Mage Seda's face was livid. It was unclear if this was due to Elan's death, Gaode's unnatural calm after committing murder, or perhaps a mix of both.
"How dare you kill him? All of you are my apprentices. You are my private property. I alone have the right to decide if you live or die."
"I know," Gaode nodded. A look of helplessness surfaced on his pale face as he explained, "But he wanted me dead, so I had no choice but to ensure he died first. After all, I don't want to die just yet." He looked up, meeting Mage Seda's gaze with utmost sincerity.
"You killed my apprentice without my permission. That is the destruction of my property, and you will pay for it with your life," Mage Seda said coldly, completely unmoved.
"Dying by your hands, my Lord Mage, is still better than dying by the hands of a despicable wretch," Gaode replied, shifting his gaze toward the stiffening corpse on the bed. "Besides, he was likely the one who truly wanted to encroach upon your property.
"Yesterday, Elan told me to my face that he wanted me dead. My life is cheap and expendable, but if my death were to delay your progress in developing the Magic Potion, that would be a terrible mistake." Gaode's words carried a pointed implication.
This was the very reason he had the audacity to assassinate Elan in the dead of night.
Gaode was certain that no matter what Mage Seda thought about the murder or how he might react, there was absolutely no way the mage would actually make him pay with his life right now. Because at this very moment, he possessed irreplaceable value to Mage Seda—he was the only apprentice so far to have "survived" the potion testing.
If Mage Seda wanted to successfully brew the Magic Potion as quickly as possible, he would absolutely need Gaode for the next trial. Therefore, before the next trial took place, Mage Seda would never let him die.
The upcoming potion trial was the Sword of Damocles hanging over Gaode's head, but at the same time, it was his Immunity Token.
And indeed, he was right.
For someone with absolute authority and power like Mage Seda, the fact that he hadn't immediately obliterated Gaode upon discovering Elan's murder—and was instead wasting his breath exchanging words—meant that Gaode held value to him. It proved that Gaode was an asset he couldn't afford to casually discard right now.
But Gaode's objective didn't stop there. Taking a steadying breath, he spoke to Mage Seda once more.
"My Lord Mage, Elan defied your authority first, and I merely acted in self-defense. Moreover, whatever tasks Elan performed, I can do as well, without it affecting my original duties in the slightest. With him gone, you will suffer absolutely no losses, and you will even save on the cost of feeding an extra mouth."
"Self-defense? Heh, you call this self-defense..."
Mage Seda swept his gaze over the seemingly chaotic room. Believing he understood exactly what had transpired, he sneered at Gaode's reasoning. "These are nothing but base tactics for grabbing power! Even if Elan deserved his fate, how he is punished is my business, not your decision to make. Your night assassination crossed the line.
"You test potions for me. If my Magic Potion is successfully brewed, you would have received substantial benefits, and I would have formally taken you in as my apprentice.
"But your clever little scheme guarantees you will no longer receive such treatment. You will regret what you did today."
Without waiting for Gaode to react, Mage Seda gave a cold snort and turned toward the door. "From now on, you'll take over his chores, but his workload is the only thing you'll be getting."
Evidently, Mage Seda was fully aware of what Gaode was relying on and what he secretly desired.
Watching Mage Seda leave, Gaode didn't feel the slightest ripple of emotion in response to his threats.
As for the mage's claim that he would "receive substantial benefits once the Magic Potion is successfully brewed," Gaode didn't believe for a second that the sly old fox would be so kind. Furthermore, he knew perfectly well that the probability of actually brewing the Magic Potion successfully was abysmally low.
In Mage Seda's eyes, the fact that Gaode survived the potion trial meant he was infinitely close to success. But Gaode knew the truth better than anyone: Mage Seda was still miles away from succeeding!
As for the supposed regret he would feel over today's actions, that wasn't even worth mentioning. If he hadn't fought back, the next potion trial would be the time of his death. Why would he care about what came after?
Assassinating Elan tonight might have seemed reckless, but it was actually a carefully calculated move on Gaode's part. The consequences were practically nonexistent—his situation couldn't get any worse anyway. The gains, however, were plentiful. Besides eliminating a major threat, it allowed him to mentally prepare himself for the act of killing, helping him adapt to this cannibalistic environment.
Most importantly, he had acquired Elan's right to freely enter and exit the Medicinal Garden. Only by stepping out of this confinement would he have a greater chance to escape his current predicament.
As for the inexplicably activated Crescent gemstone, that was an entirely unexpected bonus.
SPLASH!
A basin of clean water washed away the last traces of blood in the room. Gaode reached up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Though the matter of Elan had temporarily blown over, the crime scene still needed to be cleaned up. Leaving it as a bloody mess was not only disturbing, but the corpse would also start to rot and stink after a while. Since Mage Seda hadn't assigned anyone to deal with it, Gaode, being the "murderer," took it upon himself to wrap things up.
The room was now spotless.
"We should bury his body in the back mountain," Amy, who had volunteered to stay and help, spoke up. "The apprentices who tested potions before are all buried there too."
Gaode nodded, raising no objections.
One grabbing the legs and the other taking the shoulders, the two lifted Elan's corpse.
Amy looked at the roommate he lived with day in and day out—someone he should have been incredibly familiar with, yet who now felt exceptionally like a stranger. After hesitating for a long time, he said softly to Gaode, "I really never expected you to do something like this."
He was shrinking back slightly. Upon seeing Elan's gruesome state, an instinctive sense of fear toward Gaode had begun to take root in him. Most people were naturally afraid of murderers.
"If someone was trying to kill you, what would you do?" Gaode asked.
Amy froze, entirely unable to come up with an answer. He understood what Gaode meant, but he also knew that if he were ever placed in such a situation, he would only freeze in a panic. He definitely wouldn't be able to act as decisively as Gaode had.
"Let's go. Lead the way." Noticing Amy's fear, Gaode no longer acted as cautiously around him as he used to.
After burying Elan's corpse, Gaode and Amy returned to the Medicinal Garden. It was just about time for the apprentices' breakfast.
The two of them had been busy for quite a while. Gaode, in particular, had expended a great amount of Physical Strength between committing murder and burying a body. Famished, he immediately hurried to the dining hall.
When the apprentices in the dining hall saw Gaode walk in, the previously noisy room instantly went dead silent. Only the sounds of chewing remained. Witnessing Elan's horrific death with their own eyes had dealt a massive shock to these apprentices, who, strictly speaking, were still just children. At this moment, the apprentices looked at him as if he were a ferocious beast.
Gaode acted as if he didn't notice. He grabbed a portion of breakfast for himself and found an empty seat to sit down. He took a large bite of rye bread soaked in pea soup.
The texture was as indescribable as ever, yet it was no longer as hard to swallow as before. He wondered if it was because he was starving, or if it was something else entirely.
As Gaode swallowed his breakfast, he went over his schedule for the day. Despite having killed a man in the dead of night, he still had to continue working today.
In the morning, he was responsible for cultivating a section of herbs in the Medicinal Garden and feeding the little gray mice. In the afternoon, he had to concoct Basic Spider Venom Potions, and the evening would be dedicated to his cultivation. It was a highly fixed and monotonous routine, repeating day after day.
Downing the last gulp of warm pea soup, Gaode stood up. After bidding farewell to Amy, he headed toward the backyard. That was where the herb cultivation area of the garden was located.
Over the course of yesterday, thanks to his roommate Amy, Gaode had gained a general understanding of the Medicinal Garden's terrain and zonal layout. He could now basically navigate to each area on his own.