52: Encounter again

Dongyang Valley was almost the size of a football field and was named for being covered in winter sun flowers.

The winter sun flowers resembled sunflowers, with their buds the size of a washbasin, supported by a stem as thick as an adult’s arm, standing over a meter high off the ground.

The buds were wrapped in green leaves, and only when they bloomed would the green leaves unfurl layer by layer, revealing the golden stamens within.

When the sun's rays shone into the valley, those green flower buds would unfurl, revealing their stamens, and the valley would instantly transform into a golden ocean.

At the edge of the valley, Xiao Yu and her group were watching the winter sun flowers bloom.

“It’s so beautiful,” Xue Ni exclaimed, her gaze captivated by the sea of flowers.

Xiao Yu glanced at her, a hint of helplessness in her eyes, as it wasn’t her first time seeing it. “Before the Red Bees arrive, let’s quickly collect the stamens.”

“Ah? But the winter sun flowers in the depths of Dongyang Valley haven’t bloomed yet.”

Hearing Xiao Yu’s words, Xue Ni turned her head. “Xiao Yu, you’re not planning to collect the winter sun flowers from the edge, are you?”

“Yes, you guessed it,” Xiao Yu nodded. The previous two times, Luo Bu had brought seven or eight people to help distract the Red Bees, allowing them to go into the depths.

But this time, besides Xue Ni, there were only two roommates and two male helpers, which wasn’t enough manpower.

Xiao Yu felt that for safety reasons, collecting enough from the periphery to complete the mission would suffice.

“No, the quality of the stamens from the periphery is completely incomparable to those from the depths,” Xue Ni waved her hand in refusal. “If we use peripheral stamens, the mission reward will be reduced.”

“But it will be safer,” Xiao Yu replied frankly.

“Xiao Yu, Xue Ni, don’t argue yet.” A male student walked between them. “This time, we’ll still go into the depths to collect flowers. With me and Ke Lin here, there won’t be any problems.”

The others’ gazes shifted to the other male student.

“Exactly, trust us. I’m about to Breakthrough to an eight-star Fighter. Even if I encounter the Red Bee King, I can hold it off and retreat safely.”

After being looked at, Ke Lin immediately showed a confident smile.

He had heard before that Red Bees usually collected nectar from the periphery towards the center. As long as they were fast enough, they could completely collect the stamens and leave successfully before the Red Bees returned.

“Ke Lin, you’re not even afraid of the Red Bee King? You’re so amazing!” The other two girls exclaimed, admiration in their eyes.

Xue Ni and Xiao Yu also looked at him, but a hint of doubt flickered in their eyes.

The Red Bee King was a second-tier Demonic Beast, and its strength was not to be underestimated.

“That’s right, so you don’t need to be afraid. Just collect the stamens with peace of mind,” Ke Lin smiled faintly, thinking to himself that since they wouldn’t provoke the Red Bee King, it was fine to boast.

Xiao Yu’s three roommates didn’t want the reward to be reduced and decided to go into the depths, so she could only submit to the majority.

Noticing Xiao Yu’s worry, Ke Lin proactively walked to her side, attempting to comfort her with words, but after only a few sentences, Xiao Yu tactfully sent him away.

Feeling a bit disappointed, Ke Lin fell to the back of the group when he suddenly saw Xue Ni approach him.

“To pursue a girl, you have to cater to her preferences and solve her worries, do you understand?” Xue Ni whispered.

He naturally understood the principle, but he hadn't had the chance to understand her. What could he do?

First, he was startled, then Ke Lin’s face lit up with joy. “Xue Ni, you and Xiao Yu are good sisters. Can you give me some good advice?”

“Xiao Yu has been very annoyed by a freshman recently, do you know?” Xue Ni whispered.

Ke Lin nodded. “I’ve heard. I think his name is Lin Xiu.”

Noticing Xue Ni staring at him, he added, “You want me to teach him a lesson?”

“I never said that.” Xue Ni first nodded, then quickly shook her head, and then chased after Xiao Yu. As she neared Xiao Yu, she looked back at Ke Lin again.

