Zhu Kai was a shut-in, never leaving his home. Lin Xiao Tian, however, found it quite comfortable staying at his place, as there was no one to disturb him.
Zhu Kai claimed to have an old flame. Apart from venturing into the forest, his only other excursion was to visit this old flame, and Zhu Kai often regaled Lin Xiao Tian with tales of how wonderful she was.
To be fair, he told them very well. Had Lin Xiao Tian not secretly used his perception to observe Zhu Kai's meetings with his flame, Lin Xiao Tian would have almost believed him.
It turned out that Zhu Kai always stopped at the entrance of the Academy, and the other party never even let him in.
Zhu Kai's "flame" was indeed as outstanding as he described. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also a junior instructor at the local Academy, named Zhu Yu.
Instructors at the Academy were divided into Assistant, Junior, Intermediate, Senior, and Special.
However, the requirements to become an instructor were extremely strict. Even for a Junior instructor, extensive experience was needed, not just in combat ability but also in academic knowledge.
For instance, Zhu Yu was an appraiser, capable of accurately identifying most herbs or rare treasures in the world. Yet, even with such skills, she was only a Junior instructor.
In the entire Black Rock City, the total number of people qualified to be Academy instructors did not exceed ten. Even someone like Liu Yue, a physician, would only barely manage a Junior position at the Academy, as her skill level wasn't particularly high. Of course, the treatment for physicians was far superior to that of Academy instructors. Most physicians would not choose to join the Academy, which was an imperial strategy to counter the Academy's influence. If physicians received less compensation than Academy instructors, a majority would join the Academy, significantly increasing its strength.
"Today I asked you, 'Do you love me?' and you replied, 'I love your mother.' I couldn't help but ponder. So, you already love me so much that even my mother is included. We will surely last a long time."
"Seeing you eat with a handsome guy, and you seemed so intimate. You never told me you had such a good friend. You must have been afraid I'd overthink it. You always consider my feelings. You're so good to me. I like you more and more."
"I sent you 30 letters, one every day. I never expected you to reply at the end of the month. You said, 'Aren't you annoyed sending letters to your mother!' I immediately burst into tears. It turns out effort really pays off. You're already considering meeting my mother. You must like me too, right?"
In the room, Zhu Kai, sitting opposite Lin Xiao Tian, was eloquently expressing his affection. Lin Xiao Tian was already accustomed to such trivial displays.
Anyone with eyes could see that the other party was not interested in Zhu Kai at all. Only Zhu Kai himself was happily indulging in it, even using Lin Xiao Tian as a training dummy, as a mute person was more discreet.
"Today was payday. Our harvest was good this time, we got 1200. Do you think I'll give you 1200? Wrong. I'll borrow another 114 from my teammates to reach 1314 and transfer it to you." As Zhu Kai said this, his gaze towards Lin Xiao Tian was filled with fervent passion.
Lin Xiao Tian's heart tightened. He feigned a need to use the restroom, but still couldn't escape.
After receiving the money, Zhu Kai penned a letter, filled with effusive, oil-soaked words, and placed it in the mailbox outside the Academy. Although the Academy was only a hundred meters from their residence, Zhu Kai enjoyed this sense of "mystery."
After staying at Zhu Kai's place for about a week, they set out again as usual.
The hunting party had to venture into the mountains once a week, otherwise, there would be no income. Unfortunately, Black Rock City offered very few job opportunities.
This situation was common across the continent.
The most crucial aspect of cultivation was acquiring cultivation resources.
And obtaining cultivation resources mostly relied on seizing them.
Ordinary people couldn't compete with the major families, and the major families were unwilling to share their resources. In comparison, hunting in the mountains was the best way to obtain cultivation resources.
Furthermore, the most critical point was that food was controlled by the three major powers. It was completely impossible for ordinary people to be self-sufficient. They could only hunt in the mountains or join other factions.
Everyone waited at the designated spot. Captain Wan Hao took a headcount and found that out of the ten-person team, only seven had arrived.
Wan Hao sighed.
He knew very well what this signified.
Zhu Kai also sighed.
"May you be born into a better family in your next life!"
Wan Hao patted his shoulder.
With three fewer members, they had to recruit from the market again. Fortunately, veteran teams like Wan Hao's were quite popular in the market, and they quickly found three replacements.
Before entering the forest, they needed to visit the medical hall again, a strict imperial regulation aimed at controlling who entered the mountains.
"Haha, beautiful Liu, long time no see." Wan Hao saw Liu Yue nearby and quickly went to greet her.
Normally, physicians didn't need to do anything when entering the mountains; their subordinates just needed to register their identities. Liu Yue's sudden appearance made Wan Hao a little worried. Had there been some new regulation from the Empire?
"Captain Wan, we've only seen each other for seven days." Liu Yue's eyebrows curved prettily. Wan Hao's casual "beautiful" just now had made her quite happy.
As she spoke, her gaze involuntarily flickered towards Lin Xiao Tian, and seeing that Lin Xiao Tian still had a cold expression, her mood immediately soured.
"Beautiful Liu, have you heard the saying... it's never too late to meet?" Wan Hao tried his best; literature was his blind spot.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Kai quickly chimed in, "Captain, if you're uncultured, don't spout nonsense. It should be 'a day apart feels like three autumns.'"
"So you know it all, do you?" Wan Hao playfully pinched his waist, but the chubby Zhu Kai nimbly dodged.
"My flame taught me that."
Lin Xiao Tian looked at Zhu Kai with sympathy. This kid was truly a relentless sycophant.
The group started bantering again. Seeing that it was almost turning into a marketplace, Wan Hao promptly called for a halt.
Liu Yue was so busy; the reason for her sudden appearance here still hadn't been clarified!
"By the way, beautiful Liu, the medical hall is so busy. How do you have time to be here?" Wan Hao asked with a smile.
"Alas..." Liu Yue patted her head. "I came specifically to wait for you this time."
Wan Hao was taken aback and quickly asked, "What is it that requires beautiful Liu to personally wait for us?"
"Captain Wan, this is my fault. Last time, didn't I give you powder to mask your scent? I accidentally gave the wrong bottle to Xiao Tian. I'm here specifically to make it up to you."
After speaking, Liu Yue produced a small jade bottle.
Lin Xiao Tian took it and saw that the bottle was filled with the powder. In the past, they only received half a bottle!
"Xu Hao, I'm sorry." Liu Yue looked straight at Lin Xiao Tian.
"Hahaha, beautiful Liu, you're too kind. Our Xiao Tian certainly won't blame you." Wan Hao smilingly took the bottle.
He had just seen that this bottle was filled with powder. It would be foolish not to take advantage of such a bargain.
Even after Liu Yue left, the atmosphere remained jovial.
Lin Xiao Tian, however, was stunned.
Not because Liu Yue was suddenly so generous.
But because the powder in this bottle was problematic!
This was not powder to conceal their scent at all?
This was clearly powder to attract demonic beasts!
In the forest, hunting parties typically employed ambush and surprise tactics. Demonic beasts had robust bodies and gained little advantage in direct confrontation with humans, especially Qi Refining stage humans, who were extremely fragile before demonic beasts. Moreover, demonic beasts weren't foolish; some pack beasts cooperated better than humans, even possessing unique group attacks and bloodline awakenings. If Lin Xiao Tian were to apply this powder and attract these beasts, it could very well lead to the team's annihilation.
But... why?