Chapter Sixty-Three. The Contaminated Body The bitter winter had passed, and the weather was gradually warming up.
Standing atop the tall building, Lei Lin could already see faint patches of green in the distance. On the farmland nearby, farmers were still hard at work.
"Another year has passed without me even noticing — I'm already fifteen!" Lei Lin braced his hands against the windowsill, his eyes slightly vacant.
The Hofu Purple Leaves in Polar Night City had been almost entirely bought up by Lei Lin. Through continuous refinement, he had finally produced five bottles of the new
Unfortunately, any potion would eventually build up resistance with repeated use, its effects gradually diminishing. He had originally estimated he could reach 5.9, but now that figure had dropped by 0.1 for no apparent reason.
"For now, all I can do is put my hopes on Fuleisa and the others who went to the surrounding cities to purchase more!"
Lei Lin leaned against the windowsill and reached over to the table to grab a string of red berries, nibbling on them casually as a snack.
"Still, compared to other apprentices, this is already a speed like flying. After all, even the direct heirs of major families couldn't use an unlimited supply of potions — let alone Spiritual Power potions this rare!"
In less than a single month, Lei Lin had already caught up to the distance a fifth-rank talent would need over a year to cover.
"It's a good thing I'm outside the Academy — that way I can conduct my experiments and use potions so brazenly!" Lei Lin suddenly felt a twinge of gratitude for the war's arrival.
"But even if the war ended right now, I wouldn't dare go back. I have to wait at least until the three-year mission period is up, and then I'll have a flimsy excuse at least!"
By then, Lei Lin estimated he would already be a third-rank apprentice. Within the Academy, aside from the instructors, he would have some minor standing — he would surely receive more attention, and with so much time to cover his tracks, he would have plenty of opportunity to come up with other justifications to explain himself.
"Young Master! There's a messenger from the City Lord's manor — he's brought an invitation!"
Since a
"An invitation?" Lei Lin felt somewhat puzzled. He had never had any dealings with
He took it and read: "A gathering? The invitation specifically states that only members of the Meierfeile circle are invited — in other words, Wizard Apprentices!"
Lei Lin began to speculate: "Could it be that some strange incident has occurred, one that requires a Wizard's help?"
"Anna! Prepare a carriage and formal attire for me — I'm going out!"
Lei Lin spoke casually. For Jackson, a Great Knight and the Lord of Polar Night City, a Wizard Apprentice was hardly enough to shake his authority, and Lei Lin had no desire to make an enemy of the man.
Besides, due to the recent shortage of Hofu Purple Leaf, Lei Lin didn't have anything particularly important to attend to and could afford the time.
"Might as well go — it's been a while since I've seen Meierfeile!"
At the center of Polar Night City stood a castle-like structure built from grey stone, grand and imposing, with many guards standing watch nearby, projecting an air of noble authority.
Clip-clop!! A black carriage suddenly pulled up in front of the city lord's manor. The door opened, and a young noble with brown hair stepped out. He looked rather thin, but a pair of bright eyes gave him a sharp, spirited look.
Just then, another carriage made of reddish-brown wood also pulled up alongside, and a white-bearded old man descended from it, clutching a book, exuding the unmistakable air of a scholar.
The moment the old man caught sight of Lei Lin, every wrinkle on his face blossomed into a smile. He stepped forward with open arms: "Long time no see, my friend!"
"It's wonderful to see you, Scholar Meierfeile!" Lei Lin smiled and gave the old man a light embrace.
His relationship with Meierfeile was quite good. The old man had his faults, but there was no denying that some of his insights had been enormously helpful to Lei Lin, and he had given Lei Lin a great deal of assistance when he first arrived in Polar Night City.
The two chatted idly as they made their way past the guards at the gate, producing their invitations along the way.
A steward-like figure led Lei Lin and Meierfeile through a garden to what looked like a small reception lounge.
Inside, several other Wizard Apprentices who had settled in Polar Night City had already arrived. Lei Lin went over and exchanged brief greetings.
In the center of the lounge was a circle of sofas arranged around a mahogany table, giving the arrangement a sense of equality.
"Welcome, my friends!"
Viscount Jackson, the tough, hard-bitten figure, strode in. He looked exactly the same as when Lei Lin had last seen him the year before — time had left almost no mark on him, save for a few strands of white hair behind his ears.
"My Lord!" The Wizard Apprentices nodded their heads slightly in greeting.
"Come, come! No need for formalities — have a seat!" Jackson casually dropped into one of the sofas. Serving maids in low-cut dresses brought everyone cups of a drink resembling black tea, along with an assortment of pastries — matcha cake, biscuits, and the like.
"Why does the whole atmosphere feel like a seminar over afternoon tea?" Lei Lin wondered to himself, though he kept the thought hidden.
