The Entry-plundering Demon Hunter

SCREEE—

A sharp cry cut through the long night of Jail City.

It heralded the pale light of dawn on the horizon.

Xiaoqi spread its wings and soared high, heading off into the distance.

Lin Yi watched Xiaoqi until it vanished from sight.

"Where’d you get that bird of yours?"

Wei Shang dragged his weary body over.

During the earlier battle with the Soaring Sand Snake, he had claimed his injuries weren’t serious.

But that hit had been anything but light.

He had taken some medicine afterward, and his injuries had recovered a bit.

Still, a full recovery would take some time.

"Brother Chu gave it to me!"

Lin Yi replied with a smile.

"Brother Chu? Who’s that?"

"Chu Zhengxiong!"

"Oh, that captain from the Demon Hunting Bureau, right? I’ve heard of him," Wei Shang said with a nod.

When Lin Yi didn’t say anything else, he continued, "That bird is something special. It’s different from other Demon Beasts. Even though it’s just a fledgling, it’s already showing extraordinary potential."

"Take good care of it. It might become a great asset to you in the future."

Lin Yi nodded. "Can you still walk?"

"No problem! With my constitution, I could take on another Soaring Sand Snake right now!"

"I was just careless before, didn’t dodge in time..."

Wei Shang started boasting again, patting his chest.

But after just a few words, he broke into a fit of violent coughing.

Lin Yi hurried over to support him. "Once we find Wei Nan and the others, we’re leaving this place."

"It’s nothing, don’t you worry. I’ll be fine after half a day’s rest back home..." Wei Shang continued to boast.

Lin Yi was speechless.

After a short rest, Lin Yi and Wei Shang started walking again.

Fortunately, the sky was gradually brightening as the night slowly receded.

Visibility was steadily improving.

「About ten minutes later.」

SCREEE—

With another cry, Xiaoqi flew back from the distance.

The moment it landed on Lin Yi’s shoulder,

it spoke to him through their spiritual connection. ’I found... them. They’re just ahead... I’ll take you!’

Lin Yi’s face lit up. "Great!"

"I’ve found Wei Nan and the others. Let’s go!"

As Xiaoqi shot into the air, Lin Yi and Wei Shang hurried after it.

For Xiaoqi, the distance wasn’t great.

But for Lin Yi and Wei Shang, it was a walk of nearly half an hour.

Finally, several figures appeared in their line of sight.

As they got closer, they saw it was Feng Lei, Wei Nan, and the others.

When Lin Yi saw the state Wei Nan was in, his heart skipped a beat.

Wei Shang’s injuries were already severe.

But Wei Nan and Sun Tao looked like they had been bathed in blood.

Their clothes were dyed red with it.

It had since dried on them, and Wei Nan’s condition was poor.

He was listless and weak. Lin Yi rushed to their side in a few quick strides.

Before anyone else could exchange greetings with Lin Yi, he was already at Wei Nan’s side.

"What happened? How did you get this hurt?"

Wei Nan grinned. "Finally found you guys. I was starting to think you weren’t going to bother with me!"

"What kind of crap is that? Would I ever leave you behind?"

"Hehehe... Your brother didn’t let you down. I killed a 3-star Demon Beast."

"Let me tell you, you weren’t there, you have no idea how dangerous it was... Oh right, I brought its head back too, hold on..."

As he spoke, Wei Nan took the head of a giant lizard from his spatial bracelet.

The head alone weighed several dozen pounds.

Lin Yi looked at the giant lizard’s head, which was still giving off a strong smell of blood.

"When have you ever let me down?"

"Hehehe... What do you think? Not bad, huh? A 3-star Demon Beast! I killed it with one slash!"

Wei Nan made it sound easy, but looking at his injuries, Lin Yi could guess just how ferocious the fight with the 3-star giant lizard must have been.

He nodded. "Alright, save your strength for now. Let’s leave this place and go back to the inn to rest."

"Sure. I was already exhausted. If I hadn’t been worried you wouldn’t be able to find me, I might’ve just taken a nap right here. Let’s go, I need to go back and get some serious sleep. I’m so tired..."

