Meanwhile, Carl, leader of the Solomon Pirates, finally returned. That very day, she summoned Xiao Ran to her quarters.
As soon as he entered, Xiao Ran smelled the strong scent of medicinal herbs. Carl lay in bed, looking somewhat drained.
Xiao Ran sniffed and could roughly identify the main ingredient as Tranquility Flower, which restored Psychic Power. It seemed Leader Carl had expended an enormous amount of Psychic Power lately.
Carl was not alone. Veranica was also in the room, holding a bowl of brewed medicine and feeding it to her.
"All right, go check on your mother. Her injuries aren't light either!" Seeing Xiao Ran arrive, Carl pushed away the medicine bowl in Veranica's hands and spoke softly.
"Mm, I'll go now!" Unusually quiet, Veranica nodded without saying anything more. She gathered up the bowl and left, casting Xiao Ran a glance filled with worry before she went.
"This should be the Moon Flute you wanted, right?" Carl asked, taking a flute from beneath her pillow.
Xiao Ran's eyes lit up at the sight of it. The curved crescent moon on it was unmistakable. This was precisely the Moon Flute Team Rocket had stolen.
"Yes, that's the Moon Flute. Did you succeed, Leader Carl?" Xiao Ran asked, visibly excited.
"We only recovered the flute. We didn't catch them! And Andrey is gravely wounded and near death! They're still trying to save him!" Carl spoke without showing either joy or sorrow, but Xiao Ran's expression changed drastically at her words.
Leaving aside what had happened to Team Rocket, the devastating losses the Solomon Pirates had suffered alone made it clear that this affair was anything but simple.
"How is Commander Andrey? I'm good at healing. Why don't I go take a look first?" Xiao Ran asked with concern.
He was