Dew Prayer Method

Two days later, Xilutaiya walked out of the Adventurers' Guild hall alone, clutching a book and a small pouch of seeds in her arms. Mailin had given them to her, supposedly acquired from Madame Falan of the West City District, who was said to be an expert well-versed in horticulture. Returning home, Xilutaiya sat in the shade of a tree in the backyard and flipped through the untitled notebook, which was filled with handwritten illustrations and little tips. The booklet was not thick. It merely recorded the cultivation processes for four plants: Spring's Sweet Honey Dendrobium, Summer's Blood Stellera, Autumn's Swan Orchid, and Winter's White Camellia. Included with the book was a pouch of Swan Orchid seeds. Under normal circumstances, a Swan Orchid took nearly half a year to grow from a sprout to full bloom, but only two and a half months remained before the end of autumn. "This must be the test Madame Falan set for me." Xilutaiya set the book down. Caring for it with ordinary watering like a commoner certainly would not satisfy Madame Falan; the woman surely wanted to meet someone aspiring to become a professional gardener. "In other words, I'll need to learn the Dew Prayer Method to accelerate plant growth." [Dew Prayer Method] (Emerald Honey): Gather morning mist in the dawn light, transforming emerald dew into water. (Emerald Dew Water accelerates plant growth and aids in cultivating flora.) At dawn, when the Blazing Sun attribute had just emerged, it was at its gentlest. Its vitality could be gathered and converted; by midday, it grew too fierce and violent to easily transform. How much Emerald Dew Water she could collect each day also dictated how many plants she could foster at once. However, learning the Dew Prayer Method required a small amount of Emerald Dew Water as a guiding seed, just as mastering the Concealment Method had required Cold Mist Wine. To study, Xilutaiya needed money. Gardeners could earn money, but studying to become a gardener required Emerald Dew Water. Buying Emerald Dew Water required money, yet gardeners could earn money... The starting phase was truly difficult. Draping the book over her head, the young girl sighed softly. Earlier, Mailin, Sister Wenni, and even Uncle Fandexi had helped her immensely. Without them, her situation now would likely be far more precarious. *I shouldn't trouble others this time.* The girl got to her feet and went to her bedroom. Prying loose a brick beneath her bed, she pulled out her prized coin pouch and emptied the coins onto the mattress. "One, two, three, four, five, six..." Kneeling on the bed, she counted the dainty silver coins one by one. "Eighteen silver coins in total." She usually kept her copper coins in a drawer for daily expenses. She had spent quite a bit on books and daily necessities earlier, leaving her with only eighteen coins. It was said that Emerald Dew Water could be bought at the Gardener Guild, but she had no idea how much it cost. Scooping the silver coins back into the pouch, she pondered in silence. She would go take a look. If it was not enough, she could only borrow from Sister Wenni. A wave of shame washed over her—was she being too prideful? If all else failed, she would just have to present herself as a songstress. Mailin had said her voice was lovely; if she went to a place like the theater, she would surely be hired and make a name for herself. Taking her remaining silver coins and slipping into her reddish-brown hooded cloak, Xilutaiya headed to the Gardener Guild. Finding a clerk dozing inside, the girl lightly pressed down on her hood and spoke. "Hello, excuse me. Do you sell Emerald Dew Water here?" Her voice was soft. The clerk lazily cracked open his eyes, yawned, and replied, "Emerald Dew Water is ten silvers for a small vial. But you have to reserve it in advance; I won't have it for you until tomorrow." Hearing that, Xilutaiya breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Emerald Dew Water was not terribly expensive, likely far less rare than Cold Mist Wine. "Here is a five-silver-coin deposit. Do I need to register anything?" She laid the coins on the counter. "Yes. Sign your name here and come pick it up tomorrow. Oh, and don't come too early." Still drowsy, the clerk casually pulled a ledger from under the desk for her to sign. "All right." The girl briskly wrote down the name "Tiya" and handed the ledger back. "That's all. You can go." The clerk waved a dismissive hand and slumped forward to sleep