Viscount Jackson sat in a circle with the Wizard Apprentices, occasionally discussing recent tidbits and curiosities. All in all, the atmosphere was remarkably harmonious.
"What a pity — outside, Viscount Jackson is known for his iron-fisted ruthlessness. I've heard that to crush a rebellion, he once ordered the execution of an entire village and had all their heads mounted on wooden stakes……"
Lei Lin maintained his cheerful, easygoing exterior, but inwardly he sighed with emotion: "As expected, equality of power is truly the prerequisite for harmonious interaction!"
"Oh, speaking of Baron
"We've heard about the withering in the Dark Night Forest for a long time, but it still hasn't been resolved!" a Wizard Apprentice on the other side chimed in, playing the role of a conversation starter nicely.
Meierfeile's brow furrowed slightly. "I'm sure the Lord must have a way to deal with it, doesn't he?"
Viscount Jackson gave a bitter smile. "My friends! I already reported the situation to the royal court via raven last year, but unfortunately there's still been no reply... I'm completely out of options!"
"The royal court?" Lei Lin's heart stirred. Behind the royal family of the Marsh Duchy stood the Black Bone Forest Academy — the ties between them were inextricably complex. So it wasn't really surprising that this task had ultimately appeared within the Academy.
Come to think of it, he himself was the one Black Bone Forest had dispatched to handle this matter. But he'd been shirking his duties all along, which was what ultimately forced Viscount Jackson's hand and led him to invite these apprentices.
Despite the bitter laugh in his heart, Lei Lin kept his composure on the surface, picked up a cup of red tea, and took a leisurely sip — having absolutely no intention of confessing.
"It's just a high-energy creature, something like a pollution-type — and even the City Lord can't handle it?" asked a red-haired middle-aged apprentice.
Lei Lin recognized the man. He ran a clothing store in Polar Night City, and many of the garments at the manor had been purchased from his shop.
The city's residents all knew the clothing store owner as a mild-mannered middle-aged man with a beautiful daughter, but none of them had ever known he was also a Wizard.
"To be honest, I already took action before! I killed a lizard-like creature, but it did absolutely nothing to help with the withering!"
Viscount Jackson spread his hands helplessly.
"Right now, the Withered Forest has already expanded to the size of two villages. If it isn't dealt with soon, it'll spread across the entire Dark Night Forest before long — and then we can forget about harvesting a single medicinal herb from there!"
Viscount Jackson clenched both fists.
The medicinal herb trade was Polar Night City's economic backbone — every year, the City Lord's mansion collected substantial gold coin taxes from it. With revenue plummeting, it was no wonder Viscount Jackson couldn't sit still.
"Could you show us the creature's remains — the lizard?" Meierfeile asked.
"Certainly!" The Viscount clapped his hands, and a golden-haired maid stepped forward carrying a silver platter, on which lay several earth-yellow scales.
The apprentices in attendance each came forward to pick up a scale for examination. Lei Lin also took one and placed it in his palm.
"Chip! Scan!" The earth-yellow scale was about the size of a person's thumb, cold and chilly to the touch.
"Presumed scales from a contaminated creature, likely a variant of a marsh lizard! Surface shows trace radiation, material composition highly chaotic, molecular structure catastrophically compromised — unusable as any kind of material!"
The Chip relayed its scan results back.
"No wonder none of the Wizards in the canyon bothered to act! There's absolutely nothing in this creature's body that Wizards could make use of. The whole thing wouldn't fetch a single Magic Stone on the market — who'd take on thankless work like that?"
Lei Lin suddenly came to understand. Wizards were people who put profit above all else — they would never lift a finger without benefit.
The Withered Forest was right on the doorstep of Polar Night City. If there were any real gains to be had inside, or creature materials that Wizards valued, it would have long since been trampled flat by the Wizards from the canyon trading post.
The fact that it still existed could only mean one thing: there was no profit inside, only trouble. Or rather, the reward for dealing with it didn't cover the cost, which was why it had never been resolved.
"What a shame! It's not the high-energy creature Wizards need — it's a contaminated body! Practically useless to Wizards!" Meierfeile produced something resembling a magnifying glass, studied the scale for a long while, and finally reached the same conclusion as Lei Lin.
"So? Is there any way?" Viscount Jackson looked at the group with hopeful eyes.
"Most contaminated creatures are formed by drastic changes to their growth environment. Until I can conduct an on-site investigation, I can't draw any conclusions. Besides, I don't believe this creature is the true culprit behind the withering event!"
Meierfeile shook his head.
"I'm willing to offer thirty Magic Stones per person, plus five thousand gold coins, for you to go investigate. What do you say? This is my personal request — for the sake of old friends!"
Viscount Jackson looked around and, seeing that the other Wizard Apprentices all looked thoroughly uninterested, gritted his teeth as he spoke.
"As the city lord's trouble, of course I can't shirk my duty!"
Meierfeile looked somewhat exasperated.