The bustling stall instantly became deserted. The young stall owner seemed to have taken quite a hit. After hanging his head in dismay for a long while, he finally looked up, suddenly realizing that there was still someone standing in front of his stall—a plainly dressed youth.
The young stall owner had a decent memory. After a slight pause, he recognized Gaode as one of the onlookers from the crowd just now.
"There's nothing left to watch. Why aren't you leaving?" the young stall owner said with a curl of his lip, though he didn't give Gaode a bad attitude.
Gaode smiled at the young stall owner and said, "I'm not here to watch the fun."
"Huh?"
Gaode pointed to the bronze item that had just caused the argument and asked earnestly, "Four Sean Gold Coins. Are you selling it?"
Gaode was truly sincere, as his entire net worth amounted to merely four Gold Coins and fifteen Silver Coins.
The young stall owner pondered for a moment. Instead of replying immediately, he stared at Gaode's still somewhat childish face and asked, "Don't you think I'm trying to trick you?"
"Even though the Rune patterns are worn, I can still tell that the complete Rune must be quite extraordinary," Gaode said with certainty, taking a few more close looks at the bronze item.
The young stall owner fell silent for a moment. Finally, he picked up the bronze item and handed it to Gaode. "Deal."
Without any delay, Gaode decisively pulled out three Sean Gold Coins and twenty Trifoliate Flower Silver Coins from his pocket, handing them over.
Looking at the assorted Gold Coins and Silver Coins in his hand, the young stall owner hesitated, sighed, and spoke again.
"To tell you the truth, this bronze item is called the Hidden Mist Fang. When it was intact, it was a First Ring Magic Alchemy Creation capable of releasing the First-Ring Spell, Hidden Mist Skill. However, its Magic Rune was accidentally worn down during a battle.
"So, when I said earlier that if it could be repaired, reselling it for sixty or seventy Sean Gold Coins wouldn't be a problem, I truly wasn't bragging."
The average price of 1st Ring Extraordinary Items was generally sixty-five Gold Coins.
Gaode did not appear too excited. Since the stall owner said so much, there was bound to be a catch. Sure enough, there was.
"It's just that... my father once consulted an Enchantment Repairer. After inspecting it, the Enchantment Repairer discovered that the worn area of the Hidden Mist Fang's Magic Rune was exactly its core Rune.
"Fixing it would be almost equivalent to re-engraving the entire Magic Rune from scratch, which was beyond his capabilities. Thus, the matter was dropped.
"Therefore, repairing it is no simple task.
"I can see that you aren't exactly swimming in money. If you want to back out, we can just cancel the transaction."
The young stall owner looked a bit helpless and somewhat frustrated.
"It's fine. If I really can't find a way to repair it, I can just keep it as a collectible," Gaode's calm voice rang out.
The young stall owner was stunned, unable to process it immediately. Having obtained his desired item and being short on cash, Gaode had no intention of continuing to stroll around, and he was already walking away.
***
The Medicinal Garden.
In front of a dark brown wooden door, Gaode, who had just returned from the town square, knocked lightly on the wood.
"Cough... come in." Mage Seda's familiar voice, mixed with a coughing sound, came from inside.
Gaode hurriedly pushed the door open. Mage Seda was sitting behind a long log table, facing him. The moment Gaode saw Mage Seda, he was startled.
It had only been ten days or so since they last met, yet Mage Seda looked as if he had suffered a severe illness; he appeared sickly to the extreme. Although the former Mage Seda always had an ashen complexion, it had never been this bad. Now, there was hardly a trace of color in his face—it was as deathly pale as a corpse.
Suppressing his doubts and restless thoughts, Gaode quickly stepped forward and bowed to Mage Seda. Then, with the utmost respect, he handed over the receipt from Phil's Magic Pharmacy with both hands, his head bowed deeply.
"Lord Mage, today I delivered the Magic Potions accumulated in the Medicinal Garden over the past few days into the city. This is the receipt I brought back."
"Leave it on the table... cough..." Mage Seda's voice sounded extremely feeble.
However, Gaode did not dare show the slightest disrespect. He carefully placed the receipt on the long log table, then stood respectfully to the side, waiting for Mage Seda to speak.
