Veilmist Fang

The bustling stall instantly fell silent.

The young stall owner seemed somewhat shaken as well. He hung his head dejectedly for quite a while before looking up again, only to abruptly discover that someone was still standing before his stall.

A plainly dressed young man, not very old.

The young stall owner had a decent memory. After a slight start, he recognized Gao De as one of the people who had been watching the commotion earlier.

"There's no show left to watch. Why aren't you leaving?" the young stall owner said with a curl of his lip, though he did not give Gao De any attitude.

Gao De smiled at the young stall owner and said,

"I wasn't here to watch a show."

"Hm?"

Gao De pointed at the bronze object that had just caused the dispute and said sincerely, "Four Sien Gold Coins. Are you selling it?"

Gao De was truly sincere.

Because his entire fortune was only four gold and fifteen silver.

The young stall owner pondered for a moment. Rather than answer immediately, he stared at Gao De's still somewhat youthful face and asked,

"You don't think I'm trying to swindle you?"

"Although the rune patterns have worn away, you can still tell that the complete rune must have been quite extraordinary." Gao De examined the bronze object several more times and said with certainty.

The young stall owner fell silent for a moment. At last, he picked up the bronze object and handed it to Gao De. "Deal."

Gao De did not dawdle. He decisively took three Sien Gold Coins and twenty Shamrock Silver Coins from his pocket and handed them to the young stall owner.

Looking at the neat assortment of gold and silver coins in his hand, the young stall owner hesitated, sighed, and spoke again.

"To tell you the truth, this bronze object is called the Veilmist Fang. When it was whole and undamaged, it was a First Circle magical alchemical creation capable of casting the First Circle Spell Veilmist. It was only during one battle that its spell runes were accidentally worn away."

"So when I said that if it were repaired, selling it for sixty or seventy Sien Gold Coins would be no problem, I really wasn't bragging."

The average price of a First Circle Mystic Item was generally sixty-five gold coins.

Gao De did not show too much excitement. Since the stall owner had said this much, there was bound to be more to it.

Sure enough.

"It's just that my father once sought out an Enchanting Repairman. After examining it, the Enchanting Repairman discovered that the worn portion of the Veilmist Fang's spell runes was precisely the core rune."

"To repair it would be almost equivalent to engraving the entire spell rune all over again. It exceeded his abilities, so the matter was left unresolved."

"So repairing it is no simple matter."

"I can see you aren't well-off either. If you regret it, then let's call off this deal."

The young stall owner looked somewhat helpless, and somewhat remorseful.

"It's fine. If I truly can't find a way to repair it, I can keep it as a collectible." Gao De's calm voice rang out.

The young stall owner froze, not yet reacting.

Having obtained an item he liked, and with his purse now embarrassingly light, Gao De had no interest in continuing to browse. He had already strolled away.

The herb garden.

Before a dark brown door.

Gao De, who had just returned from the town square, lightly knocked on the door.

"Cough, come in." Mage Seda's familiar voice, laced with coughing, came from within.

Gao De hurriedly pushed open the door.

Mage Seda sat facing him at a long raw-wood table.

The moment he saw Mage Seda, Gao De was startled.

They had not seen each other for merely a dozen or so days, yet Mage Seda looked as though he had suffered a grave illness. His complexion was sickly to the extreme.

Mage Seda's complexion had previously been ashen, but it had not been like this. Now there was almost no trace of color in his face at all; he was as pale as a corpse.

Suppressing the questions and restless impulses in his heart, Gao De hurried forward, bowed to Mage Seda, then respectfully presented Phil's Herb Shop's delivery receipt with both hands, his head deeply lowered.

"Mage Lord, today I delivered the magical herbs accumulated in the herb garden over the past few days to the city. This is the receipt I received."

"Put it on the table. Cough." Mage Seda's voice sounded equally weak and lifeless.

Yet Gao De did not dare show the slightest disrespect.

