However, when one saw a flying sword laboriously pulling that certain person via a string in front of them, that image was instantly shattered.
Ning Caichen? Ren Baqian immediately thought of this name.
He was the only sword master known to Ren Baqian. Sword masters were rare. While there were at most a few hundred of them when chaos erupted in this world, with the present situation, there were approximately more than 100 of them distributed all over the world. Most people would never get to meet one in their whole life.
He shook his head when he quickly realized that it wasn't him.
It was another sword master.
Ning Caichen's buttocks weren't so perky.
Ren Baqian touched his chin and felt that he was getting more biased.
This person moved at a high speed, and in the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he already went from the center of the river to the opposite shore. He stepped on the rear of the board, then somersaulted in the air just in time to catch the tilted front end of the wooden pillar with both hands.
As he landed, he put the wooden pillar, which was as long as a man, onto his head with both hands fully stretched and acrobatically walked away. He didn't notice the three big ships at all.
His speed wasn't slow and his body didn't sway in spite of carrying the big wooden pillar on his head.
Ren Baqian smacked his lips and felt that there was a mismatch in his expectations.
He had wasted his time watching this stunning performance from the start.
He didn't know why, but he felt the urge to take down the wooden pillar on that fellow's head.
As for the sword master who travelled in the same direction as them, he didn't sense anything wrong.
Ning Caichen had told him before that the majority of sword masters were busily engaged in searching for all sorts of materials in the remote areas. Therefore, it wasn't unusual to find a sword master here.
For the sword masters who came to the interior of Dayao, their aim was to get to the various mountain ranges or the Sixty Thousand Mountains.
Ren Baqian felt that he should recommend enacting a regulation to the empress that all the land and mineral rights in Dayao belonged to the nation, but that the discovery of treasures would be rewarded proportionately.
However, this was just a thought and might not be put into practice.
The next part of the journey was accompanied by heavy rains, storms, and muddy tracks.
The hills and vegetation were more numerous than that of the vicinity of Lan City.
The farmland became rarer and was replaced by vast tracts of dense, uninhabited forests. From time to time, the calls of birds and the roars of beasts were heard.
These dense forests were like primary forest. From the outside, one could see the dense vines hanging from tree trunks and occasionally spot some monkeys or other animals climbing up and down. In addition, there were snakes with bodies thicker than humans lying on the road and basking in the sun.
These days, their meals were getting more sumptuous, and Ren Baqian gained insight by eating many types of meat that he had never eaten before.
During one rest period, a group of students went to the forest to look for treasures.
Not long after, many intense roars could be heard from the forests.
Subsequently, a student with scratches on his face could be seen running back with two fruits in his hands.
Ren Baqian saw the unfamiliar fruit and curiously went to take a look.
It was the size of a small fist, as white as jade, and crystal clear. Like a small shrunken head, it had five clearly distinguishable features. Among the vivid features was one of laughter and crying.
There were two leaves on top as well.
"Ginseng fruit?" Ren Baqian was surprised because this fruit really looked like a human face.
"It's a kadsura coccinea."
"Is it tasty?"
"The taste is heavenly." That student was very happy to see this rare fruit which wasn't found in Lan City at all. Although he was scratched badly on his face by the monkeys, he found it worthwhile to get two kadsura coccineas."
"Let me take a look." Ren Baqian took the two fruits, observed them under the sun, and conveniently put them into the bosom of his robe.
"Those are mine!!!" That student glared at Ren Baqian's action.
"I will exchange some good stuff for them." Ren Baqian took out one handful of White Rabbit Creamy Candies from his waist pouch to give to that student.
That student looked at the candies in his hands, looked at the two fruits in Ren Baqian's bosom, and wept without tears.
"Take off the wrappers before eating," Ren Baqian reminded the miserable and angry-looking student who simply threw the candies into his mouth.
"Your Majesty, I have found something interesting." Ren Baqian gleefully hugged the two fruits and presented the treasure to the empress.
"What are these?" The empress was curious as she had never before seen such fruits that resembled a human head.
"They are called kadsura coccineas. Their shape is unique, but the taste is said to be good." Ren Baqian gave the two fruits to the empress, but she promptly returned one to him.
Crunch, crunch… The empress took two bites, and the fruit was all gone.
"It is really good." The empress nodded.
"Your Majesty can also eat this one. I will get people to find more later," Ren Baqian responded.
"Forget it. It's nice to eat them once in a while, but boring to eat them too often." The empress waved her hands.
Ren Baqian felt that these words were also applicable to the candies.
He understood the goodwill gesture of the empress and took a bite of the fruit. It was sweet and delicious. As his saliva flowed, the fragrance of the fruit went right to his brainstem.
The fist-sized fruit was gone after a few bites, but the fragrance stayed in the mouth for a long time.
This fruit was really delicious.
After eating one, Ren Baqian started to think constantly about it.
Not long after, he saw many students coming back with either a little animal or some fruits in their hands, but he didn't see any kadsura coccineas after sweeping his eyes over their hands.
"All of you come over here for a while," Ren Baqian clapped his hands shouted at the students.
Everyone looked around and wondered what was in store for them.
"Has everyone heard of the kadsura coccinea?" Ren Baqian asked them.
"What is that?" Most of the students didn't know what it was.
"Those who don't know, ask him." Ren Baqian pointed at that student.
"Cough, ten White Rabbit Creamy Candies in exchange for one kadsura coccinea." Ren Baqian reached for his waist and took out a big bunch of White Rabbit Creamy Candies.
Most of the students still didn't know what it was.
"Are you trying to joke with us?" The little lolita was holding a rabbit-like animal by the ears. This creature was not small and had a mouth full of protruding teeth.
She was holding it like a toy.
"Those don't taste as good as the kadsura coccinea," the little lolita proclaimed while pouting. Other people might not know about White Rabbit Creamy Candies, but the empress would always throw a few to her during her daily visits to the palace.
Ren Baqian muttered to himself that this might not be enough to deceive them.
"Five lollipops!" Ren Baqian brought out five more lollipops and stuck them in between his fingers. It was as if five balls had grown out of his fist.
The little lolita felt conflicted as she tried to calculate whether five lollipops was worth one kadsura coccinea.
"Teacher, what if we don't want lollipops?" Du Laoliu immediately raised his hand and said, "We are not kids, so how could we like these things?"
He didn't forget to cast a look at the little lolita as he spoke.
Boom! Du Laoliu flew outward.
"You will get three extra points on the final examination. Consider them as extra credit for a practical project." Ren Baqian decided to play this trump card.
Most of them brightened up after hearing this.
After all, they weren't clear about White Rabbit Creamy Candies or lollipops, but three extra points for the final examination was tempting. A measly three points wasn't important, but what about 10 or 20 of them? Many of the underperforming students had a glimmer of hope not to rank at the bottom again.
Seeing the enthusiasm of the crowd, Ren Baqian added, "The final results will be posted at the front of the school, and all of your family will know about it."
This time, everyone expressed eagerness.
As Ren Baqian turned to leave, he silently added a phrase, Whether the full marks for the final examination are 400 or 800 points depends on how many fruits you guys manage to pick.