Free Web NovelChapter 798: Chapter 87: Hela’s Hidden Identity·The Perfumer Priest and the Unrivaled Value of the Incense Burner
Hela’s steps halted in front of the Corridor Fragrance Garden. The wind brushed past clusters of lilac flowers on the trees, scattering a few snow-like petals onto her temples, reminiscent of the pear blossoms from her homeland that fell in the hair of the witches in March. Her uplifted fingers hovered in the air, with an almost imperceptible tremor upon closer inspection — those lilac trees planted in scattered patterns were an exact match with the scenery of her homeland, down to the way the petals under the sun resembled a glass lantern.
The sun elongated her shadow on the cobblestone path, overlapping, in a trance-like fashion, with her twelve-year-old self. Back then, she loved to wind her slender waist through the spice racks, allowing the warmed grasses to coat her skirt. At this moment, the scent of lilacs floating in the wind suddenly took form: the lilacs ahead exuded her mother’s accustomed cold plum fragrance, while the rosemary strands hanging from the pergola on the right kept to the seven-inch length her elder sister loved.
She squatted down, her skirt brushing against the freshly loosened soil. The moist earth scent mixed with a certain familiar fungal aroma wafted up, similar to the first thunderstorm of the rainy season in the south when her father took her to recognize the underground mycelium’s scent. Her fingertips touched a moss-covered stone, the night dew gathered in its indents as refreshingly cool as the rainwater in the stone mortar of her ancestral home’s courtyard.
The most lethal was a thread of fragrance floating like silk. A half-bottle of aromatic dew forgotten by some Dawn Nun at the hedge, emitting the incense of her coming-of-age ceremony. As the blue smoke climbed up her drooping locks, the sound of the water in the Gem Pool seemed transformed into the light tinkling of copper bells at the old abode’s eaves. She was compelled to place her palm over her wildly thumping heart, where the half piece of a peacock silver pin resided, seeming to resonate and burn somewhere within the fragrant garden.
Suddenly, Hela couldn’t stop her tears from bursting forth, her pale right hand tensing tightly as she grasped the tree trunk of the lilac, as if trying to find a sense of home within the tree.
Then, clutching her chest with her left hand, she staggered into the Corridor Fragrance Garden, soon finding the presence that made her heart burn— the second prized artifact crafted for the territory, the Perfumer’s Incense Burner!
This was a treasure created by the Divine Chosen Oliver after sensing the intense Divine Grace from the Goddess of Justice, following Su Li’s assistance to the Goddess of Justice in stabilizing her largest parish and gifting a Sulande Elector.
The treasure produced under these circumstances could be said to be one of the territory’s greatest treasures, also among the notable artifacts within the Church of the Goddess of Justice.
Hela held the artifact and slowly walked out, then bent down to pick up the herbs that grew all along her path, placing them into the incense burner.
The incense burner instantly blossomed into a lilac-colored gentle glow, the radiance making Hela’s delicate chin and visage seem to emit light.
Soon the glow faded away, the continuously flickering incense burner became calm, and Hela opened the lid. Accompanied by a burst of golden light, a fragrance more intense and pure than flowers and spices wafted out, making everyone around feel refreshed and happy.
After opening the incense burner, six golden amber-like crystal aromatic medicines all flowed out onto her white slender palm.
Later, Hela took Su Li by the hand, putting all the aromatic medicines into his palm, saying: "Lord, this is Heart-Protecting Amber, which is miraculously effective during a knight’s charge, breaking only after successfully fending off a lethal attack."
Su Li, shocked, looked down at the textured aromatic medicine in his hand—it was indeed Heart-Protecting Amber! Then he turned to look at Hela’s gentle face, saying: "Isn’t this Perfumer’s Incense Burner supposed to only gather its effects once each cycle? It requires a lot of Wind of Magic to activate. And this cycle’s effect has already been used, how could you forcibly activate it?"
Hela slightly lowered her head, saying: "The Ramsey family actually deceived you. But they were also kept in the dark. Truthfully, the spices produced here behind me can’t be replanted, that is a manifestation of Divine Grace. How could mortals extend Divine Grace? Would that not be an act of overstepping Divine Authority?"
Su Li immediately clenched the fist inside his sleeve—indeed, the Ramsey family wasn’t so kind-hearted, supporting the Hesse Territory’s spice industry with all their might.
He questioned how Zoe could possibly give away the entire spice seed library of the East to the Hesse Territory for free?
"However, there’s one more thing the Ramsey family is also unaware of. Among the Snake People in the distant land of the Tiger Man, their identity isn’t just as a gardener tending to spices, but more importantly, as a perfumer. This profession’s status in the Spice Country can be compared to various priests and priests in the Empire."
After speaking, she poured the ashes from the incense burner into a pouch she carried, saying: "This is [Harvest Embers] created by Jilun Magic, which can be buried in the soil to greatly enhance soil fertility, doubling yield easily. It can also increase the nutritional value of fruits, even boosting the probability of Extraordinary Fruit appearing. It’s effective on spices and herbs too. My suggestion is for you to scatter this Harvest Embers in the spice fields. Since in the hands of a perfumer, this incense burner not only can use the energy of the Magic Eight Winds, but also directly produce various valuable tools using spices."
After hearing Hela’s explanation, Su Li was immediately overjoyed. The Ramsey family had truly made a mistake, giving Hesse Territory a massive surprise! However, despite this, it wouldn’t delay Su Li from settling accounts with their family in the future.
Although the final execution turned out well, undoubtedly, their intentions were bad. Everything should be calculated clearly.
