It was the third day since the “Moonlight and Flames” Alchemy Shop had opened for business.
The morning sun pierced through the thin mist, gently stroking the brand-new sign and making the inscriptions upon it shine brilliantly.
The interior was arranged in perfect order.
On the left shelves, potions in various bottles and jars reflected a kaleidoscopic light; at the workstation on the right, Xue Yin sat with her eyes downcast, focused on brewing a new batch of night vision potions.
“Master, the Refreshing Dew sold incredibly well today. Those heat-sensitive lizardmen from the East District bought out the entire stock.”
Standing behind the counter, Jin flipped through the ledger with his fingertips.
When he looked up at Xue Yin, a relaxed smile spread through his eyes.
“At this rate, we will recover our costs very soon. Our business will surely be flourishing!”
The movement of Xue Yin’s hands paused almost imperceptibly, and she shook her head helplessly.
“Honest business should naturally be so. However, use the word ‘flourishing’ less in the future. It always reminds me of some unpleasant past events.”
She gently blew away the froth on the surface of the medicinal liquid and gave a calm instruction, “By the way, go and bring in the dried herbs from the yard.”
“You got it.”
Jin responded and was just about to turn around —
*Bam!*
The shop door was slammed open, and a thick, pungent smell of blood instantly poured in, dispersing the faint herbal fragrance that had filled the shop.
“Help! Quick… quickly give me a healing potion!”
A blood-covered little imp came stumbling in, tossing a blood-stained silver coin onto the counter in his panic.
He was in terrible condition: his leather armor was tattered, his left arm was severed at the shoulder, and strange black threads were coiled around the wound.
Blood gushed out like a fountain, instantly staining the stone floor by the entrance red.
“Do not panic.”
Xue Yin reacted with lightning speed.
She tapped her White Wax Wood Amethyst Short Staff lightly against the ground, and a soft white light instantly enveloped the little imp.
Everywhere the light passed, the blood vessels at the stump rapidly constricted, temporarily halting the massive hemorrhage.
Simultaneously, she snatched a bottle of red healing potion from the shelf with her other hand, popped the cork, and held it steadily to the imp’s lips.
“Drink it. Tell me slowly, what happened?”
Xue Yin’s voice was calm and clear, carrying a reassuring composure.
The little imp greedily swallowed the potion, and a sliver of color returned to his pale face.
He slumped against the doorway, panting heavily.
“It’s… it is a Giant Poison Spider! We were gathering at the edge of the forest outside the city when we were suddenly attacked. That spider was massive, as tall as a carriage, and the webs it spat were highly toxic. The other team members are in grave danger…”
He coughed violently, his eyes filled with despair and anxiety.
“The uninjured members have already gone to the Lord’s Manor to report, but there are still people trapped in the forest. The poisonous gas is spreading; they really cannot hold on much longer!”
“The forest outside the city?” Jin’s brow furrowed.
He strode to the imp’s side in a few steps, propping him up against the wall and quickly checking the wound.
“It will take time for Lord Ryan’s Horned Demon Heavy Cavalry to assemble. If we wait for them to arrive, it might be too late. Master?”
He turned to look at Xue Yin, only to find that she was already in motion.
Xue Yin turned and pulled a golden vial of antidote from the depths of the shelf, forcing it into the imp’s hand.
“This is a Universal Antidote. Take it first to neutralize the toxin. Leave the rest to us.”
The little imp looked at the golden bottle in his hand in shock, trembling as he tried to decline.
“My Lady? This… this is too valuable. I only paid for one healing potion.”
“Take it.”
Xue Yin’s tone brooked no argument.
She grabbed her White Wax Wood Amethyst Short Staff from the table, her gaze as firm as iron.
“Saving lives is more important than making money. Jin, let’s go!”
“Yes!”
Jin said no more.
With a flicker of his body, wind elements instantly wrapped around his feet.
He was the first to rush out the door with Xue Yin following closely behind.
With a light wave of her staff, the two of them turned into two streaks of light, heading straight for the forest outside the city.
—
In the forest outside the city, not far from the Amber Corridor, the interlacing branches and leaves exuded an oppressive gloom.
