Chapter 74: Life Potion!

Returning to the castle, Lei Meng delegated the beer banquet arrangements but still had no time to rest.

Evening was drawing near; he must rush to the Viscount Beckert’s domain at once.

…

“Congratulations, my lord Viscount. Though those adventurers were lucky, they didn’t know what they had—these five vials are all Qi Restoration Potions.”

“They restore consumed Qi in mere moments—each is worth at least two gold coins, yet you bought them for only thirty silver coins each!”

Viscount Beckert’s castle.

The caravan manager, summoned, hurried to the study and carefully examined the several test tubes the Viscount handed him.

With his vast experience, the caravan manager immediately recognized them as Qi Restoration Potions.

Hearing his lord had purchased them for just one-seventh the price, he showered him with a stream of flattery.

“Ha! Benar, these five Qi Restoration Potions are yours—take them to Iron Wolf City when the caravan departs in two days and exchange them for gold!”

Beckert was ecstatic—within minutes, he’d made eight gold coins. Only a wise noble like him could pull this off.

“Yes, my lord!”

The manager withdrew; Beckert, still elated, began flipping through the wizard’s notebook he’d bought for five silver coins from the adventurers.

He’d originally hoped to profit from the wizard’s notebook too.

But it turned out to be nothing but an ordinary diary, recording daily life—no lab notes at all.

So those five silver coins weren’t profit—they barely covered cost.

Fortunately, the five Qi Restoration Potions had earned him enough; Beckert didn’t mind the loss.

Bored, he flipped to the last page. Just as he was about to set the notebook down, he froze.

He quickly flipped back to the final page.

“Today I’m in excellent spirits—I, Mika, have finally completed the Life Potion! I succeeded in making four at once!”

“The Life Potion is emerald green. Though it shows no magical fluctuation, when I opened and drank one, I felt a surge of vital energy!”

“Even a mortally wounded man could be saved in an instant!”

“No—I must venture deeper into the Death Mountains for more ingredients. If I succeed in making a second batch, I’ll return to the Kingdom and proudly announce to all: I, Mika, have become a High Wizard—I can craft advanced potions!”

“Emerald green, no magical or elemental fluctuation… but after ingestion… So those three vials were… Life Potions?” Beckert’s expression darkened and brightened in turns.

Those vials showed no magical fluctuation at all—he’d assumed they were either fake or had spoiled from age.

The adventurers had offered to sell him the remaining vials as a set for two gold coins.

He’d flatly refused.

Now Beckert wanted to slap himself hard.

Life Potions!

One vial is worth a hundred gold coins—equivalent to fifty Qi Restoration Potions.

“Someone!”

Viscount Beckert burst from his study.

The steward and knights, hearing the commotion, rushed over in alarm.

“Where are those adventurers?”

“My lord, I saw them leave the castle and head north along the road!” The knights, confused, answered immediately.

“Hurry! Prepare horses! Chase them—catch them at once!”

Minutes later, Beckert personally led several knights galloping northward.

…

Meanwhile, Lei Meng reached the northern border of Viscount Beckert’s domain.

“Master, two miles ahead on the road, we’ve spotted a caravan of thirty to forty people—but we can’t confirm if the adventurers are among them!”

“Elsewhere, within ten miles in all directions, there’s no one else!”

“Follow them!”

Lei Meng immediately led his men in pursuit.

It was already dusk. Intelligence indicated no one else was around—so the adventurers must be in that caravan.

Traveling with a caravan is standard for all travelers and adventurers—safety lies in numbers.

Since Viscount Beckert would soon arrive, Lei Meng had little time to intercept them.

Fortunately, the Firehorses were swift—within ten minutes, they caught up to the caravan.

The caravan noticed the mounted knights galloping behind them.

They quickly pulled to the roadside.

No matter their status, any knightly party was far too dangerous for ordinary folk to provoke.

And indeed, moments later, a troop of knights riding towering warhorses drew near.

The caravan manager and some travelers recognized the Firehorses—worth seventy to eighty gold coins each—and lowered their heads further, fearing trouble.

But what unsettled everyone was that the knightly troop halted and studied them.

“Among you, who are the adventurers?”

Li En froze. Though he felt they’d done nothing wrong, an inexplicable suffocation gripped him.

The others in the caravan immediately turned to stare at the six of them.

Their identity as adventurers was common knowledge within the caravan.

“Noble lord, we—we six are the adventurers!” With no choice, Li En and the others hurried forward and knelt.

“Come here,” Lei Meng exhaled inwardly, leading the six adventurers aside.

“I hear you explored a wizard’s ruin and obtained several wizard potions?”

“Yes, noble lord, we know we were wrong—we didn’t mean to, we didn’t know the ruin had an owner…”

“Don’t panic. I have no intention of punishing you. Just hand over the potions.”

Quickly, the six produced the remaining eight vials.

Five of them—red and purple—were clearly spoiled by age, murky and thick.

The three emerald-green vials, however, were crystal clear—yet when probed with perception, showed no magical response.

Lei Meng knew these were the vials he sought.

As the men were about to mention that five vials had already been sold, Lei Meng said: “I’ll take all eight. How much?”

“Er… Noble lord, if you want them, we’ll give them to you—these potions are surely damaged!” Li En and the others dared not accept payment.

Lei Meng didn’t ask further—he simply pulled out coins. “These eight vials are mine.”

“This… this…”

While Li En and the others stared in shock, the noble lord mounted his horse and rode off with the potions.

Could the coins be fake?

But why would he bother?

Even if he’d given nothing, they wouldn’t dare complain.

Instinctively, Li En bit one of the coins. “It’s real!”

“What a benevolent noble!”

Li En and the others exchanged glances.

“What do we do now?”

“What else? Split the gold—we’re six, so one gold coin each.”