Zara dragged her exhausted body to her room, the room had a queen-size bed at the center. Bouquets on the right side of the bed. A stool was placed in front of the bed with a lamp.
she was dead tired. She had just finished sorting all the numerous books and materials they received from the nobles.
Zara sat down on the bed, with her eyes closed, cultivating unwillingly. Thomas had made it compulsory for her to cultivate three hours at night before resting.
She had yet to go deep inside her cultivation, suddenly, her ear twitched. She frowns her face with her eyes closed. "What's that sound?" She thought.
The light sound of a footstep approaches her room. She withdraws her sword from her storage ring and positions it beside her.
The sound continued to get louder, Zara's heartbeat started beating in great tempo, moreover, she was unable to concentrate on her cultivation.
Zara noticed she could not hear the footsteps, she opened her eyes, and there stood a person dressed in black clothes from head to toe together with a hat obscuring the face.
Shocked with wide-eyes, "What the hell?" She whispered.
she regains her bearing in a swift motion.
Zara did not squander her chances, she picked the sword, stood up, and pointed her sword to the person in front of her.
"Who are you?" She challenged in a low voice, posing a sword stance.
The intruder did not utter any word, she placed her hands at the edge of her hat while removing it in slow motion.
Inquisitive, Zara stares at the intruder with a narrow gaze, following the intruder's every action.
Finally, the intruder removed the hat, there stood a gorgeous young maiden with an innocent look, glossy red hair, red cherry lips, and smooth skin. She blinks while looking at Zara.
"What!"
Dumbfounded, Zara yelled in her head meanwhile her mouth was wide open forming '0'.
"I'm RED LOTUS," the intruder said in a low pleasant voice. "Sorry for coming in like that"
Recovering from her dazed, Zara withdrew the sword meanwhile, she did not let down her guard.
"Why did you enter like that? You scared the shit out of me." Zara complains.
"Sorry, I mean no harm." Red lotus conveyed, she had her gaze on the floor while she fidgeted with the hat. "I don't know how to see the legendary alchemist without being seen"
"Oh!" Zara narrows her gaze. "Why?, Have you done something bad?"
"No, no" red lotus shakes her head. "I had my reason for avoiding others. Please don't ask me why" she pleaded.
Meanwhile, Thomas had already entered the room the minute red lotus entered. He stood behind her without making a sound. Also, Zara had been performing according to the flow with a relaxed mentality.
All of a sudden, Thomas inquired "Should we reckon your word?"
Hearing a voice from her back while she does not know when the person got there.
Red lotus was frightened, she gasped, she turned back quickly. She stared at Thomas panicking.
Thomas walked and sat on the bed. He looked at her calmly. "Relax I mean you no harm moreover, I don't need to hear the reason why you sneak in during the middle of the night."
Also, Zara sat beside Thomas when she witnessed the turn of events.
Hearing that, Red lotus breathed a sigh of mitigation.
"Thank you." She said while she bowed slightly.
"What do you need? I know you took a huge risk coming to the legendary alchemist" Thomas asked.
"Yes, but I had to. I need an antidote for a poison" she stares at Zara.
"What type of poison?" Zara questioned.
"I don't know?"
"You don't know?" Zara looked at her with wide-eye, dumbfounded. "Are you serious?"
"Yes" nodding, "But I can tell you the symptoms." She stares at Zara nervously at the same time she has tears in her eyes.
Seeing Zara keeping quiet she started trembling.
"Please don't tell me you can't make the antidote without seeing the infected person because I can't bring the person. I had already asked all the alchemists but it all turned futile. You are my last hope"
The tear flowed down from her eyes while she started sobbing.
"Tell us the symptoms," Thomas said with an emotionless face.
Red lotus looked at Thomas with a narrow gaze. "Who is this person?" She thought.
Noticing the way Red lotus looks at Thomas, Zara frowned her face. Furious, "Will you behave yourself before I send you out? Hmm," Zara said in a cold voice while raising her eyebrows.
"Hmm"
Astonished, she quickly averts her gaze. "Sorry"
"Just answer him," Zara smirked.
Red lotus nodded quickly.
