Chapter 21 - Try To Win Over! Murderous Intention!
Chen Rui watched as Master Kemp walked towards the balcony with two glasses of wine. Chen Rui then deliberately said to Alice, "Your Royal Highness, it's naturally the secret of Master Aldas. How would I know as an apprentice?" Alice also saw Master Kemp and knowing that the time and place were not suitable for saying that, Alice immediately threatened him to sign the unequal agreement of storytelling and walked to the side while holding Athena.
Master Kemp walked over to Chen Rui and handed over a glass of wine. "Thank you, master. I don't deserve this," Chen Rui said with a flattering look. He only drank after he saw Kemp take a sip. Kemp was satisfied with Chen Rui's attitude and praised, "Chen Rui, your bravery today was good. If it were my apprentice, he wouldn't have the courage to drink Sandro's poison."
Chen Rui replied modestly and waited for Kemp to continue. As expected, the master began to "casually" ask questions about Aldas, such as his habits and hobbies, slowly shifting the topic to today's challenge. "That 'Ten Metres Scent' was really amazing. I can tell it was just a Stinky Potion made with some ordinary materials. Why did it have such a strong venom? We are all specialists. Don't use that...fart as an excuse. That was purely Aldas' counterattack against Sandro's humiliation."
Chen Rui took another sip of wine. Kemp was indeed thinking about that. It was definitely impossible to say that it's 'Lala Potatoes', even the little princess wouldn't be tricked. "Master Kemp is indeed keen-eyed. As Sandro's words and behaviors angered Master Aldas, that's why he used such a way to fight back. In fact, the potion that killed Sandro contained not only the ingredients of Stinky Potion but also some of Master Aldas's additives that were brewed in advance."
Kemp's eyes suddenly brightened, "Additives! Do you remember the composition?" Chen Rui glanced at Kemp vigilantly, "Master Aldas said that these things can't be told to anyone. I'm only a trainee apprentice now. The master doesn't even let me address him as my teacher. I don't want to be expelled out of the lab by the master."
"How come?" Kemp thought. "You have an excellent aptitude. All of my apprentices together can't compete with you. Aldas wouldn't give up such a good disciple. Too bad you're not my apprentice..." Chen Rui looked surprised, "Is my aptitude really that good? Why does master always say I'm stupid then?"
Not just stupid; you're extremely idiotic! Kemp thought he had prevailed successfully, so he whispered, "If you want, you can come with me to the capital city. Within ten years, you will become the best potion master."
He was just fooling Kemp previously, but the current proposal actually raised Chen Rui's interest. What he valued was naturally not being a potion master but something else. Judging from Sandro's challenge, Prince Obsidian had begun to openly suppress Princess Shea. The situation in Dark Moon City was bad. No one knew when a war would occur. If he could go to the capital, the danger would reduce a lot.
The only thing was that the recipe of the poison was just a bluff, just as his identity as a grand master's successor. They certainly couldn't stand the test of time. Moreover, he had signed a symbiotic contract with the poison dragon. It was pointless for him to go anywhere unless he could help the poison dragon to dispel the seal.
After pondering, Chen Rui replied casually, "Master used his own additives. It seems to contain melamine and Sudan Red. I only know a few of them. However, I will not leave Master Aldas. Even though I have yet to collect enough tuition fees, and I am not allowed to call him my 'teacher'."
The names of the two strange additives made Kemp spirited. He smiled from deep within, "I can fund your tuition, but in return, you have to help find out the complete recipe of these additives."
"Really?" Chen Rui's surprise was beyond words. The lich master continued to persuade the apprentice, "I am a potion master. I just want to study melamine and Sudan Red academically. The cost of being a pharmaceutics apprentice is quite high. For you, this is a rare opportunity. It will never appear again once you lose it."
Chen Rui thought to himself, "Are you going to make food after studying it?" Chen Rui looked hesitant on the surface, and he finally nodded.
Kemp checked whether anyone was around and took out a small leather bag. He gave it to Chen Rui and whispered, "There are fifty purple crystal coins. You take these first. There is also a magical communication stone inside; you can use it up to ten times. I might return to the capital city immediately. After you got the recipe, feel free to contact me. I will pay you a satisfactory price."
The magic crystal coins were arranged as black crystal, purple crystal, and white crystal with descending value. The exchange rate between each type was 1 to 100. The price of renting a tri-horned rhino was twenty white crystal coins. People from the capital city were indeed generous. Fifty purple crystal coins would cover his expenses for a while.
Chen Rui pretended to receive the small leather bag nervously and put it in his arms. He then mentioned several rare venomous materials he had seen in the book. Kemp was taking them down as if they were treasures. Chen Rui warned him not to tell anyone about it, then he turned and left.
