Whale Glue

Hearing Lin Mo's words, Xiao Wu, standing to the side, asked back with a face full of confusion: "Aren't you an orphan? Where did a great-grandmother come from? Did you find your relatives?"

Lin Mo expressionlessly pushed the plate of food in front of him to the side: "You did a great job; don't do it again next time."

Xiao Wu was truly not suited for the kitchen; she was a kitchen assassin.

To be able to stir-fry a plate of vegetables into something like this required a certain level of talent.

"Is it really that bad?"

Xiao Wu's beautiful eyebrows immediately furrowed. She instinctively took the chopsticks Lin Mo handed her and brought a mouthful to her lips.

"Ugh..."

A dry heave echoed through the room.

Upholding the principle of not wasting food, Xiao Wu still managed to swallow the piece she had put in her mouth.

"Better throw it out... This dish isn't fit for the children," Xiao Wu said regretfully.

Before Lin Mo could even speak, Xiao Wu quickly dumped the food, which looked no different from a dark culinary experiment, into the trash can.

Having confirmed that she was not cut out for cooking, Xiao Wu never mentioned the matter again.

She simply watched silently from the side as Lin Mo finished preparing a table full of dishes.

Lin Mo cooked quickly; in less than an hour, seven or eight dishes were spread across the table.

These dishes looked ordinary, yet they exuded an enticing aroma.

Xiao Wu sniffed the air, and her stomach let out a traitorous growl.

Lin Mo brought the final pot of soup to the table and glanced at her: "Go call the children over to eat."

Xiao Wu nodded and turned to leave the kitchen.

Soon, the voices of children chattering away could be heard from the courtyard.

When Lin Mo brought the food into the room that usually served as the cafeteria, the children swarmed in immediately.

Seeing the dishes that were rarely seen on a daily basis, their eyes lit up: "Brother Lin Mo's cooking is still as good as ever."

The children ate with great relish, and Xiao Wu was no exception.

She quickly picked up a piece of braised pork. The moment it entered her mouth, her eyes crinkled into crescent moons.

After swallowing the pork, Xiao Wu quickly reached for another dish. From then on, her chopsticks danced across the table without a moment's pause.

Seeing Xiao Wu wolfing down her food like this, Lin Mo shook his head helplessly.

After the meal, Lin Mo began telling stories to the children as he usually did.

Only this time, the protagonist of the story was himself, and the content had shifted to his experiences after becoming a Spirit Master.

Lin Mo omitted the parts that were slightly too bloody.

The children listened with rapt attention, finding it exceptionally fascinating.

They had always been interested in Spirit Masters, and since Lin Mo was personally recounting his own experiences, they were even more enthralled.

Watching Lin Mo surrounded by the children, Xiao Wu found it amusing while also feeling a twinge of heartache.

Once upon a time, Lin Mo had been one of these children himself.

Moreover, this was the first time she had seen Lin Mo be so patient.

Usually, this guy spoke very little at the academy, but he showed extraordinary patience when dealing with these little ones.

After the story ended, Lin Mo stood up and swept his gaze over every child present.

"From now on, you must listen to Grandpa Dean. Eat when it's time to eat, and take your medicine on schedule."

"Regardless of whether you can become a Spirit Master in the future, you must take care of your health first."

"Health is the capital of the revolution."

"Only with a strong body can you do what you want when you grow up, just like me."

Hearing Lin Mo's words, the children nodded vigorously.

For Lin Mo, this vacation could be considered quite pleasant.

Aside from helping the dean out at the orphanage, he spent the rest of his time wandering around Notting City with Xiao Wu.

His own understanding of Notting City was actually quite limited.

Naturally, his previous range of activity had been mostly confined to the vicinity of the orphanage, and he rarely ventured any further.

Unlike Lin Mo, Xiao Wu found everything she saw to be fresh and exciting.

She dragged Lin Mo around Notting City like a headless chicken.

Whenever they encountered a snack stall, she would insist on stopping to buy something before moving on.

In less than two days, Lin Mo and Xiao Wu had wandered through every corner of Notting.

On the east side of the city stood an herbal shop with a tattered sign, run by a small old man with a goatee.

Seeing Lin Mo arrive, he asked, "Young man, what kind of herbs are you looking for?"

"Do you have whale glue here?" Lin Mo asked straight to the point.

Hearing this, the old man's expression turned strange. "Whale glue? What do you need that for?"

Lin Mo didn't answer, simply staring at him.

The old man shook his head at his demeanor. "I don't have such things here.

In a small place like Notting City, it's impossible to find something like that.

If you truly want it, I'm afraid you'll have to try your luck in a big city."

Having received his answer, Lin Mo turned and walked out of the shop, heading toward another pharmacy on the street.

This shop was slightly larger than the previous ones, with a middle-aged man sitting behind the counter.

"Boss, do you have whale glue?"

The middle-aged man looked up, clearly stunned to see a child like Lin Mo.

He then glanced at Xiao Wu following behind Lin Mo, a meaningful smile spreading across his face:

"Whale glue? You may look young, kid, but you sure know how to play."

Xiao Wu blinked, confused, while Lin Mo frowned slightly.

"We don't have it."

The middle-aged man waved his hand. "Notting City doesn't have that sort of thing, and even if it did, it's not something a little brat like you could afford.

A single portion of century-old whale glue costs at least three figures in Gold Soul Coins, and millennium-old ones are even more expensive..."

Lin Mo didn't say anything more and turned to leave the shop.

Afterward, Lin Mo took Xiao Wu to several more pharmacies and street vendors, but the result was always the same.

Notting City lived up to its name; it was just an obscure, peripheral town with nothing of real value to offer.

Even when they occasionally stumbled upon items that could assist in cultivation, the markups were extreme, and the cost-effectiveness was abysmal.

After circling the area, Lin Mo could only regretfully conclude:

The chances of finding the whale glue he longed for in Notting City were slim to none.

Lin Mo did not feel discouraged by this result.

He had already anticipated this before he even started searching.

Whale glue was a special substance derived from the brains of whale-type spirit beasts.

At this stage, whale glue was used primarily as an aphrodisiac by a small number of nobles, and it came with an exorbitant price tag.

After all, as a product of whale-type spirit beasts, even a Spirit King-level spirit master wouldn't dare claim they could reliably hunt a millennium-level whale spirit beast in the ocean.

This was the reason Lin Mo hadn't held high expectations from the start.

He had simply been trying his luck to see if there was any chance of picking up a bargain.