Roaring Dragon-Chapter 27: Now That’s What I Call Professional

The Danyang Academy stood beside the Prince’s Mansion, its entrance marked by an octagonal archway. Behind it, the buildings stretched endlessly, filled with countless students moving about. In one of the outer halls, the quarterly examinations were currently underway.

Li Jing, the Dean of the Academy, a Confucian master skilled in both literature and martial arts, had dragged out a grand armchair to sit outside the exam hall, sipping tea as he supervised.

Behind his chair, a delicate little girl clung to the backrest, curiously peeking over, while a veiled, graceful beauty stood behind her, gently scolding:

"Zisu, be good, you're already late!"

"I just want to have a look. Li Old Man, help me smooth things over later, okay?"

"Such impudence, call him Senior Li!"

"Hehe, it's fine..."

...

The current examination in the Martial Arts Institute was an on-site forging task.

Because the difficulty was high, the arena was a roiling furnace of heat, with occasional bursts of fire and smoke drawing many curious students to watch.

Lin Wanyi had brought Zisu to register, but upon seeing the exam, Zisu refused to budge. She still hadn’t checked in, and Lin Wanyi was starting to feel like she was about to explode from suppressed anger, desperately wanting to drag the brat out and spank her.

But with Senior Li Jing sitting right there, she couldn’t lose her composure as a guardian. She could only say:

"You’ll have to go in yourself later. If you get punished by the instructors, don’t come crying to me."

Lin Zisu clung to the chair back, staring intently ahead:

"It’s fine. Li Old Man’s here."

"Sigh... Don't forget about the alchemy matter!"

"I know, I'll go greet them and get the token soon."

"Sigh..."

Helpless, Lin Wanyi could only leave Zisu behind and board her carriage to return home.

Finally at peace, her mind inevitably drifted back to yesterday’s bizarre incident.

Even now, she couldn’t figure out how she'd fallen asleep in the bath or why she’d had those strange dreams.

In the dream, she had completely changed — her behavior was outrageously flirtatious, just like those bad sisters from Wencheng Street, practically ready to devour Xie Jinhuan...

Had she been possessed?

Or was it... her first stirrings of love?

Peh...

Lost in these wild thoughts, the carriage rolled on. Before they reached the medical hall, Jia Zheng’s voice suddenly came from outside:

"Hey there, Young Master Xie, heading to the clinic?"

"Yeah. Is Doctor Lin inside?"

"She is."

...

Hearing Xie Jinhuan’s voice, Lin Wanyi quickly pulled herself out of her daydreams. Before she could lift the curtain to look, the carriage suddenly dipped.

Creak—

A young lord clad in embroidered robes climbed inside, followed by the large black hawk, Meiqiu, who even chirped a greeting:

"Gugii~"

Lin Wanyi had intended to greet him, but today Xie Jinhuan looked especially handsome, making her pause:

"This outfit... going on a matchmaking meeting?"

Matchmaking?

Xie Jinhuan chuckled, settling by the window:

"What, are you also off to a matchmaking?"

Lin Wanyi had dressed carefully today to match her thirty-tael set of clothes — she couldn’t just throw on a random skirt.

She now wore a light green ruqun dress, her delicate hair pinned with a red hairpin, and gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, exuding an air of intellectual elegance. But her slim waist and full, perky figure, along with her shocking waist-to-hip ratio, made her undeniably attractive.

Embarrassed by the joke, Lin Wanyi changed the subject:

"You came about the elixirs? Zisu’s already gone to get the token. We can start refining this afternoon."

Xie Jinhuan shook his head, cutting straight to the point:

"I came to ask something. I saw a corpse at the yamen earlier, full of holes. I think it was caused by a 'Gu flower.' Do you know anything about that?"

Lin Wanyi was part of a Gu-poison sect by bloodline. Though she never dared practice human-targeted Gu arts, she was well-versed in all techniques of raising Gu. She even knew how to use 'Love Gu' to make a man loyal forever. Asking her about this was hitting her expertise directly.

