1918 Fire-Veined Nettle

Alex met up with Zan Dashi outside of Liao Xumei's house, where he introduced Alex to the female disciple.

Liao Xumei was a beautiful woman with darker skin and light golden hair. Her orange pupils were quite stunning, and there were some indentations trying to poke out of the top of her forehead that she did not bother hiding.

Alex wondered if this girl had a demon bloodline in her. He wanted to ask, but he didn't feel it right to do so.

He could sense her strength, and it was apparent that she was in fact stronger than him, by a lot. She was surely toward the middle realms of the Immortal Origin realm.

Dark eyebrows rose slightly as the woman looked at Alex up and down. "You are the person he keeps talking about?" She gestured to Zan Dashi who stood to the side.

"I am Dawnblade, sister Liao," Alex said and bowed a little.

"You don't use your name," the girl said. "Are you trying to hide from something?"

Alex wasn't sure how he was to answer such a question. He stood somewhat stunned and speechless.

"Sister Liao, we should talk about why you requested junior brother Dawnblade's help." Zan Dashi's words cut through the awkward air and helped Alex not answer the question.

"My garden, yes. But are you sure he can help?" she asked.

"As I told you before, sister Liao. Young brother Dawnblade here knows a Dao specific to growing plants. He will be of great help to your garden."

The woman didn't say much. "Alright, come on in. Let me see if you can work or not."

Alex sighed internally. The girl was strong enough that her words could be disrespectful without actually disrespecting someone.

They arrived at the back garden, and Alex's eyes narrowed when he saw the plants there. Not only were they dying, but they were also completely different plants from what grew in the other gardens.

"These are not the same plants as what the others have," Alex said in passing.

"Top 100 disciples live in the better part of the sect, so the plants that grow there are the greedier types that demand more energy to grow," Zan Dashi explained.

"I left for 2 months for a mission and the mission I put up for someone to look after these plants was not taken during the time. I came back to find them like this. Can you help them?" the woman asked.

"I can certainly try."

Alex went up close and began checking the status of the plants one by one. Zan Dashi and the woman stood toward the back, watching Alex work.

After a while, Alex moved away from the garden. "Sister Liao, I'm sorry to say but your garden is in a much worse state than I had hoped for it to be. Saving it all would be… frankly impossible."

The woman's eyes narrowed and a frown took over her face. "Can you do nothing?" She asked. "Use your dao."

"My Dao is similar to a healing pill. It cannot help someone who is already dead," Alex said.

"Are you saying my poison plants are dead?"

"One of them is," Alex said, pointing to the red-leafed plant. "The Fire-veined nettle is completely dead. Its roots are destroyed, and cannot the revived. The leaves can be maybe used if harvested now, but they can't be helped either."

The woman's eyes narrowed. "What about the other plants?" she asked.

"They can be helped. I cannot guarantee a swift recovery, but recovery is possible for the rest of them," Alex said.

"So it is only the Fire-veined nettle that is in a sorry state?" she asked.

Alex nodded.

"Hah! Then why did you say saving it all was impossible?" she asked, exasperated.

"Because… I cannot save it all. The nettle is dead," Alex said. "Aren't I supposed to save all the plants? I hear that even a single dead plant is cause for punishment."

"It is, but a dead garden will give me way more trouble than a single dead plant. You can save the rest, can't you?"

"Yes," Alex nodded.

"Very well. Let's talk about compensation then," she said. "What do you want in return for doing that? Should I make this task into a mission?"

"That works," Alex said. "40 or 50 contribution points should be enough for me to bring this back to health."

The woman nodded. "I'll make it a 100. I will lose way more if I let it all die anyway," she said.

"That is very generous of you, Sister Liao."

"You did good, junior brother Zan. Thank you for bringing this brother to me."

"I'm happy to be of help."

Zan Dashi left, leaving Alex and the woman by themselves. Alex focused his attention on the plants while the woman just watched him work.

"How did you come to learn so much about plants? Were you a gardener to some strong cultivator?" she asked.

"No, I learned this over the years because I needed to learn how to grow plants properly," Alex said.

"Needed to?" the woman asked.

"I'm an alchemist by trade. Sometimes, there just aren't enough ingredients to make something. So, you have to grow it instead. I came to learn about growing and taking care of plants while doing so. I also ended up learning a Dao because of that."

The woman raised her dark eyebrows in surprise. "You're an Alchemist? Are you a good alchemist?' she asked.

"Uhh… I would say so," Alex said.

"What pills can you make?" she asked.

"I'd say any recipe I can get my hands on, but I have nothing to show for it. I only became an Immortal a year ago, and I joined this sect immediately afterward. I haven't been able to gather enough ingredients to make any pill as of yet."

The woman thought for a moment. "I have a proposal to make if you'll listen to it," she said.

"What proposal?" Alex asked.

"I have been wanting to get some pills made, and have managed to gather some ingredients. If you look after my garden until the next major ranking change, I will give one set of ingredients to you."

Alex narrowed his eyes. "How many sets of ingredients do you have?" he asked.

"I have about 5 sets. Normal alchemists want at least 3 to make a single pill, so I need as many as I can afford," she said. "Immortal ingredients are quite expensive too."

Alex nodded. "May I ask what sort of quality the pills you get made have?"

"I cannot afford good alchemists, so around 70%. If I'm lucky, it will be 75%."

"How about a counter-offer then, sister?" Alex asked. "Give me all 5 of those sets of ingredients and I will give you 3 pills in return, each above 70%."

Liao Xumei did not seem to register what Alex had said at first. It was only a second later that she violently shook her head.

"This is a very important pill for me. It's an antidote pill for a poison I intend to test on. It is not something I can take my chances on," she said.

"I will put this artifact of mine on the line for this deal," Alex said as he took out his ring. "3 pills, each 70% or higher. Make your decision, sister?"