Dan Heng was intrigued by what the Poison Douluo said and agreed to visit him after some time, since the Poison Douluo also had things to attend to.
Dan Heng watered the Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum, loosening the soil gently.
At that moment, a sound of something falling suddenly rang out.
Dan Heng looked up and saw a figure standing at the doorway, empty-handed, with a book lying on the ground in front of him.
It was none other than Chrysanthemum Douluo!
Chrysanthemum Douluo stared blankly at Dan Heng—or more precisely, at the Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum in front of Dan Heng—utterly stunned, frozen in place.
Dan Heng nodded toward him and said, "You've come at just the right time, Mr. Ju."
Chrysanthemum Douluo blinked in confusion.
What did he mean, "just the right time"? Could it be… was it what he thought it was?
If it really was, then he had hit the jackpot!
Chrysanthemum Douluo didn't even dare continue thinking. He was afraid it was a dream, and if it burst, all that would remain was an overwhelming emptiness.
"Mr. Dan Heng… you—you're really amazing. You actually found this immortal herb… it's the same as my spirit—Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum."
He gave an awkward smile, trying hard not to look directly but couldn't help his gaze from drifting back.
Dan Heng gave a slight nod and said, "Exactly. That's why I found this specific immortal herb—because I intend to gift it to you."
"Mr. Dan Heng, I—I didn't hear that clearly. What did you just say?" Chrysanthemum Douluo scratched his ear like he wanted to dig the words out, his face flushing with excitement.
Dan Heng even wondered if repeating it again would make his blood rush straight out of his head.
"I said, it's a gift for you."
"…"
Chrysanthemum Douluo swayed on his feet, then grinned ecstatically before collapsing backward with a loud thud!
"Thump…!!!"
He fell flat on his back, a silly smile still plastered on his face—like he had completely lost his mind.
If anyone else had seen this, the mighty Titled Douluo behaving like a clueless kid… it would've been quite the scene.
But Dan Heng knew just how tempting this herb was to Chrysanthemum Douluo.
At that moment, Shui Yue'er came in, picked up the book on the ground, and asked:
"Mr. Dan Heng, what's wrong with this guy?"
She looked curiously at the still-smiling Chrysanthemum Douluo lying on the ground.
Even though Chrysanthemum Douluo was old enough to be her great-grandfather, he looked extremely youthful and was even quite handsome.
In the past, Shui Yue'er might've been a little smitten.But now, after seeing Dan Heng every day, her resistance to good looks had leveled up considerably.
"Let him calm down a bit," Dan Heng said, accepting the book from her.
It was a rare handwritten copy titled Compendium of Materia Medica. After flipping through it, Dan Heng realized it was likely a precious treasure from the Spirit Hall.
Chrysanthemum Douluo must have come here intending to gift it to him.
Shui Yue'er pouted and said, "Mr. Dan Heng, I've got a pimple here. Ugh, it's so annoying…"
She pointed to her brow where two red pimples had popped up, looking very troubled.
Dan Heng thought for a moment and said, "Don't tell anyone—I'll mix up a medicinal face mask for you in a few days."
"Mm-hmm! My lips are sealed tighter than the guards at the Heaven Dou Palace!"
Shui Yue'er beamed with joy.
She then looked at the Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum on display, surprised. She reached out to touch one of the petals.
"So pretty… Mr. Dan Heng, can you give me one—"
Before she could touch it—
"Don't touch it!!!"
A cold voice barked out suddenly.
Chrysanthemum Douluo sprang to his feet and grabbed her wrist.
"Ow… that hurts…" Shui Yue'er winced.
Chrysanthemum Douluo released her immediately and placed himself between her and the flower, his expression wary.
"You little girl, you have no appreciation for flowers. I won't let you touch her!"
"???" Shui Yue'er was completely baffled.
It's just a chrysanthemum! Sure, it's pretty—but was that really necessary?
Was a flower more important than her?
Chrysanthemum Douluo ignored her and turned to Dan Heng again, eyes filled with longing.
"Mr. Dan Heng… are you sure this is for me? This exact one? Not another? Not someone else's?"
Dan Heng nodded calmly. "Yes, this one. It's for you."
"!!!" Chrysanthemum Douluo nearly fainted again from joy.
This was even more overwhelming than how the Shrek Seven reacted in the original story after receiving their immortal herbs.
For him, a flower lover, the value of the herb wasn't in its medicinal use, but in its beauty—his aesthetic pursuit!
"I… I…"
Shui Yue'er rubbed her wrist and muttered, "It's just a flower, why…"
Chrysanthemum Douluo glared at her, voice icy.
"You little girl—if we weren't at Mr. Dan Heng's place, I'd make you wish you were never born for those words!"
Shui Yue'er turned pale, stunned by his threat.
Dan Heng shook his head and said warmly, "It's okay. He's just joking with you."
His voice soothed her instantly, though she still looked at Chrysanthemum Douluo with shock.
Who was this man?
Her mother Shui Qianqiu was the head of Tianshui Academy, powerful enough to rule over an entire city—yet this man dared talk down to her?
Were all of Mr. Dan Heng's acquaintances top-tier experts?
Chrysanthemum Douluo quickly faked a smile and explained, "Young lady, don't take it the wrong way."
"I'm a flower lover—no one loves flowers more than I do. That's the only reason I reacted so strongly. I meant no harm."
His words didn't make Shui Yue'er feel any better—instead, they helped her realize his identity.
Titled Douluo… Chrysanthemum Douluo!
She became even more unsure as she turned her gaze to Dan Heng.
To think Mr. Dan Heng was on such friendly terms with Chrysanthemum Douluo—And that this man respected his every word.
