51: Chapter 51 Mu Liuli is missing

Having received confirmation from Su Xiaoxiao, it was clear that Lin Mo and his two companions were the rising stars of this year's college entrance examination.

Complex emotions churned within Mu Liuli.

When she first heard about those deeds, she was filled with admiration.

Yet, she never expected that these three legendary candidates would become her teammates.

Her feelings at this moment were indescribable.

Just then, a chaotic sound of footsteps approached from afar.

Su Xiaoxiao and Mu Liuli hurriedly stood up.

They saw Lin Mo and his two companions, each clutching bulging pockets, running towards them in a panic, looking utterly disheveled from a distance.

"Little Fox, run!" Lin Mo shouted at the top of his lungs from far away.

Su Xiaoxiao reacted instantly.

Could it be that their peach-stealing had been discovered?

Her face turned pale.

She was thin-skinned by nature; if she were caught, how could she face anyone?

Without a second thought, she turned and sprinted away, not even bothering with Mu Liuli beside her.

Mu Liuli stood frozen in place, not yet understanding what was happening.

"Run! What are you standing there like a fool for!"

When Lin Mo rushed past her and saw her still dazed, he immediately shouted in frustration.

Then, without looking back, he continued sprinting with Lu Mengmeng and Niu Dachun.

"Little thieves, stop right there!" A furious roar exploded behind them.

Before Mu Liuli could recover, a bespectacled woman holding a large hammer and wearing a white lab coat rushed up to her, eyeing her up and down: "Well, well, so there's an accomplice, and you're not even running? You've got some nerve."

Mu Liuli opened her mouth, wanting to ask what was going on, but the bespectacled woman immediately pulled out a pair of shackles and, under her bewildered gaze, locked them onto her wrists with a "click."

"Don't bother making excuses. I heard that little thief call out to you. If you have anything to say, say it when we get back to my office!"

Mu Liuli wanted to resist, but feeling the fluctuation of Soul Power from the other person that far exceeded her own, she instantly gave up struggling and could only be half-dragged along.

On the other side, the four of them plunged into the bushes by the academy lake, panting heavily.

"Li-Lin Mo... what on earth happened?" Su Xiaoxiao clutched her chest, her voice trembling with lingering fear.

"Phew... what else could it be? We got ambushed." Lin Mo waved his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Don't be afraid, Xiaoxiao, we ran fast; they definitely didn't see what we looked like!" Lu Mengmeng patted her chest comfortingly.

"Alright, let's not talk about that for now. Let's hurry up and divide the peaches. I'm dying of thirst..."

Just as Lin Mo was speaking, Su Xiaoxiao suddenly exclaimed.

"One, two, three... oh no!"

"What? What? You scared the life out of me!" Lu Mengmeng was startled.

Su Xiaoxiao made a bitter face, her voice trembling: "Mu, Mu Liuli... is missing!"

"Hiss—" The three of them gasped.

Meanwhile, Teacher An Nuolan stood in front of the Spirit Plant Garden professor's office with a bitter expression.

She had been writing a training plan for her team when she suddenly received a call from the Spirit Plant Garden, asking her to come and pick someone up.

At first, she was completely confused.

She didn't usually have much contact with the Spirit Plant Garden, so why was she suddenly asked to pick someone up?

But as she pondered on the way, she suddenly remembered Lu Mengmeng mentioning "picking fruit in the back mountain orchard" yesterday...

Could these little brats have actually dared to go and steal fruit from the Cultivation Garden?

Teacher An Nuolan rubbed her temples helplessly and raised her hand to knock on the office door.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Come in." A slightly stern female voice came from inside.

Teacher An Nuolan pushed the door open.

At a glance, she saw Mu Liuli sitting on the sofa with shackles on her wrists, and a bespectacled woman sitting in the office chair with a stern expression.

Her heart sank.

There was no sign of Lin Mo and the others... Could she have guessed wrong?

But then what was going on with Mu Liuli?

Various thoughts ran through her mind.

