Chapter 170: The Dark Elf Crisis

Ling Xiaolei hurriedly comforted her:
"What's wrong, little fox? What happened?"
Breaking her usual demeanor, the vixen burst into a furious rant. After venting the anger in her heart, she finally got to the point:
"Look at this yourself!"
She tossed a letter in front of Ling Xiaolei.
Hearing the commotion over here, Heiyu also walked over and leaned sideways against the bar counter. As Ling Xiaolei read the letter and listened to the fox's account, he roughly understood the details.
"It's that what-ma-call-it Emperor..." The fox's not-so-bright little head was spinning rapidly.
"The Thunder Emperor..." Heiyu whispered a reminder.
"Right! He sent emissaries to the dark elves' homeland, and even sent Boss Ling a letter demanding that he bow down and swear allegiance!"
Heiyu smiled. "Boss Ling probably slapped the emissary in the face with the letter, right?"
"And that what... what prince, Thunder-something... something... what-what-what..." The vixen's eyes widened as she racked her brain, her face turning beet red with the strain.
Heiyu looked helpless. "Prince Leijue."
"Oh right! That bastard prince is using underhanded schemes to frame our Boss Ling!"
"Using underhanded schemes to frame us?" Hearing this, Ling Xiaolei's nerves tightened all over. "What did he do?!"
Heiyu quickly waved his hands to stop her. "Keep your voice down! There are all sorts of people in the bar, don't let anyone hear..."
"I'm not afraid of some asshole prince hearing me! He is just an asshole prince!" Before the vixen could finish, Ling Xiaolei clamped a hand over her mouth, turning her remaining string of curses into muffled grunts.
"You'd better just spit it out. What on earth happened? You've been talking for ages and haven't gotten to the point yet."
The vixen broke free from Ling Xiaolei's hand and calmed down a bit, though her full bosom still heaved up and down with lingering rage as she spoke:
"Just this afternoon—the letter says that that bastard Thunder Emperor and bastard prince deliberately sent people to destroy the city wall behind the Blue Light Forest, letting monsters run wild into the dark elves' territory! And they didn't even let the other mages guarding the border wall intervene. Tell me, isn't that infuriating?!"
The smile vanished from Heiyu's face instantly, and Ling Xiaolei's expression turned as cold as ice.
Ling Xiaolei stood up, laying his heavy staff down across the bar counter with a loud *clatter*, and said in a deep voice:
"I'm going to find them..."
Bending forward, the vixen thrust her chest over the bar counter to interrogate Heiyu, her eyes practically pressing against his face:
"I'll just ask you this! The dark elves are being bullied—are you going to care or not? Boss Ling is in danger—are you going to help or not?"
Heiyu raised both hands defensively to block her overwhelming momentum.
"Our original plan was to head to the Dark Forest anyway... I've been drinking Boss Ling's wine for all these years, so when Boss Ling is in trouble, of course I have to help!"
Catching sight of Yixin sitting in a booth in the distance, he grinned awkwardly and whispered:
"If you want us to help, stop shouting about it! If someone hears, I definitely won't be able to get out of the city..."
Only then was the vixen reassured, and she hurried off angrily to attend to matters around the bar.
Early the next morning, many students of the same year had already packed up and left the academy.
Holding a slip of paper with an address on it, Bai Shengye walked back along the street beside the magic academy. He looked down at the address on the slip, then looked ahead, just in time to see Teacher Yunlan standing in front of a majestic-looking house at the end of the street, waving to him from afar.
As soon as they met, Yunlan said eagerly:
"Take a look and see how you like the place I picked! From now on, this will serve as the research institute for producing anti-magic potions!"
He led Bai Shengye on a tour up and down a three-story building with a spacious courtyard. The first floor displayed numerous unopened medical equipment, and the back featured a large warehouse.
"It's really nice, much better than I expected. Teacher Yunlan, thank you so much!"
Walking up to the second floor, the space was temporarily empty, but the view outside the windows was wide and open, offering a direct line of sight to the back of the academy's main building.
A teenage boy busy sweeping the floor saw the two of them come upstairs, and his eyes immediately lit up. He tossed his broom aside.
The fellow was short and plump, with an honest and simple appearance, a bowl cut, round glasses, and a researcher's lab coat. He stared straight at Bai Shengye, completely speechless for a long time.
The two of them hadn't noticed him, however. Yunlan stopped by the window and said:
"Many pieces of equipment haven't been moved in yet, but the sign at the entrance is already hung. From now on, this is a potion research institute directly subordinate to the magic academy. All funding and expenses will be covered by the academy, and the staff will be recruited from the current student teaching assistants in mixology. In the future, the kids in the academy who love concocting potions can also use this place as a practical training ground."
Just as Bai Shengye was about to express his gratitude, a sudden scream came from behind him.
"Senior Bai Shengye!"
Startled, he whipped around in horror, only to see a short, plump figure lunging toward him with snot and tears streaming down his face, arms wide open in an attempt to embrace him.
"I-Ice... Freeze!" Bai Shengye shrieked instinctively, hurling a blast of biting frost.
Caught mid-charge, the boy stood frozen on one spot, thoroughly cased in a solid block of ice.
Hair standing on end from fright, Bai Shengye patted the dust off his clothes, still recovering from the shock.
"What is the meaning of this?!... A grown man trying to throw himself into my arms and take advantage of young master me!"
With that, he delivered a flying kick that sent the ice block tumbling *thud-thud-thud* all the way down the stairs.
"Er..."
Beads of sweat formed on Teacher Yunlan's forehead as he introduced:
"This is a student who just graduated last term, named Ergou. He's a apothecary. Since he wanted to stay at the academy as a mixology teaching assistant after graduation, I had him come here first to handle odd jobs."
Ergou tearfully climbed out of the shattered ice, brushed the crushed ice off his clothes, and—ignoring the pain from being kicked—ran back up excitedly and joyfully.
"Senior Bai Shengye!!——I am your fervent worshiper! Especially after witnessing your heroic demeanor in the Magic Combat Tournament, I've fallen completely head over heels for you!! Your detoxification techniques and your miraculous rebirth arts are both so incredible, you're practically my idol! Please take me as your disciple..."
Bai Shengye waved a hand in disgust.
"No, no. When I take on disciples, my criteria are extremely strict... There's just one condition: they have to be female. Addendum: preferably a beauty, and as for figures... I'll consider the specific metrics later."
"Ergou's talent is actually quite good, and he has already passed the exam for a junior apothecary. Having him act as your assistant should be fine," Yunlan said with a smile, smoothing things over.
"A junior apothecary?" Bai Shengye looked the dim-witted kid over once more. Unassuming as he looked, he hadn't expected him to possess such talent.
By evening, inside a dormitory at the magic academy, the room was tossed into a messy state. Ling Xiaolei was squatting on the floor packing his luggage, stuffing magic books and dried rations into his backpack.
Suddenly, the door was shoved open violently, creating a cross breeze with the wide-open window that sent a stack of newly developed photographs on the desk fluttering into the air with a *rustle*, scattering them all over the floor.
"He—yu!"
Just as Ling Xiaolei flared up in anger, he caught sight of the drifting photographs capturing fragments of past memories, and he fell into a daze.