Todd wasn't entirely familiar with the ways men courted women in his past life, but he knew a thing or two. However, Haskins's tactic of throwing money at a woman when she wasn't home and running off was something he'd never heard of before.
However, at this moment, the person involved is the one who is most depressed.
Just as he thought he had secretly finished everything and was humming a tune on his way home, Huggins looked as if he had seen a ghost, watching familiar faces slowly rise from beside the rocks, from the bushes, and from behind the fence.
"you……"
The man was a little confused, unsure of what to say next.
Todd walked up to him and gave him a complicated look.
The man instantly realized he was overthinking it: "Those are my wife and daughter."
The monk's eyes widened.
Huggins started walking, saying, "Let's talk as we walk."
The group embarked on their journey back to the monastery.
The man slowly told Todd his story.
The Huggins family originated in the northern swamps of the Falling Star Mountains, where their ancestors made a living by catching rats. A strange disease has been passed down through generations in the family: regardless of gender, adults develop a black miasma emanating from their hands and feet that can poison living creatures.
By the time it came to Huggins' generation, the situation was getting worse. His hands gradually turned black and withered, his muscles lost their vitality, his nerves gradually became paralyzed, and toxic gases even penetrated the thick gloves and were released into the air.
The man had a daughter soon after getting married, whom he cherished dearly. They should have been a happy family, but when their daughter was one year old, she fell into a coma due to a high fever. Huggins took his daughter to doctors everywhere, but her condition showed no improvement. Desperate, the man went to the San Sidlow Monastery to pray for divine intervention.
At that time, he met Master Myris.
The other person examined the patient and told him an unbearable truth. The real cause of his daughter's illness stemmed from a curse on his family, and the only way for the child to grow up healthy was to keep Huggins as far away from her as possible.
This is a painful choice.
Harkins staged an accident to create the illusion of death, watched his coffin sink into the earth from afar, and listened to the heart-wrenching cries of his wife and daughter. The man then chose to turn around and walk into his own 'purgatory'.
It was only occasionally, like this, that he would secretly give the money he had saved through frugality to his wife and daughters...
After hearing the story, Todd stared at Huggins' profile, lost in thought. People mostly only see the power and glamour of those with superpowers, rarely paying attention to what they've lost or sacrificed.
Everyone wants to gain power, but very few are prepared to bear the potential negative consequences.
The monk touched his eyes and asked softly, "Huggins, if I told you that you could live like a normal person with your wife and daughters, but you would be taking on enormous risks, would you be willing?"
The man stopped, put his hands on Todd's shoulders, and said with unprecedented seriousness, "If I could hold my daughter in my arms again, I would give anything, even my life..."
"God grants you happiness, my daughter."
"Let everything be filled with hope, and let nothing frighten you."
"Looking back on those golden years"
From learning to speak to growing up strong
My daughter is wearing a beautiful wedding dress.
"Oh, God's blessing, bringing comfort and joy!"
"My daughter has grown up and is getting married today."
Huggins' singing rang in the monk's ears again, but this time, Todd remained silent.
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“You mean Twilight Harbor?” Huggins crossed out a map with his pencil. “Every spring, the pirates of the Northern Islands row their leather boats, carrying axes and torches, across the Sea of Mist, through the Rapids Strait, and land at Twilight Harbor to plunder every village in sight.”
The man drew a circle on the map with the harbor as the center, with a radius of about 15 kilometers: "The attack range of the pirates after they land is about this size. If you run this distance, you can control it to about 45 minutes, which is enough to avoid the army's pursuit and return to the ship in time."
Huggins placed the pen on the table, glanced at the monk who was listening attentively, stroked his chin, and said uncertainly, "I know someone who lives in a seaside village; perhaps I can get more information from him."
Todd nodded: "All intelligence is invaluable to us. We'll split up; you'll be in charge of contacting informants, and I'll prepare what we need for the next step."
Back in the lab, Todd packed the necessary materials into his bag, had a simple meal with Karin, and then headed to the smelting plant at the foot of the mountain.
He ordered the craftsmen to clear out a furnace for himself, then cleared out everyone around the furnace and erected thick curtains around it to block everyone's view.
Todd did it himself, with Karin as his only assistant. This time, they were making glass again, but instead of optical glass, they were making art glass.
The materials are similar, but the processes are different.
The preceding steps will not be repeated; let's start with the blowing stage.
First, a square iron pipe (hammered from wrought iron) is inserted into a high-temperature furnace, bringing out the glass raw material, mainly composed of quartz sand, but no photosensitive material needs to be added. The raw material is then kneaded in red clay powder to color it. Next, the colored raw material is stretched into a rod shape and then bent to make a handle.
Next, a clump of glass material is taken out with an iron pipe and blown on to expand it. The most challenging part is what follows: while blowing air, the glass is shaped with a damp cloth. During this process, once the glass cools down, it needs to be reheated in the furnace and shaped again. Skilled craftsmen can usually blow a perfect shape after two or three reheatings, while inexperienced craftsmen may need to reheat it seven or eight times.
Next, the colored glass outer part is attached to the main body and melted at high temperature.
Finally, place it in a cool place and let it air dry for a day.
The steps sound simple, but the process involves many complex and challenging steps that test the craftsman's skills. A slight oversight can ruin everything.
Normally, it would be best to have the craftsmen do this kind of work, but Todd was determined to protect the technique and did not involve the craftsmen and apprentices.
The result was that his blown glass products were crooked and pitted; fortunately, Karin was much better at this than him, and her finished products were quite presentable.
If Todd hadn't stopped her in time, the girl, caught up in the moment, could have continued blowing glass for a whole day.
Watching all the glass blanks being placed into the ventilation box, Todd repeatedly emphasized to Jerry, who was in charge of guarding the area, that no one was allowed to approach this place.
Meanwhile, Huggins returned with news from Twilight Harbor.
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