Chapter 160: Chapter 160 Damn Thing!
After assessing by eye, Qin Mao held his breath, and the energy arrow in his hand went "swish—" through the air, shooting towards the stem of the Heavenly God Lotus in the swamp pool.
The first arrow missed, instead splashing a lot of dirty muddy water. The muddy water splattered onto the white petals of the Heavenly God Lotus, but it was as if it had hit some ethereal garment, and it dripped back into the swamp with a splash.
Qin Mao condensed another energy arrow, adjusted the angle, and shot it again.
This arrow, whether it hit or just grazed the stem, caused the cluster of Heavenly God Lotus on the stem to tilt sideways and float on the swamp’s surface. A few bubbles rose up, but given the distance, they couldn’t see clearly.
"OK, 150 is in the bag~" Qin Mao was quite confident in his shooting accuracy. It must have been a long time since he earned such small change, and he was enjoying it, "Hey, buddy, just hitting it nets 150?"
"Yes." Qian Qi nodded, "Shoot them all, don’t let the main stem be exposed, and try not to damage the lotus flowers above."
There were about 23 clusters of Heavenly God Lotus in the swamp, and Qian Qi chose them all.
On the side, Lu Daoxian was eager to try as well. Although his accuracy wasn’t as high as Qin Mao’s, his bow and arrow were larger and stronger, allowing him to break the stems on the swamp. The inertia would cause the Heavenly God Lotus to fly elsewhere, and he could then shoot the exposed stems to pieces.
"What are they shooting at?" Under the tree, Victory and Geng Qiu looked at the three above, their curiosity almost unbearable.
Two hours later, the panting Qin Mao and Lu Daoxian were plucked down by Qian Qi as if they were little chicks.
High-precision archery is more mentally and physically taxing than people think. The first few arrows were fine, but trying to shoot high-precision arrows later was like trying to lift a cow, a task beyond one’s capabilities despite the desire.
Fortunately, the stems of 23 clusters of Heavenly God Lotus were shot to pieces, and the task was a complete success.
Qian Qi settled the payment, and Qin Mao couldn’t help but ask, "Why are you shooting those magic plants?"
"Wanna know?" Qian Qi raised an eyebrow, pointing to his Light Brain, "Simple, you transfer back to me the money I paid, and I’ll tell you."
Qin Mao: ???
Qin Mao looked at the money he just received. Although it was only 2,100 yuan, not even enough for his usual earnings from selling magic beasts, for some reason, handing it over felt excruciatingly painful.
"Forget it..." Qin Mao shook his head. He was already so tired, he really didn’t want to give up this bit of hard-earned money!
Plus, he could just follow Qian Qi and see what she planned to do next~
Seeing that Qin Mao wasn’t taking the bait, Qian Qi couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. She placed her hopes on Lu Daoxian, eagerly asking, "How about you? Are you curious?"
Lu Daoxian shook his head repeatedly, "Not curious, not curious."
It was obvious they shared the same plan.
Qian Qi sighed in disappointment, giving up on getting her money back that way.
She didn’t mind them following her, but it would be a few hours before the scent dissipated, so she thought she might as well do something else in the meantime.
"How much to find the exact location of the Magic God Grass?" Qian Qi nudged the system panel beside her.
[Oh~ Did you think of me now, sis?] The system, having not received any money, replied with a sarcastic tone, [I won’t speak, I don’t want to speak. Sis, you can’t afford this cost, better to let it go~]
Qian Qi: ???
Where did this damned thing pick up Lin’s tone from?
Since she couldn’t afford it, Qian Qi decided to stay put and wait for the scent to dissipate. After all, as a D-level little chick, she didn’t want to be too ostentatious and attract magic beasts.
But just waiting was incredibly boring...
Her gaze landed on the four people glancing around, looking up and down, and occasionally at her. The corners of Qian Qi’s mouth curved up into a smile under her helmet.
She said in a light, inviting tone, "Hey, guys, want to play landlord?"
...
An hour later.
Qin Mao stood under a tree nearby, discontentedly tapping his forehead.
Damn it! Why were his hands so reckless! All the 2,100 yuan he painstakingly earned was lost!!!
