Chapter 35

The morning sun shone through the gaps in the Black Mist Forest onto the winding path. After tidying up his attire, Luo En headed to the herb shop.

Last night, the memory of Lady Ailan's stunning appearance still lingered in his mind.

Although his reason told him it was only a temporary phenomenon, deep down he still couldn't help but look forward to seeing that beautiful pink-haired witch again.

Pushing open the door of the herb shop, the familiar scent of mixed herbs rushed toward him.

Luo En's gaze quickly locked onto the hunched figure behind the counter.

As expected, Lady Ailan had returned to her usual aged appearance—

Her face was covered in wrinkles like a dried-up riverbed, a thin, mean mouth was tightly pursed under a huge hooked nose, her gray hair was messily coiled behind her head, and a pair of hands covered in age spots were carefully checking the quality of a potion.

Although he had expected it, witnessing this huge contrast with his own eyes still caused a flash of obvious disappointment to cross Luo En's face.

He was just about to readjust his expression, but judging by Lady Ailan's reaction, it seemed he was a step too late.

"What, seeing me like this, you seem very disappointed?" The old witch didn't look up, her hands didn't stop, and her tone carried a bit of amusement.

"Of course not, my lady." Luo En replied quickly, secretly giving a bitter laugh, his confidence inevitably lacking.

Lady Ailan finally put down the potion bottle and looked up to stare at the young apprentice in front of her: "You stinky brat, your thoughts are all written on your face; who are you trying to fool?"

Luo En looked away somewhat awkwardly: "Sorry, my lady, I meant no disrespect."

"Don't be nervous, I won't get angry over such a small matter."

The old witch waved her hand, but her voice carried a hint of rare softness:

"That appearance yesterday was indeed more pleasing, and I like it better myself. It's a pity, though, that the blade of time never favors anyone."

She stood up, leaning on a wooden staff coiled with strange patterns, and slowly paced to Luo En.

Those deep green eyes examined him at close range: "But having said that, appearance and true strength are often not proportional; you will slowly realize this in the future."

Luo En could only nod in agreement.

"Alright, since young people are so energetic, I happen to have a batch of work waiting for you to do."

Lady Ailan chuckled twice and pointed to a dim corner at the back of the shop:

"That batch of newly arrived Hidden Thorn Vines needs to be processed. Remove all the thorns and nodules, not a single one left."

Luo En looked in the direction she pointed and saw a large bundle of thick, silver-gray vines piled up in the corner, covered with dense, sharp thorns and irregular lumps.

In the light, one could even see the cold light flashing on the tips of those thorns.

"This..." He swallowed subconsciously, easily judging that this was by no means an ordinary job.

Even with his current skills, processing such a large pile of Hidden Thorn Vines would take at least half a day.

The old witch keenly captured his hesitation, and a hint of cunning flashed in her eyes:

"What, tired? Then let me tell you another piece of good news—the thorns of the Hidden Thorn Vine contain a trace amount of toxin. Prolonged contact will make your fingers numb, and if it continues to accumulate, it may even lead to temporary sensory dullness."

The corners of her mouth lifted in an imperceptible arc:

"Of course, if you think this kind of work is too hard, why not sit here and admire my 'beautiful' face for a whole day? I wouldn't mind."

Hearing this, Luo En scratched his head awkwardly and immediately understood the nature of today's task—this was probably a small punishment.

Although he was somewhat unwilling, he also understood that Lady Ailan, as his employer, indeed had this right.

Moreover, he had always been grateful for the work at the herb shop.

Being able to come into contact with so many rare materials and knowledge, as well as Lady Ailan's hands-on guidance all along, made it easy for him not to refuse the requests she made.

"I'll go process the Hidden Thorn Vines right away, my lady." Luo En nodded seriously and turned to walk toward the pile of plants that looked hostile just by their appearance.

A faint, almost inaudible chuckle came from Lady Ailan behind him.