Chen Rui naturally didn't put it in his mind, but he was thinking about his next step. Kemp held his glass of wine and drank while walking back to the hall to find Athena and others.
Seeing Athena and Alice beside Princess Shea, Chen Rui hesitated whether he should go over, then he met the two cold eyes of the first beauty, Princess Shea, in the distance. Shea's cold gaze glanced at his eyes, and the biting cold almost made Chen Rui shiver. Fortunately, Shea just looked at him casually and looked away.
The beauty of this princess was just as extreme as her coldness. Chen Rui thought, "Forget it, let's not go over."
After the banquet, the guests from the capital city had no intention of staying. They immediately left as expected.
As Chen Rui wanted to return to the lab, he was stopped by Kaguron at the entrance of the inner court, saying that Princess Royal had to summon him alone.
Chen Rui's eyes brightened. Shea was the plan's insider. Now that he made an extraordinary achievement, with her clear rewarding and punishing style, there must be some benefits.
The place where Shea summoned him was not the council hall but the garden of the inner courtyard. Chen Rui followed Kaguron to the inner courtyard. It was his first time entering the residential area of the inner courtyard. The security here was much stricter than the outer courtyard.
However, the "Imperial Garden" was just a simple small pond with a small piece of land with grasses and plants next to it; it was not comparable with the leisure places of the emperors and nobles he imagined.
Princess Shea stood by the pond and stared quietly at the surface of the water. The breeze gently blew the white dress. Just by looking at her slender back, one could feel her gracefulness. Under the serene purple moonlight of the Demon Realm, it looked like a beautiful art with a faint sense of loneliness in the silence.
Kaguron bowed, "Your Royal Highness, Chen Rui is brought here."
Chen Rui was bothered by the wordings of Kaguron. "What 'is brought'? I'm a hero now; not a prisoner." He said, "Kaguron, you can leave first."
After Kaguron left, Shea turned toward Chen Rui slowly. For the first time, Chen Rui was alone with Princess Royal. His heartbeat accelerated, feeling overawed by her beauty and coldness. He quickly saluted, "Awaiting for Princess Royal's command."
"Today in the arena... Although you were mischievous, I am surprised by your wit and adaptability," Shea said with a hint of compliments in her cold tone. "I want to know why Sandro was poisoned to death at the end? From what I know, Aldas has not developed such a level of poison. Is it that you have gained new knowledge from the inheritance of the grand master?"
Chen Rui explained, "Actually, Sandro was killed by his own potion. When I drank the last poison, I used a special method to temporarily keep some in my mouth. Then, after brewing the Stinky Potion, I deliberately spit some in it. In the end, the toxins were quite scary that Sandro was turned into green smoke. It was literally giving him a taste of his own medicine."
In reality, Chen Rui lied. The one that killed Sandro was the venom he got from the Poison Dragon, Paglio, yesterday. He kept it in an inconspicuous bottle, initially for precaution, but Sandro's viciousness raised his murderous intention.
Shea nodded. "Giving him a taste of his own medicine? Well said. You are very smart." Chen Rui added, "In fact, the master came up with all that. I only added some tiny ideas spontaneously. How can I even be comparable with the wisdom of Princess Royal."
Shea sighed, "Don't have to be modest. I know the best when it comes to Aldas' ability." She asked, "How long have you been in the Demon Realm? After this battle, you have completely won the appreciation and trust of Aldas. Athena's standard has always been very high, but she has already regarded you as a true friend. Even my temperamental sister has said a lot of good things about you to me. I admit that I have been ignoring your intelligence."
Chen Rui was surprised. "Little loli said good things at my back?" At least she has some conscience.
Shea asked calmly, "Today, at the banquet, did Master Kemp try to win you over?" Chen Rui felt like his mind was being seen through. Shea not only didn't let the success go to her head but also accurately analyzed many things.
"I really value talent. It'll be nice if you're a talent like Aldas that focuses on research," Shea shook her head and said with regret, "Unfortunately, merely the intelligence and mind games that you are showing make me feel unmanageable."
The calm water of the pond gradually rushed up; the fallen petals and leaves slowly sprung upward under the influence of a certain force field. The center of the force field was Shea. In an instant, Chen Rui felt the moonlight at the entire garden dimmed, and chills surrounded him from every angle. He was difficult to move at once.
Chen Rui was shocked and quickly said, "Princess Royal, please trust me!" Shea's voice became increasingly intimidating, "You are a human. I really can't think of any reasons for you to stay loyal! Sorry, I would rather have a truly loyal apprentice than a future grand master who may betray for Prince Obsidian at any time!"
Chen Rui was hurried: "Oh fuck, am I that unfortunate? The Super System hasn't started yet!"