Another hour later.
Lu Daoxian also stood under a tree, equally frustrated, tapping his forehead.
Dammit! Why did he have to be so reckless too! All the 1,350 yuan he earned with great effort was gone!!!
Another hour later.
Victory and Geng Qiu sorrowfully turned off the landlord game in their Light Brains, silently cursing themselves for joining Qian Qi in card playing despite seeing Qin Mao and Lu Daoxian lose money, ending up losing the 200 yuan they earned as bodyguard fees too!
Qian Qi’s eyes turned into crescent moons as she smiled. She wasn’t really that good at cards; she simply fed 20 yuan to the system, relying on its calculating power and cheating ability to win their money.
"Time’s about up, let’s go." Qian Qi didn’t mind them following her. Now that she had earned back her money, she didn’t mind being honest and showing them the "world."
Seeing Qian Qi finally set off, the four of them excitedly followed.
They were all regulars of the Gu Yun Mountain Dungeon, with some even having explored every corner of Gu Yun Mountain before. They had wandered around Mermaid Swamp before but chose not to enter due to the magic plants and lack of rare items there.
This time, at the edge of the Mermaid Swamp’s safe zone, they hesitated about whether to follow, but seeing Qian Qi step into the scented area without any issues, the four looked at each other and cautiously followed.
Without the expected scent, they noticed astonishment in each other’s eyes. Qin Mao couldn’t help but speculate, "In the past, others tried destroying those lotus flowers, but the scent didn’t dissipate. Could it be that the scent isn’t coming from the flowers but from the underwater stems?"
"Quite possible. Otherwise, why would the little brother have us shoot the underwater stems to pieces?" Lu Daoxian nodded in agreement, "But how did he know that this could eliminate the scent?"
"Who knows..." Qin Mao shook his head. "Looks like we came to the right place today. I bet he has a special purpose, maybe even to make big money."
Talking quietly among themselves, they followed Qian Qi to the lakeside and watched as Qian Qi whistled.
This whistle seemed to signal something, making Qin Mao and the others instantly wary, assuming Qian Qi had companions aiming to rob them. However, no accomplices appeared; instead, they saw a small, red-eyed Moyu flap its wings and landed on Qian Qi’s shoulder.
Qin Mao, Lu Daoxian, Geng Qiu, Victory: Damn...!
Turns out she’s a Beast Master! A highly unattainable Beast Master!!!
No, wait, she’s a rare dual-element Awakener with both strength and beast mastery!!!
Unaware of how shocked the people behind her were, Qian Qi tilted her head and said something. Moyu spread its wings and flew toward the swamp, picking up the Heavenly God Lotus floating on the water.
The Heavenly God Lotus, unstained by the mud, was picked up by Moyu, and the muddy water fell back into the swamp. By the time it reached Qian Qi’s hand, it was clean and white.
A Heavenly God Lotus was about the size of a palm, with around 22 white petals each marked with a half-length red stripe. A single stem branched out ten or so intertwining vines, bearing four or five Heavenly God Lotuses, looking enchanting and beautiful.
Curiosity piqued, Qin Mao and the others leaned in and asked, "Your purpose is just for the lotus flower?"
"Exactly." Qian Qi nodded sincerely.
She pulled out a folded plastic sheet from the Defense Armor pocket on her leg with great ceremony and slowly unfolded it in front of them. Then she placed the Heavenly God Lotuses brought by Moyu into it.
"Does this lotus flower have some other purpose?" Victory cautiously inquired, as anything a Beast Master valued couldn’t be ordinary!
"Certainly!" Qian Qi nodded sincerely again. She rolled up the plastic sheet to form a large bouquet of 23 clusters of Heavenly God Lotuses and boldly displayed it to Qin Mao and the others.
She cheerfully said, "How is it, isn’t it beautiful? If you give it to a girlfriend, she’d definitely love it, right?"
Qin Mao, Lu Daoxian, Geng Qiu, Victory: ???
Spent all that time, and you’re just doing all this to give your girlfriend a bouquet?!
Damned stuff! Go to hell!!!