OUTSIDE OF TIME

As for the mutated beasts, Xu Qing encountered some of them.

However, the increase in his cultivation base allowed his ability to protect his life to increase. It could be considered successful if he was careful.

Although he didn't find the heavenfate flower and scar-repelling stone, his harvest of the seven-leaf grass wasn't small. If he went back and sold them, he could exchange them for quite a lot of spirit coins.

At this moment, when dusk was about to arrive, Xu Qing also saw the world outside the jungle. Just when he was about to walk out, his footsteps suddenly paused. He lowered his head and looked at a blade of grass beside him.

The appearance of this grass was somewhat similar to the heavenfate flower. However, even with his meager knowledge of plants and vegetation, he could tell that this wasn't the heavenfate flower after taking a closer look.

However, Xu Qing thought about it and looked around guiltily. After some hesitation, he still plucked it in the end and kept it in his leather pouch.

He sprinted all the way out of the jungle and returned to the campsite at night.

It wasn't late at night yet, so the campsite was still very lively. This was especially so for the areas with feathers on the tents. Amidst the lively atmosphere, one could hear bursts of unrestrained panting.

Xu Qing didn't pay attention to these. When he returned to his residence, he had just pushed open the courtyard gate when he saw Captain Lei walking out of the house.

Captain Lei only felt relieved when he noticed that although Xu Qing was in a sorry state, there was nothing wrong with him.

"What took you so long?"

"I went to the temple." Under the moonlight and the light from the house, Xu Qing saw the redness in Captain Lei's eyes and the fatigue on his face.

He hadn't had a good rest during this period of time. As for the reason… he had already realized it, so he felt some warmth in his heart.

"Temple?" Captain Lei was a little surprised. He didn't expect Xu Qing to have ran so far. At that moment, he called Xu Qing into the kitchen and rolled up his sleeves. As Xu Qing waited, he served the dishes that were already prepared.

The food was still warm and there were no signs of it being touched. Xu Qing started.

He was very clear that Captain Lei didn't know when he would be back. So, the fact that he was able to heat up the food right after he returned could only mean one thing.

The other party… had prepared food every day and was waiting for him.

Xu Qing silently stood up and went to get the bowls and chopsticks. There were three sets of chopsticks lined up. After that, he sat down and started eating.

It was very fragrant. There was a special taste that could only be experienced by the heart.

Captain Lei ate very little. Most of the time, he was either drinking or looking at Xu Qing with a smile on his face.

"Eat more. You're still growing. If you don't eat more, you might not become tall in the future."

This sentence made Xu Qing lower his head. After a while, he hummed in agreement and obediently ate more. After that, he told Captain Lei about what he had seen and heard in the temple.

Captain Lei was originally drinking mouthful after mouthful of wine but he was soon attracted by Xu Qing's tales. After Xu Qing finished speaking, he took a deep breath and slowly spoke.

"I've heard people talking about this before but that was a long time ago. Some people seemed to have seen a similar scene but like the singing voice, it eventually became a legend.

"Now that I think about it, it seemed to have happened not long after the singing voice appeared." Captain Lei muttered. He suddenly thought of something and sadness slowly appeared in his eyes as he reminisced.

Looking at Captain Lei, Xu Qing knew what he was thinking about. He suddenly felt a little guilty and felt that he shouldn't have said this. Hence, he fell silent.

After a while, Captain Lei regained his senses. He seemed to have seen the reason for Xu Qing's silence and smiled.

"You're too sensitive. I'm not as fragile as you think."

As Captain Lei spoke, he drank a large mouthful of wine and changed the topic. He then told Xu Qing about the interesting things that had happened at the campsite recently.

He chatted as he drank and Xu Qing listened as he ate.

They were like each other's… family.

Late at night, Captain Lei sat there and drank his wine. After Xu Qing cleaned the table, Captain Lei smiled and got up, returning to his room.

Xu Qing also returned to his room. After he entered, he saw that the bedding had been changed to a new one. Moreover, it had been rolled up earlier and was laid out properly. There was even a hint of a sun-dried smell on it.

Xu Qing lifted his head and looked at Captain Lei's room next door. After a long while, he walked over and wanted to sit on it. However, when he lowered his head and saw the dirt on his clothes and hands, he still rolled up the blanket and sat on the bed frame with his eyes closed as he cultivated.

Early in the morning, Xu Qing opened his eyes.

He was about to leave the room but after some thought, he went to the bathroom and endured the discomfort to wash his hands.

After making his hands clean and white, he took a deep breath and walked out of the room, heading straight for the tent the doctor was in.

He knew that he couldn't go too early, nor could he bear to go too late.

