Chapter 52: The Flower of Light

Rayan pushed open a narrow crack in the iron gate and quietly entered Morien's residence.

The courtyard was peaceful and silent, and not a single light could be seen in the three rooms.

The room on the left was the alchemy laboratory, where Rayan always received new assignments from Morien, so there was no need for further investigation. The room on the right was probably the storage room, where the potent recovery potions and weakening potions were taken from, and also did not require investigation.

It was only the middle room that was most mysterious, as Morien always tried to conceal something whenever he entered or exited.

Rayan slowed his pace, held his breath, and approached the middle room. Gently lifting the black curtain, the blue magical candlelight inside immediately cast light outwards.

He instinctively shrank back his foot, not feeling anything unusual, and then quickly dashed inside.

The blue magic candle flickered slightly, as if silently protesting against this uninvited guest.

Using the candlelight, Rayan quickly scanned the room, but did not find any trace of Morien.

The room looked normal, just like an ordinary household. Wall decorations, tables, chairs, beds—everything a home should have was all neatly organized, in stark contrast to the clutter of the left-side alchemy laboratory.

For a moment, Rayan furrowed his brows and stood frozen in place, thinking he had entered the wrong room. It didn't look at all like the secret room Morien would hide something in; it seemed more like a place filled with memories of him and Yin Lisha.

But could it really be that simple?

Rayan walked to the bed and touched the cold bedding.

No one had slept in it. But the bedding was clean and dust-free, as if it was regularly washed and tidied.

He then turned and walked to the table, touching the surface, which also bore no dust.

Could this really just be a place of memories? Was Morien so anxious just to keep dust from settling on his happy memories?

Rayan decided to leave the room to avoid unnecessary trouble. He walked to the door, just about to lift the black curtain, but suddenly stopped, his calm expression turning exceedingly grave.

He paused only for half a second, then turned and walked back to the bed, reversed his steps again, and finally stopped over a loose floorboard.

He gently stomped his foot, and the stone floor emitted a hollow thud. He tried a few other floorboards, and the sound was completely different.

So that was it!

Rayan gave a cold smile, bent down, and found the gap in the loose floorboard, forcefully lifting it up. A foul stench immediately surged up from the dark hole beneath the floor.

Rayan quickly held his breath, but the foul odor still forced him back several steps. He didn't think much, grabbed the magic candle from the table, and jumped directly into the dark hole.

The cave was dark and damp, unevenly hewn, clearly not crafted by a real artisan. Rayan guessed it must have been dug out by Morien himself, and perhaps the other end of the cave was Yin Lisha's grave.

But he soon realized he was terribly wrong...

At the end of the cave was an area as large as three rooms, filled with unknown potions, conduits—and emitting a foul stench, the bodies.

Rayan covered his nose and mouth, walking past each of these bodies. Nearly none were intact; some were missing heads, some arms or legs, others were missing their organs...

The bodies were all stiff and pale, as if they had been dead a long time, but something seemed to slow the decay, keeping their ferocious appearances intact.

Rayan continued forward, looking for traces of Morien, but the sight ahead nearly made him vomit. He saw human bodies sewn onto the bodies of other animals; half a person was stitched onto a horse, two legs were sewn onto a fish...

Disgusting!

Rayan's face turned steely, his stomach clenching in spasms, intense anger making him involuntarily draw his black giant sword, gather up Battle Qi, and strike forcefully at the ground. The entire cave shook, small stones fell from the walls, but the cave did not collapse.

Rayan again raised the black giant sword high, but then heard a mournful sigh from behind the dark shadows.

"Enough, let it end here."

Morien stepped out from the shadows, his originally pale face under the dim magic candlelight appeared even more morbid. "I must admit, you are the smartest, most talented person I've ever seen in my life, to be able to bring back the alchemy toolbox so quickly and even find my secret cave. But if you continue smashing, I'm afraid even you will be buried here."

Rayan realized he should not be so impulsive, he slowly put down the black giant sword, panting as he stared at Morien, trying to calm his racing heart.

"Why? Why do you do these filthy things?"

"Filthy?" Morien gave a cruel laugh. "That's because you're too young and don't understand this world. Take alchemy for example—the first alchemist in history was a murderous tyrant. To test his potion theories, he first poisoned his family, then his friends, and finally, he killed tens of thousands of innocents, all to develop this technology that benefits humanity. Over the past three thousand years, countless humans have been cured and saved by alchemy, and the deaths of those tens of thousands are a trivial price to pay. Besides, the potent recovery potion you drink is proven through the deaths of those thousands. You call me filthy, but I want to ask you, in this filthy world, who can be completely pure?"

