Chapter 38: Jiang Nannan

Huo Yuqing obediently followed the beautiful girl up the stairs.

The wooden stairs seemed to be quite old. Every time she stepped on them, dust would rise, and under the pressure of her weight, they would emit a creaky sound, as if the stairs couldn't bear the load.

The second floor appeared brighter than the first, with the air filled with a pungent, bitter odor. On the left side, there were many complex soul guide instruments, along with various transparent containers filled with liquids. On the right side, there were several closed rooms.

"Emerald Pavillion also deals with some scattered herbal medicine trades. The upstairs is where we temporarily store and process the herbs. After initial processing, they are sent to other places to be refined into pills." Noticing Huo Yuqing's curious gaze, the girl stopped and explained.

"By the way, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Jiang Nannan, and I'm currently learning about herbs from Teacher Lu. If you're learning about medicines from Teacher Lu too, then you'll be my junior!" Jiang Nannan smiled, her eyes turning into beautiful crescents.

Huo Yuqing hesitantly asked, "Sister Jiang Nannan, is the study of herbal medicine difficult?"

"Why call me Sister Jiang Nannan? That's so formal." Jiang Nannan raised her hand and tapped Huo Yuqing's forehead. "Just call me Sister Nannan."

"Got it, Sister Nannan."

"The study of herbs is quite profound, but if you focus, it's not difficult at all," Jiang Nannan said with a smile. "I've only started learning not long ago, but I've already mastered a lot of knowledge about herbs… By the way, I overheard that you're a spirit-type soul master, right?"

Huo Yuqing nodded. "Yes, my martial soul is the Spiritual Eye, which is my eyes."

"Then you have an advantage!" Jiang Nannan said, slightly envious. "After learning to recognize herbs and their initial processing, the next step is pill refining. Now with the soul guides, all soul masters can refine pills, but Teacher Lu said that the higher your mental strength, the easier it is to refine pills."

Huo Yuqing was a bit surprised. All her life, she had heard that spirit-type martial souls were hard to find, and they didn't have direct offensive power. Without suitable spirit rings, they were considered to have no cultivation value.

This was the first time she had heard someone talk so openly about the development of spirit-type martial souls.

"Also, let me tell you a secret." Jiang Nannan glanced at the stairs, lowering her voice as if she were a thief. "As a secondary profession, pharmacists make the most money."

[T/N: Should I keep it as Pharmacist or Alchemist]

The beautiful girl's eyes sparkled with the gleam of gold soul coins. "Although soul guides make money, they take much longer to make, and the time cost is higher. Plus, in the Three Kingdoms of Douluo, the market for soul guides is smaller. Soul masters don't care much for soul guides, and at most, they just have one or two. Soul engineers mostly make them for personal use… But pharmacists are different. Some pills can even be taken by ordinary people."

Upon hearing this, Huo Yuqing's eyes lit up. She needed money too!

"I'll work hard to learn!" The girl nodded eagerly.

Jiang Nannan squinted her eyes and smiled. It seemed like little Yuhao was officially being drawn into the Emerald Pavillion circle.

Teacher Lu had never directly shown favor toward anyone before. As a considerate good student, of course, she would help her out!

"Let's not talk in the hallway anymore. Come, let me show you to your room." Jiang Nannan said, opening the door to the innermost room. "This one should be fine for you. The view here is pretty good, and you can see the golden tree from here! The other rooms are filled with various herbs; some of them we don't need for now and can't be stored in the storage soul guides for too long."

The room wasn't very large. Against the wall was a metal-framed bunk bed, but there were no blankets—just the bare wooden planks. On the other side, there was a simple wooden desk with a few books on top.

The window was open, and the curtains swayed gently in the breeze.

The curtains were made of some plant fiber that Huo Yuqing didn't recognize, presenting a light brown color. They felt rough to the touch and gave off a fresh herbal scent.

The room had excellent lighting, and from afar, she could see the golden tree, with its lush green leaves and golden trunk, standing majestically, surrounded by countless flying birds.

"So beautiful!" Huo Yuqing couldn't help but exclaim.

"Yeah, I really enjoy walking around the plaza by the golden tree. If you have time, you should take a stroll around the big tree. When you come back, you'll feel really comfortable." Jiang Nannan nodded.

The mouse Auntie popped its head out from Huo Yuqing's pocket, seemingly content with the environment. It chirped a few times, then climbed onto the desk.

"A Silver striped Mouse? Is it your soul beast?" Jiang Nannan asked in surprise.

"Yes," Huo Yuqing replied.

"Looks like you and your soul beast have quite a bond."

"Sister Nannan, do you have a soul beast?" Huo Yuqing asked curiously.

"I do," Jiang Nannan nodded, winking mysteriously. "I'll introduce you to her later."

