Chapter 325
"How about that plant? Did you hand it over to Professor Ashford?"
Aivina asked.
At this moment, Aivina actually hoped the plant had already been given to Ashford. If that were the case, Adele could step out of the public eye. Even if Ashford had ulterior motives, having the plant would mean he wouldn’t target Adele anymore.
— After all, Adele had an older sister who was the high priestess of the Savior Goddess Church.
"I gave him the leaves," Adele replied. "The flower is here..."
Adele pulled out a glass tube from her waist.
Inside the tube, a pale blue liquid shimmered with a mystical glow, and within that glow, a violet flower floated quietly, merging with the liquid to take on a deep indigo hue.
To Xia'er, this was not just a flower preserved in liquid.
It was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.
"Aivina, I think we need to head to Ansu City early..."
"I'll have the butler book tomorrow's train. I’ll take care of everything today."
PS1: Shocked Xia'er.
Chapter 181: The Most Gathered Episode.
"Miss Amy, let me help you with your things..."
"Thank you."
Inside Aivina's residence, a maid was carrying two large suitcases upstairs, while Amy, standing next to the butler, appeared somewhat reserved.
This was her third visit to Aivina's home; the last time was for a banquet.
This time, it was a private visit, and she would be staying the night... Xia'er had mentioned that the train tickets were already booked for tomorrow, and their departure was much faster than Amy had anticipated.
"Amy..."
A familiar voice called from the right side of the parlor. Amy turned to see Adele leaning weakly against the doorframe.
"Adele, what’s wrong?"
Amy knew Adele would be staying over as well, so she wasn’t too surprised. After politely nodding to the butler, she jogged over to Adele.
At that moment, Adele looked like a melting ice cream, slumped against the doorframe, her expression one of utter despair.
Amy bent slightly, helping Adele up, and asked, "What happened?"
"Sigh..."
Once upright, Adele sighed softly and casually asked, "Where's Xia'er?"
"Xia'er asked me to come over and then went to find her sister... She should be back soon, probably in the Gem District."
Suddenly, Amy remembered something and asked, "How's the paper? Has it been published? What did the professor say?"
"No... the paper..."
Adele was about to speak when she noticed the maids moving nearby, so she suggested, "Let’s talk in the study."
The two made their way to the study on the second floor, where Adele recounted everything that had just happened to Amy.
Amy was very interested in topics related to the extraordinary, so she listened intently to Adele's account.
By the time Adele finished, Amy had a good grasp of what had transpired.
Although she and Adele shared similar interests, as a daughter of nobility, Amy had a sharper instinct for politics and human relationships than Adele, who had grown up in an orphanage.
"That violet... it might be even more important than we think, Adele,"
Amy said after a moment of contemplation. "Right now, we’re like children walking through Bell Tower Alley with a thousand-pound note in hand..."
This mutated flower was worth a thousand Su pounds?!
Adele was stunned; that was more than her peak savings.
"Our discovery is likely to have made an impact,"
Amy reassured her with a smile. "But we might need to worry about attracting unwanted attention, which is why Xia'er wants us gathered here for protection."
"Then why did Xia'er send someone to find those 'doctors'?"
Adele pondered, hesitating as she suggested, "To pay them off?"
"That seems likely..."
Amy hesitated slightly, but then thought of the wealthy Aivina and nodded. "They probably went to offer hush money to prevent the information about the flower from leaking to more people."
After discussing this topic for a while, they both noticed another carriage entering the estate through the window, stopping at the fountain.
"Is that Xia'er’s sister?" Amy asked.
"Should be," Adele replied.
Curious, Amy inquired, "Is Xiaer's sister also extraordinary?"
Adele shook her head and said, "I don’t know; I’ve never met Xiaer's sister."
"Oh..."
Amy nodded lightly.
She hadn’t met Xiaer’s sister either.
When they had sent someone to investigate Xiaer's address, she had heard some rumors about Xiaer's sister, mostly strange nicknames like "freak."
"I see Xia'er!"
Upon spotting a figure with red hair, Amy could no longer sit calmly; she stood up and said, "Let’s go greet her!"
"Okay."
Adele nodded.
At that moment, she felt a bit anxious about seeing Xia'er...
Because her good intentions had backfired, forcing Xia'er to head to Ansu City ahead of schedule, disrupting Xiaer's original plans.
Moreover, the kind-hearted Xia'er hadn’t blamed her; instead, she was helping to clean up the mess that Adele had inadvertently created... To be honest, Adele would have preferred if Xia'er had scolded her; otherwise, the guilt in her heart would be hard to shake off.
Meanwhile, Xia'er was walking toward the residence with his sister, nodding at the old butler who stood at the door to greet them.
"Xia'er... are we really staying here tonight? Didn’t little Aivina say she was kicked out by her family and is almost bankrupt now...?"
Liqi tightened her grip on Xia'er’s hand as she looked at the grand and magnificent building before them.
Was this really a house for someone on the brink of bankruptcy? Was little Aivina’s idea of bankruptcy different from what she understood?
Liqi felt like she would be exhausted after walking around the estate twice...
"It’s fine; it’s just for one night,"
Xia'er reassured her as they entered the residence, spotting Adele and Amy approaching.
"Xia'er~"
Amy waved cheerfully at Xia'er.
Adele, with her hands clasped in front of her, quietly greeted Xia'er.
Having not slept all night and feeling guilty, her voice was so soft that even Amy almost didn’t hear her.
"Let me introduce you; this is my sister, Liqi."
Xia'er began the introductions. "This is Adele, a doctor, and this is Amy, a friend I met at the academy."
"Friend?"
Liqi looked at Amy with curiosity and leaned closer to Xia'er, whispering, "You have friends at the academy? How come I’ve never heard you mention them?"
"Our friendship was pretty shallow back then; we only got closer later,"
Xia'er replied to Liqi before turning to Adele. "Adele, I need to ask you for a favor."
"Sure... uh? What is it?"
Adele instinctively agreed, then realized she needed to ask what it was.
"Let’s talk in the room," Xia'er said.
...
Ten minutes later, Adele emerged from the guest room and looked at Xia'er, who was deep in thought in the hallway. "Xia'er, I’ve finished the examination."
"What’s the situation?"
Xia'er asked.
Since they were all present and had some time, Xia'er planned to have Adele check the burns on his sister's face.
After all, with the scars on her face and arms, his sister had likely endured countless harsh words.
Even if she couldn’t become extraordinary, it would be enough for her to live a prosperous life as an unblemished ordinary person.
"There’s no spirituality; she can’t become extraordinary,"
Adele shook her head and continued, "But the burns on her face and hands are likely caused by extraordinary potions—at least extraordinary materials. I detected abnormal reactions on her skin."
"Is there any way to restore her to her original state?"
Xia'er pressed on.
"It’s difficult... At least the potion school has no precedent for this. There are residues of the potion on her face, and over the years, it has penetrated deep into her skin and muscles. The healing school can’t cure it either."
After a moment of hesitation, Adele added, "However... Professor Ashford’s transformation school might have a solution... but transformation comes at a cost, one that ordinary people might not be able to bear."
Xia'er had witnessed the transformation methods of the "Newborn" Ashford; he had seen Ashford pull Lucy back from the brink of death in the simulated basement of Dedton Manor.
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