Now This Was Something Special!

First Oasis, Dion's Workshop.

Demi and Phil stepped outside and closed the wooden door with its "Closed" sign.

"I don't know why, but my right eyelid keeps twitching," Demi said. "Will Anya really be all right at home? She should be able to keep an eye on the madam, shouldn't she?"

"Don't worry," Phil said. "She was trained by Lady Ai Fan as a personal maid, after all. She can't be that unreliable."

"Now you've made me even more worried." Demi sighed and glanced back at the Artisan Workshop.

"I hope old Dion finishes soon... It's all the General's fault, insisting on keeping this a secret. Now people with connections keep cutting in line. It's driving me crazy!"

The two chatted as they walked toward the landing pad.

Suddenly, Demi stopped, her gaze piercing through a stand of Large-Leaf Oilwood.

"What is it?" Phil turned back to ask.

Demi frowned.

Just a moment ago, she thought she had seen a familiar figure, but he had disappeared too quickly for her to get a clear look.

She pressed a hand over her heart.

"I just saw someone who looked a lot like the madam."

"No way!" Phil exclaimed. "Aren't you being a little paranoid?"

"I hope that's all it is."

Staring at the empty gaps between the leaves, Demi prayed sincerely.

The wooden door bearing the "Closed" sign was pushed open again.

An apprentice of about ten put down his tools, pushed his goggles up onto his forehead, and addressed the visitors.

"Sorry! We're closed today."

Ling Yu took an exquisitely wrapped chocolate out of his pocket and tossed it to him. "Don't recognize me anymore, kid?"

"Mr. Ling?!" The young apprentice grinned and tucked the fine candy into his pocket. "What brings you here? Your order won't be finished for another two days."

"Something unexpected came up. I need to add one more item."

Ling Yu winked and tipped his chin toward the cloaked figure beside him.

The young apprentice understood at once and flashed a bright smile. "No problem! You're an honored guest referred by the lord. Of course we'll accommodate you."

He trotted over to Shen Que, first sizing up the obviously expensive cloak.

A rich customer!

He kept smiling.

"What can we do for you, sir?"

Shen Que took the Memory Stone out from beneath his cloak.

"I'd like a custom necklace. Don't drill any holes in it."

The young apprentice took the stone, gleefully thinking that a rich man's rough mineral specimen had to be at least A+ grade.

Then he looked down-

"So ugly! Did you pick this up by the roadside... Ow! That hurt!"

The young apprentice clutched his head and looked at the person who had knocked him on it.

"Master Dion!"

At some point, the gray-haired old man had emerged from behind the workbench and rapped the boy's head in warning.

"Watch your mouth!"

He took the Memory Stone from the apprentice and examined it.

"Half an hour," Dion told Shen Que.

"Wait if you like. Otherwise, come back for it tomorrow."

"I'll wait." Shen Que didn't hesitate.

"I don't have anything else to do anyway," Ling Yu said with a smile. "This is a good chance to see what other fine pieces you have here."

The clinking of tools soon rang out from the back.

There were no sofas in the Artisan Workshop for customers to rest on, so Shen Que could only lean against a workbench.

After running around all day, he was exhausted. He coughed softly now and then, his head fuzzy, unable to keep drowsiness at bay.

Once the Memory Stone was taken away, the sandy scent enveloping him disappeared with it.

Everything felt vaguely wrong. Hugging his shoulders, he let his unfocused gaze wander around the room.

If this keeps up, I'll really become dependent on it.

He tried to focus on the other objects in the room to ease his longing to move closer to that stone.

Half-polished turquoise, white crystal, obsidian strung into bracelets...

Suddenly, something on a workbench caught his eye.

It was a stone shimmering with unusual colors.

At first glance, it was white tinged with pink, like morning mist illuminated by the rosy glow of dawn.

At the edge of that mist lay a streak of clear blue. Where the two colors intertwined, the light shifted endlessly. It was breathtaking.

Shen Que couldn't help stepping closer, his gaze tracing every inch of the stone.

This is... symbiotic stone.

Under particular geographical conditions, two minerals fused as they grew. A well-formed symbiotic stone possessed the properties of both minerals.

Even on White Sand Star, it was exceedingly rare.

Noticing Shen Que's movement, Ling Yu came over as well.

"Symbiotic stone?"

He sounded surprised, then widened his eyes and reached out to stroke the stone.

"In all my years in business, I've never seen such a perfect symbiotic stone!"

The young apprentice passed beside them, glanced their way, and spoke proudly.

"Beautiful, isn't it? Even Master Dion said he'd never seen such a gorgeous symbiotic stone in his life!"

"How much are you planning to sell it for?" Ling Yu asked immediately. "I want to reserve it!"

The young apprentice chuckled. "Mr. Ling, a longtime customer commissioned this piece. It's not for sale."

"Do you have that customer's contact information?" Ling Yu pressed. "I can speak with him myself."

"Sorry, we don't." This time, it was Dion who answered.

The old craftsman came out from the back room and handed Shen Que the mounted stone.

"Take a look."

Then he turned to Ling Yu. "I'm sorry, Mr. Ling. This customer has been commissioning pieces from us for years, but has never left any contact information."

"They always send two young women. Those two handle both chasing up the orders and inspecting them."

"What do the two young women look like?" Ling Yu asked.

His eyes stayed fixed on the symbiotic stone, shining with hunger like a worker bee that had found honey.

"Sorry, that's private customer information. I can't disclose it."

"Then when will they come to collect it? I can wait!" Ling Yu still refused to give up.

Shen Que frowned slightly and looked intently at Ling Yu.

His hood concealed both his face and his cool, detached gaze.

"You really should give up."

Old Dion sighed, regretting that he had forgotten to put the stone away.

"One of the young women told me this stone is a gift from her master to his newlywed husband. It means a great deal to him. He won't sell it to anyone."

"A wedding gift?" Ling Yu froze. "What a waste!"

"A perfect symbiotic stone like this should have... should have a more worthwhile destination!"

His words were unexpectedly heated, his eyes sharp-a stark contrast to the warm, friendly man Shen Que had seen before.

Old Dion sighed again. "Every stone has its own fate, its own place where it belongs."

He patted Ling Yu on the shoulder. "Let it go."

"What about the pieces cut off it?" Ling Yu asked doggedly, as though he hadn't understood Dion's hints.

When a rough mineral specimen was worked, only the most perfect section at its center was used, leaving some offcuts.

Ling Yu wasn't willing to let even those scraps go.

Old Dion paused. "This customer usually doesn't want the offcuts, but this stone is so rare... I'll ask for you the next time those two young women come."

With that, he stopped paying attention to them and put the mineral away.

Ling Yu stared after Dion until he disappeared, then seemed to remember Shen Que and turned around.

"I'm sorry you had to see that."

His tone had returned to its polished composure.

"Having something you love is a blessing," Shen Que said evenly.

"Unfortunately, my love is worth nothing when the object already belongs to someone else." Ling Yu gave a rueful laugh.

Shen Que said nothing more.

In truth, he was a little tempted himself.

This mineral was indeed rare. Even its offcuts would be no worse than an S-grade mineral.

If he could buy some, he could at least make a pendant.

Perhaps he could give it to Pei Ji in return for the Memory Stone.