Third Hunt 1

The rumors about him and Ming Qingsong had spread, Qin Feng realized, as he made his way to the Gate on the morning that he was supposed to depart for the third Hunt that he was scheduled for. The looks that everyone was directing his way made that obvious enough.

There were even a few who couldn't hold back their curiosity, and were asking questions about him and Elder Ming's daughter blatantly. But those quickly ducked out of the way, when he turned his gaze towards the source of the voices. Which made it rather clear that he was no longer being regarded as a nameless herb-grower any longer.

Qin Feng found himself a little irritated when he thought about that. He had been trying his best to blend in, and not make any waves. And now, thanks to the incessant gossip from the Rear Gardens, he was seen as a potential son-in-law for one of the Elders of the Medicine Fields! Just how troublesome was that?

But he forced himself to ignore all of the stares and the curious glances as he headed for the Gate, and told himself that it was only a passing phase. It was just a matter of time before someone asked Elder Ming about it, and the truth would come out then.

Hopefully, the backlash from this little episode would not be too terrible when it does!

Of course, he had already made plans with regards to how he was going to handle that. It would take some work, and he would need to drag Lingxi along, as he carried out those precautions of his. There was a time when he considered pulling Xian Mei into the whole mess too. But he thought better of it, after he thought it out.

After all, she was the daughter of a very respected Elder. And if she was involved ... Well, wouldn't he be trading his place as a potential son-in-law of one Elder for another?

Lingxi, on the other hand, had no powerful personages behind her. So it was rather safe if he was painted as having an affair with a Rear Gardens disciple like her. It would also make sense too, since he had already been seen as close to the older female disciple. It shouldn't be much of a surprise, if the two of them were made out to be lovers.

But all of that would have to wait!

He still had to make sure that other things were in place first. Like his particular agreement with Elder Ming Guanhe. He would have to show the old scar-faced man that he had the ability to forage for the medicinal herbs that the latter needed on his own. And bring them back to the Elder's quarters without drawing too much notice. He certainly wasn't about to raise any waves.

So he settled down quickly, and moved off with the rest of the Hunters when it was time. Although the Hunters seemed a little wary of him, thanks to the tales that were circulating, they didn't appear to do anything other than pay more attention to his trekking abilities. And he had also taken care to show that he could pull his own weight, when the group finally stopped, and started to set up camp.

After that, the Hunters were more than happy to leave him to his own devices, when they set off to carry out their own missions.

Qin Feng grinned once the rest of the Hunters were out of sight of the camp. He had been waiting for a chance like this for close to a month! Ever since he entered the Southern Woods for the first time, he had been hoping to have an opportunity to search for the more precious plants that were available there. And now, it had fallen right into his lap!

Then he forced himself to take a deep breath, to calm himself down. Elder Ming Guanhe would not have arranged something like this without making plans of his own. So it was likely that this was some sort of a test, to see if he could be trusted to help the Elder with his own objectives.

Which was perfectly fine with Qin Feng. After all, he knew exactly what the Elder was after, and there were even some herbs that were completely useless when it came to healing Ming Qingsong's condition on the list that he had been given. Those would most likely be left to Qin Feng to dispose off, wouldn't they? From what he had seen from his interactions with the Elder, it was clear that he was a little too focused on those medicines that he needed, and did not know too much about others.

So Qin Feng decided that it wouldn't really matter, if he didn't come back with some of those superfluous ones. That is, if they were really just to cover up the Elder's true purpose. Well, he would know soon enough, when he returned to the School!

Of course, if he could get hold of some of those rarer herbs that were not written down on the medicinal herbs that Elder Ming had officially listed, like that Purple Blood Ginger ... Well, he had no doubts that Ming Guanhe would snatch that away as soon as he brought it back. And probably be more than grateful that he had find it too!

However, getting medicinal herbs of that quality would definitely require him to venture deeper in the Southern Woods, and Qin Feng wasn't quite ready to show off his abilities in that regard. The wild Beasts alone would be enough of a challenge for someone firmly in the Foundation Realm, and he wasn't supposed to have reached that yet!

Still, if everything went according to plan, and he could fool the Hunters that had just taken off, Qin Feng was ready to try his luck a little deeper at one or two of the zones where it was possible to get his hands on the same, on the fringes of the territories that the Elder had marked out. Besides, the Hunters didn't really care about whatever herbs and such that he picked. Not after Elder Ming had vouched for him twice before.

So Qin Feng began to gather what he could find, there on the fringes, taking care not to make any outrageous moves that would attract too much attention. He wasn't about to cause a ruckus immediately, after all.

No, he would wait for the second day before he started searching for the herbs that he was really after!

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