Leyvi blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected Victor to go that far. Moving only at night? Aren't you being way too cautious?
"How do you know that I'm here?" Victor asked, his eyes drifting toward Leyvi's still-healing hand.
What did he fight out there? Victor wondered. I've been here for months and never got injured. He shows up for one day and already looks like he got chewed up and spit out. Aren't you being a bit too reckless?
"Hahaha! I had a fortuitous encounter recently that let me find people," Leyvi said, grinning. "You were nearby, so I came to pick you up. Father-in-law asked me to look after you anyway. So come on—travel with us. We're heading to Anda's location after this."
Victor narrowed his eyes. Fortuitous encounter, huh? Tch. Of course he found one. He's tall, after all.
He shook his head. "I'm staying here. I have my own objective."
"Eh? What else do you want to do here? You still haven't found what you need?" Leyvi raised an eyebrow. Now that he'd finally found Victor, there was no way he'd let him stay behind.
"He needs a plant from this mountain to cure his shortness. But something strong was nearby, so he couldn't get it," Crown Prince Dastan added casually.
Victor's mouth twitched. This guy… he talks about my height as if it were a disease.
Leyvi turned to Victor again. "What plant do you need? I'll help."
He offered without hesitation—mostly because he really didn't want to linger here any longer. If it was something simple, he'd just grab it and leave as fast as possible.
"I don't need your help. I'll do it myself. You can go without me," Victor said, arms crossed, voice firm.
Leyvi resisted the urge to groan.
Why are these men so difficult to deal with? First Dastan, now my brother-in-law. Brother Victor, don't make me deal with you like how I dealt with the clown prince at the beginning. I don't want to enter Anda Mode to deal with family.
He sighed. "Brother Victor, just tell me. It's not a big deal."
"No need," Victor replied, still as stubborn as ever.
Leyvi was just about to insist again when Dastan cut in first.
"Oi, shorty. Stop being stubborn and just tell him," Dastan snapped, arms akimbo. "This prince doesn't have as much patience as Leyvi. You said you want to be tall as soon as possible, so what are you being difficult for? Hmph! This prince thinks you actually like being short. That's why you're refusing. Right?"
A small vein bulged on Victor's forehead, though his face remained expressionless.
This fucking prince… calling me shorty again. Don't make me use the dissolving poison.
"Alright, alright, calm down," Leyvi cut in quickly. "Brother Victor, just tell me what plant it is. Although the clown prince is a bit rude, he's not wrong. It'll save a lot of your time."
And mine too, Leyvi added silently.
"Oi Leyvi! Are you picking a fight with this prince?"
Victor blinked. So that's what Leyvi's been calling him?
Some of his irritation faded. That name was… actually kind of fitting. Maybe I'll use it too… maybe not. He glanced at Dastan, who was still scowling with his usual royal arrogance. I'm scared he might bear a grudge and kill me out of rage. You can't trust a person like this.
He looked at Leyvi again. "Fine. I'll show you. But I don't like owing people favors—brother-in-law or not—so let's just say I'm hiring you for a procurement job."
Leyvi chuckled inwardly. So stubborn.
"Sure. Pay whatever you think is suitable," he said with a smile.
Victor didn't hesitate. He took out a jade slip and handed it to Leyvi. "Look in the latest alchemy formula section. The plant has a white stem—looks like a bone with leaves. But it's not just the look. Even the hardness and the smell mimic a real bone. It lures animals in, kills them with poison, then absorbs their nutrients."
Leyvi accepted the jade slip and scanned it with his spiritual sense, tuning out Victor's voice almost immediately as he read the information.
And what he found inside stunned him.
This wasn't just a casual note or plant entry.
It was Victor's life's work—his full research, compiled over the years. Experiments, recorded failures, custom alchemy formulas, data tracking growth trends, hormone reactions, dietary adjustments—everything related to becoming tall.
Leyvi sighed, deeply impressed. His brother-in-law really had dedicated his entire existence to this single goal.
And then, he reached the latest alchemy formula—the one Victor had mentioned.
