Divine Level Witch Doctor

Zhao Yuan was about to get up and leave, but he stopped when he heard her. ”What is it? Go ahead.”

Liu Xiaoya said, ”These small buildings you’re constructing—what principle governs their placement? At first glance, they seem scattered about randomly, a building here, a building there. But upon closer inspection, they seem to follow some special pattern. And why does each building in a different location also have a different size and height?”

”Ah, those questions.” Zhao Yuan smiled, not answering directly. He decided to be mysterious. ”Once the buildings are finished, you’ll understand when you see them in person.”

Of course, Zhao Yuan wouldn’t tell Liu Xiaoya that he was arranging the buildings according to the Mirage Array.

He wasn’t worried that Liu Xiaoya could figure anything out from the layout sketches or try to blindly copy it and create a Mirage Array somewhere else. The layout was designed specifically for the terrain of the mountain where the Chinese medicine plantation was located. If the location changed, it would be completely ineffective.

After parting ways with Liu Xiaoya, Zhao Yuan took a ride in Fang Yi’s car to meet Cai De, the head of the construction team.

Because the project was in a remote mountainous area and they would have to work through the Spring Festival—only taking a few days off for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day—Cai De quoted a slightly high price. However, he beat his chest and guaranteed the quality would be top-notch.

Zhao Yuan calculated it in his head. Cai De’s price increase wasn’t outrageous, and the reasons for it were fair and reasonable, so he agreed. The two of them drafted a preliminary contract, agreeing that the next day, Cai De would bring a group of workers to survey the site and begin the preliminary work, such as laying the foundation and installing pipes.

Zhao Yuan was overjoyed to hear this and said with a smile, ”That’s great. I’ll hitch a ride with you guys back tomorrow.”

”No problem.” Cai De couldn’t have been happier. Having a guide was always a good thing.

They chatted a bit more about materials and other project-related matters, exchanged phone numbers, and then parted ways.

Back in his dorm, Zhao Yuan returned to his routine of reading with his ”cheat” active.

Early the next morning, the dormitory was incredibly lively. Some students were cheering for the start of the break, while others dragged their suitcases, waved goodbye to their roommates, and left. The entire university was immersed in an atmosphere of farewells that day.

But this kind of parting was different from graduation. Everyone was just going home for winter break and would see each other again. So there was less sorrow and more anticipation. The goodbyes were mostly reminders for friends to bring back local specialties from their hometowns.

Zhao Yuan was also up early. The previous night, he had arranged over the phone with Cai De to be picked up at West Hua Medical University at ten o’clock, and they would travel to his Chinese medicine plantation together.

Of course, the more important reason for waking up early was to supervise Lin Xue’s cultivation of the Four Saints Technique.

”Very good. You’ve basically mastered the movements of the Four Saints Technique in just three days. That’s much better than Liu Zhu and the other two!” After praising Lin Xue, Zhao Yuan added a word of caution, ”But cultivation requires perseverance. Don’t slack off and get lazy just because I’m gone. When we meet again, I’ll be checking your progress. If I’m not satisfied, watch out! I might have to punish you!”

He deliberately put on a fierce expression as he said the last part, but unfortunately, he failed to scare Lin Xue. Instead, it just made her giggle.

Zhao Yuan was suddenly crestfallen. ’Is my acting really that bad?’

After she finished laughing, Lin Xue said, ”Don’t worry, I definitely won’t be lazy. I’ll be sure to practice my cultivation every day and report my progress to you!”

They packed their things, left the rental apartment, and headed back to the university. On the way, Zhao Yuan remembered something and asked, ”Oh, right. You mentioned you wanted to visit my hometown for winter break. When are you planning to come?”

”After the New Year,” Lin Xue replied. ”Initially, I planned to visit before the New Year. But you have to go to Huashang for the Chinese Medical Association meeting on Friday, and by the time you get back, it will be almost the New Year. The timing is too tight, so I figured I’d move it to after.”

Zhao Yuan nodded. ”After the New Year is good. I’ll take you hunting and digging for wild vegetables.”

”Okay, okay!” Lin Xue nodded excitedly. She had grown up in the city and had rarely even been to the countryside, let alone the mountains. Her heart was filled with longing and anticipation.

They had breakfast at the university gate before entering the campus. When Zhao Yuan walked Lin Xue to the entrance of the women’s dormitory, neither of them wanted to say goodbye.

Lin Xue gave Zhao Yuan a hug, then, blushing, fled into the dormitory, leaving him with one last instruction: ”Remember to call me... no, video call me, so I can see you.”

Zhao Yuan didn’t know what to say, so he could only scratch his head, grin foolishly, and shout back, ”Okay!”

Only after Lin Xue had gone upstairs did Zhao Yuan turn to leave.

When he got back to dorm room 301, Liu Zhu, Wang Rongfeng, and Wu Yan were all up and busy packing their luggage.

Around ten o’clock, Zhao Yuan’s phone rang. It was Cai De, calling to say he had arrived at the entrance of West Hua University.

Zhao Yuan started dragging his luggage out, waving goodbye to Liu Zhu and the others. ”My ride’s here. I’m off! See you guys next semester! Oh, right, don’t forget to practice the Four Saints Technique!”

”Don’t worry, we’ll definitely practice seriously!”

”The Four Saints Technique has so many benefits. We wouldn’t slack off even if you didn’t tell us!”

”Come on, we’ll walk you out.”

Liu Zhu, Wang Rongfeng, and Wu Yan promised him they would practice while helping him carry his luggage. They walked him all the way out of the university, saw him into Cai De’s Mitsubishi SUV, and only left after they had all hugged goodbye.

Cai De started the car and said as he drove, ”Are those three your roommates? You seem pretty close.”

”Yeah, we’re like brothers,” Zhao Yuan replied.

Besides him and Cai De, there were two other men in the Mitsubishi SUV, both workers from Cai De’s team. In addition, several other vehicles followed behind them, carrying more workers as well as the equipment and materials needed for construction.

The convoy reached Chuncheng County Town after five in the afternoon. None of them had eaten much along the way, just a makeshift meal of rice noodles at a highway rest stop. The noodles were terrible and the portions were small, so their stomachs had been growling for a while. As soon as they arrived in Chuncheng County Town, Zhao Yuan suggested treating everyone to dinner, a proposal that was met with unanimous approval and earned him a great deal of goodwill.

During dinner, Zhao Yuan received an email from Liu Xiaoya. He found a nearby copy shop, printed out all the blueprints and renderings, and handed them to Cai De.

On the way up the mountain, Cai De began studying the design blueprints. Zhao Yuan didn’t understand any of it, so he just let him be.

It was late at night when the convoy reached the village, but the villagers weren’t asleep. They had heard that Zhao Yuan was coming back today and were all at the village entrance, eagerly awaiting his arrival.