Chapter 71: Going Home

"Is there really only this one type of Immortal Herb in the world?" Even though it was told to him personally by Chrysanthemum Douluo, Snake Lance Douluo still found it somewhat hard to believe.

"There are many types of Immortal Herbs, each with different effects. An Immortal Herb like the Ink Jade Divine Bamboo is only suitable for those with Control System or Strong Attack System plant martial souls. If others consume it, not only is it useless, but it is actually harmful. It is indeed Shi Quan's luck that he was able to obtain one from that old poison hag, Dugu Bo. However, what I am more curious about is why that old poison hag, Dugu Bo, would give such a good treasure to someone else?"

A sharp glint flickered in Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyes. He was quite familiar with Dugu Bo. Based on Chrysanthemum Douluo's understanding of Dugu Bo, he would certainly rather keep such a good thing for himself than give it away. Since Dugu Bo did give it away, either Dugu Bo did not recognize the value of this Ink Jade Divine Bamboo, or there was some secret between Dugu Bo and Shi Quan.

Regardless of which situation it was, it was worth his while to make a trip to Heaven Dou City to meet with Dugu Bo again.

……

One month later.

Dugu Bo came to find Shi Quan while cursing and swearing.

"You brat, because of that Ink Jade Divine Bamboo of yours, you've caused me quite a bit of trouble."

"Ink Jade Divine Bamboo?" Shi Quan put on a look of confusion.

Dugu Bo said: "It's that bamboo you consumed. I only just found out not long ago; its name is Ink Jade Divine Bamboo."

Shi Quan asked curiously: "Grandpa Dugu, how are you sure its name is Ink Jade Divine Bamboo? Have you confirmed the other Immortal Herbs in that medicinal garden?"

"A sissy old fellow told me. I don't know where he found out the news that you ate this Ink Jade Divine Bamboo, but after hearing it, he immediately recognized the origin of the Ink Jade Divine Bamboo."

"As for the other Immortal Herbs, don't even think about it. If that old fellow knew I still had other Immortal Herbs, I'm afraid he would tear my lair apart."

Speaking of this, Dugu Bo could not help but show an irritable expression. After a brief pause, he continued: "I came here to warn you as well: you must keep the matter of my medicinal garden a secret. You must never let the news of the other herbs leak out."

"I understand." Shi Quan nodded and asked: "Who exactly is the old fellow you mentioned, Grandpa Dugu?"

"That old fellow is named Yue Guan. He is a member of the Spirit Hall and also a Title Douluo. His title is Chrysanthemum, and his martial soul is the Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum. There is one in my medicinal garden too—it's that big golden chrysanthemum."

"As expected," Shi Quan thought to himself. With an unchanging expression, he said: "According to what you said, Grandpa Dugu, Chrysanthemum Douluo's martial soul belongs to the Immortal Herbs. No wonder he could directly recognize the other Immortal Herbs. Grandpa Dugu, can't you inquire about the other Immortal Herbs from him? After knowing the detailed effects of the other Immortal Herbs, perhaps you could find a way to resolve your martial soul problem, and maybe even find some Immortal Herbs that could help Sister Yanzi?"

Dugu Bo hurriedly shook his head. "Don't even think about that. That sissy is extremely sinister and cunning. If I were to ask, he would definitely guess that I still have other Immortal Herbs. By then, I'm afraid I would have even less peace."

Shi Quan comforted him: "Since Chrysanthemum Douluo recognizes Immortal Herbs, there must be records of these herbs. As long as we can find the relevant reference documents, it will be the same."

"That's right." Dugu Bo nodded. "I came today to remind you that this sissy definitely won't let it go. As a Title Douluo, he wouldn't stoop so low as to deal with you, but that doesn't mean he won't make things difficult for you. If he really comes looking for you, know when to yield, understand?"

"I understand, Grandpa Dugu."

"Good, then you go back to what you were doing. I still need to talk to Yan Yan." Dugu Bo patted Shi Quan on the shoulder and then left.

……

Before he knew it, another three months had passed.

A semester had gone by, and what Dugu Bo worried about did not happen. Yue Guan still had not rushed into the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy to find him; after all, there were still three Spirit Douluos presiding over the academy.

As the holidays approached, the members of the Heaven Dou Team also had a rare day off.

"Xiao Quan, are you planning to go home for the holidays?" Dugu Yan sat beside Yu Tianheng and asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's been almost a year since I left. I don't know how things are at home, or how my parents are doing. It's time to go back and see." Shi Quan nodded, and a sense of longing appeared in the depths of his eyes.

"Xiao Quan, your home seems to be in Fasinuo Province, right?"

"Yes."

Dugu Yan said: "Fasinuo Province is too far away. Why don't you just have your parents move to Heaven Dou City this time? With your situation, you aren't short of that bit of money, and with my grandfather's help, you won't have to worry about running into any trouble."

"I've thought about that too, but I'm afraid my parents have already gotten used to life in Shi Family Village after all these years and won't want to leave their hometown."

"That's true." Dugu Yan seemed to have thought of something and looked at Ye Lingling. "Lingling, are you staying at the academy this year? Are you not going home?"