The processing of the Hidden Thorn Vines was indeed as painstaking and laborious as the other party had said.

Luo En soon understood why this kind of work was a "punishment"; it required not only great patience and concentration but also extremely high technical requirements.

Each vine needed to be carefully scraped of the sharp thorns and nodules on its surface using a special small silver knife.

A slight carelessness would either scratch the vine and affect its medicinal efficacy or get his skin pricked by the thorns.

In the first half-hour, he already had seven or eight small wounds on his hands, while the number of vines processed was negligible.

"The technique is wrong, too rough." Lady Ailan suddenly appeared beside him, her voice containing both reprimand and guidance:

"The knife should be kept at a 30-degree angle, following the texture of the vine, not against it."

She took the tool from Luo En's hand and, with an almost unbelievable dexterity, quickly drew a perfect trajectory on the vine.

The thorn tips and nodules were neatly removed, while the vine itself remained intact.

Luo En carefully observed this process and quickly adjusted his own operation method.

He had always been a person good at observing and learning, and Lady Ailan's demonstration gave him great inspiration.

[Herb Identification Experience +1]

As time passed, Luo En's technique gradually became proficient.

He began to be able to find the most efficient processing order by observing the distribution pattern of the thorns and even predict the location of the next nodule that needed special attention.

Just then, he had a strange discovery—these Hidden Thorn Vines did not seem to grow thorns in a chaotic manner but followed some kind of indescribable rule.

Even more wonderfully, when he was fully focused on his work, he seemed to be able to feel a weak but clear energy fluctuation inside the vines.

It was a life pulse that was completely different from breathing techniques and meditation but equally rhythmic.

"Interesting..." Luo En whispered to himself, completely immersed in this new discovery.

He tried to process the thorn tips in coordination with this natural rhythm and was surprised to find that his efficiency had improved significantly.

It was as if the vine, to some extent, "understood" and "cooperated" with his movements.

Just as Luo En was fully focused, Lady Ailan appeared beside him again, handing him a cup of dark green, steaming liquid.

"Drink it, it can alleviate toxin accumulation." Her tone was very flat, but her eyes revealed a hint of imperceptible approval: "It seems you are more suitable for this job than I thought."

Luo En took the cup gratefully, and after simply verifying that there was nothing unusual, he took a sip.

Afterward, he was somewhat surprised to find that although the liquid in the cup was weird in color, the taste was surprisingly sweet, like peppermint tea with honey, and it instantly dispelled the numbness in his fingers.

"Thank you, my lady." He thanked her sincerely and then threw himself back into work.

At a speed far faster than expected, Luo En finished processing all the Hidden Thorn Vines before evening.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the pile of perfectly processed silver-gray vines with satisfaction, his heart filled with a sense of achievement.

"Not bad at all." Lady Ailan checked the results, her voice unable to hide her surprise:

"Much better than I expected. You seem to have found the knack for processing Hidden Thorn Vines?"

Luo En did not hide his discovery: "I noticed that there seems to be a specific growth pattern on the surface of the vines. When my movements align with it, the efficiency increases significantly."

"Growth pattern?" A hint of interest flashed in Lady Ailan's eyes:

"Interesting... Very few people can perceive the life rhythm of extraordinary plants. Your perception ability is indeed very special."

As she spoke, she took out a small bag she had prepared from under the counter, from which came the crisp sound of hard objects colliding:

"Then, let's settle today's magic stone fragments for you first. It's a bit more than usual; the labor you put in is worth this extra reward."

Luo En took the bag and weighed it lightly, feeling that there were about five magic stone fragments inside, indeed much more than the usual two.

"Thank you for your generosity, my lady." He put away the magic stone fragments and prepared to say goodbye: "See you tomorrow."

"Wait, don't be in such a hurry to leave." The old witch suddenly called him back, her tone carrying a hint of imperceptible concern:

"Aren't you going to handle the qualification certification for a primary apprentice later?"

(End of chapter)