In mid-December, Scholar Haide's lectures were paused. This was not due to any mishap, of course, but because winter break had arrived.
"During the coldest part of winter each year, the school goes on break to prevent anything happening to students on the road," Kemiya had told Tiya. Afterward, the group had gathered for another meal together before the holidays began.
Winter in the Rising Wind Season had finally arrived, though it was not as cold as she had imagined.
Xilutaiya sat before her vanity mirror, looked at her black-haired reflection, pulled up her hood, and walked out of the room.
Today, she wore a dark gray coat and short cowhide boots on her feet, keeping warm while retaining a touch of youthful, girlish charm.
Picking up two potted Swan Orchids, Xilutaiya boarded the carriage waiting before the manor, which then set off toward the Adventurers' Guild in the city.
More than ten minutes later, the carriage came to a stop. Cradling one of the potted Swan Orchids, she stepped down, glanced at the guild's entrance—as bustling as ever—and walked inside.
The temperature outside was around ten degrees. While not bitterly cold, many of the windows in the hall were closed to keep in the warmth, leaving the air inside stale and mingled with various scents.
Steering around the crowded center of the hall, Xilutaiya approached the front desk from the side and found a staff member.
"Excuse me, is Sister Mailin here?" She lowered her mask slightly, revealing her youthful cheeks between strands of hair.
"She is, but she's taking a break in the back right now. Are you looking for her?" Seeing she was a lovely young girl, the staff member answered genially.
"Yes. Sister Mailin helped me before, so I wanted to thank her." Xilutaiya had now taken her first steps as a gardener and finally had some free time.
"Ah, a junior of Mailin's, then? I'll go call her." The staff member assumed the girl was a distant relative.
Before long, Mailin followed the staff member out. Since her shift had not yet started, she wore a dark brown dress draped with a thick coat.
"Oh, it's Tiya." She was somewhat curious to see the young girl standing before her once again.
"Sister Mailin." The girl stepped forward to greet her, then explained the purpose of her visit.
"Things went so smoothly?" Mailin was a little surprised. She had assumed it would take at least half a year for the girl to achieve any real progress and become a relatively skilled gardening apprentice. As for becoming Madame Falan's student, she had not held out much hope, having seen far too many precedents of failure.
"It was mostly good luck, I suppose." As she spoke, Xilutaiya handed the potted plant to Mailin.
"This is a Swan Orchid I grew. You were the one who gave me the seeds back then, Sister Mailin, so this is for you." Although it had not fully condensed the Emerald Honey attribute, it was not far off, giving off a faint, delicate fragrance that chased away the surrounding stale odors.
"This is..." Mailin took it and examined it closely. Though not a transcendent, she could still perceive that this Swan Orchid was extraordinary.
"This... is an exceptionally fine Swan Orchid." She mentally estimated its worth; if sold to noble ladies, it could fetch over thirty silver coins—nearly half a year's wages for her.
"Yes, I grew quite a few Swan Orchids, and this is one of them." In truth, before the break, Xilutaiya had already gifted one pot to Scholar Haide and one each to her close classmates.
"A pity I don't know how to care for it. I wonder if regular watering will be enough to keep it alive." Mailin looked down at the Swan Orchid in her hands.
"Regular watering is fine. If it ever feels like too much trouble, you can also pass it on to someone else, Sister Mailin." If sold, it would be a handsome sum of money for Mailin.
"In that case, I'll accept it."
Before long, news that Mailin had received a gift spread through the Adventurers' Guild, quickly getting twisted in the retelling.
"I heard a junior gave it to her."
"Really? Giving something so valuable? If you ask me, it was probably given on behalf of an embarrassed older brother or elder."
"Mailin isn't married yet, after all. That makes sense."
"Why can't it be that the girl likes Mailin? How can you all be so prejudiced?"
"Ahem, don't go spreading things like that, or Mailin will beat you up."
"Still, that potted plant really is remarkable. Just placing it in a room makes the air feel clean and fresh."
"Then it must be worth quite a bit. I wonder if it was bought from the Gardener Guild or grown by herself."