"So you just go with the flow, using even dirtier methods to prove you're still part of this world?"

Rayan shouted, unable to hold back his anger, and once again lifted the black giant sword.

"Put the sword down." Morien sighed. "I'm just a powerless alchemist; you don't need that clumsy sword to kill me. Honestly, Rayan, I admire you. If it weren't for our ill-fated relationship, I would definitely repay the debt you owe to Duke, and pass on all my alchemical knowledge to you. With your intelligence, you could become the youngest and most talented alchemical legend in the history of the Auroria Continent."

"I don't care for it." Rayan said coldly. "And what I owe Duke isn't something that can be repaid with money alone."

Morien sadly nodded. "You're a man of deep feelings, and so am I. It's a pity, though, that we meet on the same path but must go in different directions. Your future is bound for glory, while I am destined to enter the grave."

Rayan immediately understood Morien's last remark. "You plan to enter Yin Lisha's grave to resurrect her again, right?"

"No, I just mean that I'll soon be dead..." Morien's voice trembled, not with fear, but with excitement. His lips curled slightly, and his grey eyes sparkled. "Come, let's finish this tedious task. You hand over the alchemy toolbox, I'll give you the Moon Demon Grass, and we can each go our own way."

Rayan took the alchemy toolbox from behind him but was not in a hurry to hand it to Morien. "Moon Demon Grass."

Morien smiled faintly and pulled out a transparent container from his wide sleeves. The container held a black-petaled plant with a naturally glowing core, looking like the moon in the night sky.

"The Holy Light Sisterhood intentionally named it Moon Demon Grass to mislead others, making them think it's a herb, but in fact, it's a flower, a flower that blooms light in the darkness. You know? There are too many falsehoods in the daylight; the light at night is the real light."

Morien looked tenderly at the Moon Demon Grass in his hand as if looking at his own child. "This world is full of lies, and many truths are hidden. Darkness is not darkness, light is not light; I hope when you have the capacity to understand them, you'll remember my advice."

He handed over the Moon Demon Grass, "One hand exchanges the Moon Demon Grass..."

"One hand exchanges the toolbox," Rayan replied, then handed the alchemy toolbox to Morien.

"And then... let go simultaneously."

Morien felt Rayan relax his grip on the alchemy toolbox, and likewise, he released the Moon Demon Grass.

Rayan quickly put the Moon Demon Grass into his bag, his icy black eyes fixed on Morien.

Morien opened the alchemy toolbox, his grey pupils suddenly narrowed. "My... my things, where are they?!"

He frantically turned the toolbox upside down, then finally slammed it hard on the ground, his pale face showing twisted purple veins. "Rayan! Give back the things that were in the box!"

Rayan's lips curved into a wicked smile. "You only asked for the alchemy toolbox, you never mentioned anything about what's inside."

"You..." Morien trembled all over. "You don't understand, you don't realize what you've taken! If you're not careful, you could destroy the entire Auroria Continent!"

"I know." Rayan said flatly. "What I've taken is the potion you used to resurrect Yin Lisha. Give up, alchemist. Your love has already transcended natural laws; you've already experienced one tragedy, do you really not realize and want to see Yin Lisha nailed into a coffin as an evil being again?"

"No... don't mention..." Morien collapsed in pain on the ground. "I just want to save my wife, I don't care what she becomes, I don't care..."

"Give up, alchemist." Rayan said, holding up the black giant sword and standing beside Morien. "This is my final warning. Give up. If you still don't see reason, I will cut off your head."

"No, I will not give up..." Morien lifted his tear-streaked face, his weak voice suddenly becoming as harsh as a winter night: "I not only want to resurrect my wife, but I also want to take revenge on the entire Dusk Village, making them pay for harming Yin Lisha!"

Rayan shook his head in disappointment and slowly raised the black giant sword. "Alchemist, you still have a chance to defend yourself."

"Defend?" Morien's mouth twisted into a sinister arc. "My only reason to live is this: everyone who hurt my wife must die!"

"Defense is..." Before the black giant sword could fall, a strong wave of dizziness suddenly knocked Rayan to the ground!