Chapter 65: I

The small thing dangling in Ding Huan's hand struggled and squealed incessantly, but Ding Huan saw fear in its eyes.

He had never seen this animal before—it was somewhat dog-like but not quite, its cry somewhat monkey-like but not with a pointed snout; its front legs were long, its hind legs short.

"Looks like you've got some brains. Daring to ambush me? You'd better wait." Ding Huan pulled a vine from nearby, tied the creature up, tossed it into his bag, and zipped it shut.

Whether it would suffocate, Ding Huan didn't care.

This little thing looked cute, but it was no innocent—it would've taken him down if he hadn't already been a Level Four Gene Cultivator.

If he hadn't just thought of fusing the Stone Monkey's memory genes into this creature, he'd have burned it with a fireball right away.

In this era, he wouldn't feel pity for this cute little thing.

Seeing Ding Huan approach, the Great Desert Jin Yuan, its legs severed, looked just as fearful as the creature stuffed in Ding Huan's bag.

It clearly had intelligence—could it not see how Ding Huan had handled the little thing?

Looking at the Great Desert Jin Yuan, Ding Huan said calmly, "The one who took your herbs last time wasn't me. I admitted last time you were strong—I avoided you on purpose. You chased me, I didn't hold it against you."

"But now you still come after me, this innocent man, trying to ambush and kill me. People really shouldn't be too kind."

The Great Desert Jin Yuan growled lowly, as if it didn't understand Ding Huan's words.

But Ding Huan's spiritual sense detected a shift in its gaze—he was certain it understood him perfectly.

"Heh." Ding Huan patted his backpack. "This little thing ambushed me—I plan to roast and eat it when I get back. Just a bit of star anise wasted."

"You're bigger, but I heard monkey brains have tasty pulp—perfect for grilling. If one skewer won't hold it, just cut it up…"

When Ding Huan mentioned brain pulp, the Great Desert Jin Yuan's voice took on a whining, pleading tone.

So it really understands, Ding Huan snorted. "Since last time's affair had nothing to do with me, you still provoked me."

"If you want me to spare your life, you must make restitution. Nod if you understand."

The Great Desert Jin Yuan nodded repeatedly; Ding Huan was delighted.

"I don't want anything else from you—just two things. First, I need back that herb you stole last time. Second, I need a bit of blood from your forehead. Simple enough?"

The Great Desert Jin Yuan widened its eyes—what the hell…

I was only seeking revenge because that herb was stolen—now after all this, I'm still going to lose it?

Ding Huan pulled out a short knife and tapped its blade against his palm. "Ah, haven't used a blade since I killed a few gene beasts last time. Wonder if today's my lucky day?"

Before Ding Huan could finish, the Great Desert Jin Yuan roared several times and nodded vigorously.

Ding Huan thought: You'd have been smarter to cooperate earlier.

"Since you're cooperative, I'll patch you up." Ding Huan casually reset its broken bones, secured them with branches, then wrapped them in vines.

After that, he chopped down a tree and made it two crutches.

The Great Desert Jin Yuan, who had planned to ambush Ding Huan, watched as he waved his hand through the air and the crutches appeared—its heart filled with dread; it dared not move.

Three hours later, the Great Desert Jin Yuan, leaning on its crutches, led Ding Huan to its den.

Seeing the Great Desert Jin Yuan's den, Ding Huan couldn't help but comment: "This guy really knows how to pick a spot."

The environment was far better than his own cave—a pond came into view, beside which stood a V-shaped wooden house built from whole logs.

Behind the house was a herb garden, filled with all kinds of rare mutated herbs.

"You're quite the genius, monkey." Ding Huan glanced at the Great Desert Jin Yuan, unable to resist mocking.

The Great Desert Jin Yuan felt deeply wronged—it wasn't a monkey, it was a Jin Yuan.

"Go on, pick the herb yourself. I won't enter your garden—I'm afraid I'll be tempted to pack up all your herbs and leave." Ding Huan didn't actually recognize the herb.

He guessed it was the one the Great Desert Jin Yuan used to generate the Great Desert Eye.

Hearing Ding Huan wouldn't enter his herb garden, the Great Desert Jin Yuan hurriedly hobbled in and quickly returned with the herb before Ding Huan.

Smelling its even more fragrant aroma, Ding Huan nodded—it was definitely this herb.

Last time, that woman Qin Yi stole it, and the Great Desert Jin Yuan chased after her, blocking the cave entrance for days and killing two people outright.

How fickle fate is—today, the Great Desert Jin Yuan brings it to him willingly.

The herb in his hand stood no taller than a foot, with a blue flower blooming at its top, its stem black and segmented like bamboo.

Ding Huan stowed the herb contentedly; the Great Desert Jin Yuan's eyes showed reluctance and longing—but Ding Huan ignored it entirely.