"Don't even mention the Burnt Stone City Gardener Guild—their skill is bottom-tier at best. For real gardeners, you'd have to look in Valley City."
After seeing Xilutaiya off outside the Adventurers' Guild and sharing plenty of advice with her, Mailin returned inside, only to overhear the various discussions among her colleagues.
"These fools know nothing but gossip all day long." After a moment's thought, she decided she had better teach the ringleaders a lesson before rumors ran wild.
...
Leaving the Adventurers' Guild, Xilutaiya took the remaining potted Swan Orchid and arrived at Wenni's home.
"Tiya is here!" She had barely knocked before Wenni opened the door to greet her.
Stepping inside, Xilutaiya saw that Taliel was there as well. No wonder Wenni had anticipated her arrival.
"Taliel came over early this morning and told me to prepare delicious food to welcome you." Wenni smiled warmly as she welcomed Xilutaiya in and had her take a seat.
Soon, she brought over freshly brewed hot tea. Taliel bounded over as well, asking her elder sister Wenni for the same tea.
"When I arrived, Sister wouldn't brew any for me. Favoritism~"
"You come over practically every day! Do you really need me brewing tea for you?" Wenni gave her mischievous little sister a playful rap on the head.
The three shared a brief, lighthearted exchange before sitting down.
"So, Tiya, you're currently staying with Madame Falan, and your life has settled down nicely."
Recalling how the girl had been three months ago—unfamiliar with the place and people, looking so reserved and timid—Wenni could not help feeling nostalgic.
"Now that you've advanced to First-Order Emerald Honey, Tiya, do you intend to pursue the path of a gardener?"
"Yes, though some time ago I told Madame Falan that I wanted to go to the Hidden Woodland, and she agreed." Xilutaiya shared her future goal.
"The Hidden Woodland..." Wenni trailed off into memory.
"Back then, I also competed for a quota spot to the Hidden Woodland—though of course, I was just making up the numbers." Her words instantly piqued the curiosity of both girls.
"How was it? Sister, you've never mentioned this to me before!" Taliel could hardly sit still.
"As for the process, I only took part in part of it, so my knowledge isn't complete." Wenni shook her head.
"The next trial will probably be around January or February next year. Representatives will come to Burnt Stone City, and Viscount Xuefeng and Scholar Haide will submit the roster.
"They will review the information on the roster and then have the selected students take part in an initial on-site trial.
"The trial usually sets three objectives. About a third of the students can accomplish the first objective, roughly a tenth can complete the second, and as for the final objective, sometimes no one succeeds.
"If nobody completes all three objectives, candidates are chosen from among the remaining students who accomplished the second. At that point, Viscount Xuefeng and Scholar Haide can recommend who they believe is most suitable to receive the spot.
"The first objective I faced back then was to locate a red-thorn wasp nest in a forest and bring it back."
"Red-thorn wasps—aren't those highly aggressive and venomous wasps?" Taliel recalled.
"Yes. Simply finding one took a fair bit of luck, not to mention the danger of being attacked while carrying it back. Only five people managed to finish that trial.
"At the time, I carried my own homemade Red Snow Powder—a combustible powder similar to gunpowder—which helped me subdue most of the wasps in the nest." Wenni took a small sip of hot water as she reminisced.
"Even so, I was stung while securing the nest. Poisoned, I barely made it back to camp before collapsing unconscious. It was only thanks to Teacher Haide detoxifying me that I slowly came around.
"The second objective was to single-handedly slay a first-order beast dwelling in the forest. Only two students completed that task, and they paid a heavy price to do so.
"As for the third objective, it was on the high cliffs at the edge of the forest, where Gale Vultures make their nests. Completing it required obtaining a Gale Vulture egg.
"Gale Vultures... Taliel, you probably know of them. They are ferocious birds of the Blazing Sun attribute that appear when the heatwaves of the Rising Wind Season reach their peak. They rarely appear alone, often hunting in flocks. Incredibly vicious, they are far more dangerous than the Red-Dyed Wolves.
"The appearance of these ferocious birds symbolizes the hottest and most grueling period of the Rising Wind Season, which is why that time is also known as the Evil Vulture Festival."
Chapter 64