Red Pine City, North Gate Street.
In the secret workshop of a shop not far from “Ms. Phil’s Alchemy Workshop,” an old alchemist in a white lab coat was currently focused, channeling his magic power into the furnace to brew a potion.
Alchemy required complete concentration; otherwise, it was easy to fail, causing valuable alchemical materials to go to waste.
That’s why he chose this dark, secluded room, free from light and sound interference.
In front of the old alchemist, a black-green cauldron bubbled, with a deep purple glow occasionally peeking out.
That was the “miraculous” luster attached to the materials.
As time ticked by, the thick liquid in the pot gradually reduced, finally condensing into a suspended purple water sphere.
The purple water sphere radiated light, painting the entire room in shades of purple.
The old alchemist’s face also took on a purple hue. He tossed a bottle, and the potion liquid was absorbed into it. He quickly stoppered it.
“Haha, finally done…”
The old alchemist grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellowed, gap-filled teeth.
At that moment, his apprentice, who had been silent throughout, stepped forward with a fawning smile, heaping flattery on his master.
The old alchemist listened with pleasure. Even though he knew it was just brown-nosing, so what? Those words just sounded sweet to his ears~
Once he felt satisfied, the old alchemist looked at the potion bottle sitting quietly on the floor, then turned to his apprentice and asked.
“That Ms. Phil, any recent moves on her part?”
“Ms. Phil, huh…”
The apprentice had a round face, always wearing a sycophantic grin.
He looked simple and honest, but there was a sharp glint in his eyes.
“Hehe~ Master, the people we sent to watch her say she’s only come once lately. Usually, she just plays cards with a few noble ladies. That day, she came, stayed for a day, then left without opening for business. But it seemed like she brought something along—no idea what it’s for.”
“Heh, probably given up. This is a gap in pure skill.”
The old man stroked his beard and chuckled.
The apprentice quickly chimed in.
“Right, right. That so-called Ms. Phil must have climbed up through connections. I heard she was pretty tight with the previous Lord. Now that she’s up against you, Master, she’s definitely scared stiff, too afraid for a fair fight, so she’s shut up shop!”
“Hahaha! Good! Well said, excellent, truly high-quality. Today, I’ll pass on one of my secret recipes to you—my closely guarded secret!”
The old man was delighted by these words, feeling in his heart that this must be the case.
Upon hearing this, the apprentice dropped to his knees, kneeling on the ground, and tearfully thanked his master.
“Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!”
But despite his outward show, his inner thoughts were quite different. In the apprentice’s mind, the old alchemist was a miser hoarding a mountain of gold and silver, never spending a penny—the type who only takes and never gives.
Now teaching me his secret recipe… could it be another potion for growing chest hair?
The old alchemist picked up the purple potion, squinting at the high-purity liquid. His heart was already gleefully declaring victory.
This is in the bag!
You ask about Phil? What’s she doing?
In the secret workshop of Phil’s Alchemy Workshop, Phil was supervising Julie as she learned the Kidney-Strengthening Potion.
The raw materials had been prepared by Enya before she left, intended as practice materials for the employees to grind their proficiency.
Watching them fail over and over, Phil clicked her tongue inwardly, couldn’t help but joke to herself.
‘Employees need to work harder, so the boss can lie back and relax.’
On the fourth day after Enya left Red Pine City, the group had finally crossed the mountain forest and reached the hinterland plains of Qingshui City.
Once here, Qingshui City itself wasn’t far off.
They could even faintly make out the city’s silhouette on the horizon.
Was this slow?
No, it wasn’t actually slow. The migrating caravan was even slower.
Starting from the edge of Qingshui City’s territory, they had to pass through several towns and many checkpoints, which took nearly three days.
If they had traveled through the night, it would have been faster.
Enya herself could have crossed it in ten minutes, but she clearly wouldn’t do that.
Parit was puzzled. He and Lucia had already waited a long time.
Now, Enya refused to rush through the night straight to Qingshui City, instead insisting on following the main road and going through those tedious checkpoints.
‘If we had just gone straight there… we’d probably have stabilized the Chamber of Commerce’s situation by now, right?’
Enya had deliberately made him slow the carriage down, as if on purpose.
Parit simply couldn’t fathom her thoughts.
Enya wasn’t one to explain herself, much less bother wasting words on an old man. If Lucia asked, she might be willing to say a bit more, but she had nothing to say to Parit.
Inside the carriage, Enya was resting with her eyes closed, and Wendy followed suit.
Lucia looked a bit wilted.
