Once the night passed and it was morning, Han Li went out straight to the medicinal fields to observe the plants and see if there was any change.
He hadn’t even reached the field yet when he began to smell a rich medicinal fragrance.
Han Li was distracted for a moment and then realized. “Could it be…”
He couldn’t help but speed his pace up until he arrived at the plants that were emitting such a strong smell.
Just how big were these plants yesterday? Han Li, convinced he was still asleep, began to slap himself to force himself to wake up. It was only until his face began to sting that he realized he wasn’t dreaming.
“This Yellow Dragon Straw bush is slightly yellow, and the Bitter Lotus Flower unexpectedly has nine petals, all turned black!” Han Li couldn’t help but laugh and his heart was full of joy.
“This time I was truly lucky. Just a while ago, these plants were only about two years old and now it is like they are several decades old. They all changed drastically and, looking at the petals and fruits, they are definitely ready for harvest. This is not to mention this quality is even better than your uncommon herb.” Han Li stated confidently after inspecting the plants. He had unexpectedly gained such precious ingredients.
“If I could reliably promote the growth of herbs this way, then I could produce so many precious ingredients! Not only that, I could also sell them! Then I’ll be able to make a ton of silver back.” Han Li got excited and began to fantasize.
Han Li’s excitement grew larger and larger as he imagined what he would do with such wealth. This was just like picking gems off of the ground! He suddenly did a somersault on the ground and lost his composure. He began acting like a young, immature adolescent.
After a while, Han Li calmed down and regained his wits. He started to think. Although heaven had certainly dropped one large meat pie in his lap, he realized some of the problems that might come with it.
First, he knew that the external appearance of the plants was wonderful, but what about the essence of the plants? He still hadn’t tested them. After all, they absorbed that strange liquid, so only god knows how the effects could have changed. He had seen what happened to the rabbits yesterday, so it would be better to take some precautions.
Next was the mystery of the small bottle. He had already determined that it was poison, but he didn’t know if he could reproduce any more of that green liquid or if it was just a one time use. He would figure this out in the evening.
After confirming the effectiveness and the sustainability, he would be able to truly make his plans a reality with concrete stability.
If he couldn’t answer these questions, then the meat pie that he thought had fallen from the skies was nothing more than mist.
After thinking about this, Han Li got to work.
The first thing he did was go outside of the valley and back to the kitchen to ask the steward for two more rabbits. This time when he went to the steward, the steward was both happy and puzzled. This youngster was paying well for these rabbits, but why? Did he just want to personally slaughter them and cook them himself?
Han Li didn’t care about how others thought about his actions. This time, instead of leaving the hares in the medicinal fields, he tied them at the entrance to his house to observe.
He left to the medicinal fields,to carefully pick and harvest those rare plants. Returning home, he concocted a Bone and Muscle Enhancing Pill and mixed it with the rabbits’ favorite food. After preparing the food and feeding the rabbits, he watched for signs of poisoning.
After nothing happened, Han Li anxiously waited for night instead. To him, the day felt extremely long. When the moon rose, so did his hopes and expectations.
The instant the sky began turning dark, Han Li pulled the small bottle from his bag and placed it on the ground. Impatient beyond belief, he intensely hoped that the bottle would change.
15 minutes and the bottle did nothing.
30 minutes and the bottle did nothing.
45 minutes….
Han Li’s heart began to sink. He desperately continued waiting, even until daybreak, but still nothing changed.
He was thoroughly dejected. Could it have been that this bottle was a one time use? Would he no longer be able to use it from now on?
However, he forced himself to be optimistic as he looked around in all four directions.
“Nothing suspicious is happening at all,” Han Li mused.
He stared blankly for a moment and then lifted his head up to the heavens. In the black sky, he saw nothing.
“The sky is quite dark today.”
Suddenly, a realization crashed through his mind.
“Don’t tell me that because it’s cloudy, that one cannot see either the stars or the moon, it won’t work?” Han Li recalled that he had witnessed the phenomenon of the bottle on a clear night. That time, the stars and moon were extremely bright. Right now, however, it was quite gloomy and the sky was covered by thick, black clouds.
Hopes raised as he considered this, he took the bottle inside to wait for the sky to eventually clear up.
Unexpectedly and unfortunately, for the next half a month, the moon did not once show even half of its face as rain persistently fell.
Seeing the rain, Han Li became gloomier and his urgency to experiment increased. He was beyond anxious about the weather. It was incessantly pouring, and showed no sign of stopping.
He turned around to look inside of his room and saw the two happy rabbits frisking about. Though the matter of the bottle depressed him, the rabbits were a different matter. Not only did they survive thus far, their vitality seemed to have increased significantly. Even after ten days of scrutiny, they still showed no signs of illness or poisoning. After eating the Bone and Muscle Enhancing Pill, they had become yet more robust.
This result was not only good, but it made Han Li extremely happy. However, he still worried about his losses, and he couldn’t calm down. He wasn’t sure if the bottle was useless from this point on. All of his plans rested on the single hope that this bottle would be able to work again, but they had been suddenly thwarted by the unpredictable weather. Ah, this truly made Han Li miserable!