Everything Is Ready

Xia Lin stopped, turned around, and looked at Sera's deep dark red eyes, which still seemed profound in the afternoon sun.

"It's not really a plan," he said casually. "Let's just say I happen to have a little... trinket that might come in handy."

Drawing on his vague memory of the winding alleyways in the Lower City of Orlando, Xia Lin led Sera down a secluded street that exuded a rich aroma of herbs and spices.

Just as he expected, the street was lined with several small, but seemingly ancient, herb shops and alchemy supply stores.

Xia Lin chose the most inconspicuous one, a shop with a string of dried lizard tails and bundles of unknown dried grass hanging at the entrance, and walked in.

The shop was dimly lit, and the air was filled with a pungent plant odor that made Sera frown involuntarily, her nose twitching slightly beneath her veil.

An old gnome wearing a monocle, with hair as messy as a bird's nest and a few green potion stains on his chin, was dozing behind a counter piled high with jars and bottles.

"Boss, business!" Xia Lin knocked on the counter.

The old gnome jolted awake, his monocle nearly falling off. He adjusted his glasses and sized up Xia Lin and Sera with a pair of shrewd little eyes. "Buying or selling? Let me tell you upfront, this establishment doesn't do credit, nor do we accept items of unknown origin."

Xia Lin pushed the parchment with the copied recipe forward. "Boss, take a look at this. How much can you gather? Make sure the year and processing method are the best."

The old gnome picked up the parchment and brought it closer to the dim oil lamp. The eyes behind his monocle narrowed into slits as he read it word by word, muttering to himself. "Dewdrop Grass of the Dawn... Hmm, I have that. Just got a batch of three-year-old from the cellar. Bellflower Pollen... Ground or whole flower? Moon Moss... I'll have to go outside the city to collect that at night; only fresh will do..."

He went through the list item by item, nodding sometimes and shaking his head at others. When he saw "Heart of Twilight," he furrowed his bushy little eyebrows and grumbled, "Heart of Twilight? Never heard of it... What kind of strange thing is that?"

He put down the parchment and slowly dragged out a massive book from under the counter. It was bound in the skin of some inferior crawling creature and was thicker than a city wall brick. The cover was inscribed with crooked gnome script that read "Record of Rare Treasures."

The old gnome spat on his finger and began to flip through the musty book with a "rustle," sending dust showering down.

Sera recoiled half a step in disgust.

"Aha!" the old gnome suddenly exclaimed, his eyes behind the monocle lighting up. He pointed a finger, damp with saliva, heavily at a line in the book. "Found it! This 'Heart of Twilight' you mentioned, according to my records, is called 'Spirit of Eternal Night'!"

Xia Lin's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged. "So, this 'Spirit of Eternal Night,' do you have it, boss?"

"Have it? If I had this thing, would I be stuck guarding this shabby herb shop and smelling foot odor?" The old gnome shot him an exasperated look. "Young man, most of the items on your list... I have them, and I'll guarantee the year and processing to your satisfaction. However, there are three items that my little shop cannot provide. This 'Spirit of Eternal Night' is one of them."

The old gnome cleared his throat and began his explanation as a seasoned "information broker." "This 'Spirit of Eternal Night,' legend has it, can only be condensed in tiny, rice-sized amounts over long ages by certain special giant trees deep within ancient forests that have experienced long periods of darkness and then bathed in the first ray of sunlight. That thing almost only exists in the songs of bards or in the secret collections of ancient families. Forget my little shop, I doubt anyone in the entire Orlando can claim to have it in stock."

Spirit of Eternal Night... Xia Lin found the name vaguely familiar.

He vaguely remembered that when his father built what was said to be the most magnificent mansion in Changhe City back then, he spent a considerable sum to acquire a batch of ancient wood from a mysterious merchant who claimed to be from the Eastern Continent. It was said to have "endured a thousand years of darkness and absorbed the essence of eternal night." The wood was dark in color and exuded a peculiar fragrance. His father treasured it and used it for the most prominent load-bearing pillars in the main hall.

Could it be...

Seeing Xia Lin lost in thought, the old gnome extended another finger stained with potion and continued, "The other two items will also give you a headache. The first is 'Graveyard Ghost.' This thing is extremely sinister, only growing in old burial grounds where the aura of death is thick enough to suffocate. There's a rumor that someone has seen it in the abandoned old cemetery outside Orlando City; you could try your luck there."

He paused, then extended his second finger. "The second is 'Pride of the Griffin.' The longest and stiffest crown feather from the chest of an adult griffin, symbolizing the glory of the sky. This thing is not easy to obtain. A live griffin would tear you apart like a mouse. Even if you find a dead one, it must have died of natural causes. Feathers injured by magic or swords lose much of their spiritual essence and are useless for potions." The old gnome smacked his lips.

"Then how much would these other common medicinal ingredients cost?"

The old gnome's eyes darted around as he rattled off calculations on an abacus. "Given your sincerity, these materials that meet the year and processing requirements will cost you four silver coins and fifty copper pieces. Not a penny less!"

"Deal!" Xia Lin readily took out his coin purse. He knew he couldn't hesitate at a time like this, lest the old fox see through him and raise the price.

While Xia Lin was paying, he quietly activated [Item Appraisal].

A light blue screen flashed across his vision. The jars and bottles the old gnome had brought out were clearly labeled with their year, purity, and processing method. They were indeed good quality items that met the requirements, and the price was quite fair.

Stuffing a large bag of materials with a strong medicinal aroma into his space bag, Xia Lin felt a lot more at ease.

