Lu Yang held his tongue for a long time, genuinely at a loss for how to evaluate a solution that challenged both basic ethics and ordinary logic.
"As long as the problem is solved, that's what matters," he finally managed to squeeze out.
Old Ba also felt that having the matter resolved was a good thing—especially since it was his idea.
He patted Lu Yang on the shoulder. "The little Medicine Kings are quite mischievous. You've had a tough time these days. Take out your jade pendant."
Lu Yang complied. Old Ba lightly tapped Lu Yang's jade pendant. "The task reward of three hundred contribution points is now in your pendant."
Effort yielded reward, and his hard work had not been in vain. Three hundred contribution points was a massive fortune to Lu Yang.
Then, upon second thought, Lu Yang realized that while three hundred contribution points seemed like a lot, it probably wasn't even enough to buy the little Medicine Kings' foot-washing water.
The exchange board stated clearly that the Medicine King Spiritual Liquid came in standard and deluxe editions.
By Lu Yang's understanding, the standard version was the little Medicine Kings' foot-washing water, while the deluxe version was their bathwater.
"Go say your goodbyes to the little Medicine Kings. Chances to enter the Herb Garden don't come often, and you probably won't have another opportunity in the future to..."
Old Ba's words caught in his throat halfway through. He suddenly remembered that as long as Yun Zhi told Lu Yang to come, Old Ba would have to obediently let him in without the slightest nerve to stop him.
"*Cough*, anyway, go say goodbye first."
Lu Yang gave an "oh." He couldn't shake the feeling that Old Ba had swallowed the rest of what he meant to say.
Upon learning that Lu Yang was leaving, the little Medicine Kings felt somewhat reluctant to part.
"We're friends, after all. Take this old ginseng whisker of mine—oh wait, this is way too valuable, I can't bear to part with it."
"And this old ginseng peel of mine... too painful, forget it. I don't really have anything valuable here, so I'll just say goodbye verbally." Ginseng Baby bid Lu Yang farewell.
Back when it parted ways with Layman Guyue, it hadn't given anything away either.
"We're all cultivators, and a month isn't even that long. If you're leaving, just leave. Did you really need to say something?" Every word out of the Three-Leaf Star Herb betrayed its lingering reluctance.
"The vitality in my vines and leaves is too overwhelming. If you take them, your body will undergo bizarre mutations, so just to be safe, I won't give you any." Over the course of their time together, Lu Yang had learned that the Kirin Immortal Herb's true form was a green vine.
The Kirin Immortal Herb was telling the truth. Throughout the past month, the little Medicine Kings had actively suppressed their internal vitality, terrified that Lu Yang might accidentally kick the bucket from an overload.
If it gave Lu Yang a part of its body, dozens of layers of seals would have to be applied, and even then, Lu Yang wouldn't dare use it.
"You're already saying goodbye, yet you haven't given us any gifts?" The Flower of Time's Demise turned things around and demanded a gift from Lu Yang.
Swept up in the atmosphere, tears welled in Lu Yang's eyes. "Once some time passes, I'll definitely have Eldest Senior Sister come visit everyone."
The little Medicine Kings rushed to drive Lu Yang out.
The farewell scene was truly moving—in that they couldn't wait to move him straight out the door.
***
Setting aside comparisons to the Medicine King Spiritual Liquid, three hundred contribution points was still a colossal sum for Lu Yang, who was only in the Foundation Establishment stage.
Eager to try his luck, he headed to the Mission Hall to buy some good items.
He couldn't rely on Eldest Senior Sister to give him things forever; he had to earn his own way through his own efforts.
"Hey, we were just talking about heading over to Tianmen Peak to find you. Who would've thought we'd run into you here?" Meng Jingzhou was somewhat surprised to see Lu Yang walking out of the Herb Garden. But considering that Yun Zhi was his direct Eldest Senior Sister, it wasn't all that strange.
Beside Meng Jingzhou stood a burly man dressed in scholar's robes—refined and gentle in demeanor, yet clearly powerful and robust.
