Chapter Ten: Do Not Dwell on Such Details

Qian Qixin nodded with relief. "I knew it—classmate Miao Miao wouldn’t just abandon me."

She stood up, slipped on her jacket, quickly freshened up, and, just like yesterday, grabbed her textbook and stepped downstairs in her flip-flops.

Chen Miaomiao followed closely behind, tempted to shove her down the stairs, but thinking of Qian Qi’s tough and resilient nature—almost like a cockroach—she abandoned the thought.

She wasn’t some dull cannon fodder; if she wanted to get rid of Qian Qi, she needed an alibi and absolutely couldn’t let herself be suspected.

Qian Qi looked a bit disappointed. “Why didn’t she make a move? I was even planning to defend myself and kick her down the stairs.”

The blue screen displayed: [So, who’s the villain here? You or her?]

Qian Qi waved off the details, not worth worrying about.

After breakfast, Qian Qi dove back into the back mountain, newly analyzing three types of magical plant seeds, planting them carefully in the experimental field, tending to them with utmost care.

Then she darted around the back mountain again.

There were quite a few students in the Magical Plant Academy—over a thousand across four grades. So while Qian Qi was running about the back mountain, many students were also there, recording their magical plants’ growth.

They were clearly curious about the rare visitor “Qian Qi,” but also somewhat worried.

“That lunatic suddenly showed up in the back mountain?”

“Who knows? Hopefully she won’t uproot all the magical plants we painstakingly grew.”

“I don’t think so. She’s bad at studying and probably doesn’t even know the weaknesses of magical plants. She won’t survive if she tangles with them.”

“That’s not for sure,” whispered a senior student. “You guys might not know, but Qian Qi stole Li Shuyun’s Fire Qilin Fruit a couple of days ago. I heard that the Fire Qilin Lotus was smashed with a hoe.”

“Wow! The Fire Qilin Lotus has strong defense and offense—how could Qian Qi have turned the tables on it?”

“That’s not all. I heard she wanted to eat the Fire Qilin Fruit, but for some reason, she suddenly returned it to Li Shuyun.”

“Is she crazy? Eating Fire Qilin Fruit? Everyone knows you can’t eat magical plant fruits raw!”

The seniors crouched together, their voices rising and falling as they discussed, their impression of Qian Qi’s madness growing stronger. One couldn’t help but complain, “I don’t know how her parents raised her to be this crazy.”

Qian Qi herself was also curious how her original parents had educated her.

Unfortunately, her fragmented memories held no trace of parents; even the contacts in her light brain had no family or friends.

There was one fixed contact without a label, but Qian Qi didn’t dare call, unsure who it was.

“I hope I don’t end up with a family background full of nothing but troublesome oddballs,” she silently prayed. Otherwise, she wasn’t sure who would be worse off.

***

At night, a cool breeze swept over the hill. The grotesque magical plants swayed their branches, casting eerie shadows under the moonlight. Occasionally, low, hoarse noises echoed through the dark, chilly forest, stirring unease and fear.

Su Xingle stood at the foot of the hill, a plastic box filled with magical beast meat by his feet. The cold wind made him shiver, and he rubbed his arms, trying not to pay attention to the magical plants.

At this hour, most students of the magical plant department were sound asleep. He couldn’t understand why Qian Qi wanted him to deliver the magical beast meat so late at night.

After waiting a while without seeing her, Su Xingle opened his light brain and poked her.

[Su Cheng, Young Master]: Where are you? Why haven’t you come down yet?

[I Am Your Uncle]: Are you anxious?

[Su Cheng, Young Master]: Not really anxious…

Mainly, he was a little scared. He had heard some magical plants could move on their own, though the academy forbade planting such mobile magical plants.

[I Am Your Uncle]: If you’re not in a hurry, turn around.

Su Xingle turned in confusion—and then faced Qian Qi’s smiling face.

He was instantly terrified. “Wha—when did you get here? How come I didn’t hear a thing?”

“Help me carry this up,” Qian Qi said, shouldering a hoe, making it inconvenient for her to carry the box. She expertly ordered Su Xingle around.

Su Xingle dared not refuse and quickly picked up the plastic box to follow her.

They walked along the safe path. Though called “safe,” it simply meant being farther from the experimental fields and outside the magical plants’ attack range. As they walked, Su Xingle clearly heard the cracking of twigs under their feet, eerily loud in the silent night.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw magical plants stretching their branches, trying to attack. Nervous, he spoke up to ease his tension.

“Um, Qian Qi, aren’t you scared?”

Qian Qi glanced back coolly and let out a faint laugh. “Guess why I brought a hoe?”

Su Xingle thought hard. “For defense? So if a magical plant attacks us, you can fight back with the hoe?”

Qian Qi shook her head. “Wrong. It’s to make sure that if you get torn apart by the magical plants, I have a hoe to dig a pit and bury the evidence.”

Su Xingle: ???

Now he was even more scared.

He was wrong—not the magical plants but Qian Qi was far more terrifying!!!

***

After nearly twenty minutes, they finally arrived. Qian Qi opened the plastic box and saw the legendary magical beast meat.

On the surface, it looked much like beef but was firmer. She pinched it—it was all solid, tough muscle.

So tough—would the Fire Qilin Lotus even be able to digest this?

“Is this hard to handle?” She turned to ask Su Xingle.

“Not really. I know a senior who graduated recently; he happens to have a channel to buy fresh magical beast meat.”

“Oh?” Qian Qi’s interest was piqued. “What kinds of sources are there for magical beast meat?”

“There are three,” Su Xingle explained. “One: Awakened ones enter dungeons to hunt magical beasts, then bring out the corpses. They sell valuable parts to the Magical Beast Research Institute, and the leftover meat is sold to beast tamers as food for their contracted beasts.”

“Two: The Magical Beast Research Institute sells it officially on their website. Though pricier, the supply is abundant and prices stable. Plus, there’s nationwide express delivery, so you don’t have to wait at dungeon entrances for Awakened ones.”

“Three…” Su Xingle hesitated. “Like the senior I mentioned who works at the institute—he has many hidden perks, including exclusive sales rights. He buys magical beast meat cheaply within the institute and resells it.”

Qian Qi pondered. If she ever wanted to open a factory to produce hemostatic potions, securing a supplier of magical beast meat beforehand would be crucial. If she could connect with someone at the institute—like Su Xingle’s senior...

But there’s also the middleman’s markup.

Qian Qi probed, “If your senior leaves the job, does he still keep the exclusive sales rights?”

Su Xingle nodded. “Yes.”

Aha!

Qian Qi was delighted. In that case, she could just work at the Magical Beast Research Institute herself. Once she got the exclusive sales rights, she’d slip away!

Though she vaguely remembered that to enter the institute, one needed a degree and diploma in the Magical Beast Department. Looks like she couldn’t avoid changing majors.

Very well!

For affordable, quality magical beast meat, she’d work hard to earn money and head toward the Magical Beast Department!

A honeyed, sweet retirement life awaits me~