Chapter 1002: Quicksand Four-Leaf Flower
Xiang Chuan's words struck a nerve with Yang Haoran, but Yang Haoran didn't bother to take issue with him; after all, in his opinion, such a trivial matter wasn't worth dwelling on.
Seeing Yang Haoran momentarily deflated, Xiang Chuan felt a surge of satisfaction, and the smile on his face grew considerably more pronounced.
Xiang Chuan hadn't wanted to come along to Gu Mo City this time; he knew the journey was fraught with danger, and it was entirely possible he might die there. He had refused, unwilling to follow Yang Haoran to Gu Mo City just to seek thrills.
However, Yang Haoran paid no mind to his objections. Even though Xiang Chuan offered various excuses to refuse, he was ultimately dragged along by force. Consequently, he harbored a significant amount of resentment, and naturally, he didn't want to miss this chance to taunt Yang Haoran and vent his inner displeasure.
Yang Haoran didn't bicker with Xiang Chuan. He chuckled, then sat cross-legged on the spot, his body not touching the ground, floating suspended a foot above it.
"Let's rest for a bit, then we'll continue our journey."
Yang Haoran didn't want to bicker with Xiang Chuan, but Xiang Chuan clearly wasn't ready to hold his tongue. Seeing Yang Haoran floating cross-legged, slowly closing his eyes, he chuckled mischievously and spoke.
"Heh heh, I haven't really expended any energy on this journey, so I don't need to rest. Oh, right, there's something I want to ask you. You once promised me that you wouldn't force me to do anything I didn't like. This time, I made it very clear that I didn't want to come to Gu Mo City, yet you insisted on dragging me here by force. Don't you think what you're doing is a bit contradictory?"
"Heh heh, 'except for special circumstances,' didn't I tell you that back then?"
The smile on Xiang Chuan's face froze. As he came to his senses, he looked at Yang Haoran with a face full of disdain.
"You're truly shameless! I don't know what evil I committed in my past life to encounter a jinx like you in this one. What rotten luck!"
Xiang Chuan said with an exaggerated expression, while Yang Haoran remained his usual self, a faint smile gracing his lips.
"It was fate that brought us together; this is the arrangement of the heavens, a destined encounter. So, you should cherish it and not complain. After all, who knows if people like us will even have another life."
Yang Haoran's words sent shivers down Xiang Chuan's spine, raising goosebumps all over his body.
"Alright, alright, stop trying to gross me out! Meeting you wasn't fate; it was monkey shit! Monkey shit, I tell ya!"
Yang Haoran chuckled. Unwilling to argue with Xiang Chuan further, he closed his eyes once more.
"Hey, hey, hey, why are you closing your eyes again? When you're dead, you can keep them closed forever; what's the rush now?"
Xiang Chuan's words were quite malicious, but Yang Haoran still ignored him. Seeing this, Xiang Chuan was a little speechless, so he continued.
"Get up, quickly! There's a spiritual medicinal herb I need in this desert. Come with me to find it. Since we're already here, we might as well take care of this matter."
Yang Haoran remained unmoved, as if he hadn't heard a word Xiang Chuan said.
Xiang Chuan immediately felt annoyed, but then his eyes darted, and he seemed to have thought of a good idea.
"If you don't go, I'll just go by myself. But Gu Mo City is very chaotic, something I'm sure you know better than I do. And I, being a noble Pharmacist, if I go looking for spiritual medicinal herbs alone and get captured by others, what am I supposed to do then? Should I let them have their way with me, or should I find a way to kill myself? Big brother, what do you think I should choose?"
Hearing this, Yang Haoran's slightly closed eyelids slowly opened again, a hint of helplessness appearing on his face. He truly was a bit tired, which was why he decided to rest here, but Xiang Chuan apparently had no intention of letting him rest.
Listening to Xiang Chuan's snide remarks, he ultimately opened his eyes. There was nothing for it; Xiang Chuan had hit his soft spot. If something truly happened to Xiang Chuan while he was searching for spiritual medicinal herbs, that would be an immense pity. Of course, he didn't want such a thing to occur.
"I never realized before that you had such a strong vengeful streak."
Yang Haoran said with a chuckle, then slowly rose to his feet.
