Chapter 354
Lisa smiled gently, bent down, and let her snow-white cleavage be exposed to Anqi's eyes, rippling out like wonderful waves.
"No fines, and no corporal punishment. As for what the specific punishment will be, we'll discuss that later. What do you think, cutie~~"
Lisa leaned close to Anqi's ear, her sweet, seductive voice whispering into Anqi's ear as if gently licking it.
"I... I... I did it!"
Anqi, unable to withstand such teasing, blushed and answered loudly.
She knew the benefits of gaining trust were coming. If the person was someone of dubious origin, Lisa wouldn't have been so close, let alone given any opportunities.
Anqi left carrying a pile of introductory alchemy books and a large bag of alchemical materials.
She studied diligently for half a month. Relying on the theoretical foundation in her mind that contained the technological essence of the two civilizations in the Honkai world, Anqi quickly deconstructed the principles of so-called alchemy.
Midway through, Anqi glanced at the ground beneath her feet and was horrified:
"?!"
Teyvat some kind of crazy place?
What does it mean that there is infinite energy flowing in the Ley Line? The foundation of alchemy is to use the power of the Ley Line to transfer matter.
There are indeed various high-energy substances underground on our Earth, but they exist primarily in a stable layered structure.
Teyvat, isn't it? The entire earth beneath it is covered by active volcanoes that could erupt at any moment? And these are active volcanoes where lava could overflow to the surface at any time!
After the initial shock, Anqi regained her composure.
We also have Honkai affecting the entire civilization over there, so it's a tug-of-war, and neither of us should accuse the other.
Anyway, I'm fine now, so who cares?
With a starting point, Anqi became very focused. She read through various theories again and again, constantly deriving and trying to understand them. After half a month, she arrived at the public alchemy table in the commercial street with the alchemical materials given to her by Lisa.
Timotheus, a young alchemy apprentice who had worked at the alchemy table for many years, greeted them politely.
"Hello, are you here to use the alchemy table?"
"..."
Anqi didn't say anything, just glanced at him, and then silently took out a few Mora and placed them in Timotheus's hand.
Timotheus's face stiffened.
"That's not what I meant. Using the communal alchemy table is free... but the alchemy process does require Mora, which is a very useful all-purpose auxiliary material. Please use it for alchemy."
Timotheus returned Mora to her and stepped back from the alchemy table.
"Thanks."
Anqi thanked her. Then she placed a bag of materials on the table, and following the recipe she had already derived, she took out some materials and placed them on the alchemy table.
Then, take out the pre-counted bags of Mora and pour the auxiliary Mora onto the table.
Then she rubbed her palms together, preparing to turn the alchemy table and draw in the appropriate amount of Ley Line power.
Timotheus looked at the materials in Anqi's bag, rubbed his chin, and suddenly his eyes lit up:
"You're an alchemy apprentice, aren't you? These materials are commonly used by apprentices when they first start out. Generally speaking, the principles are simple, but there are countless variations, and the procedures are complex, basically covering all the basic alchemy processes. Ah, thinking back on it really brings back memories. It took me a full six months to complete my first alchemy..."
"Call out--"
The light flowing through the Ley Line flashed by and disappeared in an instant.
On the alchemy table, a bronze-colored animal horn lay there cleanly.
Anqi glanced at the petrified Timotheus but said nothing. She simply removed the beast horn and placed new alchemical materials on top.
"Call out--"
"Call out--"
A series of ley line lights flashed, clean and crisp, without the slightest interruption, and without the material explosions often seen in alchemy apprentices.
A dozen minutes later, Anqi packed the dozen or so materials she had refined into a small bag. Then, she picked up a large bag of raw materials, which she hadn't used much of, and skipped happily toward the Knights' headquarters.
After hopping a couple of steps, Anqi seemed to remember something. Carrying the bag, she turned and bowed to Timotheus, saying politely but without expression:
"Thanks."
Then turn around and continue with small hops.
Timotheus remained frozen in place, his lips trembling, speechless for a long time in the wind.
"A genius... does being a genius make you so great!?"
"Geniuses are truly amazing! Waaah!"
Timotheus covered his face; the sadness of a middle-aged man came unexpectedly.
This left Sucrose, who had just arrived, frozen in place. Not good at communicating, she didn't know what had happened, let alone what to do.
In the library, Lisa took out Anqi's alchemical achievements one by one from her small bag.
Dark golden horns, reddish-brown metallic chunks, emerald green gems, blue resin...
She checked each one individually to ensure its integrity and to determine if it contained any residual Ley Line power, which was sufficient proof that it had been recently crafted.
After a while, Lisa looked up. She glanced at the large bag of nearly empty raw materials beside her, and looked at Anqi, who was sitting obediently opposite her like a schoolchild, with undisguised astonishment. With a hint of disbelief, Lisa tentatively asked:
"All on the first try?"
"Um."
How long will it take?
"Each minute or so is perfected by following the correct technique."
