Chapter Twenty-Five: Planting Success

Chapter Twenty-Five: Planting Success

The next morning, as soon as Eli Mason woke up, he headed towards the herb garden to check on the changes in the plants.

Before he even reached the herb field, a strong fragrance of various herbs filled his nostrils.

Eli paused, his curiosity piqued. "Could it be..."

He quickened his pace and finally arrived at the herbs emitting the strong aroma.

Were these the same herbs from yesterday? Eli couldn't believe his eyes. He slapped his slightly sleepy face several times until he felt some pain, confirming he wasn't dreaming.

"The Yellow Dragon Grass leaves have turned slightly purple, the Bitter Lotus has nine petals, and the Forget-Worry Fruit's skin has turned black. Haha! Haha!" Eli couldn't hold back his excitement. Even someone usually calm couldn't help but laugh aloud at this moment.

"I've hit the jackpot! These herbs, which were only a year or two old yesterday, have matured into plants that seem to be ten years old overnight. The color of the leaves, the shape of the fruits, the fragrance of the petals, all match the descriptions of mature, rare herbs." Eli carefully examined the herbs, confirming they matched the descriptions in the herbology books, proving they were indeed valuable, aged medicinal herbs.

"If I can use this method to accelerate the growth of herbs, I can have as many precious herbs as I want! And what I don't use, I can sell to others, making a fortune." Eli's excitement grew, and his imagination ran wild.

The more Eli thought about it, the more thrilled he became. He felt like he had stumbled upon a treasure. Suddenly, he somersaulted several times on the ground, expressing his joy like any other teenager.

After a long while, Eli calmed down and regained his usual sharpness, considering the challenges of harnessing this newfound fortune.

First, although these herbs seemed fine on the surface, their medicinal properties needed to be tested. They had absorbed the strange liquid, and who knew if they had mutated? He had witnessed the rabbits' tragic fate firsthand and knew caution was paramount.

Second, the mysterious green liquid in the vial was used up. He needed to check if it would regenerate more drops or if it was a one-time phenomenon.

If both issues were resolved, he still needed to understand the exact process and steps to control this miraculous growth method.

With these considerations in mind, Eli devised a plan of action.

He first went to the large kitchen outside the valley and bought two more gray-haired rabbits from the manager. The manager, while happy to make the sale, was puzzled by Eli's repeated purchases of live rabbits. Did the boy plan to practice cooking by killing rabbits himself?

Eli didn't care what others thought. This time, he tied the rabbits outside his room instead of in the herb garden to observe them more closely.

He then carefully harvested the accelerated herbs, making several potent medicinal preparations. Mixing the medicine into the rabbits' favorite food, he fed them three times a day to test if the herbs were toxic.

With everything set up, Eli anxiously awaited nightfall. As the hours dragged on, he felt the time pass excruciatingly slowly until darkness finally descended as he had hoped.

As soon as night fell, Eli rushed outside, placed the vial on the ground, and watched intently for any changes.

After fifteen minutes, the vial showed no signs of change.

After thirty minutes, still nothing.

Forty-five minutes passed...,

As time ticked by, Eli's heart sank lower. By dawn, the vial remained unchanged.

He was utterly dejected. Was the vial truly a one-time-use item, or had he done something wrong?

Eli forced himself to stay awake and surveyed his surroundings.

"Nothing suspicious, except for the darkness," he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, he stopped. Looking up at the sky, he saw it was overcast. "Darkness..." The word triggered a realization.

"Could it be the cloudy weather, with no visible stars or moon?" Eli recalled that the vial's previous changes had occurred on clear nights with visible stars and the moon. Today was overcast, with heavy clouds covering the sky.

Feeling slightly encouraged, Eli decided to wait for a clear night before trying again.

However, to Eli's dismay, the following two weeks brought continuous drizzling rain, preventing any clear nights. The weather showed no signs of clearing up, further frustrating Eli.

Watching the persistent rain, Eli grew increasingly agitated. The more he wanted clear weather, the more it seemed to rain incessantly without any hint of stopping.

Looking back at the two rabbits sheltering from the rain inside his room, Eli felt even more frustrated. The rabbits, lively and energetic, seemed healthier than ever after eating the mixed medicinal food. Over the past ten days, Eli had carefully observed them, ensuring they showed no signs of poisoning. Instead, they had grown stronger, benefiting from the potent medicine.

The positive results didn't cheer Eli up but made him anxious. The key to everything now lay in whether the vial could produce more green liquid, and the relentless bad weather was delaying this crucial answer, leaving Eli extremely frustrated.