Chapter 250 – Darkness (I)

Volume IV

Songs of Moon, Lake, and Eternity

Chapter 250

Darkness (I)

Should I accept the quest?

As with most things in this world, I really don’t know. I don’t think the system would generate a quest that leads to wind and fairy dust–so, the garden likely exists. The question is… do I see us wandering the forest for months searching for it if the hint turns out to be unhelpful?

Unlikely.

Then again, there really aren’t any other useful monthly quests that I can accept–not the ones that seem doable, anyway.

Eh. No need to accept it immediately. I’ll first get to the forest to see what it’s like and then reconsider it.

Speaking of forests, this one was quite thin, its canopy sort of like the balding man’s hairline–sure, if you comb it in one way and angle yourself in another, it does look like there’s a full shrub up there, but it’s all just pretend.

Going back into the tent, I realized that all the kids were cultivating, while Rayce seemed to be deeply studying my little gift to him.

Lao Shun, thankfully, didn’t bother any of them, finding a small corner toward the entrance and entrenching himself there, either meditating or just thinking.

Retreating to my little corner, I quickly realized I’m a bit too amped up still to go to sleep, so I decided to cultivate.

Honestly, I kind of need to make it a habit. Even if my talent isn’t otherworldly, it’s still not awful. With consistent work and a bit of the system’s assistance, I might even be able to keep up with the kids.

Okay, a lot of system’s assistance.

At some point, I actually managed to doze off, snapping myself awake at what I felt a moment later–only to realize it was now dawn. Just one of those feelings that make time feel more like a concept than a real, tangible thing.

The kids were all still inside the tent, but Lao Shun wasn’t.

Getting out, I found him tending to a big-ass cauldron–no, seriously, that thing could be used to make dinner for an entire village–tossing a few pinches of some herb and then stirring it.

“Ah, good morning,” he called out with a smile. “That may have been the first time I’ve seen a cultivator fall asleep like a baby.”

“… what are you doing?” I asked, ignoring his jab.

“I’ve spent the last night developing a rigorous regime,” he said. “To fully unlock the kids’ potential. This is me starting it.”

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“Oh.”

“Ha ha, don’t look so worried. The truth is that, as with most things in the path of cultivation, pills are a crutch; they can help and they can accelerate and they can even change one’s fate for the better, but, ultimately, they are still a crutch. Consuming them indiscriminately always leads to more harm than good. Don’t think of the boil in the cauldron as a pill–it’s more of a… drink?” Did this guy invent smoothies or something? “It’s nowhere near as potent as an actual pill, but it also doesn’t leave behind any toxins.”