"Yes." Ye Lingling nodded.

Dugu Yan smiled: "Why don't you go back with Xiao Quan? You have nothing to do staying at the academy all day anyway. Just treat it as going out for a trip to relax."

Ye Lingling's hollow eyes shrank slightly. Without much hesitation, she shook her head and rejected Dugu Yan.

Ning Rongrong, who was on the side, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

However, Dugu Yan was relentless and came to Ye Lingling's side, acting like a close sister as she said: "If you're embarrassed to go alone, I'll go with you. Anyway, Tianheng is going back to his clan, and my grandfather is never home. When the holidays start, I'll go tell my grandfather, and then the three of us will go to Xiao Quan's place to have fun."

Before Ye Lingling could refuse, Dugu Yan made the decision directly: "Alright, it's settled then, Lingling."

Dugu Yan didn't even ask for the opinions of the two people involved before deciding.

Shi Quan also said helplessly: "Let's get this straight first: it's not very fun where I'm from, and the journey is quite long. Don't say it's boring when the time comes."

"Don't worry, don't worry." Dugu Yan waved her hand with a laugh.

Ning Rongrong, on the side, was suddenly flustered. She lowered her head as if struggling with something, looking like she wanted to say something but held back, and in the end, she didn't say it.

……

Three days later, the academy went on holiday.

Shi Quan, Ye Lingling, and Dugu Yan boarded a carriage, all wearing casual clothes, and left the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, heading toward Shi Family Village in Nuoding City, Fasinuo Province.

Having not been home for over a year, Shi Quan's longing for home became even stronger as he embarked on the journey back.

In just over a year, Shi Quan had soared from level 21 when he first left to level 32 now. The improvement in his strength was not insignificant, and the most critical reason for this was the Immortal Herb.

If he told anyone about this, no one would believe it.

Along the way, if it had really just been Shi Quan and Ye Lingling, it would have been absolutely awkward, but fortunately, Dugu Yan was there.

When they first set off, Dugu Yan was quite excited, but as time passed, her excitement gradually faded.

They had been traveling almost the entire time, which was somewhat different from what she had expected.

"Xiao Quan, at our current speed, how much longer will it take to get to Shi Family Village?" Dugu Yan asked, bored to death.

"At the carriage's speed, it will probably take about ten days."

"That's too far." Dugu Yan covered her face and said painfully.

Shi Quan smiled: "I told you that before."

Dugu Yan said speechlessly: "My plan for the journey was to travel, eat, and play along the way. We've been sitting in the carriage for a whole day now, and we only rested when we stopped to eat. This is too boring."

Shi Quan shook his head and said: "Then we can use our soul power to travel. Besides being a bit tiring, it can serve as training, and our travel speed will be much faster. If we encounter any beautiful scenery along the way, we can also stop to admire it."

"What do you think, Lingling?" Dugu Yan looked at Ye Lingling.

Ye Lingling said indifferently: "I'm fine with anything."

Dugu Yan pouted and said, "Then let's go to a city to rest for the night, find someone the next day to drive the carriage back to Heaven Dou City, and then buy some more things we need for the road before setting off. Sitting in this carriage is truly too boring; if I have to sit in it for another ten days or so, I'm afraid I'll be bored to death."

"Whatever you decide is fine, I'm okay with anything, just don't say you're tired when the time comes."

"Tired?" Dugu Yan rolled her eyes at Shi Quan, "Can it be more tiring than the physical training you and Teacher Qin decided on together?"

Shi Quan laughed, "Haha, I hope so."

In fact, Shi Quan's original plan was to travel back himself; the speed of the carriage was really not as fast as him traveling on his own, but considering Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, he chose the slower option of taking a carriage.

Now that Dugu Yan did not want to take the carriage, Shi Quan naturally did not mind.

After the carriage reached the nearest Douxing City, the three of them casually found a hotel that looked pleasing in Douxing City to rest for the night. The next day, according to Dugu Yan's plan, the three of them abandoned the carriage and began to travel on foot.

In terms of endurance, the strongest among the three was naturally Shi Quan; if he used his soul power to travel, there would be almost no depletion, while the weakest was the Auxiliary Soul Master, Ye Lingling.

The three of them walked and stopped along the way, covering nearly two hundred li in a single day, and this was even with stopping from time to time; if they were to travel at full speed, the distance would at least double, but if they really did that, apart from Shi Quan, both Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan would be exhausted to the point of collapse.

Although it was only two hundred li, a carriage could at most cover about one hundred and sixty li a day, so it still worked out to be a bit faster than the speed of the carriage.

However, traveling on foot was not as relaxing as sitting in a carriage; it was more tiring than sitting in a carriage, and it was a completely different feeling from sitting in a carriage.

Along the way, the breeze blew gently, and with the high mountains and flowing water, it gave people an incomparably pleasant feeling; even for Ye Lingling, after this day, the faint smile at the corners of her mouth had deepened a little.

Beautiful scenery can always make people relax their mood; after the day, neither Dugu Yan nor Ye Lingling said they were tired, and instead, they particularly enjoyed the scenery along the way.