I Can Devour Spirits

Yin Cong smiled at the words, raised his hand to pat Duan Rong’s shoulder, and said, ”Junior brother, it’s kind of you. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

”Senior brother, rest for a moment. I’ll be back soon.” Duan Rong said, then stepped into the dark night, heading into the dense forest.

Seeing Duan Rong leave, Yin Cong stood at the cave entrance and sighed heavily.

He had been at Shang Xiangyu’s place for over a year, always under the pressure of Pan Yong and Chen Hu, dealing with all sorts of trivial matters, enduring quite a bit.

But he also acknowledged his shortcomings. Whether it was Martial Arts or intelligence, he couldn’t match those two, and had no choice but to endure and get through the days quietly.

When Duan Rong returned with two bloody wild creatures, Yin Cong had already lit a fire at the cave entrance.

Duan Rong had hunted a pheasant and a wild rabbit, and he had cleaned them by the water before returning.

Sitting down by the fire, the two started roasting the game.

Watching the pheasant and rabbit sizzling with oil, their fragrance filled the air...

Duan Rong, while rotating the rabbit in his hand, said, ”Senior brother, I kept pondering. I must have taken more of a certain herb, which cost me an extra ten Contribution Points.”

Yin Cong sighed, ”Don’t dwell on it. It’s already happened. Mistakes are normal, especially since it’s your first time. Only those like Pan Yong and Chen Hu never make mistakes, and they think it’s normal to be perfect.”

Actually, this incident was mostly his responsibility.

He hadn’t memorized the Points Pan Yong had told him correctly. Had he remembered, he could have quadruple-checked at the Medicine Pavilion counter and fixed any discrepancies.

Actually, losing ten Contribution Points wasn’t a big deal; it was Pan Yong’s cold, judgmental looks that were hard to bear.

Just as Yin Cong finished speaking, a shadow emerged from the cave corner.

The moment the shadow appeared, Yin Cong recognized it as Pan Yong, whose posture carried an aloof demeanor even in darkness.

As Pan Yong approached, the firelight revealed his stern face.

Earlier, Yin Cong had called him and Chen Hu abnormal, and he had heard it.

Seeing Pan Yong approach, Yin Cong quickly stood up with a smile, tore a chicken leg from the roasted pheasant, and offered it to Pan Yong saying, ”Senior brother, freshly roasted game. Please, have a taste.”

Pan Yong, with a somber face, waved his hand, saying, ”No need, I don’t like greasy food.”

Pan Yong glanced over and, seeing Duan Rong still sitting there motionless, sternly said, ”I’ve come to tell both junior brothers. Tomorrow at dawn, Master Shang will personally instruct us on handling herbs.”

After speaking, Pan Yong left promptly.

Gazing at Pan Yong’s departing figure, Yin Cong tore a bite from the chicken leg in his hand, looked at Duan Rong, and said, ”Look at the way he’s acting, even debt collectors seem more pleasant. That sour face every day, whom is he putting it on for?”

Duan Rong’s eyes shifted, saying, ”Earlier, he said Master Shang will personally guide us in handling herbs.”

”Hmm...” Yin Cong was taken aback by the word.

He had been preoccupied with his anger towards Pan Yong and hadn’t paid attention.

Duan Rong asked, ”Has Master Shang ever guided us in handling herbs before?”

Yin Cong blinked, ”Since I came here, I don’t think he has. It’s mostly been led by Pan Yong.”

Duan Rong said, ”Then this time, the Alchemy will be quite different, won’t it?”

Only then did Yin Cong recall that this batch of herbs seemed more complex than previous ones, but he quickly took another bite of chicken, saying, ”Why worry about that? We just need to do our job well.”

As he spoke, he sat down nonchalantly and began munching hungrily.

Watching him, Duan Rong shook his head slightly, sighing inwardly: This guy is unbelievably careless; how he’s survived under Pan Yong and Chen Hu till now is a mystery.

After finishing the game, they chatted for a while before going their separate ways.

The next morning at dawn, the sky was still dark, but two candles were lit on the platform outside the cave.

Pan Yong, Chen Hu, Yin Cong, Duan Rong, and Tang Zhu stood on the platform.

Tang Zhu’s face had healed, only a few scabbed wounds still lingering.

