“Hmm... strange, Dandan is certain that Grandpa Healer’s rare plant, which was planted nearby, should be around here. But when Dandan touches it, it feels somewhat different. Could it be that now that Dandan can see, the rare plant Dandan senses feels a bit different? Hmm, that makes sense. After all, Dandan has a special ability with her eyes, so why not use it to see the plant’s name?”
Opening her bright green eyes, Gu Dandan received a rush of information flooding her mind as she looked at the plant in front of her. She pondered, trying to determine whether the information matched what her grandfather had told her.
“Hmm, the name is... Luna Might Anomaly? Huh? It’s the same name Grandpa Healer mentioned, but why does it have an extra ‘Anomaly’? And why are there so many additional benefits? As far as Dandan remembers, Grandfather only said it boosts immunity, cures various illnesses, and increases strength. But the information Dandan is receiving in her mind lists so many things, like purifying the body from worldly impurities and enhancing male vigor. What does it even mean by enhancing male vigor? Does it make men incredibly strong if they eat it? ...Wait, that’s not what Dandan should be thinking about. Dandan should focus on the strength-enhancing benefit, since that’s the one Dandan is looking for.”
“Hmm… there’s no specific strength-enhancing benefit in this plant, but with its extreme physical enhancement properties, the effect should be similar. In that case, Dandan will use this unfamiliar plant to boost her physical abilities. Maybe Dandan should combine it with other plants to intensify the effect—eh? Besides the rare Luna Might Anomaly, it turns out all the regular plants in this back garden also have ‘Anomaly’ at the end of their names? Could it be that every plant here has always had ‘Anomaly’ in its name? Maybe Grandfather forgot to tell Dandan about the ‘Anomaly’ suffix. And all these plants have quite a lot of effects—ah, pain! Ugh, Dandan’s eyes are hurting again. It must be because Dandan looked directly at all the plants in the garden with open eyes. It seems Master was right; Dandan really shouldn’t examine all the plants at once with her eyes open, or they’ll feel like they’re being stabbed.”
Closing her eyes again to avoid unintentionally using her eye powers, Dandan shifted her gaze back to the Luna Might Anomaly plant, pondering her next steps.
‘It seems Dandan doesn’t need to combine it with other plants, after all. Just the Luna Might Anomaly has the benefits Dandan needs. So, would using just a small amount be enough to strengthen Dandan’s body in a day? It should be, right? B-but if it turns out that sister isn’t satisfied during the test, won’t that mean Dandan will fail and have to train three times as hard? I-it’s probably better if Dandan just takes a lot of this plant to make the effect more potent. Hopefully, using a large amount will make Dandan’s body stronger successfully.’
After Gu Dandan picked a large amount of Luna Might Anomaly, which somewhat resembled Centella Asiatica from her master Vheena’s old world if she were to compare it, leaving only a few young plants behind, she went into the house. She ignored her master, who was peacefully sleeping in the backyard, too preoccupied with thoughts of what might happen if she failed.
Once inside, Gu Dandan headed to the kitchen to thoroughly wash the Luna Might Anomaly plants she had just pulled out, also filling a bucket with water to use later. Seeing that the dirt on the plants was now clean, she stopped washing them and carefully carried both the plants and the water-filled bucket to the herb preparation room. Once in the herb preparation room, Gu Dandan immediately poured all the water and the freshly washed Luna Might Anomaly plants into a large cauldron in the center of the room.
“Boiling the Luna Might Anomaly with water shouldn’t reduce its potency much, although it would be better if Dandan ate it raw. But it’s hard for Dandan to chew so many plants that would likely taste bitter, so it’s easier to boil them and drink the liquid. Since everything is already in the cauldron, it’s time to light the fire by setting the wood underneath aflame.”
Picking up two stones from under the cauldron, Gu Dandan struck them together to create sparks, hoping to ignite the bark and dry leaves near the firewood. Watching the sparks with her own eyes filled her with awe. After a brief pause, mesmerized by the process, she continued striking the stones in her hands repeatedly until she felt a slight change in temperature and saw a wisp of smoke rising from the dry leaves that caught a spark. Gu Dandan blew gently on the smoldering leaves, encouraging the spark to spread, until the bark and nearby firewood finally ignited.
Seeing that all the firewood beneath the stove had caught fire, Gu Dandan stood near the large cauldron, patiently waiting for the water inside to boil. After a while, when she noticed the water had started to bubble, she picked up a long wooden spoon nearby and began stirring the Luna Might Anomaly plants in the boiling water, humming cheerfully to herself.
“Stir~, stir~, stir~, Dandan is stirring~, even if forced by that mean cultivator sister, Dandan still loves making potions~, hmm~, hmm~, hmm~. Hmm? The color’s changing? Even though Dandan doesn’t know the name of this color, maybe it means the water and the plant’s essence are mixing? Since Dandan’s not sure, let’s taste it to find out. Time for a little taste~”
Slurp...
“Blegh, it tastes as bitter as the usual herbs Dandan tries. With this bitterness, the decoction should be ready, but… isn’t there too much of it in the cauldron? Do I have to finish it all? …It seems Dandan really has to drink it all, because if not, I’m worried the effect won’t be strong enough, and sist—master might punish me. S-so Dandan must be determined to finish it. H-here goes!”
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Glug, glug, glug…
“Blegh, hold on. Just a little more.”
Glug, glug, glug, glug…
“Urph, haa! Finally—blegh, Dandan managed to drink it all! Even though now Dandan’s stomach feels queasy and bloated, it doesn’t matter! The important thing is that Dandan just has to wait for the plant’s effects to kick in!”