again. *** Upon returning to her lodgings, Xilutaiya headed to the backyard, intending to first clear and till the weed-choked little yard. She changed into a linen dress suited for labor, tied her hair into a neat, high ponytail, retrieved the shovel she had recently purchased, and began turning the earth from the corner of the wall. The soil was quite hard. As she dug, she recalled the scenes of adults working the fields in her hometown, mimicking their movements—such as driving the blade into the earth with the heel of her foot. An hour later, Xilutaiya stood under the eaves, wiping the sweat from her brow. Breathing a sigh of relief, she set down the shovel and sat in a chair to rest. By now, the soil in the small yard had been thoroughly turned over once, becoming far looser. Ten minutes later, she stood up again, gathered the unearthed weeds, and spread them over the nearby stones to dry in the sun. In about two days, they would be dry enough to shake free of dirt, allowing her to burn the excess weeds in the fireplace. With the ground turned, Xilutaiya soaked the Swan Orchid seeds in water before planting them into the soil one by one. Once finished, she changed out of her mud-splattered dress and went to wash up. Come dusk, bathed and clad in nightwear, she returned to the small yard. Sitting in her chair, she admired the violet-red sunset glowing on the horizon. The gentle autumn breeze blew past, drying the lingering dampness on her skin and leaving her feeling exceptionally comfortable. Well, a life like this seemed rather nice too. *** The following day, she arrived at the Gardener Guild. "Here is the Emerald Dew Water you reserved. If you're using it to force blooms, remember to dilute it with clean water. Don't drip it directly onto the flowers," a new female clerk explained. "The ratio is roughly ten drops per bucket of water. This vial contains about thirty drops of Emerald Dew Water." "Understood. Here are the remaining five silver coins." Although she was not going to use it for watering flowers, she was still curious. "Do other people often buy this?" "Yes. For banquets or celebrations, some prominent households occasionally use Emerald Dew Water to force flowers into bloom to decorate their gardens and estates," the female clerk replied smoothly. "Many veteran gardeners know how to use Emerald Dew Water; they just can't afford it on ordinary days." Once the transaction was recorded, the clerk handed a dainty, exquisite glass vial to the girl. "Thank you." Xilutaiya's eyes shifted slightly as she assessed the quality of the dew. [Emerald Dew Water] (Tier 0 - Emerald Honey): Dew that enables plants to grow and bloom rapidly. (Concentration: 14%) *The concentration is only fourteen percent?* she thought. Still, it was difficult to judge whether such a figure was reasonable. She could only head back and test it herself. After obtaining the Emerald Dew Water, an undercurrent of excitement and anticipation kept her awake until very late into the night. *** Another morning dawned. Xilutaiya pushed open the window, which offered a view of the sun that had just crested the horizon. The morning air still held a sharp chill. She poured a few droplets of Emerald Dew Water onto the household's only celadon plate, then closed her eyes to sense and study it according to the instructions of the Dew Prayer Method. First, she had to perceive the faint power of the Emerald Honey attribute within the dew on the porcelain plate, then gently reach out and guide it with her spirit. Minute by minute slipped past. The water droplets on the plate remained completely unchanged in the morning light, and the girl standing beneath the window remained just as still. Her soft brows caught the dawn light, her face bathed in a gentle gold, the faint down on her cheeks clearly visible in the pale golden glow. Gradually, the sun climbed higher, on the verge of rising beyond the angle where it could reach her. Faint wisps of mist swirled through the air, finally condensing into a single tiny droplet that fell, blending seamlessly with the Emerald Dew Water on the plate. (Dew Prayer Method completion +6) [Dew Prayer Method lv. 0] (Emerald Honey): An unformed ability. Current progress: (6/100). *Phew, I've finally taken the first step.* The girl opened her eyes and looked at the additional droplet of liquid on the plate. If she truly could become a gardener, she would be able to establish a foothold here. As for what lay beyond... she would take it one step at a time.