Chapter 720: Before the First Petal
Edda crushed a flower between her fingers and handed the remains to Lu Pei.
He accepted them with the uneasy care of a man wondering whether he had just been given something expensive.
"Road cup," she said. "Worth nothing to a refiner. Smell it."
The collector did. Leon caught the sharp green scent from beside him.
"That smell in your basket means you've damaged something," Edda continued. "Stop packing and find it. Don't keep pushing flowers on top."
She wiped her fingers on a cloth. The demonstration had taken less than a minute, but all four collectors checked the spacing of their empty trays afterward.
They had left the garden before dawn. Nerin carried food and a stack of light screens; Edda wore her tool roll across one shoulder. With the two guides, twenty people now followed the narrow path toward the hollow.