The latter seemed to understand Xue Ni’s gaze, and a smile appeared on his face.

“What were you talking about with Ke Lin? Don’t you dare sell me out, I’m not interested in him,” Xiao Yu said, glaring at Xue Ni, who was holding her arm.

“How could I do such a thing? Don’t worry,” Xue Ni glared back, secretly thinking that with Ke Lin’s strength, teaching a freshman a lesson would definitely be more than enough.

Last time Xiao Yu went to look for Lin Xiu, she didn’t know that Xue Ni was also behind her.

This meant that Xue Ni happened to witness Xiao Yu being bullied by Lin Xiu. At the time, Xue Ni had wanted to go out and help, but seeing that Xiao Yu was no match, she didn't appear.

However, she had always remembered this matter. She had originally intended to use Luo Bu, but that guy got injured, and she was troubled by not being able to find a suitable person.

Now that Ke Lin had appeared, it had solved her worries.

The group walked through the winter sun flowers, unaware that two sneaky figures had appeared at the spot where they had just been standing.

“Big brother, they’re female students from Canaan Academy,” the Gray-robed Man said, his face filled with pleasant surprise.

“I see them,” the middle-aged man nodded, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He had already prepared himself to be punished by the Young Lord upon his return.

“Should we act?” the Gray-robed Man rubbed his hands, eager to try, then his head was slapped hard.

Seeing the Gray-robed Man look at him, the middle-aged man angrily said, “You get excited whenever you see women!”

He paused. “I’m not in good shape right now. They have people with them, so it’s not good to act directly. We need to plan carefully.”

The middle-aged man gently pressed his chest, feeling a pang of pain.

He wasn’t completely unaffected by that palm strike yesterday.

“Big brother, look over there, it’s that kid again!” Suddenly, the Gray-robed Man forcefully pulled the middle-aged man’s body down, pointing in a direction.

On the opposite side of the valley, a figure emerged from the forest, glanced at the sea of flowers in Dongyang Valley, and leaped into the sea of flowers.

“Damn it, he’s like a persistent ghost,” a ruthless expression flashed across the middle-aged man’s face as his gaze turned to the very center of Dongyang Valley.

There, towering over the sea of flowers, was a huge, reddish-black spherical object, more than three meters off the ground, standing out like a sore thumb.

At this moment, black shadows were constantly flying out of it, and the buzzing of their wings echoed throughout the valley.

That was the Red Bee hive.

“Big brother, should we take him on?” The Gray-robed Man still remembered what the middle-aged man had said yesterday.

“What do you think? Let’s go, we’ll go down too.”

The middle-aged man grabbed the Gray-robed Man’s collar. “I’ll go find that kid. You go follow those women. When the Red Bees move, I’ll come and meet up with you. You grab one and run, understand?”

The middle-aged man planned to use the power of the Red Bees to set up Lin Xiu.

If he was lucky enough to kill him directly, he would definitely not miss the opportunity.

If not, letting him suffer the bitterness of fire poison would also be excellent.

“No problem, Big brother, leave it to me. You be careful,” The Gray-robed Man immediately perked up when he heard he didn’t have to face Lin Xiu, and he patted his chest hard.

Useless trash.

The middle-aged man cursed inwardly, then pulled him, and together they disappeared into the sea of flowers.

Since Xiao Yu had just passed, their tracks were visible in the flower forest, making tracking not difficult.

The Gray-robed Man and the middle-aged man separated, with the Gray-robed Man chasing in the direction of Xiao Yu and her group.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man headed straight towards the central Red Bee hive… On the other side.

After noting the hive’s location, Lin Xiu also entered Dongyang Valley.

This time, he didn’t have Lin Dun follow him, because he wouldn’t have time to look after Lin Dun during a fight with the Red Bees.

“Red Bees are very afraid of lightning. I have the Ben Lei Palm, and I’ve already mastered it to the extreme. As long as I seize the opportunity, I have a chance to instantly kill it.”