Chương 19

Garrick raised an eyebrow, but in the end, he could only let out a weary sigh.

"I truly am out of options. I'll take you there and let you have a look. If nothing works, I may have to offer my entire fortune as a reward and see whether I can find a Rank Two Spirit Gardener." There were probably only a handful of Rank Two Spirit Gardeners in all of Valehaven. Whenever someone of that level appeared within the Moonwatch Sect's territory, the sect usually recruited them immediately as a retainer or outer steward.

They would be brought into the sect to cultivate valuable Rank Three and Rank Four spirit plants. Those high-rank plants were part of the Moonwatch Sect's true foundation.

"I'll take you into the growing area," Garrick continued.

"It's protected by maze formations, so stay close to me. If you wander off, finding you again will be extremely difficult." Elara followed Garrick into the Rank Two spirit-plant district. The instant she entered the Flamewyrm Fruit grove, the world seemed to spin around her. When she looked back, the dirt path and raised field boundaries behind her had vanished. Towering Flamewyrm Fruit trees surrounded her in every direction.

Fiery red mist drifted between their trunks, and the concentration of spiritual qi was extraordinarily high. The trees themselves were massive. Their thick trunks emitted a faint red glow, and their branches were covered in dense foliage. After only three years of cultivation, a Flamewyrm Fruit tree could grow between sixteen and twenty feet tall.

"Stay close," Garrick warned, glancing back at her.

"Much of what you see here is an illusion. If you move more than thirty feet away from me, you won't be able to see me at all." Elara acknowledged the warning and followed directly behind him. She had no method for breaking or navigating maze formations. Now that she had entered one, wandering around carelessly would only invite trouble. Garrick led her through a twisting route between the trees. After roughly two minutes, Elara spotted three towering red trees in the distance.

Each stood noticeably taller than the surrounding grove. Garrick didn't need to explain which trees were affected. Elara could tell at a glance that these were the three elite-grade specimens.

"This is the place. I'll wait nearby while you examine them. Take your time." Garrick had brought her here partly because he had nothing left to lose. He also seemed to be using the opportunity to retrieve his tools. He began gathering the equipment stored around the trees' roots: nutrient solutions infused with spiritual qi, metal-rich granular fertilizers, and several other cultivation supplies. All of them were meant to assist the trees' growth and accelerate their maturity.

Elara slowly approached the nearest tree and looked up. Its green leaves contrasted sharply with the red glow radiating from its trunk. From the outside, the elite-grade Flamewyrm Fruit tree looked vigorous and healthy. There was no visible sign of an infestation. When Garrick saw her examining only the surface, the last trace of hope left him. Even so, he offered a helpful warning.

"These insects are unusual. Knock on the trunk a few times and you should be able to sense what's happening inside. A few of them may fly out, so don't let them startle you." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Elara rapped her knuckles against the trunk. Despite its solid appearance, the inside produced a disturbingly hollow sound, more like thin, brittle wood than the trunk of a healthy tree.

She had the distinct impression that if she struck it with slightly more force, her hand might punch straight through. The strange infestation had already pushed the tree's health to a critical point. On Elara's interface, the maturity values of all three elite-grade Flamewyrm Fruit trees were steadily declining. The decrease was slow, but unmistakable. [88/100 → 87/100] Elara watched the progress bar for a moment and estimated the rate of decline. At this pace, the trees had roughly three days left.

They would be completely destroyed shortly before Valehaven's monthly assessment.

"This is looking more and more deliberate. Even the timing is exact. It's almost as if whoever did this wanted the trees dead before Moonwatch's inspectors could discover the infestation." Elara spoke quietly, making no effort to hide her suspicions from Garrick. He showed little surprise.

"I suspect the same thing. I even have an idea who may be responsible, but they're backed by House Wang, one of Valehaven's three great families. One of their elders holds a position as an outer elder in the Moonwatch Sect."

"I see. That does make things difficult." Elara knocked on the trunk twice more.

"But I think I can deal with the infestation." Several tiny black insects crawled out through holes in the bark. When Elara examined them with her spiritual perception, she immediately detected metal-aspected qi within their bodies. The insects were extremely small, each no thicker than a strand of hair. That gave Elara confidence that Metal Gathering Art might work. If they had been any larger, manipulating living creatures with her current control over qi would have been far more difficult.

Elara pressed one palm against the bark and drew qi from her dantian. She divided it into dozens of threads and guided them through the trunk. The process was almost identical to using Metal Gathering Art on the earth. The only difference was that the target had changed from the soil beneath her feet to the tree in front of her. The moment her qi penetrated the bark, Elara sensed countless densely packed sources of metal-aspected energy. She didn't even need to search for them.

The trunk itself contained abundant wood-aspected qi and faint traces of fire-aspected qi. Almost every other source of energy belonged to the metal aspect. And the only possible source of that metal-aspected qi was the swarm of black, shell-covered insects.

"This is even easier than I expected." Elara allowed herself a small laugh and began guiding the swarm. Black insects poured from countless holes in the trunks, emerging in thick streams. Under the influence of her qi, they gathered together instead of scattering. All three elite-grade Flamewyrm Fruit trees contained enormous numbers of them. By the time Elara had extracted the entire infestation, the swarm had formed a mass nearly half the size of a person.

There had to be at least ten thousand insects packed together.

"These creatures are remarkable. They don't look easy to destroy either." Elara maintained control over the writhing mass and turned toward Garrick.

"Where should I put them?" Garrick stared at her, momentarily speechless. His throat worked once before he finally found his voice. She had actually solved the problem.

"Use this cage. Since you can control them, perhaps they'll prove useful someday." Garrick retrieved a small container resembling a basket woven from bamboo strips. When he lifted its lid, the interior appeared completely black, making it impossible to see how deep it went.

"I bought this insect cage specifically for situations like this. It's an artifact imported from the southern frontier. Like a storage ring, its interior contains a much larger space than its outside dimensions suggest, but it was designed specifically for holding small insects." Garrick curled one hand into a fist, unable to contain his excitement.

"I can't believe you actually solved it—and even managed to capture the entire swarm. If that Spirit Gardener from House Wang learns what happened, he'll be furious."

"I only found a use for the Metal Gathering Art I recently learned." Elara offered a brief explanation, then guided the black swarm into the woven cage. The insects streamed through its opening and quickly disappeared into the darkness within. When the last one was inside, Elara lightly touched the cage and discovered that she could place it inside her storage ring.

"Aren't these insects alive?"

"You have a storage ring?" Garrick noticed the gray band on the middle finger of her left hand.

"Cedric must think very highly of you." One glance at its patterns was enough for him to identify it. Garrick owned a storage ring himself, so the sight wasn't particularly shocking.

"The insect cage seals away the life force of anything stored inside it," he explained.

"The insects enter a dormant state and become almost indistinguishable from dead matter. That allows you to place the entire cage inside a storage ring." Elara sent the insect cage into her ring. Garrick watched it disappear, then spoke in a much more serious tone.

"Don't worry. I'll tell Cedric what happened, but no one else will learn that you dealt with the infestation. You won't need to fear retaliation." He paused before continuing.

"After this month's assessment, I should receive two recommendations for the Moonwatch Sect's outer disciple examination. I planned to trade one of them. The other is yours."