"This room is still a bit simple," Jiang Nannan said apologetically, smiling. "There aren't many furnishings. Teacher and I only come up here to deal with things when we're busy."

She moved some bedding from the neighboring room. "These quilts haven't been used much, so they're almost brand new. Little Yuhao, don't mind them."

"Hmm..." Before spreading the bedding, she rubbed the bed board. "It seems like there's some dust. Some areas still need to be wiped down."

" Sister Nannan, I'll clean it up," Huo Yuqing quickly offered.

"The room by the stairs is the bathroom, with water and cleaning cloths inside." Jiang Nannan didn't hesitate to direct her.

Following her instructions, Huo Yuqing fetched some water and began cleaning the room.

"Is Sister Nannan from Emerald City?" Huo Yuqing asked curiously while wiping the table. The mouse bounced around her cleaning cloth, seemingly displeased that Huo Yuqing was wetting the area where it had chosen to nest.

"No, I'm from the Heavenly Soul Empire. I only moved to Emerald City two years ago," Jiang Nannan said with a smile. She wiped the slightly dusty bed frame with another cloth. "But I usually study at Shrek Academy... It's only recently during the break that I've had time to stay here at the shop. When school starts, I'll be in my fourth year."

"Sister Nannan, you're actually a student at Shrek Academy?" Huo Yuqing's eyes widened. She didn't expect to meet a Shrek Academy student in Emerald City... The last time she met Tang Ya and Bei Bei, they were also fourth-year students from Shrek Academy.

"Little Yuhao, do you want to apply to Shrek Academy?" Jiang Nannan paused, then asked.

Huo Yuqing nodded.

"Well..." The girl hesitated. "To be honest, Shrek Academy is famous across the continent, but it's probably not as good as you think... I've already decided to withdraw from Shrek Academy."

"Why?" Huo Yuqing asked, confused.

At the Duke's mansion, the servants regarded entering Shrek Academy, a school that had once produced gods, as the greatest honor. The Duke's two sons who had studied there were praised as if they were gods themselves.

In Huo Yuqing's mind, graduating from Shrek Academy meant a smooth future.

"The competition at Shrek Academy is extremely fierce," Jiang Nannan said with a bitter smile. "It's a place that values strength above all, and it's not friendly to commoner soul masters. Last semester, I was in third year, and our new homeroom teacher was unreasonable... She expelled 90% of the students in our class, and I was lucky to not be expelled."

Huo Yuqing gasped.

"I think, with my strength, I'll probably have a hard time meeting her standards next semester," the girl shrugged. "I only came to Emerald City two years ago and have only studied with the teacher during the holidays."

She frowned as she recalled her homeroom teacher's teaching style. "Actually, I've learned more in these two holiday sessions than I did at the academy."

This girl, from a poor background, was very practical, even with a hint of straightforward utilitarianism. She wanted to learn more things that people from her class could never access.

But Shrek Academy focused more on practical combat. Whether it was group battles, one-on-one, or two-on-two, the academy preferred to summarize experience through practical combat.

As for theoretical courses... either they taught the glorious history of Shrek Academy and the great people of its history, or very basic courses like the classification of martial soul abilities or soul beast age assessment.

More advanced theoretical content? That had to wait until students entered the inner academy.

Teacher Lu's offhand remarks were far more detailed than anything taught at school, Jiang Nannan thought to herself.

"With this in mind, I might as well withdraw from the academy and save my tuition for the new semester. If I withdraw halfway, Shrek Academy won't refund my fees... The tuition increases each year, and the fourth-year tuition is forty gold soul coins, which isn't a small amount." She said as she shook out the bedding. "Plus, I've already figured out my future plans... I want to be a pharmacist like Teacher Lu. Not only is the income high, but you can also help many people."

"Has Sister Nannan settled in Emerald City?" Huo Yuqing asked.

"Yes!" Jiang Nannan nodded. "I come from a single-parent family. My mom had a serious heart disease, and she was about to give up. But the doctor at the clinic she was staying at told me about Emerald City's legend… so I brought her here."

She fell into a daze, her gaze drifting to an empty spot in the air. "Back then, I was really at a dead end. The doctor said there was an extremely expensive pill that could cure my mom, but I had no connections, and no money... It was really dangerous. I don't even know how I dared to bring my mom into the Star Dou Forest with only a second ring… I guess that's courage in the face of desperation."

"But Teacher cured my mom." The girl smiled, her beautiful face glowing with a special kind of light, probably hope or anticipation. "Teacher said my mom's illness was very rare and couldn't be treated with just a spirit healer's soul power. She called many apprentices to study treatment plans, and even waived the fees I was supposed to pay."