At that moment, as the darkness rolled and candlelight flickered like a bean, a strange atmosphere weighed heavily on their hearts.

After a while, Shang Xiangyu came out of the cave, carrying a bag.

Shang Xiangyu spread open the bag, ”Here are sixteen types of herbs for today’s task. Four for Pan Yong, and three for each of the others.”

”Come, Pan Yong, step forward. I’ll first teach you how to handle these four herbs.”

Pan Yong stepped in front of Shang Xiangyu, who pointed out the herbs to him in the candlelight.

Once Pan Yong identified each one, Shang Xiangyu began explaining the handling method and his requirements.

After Shang Xiangyu finished instructing each one, the sky was bright, and everyone began to busy themselves.

Among them, Yin Cong and Tang Zhu were the most tense; their faces were pale, and their hands trembled slightly, mainly because they only half understood Shang Xiangyu’s explanations.

Meanwhile, Pan Yong, Chen Hu, and Duan Rong had already started handling the herbs systematically.

Side-eyeing Duan Rong, Yin Cong thought it odd that while Pan Yong and Chen Hu were expected, Duan Rong, who had arrived just days ago, seemed familiar with all the peculiar equipment.

He himself had taken half a year to understand it slowly.

”This kid is really uncanny...”

They were busy on the platform outside the cave, and Shang Xiangyu occasionally came out of the cave to observe their methods, even pointing out some details.

Yin Cong had a particular herb he didn’t grasp how to handle; when Shang Xiangyu came out the second time, he finally summoned the courage to ask.

Unexpectedly, Shang Xiangyu patiently answered him and said, ”If you have questions, don’t keep them to yourself. Handling these herbs must be foolproof!”

”Failing to ask questions and ruining the herbs can hinder my Alchemy progress, and I won’t tolerate it!”

After Shang Xiangyu spoke, Tang Zhu immediately asked several questions, which Shang Xiangyu answered one by one.

Throughout the day, even Pan Yong and Chen Hu asked a few uncertain questions.

Only Duan Rong remained silent throughout, not asking a single question.

And before darkness fell, he had processed all three herbs assigned to him, returning to the cave early.

From the following day, Duan Rong had the most workload among them, even handling two more herbs than Pan Yong.

Yet, even with this, Duan Rong was still the first to finish.

Every time, during inspections, Shang Xiangyu nodded subtly at Duan Rong’s herb-handling.

By the evening of the third day, darkness crept in, and they began wrapping up their work tasks.

”Hmm!”

Tang Zhu suddenly exclaimed in surprise, staring under the dim light at a small bundle of herbs in his hand.

Silver Star Grass appeared with serrated leaves, bearing tiny silver spots like small stars.

Tang Zhu said, ”Why is there an extra three ounces of Silver Star Grass?!”

Upon hearing, Yin Cong immediately straightened, leaning over, ”Let me see.”

Tang Zhu said, ”There are two bundles of Silver Star Grass here!”

Yin Cong thumbed through the two bundles, turning to Chen Hu and asking, ”Hey, man with the poker face! How many Contribution Points is three ounces of Silver Star Grass worth?”

Chen Hu coldly replied, ”Ten.”

Yin Cong suddenly slapped his thigh, exclaiming, ”That’s it; the extra ten points are from taking this extra.”

Yin Cong looked at Duan Rong, asking, ”Duan Rong, did you take an extra three ounces of Silver Star Grass?”

Duan Rong touched his face, ”It’s possible.”

Joy washed over Yin Cong’s face as he said, ”Senior brother Pan Yong, do I still need to compensate for the extra ten points?”

Pan Yong coughed, saying ”There’s no need. Silver Star Grass is also a commonly used herb; we’ll save it for next time.”

Yin Cong said, ”At least the truth is out now. Otherwise, some might think I sneaked in some personal stash.”

Yin Cong’s comment instantly darkened Pan Yong’s face like the bottom of a pot.

Five days later by evening, the herbs required for this Alchemy had all been processed.

Yin Cong and Duan Rong had exchanged at the Medicine Pavilion for nearly a hundred types of herbs, handling about sixty percent of them.

Shang Xiangyu looked at the dense array of bottles and jars on the corner of the platform, his face showing no sign of relaxation, instead growing more serious.

”Tomorrow night. All of you, follow me into the cave for Alchemy!”