The two walked out of the dimly lit herb shop side by side, returning to the bustling streets of Orlando's Lower City, filled with the salty sea breeze and the noise of daily life.

"Alright, that's part of it dealt with," Xia Lin said, patting the bag at his waist and letting out a sigh of relief. "Dewdrop Grass of the Dawn, Bellflower Pollen... these common items are of good year and quality. That old gnome didn't cheat us too much."

Sera's dark red eyes, hidden behind her veil, swept over Xia Lin. Her voice was calm and even. "Only the 'common' parts. Those three rare items—'Graveyard Ghost,' 'Pride of the Griffin,' and that 'Spirit of Eternal Night'—they all sound like trouble."

"Trouble is certain," Xia Lin nodded. "But, there's always a way. When my father built his mansion in Changhe City, he, to show off, acquired a batch of wood that was said to be from the East and 'absorbed the essence of eternal night,' using it as beams. I don't know if it's true, but it's a lead, at least."

"You're so poor you're almost eating your boots for dinner, and you still have a house?" Sera's dark red eyes were filled with disbelief, as if she had heard a gnome declare his candidacy for the next Elf King.

"In a frontier place like Changhe City, houses are the least valuable things," Xia Lin waved his hand, his tone carrying the weariness of someone who had been through a lot. "There's plenty of land, vast tracts of wasteland, as long as you have the courage and strength to develop it. My dilapidated mansion, frankly speaking, besides taking up a lot of space and having a few impressive-looking wooden pillars inside, isn't worth much if I were to sell it."

"So, your goal is to go back to Changhe City and tear down the house?" Sera's tail tip drew a question mark behind her, clearly holding reservations about Xia Lin's "fantastical" plan.

"Tearing down the house is a future matter, and it's still uncertain whether that thing is actually 'Spirit of Eternal Night'," Xia Lin shook his head, bringing his thoughts back to the present. "The immediate priority is to deal with 'Graveyard Ghost.' According to the old gnome, the abandoned old cemetery outside Orlando City has this material. This is relatively the easiest one for us to obtain right now."

He glanced at the sky; the afternoon sun was scorching. "If we go now, we can scout the area before dark. Although that place is abandoned, there shouldn't be any danger..."

"Don't say 'there's no danger'," Sera immediately interjected, her tone tinged with a hint of caution. "Xia Lin, I have no confidence in your lucky mouth. The easier you think it is, the more trouble tends to find you."

Xia Lin coughed dryly. "Alright, you're right. It's always good to be cautious. If we're going to a creepy place like a graveyard, we should prepare some things to counter undead, shouldn't we?" He showed a shrewd merchant's smile. "Do you know where the most famous temple of the Lord of Dawn, Randall, is? It's right here in Orlando! Holy water that costs five silver coins a small bottle elsewhere, and you have to book in advance, but here... they sell it by the pound!"

They walked through several bustling commercial streets, heading towards Orlando's famous "Temple District."

As they approached the Temple District, the noise gradually gave way to a solemn and majestic atmosphere.

Randall's Temple of Dawn, bathed in the afternoon sun, emanated a soft and warm milky white radiance. A huge sun emblem shone at the top of the temple, like a sun that never sets.

The plaza in front of the temple was crowded with people, much livelier than Xia Lin had imagined.

Worshippers and tourists, coming to pray, seek divine favor, or simply admire the temple's glory, were endless. The long queue snaked from the temple entrance all the way to the edge of the plaza.

"Good heavens, so many people?" Xia Lin stared at the seemingly endless line, clicking his tongue. "Randall's followers are even more devout than I thought."

"Perhaps it's just because the holy water here is cheap," Sera commented expressionlessly.

Helpless, the two could only obediently join the queue.

Xia Lin was fine; he wasn't a devout follower to begin with and was mostly there out of curiosity.

Sera, on the other hand, seemed somewhat uncomfortable. She pulled her veil lower, trying to avoid the sacred aura emanating from the surrounding clergy and fervent believers, which made her uneasy.

Time trickled by in slow anticipation. The afternoon sun gradually shifted west, and the sweltering air grew cooler.

It wasn't until evening, when the afterglow of the setting sun painted the Temple's white walls with a warm orange-red hue, that they finally reached the counter selling holy relics.

The person in charge was an elderly Priest who looked vigorous and had a meticulously groomed beard.

His eyes were gentle and wise, and his face bore a kind smile.

"Two lost travelers from afar, may the Light of Dawn guide your path," the old Priest's voice was as steady as a vesper bell. "How may I be of service?"

"We need holy water, a lot of holy water," Xia Lin stated directly, placing two silver coins on the counter. "The kind that... well, makes those fellows who like to lurk in the dark uncomfortable."

The old Priest smiled and nodded, retrieving two "large-capacity blessed holy waters" from under the counter. They were stored in thick clay jars, their mouths sealed tightly with wax.

"Two silver coins. May Randall's blessing be with you."

Xia Lin weighed the two heavy clay jars, nodded in satisfaction, and put them into his space bag. These two large jars of holy water were enough to cleanse the entire old graveyard from the inside out.

"Alright, ammunition replenished," he patted the bag at his waist. Seeing that the sky had already darkened and the distant streets were lit by magic lamps, he mused, "It's getting late today. Going to the old graveyard at night would inevitably add some unnecessary risks."

He turned to Sera. "Let's find a place to rest for the night, get some good rest, and head to the old graveyard first thing tomorrow morning."