Chapter 228 - Secret Recipe (2/2)

“Mr Mage, I’m not trying to boast here, but I can get you any herbs that you want…” Shaun was less afraid of Lin Li after some conversation. In particular, Lin Li had conquered Shaun’s heart when he took out his crystal card and drew 50,000 gold coins from it.

That was 50,000 gold coins…

Back when he was selling magical beast cubs at the black market, he had to take several fat beatings, and it was not always possible to get the 50,000 gold coins. The money had come too easily this time. He could earn 50,000 gold coins just by spending two weeks in the Nightmare Mountains picking flowers and herbs. Where was he going to find such a good business?

Sparks flew before Shaun’s eyes when he received the 50,000 gold coins. He could no longer care about how dangerous the young mage was. He a.s.sured the latter that he could get him any kinds of herbs he wanted.

“For real?” Lin Li looked at him with some skepticism.

“Of course.”

“In that case, get me some Dragon Eye Flower. I’ll buy them for 10,000 gold coins if you really do get them.”

“10… 10,000!” Shaun almost teared up.

“Mhm, 10,000.” Lin Li nodded. Among the ingredients for the Elemental Arche, the Heart Of Corrosion, Dragon Eye Flower, and Leaf of the Origin Tree were the hardest to find. The Heart Of Corrosion would have to count on Mr Hammer. In case of the Leaf of the Origin Tree, he could probably get them from the Pharmacists Guild—wasn’t there the Leaf of the Origin Tree in the Catalytic Potion earlier on? As for this Void Flower, he’d have to depend on luck. If this fat bandit could really be of some help to him, 10,000 gold coins wasn’t expensive at all.

That was something that could directly enhance a mage’s strength.

If he could really concoct it, he was sure that neither the other mages nor Kevin’s friend would find the price too high.

“I’ll think of something…” Shaun nodded agitatedly. 10,000 gold coins for a stalk of Dragon Eye Flower was a huge sum. Even if it was a risky trip, he could only take it.

“Mhm, give me a reply soon.”

While they were discussing the details, Balbo came down the stairs with Old Grimm. The old man was sharp-eyed; he’d spotted Lin Li sitting in the corner from a distance. After showing a smile as a greeting, he made a covert gesture, seemingly asking Lin Li to come over for a talk.

Lin Li returned the smile and nodded to Old Grimm from the distance, indicating that he had accepted the invitation.

“Morning, everyone.” Balbo was beaming with smile. He saved all the greetings after entering the guild hall, and went straight to the point. “I believe everyone is anxious after all the waiting, so I’ll cut to the chase.

“It’s like that. Three months ago, the Pharmacists Guild discovered a High Elves relic. We were lucky to find four lost formulas. We’ve managed to work out three. However, we still can’t make head nor tail of the last formula after three months. That’s why we called for this discussion. All of you are experienced pharmacist. I believe that we’ll be able to work out the last formula with your knowledge of pharmaceutics.”

“President Balbo, what exactly is the formula?” Balbo’s voice had just fallen when a plump middle-aged pharmacist stood up from the crowd. “Could you bring it out for us to have a look?”

Out of the over hundred pharmacists in the guild hall, at least 90 of them had come for the mysterious formula. The middle-aged pharmacist got the approval of everyone when he opened his mouth.

For a while, the pharmacist’s guild was in a clamor. Everyone was urging Balbo to bring out the formula as soon as possible.

Balbo was on friendly terms with that fatty. He wasn’t angry at the fatty’s attempt to create a stir. He merely laughed, and cracked a joke. “Haha, Hoffman, I haven’t seen you in a long time. You haven’t lost all that meat, but your temper’s getting more and more impatient…”

Balbo’s voice had just fallen when there was a burst of laughter from below.

“Hahaha…”

“Hoffman, are you over 200 kg now?”

“Hoffman, I heard that your wife has given birth to a daughter recently. Is your daughter as fat as you?”

“Shut up, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. I’ll get someone to poison your food sooner or later!”

“Hahahaha…”

n.o.body took Hoffman’s words seriously, and they continued laughing. Everyone knew that the middle-aged fatty had the best temper among the pharmacists in the entire Felan Kingdom. They had known him for decades, and n.o.body had ever seen the middle-aged fatty fly into a rage.

“Alright…” Balbo waited until the crowd had enough of laughing before turning to Old Grimm, saying, “Burnside, you can start by writing down the formula.”

“Okay.”

Old Grimm nodded and took out a pen from his pocket. Then, he had someone bring him a huge parchment, which he laid out on the table.

“Shoo, shoo, shoo…” The sound of the pen tip scratching against the paper sounded, and the hall fell into silence. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the huge parchment. They wanted to see just what kind of secret was contained in the formula that even the Pharmacists Guild couldn’t work out.

Strange symbols appeared one after another as the pen tip danced along on the parchment. Balbo took on the role of a commentary at a side. “In order to present the original formula, Burnside has written it in High Elves Print. But all of you here are experienced pharmacists; it should not be too hard to decipher High Elves Print.”

Old Grimm had written numerous runes as Balbo explained.

Lin Li was frowning all the time. He was an experienced pharmacist, yes. But it was as hard for him to recognize the High Elves Print as it was for a man to give birth. In order to find out what Old Grimm had written, he had to turn to Andoine, the authority on the High Elves, for help.