Chapter 108: Elixirs? Got Any?
Chu Feng looked at the lightning-shaped mark on his hand and smiled, “See? It’s fully charged again.”
Illya nodded in satisfaction, “That’s great.”
Illya thought: I don’t know what the situation is in the tomb right now, but the longer we stay here, the safer it might be over there.
Chu Feng touched the mark on his hand and mused: After absorbing the stone’s energy, I feel like I have much better control over this power. As long as I keep using it steadily here, I can delay going back. If I want to stay here for one or two months, that might actually be possible.
Looking at the stone again, he said, “This thing still has a ton of energy. I’ve been absorbing it for a long time, but it hasn’t weakened much.”
Legend has it that witch stones come in different grades—the larger the stone, the more boundless its energy. Even a marble-sized piece could spark fierce battles. This one was massive.
Illya raised his chin slightly and said, “If a stone this size appeared on the border between humans and demons, it might trigger a full-scale war.”
Chu Feng: “It’s really that valuable?”
*
Castle Residential District
“Yah, I brought back the cloth you asked for,” Fei Ying said as he flew in.
Illya smiled at him. “Thanks a lot.”
Fei Ying scratched his head. “No problem.”
Illya praised him, “That fabric is pretty rare—I didn’t expect to get it so quickly. You work fast, Fei Ying!”
Fei Ying chuckled awkwardly. “It’s alright… but Illya, this cloth—you’re not planning to wear it, are you?”
Illya shook his head. “No.”
Fei Ying let out a relieved sigh and muttered, “That’s good, that’s good.”
Illya looked at his odd expression. “What’s wrong?”
Fei Ying shook his head. “Nothing. I’ll get going now.”
Illya began to handle the fabric with a look of delight.
Chu Feng asked curiously, “What is this?”
“This is clothing made from Azure Silkworm Thread. It can be used to conceal the aura of the witch stone,” Illya explained.
He wrapped the witch stone in several layers of the cloth. Once it was covered, Chu Feng indeed could no longer sense its energy. He asked, a little intrigued, “How did you know this would work?”
“When an ability user is nearby, they can sense the aura of a witch stone. There have been many battles over them. Witch stones also attract wild beasts. Later, someone discovered that clothing made from Azure Silkworm Thread could block the aura. After that, fights over witch stones became much less frequent,” Illya said.
Chu Feng nodded. “You really think of everything.”
He thought to himself: The witch stone must be extremely attractive. Maybe Chu Anzhi’s claim about not leaving the village isn’t because they can’t—it’s because they won’t. If they let the aura leak and attract dangerous beasts, that could be a disaster.
Azure Silkworm Thread was rare and expensive—noble humans loved wearing it. It was rarely seen.
Chu Feng frowned. “I wonder where Fei Ying got this fabric. Why does it smell… like sweat?”
He felt that since his strength had increased, his senses had also sharpened.
Illya sniffed. “Yeah… the smell is kinda strong.”
Chu Feng shrugged. “Whatever. It’s not like we’re going to wear it.”
Illya nodded. “Exactly. This cloth is only supplied to nobles—just getting it is impressive.”
Suddenly, Chu Feng seemed to realize something. He shook his head to dispel the thought. Doesn’t matter where it came from. It’ll do.
Illya glanced at him. “Something wrong?”
Chu Feng shook his head. “Nope.”
Still… better not voice that suspicion out loud, he thought.
*
Meanwhile, Lan Hu proudly fiddled with 50 labor vouchers. “Look, Fei Ying gave me these! I can get five big jars of chips!”
Shi Qi frowned. “Young master, how could you trade your personal underclothes for that?”
Lan Hu didn’t care. “What’s the big deal?”
“But those were chosen by Madam herself! She spent 300 gold coins and had them shipped from the Silkworm Village!”
Azure Silkworm Thread was incredibly comfortable—and also known for being cut- and stab-resistant with excellent protection.
Lan Hu waved it off. “They were getting old. Out with the old, in with the new.”
He tilted his head. “That fabric’s just got a fancy name. The underwear in the convenience shop is comfy too!”
Shi Qi nodded. “That’s true.”
In Crescent Village, there were tons of stylish clothes, especially unique skirt designs. If you brought them to the capital, noble girls would go crazy over them.
Shi Qi took a deep breath, thinking: There are a lot of skirts in the shop… maybe I should get one too. Though this isn’t really the time for skirts…
Lan Hu rested his chin on his hand. “I heard that Azure Silkworm Thread was something Chu Feng asked for. What could he want it for—surely not to wear it?”
