Chapter 190 - 147: New Magic, The Song Clique

’I need to find a chance to swap the items.’

While lost in thought, Yang Qi followed He Yuan to a relatively spacious waiting area.

Five middle-aged men and women were sitting there, talking in low voices.

When they saw He Yuan approaching with Yang Qi, all eyes turned to them.

"Aunt Fang, Uncle Yang, this is Yang Qi, Little Martial Uncle Yang."

He Yuan introduced him in a clear voice.

"So, Junior Brother Yang is here!"

The group broke into smiles and stood up, their attitudes warm and friendly.

Yang Qi gave them a quick glance. They were all between forty and fifty years old. Their clothes weren’t flashy, but they carried themselves with a calm and capable air. Their eyes were bright, and it was obvious they were pillars in their respective fields.

He Yuan quickly and quietly introduced them to Yang Qi, and as expected, none of them had simple backgrounds.

One was the vice dean of a renowned university, another was a deputy director at a provincial-level agency, and a third was the head of an important provincial research center.

A woman who looked to be in her early fifties with a gentle demeanor was the first to step forward. She enthusiastically grabbed Yang Qi’s hand, her face wreathed in smiles. "Junior Brother Yang Qi, we finally get to meet you in person. I’m Fang Rong. I work at the Provincial Animal Protection Center."

"Teacher has told me so much about you; I’ve been wanting to meet you for a long time. Wow, you look even more dashing and handsome in person than in your photos!"

"Hello, Senior Sister Fang," Yang Qi hurriedly greeted her.

"Of course he is! He’s as handsome as I was when I was young!"

a slightly chubby, middle-aged man with glasses, who also had the surname Yang, chimed in with a laugh.

He was a professor at a university, and his name was Yang Fan.

"All of us with the surname Yang have two words written in our genes: ’Handsome Guy’!"

"Oh, give me a break, Old Yang."

Another woman, a deputy director named Xia Xiaomin with a sharp, short haircut, bluntly shot him down, speaking rapidly, "When you were young, your face was covered in acne. I’ve seen the photos. How can you compare your looks to our junior brother’s? Don’t flatter yourself."

"Hahaha~"

A wave of relaxed laughter immediately filled the waiting area.

’Judging by the atmosphere, it’s clear that while the senior brothers and sisters are concerned about Teacher Song’s condition, it’s not a desperate kind of worry. The surgical risks must be within a controllable range.’

This allowed the knot of tension in Yang Qi’s chest to loosen a bit.

Fang Rong pulled Yang Qi closer and took out her phone without taking no for an answer. "Come, come, Junior Brother. Let’s add each other on WeChat, and then I’ll pull you into our ’Song Sect’ group chat. We’re all family now, so we should keep in touch."

Yang Qi readily agreed.

Soon, he was added to a WeChat group named "Spring Blooms, Autumn Fruits (One Big Song Sect Family)."

Including him and Teacher Song, there were nineteen people in the group.

He glanced at the member list. Aside from Teacher Song Chunfang’s profile picture, he didn’t recognize the other seventeen avatars and nicknames.

Yang Qi was number eighteen on the list, making him the current youngest "junior brother" in the group.

The chat was currently buzzing with messages, discussing Teacher Song’s condition, the surgery, and the locations of the other senior brothers who were still on their way.

When the group saw that Fang Rong had added Yang Qi and @-mentioned everyone to introduce him, the chat immediately exploded.

"Welcome, Junior Brother!"

"We finally get to meet the legendary ’Druid’ junior brother."

"Hey, Junior Brother, I’m your seventh senior brother."

"Junior Brother is even more handsome in person than in the videos!"

"..."

Yang Qi quickly typed a message in the group: "Hello, Senior Brothers and Sisters. I’m Yang Qi. It’s great to meet you all, and I look forward to your guidance."

He followed it up with a well-behaved emoji.

A flood of welcoming and teasing replies immediately filled the screen.

Among them, a message from a senior brother with the nickname "Soaring Wind" caught Yang Qi’s attention. His profile picture showed him wearing a professional windbreaker and cool sunglasses, with what looked like a snow-capped mountain in the background.

"Haha, this is great! Now that Junior Brother is here, I’m not at the bottom anymore. Junior Brother, you have no idea how much I’ve suffered these past ten-plus years."

"I’ve got a whole bunch of big shots above me, and below... oh, there was no one below me before, but now I finally have you. Don’t worry, your big brother will show you the ropes from now on!"

"Oh, right, all the chores like serving tea, fetching water, and running errands... Hmm, I guess we don’t need you for that, haha~"

This senior brother clearly had an outgoing and unrestrained personality. His mix of "complaints" and jokes filled the group chat with another round of cheerful energy.

As Yang Qi was handling the enthusiastic "interrogation" from his senior brothers and sisters in the chat—Where did he graduate? How did he become Teacher’s disciple?—

—and making small talk with the people in the waiting area, four more people rushed in one after another.

These four were also middle-aged, two men and two women, each with a different air about them. But without exception, they were all friendly upon seeing Yang Qi.

"So you’re Junior Brother Yang Qi? Good, good, a very impressive young man,"

a middle-aged man with a powerful presence said, patting Yang Qi firmly on the shoulder.

"We’ve all heard about your exploits from Teacher and have seen the related videos. Truly incredible,"

a woman with gold-rimmed glasses and a scholarly air said with a smile.

"I saw the video too. You can even handle a brown bear. I’ll have to see it for myself someday,"

another man, who looked like he worked in an outdoor-related field, said with a laugh.

"Don’t be nervous, Junior Brother. Our sect is very harmonious. If you ever need anything in the future, just ask," the last person, a woman with a gentle disposition, added with a smile.

Yang Qi, of course, responded humbly, saying that he still had much to learn and hoped his senior brothers and sisters would guide him in the future.

A while later, another person arrived.

Fang Rong, Yang Fan, and the others hurried to greet him, calling him Brother Wei.

The newcomer was around fifty years old. He had a refined face, yet he naturally projected an imposing aura without being angry.

Yang Qi also greeted him as a senior brother, but as he took a second look, he was slightly taken aback.

Some time ago, Yang Qi had seen this Brother Wei’s name and photograph in local and provincial news reports about ecological protection and wildlife management.

The Deputy Director of the Provincial Forestry Bureau, Wei Zongting.

’Business, academia, education, government... they have people in every field.’

’This is a real academic powerhouse!’

’Wait, I’m one of them now?’

’Oh, well then... never mind.’