Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 116: Pocket Lamps

After spending most of yesterday afternoon creating prototype crystal light talismans and incubating the living stone golem eggs, nobody succeeded in their assigned tasks.

"How about going out today to the river slightly further from the town?" Mingfeng suggested over breakfast. "We can pick wild mushrooms there as well."

Bai Dajin, who had spent the whole night awake trying to wake his rock golem, had dark circles beneath his eyes. The man munched on his steamed bun absentmindedly. The vigour from yesterday had faded but Anji noticed how he still had not given up, subtly feeding rock his energy that was now stored away in his shirt’s inner pocket. In fact, everyone had their living stone golem eggs stashed away somewhere close to their bodies.

"Are we going to pan for gold?" Anji asked. frёewebηovel.cѳm

Nodding, Mingshen explained how it would normally be more difficult to pan for gold at the river in the dark without a guide. However, it was the perfect opportunity to test out Anji’s crystal talismans.

"But these aren’t working well," Anji sighed. After creating many light talismans using crystals as a base material, the light that these crystals emitted was wrong. "They don’t resemble the sun at all!"

Indeed, Mingshen had never seen anything like it before. He had no idea lights could be green or blue in colour until Anji carved those crystals. If she carved a celestite, the light turned blue. If Anji used a carnelian, the light resembled the red lanterns of the flower districts. If she imbued the talisman onto a green fluorite, it turned dark green. It was a fun little experiment but Anji considered them all failures for not being able to replicate the true sunlight.

"You can still see with orange and purple lights," Bai Dajin pointed out. "However, I wouldn’t recommend the black lights. They’re hardly any different from original darkness."

Ah, he must be talking about the black calcite geode. Honestly, Anji liked the citrine talisman. The colour it emitted felt warm and pretty. However, she could understand why it was not very useful in the dark. The black calcite on the other hand... It resembled something sinister and Anji had no idea if it was a good thing. She had to ask her shifu about it.

Handing out the unique light emitting crystal prototype, Anji dubbed them as pocket lamps or the gold panning expedition. Gu Ying received the amethyst talisman while her brother received the celestite crystal because it matched his outfit for the day. Bai Dajin was the only one who got to choose his pocket lamp because he rejected the first three crystals Anji offered him. Contrary to his gruff appearance, the man did not like dark colours. He rejected the dark green, dark blue and red pocket lamps, opting for the citrine instead. Then again, maybe it was the type of light he was most accustomed to seeing. citrine was the only crystal that gave a glow resembling a candle flame. However, it was still not as bright as the sun. Of the geodes available, Anji also realised that clear quartz did not emit any light. Perhaps it was due to its overly transparent body that could not adapt to projecting any lights that ended it in failure. However, Anji chose the pink chalcedony pocket lamp. It emitted a soft pinkish light and Anji thought it was a lovely mix to the existing colours.

Armed with pocket lamps, Anji became curious about how far the lights would travel in complete darkness. The crystals could only hold a small amount of energy so once it ran out in two hours, the lights also disappeared. This was also the reason why she considered them a failure. Without an array circuit to continuously provide them with energy from the environment, these pocket lamps could only be used by cultivators. Farmers without any cultivation abilities cannot use them.

As the distance from Golden Halo Hotel to the river for gold panning was a little far, the hotel manager arranged for a porter to act as their tour guide while carrying the guests’ belongings so they could travel easily. Unfortunately, the road was unfriendly for horses and they had to travel by foot for an hour.

"That’s not a problem," Mingshen nodded. "Have the kitchen pack some lunch, snacks and drink and have the porter carry them. I’m assuming you will also have gold panning and mushroom picking equipment ready?"

Nodding away, the manager reassured the unusual guests they would have everything ready. The porter was a mercenary who retired in Eternal Night Valley a while ago.

"He’s the only one offering this service but all the customers have given him high praise for his knowledge of the wild. If anything, you can feel reassured having him as your guide. His knowledge about the wilderness and nature is amazing!"

Intrigued, Anji wondered if their porter was able to see in the dark well. When the man finally appeared, she understood why the other guests praised his services. Carrying a large wooden basket similar to the medicine picking basket that Anji sometimes saw Doctor He carry, the porter introduced himself as Wei Zhen.

"I am Wei Zhen, your guide and porter today," the middle aged mercenary smiled. "I heard from the manager that there would be rich young children travelling with their bodyguards but I suppose he was misinformed."

Bowing to Bai Dajin, Wei Zhen thanked him profusely.

"Sect Leader Bai, you might not remember me. However, last year, you saved me from the demonic followers. Although I’ve lost my ability to cultivate due to the injury, I’ve been living well remaining hidden and recovering slowly. Thank you for saving me back then, I’m glad the heavens allowed me to repay you today!"

Surprised by the turn of events, Anji covered her mouth in surprise. The mercenary was actually a cultivator with internal injuries to his meridians! Fate usually worked in mysterious ways. Similar to how they stopped by a village affected by food poisoning, Anji was convinced she stopped by the Eternal Night Valley to meet this man. Choosing the path of medicine, she could not turn a blind eye to someone in need.

"Not now," Gu Ying whispered, reading her charge’s mind. "You can take his pulse at lunch. For now, let’s follow him to the river."

Agreeing, Anji held herself back. On the other hand, Bai Dajin quickly brushed off Wei Zhen’s gratitude with a shrug.

"I don’t remember you at all so stop making a fuss out of it," he grunted. "If you truly wanted to return the thanks, take this girl to find the gold and mushroom she wants."

Casting a glance at Anji, Wei Zhen smiled warmly. Even without knowing the rich children’s identities, he knew Bai Dajin would not be acting as their escort without a proper reason. Everyone knew how the White Tiger Sect Leader was like an unpredictable typhoon. He hated formalities and did as he pleased, even in the last war against the demonic sect.

"Of course!" he beamed. "Shall we depart now?"

Thrilled, Anji bounced up and down, following after Wei Zhen like a duckling following its mother. Mingshen and Gu Ying remained behind while Bai Dajin matched his strides to Anji’s pace. To avoid the crowded market, they would be taking a detour through the alleys. Nobody should be stupid enough to mess with them, but Bai Dajin rolled his sleeves up for insurance in case some folks were blind. With these bulging biceps, even the toughest thugs would think twice.