Chapter 91: Ince's Request

Inside the transparent crystal crucible, vividly colored liquid rolled and seethed. As the flame brightened and dimmed, the contents of the pot would surge and then fall still; now and then, a few exquisite leaves would drift up from the bottom, borne on bubbles that lifted them in slow, trembling rises and falls.

With one hand shielding the flame beneath the pot, Teresa adjusted the fire from time to time; with the other, she swiftly mixed a new potion. Ever since her mental strength had reached the second level, her ability to divide her attention had grown far more adept, and with it the efficiency of all her work had risen dramatically. Not only during alchemy, but even in her ordinary studies and daily life, she could clearly feel the benefits of her strengthening mind.

With both hands moving in concert and her attention split in two, Teresa quickly finished another round of alchemical work. The potion in the magical crucible was poured out to the last drop, and more than a dozen vials of red-and-green liquid appeared on the alchemy table.

Looking at the latest batch she had just produced, Teresa let out a long breath of relief. She gathered the thirteen newly made vials together with the ones she had crafted earlier, then counted them carefully. Only at the end did she lift her brows in mild surprise: over the course of this half day, she had actually completed five rounds and produced more than sixty vials of potion.

Back when she had first succeeded in making this dual recovery potion, she could only manage at most three rounds in a day, and each round yielded fewer than ten bottles. Compared with that, the difference in results was truly as vast as heaven and earth.

After her surprise faded, she tilted her head slightly and thought carefully about the reason. In just seven or eight days, she could not only persist longer than before, but her success rate and output had both improved greatly. Besides the increase in skill, the most important reason was surely the growth of her mental strength.

Madly brewing potions was indeed an excellent way to accelerate the growth of mental power. Yet the monotony and loneliness it demanded were not something she could easily explain to others.

With a quiet sigh, Teresa continued dividing the potions into boxes, while rubbing the sore muscles at the back of her neck. As she headed for the doorway to her room, someone leaning against the wall by the door startled her.

"Archie? What are you doing here? Waiting for me?" Teresa asked in surprise. At this hour, Archie was usually either training in the martial arena or attending class; she almost never saw him free.

At the sight of Teresa, Archie broke into a bright grin. "Tess, a friend of mine somehow heard about your dual recovery potion. He's rather interested in your abilities and wants to talk about a collaboration. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

"Collaboration?" Teresa raised her brows. "What kind of collaboration?"

"He has an old formula and wants to ask you to make it for him."

Teresa was even more surprised. "I'm only a second-rank alchemist. There are plenty of alchemists like me out there. Why would your friend want to collaborate with me?"

Archie shrugged. "I don't know either. If you're free, just go talk to him. Even if you can't make it, getting to see an old formula won't hurt you. That fellow may be a shrewd merchant, but he wouldn't dare take advantage of you. Otherwise, when my elder brother comes back, he'd definitely cut him into one hundred and eight pieces."

Archie's suggestion did tempt Teresa quite a bit. Coupled with the spirit within her book and its boundless curiosity about the so-called old formula, Teresa finally nodded and agreed with Archie on a time to meet him. Only then did she watch him bounce away in high spirits. Looking at his back, Teresa could not help but stroke her chin in curiosity.

Archie's words and reaction all suggested that this so-called "friend" must be very familiar with both the brothers, Pedias and Archie. But apart from Avery of the family of Lacklison, she really could not think of where the two brothers might have such an old acquaintance.

Avery happened to be serving in Stormkeep at the same time as Pedias, so it was clearly not him. Then who could this old acquaintance be?

Sir Innes was a figure in Cervantes noble society suited only to whispered conversation. Anyone who mentioned him in public, whether in praise or in abuse, would meet the silent resistance of the entire social circle. Throughout Cervantes City, this knight held an especially peculiar status. He never attended any social event, and yet almost everyone who hosted a salon or banquet would routinely send him an invitation. Everyone knew he would not come, and yet the sending of such invitations had become an unwritten custom that no one had ever dared to break. Half of the commercial enterprises under his control ran contrary to imperial law, but no government office dared to question his actions. He was like a shadow beneath the sun: everyone could see him, and yet everyone pretended not to.

Teresa had long known of Sir Innes, and she had long known of the businesses under his control as well. In particular, she had long known of the place called the Den of Vanity, supposedly capable of satisfying every imaginable appetite for amusement. It was from there that Nanse-Bitree had fallen utterly into ruin.

Standing at the mouth of a narrow alley, Teresa looked up at the small castle before her. Its appearance was unremarkable, but in her heart that name, long absent from her sight, rose once again: Nanse-Bitree.

Ever since she learned that Nanse had become addicted to gambling, even throwing away fortunes in Sir Innes's underground establishments, Teresa had no longer paid attention to her news. If Nanse could turn back before going too far, then the lesson she had already suffered would be enough to vent Teresa's anger. If Nanse continued to wallow in gambling without repentance, then what was the point of Teresa fighting with a gambler?

