Chapter Eleven: You Know Too Much

Qian Qi had intended to send Su Xingle away, but upon hearing that she planned to spend the night in the mountains, Su Xingle hesitated for quite a while before ultimately deciding to stay.

He was genuinely worried about Qian Qi. After all, in his eyes, no matter how much of a hooligan she might be, she was still a girl, and it was unsafe for her to be alone in the mountains in the middle of the night. Of course, the primary reason was that the dorms were already locked at this hour, and neither of them could get back.

He sat obediently by the experimental plot, staring at the lone little seedling emerging from the vast patch of dirt, and asked out of curiosity, "What are you growing here?"

"A Fire Qilin Lotus," Qian Qi said, busy mixing compound fertilizer. She added a warning, "You’d better stay back. Its roots have teeth and are extremely aggressive; they could tear your throat right out."

Su Xingle jumped back in fright, remembering the bandage wrapped around Qian Qi’s neck, and couldn't help but ask, "Have you been bitten?"

Qian Qi chuckled eerily. "Yeah, I was bitten to death."

Su Xingle: ...

Su Xingle naturally didn't believe her. He watched in silence as Qian Qi poured the fertilizer onto the soil and tossed a large, two-pound slab of bloody magical beast meat right next to the seedling.

"Is that it?" he asked, intrigued.

"Yep." Qian Qi activated her optical computer’s camera to record the seedling. Moments later, Su Xingle noticed the soil in the experimental plot beginning to move on its own.

"What’s happening?" He couldn't help but swallow hard, hiding behind Qian Qi while peeking out—a vivid display of someone both timid and unable to resist getting a closer look.

Qian Qi narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on her hoe.

In the recording, after the soil shifted for a moment, several slender lotus roots suddenly broke through the surface. Like black whips, they thrashed wildly in the air. Their surfaces were lined with two rows of dense, tiny, sharp teeth. After probing the area for a moment, they violently coiled around the beast meat and flung it high into the air.

The tough, thick chunk of meat was instantly shredded by the frenzied roots. The sharp teeth gaped open, chewing the meat with a crunching sound like wild beasts. It looked like a group of starving beggars who had crashed a royal banquet; once full, they threw the precious, delicious food around carelessly, pathologically venting their wild joy.

Bits of cold, raw flesh splattered through the air, causing Su Xingle to gasp in horror.

Qian Qi’s expression darkened. The memories of how the original owner died suddenly surged back to her.

That night, "Qian Qi" had arrived with sulfuric acid, intending to dissolve the Fire Qilin Lotus.

However, the Fire Qilin Lotus had an incredibly developed root system. A mature one had roots capable of strangling two grown men. When "Qian Qi" poured the acid, seven lotus roots instantly erupted from the ground, baring their sharp teeth to attack her.

"Qian Qi" had reacted quickly, raising her hoe to smash at the roots. But the surface defense of the Fire Qilin Lotus’s roots was tougher than most E-grade magical plants. She had struggled immensely to smash six of the roots, only to have a much thicker root suddenly emerge from beneath the soil and clamp down on her throat.

The excruciating pain drove "Qian Qi" into a frenzy as she smashed the final two roots. She gripped the Fire Qilin fruit tightly, wanting to head down the mountain to seek help, but having lost too much blood during the fight, she collapsed from exhaustion and eventually lost her life.

Qian Qi rubbed her aching temples. In truth, she felt that if the original owner had just read a book and learned that a Fire Qilin Lotus has a maximum of eight main roots, and had been a bit more prepared, she never would have died.

And she wouldn't have ended up in this godforsaken world.

"Hey? They're going back!" Su Xingle suddenly exclaimed.

Qian Qi looked over and saw the roots retreating into the soil after finishing the meat. Soon, however, several much smaller roots emerged, picking at the scraps left behind by the larger ones. Finally, they extended their tiny root tips to greedily absorb the magical beast blood soaked into the soil. Once satisfied, they, too, slipped back under the earth, and all went quiet.

Qian Qi took a spray bottle from her pocket, misted the area around the seedling, and stepped into the experimental plot.

Su Xingle immediately tensed up. "Qian Qi, be careful!"

"It's fine. I used an inhibitor." The Fire Qilin Lotus was highly reactive to sodium bicarbonate solution; once the specialized inhibitor was sprayed, the roots wouldn't emerge.

She pulled out a measuring tape to check the seedling’s length and discovered that in this short time, it had grown by a full centimeter—and it showed no signs of stopping. It seemed magical beast meat really did accelerate the growth of magical plants.

Qian Qi recorded the data, then pulled up her system interface to draft a report on her optical computer, following the analysis she had done earlier.

Su Xingle peeked at it, surprised. Although he was a student in the Magical Beast Department, he often performed experiments involving the dissection of beasts. Even if he couldn't fully grasp the data on the magical plants, he could see the organized precision of her report—it was definitely not something a slacker could produce.

"Qian Qi, are you some kind of hidden genius?" Su Xingle felt as though he had stumbled upon a massive secret.

Qian Qi gave him a cold look. "You know too much."

Su Xingle: *Zipper-lips.gif*

Qian Qi checked the time. It was just past midnight. Under the guise of using her optical computer, she analyzed three more magical plant seeds, one by one, recording their cultivation methods. Once she had finished, she shouldered her hoe and resumed her diligent toil.

When Li Shuyun came up the mountain the next morning, Qian Qi and Su Xingle had already left.

Li Shuyun stood by the experimental plot, staring at the Fire Qilin Lotus, which had already sprouted small flower buds. Her beautiful face was filled with indescribable shock.

Qian Qi had grown this?

Wasn't the growth of these buds a little too healthy? It had taken her a full seven days and a significant amount of nutrients and potions just to get the lotus to sprout buds, and even then, those buds had been yellow and malnourished, ready to wither at any moment.

But Qian Qi... had cultivated healthy buds in just two days. Li Shuyun found the fact difficult to digest.

What on earth had she done?

She was supposed to be nothing but a slacker! Could it be that even a blind cat occasionally catches a dead mouse?

Recalling how confident Qian Qi had looked, Li Shuyun pondered for a while, then took out a sealable bag and collected a sample of the soil. She then checked the fertilizer bags nearby, trying to deduce which ones Qian Qi had used based on how much had been consumed.

But unfortunately, because Qian Qi was also cultivating other plants, Li Shuyun was destined to never get the right answer.

A few days later, Qian Qi’s Fire Qilin Lotus matured.

Looking at the three plump, vibrant red Fire Qilin fruits nestled in the center of the lotus head, Qian Qi shed tears of excitement.

Hard work truly pays off! She had finally succeeded in growing the lotus. Not only that, but a plant that usually produced only one fruit had yielded three, and the quality was superb!

Qian Qi sprayed the inhibitor, intending to take a closer look at the fruits. However, the moment she leaned in, a thick, sturdy lotus root violently burst through the soil, striking directly at her!