"Heh heh, what do you mean, 'strong vengeful streak'? " Xiang Chuan scoffed. "I'm merely discussing the matter at hand. Do you truly feel at ease letting me search for spiritual medicinal herbs alone in this desert?"
Xiang Chuan chuckled, an unconcealed smugness appearing on his face, an expression that seemed to tell Yang Haoran, "Yes, I'm getting my revenge on you, and what are you going to do about it?"
Yang Haoran's personality differed from Xiang Chuan's, and thus his way of handling things was naturally different as well. So, even when faced with Xiang Chuan's provocation, he didn't say much, and his expression remained unchanged.
"I still have many things to do, so I can't waste too much time here. If the spiritual medicinal herb you're looking for isn't too difficult to find, I'll go with you. But if it's very hard to locate, we'll temporarily give up on it today. Once I've established a firm foothold in Gu Mo City, you can scour this entire desert if you wish."
In truth, Yang Haoran knew that asking this was pointless, because he felt that Xiang Chuan was deliberately trying to make trouble for him and certainly wouldn't let him off easy.
Sure enough, as soon as Xiang Chuan heard his words, he immediately revealed a smile of successful mischief, then said with a laugh.
"If spiritual medicinal herbs were easy to find, they wouldn't be called spiritual medicinal herbs," he began. "However, the one I'm looking for this time isn't particularly precious, so it's relatively much easier to find. If we're lucky, it won't take up much of your time."
Yang Haoran naturally didn't believe Xiang Chuan's nonsense. Nevertheless, since Xiang Chuan had put it that way, he decided to accompany him in the search. Once he felt enough time had passed, regardless of whether Xiang Chuan had found the required spiritual medicinal herb or not, he would take Xiang Chuan out of the desert. If Xiang Chuan agreed, that would be best; if not, he would forcibly take him away.
"Let's go. I'll go with you to find it."
Having gained Yang Haoran's consent, Xiang Chuan didn't prattle on any further. His body lifted into the air, and he flew towards the depths of the desert.
Yang Haoran chuckled and shook his head, then also lifted his body into the air, chasing after Xiang Chuan.
This desert wasn't particularly vast, and combined with their rapid flight speed, it took only a short while for the two of them to reach its depths.
"Heh heh, don't you dare think I'm deliberately trying to cause trouble for you," Xiang Chuan said. "I truly do need to find a spiritual medicinal herb in this desert."
After landing, Xiang Chuan spoke while looking around. Yang Haoran's expression remained unchanged, making it impossible to tell from his face whether he believed Xiang Chuan's words at that moment.
"Tell me the characteristics of this spiritual medicinal herb. That way, I can help you search for it and save time," Yang Haoran said.
"This spiritual medicinal herb is called the Quicksand Four-Leaf Flower," Xiang Chuan explained. "It's a unique spiritual medicinal herb found only in the desert; it absolutely cannot grow anywhere else. It thrives on various poisonous snakes and insects in the desert—the more venomous the insect, the more it likes it. Furthermore, its own toxicity is exceptionally potent; nothing in the desert, neither animal nor plant, possesses a stronger venom than it."
Xiang Chuan's voice paused slightly, then he continued.
"As for its features, well, it's taller than a person, has four leaves, and. . . forget it. Rather than describing its features, I might as well just show you what it looks like."
Xiang Chuan waved his hand, and spiritual light coalesced before Yang Haoran's eyes, materializing a plant.
This plant was entirely yellow, its color very close to the yellow sand of the desert. It stood about 1.5 to 1.6 meters tall. It had a single main trunk, as thick as an adult's arm. The lower part of the trunk was smooth and bare, while the upper part bore four leaves—four bizarre leaves.
The reason these four leaves were called bizarre was because they differed significantly from ordinary plant leaves; they resembled four open human hands, poised as if ready to snatch prey.
Yet, these four hand-shaped leaves weren't the most bizarre part; the strangest feature was the flower at the very top of the main trunk.
This flower was roughly the size of an adult's head. Although it had no hair, it bore a hideous woman's face, and blood even streamed from its eye sockets. Even though the image before him was conjured by Xiang Chuan's power and was static, it still managed to evoke a bone-chilling sensation.
"Xiang Chuan, is this thing you're showing me a plant or a monster?"
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