Chapter 325: Senior Hugh's Intelligence
After neatly arranging the ritual materials on the experimental table, Jia Na did not rush to perform the Contract Summoning. Instead, she walked into the washroom and began to fill the Alchemy bathtub with water.
“Whoosh—”
Looking at the steaming Alchemy bathtub, the exhausted Jia Na quickly took off her clothes and stepped into the tub.
“I almost forgot, the shirt underneath was also torn by a branch.”
Only when she threw her clothes into the laundry basket did Jia Na realize that the back of her inner shirt had a large tear.
“Forget it, I don’t care anymore.”
Feeling the electric massage sensation from the Alchemy bathtub and the increasingly dense elemental aura around her, Jia Na slowly closed her eyes. While enjoying this relaxing state, she also entered a shallow meditation to consolidate her magic power.
The next afternoon, Magic Tower, sixth floor, public classroom.
“That’s all for today’s class. Class dismissed.”
“Goodbye, Professor Margaret.”
As Mary-Margaret walked out of the classroom, Jia Na also put away her “Intermediate Herbology” textbook and headed out of the classroom.
“Jia Na—”
Just as Jia Na was about to take the elevator down, a familiar male voice suddenly sounded from behind her.
“Senior Hugh, long time no see.”
Because Jia Na had been busy with breakthroughs during this period, she hadn’t attended Bai Wu Xie Club activities for a long time. Therefore, she hadn’t seen Hugh-Stone for quite a while.
“It has indeed been a long time. The last time I saw you was at Suoluo’s presidential inauguration ceremony.”
The presidential handover ceremony Hugh-Stone mentioned was the one earlier this year, when Suo Luo-Lie Yan officially succeeded Richard-Eva as the new president of the Bai Wu Xie Club.
Come to think of it, Jia Na hadn't seen Hugh-Stone for several months.
“Senior, I entrusted a messenger to return the 【Vortex Well】 you lent me last time. Did you receive it?”
“I received it—but next time, just have your messenger give it to the Door Spirit. No need to send it into the house.”
Speaking of this, Hugh-Stone remembered a few days ago, when he was taking a bath in the washroom, a bizarre scarecrow-shaped creature suddenly jumped out of thin air and rushed into the washroom.
If Hugh-Stone hadn't recognized at a glance that the 【Vortex Well】 he had lent Jia Na was hanging on the scarecrow, he would have almost fought the other party naked. “Okay, I’ll tell my messenger to be more careful next time.”
Looking at Hugh-Stone’s slightly evasive gaze, Jia Na, who had guessed a little, coughed lightly, then looked at Hugh-Stone with a calm expression.
“Senior, did you come to find me for something this time?”
“Ah, I almost forgot about the main business!”
Hearing Jia Na’s reminder, Hugh-Stone patted the back of his head, then said mysteriously to Jia Na:
“You must have heard about the Mist Forest being cursed by Disease Rot Aphid a while ago, right? Let me tell you, I’ve uncovered the hidden truth behind this matter.”
“Hidden truth?”
Hearing Hugh-Stone’s words, Jia Na’s previously calm expression suddenly rippled.
“The location where the Disease Rot Aphid Curse occurred was exactly one of the strongholds I had previously pinpointed in the Mist Forest, and I had planted a sundew at each stronghold, but that sundew also died—”
Upon hearing this, Jia Na quickly grasped Hugh-Stone’s implied meaning.
The sundew, as a demonized plant that naturally preys on mosquitoes and flies, not only possesses strong Life force, but also has a great restraining effect on insect-repelling Curses like Disease Rot Aphid.
However, during the recent Curse plague, the sundew also mysteriously withered and died. This precisely proves that in addition to the Disease Rot Aphid Curse, there was another force capable of devouring the sundew’s Life force. “Senior, do you mean—that there is also a contaminating force within the Curse?”
“Exactly, and I suspect this contaminating force originates from the Dark Sun Church—”
Hearing Hugh-Stone’s answer, Jia Na, who had the same suspicion, also nodded with a solemn expression.
However, upon seeing the eagerness in Hugh-Stone’s eyes, Jia Na immediately guessed his thoughts, and her expression changed from solemn to hesitant.
“You didn’t come to find me this time to drag me along to search for those Dark Sun Cultist, did you?”
“Exactly! Jia Na, you truly are a smart person!”
Hugh-Stone, who was thinking about how to speak, simply threw caution to the wind when Jia Na instantly saw through his thoughts, and no longer hid anything.
“Jia Na, among all of Turin, your Purification methods are the strongest. If you are willing to join my team, we will definitely be the top performers in this mission—”
Mission?
Hearing Hugh-Stone’s words, Jia Na quickly extracted the key information from what he said.
“Senior, what was the mission you just mentioned? Is it related to the Dark Sun Church?”
“Not exactly—but close enough. The three major academies in Turin will soon release two missions. The first is to eliminate Shadow Creature; and the second is to find the cause of the Disease Rot Aphid Curse. The mission reward is said to be a top-tier apprentice witch tool—”
Looking at Hugh-Stone’s eyes lighting up when he mentioned the mission reward, Jia Na still shook her head with a hint of helplessness.
“Senior Hugh, I’m afraid I can’t agree to this.”
Hugh-Stone, who was originally fantasizing about the mission reward, immediately dropped his jaw when he heard Jia Na’s reply.
“Jia Na, are you really not going to reconsider? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—”
“Sorry.”
Seeing Jia Na’s firm attitude, Hugh-Stone finally sighed, then shrugged indifferently.
“Well, forget it then. When I get the mission reward, don’t be too envious of me.”
“I will only sincerely wish Senior well.”
Ding. As the mechanical elevator door opened, the two exchanged glances and went downstairs together, walking to the Magic Tower’s first-floor entrance.
“Jia Na, we agreed, if there’s a similar mission next time, you must prioritize teaming up with me!”
“Of course.”
After exchanging a few more pleasantries at the entrance, Jia Na watched Hugh-Stone leave the Magic Tower. It wasn’t until his figure completely disappeared from her sight that Jia Na’s previously calm eyes gradually filled with solemnity.
“It really is the Dark Sun Church—”
Initially, Jia Na only suspected that the Disease Rot Aphid Curse might be related to the deceased Earle-Blood Red.
It wasn’t until Hugh-Stone said that there was also a contaminating aura from the Dark Sun Church within the Curse that Jia Na could roughly confirm that this matter should be the work of the vampire behind Earle-Blood Red.
