One-Eyed Monster

”Good! To them!” Kuyi Tulan drained his glass, the rich flavor of the wine making his tongue tingle.

”The second toast, you should dedicate to Ling Si, the administrator of the Spirit Book Library. He opened that new door for you.”

”Good! I am indeed very grateful to him!” Kuyi Tulan once again drained his glass.

Grand Master Guzan poured another glass of aged wine for Kuyi Tulan. Its mellow aroma would enchantingly intoxicate even those who merely caught a whiff.

”Master, you should have some too. Isn’t this your favorite wine?” After two glasses, Kuyi Tulan felt his tongue floating. He felt confident enough at that moment to persuade even a Politician.

Grand Master Guzan looked at Kuyi Tulan and refilled his glass.

”The third toast, you should dedicate to the King. He provided you with enough support to practice Equivalent Exchange in such a free environment.”

”Yes, to the great King of Kayne Country!” Kuyi Tulan tossed his head back and emptied his glass once again.

”This glass, I toast to you, Kuyi Tulan, my pupil, my child.” Guzan raised his glass and drank it all.

”Master, what are you doing!” Kuyi Tulan didn’t understand why Grand Master Guzan would toast him, feeling uneasy about whether to drink or not.

”I toast to you because what’s about to happen is unfitting for a mentor. I toast to you because you are my cherished pupil!”

”Master, what do you mean?” Kuyi Tulan felt himself about to float, light as a feather.

This shouldn’t be happening! I know my tolerance for alcohol; there’s no way two glasses could make me feel like this. But I can’t just assume there’s something wrong with the wine. Not only did Master bring it, but he drank it too.

”My child, remember well what’s about to happen.” Master Guzan’s gaze turned somewhat bizarre, but Kuyi Tulan still couldn’t understand why.

”Master, what do you mean? This wine is rather smooth, yet I’m already starting to feel giddy.”

”My child, can you accept failure?” Grand Master Guzan slowly started leading Kuyi Tulan away, step by step.

”Master, why are you saying such things? Don’t you trust your pupil? I am the youngest chief of the Alchemy Workshop. How can I fail so easily?”

Kuyi Tulan, though feeling light as a feather, was still full of confidence. Even though his plan had encountered a minor setback, he believed he could fix everything. In his view, all he needed was to study hard; within a few days, everything would return to the right track, and there would be no need for further worries.

”You need to respect failure, child. This glass, I toast to failure with you!”

”Master, failure is merely an excuse for the weak. We who seek power should not bother about it.” Kuyi Tulan dismissively raised his glass and drank heartily. It was his fifth glass of wine.

”My child, what’s about to happen will be a crucial stage in your future journey. It might be a stumbling block that makes you fall on your path forward, or it could be a turning point that completely alters your direction.” Grand Master Guzan sighed, appearing to be teaching Kuyi Tulan.

”Master, why are you speaking in this manner, as if I won’t see you tomorrow?” Kuyi Tulan picked up his glass. For some reason, he wanted to drink more of this wine; it seemed to hold some special power that made all who drank it incessantly crave its taste.

”My child, this could be the last time I call you that, and it might also be the last time I teach you these things. From now on, you’ll have to walk your own path, make your own choices, and learn for yourself.” Guzan tipped his head back, draining the freshly filled glass.

”Master, why are you saying this? Is Master planning a long journey?” Kuyi Tulan’s expression began to change. He felt his face grow larger and larger. Although his surroundings hadn’t changed, he felt his face was getting bigger.

”A long journey... you’re right about that.” The Great Mentor shook his head. In his heart, he was a little reluctant to part with this gifted pupil.

”You can let your disciple share your burdens, Master. There’s no need for you to undertake the mission all alone.” Kuyi Tulan suspected that the Great Mentor was troubled by the king’s recent mission to find the Alien Species.

”Kuyi Tulan, what you’re about to face is a failure—a complete and utter failure. When I say this, you need to understand: your failure is predetermined. Nothing can change this fact.” Master Guzan’s expression was stern, without a trace of doubt; he spoke of the unknown future as if it were already set in stone. For him, what was about to happen was inevitable.

”Master, are you joking? How could failure possibly befall me?”

”Failure can happen to anyone. You’re not special. Accepting failure should be a simple matter,” the Great Mentor said softly.

”Why should I accept...” Kuyi Tulan wanted to retort, but he suddenly found himself unable to move. ”Master, what’s happening? Why is this wine so thick?”

”Your failure will be my doing, Kuyi Tulan. Also, what you’re drinking isn’t ordinary wine; it’s aged brew mixed with Heart-Intoxicating Grass.”

Heart-Intoxicating Grass! The name itself sent a shiver down Kuyi Tulan’s spine. Once affected by this herb, the body would be quickly paralyzed, rendered immobile. The crucial part was that there was no antidote for Heart-Intoxicating Grass. The only way to counteract its effects was to wait—wait for its toxicity to naturally dissipate. Only then would the paralysis subside, allowing one to return to normal.

But if I was poisoned by Heart-Intoxicating Grass, then the Grand Mentor should be poisoned as well.

Why did the Grand Mentor seem unaffected?

”No need for idle speculation. The very chalice you’ve been drinking from was created through an Equivalent Exchange using Heart-Intoxicating Grass.”

The Great Mentor’s words made it clear. So, I’ve been drinking from a vessel made of Heart-Intoxicating Grass all this time! No wonder I felt so terrible after just five glasses.

”Master, why? Why are you treating your pupil this way?” Kuyi Tulan didn’t understand. Transforming Heart-Intoxicating Grass into a chalice also required a significant amount of Spirit Power; why would the Great Mentor go to such lengths?

”You will find the answers you seek in this letter.” The Great Mentor took a previously written letter from his robes and slowly placed it beside Kuyi Tulan. ”By the time you can open it, I will have left.”

”But, Master! What is all this...?”

”We Alchemists have always created new things through Equivalent Exchange, not by depriving others to exchange for new things.”

The Great Mentor Guzan took the key from Kuyi Tulan’s side. It was the key to the Alchemy Workshop’s experimental field, where all of Kuyi Tulan’s ”achievements” were kept.

”Knight Blaine, you may now take your companions.” Guzan, holding the key, spoke as if to the air, but Kuyi Tulan understood perfectly.

Blaine was the leader of the Seven Knights of Honor and had strongly opposed his plan previously. Had his master brought the knight here?

”Take your companions. Give them a reason to live,” Master Guzan continued, still speaking to the air.