Chapter 68 - 68: I’m Just Passing By
The youth named Li Min replied in a loud voice, “We were attacked by a group of demon beasts and fled here, with no malicious intent.”
“What? A group of Demon Beasts?”
Upon hearing Li Min say they encountered a group of demon beasts, many on Fang Lin’s side paled in fear.
On Medicine -Seeking Peak, the chance of encountering multiple demon beasts was quite low, but if it did happen, it was extremely dangerous.
Fang Lin narrowed his eyes, observing the group led by Li Min from a distance. Except for a few individuals, most looked somewhat flustered and disheveled, resembling victims of a demon beast attack.
“Tell them we don’t want to interact with anyone else,” Fang Lin said to Xu Shangao.
Upon hearing this, Xu Shangao hesitated, exchanging glances with Wu Mengsheng.
Fang Lin shook his head again, leaving Xu Shangao with no choice but to yell at
Li Min’s group, “Li Min, since you mean no harm, just leave.”
Upon hearing Xu Shangao’s words, Li Min frowned, and over a dozen people behind him showed signs of dissatisfaction.
“Li Min, what do they mean by this? Do they dislike us that much?” a youth complained.
Li Min was quite dissatisfied as well, but he did not say much else. He simply called out to his group to turn around and leave.
Seeing Li Min and his group leave, everyone on Fang Lin’s side breathed a sigh of relief.
“Fang, why were you so unsociable towards Li Min and his group when they meant no harm to us?” Xu Shangao asked, puzzled.
Fang Lin glanced at him and said, “They may not mean us harm, but I don’t wish to complicate matters. We should avoid contact with anyone but ourselves as much as possible.”
At this, Xu Shangao and the others fell silent. While they understood Fang Lin’s caution, the fact that he was being so guarded against their fellow sect members was hard for them to accept.
Despite any objections they had, Xu Shangao and Wu Mengsheng held their tongues. Fang Lin’s approach, after all, was the correct one and truly was for everyone’s best interest.
By now, Fang Lin had regained some of his strength. He efficiently skinned the Black Crocodile.
Using the Black Crocodile’s hide to protect his hands, he then began to carefully harvest the Hundred-year Flesh-eating Grass.
After uprooting the plant, complete with a clump of soil, Fang Lin placed it in the Nine Palace Bag.
He also collected the crocodile skin, which was incredibly tough and could even resist the poisonous Hundred-year Flesh-eating Grass. He considered it a valuable resource.
Having completed these tasks, Fang Lin suggested everyone rest for a while so he could recuperate from his injuries.
In the battle against the Black Crocodile, Fang Lin had expended a great amount of energy and sustained significant injuries. Though he had applied his homemade remedy, he still needed some time to fully recover.
The group rested until the afternoon when, thanks to his homemade medicine, Fang Lin’s injuries had mostly healed.
Seeing Fang Lin fully restored, the others were amazed and envious of his medicine, but felt it would be impolite to ask him for any, since Fang Lin had already shared a Detoxification Pill with each of them.
“Let’s continue on.” Seeing that everyone was rested, Fang Lin made the decision to press on towards the peak of Medicine-Seeking Peak.
They were still in the dense forest at the base of the peak, not even halfway up, and there was still a long way to go.
The group navigated through the dense forest, coming across many medicinal herbs along the way, which Fang Lin left for the others.
It was just about dusk, and they had yet to leave the dense forest when they heard an intense argument ahead.
“We found the White Bird Fruit first, why should we give it to you?” “You are bullying us too much!”
“Even if you have more people, we will not back down an inch!”
Seeing each other, Fang Lin’s group noted there seemed to be a good number of Pill Sect disciples ahead, with Li Min being one of them.
“Li Min, I, Kang Lu, am taking this White Bird Fruit. If you are wise, you will get out of my way. If not, don’t blame me for being ruthless.” Kang Lu’s arrogant voice rang out, causing Fang Lin to laugh.
Li Min glowered, fury and unwillingness in his eyes.
Opposite him, Kang Lu and his group wore smug smiles, especially Kang Lu himself. His arrogant demeanor didn’t even warrant a glance at Li Min.
At this point, Fang Lin and his party arrived, drawing the attention of both sides.
“Fang Lin!” Upon seeing Fang Lin, Kang Lu’s face darkened, while Li Min looked conflicted, without much joy.
Fang Lin ignored Kang Lu’s blackened face and just gave Li Min a glance.
“We’re just passing by. You continue,” he said nonchalantly, walking away.
Xu Shangao, Wu Mengsheng, and the others were stunned for a second before quickly catching up.
Both Kang Lu’s and Li Min’s groups were taken aback, You just walked away? Why don’t you say that you’re here for sightseeing?
The Pill Sect disciples on both sides watched as Fang Lin and his group casually walked past, showing no intention of getting involved at all.
Watching the retreating figures of Fang Lin and his group, Li Min’s eyes filled with disappointment, while Kang Lu furrowed his brows, lost in thought.
“Fang, are we just walking away?” Xu Shangao quietly asked, following Fang Lin.
With a soft laugh, Fang Lin said, “Of course not. We’ll pretend to leave, hide somewhere else, and keep an eye on them. Once they settle things, we’ll swoop in and take advantage. The White Bird Fruit is a treasure. I wouldn’t let it go that easily.”
Xu Shangao was speechless, admiring Fang Lin’s cunning. He had thought Fang Lin really meant to be a passerby.
Over there, the standoff between Li Min and Kang Lu was escalating, palpably tense.
Li Min held a fruit in his hand that looked like a white bird. He put it into his Nine Palace Bag, glaring defiantly at Kang Lu.
Kang Lu sneered, “It seems you love courting death.”
Li Min shouted, “Kang Lu, you’ve only been a full disciple for half a year. I’ve been one for over three years. By seniority, you should call me senior brother.
Today, there’s no way you’re taking this White Bird Fruit from me.”
Kang Lu burst into laughter, his followers joined in, scoffing at Li Min. Li Min gritted his teeth; Kang Lu’s dismissive laughter was particularly irritating to him..