Chapter 35: Concoction
Translator:Atlas Studios
Editor:Atlas Studios
Lin Li did not budge under the oppression of such strong anger; the words he uttered were not at all polite. "Why? Starting a fight because you can't outspeak me? You couldn't even find out the cause of Mr McGrenn's illness, yet you had the audacity to say you'll be responsible for his treatment. What do you think this is? This is not just any beast, it's a human life! Have you ever thought what you will do if I'm chased out by you and you couldn't cure Mr McGrenn? I really don't know how your teacher has taught you, treating someone's life as a joke. How are you not a quack?"
"I—"
The killing intent coming from the redheaded beauty subsided slightly, but her pretty face was flushed. She wanted to defend herself, but was rudely interrupted by Lin Li.
"What I? Are you going to say you'll find a way for sure? Alright, alright. I'll take it as saying you'll come up with a way sooner or later. But please open your eyes, look closely at Mr McGrenn's condition now, and think if he has the time to wait till you've found a solution!"
What Lin Li hated most in his life was quack doctors ruining the life of someone. If it hadn't been for a darned quack, his father would not have been left with a lifelong disability. Although his father had escaped death, pain and disgust for quacks were deeply engraved in Lin Li's heart, and could not be erased no matter what. When he was questioning the redheaded beauty, Lin Li had unconsciously taken her as the darned quack.
"It was your ridiculous doubt that nearly caused Mr McGrenn to lose his life. What do you treat yourself as, and what do you treat your patients as? You say you're not a quack; then what are you, a killer?" By the end, Lin Li was livid, and his tone was filled with endless resentment. It was as if the one standing in front of him was not a charming beauty, but the quack who had crippled his father for life.
The words were so serious that the redheaded beauty wavered because of them.
Lying on the sickbed, McGrenn's face was ghastly pale and his body gaunt; every breath he took seemed to exhaust all his strength. Looking at how extremely feeble McGrenn was, the redheaded beauty lost confidence for the first time. She asked herself repeatedly,Can McGrenn really wait till I find a way?
The answer to her question was cruel—absolutely not.
She didn't even know what the Twilight Curse was—don't even mention coming up with a way to break it. And McGrenn, who was lying on the sickbed, most likely couldn't even wait another day…
If this young mage really had the ability to save people, but was repeatedly stalled and even driven away by her, then wouldn't the result be…
The redheaded beauty was stunned by the possibility.
The curling flame was gradually put out and the aura of a level-ten power also vanished without a trace. The redheaded beauty at the moment was like a little girl who had done something wrong. She pulled Ina into a tight hug; her voice had a tinge of sob in it. "Sorry, Ina… I… I really wanted to help Uncle McGrenn… I've never thought… I've really never thought of…"
"Sister Rowling, I know, I know…" Ina held the redheaded beauty's shoulders and comforted her.
"If you know you're wrong, then go hide in a corner and cry. Don't get in the way here, it's tiresome." Lin Li shot a cold glance at her and paid her no more heed.
The control of dosage for the Purifying Potion was somewhat troublesome; Lin Li dared not allow himself even the slightest negligence. After a meticulous calculation of the amount of silver hairgrass and sungrass to be used, he took two terocones and twisted them in his hands. With tens of thousands of concoctions done in the past, Lin Li had developed a sensitive feel in his hands. With the two terocones in hand, Lin Li knew at once that the amount was too much. So, he took out a silver knife from his pockets and gingerly cut one of the terocones in half.
After finishing up all these, a beaker suddenly appeared in Lin Li's hand. Neither Ina nor the redheaded beauty could tell exactly how the beaker came to be there; the whole process seemed like a magic trick.
With a twitch of his wrist, the terocone fell into the beaker, followed by a Gas Blast Spell. Lin Li had controlled it carefully, releasing his mana bit by bit, turning an aggressive Gas Blast Spell into a slow compress. If Gerian had seen this scene, it would probably surprise him again. Such a subtle mana control would probably take at least a decade for an average mage to achieve.