Sitting on a chair in the herb preparation room, Gu Dandan waited for the effects of the Luna Might Anomaly decoction to kick in, trying to endure the queasiness and bloating in her stomach. Suddenly, a sharp pain surged through her entire body, causing her to collapse to the floor in convulsions.
Thud!
“Ghk...”
The pain was so intense that Gu Dandan fainted instantly, unable to even cry for help. Her body lay sprawled on the floor, with dark, foul-smelling impurities and dirty blood seeping from her body, while there was no one around to help.
_____________
Cock-a-doodle-do!
“Hngh…”
Regaining consciousness at the sound of a rooster crowing, Gu Dandan woke up from her faint and sat up to check her body, making sure nothing was wrong from her ordeal. Feeling relieved that there was no longer any agonizing pain or lingering effects, she looked around in confusion, realizing that the room around her was different from the herb preparation room where she had passed out.
“Thankfully there was no damage or any problems in Dandan’s body after feeling that excruciating pain, but why did Dandan wake up in another place? From the familiar walls and the blanket on Dandan’s feet, this is Dandan’s room, right? Dandan was sure this was Dandan’s room after feeling the softness of the mattress and the soft chest of my sister that was felt by her hand—eh? Sister? Why did she sleep on Dandan’s bed? Could it be that sister were the one who moved Dandan to the room when Dandan was unconscious? But why did sister sleep here?”
As Gu Dandan sat there, confused about why her sister or master was sleeping on her bed, her master suddenly awoke and looked at her, noticing her hand still resting on her chest.
“Hngh~, Little Dandan... y-you’re awake? Is your body alright?” Her master asked with concern, completely ignoring the fact that her hand was on her large chest.
“I’m fine, but why did master sleep with Dandan? And also, did master move me to my room when I was unconscious in the herb preparation room?” Gu Dandan replied innocently, lowering her hand from her master chest.
“Thank goodness you're fine—uhum, it's good to know there's no problem with your body. As for moving you to your room, that was done by master. The reason master slept with you was to make sure nothing else bad would happen to your body, just like when master found you covered in blood and filled with black, foul liquid in the herb preparation room.”
“Master found Dandan covered in blood and filled with foul liquid? Now that I think about it, my clothes are different. Did you change them after they were ruined by blood and fluids? If that's the case, then I want to apologize for causing you trouble, and I also want to thank you for changing my clothes.”
“Eh? Why are you worried about that? You should be more concerned after hearing from me that when I found you in the herb preparation room, your body was covered in blood and foul liquid… As for your clothes, I was the one who changed them after I bathed you, since your body was so filthy and reeked of that black liquid. But what I don’t understand is how you ended up in such a pitiful state. Could it be because you made a mistake while brewing the potion to strengthen your body, and instead of a strength-enhancing effect, it turned into a poison that nearly killed you?”
“No, master, I didn’t end up like that because of a mistake with the potion. Actually, the reason I fainted in such a pitiful condition, as you said, was because of the decoction of the Luna Might Anomaly plant that I drank. Even though the information I got through my eye ability didn’t mention any side effects from consuming the plant, strangely, when I drank the decoction, I felt excruciating pain throughout my body that made me faint right away.”
“O-oh, I see... Since you said earlier that your body is fine when I asked, could you tell me in detail about your condition?”
Hearing her master’s request to explain her condition in detail, Gu Dandan immediately followed her instructions. She sat still, focusing on examining and sensing her entire body to check for any abnormalities within.
“Hmm… hmm… hmm… Dandan’s body does feel fine, and I don’t feel any of that agonizing pain like after drinking the decoction. But for some reason, I feel like my body is filled with energy, and strangely, I also feel incredibly strong… Master! For some reason, I feel very confident in my body. Can we do the test now?!”
“Eh? O-oh… Y-you seem very confident… alright, we’ll do the test, but let’s have breakfast first.”
“Breakfast? Didn’t we already have breakfast earlier? Or do you mean we should have lunch?”
“Hm? Sweet Dandan, I forgot to mention this earlier, but I should tell you now—you were actually unconscious for an entire day.”
“A-an entire day?! M-master, while Dandan was unconscious yesterday, d-did anyone come by asking for treatment? Ugh, how could Dandan be out for an entire day? Because of that, I couldn’t help those who might have needed me,” Dandan said, her tone full of regret.
“Don’t worry about that. I took care of anyone who needed help while you were unconscious.”
“Oh! Dandan forgot that Master is a cultivator, and you’re also the one who’ll teach Dandan alchemy. I’d love to know how you helped them; could you tell me?”
“W-well… sweet Dandan~ since you were out for a whole day, you must be really hungry. So let’s eat first, then we’ll test your physical strength. Come on, let’s go to the kitchen and make some food together.” Master smiled, gently patting Dandan’s head, her awkward expression going unnoticed.
“But, Dandan really wants to know how you—”
Grumble… grr… gurgle…
“Ugh, Master’s right. I’m absolutely starving! I feel like eating lots and lots of meat until I’m full!”
“See? Now, let’s get off your bed and head to the kitchen. I can cook, and you can just sit at the table if you want.”
“No, Master. Even though I’m very hungry, I can’t just sit and do nothing while you cook. Please let Dandan help!”
“All right then, let’s go cook together.”
“Yes, Master!”
With that, they both got off the bed and headed to the kitchen to prepare food together. After cooking and enjoying breakfast at the dining table, Gu Dandan realized how hungry she had been when she ended up eating all the food on the table, including the leftovers from her master, due to her intense hunger.