"After that, we settled down in Emerald City. The environment here is great and perfect for my mom's recovery... Looking back now, this was the greatest opportunity of my life." She smiled slightly, a bit

"Actually, I want to become an pharmacist partly because of this. Teacher Lu said you don't have to have a healing-type martial soul to help people. I want... to help others."

Having been helped, the young woman had her fate changed.

Jiang Nannan no longer wished to just be a simple agile attack-type soul master, blindly leveling up and growing stronger to gain respect with power. She found something she truly wanted to pursue.

Fate was never a fixed outcome. No one could predict whether her choice was right or wrong... But that's the charm of fate. Jiang Nannan couldn't see the road ahead, but she knew it was filled not only with thorns, but also with dreams and hope.

"That's wonderful," Huo Yuqing murmured.

Her mother passed away due to injuries, and she was even happier for Jiang Nannan who had similar experience to her own

"Xiaoyu Hao, have you thought about settling in Emerald City too?" Jiang Nannan asked as she knelt by the bed, spreading out the blankets.

She turned her head and saw a hint of envy and loneliness on Huo Yuqing's face. Suddenly realizing something, she fell silent.

After a moment, she reached out and gently rubbed the girl's head. "Emerald City is a great place, you should stay."

"Sister Nannan, actually I..."

"Nannan, is it ready upstairs?" A gentle voice, like a soft breeze, drifted through from upstairs. It was Lu Mingyou's voice, though soft, it echoed in their ears. "I remember I received a yellow crystal ginseng last week. Nannan, could you pick a ginseng root for me and bring it down?"

"I'm coming, Teacher!" Jiang Nannan called out loudly. "Haohao, I'll be right back."

Huo Yuqing leaned against the window, gazing at the beautiful golden tree.

Countless soul beasts soared up and down from the tree, chirping melodiously, circling around the massive tree.

Huo Yuqing truly liked it here—the beautiful, life-filled giant tree, the soul beasts that were friendly towards humans with their pure, curious eyes, and the friendly, non-disdainful gazes of the people on the streets.

These beautiful things seemed to slightly fill the dark emotions in her heart.

The girl felt a bit dazed. Just a week ago, she had been in the woodshed of the White Tiger Duke's mansion, thinking about how she could take revenge in the future.

And now, she sat in this bright room, having absorbed a million-level first soul ring, and her future life seemed to have a clearer direction.

She had to thank the Emperor Sacred Beast, and she also had to thank Wang Rui. She had made an agreement with the Emperor Sacred Beast, but how could she thank Wang Rui?

Huo Yuqing knew that Wang Rui's identity was likely quite extraordinary.

The help Wang Rui provided had come almost as a matter of course, so simple that it seemed as though he didn't even consider it a big deal.

But for Huo Yuqing, it was help that opened up a completely new life for her. It could even be said that it gave her a new life, so she naturally wanted to repay this kindness with all her heart.

However, Wang Rui's name contained the character "Rui," and the Emperor Sacred Beast also had "Rui" in its name... The two of them seemed to have quite the connection.

"You know, you could offer yourself in return!" Tianmeng Iceworm suddenly said, breaking the girl's train of thought.

"Don't say such things!" Huo Yuqing's ears turned slightly red.

"Offering yourself in return is the least valuable thing. How could it compare to such a kindness?" she murmured.

Huo Yuqing thought about the tragic fate between her parents... Her mother had handed her over to the White Tiger Duke, but it didn't amount to anything either.

"The most important thing for me now is to become stronger. If I become stronger, I can help Wang Rui with many things, right?" Huo Yuqing murmured, "There's no need to talk about offering myself in return. If there are no feelings, it's meaningless."

Though the girl occasionally imagined she might like or fall in love with someone, she also had some rather disjointed fantasies in her mind.

But most of the time, Huo Yuqing was both afraid and longed for love.

She longed for that kind of emotion. Every time her mother spoke of her love for Dai Hao, her mother's eyes would shine with a beautiful light, making her worn face glow with a special radiance.

But she also knew that love was the cause of her and her mother's downfall. She had seen the Duchess only a few times, and that woman's eyes were full of madness and jealousy, all of it stemming from love.

So, she also feared such emotions.

...And besides, this wasn't the time to think about such things.

"You little girl, I didn't expect you to be so clear-headed..." Tianmeng Iceworm said awkwardly.

"What are you looking at?" Wang Rui's voice came from behind her.

Huo Yuqing turned her head.

The boy was leaning against the doorframe, a gentle smile on his face, his red hair falling messily beside his ears. His golden eyes were focused on her, like beautiful sunlight or flowing honey, or anything else Huo Yuqing could think of as something beautiful.

The girl couldn't help but smile, her eyes curving in a sincere and beautiful smile. "I really like it here, thank you, Wang Rui!"