As expected, Mr. Dan Heng was truly incredible!
Chrysanthemum Douluo said, "Mr. Dan Heng, this flower's pot and soil are just terrible. I'll take it back now…"
"Alright."
He left in a hurry, not wanting to linger a second longer.
Shui Yue'er clutched her chest and said, aggrieved, "Mr. Dan Heng, he nearly scared me to death… he was way too much…"
…
Meanwhile, in Shrek's lodging area, Flender was discussing with the other teachers about gathering all the gold spirit coins to make restitution.
Zhao Wuji and the others were loyal, placing their gold coins on the table without hesitation.
Clink clink clink…
Twenty or so gold coins lay there.
Flender scratched his head and sighed deeply.
Among the Shrek crew, he was the wealthiest. But that wasn't saying much.
Their spirit power was too high to receive subsidies from the Spirit Hall, and they weren't productive citizens, nor would they bow to nobles.
This left them perpetually broke.
Even the students' meals had been plain and simple.
To scrape together this amount of gold coins now was no easy feat.
Yet… it still wasn't enough to even cover a fraction!
"We're screwed… completely screwed…"
Flender slumped in a chair, face full of despair.
Now he was going to lose all face.
Zhao Wuji snorted. "Let's just give them their original investment back. Want anything else? Let them come fight for it!"
Flender shook his head. "We can't act like that. We're in Blue Tyrant Academy—I don't want Erlong to look down on me."
Zhao Wuji grinned. "Come on, Flender. Since when did you care about your image?"
"Shut up! Stop pissing me off!"
Flender snapped.
"Where's the 'Grandmaster'?" Zhao Wuji looked around.
"He might actually have some money. He's only a Grandmaster—still eligible for subsidies," Zhao Wuji chuckled.
Flender rolled his eyes. For once, having low spirit power was an advantage.
"You talk about him like he's amazing, but his performance in battle? Pretty underwhelming."
Zhao Wuji's tone was full of disdain.
Flender didn't say anything—he thought so too, but they were longtime friends, and he didn't want to criticize him.
"If you ask me, Tang San should've taken command. Even six-on-seven, they might've won." Zhao Wuji complained.
The other teachers agreed.
They weren't as good at theory or pretending to be wise as Yu Xiaogang.
But as Spirit Kings and Emperors, their battle experience surpassed him by miles.
To them, Yu Xiaogang's performance was pure trash.
His failure in this battle had brought great shame to Shrek's students.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
Flender panicked, "They're here to collect already? I thought we had three days!"
Zhao Wuji went to open the door, cracking his knuckles. "If it's about money, I'll nail them to the ground!"
He opened the door—It was Liu Erlong.
She glanced at the gold coins and scowled, "Alright, how much are you short?"
"Erlong…" Flender looked ashamed.
"Congrats, Erlong. Your Blue Tyrant team was indeed better."
His voice was low, like a defeated rooster.
Liu Erlong forced a smile and nodded, though she wasn't happy at all.
She would've preferred her team to lose—badly, even.
But Yu Xiaogang had failed so spectacularly, it stunned her.
"Forget it. Just give them back their money," she said.
"It's not that much. I… I can manage," Flender hesitated.
Liu Erlong punched him. "Drop the act. From your face, I could tell you couldn't pay up even if you sold your underwear."
Flender blushed.
Zhao Wuji burst out laughing. "Only Liu Erlong can keep Flender in check! We're broke—this is all we've got!"
Flender glared at him to shut up. He whispered, "I did the math… we owe 9,700+ gold coins…"
One gold coin could feed a family of three for months.
And he was short by over nine thousand.
Liu Erlong's mouth twitched as she handed over a card. "There's ten thousand in here. Use it to pay them back. Where's Yu Xiaogang?"
"He went to clear his head. He blamed the loss on the students not cooperating—and argued with Dai Mubai and Xiao Wu…"
Flender shook his head and sighed.
"…" Liu Erlong's face stiffened. Wow—Yu Xiaogang was already trying to pass the buck?
Everyone knew that in strategy, the brain was the one to blame for a failure.
If he wanted to shift blame, he had to find someone willing to accept it!
…
Within Blue Tyrant Academy, beside a lake called Blue Lake, Yu Xiaogang stood in a pavilion, watching the sunset shimmer across the water.
He was filled with resentment.
He had actually lost to a bunch of kids!
And now the Shrek crew was blaming him?!
Was it really his fault?
It was clearly Tang San and the others' recklessness and failure to obey orders!
It was their fault!
At that moment, a figure appeared in the pavilion.
Yu Xiaogang turned—and saw a man cloaked in black, his face hidden behind a veil.
Anyone who could infiltrate Blue Tyrant Academy like this clearly wasn't ordinary.
"What's your business here?"
Yu Xiaogang frowned, but didn't panic—he even thought he could take control of the situation.
The man was Chrysanthemum Douluo, who said coolly:
"The Spirit Hall is investigating someone… someone who gave several clever strategies to the Heaven Dou Crown Prince—costing us dearly…"
He laid out everything Dan Heng had done.
It was bait: if Yu Xiaogang had the ambition, he could take all the credit.
Yu Xiaogang listened with furrowed brows—was his talent being mistaken for someone else's?
He was secretly pleased!
But… there was actually someone else out there whose brilliance could rival his?
He couldn't underestimate them.
"We haven't found this person. It's like they never existed. But we've found clues… and believe it might be you…"
Chrysanthemum Douluo skillfully baited him, offering the perfect setup.
If Yu Xiaogang agreed to cooperate, all the fabricated evidence would help him step into Dan Heng's shoes.
Yu Xiaogang fell silent, his eyes glinting as he contemplated deeply.
(End of Chapter)