Just as Wei Nan finished speaking,

his vision suddenly went black.

He swayed a few times and fell directly toward Lin Yi.

Lin Yi quickly caught Wei Nan. "What’s wrong?"

Wei Nan slowly opened his eyes, his voice extremely weak. "Tired... can’t hold on... Just... just gonna rest my eyes a bit..."

With that, Wei Nan fell completely unconscious.

Everyone else gathered around.

Lin Yi immediately hoisted Wei Nan onto his back and said to Xiaoqi, "Lead the way!"

SCREEE—

Xiaoqi let out a clear cry.

It spread its wings, flying low to guide them.

Lin Yi, Wei Shang, Feng Lei, and the others followed it toward the gates of Jail City.

...

「Afternoon.」

The golden afterglow of the sun bathed the small town.

The streets were bustling with people coming and going.

It was the time of day when the town started to fill up with students and some Demon Hunters.

They moved in and out of the various shops.

"You were all so reckless! How could you split up in Jail City? Do you have a death wish?"

Tang Qinru sat in a chair, scolding Lin Yi.

"Sis, last night was an accident. I didn’t expect to get separated from Wei Nan and the others!" Lin Yi hastily explained.

Tang Qinru glanced at him. "Alright, now that the mission is complete, you’re coming back with me."

"I’ve already arranged for you to meet Grandfather. Also... he found a master for you. I was originally planning to take you to formally become his disciple after I got through this busy period."

"Who knew you’d be so much trouble..."

"Sis, just let me stay a few more days. I still need to hunt for materials!"

"Hunt for materials? What materials?"

Tang Qinru frowned at him.

"You know, from Demon Beasts. That stuff is valuable!" Lin Yi said with a smile.

When Tang Qinru heard this,

her expression darkened. "Are you short on money?"

"Haven’t I always been short on money? Besides, the Compound Potions in the New District are too expensive. I can’t afford them at all, so I figured I could hunt some Demon Beasts and earn a little to buy them myself..."

After Lin Yi finished speaking,

Tang Qinru’s anger flared.

"When you first came here, didn’t I tell you not to worry about Compound Potions? That I would arrange for people to deliver them to you regularly!"

"Do you need to buy these things yourself? Have you forgotten what I do for a living?"

Lin Yi nodded. "You said that, but I was afraid you’d be too busy and forget. Weren’t you going to switch my Second-Grade potions to third-grade? I’ve been waiting all this time, but you never sent them!"

"Huh? I didn’t send them?"

Lin Yi’s words startled Tang Qinru.

On his first day at the university, Lin Yi had told her he was already 4-star.

Second-Grade Compound Potions had little effect on him anymore.

Tang Qinru had promised to get him third-grade ones instead.

But over a week had passed, and she still hadn’t delivered them.

Lin Yi had been too embarrassed to ask, which was why he’d thought of earning money through Demon Hunting to buy them himself.

When Tang Qinru finally remembered, her face immediately filled with guilt.

"This is my fault, I forgot. I’ve been developing a new Compound Potion recently and it completely slipped my mind... How about this, I’ll have someone deliver them to the university for you tomorrow!"

"You can’t stay here any longer. Besides, the injuries to Wei Nan, Sun Tao, and Wei Shang are all serious."

"Half of your squad’s combat strength has been wiped out here. What would you even stay for?"

Hearing this, Lin Yi’s brow furrowed slightly.

Wei Shang’s injuries were more severe than he had imagined.

They had damaged his foundation, but fortunately, Wei Shang’s original realm was high.

Plus, his physical condition was better than Wei Nan’s, or even Lin Yi’s.

That was why his injuries had been suppressed, but he would need proper treatment back home to recover.

As for Wei Nan and Sun Tao, there was even less to say.

Their injuries were already severe, and they had lost too much blood. As soon as Tang Qinru got the news and came to examine them,

she immediately had them sent to the hospital for treatment.

Even Shen Mengyi and Zhou Qi had suffered some minor injuries.

