Gerald’s train of thought was cut short when he heard a knock on his office door. Shortly after, Aiden entered
before saying, “Brother Gerald! I’ve received a call stating that Professor Boyle is back. He’s currently at his manor,
Fresh Cottage!”
“Oh? Bring me to him!”
It was around noon when the duo arrived at Fresh Cottage. Even from afar, they could already see all sorts of
plants and even artificial mountains within the manor’s grounds. Each plant seemed to have its own special spot,
and if they could see things from an aerial view, the duo would surely be able to tell that everything was arranged
to look like an eight diagram…
“As you’ve probably guessed by now, Professor Boyle is different from the other experts of the topic,” said Aiden.
Chuckling in response, Gerald simply replied, “He’s definitely one of the more experienced ones, that’s for sure.”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt
Though Gerald didn’t say it, he had already figured out that Professor Boyle had arranged his garden in the shape
of a formation! As for what the formation was for Gerald really didn’t want to think too much into it…
It was at that moment when a polite looking young man walked over to the duo and bowed before saying, “Ah, Mr.
Baker and Mr. Crawford, I presume? Professor Boyle has been expecting you.”
“Do lead the way,” replied Aiden, prompting the young man to lead them across the garden and into the parlor
Shortly after, they were greeted by the sight of Professor Boyle who had some tea in front of him. Though the man
seemed to be in his seventies, Gerald could see that his eyes were still quite energetic. From what Gerald could
guess, the man had probably learned some basic breathing techniques. That certainly explained the inner strength
in his elixir-of-life field.
Even so, Professor Boyle didn’t seem to possess any martial arts. From the looks of it, the old man had simply
cultivated his inner strength to nurture his qi and restore his body.
Either way, after exchanging pleasantries, Aiden went straight to the point by saying, “So… Professor Boyle, my
brother’s here to ask about the Divine Fruit tree. Information on the tree is extremely important to us, so we hope
you can lend us a hand!”
“Oh? So that’s what you call it? While conducting my research, I called it the Phoenix Spirit tree instead since the
structure of its trunk and branches resemble a phoenix! Either way, I first read about the tree in some ancient
books. Had it not been for the incident last year, I probably wouldn’t have even remembered about the tree when
you first came to me asking about it! After all, the tree’s gone extinct, and after so long, there’s barely any
information about it! What more, the tree isn’t that worth studying!” explained Professor Boyle.
“An… incident?” asked Gerald.
“Yes, well… It was about a year ago when a woman by the name of Phoebe Willow sent me a letter, asking for help
to locate the Phoenix Spirit tree! Within the letter, was an important detail that stated that not only did the ancient
tree still exist, but it also bore fruit once every decade for eternity! Unfortunately, the tree’s location is so off radar
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmthat not even the clever Phoebe was able to find it, resulting in her asking me for help!”
Sensing that Aiden was rather interested in the topic, Professor Boyle then added, “For context, Miss Willow had
been my student for a year when she was much younger. With that in mind, I’m guessing she should be in her
forties now… Regardless, she had immense knowledge in the field of botany, arguably even more than I have. After
all, she was able to name and tell me the history of several ancient plants that I had never even heard of!”
Whatever the case was, I already had a feeling back then that she didn’t intend to focus on studying. True enough,
it wasn’t long after when she and her boyfriend violated several severe university rules before leaving college
together! Following that, I lost contact with her till the day she sent me that letter…”
“I see. And what was in the letter?” asked Gerald in a slightly anxious tone. He, for one, had a feeling that Phoebe
was probably related to the mysterious ancient witches. After all, why else would she be so familiar with ancient
plants? Being so knowledgeable in botany was a clear sign that she was a descendant of the witches!
Once he found the Divine Fruit tree, he’d surely be able to get her to help him locate the formation of the witches!