Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence - Chapter 590 - 351: Draft and Alchemy (3)

Chapter 590: Chapter 351: Draft and Alchemy (3)

But when Merian pushed the door open and stepped out of the house, sunlight poured through the crack, and for the first time, he did not reflexively retreat.

At that moment, he suddenly felt an illusion that he seemed to have truly left the shadow.

Then came the faint sound of hoofbeats; it was the carriage prepared for him, and the coachman was already waiting at the door.

Merian donned his cloak, gave a few low orders, and then boarded the carriage.

The carriage was warm, with thick fur blankets.

He still felt a little uneasy, his fingers occasionally tapping lightly on his knee, until the rhythm of the wheels rolling over the cobbled street gradually calmed him.

The carriage moved through the streets of Red Tide, with workshops along the road emitting white steam.

The air was filled with the scent of flowers and plants; this was a Northern town he had never imagined.

In almost any Federation person’s impression, this place should have been barren and backward, but the orderly sight surprised him.

The carriage stopped in front of the Alchemy Workshop.

This was a brand new building, its exterior broader and brighter than the Federation’s underground experiment towers.

The workshop was clean, well-ventilated, and fully equipped, even the material of the refining furnace was the same as the main city of the Federation.

This was a separate studio specially established by Louis for him.

Equipped with a fireproof wall and ventilation tower, a complete set of glass instrument racks, temperature-controlled alchemy furnace, an independent herb room, and a dedicated experimental record assistant.

Every detail showed the designer’s meticulous care.

Upon his arrival, several young assistants came up, their expressions respectful.

One of them handed over a newly sorted list of herbs, with an excited tone: “Master, these are the samples re-refined yesterday according to your instructions, the purity has increased by three percent.”

Merian was a bit stunned, still somewhat unaccustomed after a month.

He originally thought those assistants were arranged to monitor him, but their eyes contained nothing but genuine respect.

“Very good… very good.” he said softly.

After the assistants dispersed, he surveyed the studio alone, his mind still unsettled.

The equipment and arrangement of herbs were orderly: silver leaf grass, meditation stone, Sea Blue Crystal, green dew extract, and that rare Frost Leaf Vine, all neatly on the shelves.

There were even several new materials similar to Frost Leaf Vine he had never seen in the Federation, seemingly refined from Northern specialties.

The preciousness of these materials made him almost think he was still in the core experimental layer of the Guild.

What surprised him most was that the resources of this Empire border town were no less than one of the Jade Federation’s eight major commercial houses.

However, when he checked the samples, he felt a bit puzzled.

Despite the quality of these materials, the products seemed somewhat rough, with proportions and integration less than expected.

For the past month, his main work was to recombine these materials, reorganize the reaction paths, and correct flaws in the Red Tide alchemy system.

Merian constantly modified formulas on the experimental records, marked temperature and time, trying to improve the stability of the finished products with more meticulous techniques.

Unknowingly, the furnace fire dimmed, and sunlight moved from the window crack to the doorway.

It was only when Merian put down his notebook that he realized it was near afternoon. Just then, a gentle knock came from outside the door.

“Master,” an assistant carefully pushed the door to look in, with a tone of respect, “Lord Louis has arrived and wishes to see you.”

Merian’s hand paused.

The faint tension in his heart resurfaced; the young Lord, since their first meeting in Dawn Port, had never truly been seen again.

“I…” he opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back, hesitating for a moment, “I understand, please tell him I’ll be there shortly.”

The assistant nodded and retreated.

Merian raised his hand to tidy his attire, his chest slightly tight.

He knew there was no avoiding it, he must face it regardless.

Then came steady footsteps at the door.

Louis walked into the laboratory, his expression gentle, with a courteous smile.

“Master Merian,” he spoke calmly and kindly, “I hear your work has been fruitful lately, and I wanted to come and see for myself.”

Merian hurriedly stood up, nearly knocking over the bottle rack on the table, quickly saying: “No, no such thing, my Lord… just some recombination trials, still quite rudimentary.”

“Don’t be nervous,” Louis smiled, his gaze sweeping over the notes and bottles, “Can you introduce your research from this past month? I would like to hear you speak about it.”

Merian took a deep breath, nodded, and slowly opened his notebook.