Chapter 34: Master Seda

"Gao De, Gao De, Gao De..." In his daze, Gao De heard calls of concern and urgency.

But he really had no strength to open his eyes and respond.

Until, after an unknown amount of time, a warmth surged from deep within his body and quickly flowed through his entire being, startling him awake from his coma.

Gao De opened his eyes abruptly and looked around vigilantly.

A dark, cramped room.

A faint ray of light shone in from a small air vent on the south wall of the room.

A very familiar scene.

A month ago, when he first came to this world, the first scene he saw when he opened his eyes was just like this.

Gao De instantly realized where he was now.

It was his own narrow, cramped little bedroom.

"Gao De, you're finally awake!" Amy, who was sitting at the head of the bed, discovered Gao De was awake and leaned over with joy.

Gao De had just woken up and felt weak and powerless all over.

He looked carefully and realized that his body was wrapped in various cloth bandages, and a cool sensation came from within the bandages; they must have been wrapped with some medicinal herbs.

Gao De steadied himself and recalled everything that had happened before he lost consciousness.

"Master Seda is dead?" he asked, confirming again.

"Yes, he's dead!" Amy was almost crying with joy, excitedly saying: "Gao De, you are too amazing; how on earth did you do it?"

Gao De did not answer Amy's question but closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

The great enemy in his mind, that Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, had finally disappeared.

The mind that Gao De had kept tense for a month finally relaxed completely.

"How long have I been in a coma?" he opened his eyes and asked Amy.

"One day," Amy held up a finger and said: "After the explosion in Master Seda's room yesterday, I gathered the courage to go and investigate the situation, and I saw you and Master Seda lying together, covered in wounds; you were holding a blood-stained weapon, and Master Seda was already dead..."

As Amy spoke, he nudged his chin toward the wooden table to the side.

On it lay the "murder weapon," the Fang of Mist, which had been washed clean of blood.

"I hurriedly carried you back to the room and used the herbs from the herb garden to give you a simple bandage..."

Speaking of this, Amy said with relief: "Master Seda is already dead, so no one will trouble me for using his herbs."

"Thank you," Gao De said earnestly to Amy.

If it weren't for Amy discovering him in time and bandaging and treating him, he wouldn't have woken up so quickly.

"It is I who should thank you; you killed Master Seda, you are the savior of all of us!" Amy couldn't help but say.

"I was also saving myself; saving you can only be said to be incidental."

Gao De did not accept this credit, not because he was noble or hypocritical, but more because he didn't really need Amy's gratitude.

He smiled at Amy, "Master Seda is dead, you are free."

Hearing this, Amy did not show the wild joy Gao De had expected, but instead showed a bashful expression, looking as if he wanted to say something but was embarrassed to do so.

"If you have something to say, just say it." Gao De saw Amy's hesitation.

Amy bit his lip and shouted loudly toward the door: "Gao De is awake."

Following Amy's words, the door of the room was instantly pushed open.

The remaining six apprentices in the herb garden were waiting outside the door, and now they all squeezed in, packing the already narrow room to the brim.

Everyone, including Amy, knelt on one knee in front of Gao De's bed with a clatter.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Gao De stared at these people, somewhat stunned, not understanding what was going on. Everyone looked at each other, and finally, it was Amy, Gao De's "roommate of many years," who came out as the representative spokesperson.

After all, theoretically, his relationship with Gao De was the closest.

"Master Seda is dead, but the herb garden is still here, and we are used to the work in the herb garden."

Amy said earnestly and sincerely: "We also understand that although we have been apprentices under Master Seda for a long time, we haven't actually learned much; with our limited abilities, it would be very difficult to even get enough to eat if we left the herb garden."

"We want the herb garden to continue operating."

"Without Master Seda, it is indeed not easy to continue operating the herb garden, but it is not impossible."

"You killed Master Seda and can independently formulate primary spider venom potions; since that is the case, why not replace Master Seda and inherit his herb garden? We will try our best to work for you."

"Our herb garden will change nothing except for having a new owner." Amy finished his thoughts in one breath and then stopped talking, nervously waiting for Gao De's reply.

A new herb garden owner must first have the ability to convince the crowd, and second, have a certain level of attainment in alchemy, so that the herb garden can continue to operate.

And among the less than ten apprentices in the entire herb garden, only Gao De, who successfully "killed his master," possessed these two conditions.

Gao De, caught off guard by Amy's proposal, couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

To be honest, before this, he hadn't thought about what would happen after killing Master Seda.

For Gao De at that time, it was too ambitious and impractical.

But now that it was done, he really had to carefully consider his next arrangements.

And it must be said that although Amy and the apprentices' proposal was unexpected, it did indeed move him.

To grow into a powerful mage, resources undoubtedly ranked first.

Learning spells costs money, cultivation costs money, and food, clothing, housing, and transportation cost even more money—in short, everything is inseparable from money.

And for him at present, the herb garden was the greatest wealth-generating means he could master.

Under Master Seda's many years of operation, the entire business model of the herb garden had been perfected.

As long as the herb garden could maintain its previous model and continue to operate, it could generate a steady stream of income.

Gao De needed this herb garden to earn the resources he needed for mage cultivation.

And the other apprentices in the herb garden also needed Gao De to ensure that the herb garden could continue to operate according to the previous model.

Therefore, if Gao De agreed to Amy's proposal, it would be a win-win situation for both sides.

Thinking this way, there was simply no reason to refuse this proposal.

"Okay." Gao De nodded slightly and made a decisive decision.

"Greetings, Garden Master." The apprentices kneeling on the ground were all delighted to hear this affirmative reply, and after looking at each other, the next moment, everyone said in unison.

And Amy, taking advantage of the situation, took a box out of his robe and handed it to Gao De with both hands.

This was a box meticulously carved from unknown wood.

The lid of the box was carved with complex runes and patterns symbolizing magical elements.

These patterns were clearly not just for decoration but represented magical power.

"This is?"

"Master Seda's room has become a ruin because of the explosion; we searched the ruins for a long time, and most of the things in the room were destroyed, only this box remained intact."

"Whether it is the rune patterns carved on the lid or the fact that it remained intact in such a terrifying explosion, it all indicates that this box should be a supernatural item."

"And things that could be so valued by Master Seda and placed in this box must be the things he valued most."

"It's just that no matter how I try, I can't open this box."

"You are now the Garden Master, so besides the herb garden, Master Seda's other legacies should also be your property." Amy looked at Gao De respectfully and said.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 35 =====