Chapter 110: MuMu is missing?

Chapter 110: Chapter 110: MuMu is missing?

The entire lecture session had taken nearly eight hours to finish. Refining medicinal herbs really was no joke.

By the time the lecture ended, the disciples were already beginning to leave in groups. Sui Sui and Ji Ling also prepared to head back, but just as Sui Sui was about to leave, he suddenly felt as though he had forgotten something.

He frowned slightly and tried to think about what it could be, but nothing came to mind so he just let it be.

Since there was still plenty of time, he decided not to dwell on it for now and followed Ji Ling back to the herb garden to help with the work there. While they were tending to the herbs, Elder Jing arrived to asked about their day to they also told Elder Jing about what had happened during the assembly.

Elder Jing stroked his beard thoughtfully after hearing the whole story.

"As expected of Junior Shan. He really does have a rather unconventional way of teaching. Don’t be intimidated by his cold demeanor. He isn’t actually that cold. He simply has terrible social skills, so he always looks like that."

He glanced toward Sui Sui with a smile before continuing, "It’s quite fortunate that you caught his attention. I dare say that among the current alchemy elders in the sect, although his cultivation isn’t the highest yet, his potential, technique and talent are definitely among the best. More importantly, his way of thinking is very different from that of the other alchemy masters. If you have the chance to learn from him, you should cherish it."

Hearing this, Sui Sui’s opinion of Elder Shan Li changed slightly. He had already noticed some of it himself. Elder Shan Li wasn’t actually as cold as he appeared. He simply wasn’t very talkative, and with that perpetually expressionless face, it was indeed easy for others to misunderstand him.

By the time the sun was beginning to set, Sui Sui had finished helping in the herb garden and prepared to return to his room. Ji Ling offered to accompany him, but Sui Sui declined and decided to walk back on his own.

It was only when he reached the door to his room that something suddenly crossed his mind.

MuMu.

Where was MuMu?

Sui Sui’s expression changed immediately. The last time he remembered seeing the little beast was before the lecture had started. After that, he had been completely focused on refining the herbs and hadn’t seen MuMu again.

A bad feeling suddenly rose in his heart.

Sui Sui immediately began to panic. He hurried back toward the place where the lecture had taken place earlier, hoping that MuMu might still be somewhere nearby.

When he arrived, he quickly searched the entire area, looking around frantically for any sign of the little beast. He even stopped several passing disciples to ask whether they had seen him.

"Excuse me, did you happen to see a little spirit beast around this tall? It’s white, very fluffy, and has wings."

The disciples shook their heads "No, sorry. I haven’t seen one."

After searching for a while, Sui Sui still couldn’t find any sign of MuMu. He was just about to give up when he suddenly remembered something.

The temporary contract!

He had muted MuMu’s voice earlier because the little beast had been distracting him while he was refining the herbs, and then he had completely forgotten to turn it back on. Sui Sui immediately reactivated the contract and tried calling out to MuMu.

"MuMu?" There was no response, he tried again, but still heard nothing, they were probably too far apart for the voice function to work.

Sui Sui quickly switched to the location function instead. A faint indicator appeared in his mind, showing that MuMu was still somewhere within the sect.

However, the location was quite far away. Judging from the distance and direction, MuMu seemed to be somewhere on one of the peaks belonging to the Inner Disciples.

Sui Sui didn’t waste any more time. He immediately followed the path indicated by the contract, using the fastest speed he could manage.

It took him nearly an hour before he finally reached the place, it was actually in the Medicine Peak.

Fortunately, it was already night by then, and there were barely any disciples still outside. Sui Sui was therefore able to move through the area without attracting too much attention. Even so, he remained cautious and kept to the shadows as he walked.

After all, a probationary disciple like him really had no business wandering around an Inner Disciple’s peak at night.

The Medicine Peak was huge, and it was completely different from the probationary disciples’ headquarters. There were numerous halls and buildings scattered throughout the mountain, while the courtyards where the disciples lived were also considerably larger.

Those who had elders as masters usually lived in their master’s personal courtyard, which often came with its own large and independent herb garden. Those without masters stayed in the collective disciple courtyards. Even then, however, those courtyards were still several times larger than Sui Sui’s own.

Sui Sui followed the location indicator in his mind until it finally pointed toward one of the independent courtyards belonging to an elder.

Sui Sui immediately developed a headache.

Why the hell was MuMu here?

Had the little beast wandered inside on its own, or had someone brought him here?

Anyway, either possibility was troublesome.

Sui Sui didn’t even have time to figure out which elder’s courtyard this was. His only concern right now was finding MuMu, so he hurried forward and entered the courtyard.

To his surprise, there was no barrier blocking the entrance.

That was strange.

Sui Sui had noticed earlier that most of the elders’ courtyards were protected by barriers. Yet this particular courtyard seemed completely open, which made him feel even more suspicious.

However, he didn’t have time to think about it.

He quickly followed the location indicator deeper into the courtyard and passed through a large herb garden. Numerous medicinal herbs grew throughout the area, many of them mid- to high-level varieties. Some had already matured, while others were still in the process of growing.

Sui Sui barely spared them a glance as he hurried through the garden, completely focused on finding MuMu.

Sui Sui quickly activated the conversation function again. This time, MuMu’s voice finally came through.

"Wahhh! Big bully! Big bully!"

MuMu’s crying voice immediately made Sui Sui even more anxious.

Judging from what MuMu was saying, it seemed that the little beast had been caught by whoever owned this courtyard.

Originally, Sui Sui had planned to quietly retrieve MuMu if the little beast had simply wandered inside. If MuMu had also damaged anything, he could apologize and compensate the owner afterward.

But if MuMu had actually been caught...

Then there was no way Sui Sui could simply sneak him away.

He would have to confront the elder directly.

Sui Sui could only hope that whoever lived here was someone reasonable. At worst, he would have to apologize properly and grovel a little until they were willing to let MuMu go.

Sui Sui quickly turned off the conversation function again, his ears already going numb from MuMu’s endless crying. He continued following the location indicator, which eventually led him toward a building at the very end of the herb fields. The farther he walked, the quieter the surroundings became, and Sui Sui instinctively slowed his steps, carefully making his way toward the building without making too much noise.

When he finally reached the door, MuMu’s crying voice became much clearer from inside.

"Wahhh! I’m going to have my Mommy punish you! You’re bullying MuMu!"

Sui Sui’s forehead twitched. That little brat really knew how to make things sound worse than they were.

Before he could knock, another voice suddenly came from inside. It was calm and completely emotionless, carrying that familiar monotone quality that made the speaker sound as though he were simply stating a fact rather than questioning someone.

"I’ll ask you one more time. How did you break my barrier?"

Sui Sui froze in place.

That voice sounded incredibly familiar.

His eyes widened slightly as he suddenly remembered where he had heard it before. There was only one person in the Medicine Peak who spoke with that kind of deadpan monotone.

Elder Shan Li.