She wasted no time in telling the symptoms to Thomas.
Thomas kept quiet after listening to the symptoms, lost in his thought while Zara remained patient and quiet. Meanwhile, Red lotus eyeballs kept moving from Zara to Thomas confused.
"Is he an alchemist?"
Thomas stood up in a jiffy, "Follow me" he pointed at Red lotus "wait here."
Thomas left the room while Zara followed without hesitation.
Red lotus was left there dumbfounded and confused with wide eyes.
Concurrently, In another room, Thomas sat on a chair with a lot of books on the table while he kept on skimming from one book to others, jotting a few words in a new book. Meanwhile, Zara stood frozen beside him with her eyes glued on Thomas.
Eventually, after twenty minutes, Thomas stopped the skimming. He took the book he had jotted down and looked at it for a moment. He thought out loud. "This should work"
"What should work?" Zara asked.
"Never mind"
Without further ado, Thomas collected all the books on the table inside his storage ring while placing ten different medicinal herbs on the table.
In a swift motion, Thomas brought out his cauldron while making a pill fire with his essence spirit, warming the cauldron.
Moreover, being in the essence building realm, his essence spirit is stronger than cultivators in the bodybuilding realm. So, his pill refining is faster.
Thomas started putting the herbs inside the cauldron after warming it for thirty minutes.
Fail!
Fail!
Fail!
Fail!
Success!
Success!
Success!
Eventually, Thomas stopped concorting after he had succeeded three times. He exhales.
Thomas stared at the nine blue top ranks 2 pills in his hand, his mouth twitched. Meanwhile, Zara who had been quiet all this while could not hold her curiosity any longer.
"Lordmaster, what are these pills," she asked.
"Hmm, the antidote for the poison."
Hearing that, Zara was flabbergasted, her jaw dropped. She rolled her eyes. "How did you know how to make the antidote without seeing the victim?"
"Use your head, didn't she tell us the symptoms, hmm? I create the pills based on the symptoms"
She nodded with wide eyes.
"But how do you know it will work? Have you seen the poison or antidote before?"
Thomas smirked "Do you think over one thousand years of history the empire has, is for fun, hmm? There is nothing people make now that you can't find the reference in the book if you read."
"You used a reference to make these pills"
Thomas nodded.
"Enough of the question. Take these and give them to her. When we get back to the academy you must be able to tell me the herbs I use in creating these pills"
He gave her two pills.
Zara frowned "How can I know the herbs you use." She asked.
"That's your problem, you know what will happen if you fail"
Zara shivers at the thought of what will happen.
Thomas walked out of the room while Zara followed him in trepidation.
Meanwhile, Red lotus had been pacing to and fro in the room biting her lips while glancing at the entrance.
Finally, Thomas and Zara walked inside. She approached them, "Please tell me there is a solution" Red lotus asked with a trembling voice.
Zara gave her the pills "Yes, there is. These are the antidotes, used both after a three days interval."
Red lotus collected the pills with trembling hands. "Thank you, thank you," she sobbed.
"Don't thank me, thank him. He is the one that helps you out."
"Thank you" she appreciated
"Never mind." Thomas declared.
"How much should I pay you. Even though I may not be able to afford it, I'm ready to do anything." Red lotus declared.
Zara had a beautiful smile on her lips when she heard. "Since it is to save lives, it's free."
"What!"
Stunned, she opened her mouth wide.
Zara nodded "Now go, use it to save life."
Calming herself down, Red lotus bowed. She stared at them while she put on her hat and left quickly.
*************************
Early in the morning, the sky is still opaque making it difficult to see ahead. Fogs and dews everywhere, the indistinct sound of frogs, insects, the chiming of leaves fills the morning.
Two people sneaked out of a tent donning black clothes with hoods. They escape with great speed. These people are Thomas and Zara, leaving the red sparrow in the darkness of the early morning.
After travelling for five hours, they reached the DRY LEAVE MOUNTAIN. Moving on the dry leave Mountain path, Zara and Thomas were vigilant of their surroundings.
Unexpectedly the horse stopped, the horse nigh while Thomas and Zara withdrew their sword.
All of a sudden, seven black men appeared.