Eleanor's transformation
The public lecture in the central square was like a sudden storm, sweeping through the entire Rockefeller College town's public discourse. After the storm, what remained was not devastation, but a subtle and complex calm. The blatant fear and hostility towards the "Eastern secret medicine" that permeated the air seemed to have been somewhat diluted by Ling Yao's almost showy live demonstration.
While the label of "witch" won't be removed anytime soon, at least the market for the terrifying claim that "soul extraction" can stop a child's nighttime crying has shrunk considerably. After all, what family's evil ritual for extracting souls is so open and aboveboard, even somewhat inexplicably...simple and unpretentious?
The shop's business visibly picked up. Some of the old customers who had previously hesitated returned, and although their eyes still held a hint of wariness, at least they were handing over gold coins and magic cores. Finn Liver no longer had to sigh at the empty money box, and the smile on his face became more genuine.
"Miss Ling! You're amazing!" Finn said with a cheerful smile as he counted his earnings, not forgetting to flatter her. "With just a little trick, you sent those rumors flying! I saw Silas's face turn as black as the bottom of a pot! Hehe!"
Ling Yao accepted all the compliments without question. Although she didn't show it on her face, her absorption of the magic cores noticeably improved. She didn't care about empty titles; what mattered to her was the real increase in energy and the decreasing amount of trouble.
However, some people have been drawn into a deeper vortex of thought during this storm.
Professor Eleanor Silverskin locked herself in her laboratory, staring blankly at the high-precision magic recorder that had recorded the entire lecture for a full day and night.
On the instrument's screen, the moment Ling Yao extended her finger and pointed it at the crucible from a distance was repeatedly replayed. Each time it was replayed, the originally stable energy ripples would exhibit the same bizarre scene: a faint interference force, undetectable by the instrument and undefined by existing magical theories, would appear out of thin air, abruptly interrupting the impending conflict and chaos within the medicinal herbs. In an almost "commanding" manner, it would forcibly straighten and fuse them, then vanish instantly.
There was no residual magic, no elemental fluctuations, and no sign of resonance with the laws.
It's like... like an invisible hand casually modified the underlying code of a program, causing a calculation that should have resulted in an error to produce a completely correct but illogical result.
“This is impossible… This completely violates the Fundamental Laws of Magic and the Law of Conservation of Energy…” Professor Eleanor muttered to herself, her fingers unconsciously tugging at her already somewhat disheveled hair. “That power… what is it? Where does it come from? What is its mechanism of action?”
She tried every known analytical model, but none could explain the energy change that occurred in that brief instant. It was like a blind spot, a black hole, swallowing all probes that tried to peek into its mysteries.
What devastated her even more was the scene where Ling Yao successfully concocted the "Heart-Clearing Pill" again using those conflicting medicinal herbs. It was as if her entire textbook on potion-making had been marked with a huge X!
"Know its nature, guide its direction, and success will naturally follow..."
Ling Yao's stiff yet clear words echoed in her mind once again.
Knowing its nature? Potions magic also considers the properties of materials! Guiding its direction? Isn't that what magic channeling and spells are for? So why are the results so different?
Could it be that... the pursuit of absolute control and precise guidance in potion-making has gone astray from the very beginning? Could it be that true "guidance" is not about external, forceful intervention, but rather... some deeper level of guidance that aligns with certain rules?
The mere thought startled even Eleanor herself. It was a radical and subversive questioning of the entire modern magical system!
She stood up irritably and paced back and forth in the laboratory filled with scrolls and instruments. Her gaze swept over the data reports on the table, which she had previously tried to analyze with "Yingji Lu" and "Ling Shi No. 1" but had made no progress. An unprecedented sense of powerlessness and...excitement intertwined in her heart.
Powerless against their own ignorance, yet excited about the possibility of a whole new world.
She stopped abruptly, her gaze falling on the dusty bookshelf in the corner. It didn't hold any profound magical tomes, but rather miscellaneous books she'd collected in her youth out of interest, about ancient alchemy, folk herbal remedies, and even some alien legends scorned by the mainstream academic world.
Previously, she thought these were the dregs of an ignorant era, mere wild speculations without scientific verification.
But now... a living example of concocting highly effective potions in a way that completely defies the laws of magic is right before our eyes... Perhaps, in these overlooked corners, there really are some fragments of wisdom that have been forgotten by the modern magic system, completely different from what we know?
As if guided by fate, Eleanor walked to the bookshelf, brushed away the thick layer of dust, and pulled out an old notebook with yellowed pages and a musty smell. The cover of the notebook was inscribed with the title "Miscellaneous Records of Herbal Medicines of the Eastern Continent" in cursive script.
She remembered that it was sold to her by a traveling merchant from the Far East many years ago. At the time, she bought it just out of curiosity. The records inside were absurd, such as "yin and yang balance", "five elements medicinal properties" and "qi circulation". She put it aside after reading it.
At this moment, she reopened the notebook and looked at the ambiguous and metaphorical descriptions, and her heart began to beat faster involuntarily.
