The next day.
After getting up, washing up, eating, and solving the basic problem of food and warmth, Fang Yu returned to his room and found that his phone had run out of battery.
Yesterday, he had been busy with matters related to the summoned beast and forgot to charge it.
After plugging it in, he saw four or five missed calls.
Caller ID: Tang Yue
Two of them were from half an hour ago, he had still been asleep then and the remaining three were from two minutes ago.
"So urgent?"
Fang Yu was a little surprised.
He couldn't help but fall into thought.
In the original timeline, at this point, Tang Yue should have been investigating the cause of the river drying up in Xishui Town near Hangzhou.
That place, as he remembered, was like that because a Fire Elemental Seed, "Rose Flame," had appeared.
And precisely because there was a Fire Elemental Seed there, it had attracted a group of people to intrude.
Among them was the criminal Chao He, a target wanted by the Tribunal/Judgement Hall.
If nothing unexpected happened, Tang Yue had run into trouble because of Chao He and was calling for help.
However, what surprised Fang Yu was that in the original timeline, the one assisting Tang Yue was Mo Fan.
Now, instead of calling Mo Fan, she had called him?
But when he thought about it carefully, it didn't seem strange at all. Compared to Mo Fan, he was currently stronger.
And back in Bo City, the two of them had worked together to destroy quite a few tunnels created by the Black Vatican, coordinating very well.
While he was thinking, the sharp ringtone kept ringing, pulling Fang Yu back to reality.
He chose to answer.
"Fang Yu?"
A seductive voice came through the speaker.
"Teacher Tang Yue." Fang Yu smiled. "What's the matter, calling me so early in the morning?"
Tang Yue got straight to the point and said in a low voice:
"I'm carrying out a mission in a town north of Hangzhou. I need your help."
"Troublesome?" Fang Yu's tone carried no surprise.
Just as he had expected.
Tang Yue gave a soft "Mm."
After explaining her mission in detail, she asked
"Will you come?"
"Sure." Fang Yu agreed without hesitation.
For this operation, he was confident he could deal with the criminal Chao He.
Moreover, he could also take the Fire Elemental Seed, Rose Flame, for himself along the way, no reason to refuse.
He was currently short on money, and this seed could be exchanged for valuable resources.
As for the fact that this seed originally belonged to Mo Fan and he was about to take it first, he could only say sorry to Mo Fan. As the protagonist, he surely wouldn't lack opportunities and would definitely obtain other resources.
"Alright, I'll wait for you."
Tang Yue's voice softened, carrying a hint of relief.
This student hadn't been taught in vain.
Three hours later.
Fang Yu arrived in Hangzhou, then took a vehicle to a small town north of the city.
The town was called Xishui. It sounded quite poetic, carrying a touch of Jiangnan charm.
However, the land here was full of cracked soil and abandoned fields, completely different from the so-called watery towns of Jiangnan.
The name "Xishui" had become a joke.
And the reason it had fallen to this state was entirely due to the emergence of the Fire Elemental Seed, Rose Flame.
However, as long as the seed was taken away, the environment here would recover.
After observing and pondering for a while,
Fang Yu followed the address Tang Yue had given and found an inn in Xishui Town called "There Is an Inn."
At a glance, he noticed the graceful teacher sitting by the corridor window, her figure forming a striking S-curve.
Inside the inn, Tang Yue seemed to sense the gaze. Turning her head, she saw Fang Yu.
She was somewhat surprised.
So fast?
Fang Yu entered the inn and immediately praised.
"Teacher Tang Yue is as beautiful and charming as ever."
Tang Yue's autumn-water-like eyes gazed at Fang Yu.
"You're not bad either."
Fang Yu stopped flattering and changed the topic.
"What do you need me to do?"
Tang Yue pointed outside the corridor window at a man who looked quite distinctive in his outfit and said.
"Go follow that person. If nothing unexpected happens, the answer to the drying water source should be on that man wanted by our Tribunal."
"Because my identity is rather sensitive, I'm easily noticed, so I can only rely on you."
"Leave it to me." Fang Yu agreed without hesitation.
"Alright."
The two left the inn and found their target, a handsome man dressed like a mountaineer.
He was Chao He.
Although he looked young and no different from an ordinary person, Fang Yu did not underestimate him.
He knew Chao He was a Mid-Tier mage who specialized in Curse Magic, and a ruthless criminal who killed without blinking.
Afterward, Fang Yu disguised himself as an ordinary backpacker and followed closely behind the vicious Chao He.
Before long, when they entered a stretch of barren farmland, Fang Yu noticed Chao He had stopped in front of a few old farmers.
This place had originally been a fairly wide field, where one could occasionally see a few old farmers sitting under shade sheds chatting leisurely.
However because the water source had dried up, the crops they were supposed to harvest in autumn had inexplicably withered away.
Now the farmers had no mood to chat, only sighing there.
"Sir, do you remember when this place started drying up?" Chao He walked up to an old farmer, looking polite and refined.
"About ten days ago. My kid ran up to play in the stream. These brats told them not to go swimming upstream, but they just let our crops drink their dirty bathwater."
"Oh! They went to play in the water and told me when they came back that the pool had become much shallower, not even enough to swim anymore. I reckon that was the day the water started disappearing like magic." The old farmer in a dirty undershirt replied.
"Oh, thank you. I'll go take a look there," Chao He said.
"Young man, I'd advise you not to go. I heard that place feels like it's burning, the temperature is extremely high," the old farmer warned.
"It's fine." After saying that, Chao He followed the directions and headed upstream along the completely dried-up creek.
At this moment, Fang Yu realized that if he continued following, the barren path ahead would make it easy for Chao He to notice him.
After waiting for a moment, Fang Yu went up to the old farmer and asked about their conversation.
"He went upstream." Fang Yu nodded to himself. "Looks like the Elemental Seed has already been discovered."
"We shouldn't delay, let's follow." A woman's voice drifted softly from beside him.
No need to think.
It was Tang Yue.
The Shadow Element was indeed useful—unpredictable and elusive.
They continued forward.
The upstream the old farmer mentioned had already entered the mountains. Along the way, it was clear that the entire creek had completely dried up, there wasn't even a trace of moisture, and even the plants along the creek had withered in large patches.
"Wait, someone's coming."
As they followed behind, Tang Yue suddenly sensed something. She quickly reached out her fair hand to grab Fang Yu's hand, cast Shadow Escape, and hid to the side in a dense forest. The two squeezed behind a tree trunk.
"Hide your presence!" Tang Yue whispered softly, her breath fragrant as it brushed against Fang Yu's ear.
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