The old man had completely put away his earlier nonchalance at this moment.
He looked at Terra Su thoughtfully and suddenly said, “I wonder where you come from, young friend. I suspect you’re not a native of Anyang County.”
“That’s not something you need to worry about, elder.”
Terra Su replied with a faint smile, “You just need to tell me if I can use a Three-River Elixir to have the Mist Pavilion gather information for me.”
The old man pondered for a moment, returning to his earlier indifferent demeanor, and said, “This Three-River Elixir is actually of no use to me. However, it would make a fine addition to my collection.”
With that, the old man flipped his palm and tucked the Three-River Elixir into his sleeve.
Then, he looked at Terra Su and said, “Go back and wait for the news. The Mist Pavilion usually doesn’t take more than three months to gather information. After three months, whether the person is alive or dead, and wherever they may be, you’ll get a definite answer.”
“Then I thank you in advance, elder.”
Having entrusted the search for Robert Jiang to the Mist Pavilion, Terra Su felt a temporary sense of relief.
With that, Terra Su stood up and left the quiet room.
Outside, the Crown Prince immediately perked up upon seeing Terra Su emerge and asked, “How did it go, brother? Did the owner of the Mist Pavilion agree to help gather information?”
“They agreed.”
Terra Su nodded.
“That’s great.” The Crown Prince also breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Terra Su might not have anything valuable enough to offer, and that the owner of the Mist Pavilion would not be interested.
It wasn’t that he underestimated Terra Su, but the owner of the Mist Pavilion was notoriously picky. Many powerful and influential people had brought what they considered to be extremely precious treasures to commission the Mist Pavilion for information, only to be rejected.
This was because the owner of the Mist Pavilion had their own standards for selecting treasures. Sometimes, what the world deemed valuable did not meet the owner’s criteria.
“By the way, brother Su, what treasure did you give to the owner of the Mist Pavilion?” the Crown Prince asked curiously.
Terra Su smiled slightly and said, “An elixir.”
“An elixir?”
The Crown Prince’s mouth dropped open in surprise. It was indeed rare for an elixir to impress the owner of the Mist Pavilion.
It wasn’t that elixirs were bad, but the alchemists in Anyang City could only produce elixirs of limited grades. Many years ago, a third-grade Alchemy Grandmaster had sent his meticulously crafted elixir to the Mist Pavilion, only to have it rejected and returned, leaving the grandmaster utterly humiliated.
Since then, few have used elixirs as payment for the Mist Pavilion’s services.
And now, Terra Su’s elixir had managed to impress the owner of the Mist Pavilion?
Could it be? What kind of miraculous elixir could it be?
Filled with curiosity and questions, the Crown Prince, Terra Su, and Gu Qianyin left the Mist Pavilion under the cover of night.
On the fifth floor of the Mist Pavilion.
The old man who had seen Terra Su off was now restless, a stark contrast to his earlier calm demeanor.
It wasn’t until the early morning of the next day that the old man got up, hurriedly left the quiet room, and quickly ascended to the seventh floor of the Mist Pavilion.
Upon entering the seventh floor, it was like stepping into an aerial garden, with lush trees and the sounds of birds and flowers. It was hard to believe this was the top of a high tower; it felt more like a picturesque forest.
In the center of the garden, a young girl in a light purple gauze dress stood gracefully, leisurely feeding a few birds in the woods.
The morning mist enveloped the girl like a thin veil, making her appear ethereal, like a celestial being.
“Miss.”
The old man called out to the girl’s back.
The girl turned around, her stunning beauty like a pearl under the moon, a lotus in the pond, exuding a sacred aura that would make anyone praise her as a beauty only found in the heavens.
“Elder Qiu, what is it?” the girl asked.
“Last night, someone brought an elixir. I found the alchemy technique used to be very unique, something I’ve never seen before. But I’m not sure, so I wanted to ask you to take a look.”
In front of this girl, the old man appeared somewhat respectful, which was hard to imagine given his usual arrogance in front of others.
The girl smiled gently, adding a touch of liveliness to her already otherworldly beauty.
“If even Elder Qiu is unsure, I’m afraid I won’t be able to tell either. Let me have a look.”
Taking the small bottle from the old man’s hand, she removed the stopper and glanced inside, showing a hint of surprise, “This is a Three-River Elixir.”
“Indeed, it’s a Three-River Elixir. We always thought the prescription for it was extremely rare and that no one in Anyang County could make it. It seems we were wrong,” the old man said.
The girl nodded slightly, “Perhaps we underestimated this place.”
She then poured the elixir into her palm and examined it closely.
The more she looked, the more astonished she became, exclaiming, “This elixir is not just an ordinary Three-River Elixir. It seems to have been crafted using the long-lost technique ‘Moonlight on the Sea.’”
“Moonlight on the Sea?”
The old man was even more surprised, “That’s an ancient and lost alchemy technique. How could anyone possibly know it?”
“Elder Qiu, who brought this elixir?” the girl asked.
“It was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen,” the old man replied.
“A boy of fifteen or sixteen?” The girl was also surprised, then murmured softly, “Could it have been made by his master or an elder?”
The old man’s expression became animated, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes his eyes shining with light.
But in the end, all the light faded away, replaced by a sigh.
“Alas, the ‘Moonlight on the Sea’ technique is excellent, but it can only produce low-grade elixirs. And for your illness, Miss, at least a sixth-grade elixir is needed for a possible cure, so it doesn’t help you at all.”
If others heard this, they would be astonished. The highest-grade elixirs that alchemists in Anyang County could produce were only third-grade, yet to this old man and young girl, they were merely “low-grade elixirs.”
And the sixth-grade elixirs they spoke of had never appeared in the history of Anyang County.
The old man shook his head and sighed repeatedly, his enthusiasm greatly diminished.
The girl, however, remained calm, smiling slightly, “Elder Qiu, let’s take it slow. I’m not in a hurry. I’m quite happy living here.”
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