Chapter 31: Destiny

However, when he glanced at the time and saw that it was almost eleven, he guessed that Mo Xiaoyi had probably gone to bed already, so he didn’t call directly but sent a message instead.

Yet, just as he finished sending it, Mo Xiaoyi replied at once—clearly, he was a night owl as well.

“Junior, you need medicine for external injuries?” Mo Xiaoyi sounded surprised. “Did someone beat you up?”

Chen Meng was momentarily speechless. He wasn’t built like Mo Xiaoyi, who dared to go head-to-head with beings of Divine Body.

But precisely because of this, Chen Meng knew Mo Xiaoyi would be able to get such medicine—after all, Mo Xiaoyi often got beaten up himself, and the medicine had become a necessity in his life.

“No, I hurt my hand practicing with a gun, and I even fell on my way back today—my back’s all bruised. Didn’t you mention you had some special medicine for this? So I thought I’d buy some from you.” Chen Meng found an excuse that sounded passable—there was no way he could tell the truth about killing Wang Jie, unless he wanted to share the spoils with Mo Xiaoyi.

Mo Xiaoyi made a noise of understanding and didn’t question him. “You’ve got a good memory. I just mentioned it in passing last time after getting roughed up myself, and you remembered. I do have some. The university pharmacy sells it specifically for treating students’ injuries. You know how it is—lots of college students are Divine Body types, and when they get into a fight, there’s no holding back. Injuries are common.”

Chen Meng could understand that, but in his heart he added, “Except for people like you.”

“How much is it?” he asked, not in the mood for small talk since his back was throbbing.

“It’s sold by grade. The third grade is the cheapest and treats ordinary external injuries quickly. For your case, it should work—you’ll be healed in two or three days. Price is a hundred yuan per patch,” Mo Xiaoyi replied.

A patch?

Chen Meng was taken aback. Wasn’t that just a medicated plaster?

But his current injury was far from ordinary—inflicted by a newly advanced Divine Body, no less. Even if the third-grade worked, it would probably take more than a week, and he couldn’t afford to wait that long.

“What about second grade?” Chen Meng pressed.

“Second grade is more expensive, three hundred per patch, and twice as effective as third grade,” Mo Xiaoyi answered. “But unless your injury is really bad, you don’t need something that good.”

Chen Meng scoffed inwardly—if only you knew. His injuries were far worse than any Mo Xiaoyi had ever suffered.

“And the first grade?” he continued to ask.

“First grade is usually for injuries caused by Divine Body beings,” Mo Xiaoyi replied, a hint of doubt in his tone. “One patch costs five hundred, and it’s twice as effective as the second grade.”

“I’ll take the first grade,” Chen Meng replied. “I can’t stand the pain, and money’s nothing if it means I heal faster and get back to studying sooner. The college entrance exam is right around the corner—I can’t let something like this affect my future. I want ten patches—no, make it twenty, just in case.”

Twenty patches, that was ten thousand yuan. Mo Xiaoyi was stunned once again by Chen Meng’s generosity.

Still, after his initial shock, Mo Xiaoyi responded, “The school pharmacy gives one extra patch if you buy ten as a Divine Body student. I can have someone buy them for you.”

“I don’t want the free ones,” Chen Meng said immediately, used to the practice of paying for services rendered—no one owed anyone anything that way.

Mo Xiaoyi hesitated for a moment, then replied, “Alright. When do you need them?”

“As soon as possible,” Chen Meng said. “If it’s inconvenient for you to deliver, just send them by local courier in the morning—they’ll arrive by afternoon. Address them to... our university.” He didn’t dare give his home address, afraid that if the Wang Jie incident broke out the next day, Mo Xiaoyi might make a connection.

Mo Xiaoyi had no objections; courier was indeed the best option, especially since he had classes the next day.

Chen Meng considered telling Mo Xiaoyi where Wang Jie had died—perhaps Mo Xiaoyi could even claim a reward from the university. But the risk of exposing himself was too great. He’d chosen to keep the Azure Elixir for himself—he had to be thorough and leave no chance for suspicion.

“Senior, has Wang Jie been caught yet?” Chen Meng asked. If the gunshot had drawn attention, someone would have found Wang Jie’s body by now, and with how fast information spread, news would soon reach Jiangzhou University, where many kept an eye on the case.

“No, he already left Jiangzhou. Not so easy to catch. If he’s hiding in the wilderness somewhere, he could disappear for years. But after I returned to campus today, I applied for a job in the storeroom to take over for the deceased student—and the school approved it. With this job, if all goes well, I might get the Divine Body Advancement Elixir by the end of the semester—no need to wait for next term,” Mo Xiaoyi said, unable to hide his excitement.

Chen Meng was at a loss for words—Mo Xiaoyi really had stumbled into good fortune.

“Tonight, the storeroom supervisor called me over to explain the work, and while I was there, I saw the next batch of students scheduled to receive the Divine Body Elixir. Guess whose name I saw on the list?” Mo Xiaoyi ended with three exclamation marks.

Chen Meng froze, his expression turning odd. “Don’t tell me—it was Wang Jie?”

“That’s right, it was Wang Jie. The next batch, the final one for this semester, and his name was on it. Isn’t that ironic? If he’d just held out a little longer—maybe only a week—when the list was announced, he wouldn’t have taken such a desperate path and ended up a murderer.” Mo Xiaoyi sighed deeply.

Fate’s sense of humor was truly cruel. At that moment, Chen Meng finally understood what it meant for destiny to play tricks on people.

After transferring the money to Mo Xiaoyi—another ten thousand gone—Chen Meng received a hundred knowledge points.

He considered for a moment, then spent all those knowledge points on the High School Alchemy section. Instantly, a wealth of knowledge about advanced alchemy flooded his mind, absorbed and digested.

High School Alchemy: 130/909.

He knew that if he were to take another test now, he wouldn’t score just 28 points—he’d probably catch up to that big fool in the neighboring class, who’d managed a 49 last time.

Finally, Chen Meng took stock of his assets.

He still had 10,100 yuan in his mobile account, plus two hundred in cash, and the 59,800 he’d taken from Wang Jie. Altogether, his net worth exceeded seventy thousand yuan. If he spent it all on advancing in High School Alchemy, the next test wouldn’t just be a passing grade—he could easily score above 130.

But he knew he still needed to analyze the Spiral Gun and the Concealed Gun, and even find time to continue working on Lotus Ghost Step—all of which required knowledge points.

After putting everything away and hiding it securely, he turned his attention to Mouse Beibei, unsure what to do with him.

He had no intention of giving up on collecting mouse fur.

“For now, you’ll just have to stay at my place,” Chen Meng decided, though keeping it from his parents would be no easy feat.

Fortunately, his parents were usually at work, reducing the risk of discovery. Only weekends posed a problem, since they would be home.

Chen Meng watched as Mouse Beibei finished eating, picking the bones clean—saving him the trouble of cleaning up.

He explained the situation at home to Mouse Beibei, who, being used to hiding, seemed quite excited—as if it was just a game of hide-and-seek.

Since it was still a while before midnight, Chen Meng picked up a book to read. But to his surprise, Mouse Beibei climbed onto the desk, watching intently as he read.

Honestly, could a rat even understand what he was reading?

Chen Meng couldn’t help but sigh—this era was truly insane. Even a mouse knew enough to work hard and study.