Chapter 77 - 77: Another One Appears
Fang Lin had a blank expression, effortlessly defeating a woman far weaker than himself. This gave him no sense of accomplishment, but rather he found it boring.
Xu Shangao looked worried and secretly feared for Fang Lin. Although Ding Linglong was easy to deal with, the person behind her, Ding Xuanji, was like a towering Buddha. After Fang Lin had beaten up Ding Xuanji’s sister, he definitely wouldn’t let it go easily.
Moreover, Fang Lin had already offended one of the Four Elites of Pill Sect, Yu Qiufan. Now, adding Ding Xuanji to the list, he had offended half of the Four Elites. No one could imagine the repercussions Fang Lin would face.
Only then did Ding Linglong start screaming. One of her arms had been broken by Fang Lin. The intense pain of a broken bone was something Ding Linglong, who had never been seriously injured before, found unbearably painful.
“Fang Lin! I curse you to a horrific death! I will kill you! I will kill you!” While wailing, Ding Linglong didn’t forget to scream at Fang Lin. Her state was utterly frantic.
Ding Linglong’s followers all fell silent, shocked into submission by Fang Lin.
However, many of them were secretly giggling in their hearts. Fang Lin had indeed broken Ding Linglong’s arm – this was tantamount to provoking a monumental catastrophe. Ding Xuanji would never let him off the hook.
“Brother Fang, she is Ding Linglong after all. Going to such lengths for a single Mutated Jade Clear Flower is unwise. If it came down to it, you should have just given it to her. But now, alas…” Wu Mengsheng sighed. He felt somewhat guilty, as he was partly responsible for how things had unexpectedly escalated.
Fang Lin lightly smiled, patted Wu Mengsheng on the shoulder, and said, “It’s all right. After all, she was the first one to attack and even used a weapon. I was just defending myself. If this escalates, at least I’m in the right.”
Wu Mengsheng shook his head, his face bitter, “Ding Xuanji is a man who takes every slight as a serious offence, and has many tactics at his disposal. He is even more fearsome than Yu Qiufan. He’ll definitely target us, even if we’re in the right. He won’t care.”
Xu Shangao and the others agreed with Wu Mengsheng’s sentiments. Xu Shangao added, “Ding Xuanji is indeed terrifying. There was a newly advanced disciple who didn’t take him seriously and openly rejected his recruitment, even making careless remarks. The result was that within less than three days, Ding Xuanji had cornered him. In the end, he had no other choice but to kneel before Ding Xuanji and admit his mistake.”
Fang Lin didn’t show a trace of worry. Instead, he tried to reassure everyone.
“Why worry? The fight is done, thinking about this won’t help. If it comes to it, I’ll just kneel in front of Ding Xuanji and admit my mistake.”
Everyone looked at him strangely. They knew that given his personality, he would never deign to kneel and admit fault to Ding Xuanji.
If Ding Xuanji appeared before him, it was likely that not only would he not kneel, but he might even roll up his sleeves and try to beat up Ding Xuanji right then and there.
“Why are you all looking at me? I’m serious. I’ve already provoked Yu Qiufan; if I add an even more formidable Ding Xuanji, how will I survive? All I did was beat up Ding Xuanji’s sister. If I apologize, I believe Ding Xuanji won’t trouble me. At that time, if I cling to Ding Xuanji’s broad and powerful leg, it will be beneficial for you too, won’t it?” Fang Lin said with a laugh.
Having heard this, Xu Shangao and Wu Mengsheng immediately realized that behind Fang Lin was an even more formidable Buddha, Han Yinyue.
Thinking of this, the two immediately felt reassured. With the support of Han Yinyue, what was there to be afraid of?
“Is Sister Ding alright?”
“Quickly, help Sister Ding up.”
“I have a pill that can heal broken bones!”
The followers of Ding Linglong helped her up in a flurry. However, Ding Linglong did not appreciate their help. With a cold, resentful gaze, she looked at Fang Lin, and suddenly clenched and broke the Jade Talisman. She then disappeared into the Medicine-Seeking Peak.
Seeing this, Ding Linglong’s followers were all stunned. With Ding Linglong gone, they were left in an extremely awkward situation.
Fang Lin looked at these people, each one of them looking terrified, and not daring to make eye contact with him.
“Move! Don’t block us from collecting herbs.” Fang Lin spoke.
As if pardoned, they immediately left the area, not daring to continue picking herbs in the vicinity, quickly disappearing from Fang Lin and the others’ sight. Outside the Medicine -Seeking Peak, a ray of white light shot out, then fell to the ground.
The three elders guarding outside the Medicine-Seeking Peak all had unpleasant expressions. Seeing another person leaving the Medicine-Seeking Peak, their frowns deepened.
Once the white light faded and they saw it was Ding Linglong, the hearts of the three elders gave an involuntary jolt – they had a vague feeling that the situation wouldn’t be simple.
The three elders quickly approached Ding Linglong, intending to ask her about the situation, but to their surprise, she ignored them completely. She stood up, covered her broken arm and left without saying a word.
Seeing this, the three elders did not pursue her further, but all found it very strange.
“First it was Kang Lu, and now it’s Ding Linglong. Both were previously considered potential candidates for reaching the peak, but now they have both failed,” the middle-aged elder said furrowing his brows.
Elder Gao snorted coldly, his gaze icy as he stared at the Medicine-Seeking
Peak. “It must be related to that Fang Lin again. His continued presence in the
Medicine -Seeking Peak truly spells disaster.”
Elder Wan glanced at him discontentedly, “The matter with Kang Lu is still unresolved, and we don’t know why Ding Linglong left the Medicine-Seeking Peak. Yet, Elder Gao already insists that Fang Lin is at fault. Isn’t this too hasty? Or does Elder Gao have a prejudice against Fang Lin?”
Elder Gao responded coldly, “I hold no prejudice towards Fang Lin. But this boy is indeed a black sheep. After the Medicine-Seeking Peak event is over, he will face an investigation. By then, everything will be clear.”
The middle-aged elder tried to mediate, “Let’s not argue, both of you. Whether or not it’s as we say isn’t up to us. Let’s wait until the end of the Medicine-Seeking Peak event.”
Inside the Medicine-Seeking Peak, Fang Lin took the Mutated Jade Clear Flower out again and spoke to Wu Mengsheng, “You were the one who found this flower first, so naturally you should have a share.”
Wu Mengsheng quickly objected, “No, no, this flower should be yours, Brother Fang. If it weren’t for you, this flower would have been snatched away by Ding
Linglong. I’m not qualified to have it.”
Fang Lin thought for a moment, “How about this – I’ll use this flower to refine pills. When the pills are ready, I’ll give you half.”
Wu Mengsheng still shook his head, “Half is too much. If Brother Fang insists, giving me one or two pills is enough.”
Seeing Wu Mengsheng’s attitude, Fang Lin knew that it would be pointless to continue the discussion. He nodded in agreement, promising to give Wu Mengsheng two pills in the future.
As for the others, Fang Lin planned to give one pill to Xu Shangao, with the rest for himself. After all, there was only one Phoenix Blood Jade Cleansing Flower, and the number of pills it would yield wouldn’t be many.
“Brother Fang, we’ve reached halfway up the mountain now. Since Kang Lu and Ding Linglong have chosen to leave the Medicine-Seeking Peak, I think you have a chance to reach the peak this time,” Wu Mengsheng suddenly said, with a hint of excitement on his face..