As for the former, Grandmaster Bai hadn't started lessons yet. As for the latter… he was worried that he wouldn't be able to hear the content at the start.

Just like that, with Xu Qing's calculations, when he arrived outside Grandmaster Bai's tent, the sound of an assessment rang out.

Xu Qing was very happy in his heart. He stood there silently and listened attentively.

"Green lotus flower dew, also known as green lotus dew. It's a flower bud from the water lily family's lotus. It's an aromatic water obtained by combining it with a special method of heating. It has the effect of flattening one's lungs and treating heat by coughing up blood…"

The voice of the young girl in the tent was as usual. Xu Qing slowly fell into a trance as he listened, unaware of the passage of time. Very soon, more than two hours passed. It was until the tent suddenly opened that Grandmaster Bai stood there and looked at him.

"What's the matter?" Grandmaster Bai's gaze wasn't sharp but it was dignified. Xu Qing was very nervous. He braced himself and took out the medicinal herbs he had plucked on his way back. He then lowered his head and spoke softly.

"Grandmaster Bai, I… I wanted to ask if this is a heavenfate flower."

As soon as he said this, Grandmaster Bai was stunned.

After his gaze swept over, there was a hint of strangeness in his gaze. He then looked at the youth's hands which were much cleaner than before. After a long while, Xu Qing grew increasingly nervous and he slowly spoke.

"This one isn't."

Xu Qing hurriedly bowed and left. On the way, he heaved a sigh of relief but he still felt some trepidation in his heart. Hence, he turned his head to look at the tent and discovered that Grandmaster Bai was also standing there.

Noticing the youth's gaze, Grandmaster Bai nodded.

When Xu Qing saw this scene, he stopped in his tracks and bowed deeply once more before leaving.

After watching Xu Qing's figure disappear into the distance, Grandmaster Bai turned and walked into the tent. At that moment, the guards, the young man and woman who were originally in the tent seemed to have been petrified and were motionless.

At the place where Grandmaster Bai sat earlier, a table had been placed there at some point in time. On top of it were some delicacies and fine wine. Beside him was an old man in purple robes and behind him was a gray-robed old servant.

Seeing Grandmaster Bai enter, the purple-robed old man laughed.

"Grandmaster Bai, how was it?"

"What do you mean how was it?"

Grandmaster Bai didn't seem surprised by the sudden appearance of the purple-robed old man. He wasn't worried about the motionless crowd either. He sat opposite the purple-robed old man and took a sip from the flask.

"I'm talking about that kid. I told you last time that I found a good seedling while waiting for you." The purple-robed old man said with a smile.

"A good seedling? It's one thing for this kid to come here to eavesdrop for the first time but this time, to eavesdrop, he casually found a medicinal herb and asked me if it was the heavenfate flower. If this continues, I reckon he'll use the excuse of asking about medicinal herbs to eavesdrop every day. If you didn't talk to me about him, I would have chased him away long ago."

Grandmaster Bai glared and snorted at the purple-robed old man.

The purple-robed old man laughed.

"You have a sharp tongue but a soft heart. With your bad temper, if you didn't sincerely think that he was a promising talent, it would be useless no matter who introduced him."

Grandmaster Bai let out a cold snort and didn't bother to defend himself.

"Are you planning to bring him back to the Seven Blood Eyes? Your place is filled with foul air. All you would do is waste a scholar's seedling!"

"How is it a waste? What's the use of being a scholar? Cultivation is the most important thing in this world!" The purple-robed old man raised his brows and replied.

"A scholar is useless? Why did you still come here to wait for a mortal like me? You kept inviting me to your Seven Blood Eyes." Grandmaster Bai said angrily.

"You're different…" The purple-robed old man smiled awkwardly.

"How am I different?!" Grandmaster Bai glared at the purple-robed old man with a bad temper.

The purple-robed old man helplessly slapped his forehead.

"Aiya, I just remembered that there's something I haven't done. Grandmaster Bai, I'll take my leave first. I'll come back to drink with you tomorrow."

With that, the purple-robed old man stood up and was about to leave. However, before he left, he turned back to look at Grandmaster Bai and spoke seriously.

"Grandmaster Bai, if you really think that that brat is a promising talent, then teach him some knowledge. Let him have a chance to become a scholar with cultivation in the Seven Blood Eyes."

With that, the purple-robed old man left with the old servant beside him. After he left, the stillness in the tent instantly departed. However, no one noticed the abnormality earlier.

The guard was still standing guard. The youth was still vexed and the girl was still smug.

Only Grandmaster Bai lifted his head and looked in the direction Xu Qing had left earlier, his gaze pensive.