The Cornflower Witch Chapter 32

Chapter 32: The Door in the Eye

After the assessment, Scholar Hyde, wanting everyone to relax and change their mood after the intense period, announced, “For the next week, we will be staying in a village outside the city.”

“Each person can only bring one box of luggage, containing a change of clothes. We will all depart tomorrow morning.”

“We will conduct classes in a natural environment and let you truly experience various crops and the working conditions of farmers.”

“Alright, after this morning’s class, you can go home and prepare.”

“Oh~” The students cheered at the announcement of a break.

Afterward, everyone gathered to discuss how they would spend the next few days in the countryside village.

For commoner students, this was nothing new, but for some noble and wealthy students, it was quite novel.

“I wonder if we can hunt there. I learned archery a year ago, but I haven’t had a chance to use it in practice.”

“Can I bring my beloved pet, Kaka? He’s a loyal hound.”

“If only I could ride a horse and gallop across the grass with my beloved.”

“I’m tired of staying in Burntstone City.”

“Is there a river there? Can we swim?”

“If there’s a river, we can fish.”

“Sigh, it’s no fun if we can’t bring servants.”

“Perhaps we can go see the scarecrows. I just read a strange story about scarecrows recently.”

At this moment, Komia also pulled Hylial and Karen together to discuss.

“Karen, bring your bow and arrows. This time you’ll have a chance to use them. Maybe we can even hunt something and barbecue,” Komia suggested.

“No problem. I also have a set of wilderness tools that I’ve used before,” Karen nodded.

“What about you, Lia? What are you good at?”

“I can probably help you identify wild plants. And, yeah, I can also prepare food,” the girl thought for a moment.

“Then how about you bring some seasonings, or maybe we also need a picnic blanket.”

“As for me, I’m going to ask my dad to prepare a set of tents for me to carry.”

“Aren’t we staying in a village, not in the wilderness?” Hylial recalled.

“Oh, isn’t it wilderness camping? Alright, then I’ll bring some delicious food and a blanket. After all, I need to sleep comfortably.” She loved sleeping a lot.

“It’s settled then. We’ll leave together tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

…

In the afternoon, Hylial began to prepare back at her residence.

Actually, she didn’t need to bring much, apart from essential clothes, just two books, a notebook, and a small bag of seasoning tools.

Should she bring a pillow? She was quite fond of the buckwheat pillow she had recently made. In a situation where cotton was unaffordable, such a pillow was already very comfortable.

She hugged the pillow, felt it, and decided to bring it.

It wasn’t heavy anyway; she could carry it.

Then there were the plants in the backyard that she couldn’t leave unattended.

Thinking this, she went to the bedroom and took out the newly made potion bottle, examining it carefully.

This potion was given to her by Teacher Hyde yesterday. It was said that the Apothecaries’ Guild had spent several days concocting it before finally succeeding.

[Green Eye Potion] (Tier 1 – Jade Nectar): Drip into the eye, allowing you to see the internal nutrient flow, hidden characteristics, and growth status of plants. (Good quality, each effect lasts 3 minutes)

“Only three minutes?” the girl whispered, then opened the bottle and carefully extracted a few drops with a specialized glass tube, dripping them into her eye.

An instant coolness spread, and everything in her vision became dim, like a black and white world. But… she blinked and looked at herself in the mirror.

Her formerly light blue eyes had one turning emerald green, giving the girl in the mirror a strange and mysterious charm with her heterochromatic eyes.

Arriving in the backyard, Hylial’s gaze swept over the flowers and plants, noticing that in this black and white world, these plants had exceptionally vibrant colors. Even green, she could discern hundreds of different forms and shades, which was extraordinary.

Standing in front of the Swan Orchids she had cultivated, the girl carefully bent down to observe them. As if blessed with x-ray vision, she gradually perceived the ‘colors’ within the Swan Orchids. This ‘seeing’ was more akin to an intuition, revealing their rhythms and differences.

Following the patterns of these colors, Hylial placed her hand on a Swan Orchid. Activating the ‘Jade Nectar’ aspect of the potion in her eyes, a more delicate and clear sensation emerged. It was as if another layer of ‘touch’ was added to the ‘colors’, along with the plant’s faint breathing ‘rhythm’. The fusion of these three perceptions revealed a more three-dimensional and entirely different understanding.

The world hadn’t changed, yet she saw things she had never seen before, as if stepping out of a narrow, dark cave and witnessing the vast wilderness under the sky for the first time.

Countless pieces of information converged in her eyes and mind, then were simultaneously understood and analyzed, gradually organized.

Three minutes was completely insufficient. She had to drip a few more drops of the Green Eye Potion into her left eye. This green-tinged eye held an exotic charm, the emerald green in its pupil seeming to undulate and flow like liquid, drawing one into its depths.

