Chapter 25

Another night passed; early the next morning, Han Li got up and headed toward the Herb Garden to check whether those few herb plants had changed at all.

Before he even entered the herb field, he suddenly caught the scent of several strong herbal aromas.

Han Li blinked in surprise, then a thought struck him: “Could it be…?”

He quickened his pace and finally arrived before the few herb plants emitting intense fragrance.

Are these really the same plants from yesterday? Han Li couldn’t believe his eyes; he slapped his still-sleepy face hard several times until pain made him stop his self-punishment.

“The Huanglong grass leaves have turned purplish, the Bitter Lotus has bloomed with nine petals, and the Forget-Sorrow fruit’s skin has turned black! Ha! Ha!” Han Li could no longer contain himself; even though he usually maintained inner calm, he now threw his head back and laughed aloud.

“I’ve hit the jackpot! Overnight, these herbs—only one or two years old in potency—have become as if aged over a decade! The leaf color, fruit shape, and petal fragrance all match rare herbs that have matured for many years.” Han Li carefully inspected the herbs again, confirming they perfectly matched the descriptions in the herb manual—they were truly precious medicinal materials with many years of age.

“If I can use this method to accelerate herb growth, won’t I have endless supplies of rare medicinal ingredients? And any herbs I don’t need, I can sell to others—then I’ll earn back countless taels of silver!” Han Li could no longer suppress his excitement and began to fantasize wildly.

The more he thought, the more exhilarated he became, until he suddenly rolled over several times on the ground; he had lost all his usual composure, behaving exactly like a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boy expressing raw joy.

After a long while, Han Li regained his senses, his mind returning to its usual alertness, and began considering the challenges of consuming this unexpected windfall.

First, although these herbs appeared harmless on the surface, their actual medicinal properties still needed testing—they had absorbed that strange liquid, after all. Who knew if they contained mutated components? He had witnessed firsthand the tragic fate of those rabbits yesterday; better to proceed with caution.

Second, the green liquid in the mysterious vial had been used up; he didn’t know whether more droplets would form again. It might be a one-time phenomenon—he needed to check again tonight.

If both these issues proved harmless, he still needed to fully master the precise details and steps of this herb-accelerating method, gaining complete control over this incredible process.

After deep reflection, Han Li identified these unresolved problems; without solving them, this windfall would remain a mirage—a flower in the mist, a moon in the water.

Having considered everything, Han Li began to act.

He first went to the main kitchen outside the valley and bought two more gray-furred rabbits from the steward. The kitchen steward was both pleased and puzzled by this move—why did this boy keep buying live rabbits? Was he practicing butchery skills himself?

Han Li didn’t care what others thought; this time, he didn’t tie the rabbits in the Herb Garden, but instead tied them outside his own door, so he could observe them constantly.

Then he went to the herb field, carefully harvested the accelerated herbs, prepared several doses of potent medicine to strengthen tendons and bones, mixed the medicine into the rabbits’ favorite food, and fed them three meals a day to test for toxicity.

After completing all this, Han Li anxiously awaited nightfall; after what felt like an eternity, night finally arrived as he had hoped.

As soon as dusk fell, Han Li ran outside, took the vial from his bag, placed it on the ground, and stared intently, waiting for its transformation.

Fifteen minutes passed; the vial remained still.

Thirty minutes passed; still no movement.

Forty-five minutes…

As time dragged on, Han Li’s spirits sank lower and lower; he waited nearly until dawn, but the vial showed no sign of change.

He was utterly despondent—was this vial truly a one-time consumable? Or had he done something wrong?

Han Li forced himself to stay alert and scanned his surroundings.

“No suspicious signs—except that the sky is very dark,” he muttered to himself.

Suddenly he froze; he looked up sharply at the sky—pitch black, nothing visible. “The sky is very dark”—those words jolted him awake.

“Could it be because it’s overcast, with no stars or moon?” He recalled that the vial’s previous transformations had always occurred on clear nights, when the stars and moon were unobstructed; today, however, the sky was overcast, thick clouds covering everything.

Han Li’s spirits lifted slightly—he now had a theory. Seeing the sky beginning to lighten, he realized nothing would happen tonight, so he retrieved the vial and decided to try again once the weather cleared.

But to Han Li’s surprise, for the next half-month, the sky never cleared—it rained continuously, a steady drizzle that persisted to this day.

Han Li stared at the outside drizzle, growing increasingly frustrated; the more he longed for clear weather, the longer the rain dragged on, showing no sign of stopping.

He turned to look at the two rabbits sheltering inside—heavy with rain, they hopped about energetically, making him even more gloomy. Since eating the medicated food, the rabbits had shown no ill effects; on the contrary, they were more spirited than ever. For the past dozen days, Han Li had observed them daily, confirming they exhibited no signs of poisoning—instead, they had grown stronger from the tendon- and bone-strengthening herbs.

This positive outcome brought him no joy; instead, it filled him with anxiety and uncertainty. He could not calm himself. For him, whether the vial could produce more green liquid had become the key to everything—and this endless, miserable weather was delaying the answer. How could he not be utterly miserable?

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