Just as Teresa's thoughts swirled restlessly, Archie could no longer bear to watch her hesitate. He grabbed her hand and led her inside, saying as they walked, "We're only going to meet someone, not to have fun. I've already told Father and Mother about this in advance. Even if they know we came here, they won't be angry. Don't worry."

In the blink of an eye, Teresa was led into the alley and through a hidden side door. Beyond it, a young man of distinguished bearing bowed and took the lead, guiding the two of them through a series of twists and turns. After about ten minutes, he knocked open an antique wooden door and respectfully ushered them inside.

"Uncle Innes, I've brought Tess to you," Archie announced loudly the moment he entered. He spread his arms and exchanged a bear hug with a middle-aged man who had just risen from the sofa.

Teresa immediately noticed Archie's choice of address: Innes.

For that reason, she studied the middle-aged man more carefully. He was a strikingly handsome man. From his features alone, he did not seem to be more than thirty, yet his entire temperament was steady and imposing, carrying a rich air of age-worn depth. Compared with that, he somehow seemed not far from Amos in age.

Teresa was looking at him, and Innes was looking at her as well. Their gazes met. Teresa looked into those eyes, wild and domineering as the gaze of a beast king, and after less than two seconds she lowered her eyelids and politely greeted him with a bow.

As she dropped her gaze, Innes bared his teeth in a smile full of interest and said, "Since you're Pedias and Archie's younger sister, you're not an outsider here. Just call me Uncle like Archie does. There aren't so many rules in my place."

Hearing this, Archie echoed from the side, "That's right, Tess. Uncle Innes is the most straightforward sort of person. If he likes you, he gets close to you; if he doesn't, he won't even bother with you. If you're too formal, he'll actually be displeased."

Teresa smiled faintly at that and said nothing more. She sat down beside Archie, glanced down at the wineglass on the table, and then looked up to ask Innes, "Uncle Innes, Archie told me that you have an old formula you'd like me to try to make?"

Innes nodded, reached to one corner of the small table, picked up a folder, and tossed it over. "See whether you can do it."

Teresa opened the folder, glanced at its contents, then withdrew her gaze and continued, "With your capabilities, I imagine even cooperating with my teacher would not be difficult. Why come looking for me instead? I'm only a second-rank alchemist, and my abilities are limited."

At this, Innes smiled, leaned back into the sofa, and crossed one leg over the other. "Because I feel like it. The price is all in there. Just tell me whether you agree."

Teresa frowned slightly and turned to Archie, only to find him wearing an encouraging expression. He silently urged her to look at the folder. Though she had countless questions in her heart, she still opened it again, took out one of the parchment sheets inside, and began to study it carefully.

While she was examining the document, Archie grew bored and wandered over to Innes's indoor bar, happily sampling the various wines on the rack. A sip here, a sip there—though he only tasted a little each time, there was too much wine, and before long he was somewhat tipsy. Innes not only failed to stop him, but even recommended different wines with great enthusiasm. By the time Teresa had figured out some of the clues and looked up, preparing to question Innes, she discovered that Archie was already drunk.

The drunk Archie was very well behaved. Quite unlike his usual restless self, he was like a model child. Whatever was said to him, he did at once: told to rinse his mouth, he rinsed; told to wash his face, he washed; told to change into sleepwear, he stripped off his clothes; told to rest, he collapsed onto the sofa bed and fell into deep sleep.

Teresa stared wordlessly at this entire sequence of events. Only after Archie was sleeping soundly did she poke his cheek somewhat displeasedly and ask, "Why did you get him drunk?"

"Haha, I wasn't the one who got him drunk. He comes here specifically to get drunk," Innes replied with a laugh. "Who knows why, but that brat gets drunk every time he comes to my place. Otherwise, who do you think all these fine wines on my wall are for?"

Teresa was even more speechless. So Archie was actually a little drunkard, and this time he had even come out under her name to have a drinking spree.

The more she thought about it, the more dissatisfied she became, and her finger kept jabbing at him without pause—poke, poke, poke.

After a long while, Archie was still sleeping dead to the world. No matter how displeased Teresa felt, she could only stop this pointless effort and turn to Innes instead. Raising the piece of parchment in her hand, she asked, "This is only a fragment, isn't it?"

At this, Innes's eyes lit up. "A fragment, yes. But even as a fragment, it should still be possible to refine something from it!"

"It ought to be possible. However, with my current level, actually refining anything from it will still be somewhat difficult. And even if I do succeed, without the preceding and following portions, its purpose can't be confirmed."

"Try it first. Write me a list of whatever materials you need, and I'll have them all prepared for you," Innes said, having heard only the first few words and completely ignoring everything else.

Seeing this, Teresa had no choice but to nod. She asked for paper and pen, then carefully listed the required materials one by one.