She was only at the first rank of magic power, barely giving her body a slight enhancement.
For three consecutive days on the road without rest—though the pace wasn’t fast and they stopped at night—the jolting didn’t lessen one bit.
Her physical constitution couldn’t handle this kind of travel.
Even though this was a plain, the road wasn’t exactly smooth. On the bumpy, muddy path, the carriage wheels rolled over it, and the cabin couldn’t help bouncing up and down.
For the people inside, it was imaginable. Lucia felt nauseous from the shaking.
Suddenly, the carriage stopped jolting like it had on the muddy road. As the ride smoothed out, Lucia curiously looked out the window. At that moment, Enya also opened her eyes.
Lucia quickly lowered her head, folding her hands over her thighs.
Parit slowed the carriage down. They had now reached the outer edge of Qingshui City.
The gray-white castle wall stretched for thousands of meters, ten meters high, with a tower every two hundred meters, spanning across the vast plain.
A main road led to the city’s main gate.
The vast open spaces on both sides of the road weren’t wasted; they were cultivated into a massive wheat field. The wheat was at the stage of green turning yellow.
A gust of wind sent waves rippling through the field, and scarecrows stood among it.
From a distance, it was a magnificent sight. When the wheat ripened, golden yellow would paint a beautiful picture. It was just a bit too early in the season.
Enya opened the carriage window to look outside.
Ahead of their carriage, quite a few people were waiting in line to enter the city. It would take some time to get in.
She casually asked Parit.
“Steward, any problems?”
“Ma’am, rest assured.”
Parit, sitting in the driver’s seat, replied confidently. If it were elsewhere, this old face of his might not be recognized by many. But here in Qingshui City, this was where the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce started!
Qingshui City was a city of commercial freedom.
That was the evaluation given by Lord Huron Charles of Pingshui City.
Qingshui City had a good location. To the west was the plain, and to the east was a lake called “Silver Mirror.” Though named that, the Silver Mirror Lake was now green.
It was said that long ago, the water’s surface was silver-white like a mirror, hence the name Silver Mirror Lake.
That’s why Qingshui City had another name: the Lakeside City.
As the carriage gradually approached the towering city wall, it took an hour for them to reach the moat. Seeing this massive city up close felt very different.
A large wooden plank, hoisted by thick chains, was laid flat over the moat, forming a drawbridge for passage. The huge gates were open, revealing the city’s bright and bustling scene.
Parit drove the carriage over to the guards.
A young guard approached, ready to inspect the carriage, but was stopped by a guard captain beside him.
The older captain gave the young man a wink, then stepped forward with a smile.
“I recognize you. You’re that steward from the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce. You’re here to…”
As he spoke, the guard captain looked at the carriage.
Parit kept a calm expression, got down from the carriage, pulled the guard captain aside, said a few words, and there was no carriage inspection.
After passing through the city gate, he drove the carriage quickly into the city.
Wendy pulled open the curtain, looking through the glass at the street scene outside.
This city had been steeped in commerce for a long time. The atmosphere was worlds apart from the “sickly” vibe of White Stone City.
The streets were rich with commercial activity. Everyone dressed smartly, and shops of all kinds lined the entire street. She couldn’t take it all in.
“It’s way better than White Stone City.”
The elf maiden couldn’t help but remark.
As an elf from the Forest Elf Kingdom, Wendy didn’t bother judging human architectural art. What intrigued her more were the little trinkets humans made. The elf kingdom was good, but too stubborn. Time couldn’t bring about major changes to it. Over time, even beauty could become boring.
Lucia took this opportunity to look through the window at this familiar city. A flicker of joy appeared on her face, but then she felt dazed.
Those who had left together and those who returned were not the same group. So many familiar faces would never come back.
She had come back—for those who couldn’t.
Thinking this, Lucia felt heavy-hearted. She was uncertain about her future. After losing President Glo and Miss Kallen, the future she had imagined was no longer possible. Now, she had to rethink everything.
The simple carriage, driven by the old butler Parit, navigated familiar streets to a manor gate.
When the guards pushed open the iron gate, the carriage moved forward again for a while.
Rounding the fountain, they finally stopped in front of the house’s steps.
A crowd of servants from the manor was already waiting there.
When they heard the news, they were overjoyed and excited.
But when they saw only one carriage, and an ordinary one at that, they found it strange.
After all, a whole convoy had set out.
Why did only one carriage return?
Fortunately, they all knew Parit well.
This old butler had served in this manor for decades; no one had more seniority than him.
So they trusted him.
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