The Master of Beasts
Chapter 32: The Medicine Rabbit

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: The Medicine Rabbit

「Night」

Chen Jiuge returned to his room. Instead of sitting down to cultivate, he lay down to sleep like a mortal, something he hadn’t done in a long time.

「Elsewhere」

Yue Meng and Black Eye had finally finished tending to the Red Flame Sheep flock after a whole afternoon of work. Fearing Chen Jiuge would hold them accountable, they had been exceptionally meticulous, which was why it had taken them so long.

"Finally done! Black Dog, why do you think Master gets angry? These little sheep aren’t going to die. An occasional accident just means extra food for us," Yue Meng complained.

Hearing no response, Yue Meng turned around, surprised to find Black Eye already asleep from exhaustion, surrounded by a group of Golden Dogs.

Clutching her little paws, Yue Meng indignantly exclaimed, "Useless Black Dog! You’re a disgrace to Spiritual Beasts!"

Under the moonlight, Yue Meng’s figure seemed increasingly solitary.

Da Bai slithered out from the bushes. His massive snake head cautiously approached Yue Meng, ripples of Divine Sense emanating from him, likely trying to comfort her.

Perhaps Da Bai said the wrong thing, because the previously quiet Yue Meng suddenly started hopping around, shouting discontentedly, "Afraid of him? You’re joking! Your grandma here is just giving him face!"

Watching Yue Meng fly into a rage, Da Bai swiftly slithered away. His large body deftly disappeared into the bushes, vanishing in an instant.

That night, Yue Meng’s angry curses echoed throughout the Spiritual Beast Garden, scaring the other Spiritual Beasts so much that none dared to sleep peacefully.

Indeed, whether human or beast, females are quite troublesome.

「The next morning」

Chen Jiuge, still deep in slumber, was awakened by shouting outside.

"It’s been so long since I had a proper sleep," Chen Jiuge remarked with emotion.

Ever since reaching Foundation Establishment, he could replace sleep with meditation. The number of times Chen Jiuge had actually lain down to sleep over the years could be counted on one hand.

After hurrying to the main gate to welcome Ye Chenghai and lead him to the hall, Chen Jiuge began to make tea while chatting, "Brother Ye, you’ve arrived very early. Your junior brother here wasn’t even ready."

Ye Chenghai shook his head with a smile. "Junior Brother, this is a gift I brought for you."

Pointing at a white, glowing White Jade bottle, Ye Chenghai explained, "This is Flower Dew I specially collected this morning. Though it’s not particularly valuable, it’s excellent for brewing tea or making wine."

"Brother Ye, what’s all this? Bringing gifts when visiting is too formal. Besides, I didn’t bring anything yesterday. Aren’t you trying to make me look bad?" Chen Jiuge said, feigning dissatisfaction.

"There’s no call for a senior brother to ask his junior for things. Just accept it, Junior Brother. The Spiritual Beast under my command, the one specifically responsible for the Flower Sea, threw a tantrum today and still hasn’t returned. When I spoke of buying a Spiritual Beast from you yesterday, it was because I wanted to get one to be her assistant," Ye Chenghai said with a wry smile.

Chen Jiuge, hearing this, felt a sense of empathy. "Brother Ye, I understand. Let’s not waste any more time. Come, let’s go take a look at my Spiritual Beast Garden."

...

Inside the Spiritual Beast Garden, Ye Chenghai observed the flocks of Red Flame Sheep with their gleaming coats, the sleek Golden Dogs, the leisurely Grass Turtles, and the elf-like Colorful Deer, among other Spiritual Beasts. He remarked with admiration, "Junior Brother, you’ve raised these Spiritual Beasts quite well."

"You flatter me, Brother Ye. These are just ingredients for sale; how could they be considered good or not?" Chen Jiuge said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"One can see the grand from the small, indeed." Ye Chenghai said, still very much impressed by Chen Jiuge’s breeding results.

「In the small secret realm」

"I didn’t expect your Spiritual Beast Garden to hold such secrets, Junior Brother," Ye Chenghai remarked, observing the Spiritual Beasts in the secret realm, whose vitality, Bloodlines, and overall strength were clearly a significant step above the others.

"Brother Ye, you mentioned you need a Spiritual Beast for the Flower Sea. I have two suggestions," Chen Jiuge said after a moment of thought.

"Please, go ahead, Junior Brother," Ye Chenghai replied, not putting on airs.

"Does Brother Ye have any particular requirements for strength, or perhaps for Bloodline?" Chen Jiuge asked first.

"Nothing too specific, but naturally, the higher the better. Ideally, at least Fifth Rank, though Fourth Rank would also be acceptable if necessary," Ye Chenghai stated.