For the first time, Lisa broke her composed and mature demeanor, looking somewhat bewildered, and touched the Witch's hat on her head.
"You really have never been exposed to alchemy before?"
"No."
"What alchemical formula did you use for this one?"
"It's %&*￥#..."
He recited a complex formula that only alchemists would understand, with unparalleled fluency.
To Lisa, it was a well-organized and highly creative formula.
She unconsciously touched the hat on her head again.
A moment later, Lisa's face lit up with an incredibly bright and gentle smile:
"Little Anqi, you've had a master before... Oh, this is your first time trying alchemy? You must not have a master, right?"
"Uh, there really isn't an alchemy master."
"What do you think of me? Pshaw! What I mean is that I'm very satisfied with your results! Here, this is your reward, along with new homework and assignments. Hurry up and put them away."
Lisa brought over a pile of books, each with various bookmarks, looking like they had a history of use. Then she brought over a pile of materials, a box of Mora, and so on. In the end, the table was completely filled.
Anqi blinked, bewildered.
"Don't be afraid, I'll go find Qin and ask her for a few people, you don't need to carry it back yourself."
Lisa stroked Anqi's little hands with loving eyes, as if to say—how can such precious hands be wasted on hard labor? They don't deserve it!
Then Lisa strode out of the library and burst into Jean's office.
"Qin! I'm absolutely certain that Anqi couldn't possibly be a spy planted by any force!"
Nonsense, what organization would be so stupid as to use a genius with talent that has illuminated the academic world for hundreds of years as a spy?
If so, please increase the effort; the more the better. Thank you!
Qin looked up from the pile of documents, bewildered.
"Yes, didn't we already confirm that?"
"Ahem! What I mean is, this is a talent, and he must stay in Mondstadt no matter what!"
"Ah?"
"Never mind that, just give me a few men!"
Lisa slammed her hand on the table, her eyes filled with an excitement that was completely unfamiliar to Qin.
Qin stared blankly at her best friend, and after a moment, nodded, choosing to believe Lisa.
Lisa quickly led the two tall and strong Knights back, took Anqi's hand, and warmly led her out to go home.
"Little Anqi, if you encounter any academic problems in the future, feel free to come to Sister Lisa anytime. If it's after work, you can come to my house; it's in this direction~"
Lisa showed no sense of danger at all, as if she had let a wolf into her house.
"By the way, why don't you quit that job? How about working with me? Lots of free time, easy work, and you can focus on your alchemy research!"
"Oh, you seem a little reluctant, don't you? It's okay, we'll take it slow. With your talent, you can work and learn at the same time. When you've thought it through, come and talk to your sister. I'll pay for all your deposits, ransoms, and penalties."
"Speaking of which, I have a textbook here, which I wrote myself. Even Albedo, the chief alchemist of Mondstadt, said it contains everything you need to know to get started with alchemy. I'll bring it to you later, and you can flip through it when you have time, okay?"
"If you need any physical work, you can call Timotheus anytime. You should have seen the guy next to the alchemy table, right? He's received a lot of help from Albedo and me, and he's always borrowed the communal alchemy table to do his own work. This is what he should repay. I'll go talk to him about it later. In short, please, please don't hurt yourself."
Lisa had a big smile on her face the whole way.
Not only was Anqi surprised, but even the two Knights' laborers who were more familiar with her were astonished.
However, only Lisa knew how happy she was.
Knowledgeable scholars are keen to cultivate successors. Some outstanding scholars may seem to dislike taking on students, but this is often because they haven't found anyone they deem worthy, not because they don't want to.
A successor not only represents the transmission of a lifetime's learning, but also, because all that is learned and thought is inherited from the master, the student, after completing their studies, often generates a great deal of complementary inspiration with the master's research field. After a certain point, they can learn from each other, supplement each other, and progress together.
For a true scholar, such a perfect comrade is also one of the shortcuts to truth.
As the pinnacle of Mondstadt City's intellect, Albedo had Sucrose as a genius assistant, but Lisa never encountered such a genius.
Now, Lisa has been found.
In her excitement, Lisa suddenly recalled her experience of leaving the Genshin Academy. That insane knowledge, that truth forbidden by the gods in the heavens, that irresistible disaster when approaching the truth.
Lisa's smile froze instantly. The scholar's instinctive fervor seemed to have been doused with cold water.
"Anqi".
"Sister Lisa, what's wrong?"
"Touching the truth is a dangerous and crazy thing. Of course, it is also deadly, but I am not worried about being deadly. What I am worried about is the kind of madness that gets out of control and causes endless harm... It is still too early for you, but if one day you reach that stage, I hope you can talk to me about your thoughts. As for me, Lisa, I would also like to hear a different answer."
Lisa stroked Anqi's head, her dim eyes revealing a fragile emotion, a sense of melancholy and confusion.
Anqi looked at Lisa with a blank expression, nodded vigorously, and took Lisa's hand tightly.
Lisa smiled and took Anqi's hand as they walked away.