After securing the herb, Ding Huan pulled out another vial. "Come here. I'll take a bit of blood and leave."

The Great Desert Jin Yuan felt deeply aggrieved but shuffled forward, leaning on its crutch and bending low for Ding Huan to draw blood.

Ding Huan moved swiftly—his hand slashed and drew, and a thin red line appeared on the Great Desert Jin Yuan's forehead, precisely flowing into the vial in his hand.

When the vial was full, Ding Huan tucked it away; the wound on the Great Desert Jin Yuan's forehead ceased bleeding.

Seeing that Ding Huan had taken only a little blood, the Great Desert Jin Yuan finally exhaled in relief.

"I'm leaving. Our past grudges are settled. Before I go, I'll give you a warning: don't go to human cities or settlements. If you do, it'll be your death."

With that, Ding Huan grabbed the Stone Monkey beside him, his body flickered, and he vanished like a shadow.

The Great Desert Jin Yuan stared at Ding Huan's retreating figure, helplessly.

It had planned to open the Great Desert Eye, then wander into human cities, using human blood to elevate itself further.

Now, with Ding Huan's warning, even if given heaven's courage, it dared not go.

…

Ding Huan strolled back into Luohe City with complete nonchalance.

This time he didn't disguise himself, but after months of cultivation in the cave, his hair had grown long and his beard untrimmed—unless you looked closely, you wouldn't recognize him as Ding Huan.

Standing at the gate of Yujiang University, Ding Huan sighed: "After all this circling around, I, Ding Xiaotu… damn it, I, Ding Xiaotu, am back."

Yujiang University was much busier than before—three students had entered the Top Ten Star Blue Academies, drawing many applicants.

Had the gene beasts not suddenly run rampant, Yujiang University's popularity would've been even higher.

As for funding, Tan Bei, the university's chancellor, no longer needed to worry.

Many were eager to donate funds to Yujiang University—even though Ding Huan was no longer there, the money kept flowing in.

Think about it—Yujiang University produced three students among the Top Ten Colleges of Blue Star, and they were among the top ranks. Could those students, after graduation, possibly bring their alma mater down?

Although it had been nearly a year since he last came, Ding Huan's residence was still preserved.

No Washed Knife Society members were found outside the residence—either they knew waiting here would yield nothing, or they knew Ding Huan's reputation had grown too great for the Washed Knife Society to dare discipline him.

Regardless of which, Ding Huan had no intention of letting the Washed Knife Society off.

For Ding Huan now, the most important thing was to hurry to the Gene Laboratory and do what he wanted to do.

Ding Huan took a shower, changed into a new set of clothes, did not get a haircut, and went straight to the Gene Laboratory.

He was still not used to using the Dust-Removal Spell, though he had already mastered this minor technique.

The entrance to the Gene Laboratory building still had few people, but now there were guards.

"Kong Dan? How did you end up working as a guard here?" Ding Huan recognized the guard the moment he approached.

Only then did Kong Dan recognize Ding Huan, and he exclaimed excitedly, "Teacher Ding, I've finally waited for you!"

I came here specifically to wait for you. I believed that if you returned, you'd come to the Gene Laboratory first—turns out I wasn't wrong."

"Good. I've got a few things to handle right now. After I finish, I'll teach you cultivation." Ding Huan patted Kong Dan on the shoulder.

"Yes, Teacher Ding, go ahead and attend to your business—I'll keep watch here. No one will disturb your gene experiments." Kong Dan remained unable to calm down from his excitement.

Because Ding Huan had previously said he might need one or two years before returning—he had prepared himself for a long wait, yet here Ding Huan had returned so quickly.

"Alright, I'm going up to conduct experiments. By the way, how many people come here now to do gene experiments?" Ding Huan asked casually.

"No one comes. The head of the Gene Department at Yujiang University is you now." Kong Dan finally calmed down, his voice no longer trembling as before.

"I'm the head of the Gene Department at Yujiang University?" Ding Huan asked, disbelieving.

He himself didn't even know about this—how had he become the teacher in charge of the Gene Department?

Kong Dan explained, "I came here with the note you gave me and found Chancellor Tan Bei. The chancellor immediately let me choose a position."

I chose this one, and told him you'd surely return here to continue your gene experiments. When Chancellor Tan heard my words, he simply appointed you as head of the Gene Department."

Don't be fooled by how many people Yujiang University has now—in truth, there are no gene scholars here, and no one comes to conduct experiments."

"That's quite good," Ding Huan said, satisfied. Tan Bei was still shrewd—he knew exactly what Ding Huan needed.

He didn't care about the title of head, but having control over this place meant no one would disturb his gene experiments.

This would greatly aid him in extracting the Stone Monkey's memory genes.