He imagined Chu Feng wearing his old underclothes and felt a bit weird about it.
Shi Qi tilted her head. Chu Feng came from across the sea, and brought rare stuff with him. If he’s interested in fancy cloth, that makes sense… but I don’t think that’s it. Could it be… the witch stone?
Lan Hu noticed her expression. “Because of what?”
Shi Qi shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Witch stones have long disappeared. Even the Merdes family—one of the top three in the capital—doesn’t…” Lan Hu narrowed his eyes.
“The coat and pants I came here in may not be made of Azure Silkworm Thread, but the quality is still good,” he muttered.
Lan Hu looked at Shi Qi. “Hey, do you know something called Mou Tai liquor?”
Shi Qi nodded. “I’ve heard of it. Costs 100 labor vouchers per bottle. The shop’s got a lot of cheap stuff, but that wine is ridiculously expensive. I heard it’s pricey even on the other side of the sea. But young master, you don’t even like alcohol, do you?”
The Merdes family received plenty of fine wines every year. Lan Hu liked gourmet food, but not liquor.
Lan Hu nodded. “That’s true. But if it’s that expensive, it’s probably special.”
Shi Qi shrugged. “I don’t think so.”
*
In the village shop…
Fei Ying slapped a 100-voucher note down in front of Qing Lan. “Give me 100 packs of crab-flavored green peas!”
Qing Lan looked at him in surprise. “You strike it rich or something?”
Fei Ying puffed up a bit. “Just earned 300 work vouchers.”
Qing Lan looked amazed. “That much? What did you do?”
Fei Ying grinned. “That’s a secret. Can’t tell you.”
“You scammed someone?”
“Well… sort of,” he admitted.
Illya had given him a sum of money and sent him to nearby towns to find Azure Silkworm Thread. If he succeeded, Illya would pay him 300 vouchers.
He searched several towns, but they were all too poor—most people couldn’t afford even coarse linen, let alone luxury silk. So he came back empty-handed.
Then he ran into Lan Hu—whose underwear just happened to be made from Azure Silkworm Thread. Fei Ying bought it and handed it over to Illya, making a clean 250-voucher profit.
A lot of villagers had been finding creative ways to earn work vouchers lately, so Qing Lan didn’t pry. She handed over the 100 packs of green peas.
Fei Ying carried a whole crate of crab roe green peas, feeling a sense of abundance he had never experienced before.
*
Inside the castle
Chu Feng had cultivated for a while and felt he’d reached a bottleneck. He handed the stone to Illya.
“I think I can’t absorb the energy from the stone anymore.”
Illya took the stone in his arms and said, “That’s normal. The witch stone contains massive amounts of energy, and each person has a daily limit for how much they can absorb. If that weren’t the case, the scorpions would’ve drained it dry long ago.”
Chu Feng nodded, “Makes sense.”
Illya absorbed energy from the stone for a bit as well and also hit a bottleneck. He put the stone away and said, “Let’s go visit the shaman.”
“Sure!” Chu Feng thought to himself: This time, we really owe the shaman and his detox elixir—otherwise, dealing with my cousin’s situation would’ve been a nightmare.
Chu Feng looked at Illya.
“Does the shaman make any other kinds of elixirs besides the detox one?”
Illya tilted his head in curiosity.
“What are you looking for?”
Chu Feng mused: Like some all-in-one tonic, fast-acting heart rescue elixirs, or even resurrection medicine?
Illya puffed his cheeks and shook his head.
“Doesn’t seem like we have those.”
“None of them?” Chu Feng asked.
Illya shook his head.
“Probably not.”
Well, even something like a male vitality elixir would work… Chu Feng thought. There are a lot of guys with kidney issues over there—if the shaman has anything like that, it might fetch a great price.
“What’s a male vitality elixir?” Illya asked curiously.
“Ah… nothing,” Chu Feng scratched his head, thinking: Got carried away again. Said something dumb.
Illya pouted in dissatisfaction.
“You obviously said something, now you’re lying.”
“It’s a supplement—strengthens the body and increases stamina,” Chu Feng replied.
Illya shook his head.
“We don’t have that.”
Chu Feng frowned.
“Are you sure? Maybe you just don’t know about it?”
Illya thought for a moment and nodded.
“That’s possible. Let’s go ask the shaman directly.”
“Alright,” Chu Feng said, slightly reluctantly.