Mage Seda remained expressionless. With his eyes half-closed, he sized Gaode up, seemingly pondering something. After a few breaths of time, his eyes snapped wide open, a sharp glint flashing in his cloudy gaze.
"I noticed you've been leaving the Medicinal Garden quite often recently?"
Gaode was stunned for a moment. The next second, he reacted; his expression drastically changed, revealing the panic of someone whose secret had been exposed. Clenching his fists, his face filled with a mixture of fear and shame. "Lord Mage, I... It was my own straying thoughts. I indulged in the prosperity of the city and neglected my daily cultivation..."
Mage Seda stared at the repenting Gaode, weighing something in his mind.
"Lord Mage, I will definitely get back on track from now on. Please forgive my ignorance and indulgence." Gaode quickly followed up with a few more pleasant, flattering remarks.
However, Mage Seda didn't care. He let out a sinister chuckle, watching Gaode's performance with mocking eyes.
"I don't care whether you are diligent in your cultivation. I only care whether you are delaying my affairs."
"Lord Mage, I promise I absolutely haven't delayed any work. Please, Lord Mage, see things clearly!" A wave of unease surged in Gaode's heart.
The very next instant, Mage Seda reached out and grabbed him. Knowing that things had taken a bad turn, Gaode instinctively wanted to resist and dodge, but he instantly calmed himself down. After a split-second of hesitation, he ultimately took no action. It wasn't time for a falling-out yet.
Mage Seda's hand clamped onto Gaode's wrist like an iron vise. Magic Power surged within it, bringing Gaode a pain that pierced straight into his bones.
"Do you have any idea? I have been researching the formula for the Spirit Communication Potion for ten whole years! Listen closely—not ten days, not ten months, but ten years!" Mage Seda said grimly, his voice brimming with Evil Qi.
"Now that I am finally close to success, at a critical juncture like this, I absolutely cannot tolerate any accidents!
"You little brat, your mind isn't in the right place. Running into the city every few days without any real skills to your name—sooner or later, you'll run into trouble.
"Let me tell you, if it were anyone else, their death wouldn't matter. It's just the life of an apprentice. I know none of you truly view me as a mentor. It's fine, I don't care, because I've never genuinely viewed any of you as apprentices either.
"But you are different! Even if you die, you can only die under my Magic Potion!" Mage Seda's expression grew increasingly ferocious as he practically roared at Gaode. "Do you understand?!"
As Mage Seda's expression turned vicious, the pain Gaode felt in his wrist became increasingly excruciating. He answered with a difficult, trembling voice, "I... understand..."
Through the Torture Magic, Mage Seda confirmed that Gaode wasn't lying and finally stopped his spell.
Meanwhile, Gaode had long been tortured by the intense agony, breaking out in a cold sweat that thoroughly soaked his clothes. Biting his lip tightly, he could no longer maintain a tranquil state of mind. As a soul originating from modern society, encountering a situation where someone was clearly planning to take his life while continuously threatening him was mentally unacceptable. However, he understood that regardless of whether he pleaded or raged, it wouldn't change the other party in the slightest. He could only force himself to continue enduring.
"Starting today, until the Potion testing begins, you are no longer allowed to leave the Medicinal Garden. There's no need to deliver the Potions to the pharmacy for the time being."
Mage Seda was very satisfied with the immense pressure he had imposed on Gaode.
"I understand, Lord Mage." In the face of Mage Seda's formidable strength, Gaode gritted his teeth and yielded.
Hearing Gaode's words of submission, Mage Seda let out a long sigh, releasing the pent-up frustration that had accumulated in his heart over the past few days. With the crucial moment approaching, his tension and pressure were actually no less than that of Gaode, who was plotting a rebellion.
"You may leave," Mage Seda waved his hand.
Gaode bowed once more before backing out of the room. He knew very well that the current Mage Seda didn't care in the slightest whether he was polite and respectful. But Gaode still maintained a deferential demeanor, absolutely refusing to let Mage Seda perceive even the slightest hint of his rebellious intentions.
He knew that he must never allow Mage Seda to put his guard up. The disparity in power between the two of them was already vast. If he wanted his rebellion to succeed, his most important chance of victory lay in catching him off guard.