Lin Wanyi glanced outside to make sure Jia Zheng wasn’t eavesdropping, then leaned closer:

"You’re sure it’s a Gu flower? What type?"

Xie Jinhuan shook his head: "The corpse was dredged from the river, too decayed. All I know is that there were corpse flies involved, probably dragonbeard grass too. As for exactly which Gu flower, not sure yet."

Lin Wanyi thought carefully:

"Natural Gu flowers are nearly impossible to find. Man-made ones are divided into seventeen types across various sects.

"Of these, seven involve corpse flies using human bodies as nurseries; only two involve dragonbeard grass, and both affect the 'soul' — 'Mad Corpse Flower' and 'Soul-Calming Grass.'"

Seeing Lin Wanyi so knowledgeable, Xie Jinhuan felt reassured:

"Which one do you think it is?"

Lin Wanyi scratched the bobbing Meiqiu:

"Soul-Calming Grass only grows in extremely cold, yin-heavy places. No way it could survive in Danzhou. If the demon bandits raised it locally, it must be the Mad Corpse Flower.

"Mad Corpse Flower grows in places thick with corpses, nourished by blood. Its scent drives people mad. After a hundred years, it can even become a flower spirit.

"Linglu Valley in the Southern Wilderness once developed a method: use human remains and livestock carcasses as fertilizer — it blooms in just seven days..."

Xie Jinhuan listened quietly and nodded thoughtfully:

"If someone wanted to cultivate a Mad Corpse Flower in Danyang, where would they do it?"

Before Lin Wanyi could answer, the ever-present red-robed ghost-wife popped up again, sitting casually before Lin Wanyi:

"If there’s a pile of livestock corpses nearby, the smell can't be hidden. It’s impossible within the city. Plus, since the corpse ended up by the river, the site must connect to the waterways. Search upstream along the Huai River, target places heavy with yin energy — it shouldn’t be hard to find."

Xie Jinhuan fell silent, looking ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) at two absolute beauties sitting side by side in the cramped carriage.

Lin Wanyi noticed his distracted gaze and turned, seeing only empty space beside her:

"What are you looking at?"

"Oh... nothing. Zoned out."

Xie Jinhuan tried not to compare who was curvier, plumper, or more enticing, and looked elsewhere:

"I just thought of a clue. I need to head outside the city."

Lin Wanyi, still hoping to bind Xie Jinhuan to her sect’s martial canon, reminded:

"Any sorcerer capable of raising Gu flowers is at least third rank. You're just a martial artist — you’ll die if you run into one. If you have a clue, report it to the yamen."

Xie Jinhuan knew the risks, but he needed a chance to "sacrifice" some companions!

If he could find the flower nursery, forge some evidence, and frame the Zihui Mountain’s demonic aura scandal on the demon bandits, then the Prince’s government would hammer them instead!

Which meant he definitely couldn't call in the yamen. After thinking it over, he answered:

"The yamen’s busy. I’m not even sure yet. I’ll check first. Even if I meet an enemy, I have ways to escape."

Lin Wanyi worried that her future twin-dragon partner might get killed outside, so she said:

"I’ll go with you. You don't understand the ways of the sorcerer sects. I'll make it safer."

Xie Jinhuan wasn’t deeply familiar with witchcraft, and having an expert along would certainly help. He hesitated:

"Miss Lin, can you handle yourself? I don't want deadweight."

Lin Wanyi proudly puffed out her impressive assets:

"I'm not bad at fighting, just reluctant to do it. With your minor skills, you wouldn’t survive one move against me."

Sitting beside them, the red-robed ghost-wife also seemed to feel Lin Wanyi was showing off and mimicked puffing her chest.

It turned out the voluptuous night demoness wasn’t losing either — though maybe she was cheating with illusion magic...

With his vision drowned in softness, Xie Jinhuan’s mind almost blanked out. Since his ghost-wife seemed to approve of bringing a spare expert, he didn’t argue further.

Finding an excuse to dismiss Jia Zheng, he led the group out of the city...