Martin held the bead in his hand. He could see at a glance that the cloud patterns on it had increased from seven to nine. The mountain air was very humid, and the bead must have absorbed a lot of moisture.
As for the three gourds, he opened them one by one and found that the dew inside had become thick and viscous. The gourd containing morning dew had turned almost into a jelly-like substance.
Martin looked at the bead, then at the three gourds. A thought suddenly occurred to him. The stone bead needed moisture to increase its cloud patterns. If he used all the dew from these three gourds on the bead, would it create the tenth cloud immediately?
His heart raced. The bead was small, and the nine clouds now covered almost the entire surface, leaving only a fingernail-sized empty space. He guessed that this was where the tenth cloud would appear.
He thought for a long time. He desperately wanted to know what would happen when the tenth cloud appeared. From the outside, there was no room for an eleventh cloud, so the tenth was likely the last.
But today was the tenth of the month—the day to go to the main courtyard to collect his holy crystal fragment and pill. Seeing that it was almost dark outside, Martin carefully put the bead and the gourds back into his storage pouch, tucked it into his robe, and left his room.
He knew the paths within the abbey very well. Before long, he reached the main courtyard. Hurrying before the sky turned completely dark, he walked quickly toward the alchemy hall.
Before he got close, he heard a familiar voice in the distance.
"Sister Giana, my master told me to go into seclusion for three months to reach the first level of Gathering Light. But I couldn't stop thinking about you, so I couldn't calm my mind. I wanted to cultivate well so that I could see you again. Finally, last night, I succeeded in reaching the first level. Then I went into the mountain to pick this flower for you. Look how beautiful the petals are. A huge snake was guarding it. I worked hard to kill the snake. Look at my arm—I was wounded."
Martin's footsteps paused. He frowned and smiled coldly to himself, then continued walking unhurriedly.
Then a clear, bell-like female voice spoke: "Brother Sebastian, my family has been in medicine for generations. This flower is just common tomorrow-fragrance. I see it everywhere on the mountain. This is the first time I've heard that snakes like to guard it. If that were true, the mountain would be full of snakes. Sister Giana, don't believe him."
At that moment, Martin entered the alchemy hall garden. He saw four people there, two men and two women, all wearing red robes.
One of the men was handsome and refined-looking, but now his face was full of embarrassment. He was about to retort when his eyes suddenly fixed on the gate. His jaw dropped in disbelief. He stammered, "Ma...Martin? Why are you here? You should be at home doing carpentry with your father."
"So you're Martin. The one who got in by trying to kill himself, then became Elder Augustine's disciple by groveling and flattering." A girl with a big braid covered her mouth in surprise. She had thick eyebrows and big, bright eyes. She was quite pretty.
The other two also looked at Martin with curiosity. The other girl had beautiful, childlike eyes framed by long lashes, like two crystal grapes. They sparkled with interest.
Martin looked at them expressionlessly. As soon as the girl spoke, he recognized her as the one who had just mocked Sebastian. She looked familiar. After a moment, he remembered—she was the girl who had passed the aptitude test all those months ago. Since he recognized her, the other girl must be the "Sister Giana" that Sebastian was trying to impress.
He ignored them all and walked into the alchemy hall to collect his crystal fragment and pill.