Repeated perceptions, repeated understanding and analysis revealed the secrets of the plants before her, like sealed doors opening in Hylial’s eyes.

The unknown, the knowledge, the mystery behind each door were revealed one by one.

(Insight into ‘Swan Orchid’ gained. When encountering ‘Swan Orchid’ plants in the future, you will have an informational advantage. ‘Identification Eye’ completion +1)

A realization flashed in the girl’s mind, and then she slowly disengaged from that immersive state.

At this point, when she observed the Swan Orchids again, various organized pieces of information resurfaced in her mind.

[Swan Orchid] (Good – 58): Growing. Humidity is not optimal; it needs to be increased by 21.24%. Ambient temperature is slightly low; it needs to be raised by 5.8 degrees. Soil is compacted due to watering, reducing aeration. Nutrients are insufficient, lacking some trace nutrients…

She hadn’t noticed before, but upon inspection, Hylial discovered so many issues.

Humidity? Temperature? These were not things she could currently solve; it would probably require a greenhouse. However, for soil compaction, aeration, and nutrients, she thought of many solutions.

First, aerate the soil, replace the surface layer, and mix in a small amount of grit to improve aeration and prevent clumping. Then, water some of the Swan Orchids, and finally, find some eggshells, crush them into powder, and add them to the soil as fertilizer.

She noted down her proposed solutions in her notebook, then began aerating the soil, constantly adjusting her actions and recording data, as if searching for the perfect gear mesh.

And so, Hylial remained busy until dusk. By the time Talil returned home from work, she had just risen from the field ridges in the backyard.

“Lia, I bought bread on my way home today,” Talil said, placing the bread she was carrying in the kitchen, then finding the girl who had just emerged from the backyard.

“Why are your arms and skirt covered in mud? Were you that busy today?” She took Hylial’s hand, helped brush her off, and asked with concern.

“Talil, I made many discoveries today,” Hylial’s voice was uncharacteristically cheerful, even slightly excited.

“Are you that happy today?” Although Talil didn’t understand what Hylial had discovered, she was also happy.

“How about we skip the bread and go to the restaurant for a big meal instead?” She was a little greedy.

Normally, Hylial would be a bit reluctant to spend money, as she didn’t have many Silver Coins saved up.

But she was truly happy today, so she nodded in agreement.

“Okay, tonight then, but next time we’ll have to wait a while. We still need to save money!” Seeing her agree, Talil jumped happily, then looked at Hylial and hurried to the kitchen.

“What are you doing in the kitchen?” the girl asked curiously.

“Getting you some hot water, Lia. You can’t go out like this!” her voice came from the kitchen.

…

About an hour later, a refreshed Hylial, after her bath, changed into clean clothes and went out with Talil.

They returned to Gleria Restaurant, where they found a quiet private room.

Tonight, they ordered ‘Braised Oxtail with Red Wine.’

[Braised Oxtail with Red Wine] (Excellent): Braised oxtail, with onions and bay leaves fried in hot oil. When the oxtail is 80% cooked, add the fried onions and bay leaves, carrots, seasoned with garlic, salt, sugar, and tomato paste. Finally, when serving, accompany with several roasted round potatoes and pour the rich sauce over them to enjoy.

The two enjoyed a rare and delicious feast. Afterward, Talil, feeling satisfied, walked home with Hylial, and by this time, the girl had already thought of the task she needed to give Talil.

“So, Lia won’t be home for the next week?” Talil sounded a bit dejected because Hylial was a good cook, and she got to try new dishes every night.

Although she couldn’t compare to the chefs at the restaurant, Talil still liked her cooking very much.

“If Lia isn’t home, I’ll have to eat dry bread and vegetable soup every night.”

“Just bear with it for a bit! If it’s really unbearable, you can go to Sister Winnie’s for dinner,” the girl teased.

“I can go, but it would be awkward if I went too often.”

“Speaking of watering plants, Lia, how do you water your flowers? I see you record the water amount and time every day,” Talil asked.

“You don’t need to worry about that. Tonight I’ll organize the chart, and then you can just water them according to the amounts listed.”

Talil certainly couldn’t be as precise as her, but for the current cultivation of ‘Swan Orchids,’ all other conditions had already been adjusted. As long as the watering amount was within a 30% error margin, it would still be enough to cultivate ‘Swan Orchids’ of excellent quality.

“So, I’ll leave it to you for the next week.”

“Leave it to me, o(*￣︶￣*)o~” With that, the two smiled and walked home.

It had been over a month since she last left Burntstone City, and this outing brought Hylial a fresh wave of excitement and anticipation.

(End of this chapter)