An adult Spiritual Beast with Fourth or Fifth Rank Cultivation would require Merit Points to be exchanged for in the Sect’s Spiritual Beast Hall. No wonder Brother Ye came to me. Still, there should be quite a few in Hundred Herbs Peak who raise Spiritual Beasts like I do.

"A Medicine Rabbit with a Fifth Rank Bloodline and Fourth Rank Cultivation, and a One-Horned Horse with a Sixth Rank Bloodline and Fourth Rank Cultivation," Chen Jiuge named two types of beasts.

These were variant spirit beasts from the valley. Chen Jiuge had been trying to cultivate many other spirit beasts because, over the past few years, he had greatly expanded the quantity and variety of spirit beasts in the Spiritual Beast Garden, and some bloodlines had already reached their infusion limits. The Medicine Rabbit and the One-Horned Horse were new variants.

"By the way, Brother Ye, the Spiritual Beasts I’ve cultivated here have rather juvenile intellects. They need their Spiritual Wisdom enhanced. Normally, a Wisdom Opening Pill would suffice. However, if you wish for them to be as intelligent as a human, a Wisdom Fruit might be necessary." After some hesitation, Chen Jiuge decided to reveal this flaw. His senior brother, Lin En, had also known about this but hadn’t minded.

"Those are minor issues. But Junior Brother, the fact that you can cultivate Medicine Rabbits from Medicine King Valley truly broadens my horizons," Ye Chenghai said, reassessing Chen Jiuge.

I originally thought Brother Lin En asked me to come here to buy a Spiritual Beast from this junior brother because of the Thunder Deer matter. I didn’t expect this junior brother to actually have something of substance.

Medicine Rabbits, innately capable of identifying hundreds of herbs and understanding the processing of some spiritual materials, were favorites of Alchemists and Spiritual Plant Masters. However, there weren’t many Medicine Rabbits within the Myriad Beasts Sect; they were a specialty Spiritual Beast of Medicine King Valley.

Before them were two entirely emerald-green rabbits, each gripping a Third Rank Vajra Bamboo Staff in its paws. When Chen Jiuge and Brother Ye arrived, the two Medicine Rabbits were in the middle of "sparring."

Their arrival startled the rabbits, which immediately adopted a wary posture. However, upon recognizing Chen Jiuge, they relaxed and resumed their unfinished "duel."

Chen Jiuge was inwardly astonished. The intellect of these two Medicine Rabbits seemed quite high. Could it be due to their innate ability to recognize herbs? Did they cure themselves?

Setting aside Chen Jiuge’s internal questions, Ye Chenghai looked with satisfaction at the two healthy, superior-Bloodline Medicine Rabbits before him and said, "Junior Brother, I’ll take both these Medicine Rabbits. Five thousand Upper Spirit."

Rarity dictates value. Although Medicine Rabbits were special Spiritual Beasts, their Bloodline was only Fifth Rank. Normally, they would be priced around one thousand five hundred Upper Spirit. However, the scarcity of Medicine Rabbits within the Myriad Beasts Sect caused their price to be heavily inflated.

"Brother Ye, isn’t that price a bit steep? I’ve inquired about the price of Medicine Rabbits within the Sect. In the Spiritual Beast Hall, they only cost four hundred Merit Points to exchange for. Privately, the highest price is around two thousand Upper Spirit," Chen Jiuge said, unwilling to take advantage. Business should be a long-term endeavor; damaging his reputation was not an option.

"Junior Brother, take a closer look at the bamboo staffs in those rabbits’ hands," Ye Chenghai reminded him.

Bamboo staffs? Chen Jiuge focused his gaze. Third Rank Vajra Bamboo? No, this was Fifth Rank Vajra Bamboo!

"My eyes failed me," Chen Jiuge said with a wry smile.

Even though I rely on my Golden Finger to cultivate Spiritual Beasts, it doesn’t mean my knowledge of the Way of Guardian Beasts is poor. Cultivating Spiritual Beasts also requires contact with a vast amount of spiritual materials. I can’t believe I misjudged this time! Still, Brother Ye is truly generous. These two Vajra Bamboo shafts alone are worth nearly eight hundred Upper Spirit. In that light, a price of five thousand Upper Spirit isn’t low at all.

"I see these two Medicine Rabbits are quite fond of these bamboo staffs, so I intended to include them in the price. As your Senior Brother, I don’t like to be the bad guy. What do you think, Junior Brother?" Ye Chenghai said with a smile.

"As Brother Ye wishes," Chen Jiuge said, impressed.

Money changed hands, and the goods were delivered.

Having smoothly acquired another five thousand Upper Spirit, Chen Jiuge’s total Spirit Stones were approaching twenty thousand Upper Spirit, not including the Spirit Marrow. With so many Spirit Stones, he could finally begin the projects he had always wanted to pursue.