Chapter 208
Chu Feng had been busy for days before finally finding time to head to the other world.
“You’re here just in time. The life essence is ready,” said Shaman Qiu Luo.
“You’ve already gathered it?” Chu Feng asked with surprise.
The nodded. “Only about ten drops.” He reluctantly handed over a crystal vial.
Chu Feng took it and opened it. The moment the vial was unsealed, a faint fruity fragrance drifted out, making him feel as though he were basking in a spring breeze.
Ten drops was far too little—before he could even savor the taste, it was gone.
Still, after drinking it, Chu Feng felt a rush of vitality, as though he could ascend to the heavens. He swung his hand toward a nearby mountain, slicing the peak clean off.
Curling his lips into a grin, he thought: The life essence really is incredible—his spatial slash had grown even more powerful.
Looking at the now-empty vial, Chu Feng realized he’d kept it all for himself and felt a little guilty. But knowing that the Tree of Life would produce more in the future, he let it go.
“Shaman, things are ready on my side. Do you want to come over?” Chu Feng asked.
Shaman Qiu Luo sighed regretfully. “I’m afraid I can’t this time.”
“You’re not coming?” Chu Feng was puzzled. Duoduo had told him the Shaman was very eager to visit, just too embarrassed to admit it. Was that a lie?
“It’s not that I don’t want to come—it’s that I can’t for now,” the Shaman explained.
“Something happened?” Chu Feng asked.
Shaman Qiu Luo nodded. “We rescued a troublesome half-elf, and I can’t leave at the moment.”
“Alright, next time then,” Chu Feng said.
Shaman Qiu Luo nodded somewhat wistfully. “Okay.”
…
Chu Feng brought Jocelyn to the modern world.
Zhuang Feixue was stunned when she saw Jocelyn. She had originally thought that Illya was already beautiful enough.
She hadn’t expected that Chu Feng could just casually go out and bring back someone even more stunning.
Appearing suddenly in the office, Jocelyn looked around curiously.
Gray glanced at Jocelyn in puzzlement. “Brother Feng, why’d you bring her over? Wasn’t it supposed to be the Shaman?”
“Isn’t it the same if I come?” Jocelyn replied.
Gray frowned. “How can it be the same? How can you compare to the Shaman?”
Feeling looked down on, Jocelyn puffed up his cheeks in annoyance and silently cursed, Brat! I’m a pure-blood elf! These people had no respect for pure-blood elves at all.
“It was supposed to be Shaman Qiu Luo, but something came up at the last minute, so I had to make do and use this guy as a substitute,” Chu Feng explained.
Gray asked curiously, “Did something happen with the Shaman?”
“Found a few more half-elves. One of them is in pretty bad shape, life-threatening even, so the Shaman stayed behind to care for him,” Chu Feng said.
Gray nodded. “I see. Brother Feng, are you going to say Jocelyn is the mysterious pharmacist?”
“Of course not. We’ll just say the pharmacist couldn’t make it and sent his apprentice instead,” Chu Feng replied.
Gray nodded. “Alright then.”
Jocelyn frowned in dissatisfaction. “When did I become Shaman Qiu Luo’s apprentice?”
Chu Feng gave him a sideways glance. “Haven’t you been learning potion-making from the Shaman lately?”
Jocelyn’s face darkened. “That’s exchange, exchange!”
“Nonsense,” Gray said. “The Shaman knows more than you do. That makes you the Shaman apprentice.”
Jocelyn: “…Fine, whatever you say.”
He was a pure-blood elf! If word got back to his clan that she had become the apprentice of a half-elf, a few of the old monsters obsessed with bloodlines might just die from rage.
“I’ve already brought the potions and elixirs,” Chu Feng said.
This trip, aside from fetching the Shaman, was also to collect medicines. Chu Feng had already agreed on a date with the Ability Bureau for exchanging medicinal ingredients. Even if the Shaman couldn’t come, the trade still had to go on.
Originally, Chu Feng had wanted to select the herbs. Illya had a good eye, but he wasn’t a pharmacist, so he was lacking when it came to identifying certain ingredients—many that the Shaman needed, he didn’t recognize.
Jocelyn, however, had been idle lately, and since he’d been learning from the Shaman, he knew exactly what ingredients Qiu Luo needed. Being a plant-type ability-user, he already had a strong sense for the value of herbs.
Chu Feng handed Jocelyn a square scarf. “Here, take this.”
Jocelyn looked at him, puzzled. “What’s this for?”
“You look too strange. Cover your face so you don’t scare people,” Chu Feng said.
Jocelyn puffed his cheeks again, clearly unhappy. “Do I really look that scary?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yup.”
“You’re the scary one, ugly!” Jocelyn shot back.
Chu Feng was unfazed. “What a joke—around here, my looks are what’s popular. Yours are the weird ones.”
Jocelyn: “…”
…
Zhuang Feixue watched Chu Feng and Jocelyn bicker with great curiosity. Unfortunately, the two were speaking in the language of the other world, so she couldn’t understand.
“Delice, what are they talking about?” Zhuang Feixue asked.
Delice gave her a glance and replied succinctly, “Boss Chu says Jocelyn is ugly. Jocelyn says Chu Feng is the ugly one.”