"The relationship between ruler, minister, assistant, and advisor... is mutually reinforcing and mutually restraining..."
Ling Yao's previous stiff explanation and some vague concepts in the notes actually had a strange connection!
"Could it be... that she wasn't using a metaphor? Or is it some real, existing theoretical system of medicinal properties, different from elemental magic?" Eleanor was astonished by her own bold conjecture.
She could no longer sit still. Clutching the notebook and the data panel from the recorder, like an adventurer who had discovered a clue to a treasure map, she once again rushed into the library's restricted section. This time, her goal was even clearer—she wanted to find everything that might be related to non-magical systems, to the East, and to that kind of "rule"!
She rummaged through dust and cobwebs, no longer confined to the realm of magic, but venturing into history, philosophy, and even theology. Those texts that she and her colleagues had once considered useless, absurd, or even heretical now seemed to shimmer with an alluring light in her eyes.
She read about the ancient people's primitive worship and utilization of natural forces, the different understandings of life energy among different civilizations, and the various mysterious conjectures about the "rules of the world"...
These fragmented, unverified pieces of knowledge collided with all the images of Ling Yao in her mind—the purification by hand, the alchemy that ignored conflict, the gentle touch, the mysterious "ruler, minister, assistant, and envoy"—and sparked a few scattered sparks.
A vague, startling, and even somewhat terrifying conjecture gradually took shape in her mind:
Perhaps what Ling Yao used wasn't some kind of "new magic" or "unknown energy" at all, but rather... a more ancient way of applying "rules" that is closer to the origin of the world? A kind of wisdom that completely transcends the framework of modern magic and forms its own system!
This conjecture sent shivers down her spine, both from fear and from excitement.
If this is true, what would it mean? Does it mean that the existing magical system is not the only truth? Does it mean that centuries of potion-making development may have only stumbled along a narrow tributary, missing the truly vast ocean?
This revolutionary understanding was undoubtedly devastating for a scholar who had dedicated her life to magical science. But at the same time, a completely new and vast unknown realm was slowly unfolding before her eyes.
Fear and curiosity, conservatism and exploration—these two forces were fiercely battling within her.
Ultimately, the curiosity of a pure scholar, deeply rooted in her soul, struggled to overcome her inherent pride and fear of the unknown.
She decided to set aside her pride and prejudices, and truly re-examine the girl from the East and everything she represented, as a seeker of truth.
A few days later, the "Oriental Secret Medicine" shop welcomed an unexpected customer.
Professor Eleanor Silverstalk stood at the shop entrance, unusually not wearing her impeccably tailored professorial robes, but instead in more casual clothes. Her face lacked its usual sternness and scrutiny, replaced by a complex expression—a mixture of hesitation, embarrassment, and intense thirst for knowledge. She held several thick volumes and a brand-new roll of parchment in her hands.
Finn was startled when he saw her, and instinctively tried to stand in front of Ling Yao: "Professor Yinrui? What brings you here?" He hadn't forgotten how this professor's worldview had almost collapsed last time because of Miss Ling.
Ignoring Finn's wariness, Eleanor's gaze fell directly on Ling Yao behind the counter. She took a deep breath and spoke in an extremely unaccustomed, even slightly stuttering, tone: "Ms. Ling... I... I apologize for my previous presumptuous questioning."
Finn's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. What had he just heard? The usually aloof and rigid Professor Silver Bud was actually apologizing?!
Ling Yao raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, put down what she was holding, and waited for what was to come.
Eleanor seemed to have mustered her courage and continued, "I have consulted some... ancient records. I have some... vague guesses about your theories of 'ruler, minister, assistant, and guide' and 'medicinal properties.' But there are still many things I cannot understand."
She placed the books and parchment she had brought on the counter; they were several classic works on basic potion-making theory and energy analysis, as well as a list she had compiled of all the inexplicable questions surrounding Ling Yao's potion-making process.
“I hope to… have a deeper conversation with you. Not to question you, but… to ask for your guidance.” Eleanor’s face flushed slightly as she said the word “ask for guidance,” but her eyes were unusually firm. “I hope to understand the rules and principles behind your power… which is different from magic.”
These words were spoken with utmost sincerity, even carrying a touch of academic humility.
Finn was completely petrified, feeling like he was dreaming.
Ling Yao looked at Eleanor's eyes, which had clearly struggled but were ultimately won over by her thirst for knowledge. She then glanced at the pile of books on the counter that represented the mainstream understanding of this world and the densely written list of questions.
She remained silent for a moment.
Then, under Eleanor's somewhat nervous gaze, she slowly nodded.
"Can."
A simple word brought Professor Eleanor Silverstalk a great sense of relief, and her eyes shone with an unprecedented brightness.
She knew that a door to a whole new world was slowly opening for her.
Ling Yao, the one who started all this, looked at the other party's fervent expression as if he had found a new goal in life, and thought to herself: Hmm, having more laborers to help organize the medicinal properties of this world doesn't seem so bad? At least Finn won't bother her with trivial questions anymore.
Academic exchange? In a sense, yes, it could be considered one.
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