The Cornflower Witch

Back at the stronghold, the two of them sorted through this expedition’s haul.

“Eleven stalks of Dewdrop Grass, eight stalks of Seven-Star Lotus, nine clusters of Black Deer Fungus, four clusters of Ring Umbrella Mushroom… That’s eighty-seven First Tier herbs total, plus thirteen Second Tier herbs. All together, they’re worth about three hundred and fifty gold coins.” Noah estimated their earnings.

Even after deducting the gold spent on torches and tools consumed during the expedition, they still had around three hundred and twenty gold coins in pure profit. It was a massive windfall.

The reason they could reap so much this time was twofold. First, they hadn’t run into many monsters along the way, so there were few battles and little consumption of supplies. Second, with Sylutia around, her exceptional perception ensured they never missed a single herb along the path, making this harvest more than triple what Noah would’ve gathered on his own expeditions before.

Truth be told, Noah hadn’t originally thought that far ahead. He’d only invited Sylutia because he didn’t want to waste too much time recuperating from his injury. But he never imagined the expedition would yield such high returns.

After the tally was done, even someone as composed as he was couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

“We really got lucky this time. All thanks to Hedra.”

“Let’s head to the Apothecary Guild first to turn in the goods, then we’ll grab a meal together. This one’s on me.” He said it with an animated, cheerful determination.

Sylutia nodded. The two then delivered the herbs to the Apothecary Guild, where the pharmacist on duty counted everything over and handed them four hundred and two gold coins in payment, then explained.

“The amount is higher than expected because these herbs are preserved exceptionally well. Quite a few were harvested with their roots and stems intact, so the medicinal properties haven’t leaked or been damaged. The quality is excellent.”

Many herbs, when picked, have their original structure broken, causing the Aspect condensed within to be damaged and gradually leak away. Thus, the harvesting technique is quite important. Generally, Transcendents with the Verdant Nectar Aspect can observe the “Rhythms” spectrum of herbs, allowing them to avoid damage well. Transcendents of other Aspects, however, have a hard time mastering this skill.

“I see.” Noah glanced at the girl beside him and speculated that she must be a Scholar specializing in herbs.

Transcendents of the “Secret Word” Aspect were mostly Scholars or Mages, and Scholars themselves were further divided into various fields. He figured this girl was likely an apprentice focused on herbal studies.

Although there were many mistakes in his reasoning, his conclusion wasn’t far off. Sylutia was indeed skilled in herbs, adept at horticulture and plant cultivation, and she was currently an apprentice.

After finishing up, the two went back to the tavern. It was already eight in the evening. Noah generously laid out fifteen gold coins and ordered a lavish meal he’d never normally splurge on.

Soon, the food they ordered was served: “Purple Taro Fruit Civet Meat Slices” and “Herb-Grilled White River Fish.”

Sylutia looked at the fragrant white fish in front of her. The outside was pan-fried to a slight golden brown, while the meat inside remained tender and delicious, enhanced by herbs and sauce. She skillfully picked up her chopsticks to enjoy this rare treat.

On the other side, Noah clumsily stabbed at the meat slices with his fork to taste them. Seeing how adept Sylutia was with chopsticks, he grew a little curious.

Chopsticks were a custom brought over from a distant continent. People of the Fourth Continent weren’t unfamiliar with them, but few bothered to learn because most common folks didn’t eat dishes that required chopsticks. Only the food of nobles and wealthy families was refined enough to occasionally call for them.

It seemed her background was decent, confirming his earlier guess.

After dinner, Noah wanted to invite Sylutia to continue exploring.

“Do you have time to keep exploring over the next two days, Miss Hedra?”

“I’m afraid not.” Sylutia shook her head gently.

“You have other things to do outside, and just happened to be free today?”

“That’s right. What a shame.” Noah felt regretful. He wished he could invite this girl to keep exploring—even if he had to split half the earnings with her, it would be worth it.

“However, I can give you a simple harvesting guide to help you reduce the damage to herb quality when picking.” Sylutia had seen Noah’s harvesting technique, and the way he did it made her eyes hurt—it was unbearable to watch.

“Tomorrow morning, I’ll come to the tavern and hand you the organized notes.” Sylutia thought for a moment.

“Thank you.” Noah replied gratefully. After seeing the difference when turning in the herbs today, he understood he still had many shortcomings.

After returning, Sylutia went to the small house she’d rented at the stronghold. She first soaked in a cold bath, then changed into a light nightgown.

After that, she went to the laboratory and took out a few of the herbs she’d picked that day.

Though she’d handed over most of them, Sylutia had held back a few for her experiments. She carefully extracted their juices, then filtered and refined them, slowly preparing the potion recorded in the texts.

Under the lamplight, the young girl’s expression was serious and meticulous. She watched the liquid churning in the instrument slowly change color, then gradually adjusted the temperature to stabilize the medicinal properties condensing within.

After more than an hour like this, two vials of potion with a faint, light purple hue were finished. This was a potion she’d learned from local Shamans during her earlier survey and visits in the Western Mountain Range, one that could enhance the strength of beast-type creatures.

**[Purple Mustard Blood-Cleansing Potion]** (Second Tier · Superior): Alleviates symptoms of Blood Rage, enhances the control of beings with the Bloodline Aspect over their own bloodline, and reduces inflammation and tumors.

Because Bloodline was already connected to Distortion at its source, the more vigorous a Bloodline Aspect creature’s bloodline was, the more prone they were to Blood Rage symptoms—where the body’s flesh and blood growth would spiral out of control, causing complications like inflammation and tumors.

Compared to wild beasts, the Blood Clan had far stronger mental power control. Additionally, thanks to generations of geniuses in the Blood Dynasty’s research and improvements, there were many secret arts to eliminate or prevent Blood Rage. But ordinary beasts couldn’t do that. They couldn’t practice the Blood Clan’s secret arts, nor did they know how to cope. They could only follow their instincts—either enter Hibernation to slow the pulse of their Bloodline, or consume toxic plants to suppress the Blood Rage within through self-harm.

Currently, the Shadow-Walking Beast Sylutia was training didn’t have the Bloodline Aspect, but as a beast, its inner Bloodline Aspect was still robust, giving it innate bloodline-related abilities.

After finishing the preparation, the girl lifted the vials and carefully examined them against the light, recalling and reviewing the process.

Since it was her first time, she was inevitably a bit clumsy, using Second Tier herbs to produce a potion with an evaluation not far off from the materials.

Next time, she should be able to raise the quality a bit. After finishing, Sylutia thought to herself.

She’d previously learned quite a bit of knowledge and secret arts related to raising War Beasts. Now she could finally put some of it to use, and using the Shadow-Walking Beast for a test was a good chance to practice. Through this hands-on experience, she could achieve the “balance of the three laws” while also improving her own abilities.