scrubbed clean, it could still hold wine just fine.

Meng Hejun filled her own bowl, then raised it as she said, "It's been a very long time since we've all sat together at the same table, so I propose a toast. You can sit down as well, Fang Che. It must feel awkward for you standing over us like this."

"You three can have some food first. I'm worried that you won't have the heart to eat after hearing what I have to say," Old Man Shen sighed.

Meng Hejun, Huang Yifan, and Gao Qingyu exchanged a glance with one another, and it was clear that whatever news Old Man Shen had to share with them was very grim indeed.

With that in mind, they began eating as quickly as they could, not wanting to delay Old Man Shen for any longer than necessary.

Clearly, they had a great deal of trust in Old Man Shen, and Fang Che imagined that they would've been comrades fighting alongside one another in the past.

After a quick meal, the table was cleared.

"So what's going on?" Meng Hejun asked as she wiped her own mouth and hands with a white handkerchief.

"Tell them what you just told me. Make it as detailed as possible, and don't skip anything," Old Man Shen instructed as he turned to Fang Che.

It was clear from Old Man Shen's earlier reaction that this was no laughing matter, and Fang Che was feeling a little anxious.

Hence, he gave everyone a detailed recount of his run-ins with Wei Zihao, sparing no detail no matter how minor, just as Old Man Shen instructed.

After hearing Fang Che's story, the expressions of Gao Qingyu's trio had darkened considerably, and they now fully understood why Old Man Shen had told them to eat first before hearing the news.

Meng Hejun's brows were tightly furrowed as she raised an unexpected question: "You mentioned discovering a Blood Spirit Ginseng in the forest, right?"

In Fang Che's mind, this was only a minor detail in his recount of events, so he had brushed over it without much thought or elaboration, and he certainly wasn't expecting Meng Hejun to make it the focal point of her attention.

However, at the same time, Meng Hejun's question also sparked his own intrigue.

"Now that I think about it, I did wonder how there could possibly be a Blood Spirit Ginseng growing in an environment where everything else appeared so malnourished, but I didn't think much of it."

"What do you mean by that?" Meng Hejun asked as she focused a sharp gaze on Fang Che, causing him to give him a pained groan.

Meng Hujun's intense gaze felt like two heavy blows to the face for Fang Che, almost knocking him out of his chair.

Only then did Meng Hejun realize that she had inadvertently unleashed a psychic attack on Fang Che, such was the intensity of her focus.

A warrior of Huang Yifan's caliber wouldn't even have noticed such a thing, but Fang Che's cultivation base was so far below theirs that it felt like a direct physical attack.

Meng Hejun hurriedly reined in her intensity as she gave Fang Che an apologetic look, but she didn't say anything for fear of interrupting his train of thought.

Fang Che took a moment to compose himself, then explained, "While I was in that area of the forest, I noticed that the plant life there was different from elsewhere in the forest."

"How so?"

"It all seemed very malnourished. The leaves were very thin and dull, and the trees were all older than the ones in other parts of the forest, but nowhere near as tall or thick. A century-old pine tree should at least have the same diameter as a large bowl, but the ones in that section of the forest were only around the same diameter as a teacup.

“On top of that, as soon as I entered that area, I was immediately struck by a sense of unease, like stumbling into a graveyard in the dead of night. Hence, after securing 299 points and ensuring that I would make the top hundred, I immediately left. As a result, I arrived at the academy about a week earlier than most of the other students, and the sense of unease faded as soon as I left that section of the forest."

"No wonder your points total didn't increase beyond 299 after the first day," Huang Yifan remarked, and he couldn't help but be impressed with how alert Fang Che was.

"So how does that relate to the Blood Spirit Ginseng?" Meng Hejun asked, looking extremely anxious.

"My thought at the time was, if even normal plants are so malnourished in this area of the forest, there should be no way a natural treasure like a Blood Spirit Ginseng can grow here!"

"You're right. Malnourished plants indicate barren soil, so there should be no way any natural treasures can grow there. Furthermore, it's even more suspicious that it was a Blood Spirit Ginseng. Normally, spirit ginsengs are all white in color, and only very rarely will you see specimens the color of blood," Meng Hejun mused in a grim voice.

"So who claimed the Blood Spirit Ginseng in the end? Wei Zihao?" Gao Qingyu asked.

"I'm not sure, but Wei Zihao appeared determined to secure the Blood Spirit Ginseng, and he has the full backing of a ninth-tier clan, so I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to pay off everyone else and secure the ginseng for himself."

"What other students were there? Do you still remember their names?" Gao Qingyu asked in an urgent manner.

"I only recall Kang Zijian and Qing Ziyue. I can't recall anyone else."

"That should be enough!" Gao Qingyu said, then turned to Huang Yifan. "Go now, and make sure to keep it confidential."

"I'm not your errand boy!" Huang Yifan grumbled, but still complied and rushed out of the room like the wind.

In the wake of Huang Yifan's departure, the room fell into a tense and grim silence.

"When did you first discover the darkness in Wei Zihao's complexion?" Gao Qingyu asked.

"During the new student tournament. I saw him in the crowd, and I remember being surprised by how dark he'd gotten over the course of just a few days," Fang Che replied.

"What about after that? Do you still recall how his complexion changed from there?"

"I always picked on him on the side when I beat up Huo Churan as they were in the same class, and each time I went, I noticed that his complexion had grown a little darker. The last time I confronted him, the darkness took on the shape of a face, and I felt really unsettled by that, so I came to ask Elder Shen about it."

This was all entirely true, and at this point, it had become very apparent to Fang Che that this discovery of his was far more significant than he first imagined.

While Gao Qingyu was asking the questions, Meng Hejun was in deep thought.

Gao Qingyu's questions became more and more specific, and there were some questions that he even asked multiple times.

As more questions were asked, Gao Qingyu and Meng Hejun's expressions darkened further and further, and even a hint of fear had arisen in their eyes.

Shortly thereafter, Huang Yifan swept into the room like a gust of wind.

"Wei Zihao was the one that secured the Blood Spirit Ginseng in the end. He paid everyone else off using silver and cultivation resources."

There was a look of fury, concern, and resignation on his face as he sighed, "That idiot! You can't just go around sticking anything in your mouth!"

"Who did you ask?" Gao Qingyu asked.

"I went to their instructors, then questioned the student by the name of Kang Zijian. Kang Zijian had a very clear recollection of events, which is no surprise, considering he received significant compensation from Wei Zihao over this matter.

“At the time, Wei Zihao tried to pay everyone off, but quite a few people were unwilling. However, there was only one Blood Spirit Ginseng, and no one was confident in their ability to outcompete everyone else for it, so in the end, everyone ultimately agreed to accept the compensation."

"Did you instruct anyone to keep an eye on Kang Zijian after you questioned him?"

"Of course. Kang Zijian has already been taken away by his instructors, and he won't be attending classes for the next few days, so this is definitely going to be kept strictly confidential."

"Good."

Gao Qingyu rose to his feet and began pacing back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back.

"It seems that the Blood Spirit Ginseng is the key to everything. My guess is that Wei Zihao most likely ate it as soon as he got his hands on it!"