Chapter 36: Chapter 35: A Minor "Punishment The morning sunlight filtered through the gaps of the Black Mist Jungle, spilling onto the winding path. After tidying up his attire, Ron headed to the Herb Store. The memory of Lady Allen’s stunning visage from last night still lingered in his mind, hard to dispel. Though reason told him it was just a temporary phenomenon, deep down he couldn’t help but hope to see that pink-haired beautiful witch once more. As he pushed open the door to the Herb Store, the familiar mixed aroma of herbs greeted him. Ron’s gaze quickly locked onto the hunched figure behind the counter. As expected, Lady Allen had already reverted to her usual old appearance— A face full of wrinkles intersecting like dried riverbeds, a hooked nose beneath which sat a tightly pursed mean mouth, her pale hair messily pinned up at the back of her head, and a pair of hands marked with age spots were carefully inspecting the color of a potion bottle. Despite being mentally prepared, witnessing such a dramatic contrast still brought a noticeable flicker of disappointment across Ron’s face. He was just about to adjust his expression again when it seemed he was a step too late, judging by Lady Allen’s reaction. "What’s this, you look quite disappointed seeing me like this?" The old witch didn’t lift her head, her hands kept moving, her tone carrying a hint of amusement. "Of course not, madam." Ron quickly replied, internally giving a wry smile, unconsciously revealing a bit of insecurity. Lady Allen finally put down the potion bottle and lifted her head to gaze at the young apprentice in front of her, "You rascal, your thoughts are all written on your face, who are you trying to fool?" Ron awkwardly averted his gaze, "Sorry, madam, I meant no disrespect." "Don’t be nervous, I won’t get upset over something this trivial." The old witch waved her hand, her voice carrying an unusual gentleness: "Yesterday’s appearance was indeed more pleasing. Even I prefer that look. Alas, time wields its blade without favoritism." She stood up, leaning on a wooden staff entwined with peculiar patterns, and slowly walked over to Ron. Those deep green eyes scrutinized him up close, "However, as time goes on, you’ll understand more and more that appearance and true power often do not correlate." Ron could only nod in agreement. "Alright, since young people have so much energy, I happen to have a batch of work waiting for you." Lady Allen chuckled twice, pointing to a dim corner at the back of the store: "That new batch of Hidden Thorn Vine needs to be handled, remove all thorns and knot growths completely, not leaving a single piece." Following her direction, Ron saw a large bundle of silver-grey vines piled up in the corner, covered densely with sharp thorns and irregular lumps. In the light, he could even see the cold glint of those thorn tips. "This..." He instinctively swallowed, easily judging that this was by no means ordinary work. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖 Even with his current skillset, handling such a large pile of Hidden Thorn Vine would take at least half a day. The old witch keenly caught his hesitation, a sly glimmer flashed in her eyes: "What, afraid of getting tired? Let me tell you some good news—the thorns of the Hidden Thorn Vine contain a trace amount of toxin, prolonged contact will numb your fingers, and with continuous accumulation, it might even lead to temporary sensation dulling." Her lips curled into an imperceptible smirk: "Of course, if you think this work is too strenuous, you could sit here and admire my ’beautiful’ face for a whole day, I wouldn’t mind." Ron, hearing this, scratched his head awkwardly, immediately understanding the nature of today’s task—it was probably a little punishment. Despite feeling slightly reluctant inside, he also understood that Lady Allen, as his employer, indeed had the right to do so. Furthermore, he had always been grateful for the work at the Herb Store. Being able to get in touch with so many rare materials and knowledge, and with Lady Allen’s hands-on teaching, he would never easily refuse any request she made. "I’ll get to handling the Hidden Thorn Vine right away, madam." Ron nodded seriously, turning to walk towards the plant that looked hostile just at a glance. Behind him came a barely audible low chuckle from Lady Allen. The handling of the Hidden Thorn Vine was indeed as troublesome and laborious as she described. Ron quickly understood why such work was a ’punishment,’ not only requiring immense patience and concentration, but also high technical skill. Each vine needed to be carefully scraped with a special silver knife, removing the thorns and growths from the surface. A little carelessness might either injure the vines affecting the potion efficacy or get his skin pricked by the spikes. In the first half-hour alone, he had already acquired seven or eight tiny wounds on his hands, while the number of vines processed was pitifully few. "The technique’s all wrong, too rough." Lady Allen suddenly appeared beside him, her voice carried tones of both rebuke and instruction: "Maintain a 30-degree angle with the knife, follow the vine’s texture, don’t go against it." She took the tool from Ron’s hand, using almost a blindingly skillful technique, swiftly drawing a perfect trajectory on the vine. The thorn tips and growths were neatly removed without damaging the vine itself. Ron closely observed this process, quickly adjusting his own handling style. He had always been adept at observing and learning, and Lady Allen’s demonstration inspired him greatly. [Herb Recognition Experience Points +1] As time went by, Ron’s technique gradually became adept. He began to discern patterns in the thorn distribution, finding the most efficient handling order, even predicting the location of the next particularly tricky growth. At this moment, he made a peculiar discovery—these Hidden Thorn Vines didn’t seem to grow thorns in disarray but rather followed some unspeakable pattern. More curiously, when he focused entirely on the task, he could feel a faint yet distinct energy fluctuation inside the vines. It was a life rhythm completely different from Breathing Technique and Meditation, yet equally filled with Rhythm. "Interesting..." Ron murmured to himself, completely immersed in this newfound discovery. He tried coordinating his actions with this natural Rhythm while handling the thorn tips, surprisingly improving his efficiency significantly. It was as if the vines, to some extent, ’understood’ and ’cooperated’ with his movements. Just as Ron was fully engrossed, Lady Allen once again appeared by his side, offering a cup of dark green steaming liquid. "Drink it; it will alleviate the toxin accumulation." Her tone was calm, yet her eyes held a faint trace of scarcely detectable approval: "Looks like you’re more suited for this job than I imagined." Ron gratefully took the cup, verified it was safe, then took a sip. He was somewhat surprised to find out that although the liquid looked peculiar, it tasted unexpectedly sweet, like peppermint tea with honey, instantly dispelling the numbness in his fingers. "Thank you, madam." He sincerely thanked her and then promptly returned to his work. Far ahead of schedule, Ron completed the processing of all the Hidden Thorn Vine before evening. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, satisfied with the pile of perfectly treated silver-grey vines, his heart filled with a sense of accomplishment. "Not bad at all." Lady Allen checked the results, her voice barely containing her surprise: "Much better than I expected; you seem to have found the trick to handling Hidden Thorn Vine?" Ron didn’t hide his discovery: "I noticed a kind of specific growth pattern on the vine’s surface. When my movements aligned with it, the efficiency significantly increased." "Growth pattern?" An intriguing glint appeared in Lady Allen’s eyes: "Interesting... very few can perceive the life pulsation of Extraordinary Plants. Your Perception Ability is indeed quite special." Speaking, she took out a small bag prepared a long time ago from under the counter, from which came a crisp clinking sound of hard objects colliding: "Now, let me settle today’s Magic Stone Fragments for you; there’s a bit more than usual. Your efforts deserve this extra reward." Ron took the bag, felt its weight, estimating about five Magic Stone Fragments inside, indeed more than the usual two. "Thank you for your generosity, madam." He stored the Magic Stone Fragments and prepared to say farewell: "See you tomorrow." "Wait, don’t rush off yet." The old witch suddenly called him, her tone carrying a scarcely detectable sense of concern: "Are you about to take the Elementary Apprentice qualification assessment later?