Zhuang Feixue: “…” Chu Feng, of all people, called Jocelyn ugly—how high was her brother’s standard?
Watching them argue until Jocelyn’s momentum eventually faltered, Zhuang Feixue saw him reluctantly put on the veil, seemingly persuaded.
She thought to herself, That’s better. Jocelyn’s looks are a bit too over the top—it’s safer to cover them.
Chu Feng glanced over at Sterling. “Make sure to protect him.”
Sterling nodded. “Don’t worry, boss.”
Sterling was a tiger-tribe half-beastman whom Chu Feng had met early on in the Crescent village. His combat ability was excellent. Recently, after taking several of the Shaman’s concoctions, many villagers had gained a significant boost in strength.
“How’s Duvean doing?” Chu Feng asked.
Sterling smiled. “He’s walking again.”
Duvean was a half-elf Chu Feng had met upon arriving in Crescent Village. Though he had trouble walking, his woodcarving skills were extraordinary. Back when Chu Feng was just starting out, Duvean had been a big help.
Now that Chu Feng no longer relied on selling carvings, they still maintained a good relationship. After learning about the miraculous effects of the Bone-Strengthening Elixir, the Shaman had given Duvean some, and his old bone injury had healed.
Chu Feng nodded. “That’s good.”
Sterling grinned. “All thanks to you, boss. And that snake was really terrifying—if it had been me, I’d probably have been killed too.”
Powers really were incredible. When Chu Feng had first arrived in the village, he’d been as weak as a chick—walking too far would make his back ache and his legs cramp, and taking tonics would give him nosebleeds. Sterling hadn’t thought much of him then, but now his strength had grown so much.
Chu Feng nodded. “It’s nothing, really.”
…
“Boss,” Jin Jie, Zheng Xue, and the others walked in. Chu Feng nodded at them.
“Boss, is this the miracle doctor?” Jin Jie looked curiously at the veiled Jocelyn and couldn’t help asking.
Chu Feng shook his head. “No.”
Hearing that, Jin Jie immediately looked disappointed.
“Not the miracle doctor, but the one you’re supposed to protect,” Chu Feng added.
Jin Jie nodded. “Got it.”
Sterling stared at Hang Ming a few times, frowning slightly. Perhaps Sterling’s gaze was too direct, because Hang Ming seemed a little nervous under it.
Chu Feng glanced at Sterling and asked in another-world language, “Did you notice something?”
Sterling said the other person had a trace of the same aura as his own kind, but somehow didn’t feel exactly like a half-beastman.
Chu Feng didn’t press further. He used his powers to send Jocelyn and the others to the Ability Bureau, then left.
Jocelyn’s identity was special, so Chu Feng not only arranged for Sterling to guard him but also had Jin Jie, Zheng Xue, and Hang Ming—three ability-users—accompany them.
Jocelyn’s group arrived at the Ability Bureau in a rather imposing manner, where Shen Yuxing received them.
Looking at Jocelyn, Shen Yuxing curiously asked, “Is this the miracle doctor?”
So mysterious—even wearing a veil.
Delice glanced at Shen Yuxing. “He’s not the miracle doctor, he’s the miracle doctor’s apprentice.”
“Why wear a veil?” Shen Yuxing asked reflexively.
Without thinking, Delice replied, “Chu Feng said he’s ugly and might scare people, so he told him to wear it.”
Shen Yuxing: … That’s the reason? But this person clearly has such beautiful eyes! Could someone with eyes like that really be ugly?
Jocelyn’s arrival quickly drew the attention of many ability-users at the center.
“That’s the mysterious pharmacist, right?”
“No, sounds like they’re saying it’s his apprentice. The miracle doctor couldn’t make it,” said a hearing-type ability-user.
“Only the apprentice?!” Many factions had been itching to see the mysterious pharmacist, even hoping to poach him, but it turned out to be an apprentice instead.
“Still, if the pharmacist is that skilled, the apprentice must have some abilities too.”
“True. Being around a master like that, you’d pick up a lot—maybe even some elixir formulas.”
“Why the veil? Doesn’t want to show her face?”
“Trying to act mysterious and spooky, huh?”
“No, that little girl over there said it’s because she’s ugly,” the hearing-type user revealed.
“If she’s the apprentice, wouldn’t she have access to Beauty Elixirs? If even those can’t help, just how ugly is she?”
“Not sure… but his eyes are pretty nice.”
Yuan Bin chuckled wickedly. “Want to see what she looks like? That’s easy.”
Jocelyn stood with his hands behind his back when suddenly a gust of wind blew through.
The unexpected wind lifted her veil, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful face under the sunlight. Jocelyn turned toward the source of the wind, locking eyes with several ability-users who had been secretly watching.
One of them, who had just been making jokes, collapsed to the ground on the spot.
Jocelyn tilted his head slightly, finding the man’s fall amusing, and absentmindedly gave a faint smile.
With just that smile, his beauty eclipsed moonlight and starlight—instantly making a few people lose their composure.
Watching from the shadows, Mu Linlang murmured in disbelief, “This is supposed to be ugly?”
If this was ugly, then she herself must be hideous.
“Probably the message got mixed up,” Qian Jiajia said, cheeks flushing. “More likely, he’s too beautiful to be shown freely.”
Mu Linlang nodded. “Probably.”