He carefully placed the receipt on the raw-wood table, then stood respectfully to one side and waited for Mage Seda to speak.

Mage Seda remained expressionless, his eyes half-open as he scrutinized Gao De, seemingly pondering something.

After several breaths, he suddenly opened his eyes wide. A sharp glint lit up in his clouded gaze.

"I've noticed you leaving the herb garden often lately?"

Gao De froze inwardly. In the next instant, he reacted, his expression changing drastically as panic at being exposed appeared on his face.

His hands clenched tightly, fear and shame mingling on his face. "Mage Lord, I... I harbored improper thoughts. I indulged in the splendor of the city and neglected my daily cultivation..."

Mage Seda stared at the repentant Gao De, weighing something in his mind.

"Mage Lord, from now on, I will certainly return to the proper path. Please forgive my ignorance and self-indulgence." Gao De continued with several flattering words.

But Mage Seda did not care. He gave a sinister chuckle and watched Gao De's performance with mocking eyes.

"I do not care whether you are diligent in your cultivation. I only care whether you delay my affairs."

"Mage Lord, I swear I have absolutely not delayed my work. Please see the truth clearly!" Unease surged within Gao De.

The next moment, Mage Seda reached out and grabbed Gao De.

Gao De knew something was wrong. Instinctively, he wanted to resist and dodge, but he immediately calmed down. After hesitating for an instant, he ultimately did nothing.

It was not yet time to tear off all pretenses.

Mage Seda's hand clamped around Gao De's wrist like an iron pincer. Magic power surged within it, bringing Gao De pain that pierced deep into his bones.

"Do you know that I have researched the Spirit-Linking Potion formula for a full ten years? Listen carefully—not ten days, not ten months, but ten years!" Mage Seda said grimly, his voice filled with Sha Qi.

"Now that I have finally come close to success, at a moment like this, I will not tolerate any accident!"

"You brat have a crooked heart. You run to the city every other day, yet you have no real skill. Sooner or later, something will happen."

"I'm telling you, if it were anyone else, then dying would be dying. It would be no more than an apprentice's life. I know none of you truly regard me as your mentor. That's fine. I don't care, because I never truly regarded you as apprentices either."

"But you are different. Even if you die, you can only die from my potion!" Mage Seda's expression grew ever more savage. He nearly roared at Gao De, "Do you understand?!"

As Mage Seda's expression grew fiercer, the pain in Gao De's wrist became increasingly heart-piercing. Trembling, he answered with difficulty, "I understand..."

Only after using an interrogation spell to learn that Gao De was not lying did Mage Seda stop his spell.

Gao De had long since been tortured into a cold sweat by the intense pain, his clothes soaked through.

He bit down hard on his lips, utterly unable to remain as still as water.

A soul from modern society could not accept being threatened in every possible way by someone who was clearly preparing to take his life.

But he understood that neither pleading nor anger could change the other man in the slightest. He could only force himself to continue enduring.

"From today until the potion trial, you are not permitted to leave the herb garden again. There is no need to deliver the potions to the herb shop for now."

Mage Seda was very satisfied with the immense pressure he had placed on Gao De.

"I understand, Mage Lord." Before Mage Seda's overwhelming strength, Gao De clenched his teeth and submitted.

Hearing Gao De's words of submission, Mage Seda let out a long breath, releasing the stifling resentment that had been building in his heart over the past few days.

With the moment at hand, his tension and pressure were in fact no less than Gao De's as he plotted his "rebellion."

"Leave." Mage Seda waved his hand.

Gao De bowed once more before withdrawing.

He knew very well that Mage Seda no longer cared whether he was polite and respectful.

Yet Gao De still maintained a respectful demeanor, refusing to let Mage Seda see even the slightest hint that he intended to resist.

He knew he absolutely could not let Mage Seda become wary.

The gap in strength between them was already immense. If he wanted to succeed in resisting, his greatest chance lay in striking when the enemy least expected it.