Any ordinary person would have long since lost their way in this labyrinthine forest.
But Xue Yin was different.
She stopped at a fork in the path and closed her eyes.
Her silver-white hair moved without the wind; as a High Elf, her soul possessed an innate gift for communicating with nature.
A moment later, several emerald-green birds flew out from the canopy and landed on her shoulders, chirping urgently as if conveying critical information.
“It is over there. Keep close to me.”
Xue Yin opened her eyes, her gaze piercing, and pointed toward the northeast for Jin.
Soon, a thick scent of blood wafted toward them.
In an open clearing in the woods, the scene was tragic.
Demon corpses lay scattered across the ground, covered in massive bite marks and black spiderwebs.
A Giant Poison Spider, as large as a small hill, sat perched in the center.
Its entire body was pitch black, its eight compound eyes flashed with a cruel red light, and the venom dripping from its mandibles hissed as it corroded the ground.
At the edge of the clearing, in a hollow of a steep rock wall, three surviving gathering team members were huddled tightly within a narrow crevice.
The Giant Poison Spider could not directly climb the smooth rock wall, so it kept watch below, continuously spraying sticky toxic silk in an attempt to drag them from their hiding place.
The moment Jin discovered the Giant Poison Spider, he locked onto his target.
Without a shred of hesitation, he bent his legs slightly and launched himself forward like a streak of light.
Relying entirely on extreme speed and explosive power, he went straight for the spider’s face.
The spider had just sensed movement and opened its massive maw to spray venom, only to see a dark shadow already before its eyes.
A dagger flashed with a cold light.
There were no flourishes, only the determination to strike a vital point as it buried itself deep into the soft flesh between the spider’s compound eyes.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, a faint black flame exploded violently within the spider’s cranium.
*Pfft!*
Following a muffled thud, the spider’s massive body went rigid before collapsing heavily to the ground, completely silenced.
From his appearance to the kill, it had taken only the blink of an eye.
Jin landed steadily, cutting the toxic silk trapping the three people in the crevice with a backhand strike, and pulled the shaken survivors to a safe area.
Meanwhile, Xue Yin chanted a low incantation, “Domain of Silence.”
Invisible ripples swept across the field with her at the center.
Her eyes suddenly brightened as her perception pierced through the visual blind spots.
“There is another survivor above, behind the vines at the top of the cliff. They are unconscious!”
“Copy that.”
Jin didn’t even look back.
His toes tapped against the rough rock wall a few times as his body took flight.
He reached the heights in an instant and steadily carried the hidden survivor down.
By the time Ryan Marces led the Horned Demon Heavy Cavalry through the brush and arrived, this was the scene they witnessed: the corpse of the Giant Poison Spider was still warm, and four survivors had been placed to the side, receiving preliminary care from Xue Yin and Jin.
*Rumble, rumble…* The heavy sound of hooves gradually came to a halt.
Ryan jumped down from his mount, a Gold-Eroding Beast, his crimson eyes filled with surprise and admiration.
“It seems we are a step late. You solved it this quickly? And you saved all the survivors as well.”
“We arrived just in time.”
Xue Yin stood up, her tone still calm.
“Lord, the scene needs to be cleared, and the injured need to be sent back for treatment immediately. The poisonous gas here is too thick; it is not suitable to stay for long.”
“Understood.”
Ryan snapped his fingers, and the Horned Demon soldiers and accompanying servitor demons behind him immediately went into action.
The Horned Demons silently carried the corpses, while several servitor demons skilled in purification magic surrounded the survivors, beginning to dispel the residual toxins from their bodies.
Ryan turned to look at Xue Yin, his gaze sweeping over the demon corpses that could not be saved, his expression solemn.
After a moment, he looked back at Xue Yin, his voice deep and sincere.
“I owe you both for this. If you hadn’t gone ahead, it is likely these remaining few would have met a grim end. After this, I will immediately issue an emergency commission at the Lord’s Manor and the town taverns to assemble professional adventurers for patrols. We must ensure the safety around the Amber Corridor. As of today, the reputation of ‘Moonlight and Flames’ is truly established in the Amber Corridor.”
He paused, his tone carrying an unquestionable promise.