Under the compression of the Gas Blast Spell, the two terocones began to deform slowly. As the mana released by Lin Li slowly increased, the two round terocones eventually turned into two thin pieces.
With a gentle pick of the silver knife, the two pieces of terocone peel were picked out. The clear beaker was brimming with thick terocone succus.
Looking at the bizarre scene in front of her, the redheaded beauty, with tears still in her eyes, could not help but ask timidly, "What… What are you doing?"
"None of your damned business…" Lin Li, who was completely absorbed, paid no attention to her. After cursing rudely, he added the dreampetal into the beaker.
It was followed by the recitation of the Spell of Flaming Hands. As usual, Lin Li was careful in controlling his mana, only lighting a small flame on his hand, then slowly roasted the bottom of the beaker.
After the terocone succus began to boil, Lin Li carefully grabbed the silver hairgrass and sungrass. The two herbs were added into the beaker almost simultaneously, which was followed by white mist rising into the air and a strong medicinal smell permeating the room. Even warriors like Ina and the redheaded beauty were deeply moved by the divine power contained in it.
Lin Li fed half a beaker of Purifying Potion into McGrenn's mouth and massaged him for a while to make the potion work as soon as possible.
Hearing McGrenn's breathing gradually stabilize, Lin Li finally breathed out a long sigh of relief.
"Everything's fine, Ina. Mr McGrenn will wake up in about half an hour's time."
"Thank you, Mr Felic…" Ina was pleasantly surprised. Her lips were pursed as if she was about to cry.
"McGrenn is fine now, you should be happy. Why are you crying…" Lin Li kept the beaker into his pocket, then carefully reminded Ina, "Although he's fine now, his body will still be extremely weak. I reckon it might still take some time for him to recover. You had better persuade him not to take on any quests for the next two to three months."
"Mr Felic, thank you. If not for you, I wouldn't know what to do." Ina's eyes were filled with gratitude. "You've helped us so many times, but I have nothing to repay your kindness with…"
"What's there to thank for. If it weren't for your help in the begging, I could still be stuck in the Sunset Mountains. I should be the one thanking you both." Such was the character of Lin Li—clear about kindness and enmity. He would remember for life the kindness and grace he had received from someone. McGrenn and his daughter had helped him unintentionally, but Lin Li had kept it firmly in his mind.
"If there's nothing else, I'll get going. If not, when your father wakes, he's going to thank me without end again…" Lin Li packed his stuff, getting ready to return to the Guild of Magic.
"Tee hee!" Ina could not help but laugh at his funny remarks.
Lin Li insisted on leaving, so Ina could not make him stay and had to see him out of the door.
After watching Lin Li's figure fade into the distance, Ina returned upstairs with a hint of reluctance. As soon as she went upstairs, she heard Rowling's crying out an apology. "Ina… Sorry."
"It's alright, Sister Rowling. You were kind enough to want to save Father," Ina comforted her gently, and the redheaded beauty stopped crying.
"That mage earlier on, who is he? How did you two meet?" Rowling wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, but couldn't contain her curiosity with regards to Lin Li's identity.
"I've introduced him, he's Mr Felic. I met him when Father and I were in the Sunset Mountains. He's an impressive mage who helped me and Father many times. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to repay him…"
"Felic!" This time, Rowling had finally heard it clearly. Never had she expected that the young-looking mage from just now was actually Felic, the pharmacist who had been the subject of heated discussions in Jarrosus recently!
"Father and I had been pursued by a Wyvern. It was Mr Felic who had appeared suddenly and saved us. And, and… Afterwards, I was captured by a large gorilla…"
Ina recalled the days in the Sunset Mountains, but Rowling could not hear a thing she said. She was still reeling in shock.
It was no wonder he could see the cause of Mr McGrenn's illness at once and concoct such a peculiar potion. So he turned out to be a real pharmacist!
The alternate identity of the young mage came to her mind, and Rowling's fine eyebrows were knitted once more…