40 The Song of Life (1/2)

The actual making of [Bloodlust] didn't take too much time, but it did require absolute attention. The processing stage started off similar to how any other herb would be processed. The component parts had their essences extracted

As Li set aside a clean bowl and wiped down dirty beakers and flasks, Iona got to work, using a small paring knife to cut the goblin grass tubes into quadrants. The flesh inside was gooey and green, not unlike mucus, and stank of rotten eggs.

Iona took the clean bowl and crushed the quadrants above it, letting the mucus-like juices ooze in. She did this over and over again until all the bowl was almost full and the tubes were fully crushed to a pulp. She gathered the crushed tubes in a pile and passed it over to Li.

Without taking a breath, she moved back to the bowl now full of the gooey goblin grass juice. She took a stirring rod and vigorously circled it through. At first, the thick liquid resisted, but with enough stirs, it broke apart into a smoother consistency.

Li nodded and took the pile and carefully tossed it into the cauldron's fire. The tubes burst into green flames and toxic fumes smelling of dead fish began to waft through the stall.

”Up the pace before the tubes burn too much,” said Li as he used his bare finger to poke around the burning coals and tubes. The tubes didn't burn quickly, their durable flesh blistering and browning but not blackening. Once they blackened, the goblin grass extract had to be put in the cauldron.

”Yes, yes.” Iona stirred even faster, and the extract became as thin as water. She kept stirring as even a second without it meant the extract would solidify back into its mucus-like form, and it was unusable in that state.

Li kept a careful eye on the burning tubes. He saw the first hints of black creep up on their flesh, and he turned to Iona. She was already there, the bowl of extract extended forwards. He gave her an acknowledging nod before dumping the contents into the cauldron and stirring.

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This began extraction. By boiling the liquid, reducing its volume, and also imbuing it with the smoke of the tubes, it removed many impurities and yielded an extract that had concentrated magical energy within.

Like this, the two continued to make the batch of [Bloodlust]. Li mostly acted on his own, focusing entirely on recalling facts he had memorized. He did what he remembered to do at the time, and what he couldn't give his full attention to, Iona instantly recognized and covered for him.

Although Li gave out commands here and there, it was more for him to familiarize himself with everything – Iona already knew what to do. In a way, it was she that was leading the process, taking over whatever Li was not doing and allowing him to hone his skills at his own pace.

Soon enough, they started on purification, which was the easiest part of it all. All they had to do was put the extract into beakers and mix them with water. Once they did that, they just had to let it sit for a few hours. The remaining impurities would just settle at the bottom of the beaker and could be strained out.

”A little celandine would be nice,” said Li as he gazed at the foggy green liquid in the beakers. ”One petal of their flowers for each of these beakers would make a much purer product.”

Iona glanced at Li, a little surprised. ”Shall I provide some?”

Li waved his hand. ”No use going to the market right now. Plus, the old man doesn't have a lot of coin. Once the first batches here start selling and the money comes rolling in, you can go buy some general supplies. Non-magical herbs, a jar of blood, tar, bark, and so on.”

”I shall do that, yes, but there is another way for the celandine.” Iona opened her palm and held it towards Li. Sure enough, a shoot grew and branched into several little yellow flowers.

Li blinked. ”Right, I forgot you could do that.”

”We.” Iona corrected him. ”And you can do far more than this. You must simply get into the habit of thinking yourself capable.”