White stem… looks like a bone…
Leyvi paused, eyes locked on the image.
A few silent moments passed.
Then—he burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Hahaha!" He bent over, both hands on his stomach. His fully regenerated left hand clutched his side as tears welled in his eyes.
Victor and Dastan exchanged glances, thinking the exact same thing:
Why is he laughing?
Leyvi finally stopped laughing and took a deep breath. Then, with a flourish, he struck a goofy, over-the-top dramatic pose—one hand behind his back, the other slowly rising in front of him like a magician performing the final act.
And then—there it was.
A meter-tall plant appeared on his palm, its white stem resembling a polished bone, with narrow leaves growing from its base.
"The Bony Plant!" Victor exclaimed, standing up in disbelief. "Did… did you get this up there?"
"Ew…" Dastan leaned forward slightly, wrinkling his nose. "What a disturbing and creepy plant. Are you sure that's not just a regular plant growing through an actual bone?"
"Hahaha! I did!" Leyvi said cheerfully. "I saw this interesting-looking thing and thought my gardener wife might like it, so I uprooted it and kept it."
Then his smile faded slightly as he glanced down at his left hand, flexing it slowly.
"It was after I picked this plant that I got attacked by the commander-level demonic jaguar."
Victor's eyes widened. "What? You survived against that thing?"
He didn't need confirmation. He already knew.
That terrifying presence he had sensed before—the owner of those dreadful eyes in the night—it had to be that beast.
Victor had seen it from a distance. The demonic beast had been using the Bony Plant's natural lure as bait, turning the plant's mechanism into a hunting tool to ambush other demonic beasts under the cover of darkness.
The Bony Plant didn't just look like a bone. It smelled and felt like one too—radiating the scent and essence of a delicious, nutrient-rich marrow. A perfect trap for any creature with a fondness for bones.
Animals would come close, bite into its convincing stem… and then collapse, poisoned by the plant's potent venom. Their bodies would rot in place, slowly broken down by the poison until they decomposed into the soil—feeding the plant that killed them.
And that predator had claimed the area around the plant as its own, using it to lure countless prey.
A commander-level demonic beast…
No wonder. Just seeing its eyes that night had made Victor's blood freeze.
He recalled the sensation now—cold dread, like a predator's breath on the back of his neck.
At this moment, Victor felt a wave of gratitude that cultivators had such a significant advantage when it came to the spiritual sense. It allowed him to observe from a distance, investigate thoroughly without ever setting foot near danger.
If not… he shivered slightly. I would've walked right up to that plant like an idiot—and died without even knowing what killed me.
He blinked, still staring at Leyvi.
This guy actually survived that beast. Unbelievable… Ugh… I'm so envious! I want to be tall too!
"Well… I almost died from it," Leyvi admitted, scratching the back of his head. "I only survived by luck."
Still, he made a mental note—he needed to come up with a strategy to deal with extremely fast and tricky opponents. Most of his past battles had been head-on clashes. But this one had been different. And far more dangerous.
Victor and Dastan rolled their eyes in unison.
Luck? What kind of luck can shake an entire mountain like that?
"Since you obtained it, then it's yours," Victor said, bringing the conversation back on track. "How much would you sell it to me for?"
"How much… hmm…" Leyvi rubbed his chin in thought. "Oh, wait. Before that—tell me, is this one plant enough to make your alchemy product?"
"Of course I need more," Victor replied, nodding. "But I haven't seen any others in the entire mountain. Doesn't matter though—I just need to get it right on the first try."
His tone was brimming with confidence.
Dastan scoffed. "Do you think you're an Alchemy Emperor? Getting a new formula right on the first try? Keep dreaming."
Victor ignored him completely. Nothing could really make him mad except getting called short.
"Brother Victor," Leyvi asked curiously, "how many of your alchemy formulas have you gotten right on the first try before?"
"Not once. But this time, I will. I don't have any choice but to do it."
Leyvi stared at him for a moment, then sighed inwardly.
Brother Victor… where in the world do you get all this confidence?