Chapter 759: The Harvest Priest (Day Before Last, Requesting Double Moon Tickets)

At the sight of the "Penitent" Banyfei and the pure silver skull's head, the doll messenger, dressed in a pale gold dress, instantly glided to Lu Mi's side, as if confronting the two other messengers.

The surrounding darkness of the pure silver skull's head placed the burlap sack it held in its mouth onto the desk, then fixed its eyes—burning with pale flames—on Lu Mi.

The "Penitent" Banyfei dropped a folded letter and silently returned to the Spirit World, vanishing from the room.

Lu Mi had intended to seize this chance to speak with his messenger about his past and ask about his connection to the "True Creator," but under the current circumstances, he could only suppress his thoughts for now and shift his attention to the pure silver skull.

Lu Mi lifted the burlap sack, shaped like a book, and pulled out an aluminum flask.

Behind him, the doll messenger floated closer, peering curiously.

Lu Mi unscrewed the lid of the grayish-white flask and saw golden-yellow liquid inside, thick with white foam.

If not for the absence of malt aroma, he would have sworn it was a flask of beer.

He took a sheet of paper from the burlap sack; the handwriting was Hela's, written in Ancient Fusaic:

"It is indeed the 'Harvest Priest's' elixir."

"You must drink it within fifteen minutes, or you will harvest a flask that brings harvest."

Seeing that "Hela" had verified it and that a notarized contract bound them, Lu Mi immediately pulled from his "Traveler's Satchel" the remaining 9, 00 Jin Lisuo and the 1, 00 Jin Lisuo banknotes he'd just exchanged.

"This is the balance," Lu Mi said, placing the Jin Lisuo into the burlap sack and handing it to the pure silver skull.

The pure silver skull bit down on the burlap sack, merging with the surrounding darkness and vanishing instantly.

Only then did Lu Mi turn his head and smile at the doll messenger.

"What's your opinion?"

The doll messenger snorted:

"I'll surpass them eventually!"

"I'll become the number one—no, the second most powerful messenger in this world!"

"Quite ambitious," Lu Mi replied, half-serious, half-teasing.

He wasn't surprised by the doll messenger's answer; he'd long known the uniqueness of the "Penitent" Banyfei and the pure silver skull.

The doll messenger immediately hurled a dark, ethereal object resembling a crystal ball at Lu Mi, who caught it easily and found, suspended within a bent transparent barrier, a black, glossy bone ring carved with a twisted, agonized demon face—two faint shadows flickered within the demon's eyes.

After letting the folded square of paper fall onto the desk, the doll messenger also left Lu Mi's room.

It was indeed a sealed object made from the "Siso" Unique Item... Lu Mi had no time to confirm its effects or influence now; he tucked away the dark transparent sphere and the folded paper, then opened the letter brought by his own messenger.

The letter contained only a few brief lines:

"The Seven of Wands:"

"Do you still remember your promise? We now require your assistance."

"If you have no other urgent matters recently, meet us at the following coordinates; I will then explain the full situation."

"..."

"The Knight of Swords."

"The Knight of Swords needs help..." Lu Mi suddenly understood.

During the Qihai Ritual incident, he had asked this Minor Arcana card, subordinate to the "Hermit" Lady, for aid; she had demanded no payment, only mentioned she might travel to the Southern Continent and might need some help, and he had agreed on the spot.

"I've been relatively free lately," Lu Mi said, putting away the Knight of Swords' letter, screwing the lid shut on the grayish-white flask, and carrying it out of the room.

Lu Jianuo was clearing away the dishes and cutlery left by Ludwig.

"Your 'Harvest Priest' elixir has arrived," Lu Mi said calmly.

Lu Jianuo froze, his face blank with confusion.

After a few seconds, he pointed at the grayish-white flask in his employer's hand.

"That?"

"Yes. It looks far more drinkable than the Hunter-path elixir," Lu Mi smiled, shaking the flask. "You have ten minutes to decide whether to drink it."

"Ten minutes?" Lu Jianuo gasped.

Lu Mi nodded.

"No, eight minutes."

"If you haven't made up your mind within eight minutes, I'll go downstairs and find a stray dog—or catch a rat—and feed it this elixir."

"Don't you need to adjust your physical and mental state?" Lu Jianuo's face was etched with fear.

This was too casual!

This was an elixir!

If your state isn't right, you'll become a monster—or die on the spot!

"Only seven minutes left," Lu Mi reminded with a smile. "Your state is fine. You just need to relax and remember you're Ludwig's nanny and family doctor."

"Is that really enough?" Lu Jianuo still couldn't believe it.

"Six minutes," Lu Mi announced coldly.

"... " Lu Jianuo went rigid.

How could time pass so fast!

He clenched his teeth.

