Studying Gillianis's notes was harder than expected.
First of all, her rank was far too high. Not only did she study high-tier magic, but her notes were also full of things like "see above," "easy to obtain," "omit for brevity," and "obvious," as well as "there's no room to write this part here, so I'll leave it out." They had a very effective anti-self-study system.
Fortunately, Gillianis was a powerful Druid and very easy to talk to. A couple of cups of baijiu and she'd answer anything you asked. She'd drink whatever you gave her, too. A genuine boozehound.
The only difference between her and the old man Jia Xiu had met in the village all those years ago was that Gillianis's hands didn't shake.
Maybe that was one of the perks of being an Archdruid. She might be a boozehound, but she wouldn't get alcohol poisoning.
The downside was that when Gillianis got happy-drunk, she'd start talking nonsense, so Jia Xiu had to puzzle out which parts were true. He treated it as a chance to review the material.
She'd also tell him about her complicated love life. That was how Jia Xiu learned the story behind Mia's human great-great-grandfather.
The old man had been an ordinary cook who'd won Gillianis's heart with his delicious food.
Their relationship hadn't fallen apart. It had simply "run its natural course."
To be precise, when the old man was in his forties, Gillianis had returned to the Elves to carry out a somewhat time-consuming task.
By the time she finished, the grass on his grave was three meters tall. He'd lived to sixty-two, which was a remarkable age for an ordinary person in those times.
Still, it had hit Gillianis hard.
Converted to a human timescale, it was like "being transferred out