The next day, Belinda visited Horác.  He focused on mixing some kind of poisons and didn’t notice her.

After seeing the cup in front of him, Belinda rolled her eyes and sat in the corner. She took out Horác’s notebook and read it. After her practicing with Piusz was completed she got a new task. Once every week, she needed to come and Horác would give her some herbs randomly. She needed to practice on them. To her surprise, she even got a seventh level poisonous herb. She remembered Piusz warned her more than once, she couldn’t touch herbs with a higher level than her cultivation. They had strong auras and those poisonous ones could even release toxic gas. Yet she held that herb with three level higher than her in her hands without problems... Only these times she could understand why she was chosen by Horác.

Today she came here because she wasn’t sure if Bertold really told him about Lucia’s state. She saw enough times how those two communicated. It was impossible to handle the matter.

After half an hour, she became bored to read and shut the book with a big force. It caused a loud noise and Horác’s hand shook a little.

„Ah! Too many! No good, I added 3 more drops than needed!” Horác cried out.

„... Isn’t it okay? It’s just a cup of tea...” Belinda sighed. „And... when you started to mix it? Isn’t the water already cold?”

„You don’t understand! Even if it’s just a cup, sometimes I drink 2-3 mouthful, then I put it away. When I feel that I want to drink this one, I’ll take it out. In my space, I even saved up 50 years old teas...”

„50 years?! It isn’t wine, so why the hell do you put it away?! How can your stomach handle those expired goods?!” Belinda’s chin fell.

„... You really don’t understand anything! When you soak tea leaves you need to pay attention to the time. And it’s lost its flavor after some hours. But! A good poison will never expire! I just need to heat it and I can drink it anytime!” Horác proudly patted his chest.

Belinda was speechless. She turned away and wanted to leave.

  Why the hell do I try to speak about logic with a braindead?

Horác grabbed the back of her collar. „Not that fast! Here some new herbs!”

Belinda watched the boxes placed in her hands. „I didn’t finish the previous pack!”

„You have enough free time to interrupt my research. You can handle them too!” Horác said mercilessly.

„... I just come to ask, if Bertold told you about Lucia.”

„Oh, that. It isn’t time yet, not? Then go and practice!” Horác pushed her out of the lab and closed the door.

Belinda was shocked. It was the first time Horác was so unfriendly. Was that tea so special? She didn’t know, but she didn’t dare to go back and ask. She sighed and went back to her room.

Some days later, Belinda went into the forest to train with Bertold. She walked behind him and watched his back. She wasn’t able to leave behind the matter with Horác. After thinking about it, she was sure he couldn’t behave that way because of the tea. But then what happened? She couldn’t figure it out. And the little gossip fan deep inside her heart couldn’t sit still. She wanted to know!

Belinda looked around and didn’t see any suspicious thing. „Bertold, do you know what happened? Why did Horác become anxious?”

Bertold suddenly stopped, then grabbed her waist. He jumped up to the top of a tree and went deeper into the forest. Once he reached a little meadow, he put her down.

Belinda supported her head. She felt dizzy. Her cultivation grew and she practiced a lot, yet her body couldn’t stand Bertold’s speed. She didn’t know if there would be a day when she would catch up...

Bertold leaned against a tree and watched some birds playing around a bush. „Two months before some information spread about a high level herb. It’s an unfamiliar one, so its worth is extremely high. For the money, 10 immortals formed a team and went to get it. After a week, only 2 of them came back. Sorrowfully, its strong poison wasn’t mentioned.”

„Poison, then...” Belinda had a guess.

Bertold nodded. „The teachers spoke about it and asked Horác if he would go, but he wasn’t interested. Later, two of them visited the principal and begged him. Originally, the principal didn’t want to practice in this problem, but something made him change his mind. Now every day, he is visiting Horác and interrupts his researches.”

„Aren’t they going too far?”

Bertold sighed. „There’s a lot of recipes that can’t be used anymore because some of the herbs it needs extinct. If they can find one, then there will be seeds and it’s possible to cultivate more.”

„I understand that, but if they are so precious then why they didn’t pay more attention to them in the first place?”

„... During wars, anything can happen. When a strong sect destroys another one, then the survivors can do anything to take revenge. It isn’t rare if they burn down their herb’ store and garden.” Bertold pointed at an herb under a bush. „Some herbs need special care and it made it hard to cultivate them. Those pieces of knowledge weren’t shared and the others gave up.”

„So those rare herbs were the privilege of some of the big sects and it caused their extinction...” Belinda tilted her head. „So now Horác is frustrated because the principal wants to force him... But he always handles these things so easily. Can’t he refuse it once and for all?”

Bertold curved his lips. „It isn’t that he can’t refuse it, but he doesn’t want to refuse! This kind of poison, he never ever touched before. He is too excited to run out and get it.”

„Then why doesn’t he go?!”

„Because there’s gossip about the Gifest sect’s leader. It says that this herb can neutralize the poison in his body.”