“I will skip the pleasantries. I will keep this favor in my heart. In the future, as long as ‘Moonlight and Flames’ has a need within the Amber Corridor, the Horned Demon Heavy Cavalry will be at your disposal.”
Xue Yin nodded slightly, a warm current rising in her heart as her gaze swept over the rescued demons.
She turned to look at Jin beside her — the youth was carefully helping an injured person onto a stretcher, his profile looking exceptionally soft under the mottled shadows of the trees.
Those eyes, which used to be constantly downcast, were now focused and determined as they watched over life.
At that moment, the fog that had long lingered in Xue Yin’s heart cleared away slightly.
Perhaps, this was the ‘answer’ she had been searching for.
It did not require grand oaths, nor did she need to fret over the shackles of identity.
It was simply that when someone needed help, they could stand side by side, using their respective strengths to protect this land and the lives they both cherished.
This unspoken understanding had long since surpassed the relationship of master and apprentice.
—
The figures of Ryan, the Horned Demon Heavy Cavalry, and the injured had completely disappeared at the end of the forest path.
Xue Yin, however, was not in a hurry to leave.
She stood in place, facing the lush bushes, and let out a clear, melodious whistle.
“Chirp… Chirp-chirp!”
Responding to her were several lively, crisp cries.
The few emerald-green birds that had delivered the message seemed to understand the summons, flapping their wings and flying out from the depths of the canopy.
Without any fear, they traced several nimble green shadows and flew straight toward Xue Yin.
Xue Yin tilted her head slightly, her palm facing upward as several crystalline honey-syrup berries appeared out of thin air — special snacks she had made during her leisure time between alchemy sessions.
The little birds pecked at them joyfully, the syrup wetting the tips of their beaks, yet they did not fly away.
They circled excitedly around Xue Yin’s side, and two of the bolder ones folded their wings and landed lightly on her shoulder.
Their fluffy little heads rubbed affectionately against her cheek, leaving behind a faint itching sensation.
A shimmer of soft light, unlike any seen before, spread through Xue Yin’s eyes; it was a heartfelt love for fluffy creatures.
She tilted her head slightly, allowing that trust from nature to flow through her hair, and whispered softly, “Thank you for your hard work.”
Jin stood just a few paces away.
He had originally wanted to urge his master to return to the shop, but when the words reached his lips, they were frozen by the sight before him, turning into a very faint swallow in his throat.
At this time, the golden glow of the setting sun happened to pierce through the layers of leaves, dyeing her silver-white hair into a warm, flowing gold.
Every strand of hair was clearly visible in the backlight, as if gilded with a sacred, velvet edge.
The emerald-green birds flew up and down beside her, the flapping of their wings creating tiny air currents that stirred the dust in the beam of light.
It was as if the stars were surrounding the moon, making her look both real and illusory.
Jin’s heart contracted violently, followed by an intense throb of mixed soreness and heat that instantly surged through his entire body.
He reflexively held his breath, his gaze greedily tracing her profile: her trembling eyelashes, the faint pink tip of her ear from where the birds had rubbed against it, and that pure and completely relaxed smile at the corner of her mouth — one she had never shown to him.
‘I really want to reach out and touch her.’
This thought shrieked wildly in his mind, but in the end, he only tacitly and silently stepped back half a pace.
He allowed time to flow slowly through his fingertips, wanting only to let this moment of tranquility linger in his heart for one more second, and then another.
Until a evening breeze brushed past, making the leaves rustle.
The little birds seemed to sense the arrival of dusk and reluctantly flapped their wings toward the treetops, leaving behind a few crisp chirps of farewell.
Only then did Xue Yin withdraw her gaze, the light in her eyes gradually settling back into her usual clarity.
“Let’s go, Master.”
Jin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the emotions churning in his chest as he struggled to make his voice sound as steady as usual.
He lowered his eyes, not daring to look into her eyes again, fearing the heat he couldn’t hide within them would burn them both.
“It is getting dark. We should go home.”
Xue Yin gave a small smile and waved her sleeve to say goodbye to the birds on the branches, then naturally walked to his side and lightly patted Jin’s shoulder.
“Yes, let’s go home.”