Their injuries weren’t serious, so Tang Qinru gave them some basic treatment.

The only two who were completely unscathed now...

...were Lin Yi and Feng Lei.

Out of the seven people in their squad, five were now out of commission.

There was no point in staying here any longer.

"Alright, I’ll go back with you."

Lin Yi thought for a moment and finally nodded in agreement.

A smile touched Tang Qinru’s eyes, and she stood up.

"Then let’s not waste any more time here. I’ll take you back to the university right now."

"Okay."

Lin Yi nodded and followed her out of the room.

On the first floor, aside from Wei Shang, Wei Nan, and Sun Tao who had been sent to the hospital for treatment,

only Feng Lei, Zhou Qi, and Shen Mengyi remained, all sitting and waiting.

They saw Lin Yi and Tang Qinru coming downstairs.

"Let’s go. We’re heading back,"

Lin Yi said quietly, walking over to them.

Feng Lei and Zhou Qi had already anticipated this outcome.

In fact, while they were waiting, Feng Lei had given them a detailed explanation of Tang Qinru’s status in the New District.

She was both an Alchemist and a physician.

But her status was such that no one in any city in the New District dared to provoke her.

The Alchemist profession was already exceedingly rare.

A high-level Alchemist like Tang Qinru, in particular, was a protected individual.

In fact, over sixty percent of the Compound Potions in the New District came from Tang Qinru’s Medicine Bureau.

Therefore, whether it was the great families or the various government departments,

no one dared to offend a high-level Alchemist.

Doing so would be no different from ruining one’s own future.

With a single word, Tang Qinru could even decide the life or death of a pharmacy.

After learning all this about Tang Qinru,

seeing her again now filled both Zhou Qi’s and Shen Mengyi’s eyes with envy.

But the one they envied even more was Lin Yi...

"Let’s go. I’ll take you all back to the university,"

Tang Qinru said quietly after a glance at them.

None of them dared to object, simply nodding and following her out of the inn.

Their walk down the small street drew many sidelong glances.

Lin Yi could even feel waves of envy and jealousy from the gazes around them.

Clearly, everyone recognized Tang Qinru.

As a high-level Alchemist and physician in the New District,

her dual roles had allowed her to reach a level of achievement in both fields that others couldn’t hope to match in a lifetime.

And now, for Tang Qinru to appear in Jail City...

...was in itself an incredible event.

Lin Yi, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with her, sparked even more rampant speculation and endless discussion.

Among these students were quite a few from Lanshan University.

Some of them were even majoring in alchemy or medicine.

Tang Qinru would occasionally go to Lanshan University to give lectures.

In their minds, Tang Qinru was a lofty, unsmiling goddess figure.

No man had ever been able to get so close to her.

But today... a handsome young man had appeared by her side.

"Get in the car."

When Tang Qinru led Lin Yi and the others off the long street,

two cars were parked there waiting.

Lin Yi and Tang Qinru got in one car, while Feng Lei, Zhou Qi, and the others took the second one.

Then, the two cars slowly pulled away, heading for Xingwu University...

"Sis, what did you mean earlier about becoming a disciple?"

"What kind of master did Grandfather find for me?"

On the way back to the university, Lin Yi recalled what Tang Qinru had said.

Tang Qinru turned back and chuckled. "You’ll know when you get there."

"Let’s say this weekend. Once I’m done with my current work, I’ll take you up the mountain to meet your master."

Lin Yi nodded.

He gazed at the night scenery outside the car window.

After a long while, he murmured, "Sis, could you take me to see Grandfather one of these days? I’ve been in the New District for over a week and still haven’t paid my respects to him. He won’t hold it against me, will he?"

"Hm? Of course not. Grandfather adores you; why would he ever find fault with you?"

"But what if I told you that you’ve actually already met Grandfather? Would you believe me?"

"Huh? I’ve met Grandfather?"

Startled, Lin Yi whipped his head around to look at Tang Qinru.

She smiled and nodded. "Mhm, you’ve met him."

Lin Yi was speechless.