The young man who walked out of the Magic Temple had deep-set eyes and wheat-colored skin; merely standing there, he resembled a sword ready to be unsheathed, its edge suddenly revealed, compelling people to involuntarily give way by three feet.
It's him!
Yun Sheng couldn't help but feel a sense of dread, instinctively shrinking down. How could her luck be so bad? Wasn't this young man from the Magic Temple the same one she "ambushed" and left unconscious on the little hill a few days ago?
To avoid this person, Yun Sheng had not gone to the small hill to practice for the past few days. She had thought he was just a passerby going through the village, but who knew he was actually from the Magic Temple.
Looking at his age and physique, he definitely couldn't be the Great Mage Yang.
Unlike martial artists, Mages generally have average physiques, appearing delicate and frail. The young man, however, stood tall and straight, like an evergreen pine and cypress.
With that said, the young man must be a disciple or the like of the Great Magic Director.
However, based on his skills demonstrated yesterday, he was clearly well-versed in martial arts.
Could he possibly be a Dual Cultivator of Magic and Martial Arts?!
Legend has it that on the Wuji Continent, there is a class of people with gifted talents who are well-versed in both martial arts and magic; these individuals are known as Dual Cultivators.
Yun Sheng frowned her delicate eyebrows; she had inadvertently offended a little genius adept at Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts.
Perhaps he no longer remembers her.
Yun Sheng consoled herself. After all, he was blind, and since she had only exchanged a few words with him, it was impossible for him to recognize her.
But who knew, as soon as the young man stepped out, his eyes, as if enshrouded in a layer of mist, didn't show the slightest hesitation, and as if he could see, his gaze passed through the crowd, landing straight on that petite figure.
A slight upward curve of his mouth revealed an alluringly lazy smile, clearly conveying, "Little Wildcat, we meet again."
"You…" Ding Lei was at a loss upon encountering such a boldly flirtatious youth for the first time, her breath hitching, struggling to speak without stammering.
"It's Mr. Ye, huh? Did Great Mage Yang allow you to come out? Look, these few people from other villages also want to participate in the Medicine Gathering Boy selection. I was just about to send them away," the village chief also had his intentions as he knew that Yun Sheng was knowledgeable about various medicinal herbs, but Ding Lei was not someone to be trifled with either.
Her family had been medicinal farmers for generations, and her father was the first Great Martial Master from Huoyan Village ten years ago.
For that reason, the Ding Family moved out of Huoyan Village and runs a medium-sized drugstore in town. Yun Sheng is very bright, but she has not systematically learned about medicinal herbs, and her chances of winning are not great.
"Let me say a fair word, just as I said earlier, the Banana Leaf Temple's recruitment of Medicine Gathering Boys is very fair. It doesn't require one to know Magic, but it also doesn't specify that one must be from Banana Leaf Village," said the young man, but his gaze never left Yun Sheng from the beginning to the end.
The young man had heard everything that happened outside the Magic Temple. He didn't want to meddle, intending to leave the Magic Temple to wait for that "Little Wildcat," but he then heard that voice that made his heart itch for more.
He was intelligent, and his senses – aside from his sight – were extraordinary. Yun Sheng had only spoken a few words to him, but he had memorized her scent and voice.
That damned blind man, he was doing it on purpose.
Yun Sheng pouted.
Just now, the young man winked at her. It was unfathomable that a blind man could make such a flirtatious gesture so tempting.
Others naturally did not notice the subtle exchange between the two.
The village chief looked embarrassed.
This Mr. Ye was someone who came to Banana Leaf Village together with Great Mage Yang.
His identity was mysterious; he was neither a disciple of Great Mage Yang nor a member of the Magic Temple.
He was aloof in temperament; the village chief had met him a few times but had never heard him speak.
Unexpectedly, today he took the initiative to stand up.
Upon hearing this handsome young man speaking up for her, Ding Lei couldn't help but feel delighted, growing even more emboldened, "How about it, little good-for-nothing, do you dare to compete with me? If you win, I'll give you five silver coins. I bet you've never seen so much money in your life, right?"
"Let's compete then. But besides the copper coins, I want to add another condition: if you lose, you must crawl back to Huoyan Village from here," Yun Sheng's gaze suddenly sharpened. If no one offends me, I won't offend anyone; if someone offends me, I will return it tenfold.
This Ding Lei was arrogantly young, just earlier mocking Banana Leaf Village for having no one, ridiculing the village chief grandpa. As a villager of Banana Leaf, she must teach her a lesson.
"You! Hmph, ignorant about life and death. Fine, let's have the competition. But, looking at you, I wonder if you can even produce five silver coins," Ding Lei didn't take Yun Sheng seriously at all.
Five silver coins, equivalent to fifty copper coins, this amount already matched the earnings from selling Blood Stopping Flower five times over.
For any family in Banana Leaf Village, that was no small sum.
"Sheng, don't be rash. Your family doesn't have that many copper coins," the village chief grandpa was also worried, the stake of five silver coins was too much.
"I don't have that many copper coins, but I can use this as my stake. Village chief grandpa, can you please take a look at this dried Moonlight Grass? Is it worth five silver coins?" Yun Sheng took out a small packet of medicinal herbs from her small pouch.
These were the Moonlight Grass she had dried and saved from earlier.
The quantity of Moonlight Grass that she had harvested was quite sufficient, and after her processing, the quality was definitely of high grade.
"Is this Moonlight Grass? Wild Moonlight Grass?!" The village chief grandpa inspected Yun Sheng's packet of medicinal herbs, his expression changing.
Wild Moonlight Grass on the market was basically monopolized; one strand of Moonlight Grass was worth one silver coin. In Yun Sheng's packet, there were at least ten strands, nearly worth ten silver coins.
"Since both parties have agreed, the selection for the Medicine Gathering Boy of Banana Leaf Temple officially begins. Along with the two candidates and the village chief, follow me inside the Temple," the young man with the Ye surname unmoved by their wager, led them into the Temple.
All the onlookers from the village were kept outside the Magic Temple.
Yun Sheng entered the Magic Temple with Ding Lei and the village chief.
The Banana Leaf Village Magic Temple was the most spacious building in the entire village, consisting of five or six staggered tiled houses.
Yun Sheng did not often come to the Magic Temple. She had only been here for magic enlightenment the previous three times and had always gone directly to the main hall of the Temple. However, today, the young man with the Ye surname led them not to the main hall but to the back of the Temple.
At the entrance of the back, stood a middle-aged man.
The man was about fifty, lean in build, with a nose like a hawk's beak, sallow skin, and dressed in a cyan-grey robe, seeming from a distance like an old tree stump.
"Master Yang," on seeing the middle-aged man, the village chief greeted him with great respect.
In Wuji Continent, the powerful are revered. Although the village chief was of senior age, he was just a Magician, which was a rank lower than a Great Magic Director.
Yun Sheng noticed that the middle-aged Great Magic Director had a gloomy look in his eyes and exuded a chilling aura. He indifferently glanced at the two children, discontentedly saying, "Why only two?"
He needed clever and nimble youngsters. These two children, it was obvious at first sight, had average talents, especially the younger one, frail and weak, and not a trace of magic power in him.
Po Mountain Village was just Po Mountain Village, unable even to find a decent Medicine Gathering Boy.
"These two children were chosen by the village as the most outstanding candidates," the village chief said hurriedly, trying to smooth things over.
"Whether they are outstanding or not, we'll see after the assessment. Have you two ever read the Qimin Medical Book?" Since he had to make do, the Great Magic Director Yang took out a medical book and placed it in front of them.