Yet, she forced a gentle smile on her face: "Professor Yi, this is..."

Professor Yi pointed at Mu Liuli, fuming with anger: "Teacher An, look at your student! Stealing the academy's Spirit Plant peaches in broad daylight, and then trying to deny it even after being caught red-handed!"

Mu Liuli looked up at Teacher An Nuolan, her eyes filled with grievance and confusion: "Teacher An, I, I didn't..."

Teacher An Nuolan quickly tried to smooth things over: "Professor Yi, please calm down. There must be a misunderstanding. Mu Liuli is not the kind of child to do such things. Did you perhaps mistake her for someone else?"

Just which wicked little thief had framed the innocent Mu Liuli?

"Misunderstanding? There is no misunderstanding. I saw those three... no, four little thieves call her to run. How could that be false?"

Four people?

Teacher An Nuolan's heart sank again.

Could it really be Lin Mo and those brats!

And... had Su Xiaoxiao participated too?

She suppressed the throbbing in her temples.

"Liuli, tell Teacher what is going on here!"

Mu Liuli directly recounted how Lin Mo said he wanted to treat her to peaches.

"Teacher, I really don't know what happened."

Tears welled up in the corners of Mu Liuli's eyes; who could understand this kind of grievance?

"Good grief, stealing peaches from my Spirit Plant Garden to treat a classmate!" Professor Yi was so angry she laughed.

"Who is this Lin Mo? I have never seen such a shameless person!"

Teacher An Nuolan just wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

Her face turned red and white, and she coughed dryly, trying to salvage the situation: "Professor Yi, that brat Lin Mo... I will definitely teach him a lesson later!"

She secretly gave Mu Liuli a look, signaling her not to say any more.

Mu Liuli pursed her lips and swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

After all, they were teammates; she couldn't really sell them out completely.

Professor Yi "hmphed": "Teacher An, do you think this is their first offense!"

"Not their first offense? Wh-what do you mean?" Teacher An Nuolan was stunned.

"Seven or eight were already picked yesterday. I came to stake out the place personally today, but I didn't expect these little brats to have gotten addicted to eating them."

Good grief, Teacher An Nuolan exclaimed inwardly.

Did Lin Mo and his group really think the Spirit Plant Garden was their own orchard?

"Teacher An, it's not that I want to lecture you, but you need to be stricter when leading the team. They've only just started school and they already dare to break into the Spirit Plant Garden; won't they turn the world upside down in the future?"

Teacher An Nuolan nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, Professor Yi is right! How about this, I will punish them by having them do a week of voluntary labor in the Spirit Plant Garden, watering and fertilizing the peach trees!"

Meanwhile, in the bushes by the lake, the four of them were worrying over the last peach.

"How about... we split it and eat it?" Lu Mengmeng was not satisfied yet.

"We should save it for Mu Liuli," Su Xiaoxiao said softly.

Lin Mo nodded: "Forget it. Mu Liuli is a teammate after all, so let's leave it for her."

"Phew, alright then. Who would have thought that eating a few peaches could increase Soul Power? I feel like if I work hard tonight, I can reach Level 21." Lu Mengmeng rubbed her belly contentedly.

"Yeah, these peaches are really good. They taste great and increase Soul Power. I feel like I'm not far from Level 17 either." Niu Dachun looked equally satisfied.

"Yeah, it's just a pity that we probably won't be able to eat them again..." Lin Mo said with some regret.

As soon as he finished speaking, they heard Teacher An Nuolan's furious shout from behind: "Lin Mo! The four of you, come out here!"

The four of them shuddered, and the peach rolled onto the ground.

Turning around, they saw Teacher An Nuolan standing there with her hands on her hips.

Mu Liuli followed behind her, looking at them with a complicated expression.

Lin Mo quickly crawled out of the bushes, a smile plastered on his face: "Teacher An, why are you here..."

"You little brat!" Teacher An Nuolan raised her foot and kicked him in the butt.

"Stealing peaches and leaving your teammate behind, doesn't your conscience hurt?"