Chapter 953 - 952: You’re Still Growing, Don’t Stay Up Late

Qin Xin just appeared in the forest out of nowhere, dressed in a white shirt and long pants, looking cool and unrestrained, standing out sharply among the group of drab, grey-clad students.

Jing Zhichen stared at her, feeling as if time had frozen in a strange way.

After a long moment, his expression finally relaxed a little, and he said slowly, "We meet again."

Qin Xin saw that his attitude was that of a modest gentleman, not as fierce and aggressive as his subordinates, so she replied to him lightly, "Mm."

She just didn’t know whether he was a real gentleman or a fake one.

Jing Zhichen looked over the little tagalong behind Qin Xin and suggested, "How about the two of you travel with us tonight? There are Night Hawks in this area. When resting at night, someone needs to take turns standing watch. With just the two of you, it might be inconvenient."

Qin Xin’s expression stayed rather cool. She turned back to ask Little Douding’s opinion: "Are Night Hawks that much trouble?"

Little Douding nodded gravely. "Sister Xin, don’t be fooled by the Night Hawks’ size. Among spirit beasts, they’re a whole tier higher than Silver Bears and Red Wolves. They’re very intelligent and act in flocks, so their offensive power is really strong. If we run into them, the two of us will definitely have a hard time dealing with it. But I can stay up all night on watch. The moment I notice any sign of Night Hawks approaching, I’ll wake you up right away so we can dodge..."

Qin Xin thought it over. "No, you’re still young and need to grow. You can’t be pulling all-nighters."

Then she turned back around and cheerfully accepted Jing Zhichen’s invitation: "Then it’s better to obey than to be deferential. Let’s go together."

Everyone: "..."

That hurt. So your little underling needs to grow, but we’re all born with a destiny to stay up late on watch duty, huh.

Jing Zhichen, however, got what he wanted. The corners of his lips lifted slightly as he inclined his body a bit. "This way, please. In our team, the women and youths can stay in the middle, and the stronger men will be at the front and rear to protect you. Of course, night watch will also be handled by us."

Qin Xin swept her gaze over and, sure enough, Jing Zhichen’s team was neat and orderly, arranged according to gender, age, and physical strength. It looked quite disciplined.

She brought Little Douding and joined the Time Mage’s team.

But before they’d even found their footing, a student suddenly popped up from the back of the line, loudly objecting, "Young Master Jing, you can’t take this woman in. She’s really bad. Yesterday she stole all the Spiritual Pearls from our Group 10 after we hunted a Red Wolf, and got our entire team wiped out. You mustn’t be fooled by her!"

The rest of Jing Zhichen’s team immediately became wary of Qin Xin.

They could stomach her mooching off their protection, but if she was going to snatch Spiritual Pearls, that was absolutely unacceptable.

Thinking of how this woman had snatched the Spiritual Pearl from their Silver Bear yesterday, everyone was suddenly filled with hostility toward Qin Xin.

Little Douding panicked and argued, "You’re talking nonsense. The Red Wolf was killed by Sister Xin. How can you call that stealing?"

Qin Xin narrowed her eyes and recognized that this student was from Little Douding’s previous team—the kind who only cared about running for his life when things got dangerous, and then rushed back greedily the moment he saw a Spiritual Pearl appear.

She wasn’t in a hurry. The corners of her lips curled slightly as she said calmly, "I remember giving you a Spiritual Pearl out of charity yesterday. What, you all scrambled so hard over it that only you’re left now?"

The man’s face instantly flushed red. He stammered, trying to change the topic. "I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Anyway, you can’t join Group 1 and harm our noble Young Master Jing!"

There was no way Qin Xin would let him drag her along by the nose. She sneered. "Don’t understand? Then I don’t mind spelling it out more clearly. Yesterday I gifted one Spiritual Pearl to the six of you. Now you’re the only one left. Where are the other five? To get that Pearl, you must have used quite a few tricks to get your companions killed or abandoned, right?"