"Fine."

"But I need to drink it underground in Trill."

"Hmm?" Lu Mi raised an eyebrow.

Lu Jianuo explained quickly:

"I feel standing with both feet on the earth helps me maintain my state while drinking the elixir."

"Earth Path..." Lu Mi, holding the grayish-white flask, turned and walked out of the room.

Lu Jianuo followed behind, pulling out a pile of banknotes from his person:

"This is all my savings—15, 00 Fei Jin."

"You said you'd help me make up the rest."

Lu Mi gave a slight nod and accepted the 15, 00 Fei Jin without any pretense of modesty.

He currently had 86, 00 Fei Jin, including a few gold coins and gold bars.

On the street, Lu Mi walked straight toward the nearest entrance to underground Trill; a stray dog passed by, barking as if threatening the two.

Lu Mi chuckled and teased Lu Jianuo:

"Can you understand what it's saying?"

Lu Jianuo, consumed by thoughts of the "Harvest Priest" elixir, blinked in shock.

"You... you can understand?"

"Do you have a magical item corresponding to the 'Beast Tamer'?"

Lu Mi chuckled to himself:

"It says, 'I just heard you say you were going to feed me a 'Harvest Priest' elixir—why haven't you given it to me yet?'"

"... " Lu Jianuo finally realized his employer was joking.

Then he realized he'd been mocked:

"He's indirectly calling me a stray dog!"

"I really was just thinking why he hadn't given me the 'Harvest Priest' elixir yet..."

Inside underground Trill, Lu Mi skillfully navigated to an abandoned tunnel and tossed the grayish-white flask to Lu Jianuo.

As Lu Jianuo fumbled to catch it, Lu Mi coldly reminded him:

"Two minutes left."

Lu Jianuo took a breath, unscrewed the lid, and saw the elixir inside—resembling beer.

He recalled how he cared for and treated Ludwig, forcing his tense mind to relax slightly.

After several dozen seconds, Lu Jianuo took two deep breaths, raised the grayish-white flask, and gulped down the elixir.

Lu Mi, holding a ball of blazing white flame for light, watched silently, observing every change in Lu Jianuo's body.

He hadn't forgotten his "servant" was highly abnormal—he could remain conscious during the Dream Festival!

Lu Jianuo's face twisted almost immediately, as if reliving the agony of Ludwig biting off his arm.

Lu Mi saw his feet slowly sinking into the soil; the hairs on his exposed skin thickened and lengthened visibly; his brown hair did the same; his brown eyes lost focus.

These changes halted once they reached a certain point; Lu Jianuo's expression gradually eased.

So far, so good... he's quite compatible with the "Sower" Path... though I'm unsure if this is due to his own anomaly... Lu Mi muttered silently, watching Lu Jianuo's eyes slowly regain clarity and reason.

He asked, relaxed:

"What abilities did you gain?"

Though in the esoteric world, asking another about their supernatural abilities was frowned upon, who else but his own "servant" was he speaking to?

Lu Jianuo didn't find it odd either; he checked his own condition while savoring the esoteric knowledge he'd acquired:

"My healing abilities have expanded—I can now treat plant and farmland diseases..."

"I can also catalyze seeds, accelerating their growth or reproduction."

"This comes in two forms: First, by placing both hands on the earth, I can make seeds and plants within a thirty-meter radius grow significantly faster or reproduce better—but I can't force them to burst with all their life force and complete their entire lifecycle—from conception to return—in seconds or minutes. Second, by directly gripping seeds or plants, I can fully catalyze their contained life."

"The second form manifests as my ability to rapidly generate large quantities of vines, using them to entangle and control enemies."

Hearing this, Lu Mi asked thoughtfully:

"Fully catalyzing life force works only on plants, not humans?"

"No," Lu Jianuo shook his head.

Lu Mi continued:

"If you encounter an anomaly that possesses intelligence but is fundamentally plant-like, can you by direct contact cause its entire life to erupt within seconds or a dozen seconds, completing its lifespan in an instant?"

"First, I must be able to touch it..." Lu Jianuo said this was dangerous, beyond the capability of a non-combat-specialized extraordinary individual like himself.

He added further:

"And I'm not certain it would produce the effect you envision."

Lu Mi gave an almost imperceptible nod, signaling Lu Jianuo to continue.

Lu Jianuo reorganized his thoughts and said:

"If I can obtain seeds of different types of mutated plants, my catalytic ability could play a significant role in combat."

"I can also command plants and insects within a thirty-meter radius to provide me with assistance, as long as they don't exceed the natural limits of their species—though those with intelligence are excluded."

"I've also acquired several ritual magics, mostly for summoning rain or clear weather."

PS: The second-to-last day—please vote for double monthly tickets~

(End of Chapter)