Chapter 20: The Botanist
Chapter 20: The Botanist
The next morning, Lin Sai was once again awakened by the rising sun.
After breakfast, he followed his routine and studied the written language with Red Moon.
This was his third day of learning under Red Moon.
While his progress in the other two languages was slow, the Universal Script, which only required learning to read and write, had once again filled up his experience bar and surpassed the Beginner level, reaching a new stage—Mastery.
The skill upgrade was instantaneous.
Lin Sai's proficiency in the Universal Tongue had reached a level where he could handle any normal social interaction with ease, and he could listen, speak, read, and write fluently without any difficulty.
The skill name on his attribute panel changed from 'Universal Script' to 'Universal Tongue', indicating its wide applicability.
After that, Lin Sai set off.
Just as An Rui had mentioned the day before, he was to visit Botanist Finn's house on the second day to learn about plants from this elder, and on the third day, he would go to Hunter Dan.
These three Self-Awakened individuals, along with Lin Sai's mentor, Red Moon.
Each of them would take turns teaching Lin Sai, providing him with long-term guidance.
Bidding farewell to Red Moon, Lin Sai walked into town along the gravel road.
He arrived at the central square of the town and headed south from the statue of the Great Explorer.
That was the direction where Botanist Finn lived.
However, unlike My Lord's Manor, Finn's residence, when viewed from the front, appeared to be an ordinary wooden house, with its sides covered by lush vines.
But due to the onset of winter, the leaves had withered away, leaving only some dry vines clinging to the walls.
"This is the place..."
Lin Sai slightly turned his body, and his gaze went beyond the wooden house, looking towards the back.
Finn's residence was also located on the outskirts of the town.
Behind Finn's wooden house, the forest had been cleared in large patches and converted into farmland. As a Botanist, Finn was responsible for crop cultivation in the remote frontier.
Just like Lin Sai's hometown, where the Bai Lin Master also oversaw the village's food production.
However, due to the arrival of winter, the cold weather only allowed Lin Sai to see some cabbage leaves and some radish greens still growing above the ground.
Knock knock knock—
"Mr. Finn, are you home?"
"I'm Lin Sai, and I'm here today as arranged to learn from you."
Lin Sai first heard slow footsteps, and after a few breaths, the door in front of him opened.
An elderly man with graying hair appeared before him.
This aged Self-Awakened individual had a slightly hunched figure, his skin tanned and rough, but his eyes were sharp and bright.
He wore a simple gray robe, and on his chest hung a brownish-gray apron with numerous spots of dirt.
"Young one, you must be Lin Sai."
Finn smiled and led Lin Sai inside the house.
Entering the wooden house, Lin Sai found it to be quite unique.
Although it looked no different from the other houses in town from the outside, Finn's cottage had only three rooms, and the entire wooden house was divided into front, middle, and back sections.
The front room was the smallest.
This was a room with a small stove, where Finn fulfilled all his daily needs.
Moving further back, the second room was significantly larger.
But almost every wall in this room was lined with bookshelves, and on the ground around an old desk were piles of scrolls.
What particularly caught Lin Sai's attention was that there were only two chairs.
One of the chairs was old and worn, showing signs of significant wear and tear, while the other was brand new.
Finn, who lived here alone, had probably purchased the new chair specifically to welcome his student.
Then, the largest and last room in the entire wooden house was reached.
Calling this a room was actually not entirely accurate.
After passing through the study's door, the largest room at the end of the cabin was semi-open.
One end was connected to the cabin with wooden walls and a ceiling, but the other end, facing the distant fields, was almost entirely covered in glass, with areas divided according to the different needs of the plants.
At a glance, Lin Sai recognized it as a greenhouse similar to those in 18th-century monasteries. Various plants were cultivated here, including the radishes and cabbages he had seen outside earlier.
"Child, wait for me a moment."
"I still have some work to finish."
When Lin Sai approached, Finn was tending to the soil beneath a vibrant green seedling.
After receiving the student's message, he continued working diligently and patiently, carefully transplanting the seedling and moving it to another greenhouse compartment.
"Phew—"
After completing the task, Finn sighed in relief. He took off his apron and led Lin Sai to sit in the study.
The elderly botanist's face showed a slightly apologetic smile.
"Child, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Scholars dedicated to cultivating plants, especially crops, are respectable figures in any world.
Lin Sai quickly shook his head.
"Your work is far more important than mine."
"I'd gladly wait, no matter how long it takes!"
Lin Sai's words came from the heart, and Finn could see that.
A smile creased the corners of his eyes, and he even joked with the young man before him.
"While I was loosening the soil, I was thinking."
"A young lad, after learning from that An Rui fellow for a day, comes to me today. I'm afraid he'll complain that I can't teach him any powerful martial techniques."
"Ah, right." Finn teased, and Lin Sai also remembered his task, quickly speaking up, "Yesterday, at Uncle An Rui's house, something happened. I hope you can go and handle it today."
Finn frowned.
"What does An Rui want with me?"
After cultivating the crops, the hidden frontier town had little work for Finn. Usually, he only researched his techniques and improved the crop varieties for the town.
The only thing he could think of that needed his attention was the carefully cultivated crops that had developed problems due to mutations or similar issues.
However, if that were the case, Finn, who lived on the farming side, should have noticed the issue before An Rui, a member of the War Sect.
This didn't make sense.
He couldn't think of any problems related to his primary work.
Finn had to expand his thinking in another direction: "Could there be a problem with the forest here?"
"No, no, no! It's a beech tree."
Seeing the old man in front of him thinking in the wrong direction, Lin Sai quickly shook his head in denial and provided a detailed explanation: "To demonstrate the capabilities of the War Sect, Uncle An Rui accidentally cut down a beech tree. But since it was his daughter's beloved, he hopes you can provide some help."
The seriousness on Finn's face instantly froze.
After a few breaths, the ice melted, and the old man's body twitched, unable to hold back a laugh:
"Hahaha!"
"That young man is clearly of a certain age, yet he's still as impulsive and careless as he was in his youth. It serves him right to upset his beloved treasure."
The intense movement soon became too much for Finn.
He coughed a few times, his smile turning into a helpless shake of the head as his aging body warned him against such exertion.
"Teacher Finn, you..."
Lin Sai quickly went to him, but Finn only shook his head, indicating that it was unavoidable: "Old age is like this, can't be helped."
"Let's go to An Rui first and see what trouble he's gotten us into."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
