Chapter 17 Dittany and Dà sǐ

Although he didn't know what the sword was, or if the reaction to him was a negative or a positive one Zhāng thought it would be at the very least a smarter idea to buy it then study it, especially with the relatively small amount of Huang that it cost.

Seeing that his analog-style watch showed 11:55 meaning he had 50 minutes till class started, he threw the sword to the back of his mind and began to restart his walk around the market. Although there were some interesting items that most likely were enchanted by the students making them weaker and less plentiful in possible enchants there were no worthwhile things from any of the student stalls– it was the stalls from the outside stores that actually caught the attention from the roaming students and Zhāng.

Like the swordsmith there were many collectible things like joke items a very popular genre of enchanted item, most of the time unpopular for the victim, as for usable items most of them were outside the market and in stores lining the street, places that were on the list to visit but due to time restraints Zhāng decided to go back to the academy as he always thought it better to be early than late.

Being five minutes early Zhāng walked into a half-empty classroom– picking the top left corner of the slopping seats Zhāng once again saw the uncharacteristically white-haired woman with a dragon on her back, this time she was sitting only one seat below him. Walking past her, he noticed her eyes boring a hole into him but paid no mind to it before sitting down and pulling out The Springs of Immortality by Yaoji Shi, Admittedly this was Zhāng worst subject and the one he read the least about even then the Asian work ethic brutally beaten into him by his mother and teachers made him read about 150 pages of the 400-page book.

After five minutes and 10 pages of the book the teacher stumbled in at a breakneck speed of a snail, and after another five minutes, the ancient fossil posing as a teacher finally made his way to the stand to teach.

"Good afternoon Children! My Song Yongzheng" he said in a great grandfatherly tone "Today we will learn about potions".

"Although admittedly boring in the first stages of learning, potions are arguably one of the most important aspects of the wizarding world, but there are a few safety quirks that will be taught first" He continued before looking at the crowd with a smile.

'Although he looks like vines would grow on him, this class may not be that bad' Zhāng thought with a pleasant smile.

"First rule, clothing, ultimately safety is most important in this class, therefore at all times you will wear dragon hide gloves, an dragon hide apron, and a hide shoe covering which will be handed out in the week when we start actually working with potions".

"Second rule, Cauldron, before use you will look for any nicks, indents, and damage if there is any damage then you can temporarily get a replacement from the storehouse while a new one is ordered".

"Third rule, Materials, with the giant funding all herbs and materials will be provided for free, meaning no matter how many times you fail you will still be able to finish the potion given you recognize your spots of failure and improve upon it".

"Fourth Rule, General safety, you will not under any circumstances leave your couldron until you finish the potion anyone who breaks this rule will be punished severely, additionally I hope you all have the common sense to not taste, touch, or sniff any ingredients or potions that either I have not given you permission to do so or that they are unknowns– Obviously there are exceptions to this rule as you learn the herbs of the world you will recognize what you can touch, dittany is an example, Dà sǐ is a perfect example of something you neither want to touch nor smell as only death would be your gain".

"And my final rule, absolutely No horseplay will be tolerated, and if you do it then I will have you thrown into the horse pens before they are cleaned" the old man ended with a more serious face before instantly changing to the happier go lucky grandfather look. With a wave of his wand, a herb appeared in front of the students just like the pouch of Huang the history teacher made appear.

Doing nothing nor saying anything most of the students obeyed Song's warning but there were a group of people who earned a small shock from the teacher's wand, "This is dittany a harmless herb that stimulates explosive growth of cells allowing for faster healing, making it very common in medical wards– it is perfectly ok to touch, taste and smell"

"Interestingly there are a few that use it as a wand core, although almost useless in a dueling focus it allows for better outcomes for healing spells" Song said before waving his wand again making the herb disappear before another took its place on a mat.

It was a dark brown that was common on a dead leaf, almost instantly a blue dome around the leaf appeared, "this is Dà sǐ a powerful herb that releases a fatal toxin, within a minute your brainstem would be permanently damaged paralyzing you, and in two your heart would stop beating and your brain would be incapable of sending signals through each neuron. after its victim was incapacitated the planet would slowly move to it then start to 'eat', not even magic would be able to save you from the third most deathly plant in the world".

"Luckily they are very picky in their habitat being found in Hainan and Sri Lanka, furthermore once picked their toxins are deadly still survivable if I got to you quick enough".