"What are you doing? Let me down right now!"
At that moment, Lang Erfu, who had been bound, underwent another change.
The manic expression on his face vanished, replaced by clarity in his eyes. The hair on his previously bald scalp began to grow rapidly, thick green locks sprouting forth until they reached his ankles.
"Even the hair's grown back — looks like he's regained his senses!" a girl's voice rang out, and the green vines withdrew with a rustling retreat.
"Lang Erfu! You couldn't even control your own episodes of madness, and now you've broken the canyon's rules and disturbed our guests! You'd better get their forgiveness, or you'll be thrown out of this canyon!"
The two voices gradually faded. Throughout the entire ordeal, Leilin hadn't even caught a glimpse of the two Third-rank Apprentices' faces — the interior of the cave had been preserved remarkably well.
Lang Erfu seemed to realize what had happened and hurriedly bowed to Leilin in apology. "I'm sorry, sir! Due to certain mental issues, I sometimes can't fully control myself. I've caused you trouble, and I hope you'll give me a chance to make amends!"
After that, Lang Erfu slumped with dejection. "I thought I had the timing under control, but lately the episodes have been coming more and more frequently. I really might have to leave on my own..."
Leilin didn't know what expression to adopt, so he simply said, "Then first, please wake my servant. And deliver the materials I need as quickly as possible."
"Of course!" The dwarfish old man dragged his ground-length hair over to Gelin, pried open his eyelids for a look. "Your servant is merely unconscious temporarily — he'll be fine after some rest!"
He then pulled some brown powder from his clothing and had Gelin swallow it. Before long, the big man woke up.
At this point, Lang Erfu handed a small box to Leilin. "As compensation for this incident, I can give you a fifty percent discount!"
"..." Lein was somewhat speechless, but he still paid the Magic Stones, handed the small box to Gelin to carry, and took his leave.
As he was departing, Lang Erfu bowed deeply once more. "If you ever want to trade with me again, please remember — I'm only at my most rational when my hair has grown past my ankles. Please avoid me at all other times!"
Leilin nodded and left the canyon with Gelin.
He'd originally been in the mood to wander around, but after this incident, all desire had vanished. Who knew what other freaks lurked deeper in the canyon?
The path of a Wizard was filled with dangers — a failed advancement, a lab accident, magical radiation contamination, any of these could cause irreparable harm to the practitioner, or even death!
On top of that, with their prolonged lifespans and tremendous power, Wizards' personalities would inevitably become twisted over time, sometimes giving rise to all manner of mental problems.
Leilin thought back to Lang Erfu and the two Third-rank Apprentices who had intervened. The presence they gave off was nothing like the few apprentices back in Polar Night City.
To put it vividly, it was the difference between a pack of wolves and lambs.
"So the real Wizards rarely settle in human cities — most of them live out in the wild."
The imposing aura of the two Third-rank Apprentices he'd witnessed today set Leilin's heart racing. "As long as I successfully brew the Azure Potion, I can quickly advance to that level!"
...
In the laboratory, bathed in bright light, Leilin stared at a test tube on the desk that was steadily producing blue bubbles.
His hand remained steady, shaking the tube according to a peculiar rhythm.
The blue foam inside the test tube continuously formed and dissolved, yet never once overflowed past the mouth.
"Potion activity stabilizing. Threshold estimated in 3 minutes and 24 seconds!" the Chip's monitoring alert sounded.
As the alert came, a countdown appeared beneath Leilin's eye.
When the timer hit zero, Leilin immediately chanted the incantation in Ancient Byron Language: "Here lies the vast azure sea — come, little darlings!"
With his other hand, he poured several blue crystals he'd prepared nearby into the test tube.
Hummm! The test tube began to vibrate.
Streaks of blue radiance flew from the mouth of the test tube, swirling around its exterior, and in the glow they transformed into several tiny mermaids.
These little mermaids were no bigger than Leilin's thumb — their upper halves were that of girls, with two shells adorning their chests, and their lower halves were fish tails. Hand in hand, they circled the test tube, singing and dancing.
Their sweet, enchanting song echoed through the sealed chamber, plucking at Leilin's heartstrings.
"The final step — resist the mermaids' bewitching song!" Leilin's expression tensed.
Legend had it that mermaids possessed an incredibly terrifying charm in their voices, capable of luring sailors on the open sea into the depths to be devoured — they were often the culprit behind many ghost ships!
Leilin now felt a powerful impulse surging through his body — to cast everything aside and plunge straight into the ocean.
"This is only an illusion, bearing merely a tenth of the real thing's power. If it were a true mermaid — or even a mermaid Wizard — performing it, what would it be like?" Leilin gritted his teeth and released a layer of gray-black radiance from his body, blocking the song outside.
"Manxi!" After waiting another thirty seconds, Leilin suddenly uttered a single syllable.
Tss tss! Several small black needles materialized and pierced into the chests of the tiny mermaids.
Pained expressions appeared on the mermaids' beautiful faces, and suddenly they melted away, turning into a few drops of blue liquid that returned to the test tube.
Foam, crystals, and droplets mixed together at tremendous speed, and in an instant they had transformed into half a tube of deep blue potion.