The scholar-robed giant cupped his hands. "Brother Lu, it has been a long time. In fact, this counts as our very first formal meeting."
"Man Gu, entering under the Fourth Elder back then truly caught everyone by surprise."
After returning the courtesy, Lu Yang smiled. "Did you need me for something?"
"Can't I come looking for you if there isn't anything?" Meng Jingzhou feigned annoyance.
"Come on, let's drink some tea, sit down, and talk slowly." Meng Jingzhou led Man Gu and Lu Yang to a teahouse.
The Meng Family's upbringing dictated that business was best discussed over a meal. That way, if things went well, the Meng Family would foot the bill; if things went poorly, everyone would split the cost evenly.
"Sirs, what would you like to drink? My teahouse carries every kind of tea imaginable," the tea master asked briskly.
Lu Yang still couldn't see through the tea master's cultivation.
Lu Yang asked in a low voice, "Brother Man Gu, what cultivation level is this tea master? Can you tell?"
Man Gu likewise whispered back, "From what I know, we newly recruited disciples are the absolute bottom of the food chain in the sect. Even the chickens on the mountain have higher cultivation than us."
Meng Jingzhou ordered a very famous brew.
"Bring us a pot of milk tea, then."
For a moment, the tea master suspected Meng Jingzhou had been sent by the shop across the street just to stir up trouble.
"Oh, I said it wrong—bring a basin of milk tea. I recall it's a specialty from up near the Far North." Seeing the tea master's sour expression, Meng Jingzhou hurried to gesture with his hands to show he meant no harm.
Only then did the tea master understand that Meng Jingzhou wanted freshly prepared savory milk tea.
Before long, the tea master brought over a scalding-hot iron brazier filled with fried rice, butter, dried beef, and milk skin. Soon after, he brought out a kettle of milk tea.
Lu Yang and Man Gu looked at each other, utterly clueless about what to do, leaving everything in Meng Jingzhou's hands.
Meng Jingzhou slowly toasted the ingredients in the basin until fragrant, stirring until the fried rice turned golden and looked ready to crunch. Then, he lifted the kettle of milk tea and glug-glug-glugged it all in.
As the milk tea met the red-hot iron, a sharp sizzle rang out, and the rich fragrance of milk tea wafted into the air, lingering around their noses.
Lu Yang took a sip and smacked his lips. It was salty, with an extraordinary flavor—actually quite delicious.
Man Gu took a sip, then gulped it down like a thirsty ox, finishing an entire bowl in one breath.
"Do you have any missions right now?" Meng Jingzhou asked.
Lu Yang shook his head. He had just finished Old Ba's Herb Garden mission and hadn't found his next one yet.
"There aren't many missions suitable for us, and the ones posted in the Mission Hall aren't enough to go around. I found it strange—if they're not even enough for us, how could they have been enough for the senior brothers and sisters before us?"
"So I asked around among our seniors and found out the inside scoop."
"What did they say?"
"Completing missions posted in the Mission Hall isn't the only way to finish missions. Finding and resolving tasks on your own also earns contribution points. Once you report the results to the sect, they verify the truth of your achievements and grant you the corresponding reward."
"Do you know how the missions in the Mission Hall come about in the first place?"
"How?"
"It breaks down into three categories. First are those based on the Righteous Mutual Assistance Agreement between the Five Great Immortal Sects and the Great Xia Dynasty. Whenever the Great Xia Dynasty requires cultivators but finds itself short-handed, they submit a request for help to us. However, this is quite rare."
"Even though we both belong to the righteous path of humanity, a grand empire with a hundred thousand years of history asking sects for help is, after all, somewhat embarrassing for them."
"The second kind is when outside parties appeal directly to the Five Great Immortal Sects, hoping we will uphold justice for them—provided the Great Xia Dynasty doesn't intervene, like your parrot-catching mission."
"The third kind consists of clues our Dao Seeking Sect discovers while traveling abroad, which are then posted as tasks in the Mission Hall, with corresponding rewards prepared by the sect."
"That third category is where our hope lies."
Chapter 38