Chapter 16: Dew Prayer Method
Two days later, Xilutiya walked out of the Adventurer’s Guild hall alone, holding a book and a small bag of seeds in her hands.
This was given to her by Mailin, obtained from Madam Fran in the West City District; the other party was apparently an expert in gardening.
Returning home, Xilutiya sat under the shade of a tree in the backyard, flipping through this nameless notebook, which had many hand-drawn diagrams and some small tips.
The whole book wasn’t thick, just recording the cultivation processes for four kinds of flowers: ‘Spring – Emerald Honey Dendrobium’, ‘Summer – Blood Wolf Poison’, ‘Autumn – Swan Orchid’, ‘Winter – White Camellia’. The seeds included with the book were for the Swan Orchid.
Normally, Swan Orchid takes nearly half a year from sprouting to blooming, and now there were only two and a half months left until the end of autumn.
“This is probably the test that Madam Fran gave me.” Xilutiya put down the book.
If she just watered and tended the flowers like an ordinary person, it definitely wouldn’t satisfy Madam Fran; what she wanted to see was someone aspiring to become a professional gardener.
“That means I still need to learn the ‘Dew Prayer Method’ to promote plant growth.”
【Dew Prayer Method】（Emerald Honey）: Gather morning mist in the dawn light, transform emerald dew into water. （Emerald Dew Water can promote plant growth, as well as cultivate plants）
At dawn, when the ‘Blazing Sun’ nature just manifests, it’s also the gentlest time; its vitality can be collected and transformed. By noon, it becomes violent and hard to transform. How much Emerald Dew Water she can collect each day also means the maximum number of plants she can cultivate at once.
However, learning the ‘Dew Prayer Method’ requires some ‘Emerald Dew Water’ as a guide seed, just like learning the ‘Shadow Concealment Technique’ requires Cold Mist Wine.
To study, Xilutiya needs money—gardeners can make money—learning gardening requires ‘Emerald Dew Water’—buying ‘Emerald Dew Water’ requires money—gardeners can make money
The starting phase is really tough. Placing the book over her head, the maiden sighed softly.
Before, Mailin, Sister Winnie, and even Uncle Fanderxi had helped her a lot. Without these people, things would probably be even harder for her now.
‘This time, I’ll do it without asking for help.’ The maiden stood up, went to the bedroom, lifted a brick under the bed, took out her treasured money bag, and poured the coins onto the bed.
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…”
The maiden knelt on the bed, counting the small silver coins one by one.
“A total of 18 silver coins.” She kept her copper coins in the drawer for daily use.
She had spent a lot on books and daily necessities before, leaving only 18 now. It was said that Emerald Dew Water could be bought at the Gardener Guild, but she didn’t know the price. She put the silver coins back into the money bag, thinking silently to herself.
She’d go check it out. If it wasn’t enough, she’d have to borrow money from Sister Winnie. The maiden felt a bit ashamed—was she being too pretentious? If it really didn’t work, she’d have to perform as a singer, since Mailin said her voice was very nice and she’d definitely be hired at a theater, becoming famous.
Taking her remaining silver coins and putting on her red-brown hooded coat, Xilutiya went to the Gardener Guild.
Finding the dozing clerk inside, the maiden lightly pressed down her hood with one hand, then spoke to inquire.
“Hello, do you sell ‘Emerald Dew Water’ here?” Her voice wasn’t loud, and the clerk slowly opened his eyes, yawning as he replied.
“Emerald Dew Water is 10 silver per small bottle, but you need to preorder; you can pick it up tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Xilutiya breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed ‘Emerald Dew Water’ wasn’t expensive—probably not as rare as ‘Cold Mist Wine’.
“This is a deposit of five silver coins. Do I need to register anything else?” She placed the silver coins on the desk.
“Yes, fill out your name here, come pick it up tomorrow. Oh, and don’t come too early.” The other party was still sleepy, casually pulling out a ledger from under the desk for Xilutiya to register.
“Okay.” The maiden cheerfully wrote her name ‘Tiya’, then handed it back to the clerk.
“That’s it, you can go.” The other party waved his hand, then lay down to sleep again.
……
After returning home, Xilutiya went to the backyard, preparing to first till this small courtyard full of weeds and wildflowers.
She first changed into work clothes of coarse linen dress, tied her hair into a neat high ponytail, then found the shovel she had recently bought, and started digging from the corner of the wall…
This soil is a bit hard. While digging, the maiden recalled scenes from her childhood in her old home watching adults work, imitating some of their actions, like stepping on the back end of the shovel to press it into the soil.
An hour later, Xilutiya stood under the eaves wiping sweat from her forehead, breathed a sigh of relief, put down the shovel, and sat on the chair to rest.
By now, the soil in the small courtyard had basically been turned over once, becoming much looser.
Ten minutes later, she stood up again, picked up the dug-up weeds and placed them on a stone nearby to dry. In about two days, they would be mostly dry, then she could shake off the soil and burn the excess weeds in the fireplace.
After turning the soil, Xilutiya soaked the ‘Swan Orchid’ seeds in water, then planted them one by one into the soil.
After finishing this, Xilutiya changed out of her mud-stained dress, then went to take a bath.
In the evening, after bathing and changing into pajamas, she came to the small courtyard again, sat on the chair admiring the purple-red sunset in the sky. The gentle autumn breeze blew, drying her slightly damp skin, feeling especially comfortable.
Well, this kind of life seems pretty good too.
……
The next day, she went to the Gardener Guild.
“This is your preordered ‘Emerald Dew Water’. If using it to ripen flowers, remember to mix it with clear water—don’t drip it all directly on the flowers,” a new female clerk explained to her.
“The ratio is about 10 drops per bucket of water. This bottle contains roughly 30 drops of ‘Emerald Dew Water’.”
“Okay, here are the remaining five silver coins.” Although she wasn’t using it to water flowers, she was still a bit curious.
“Do others usually buy this?”
“Yes, some wealthy families occasionally use ‘Emerald Dew Water’ to ripen flowers for banquets or celebrations, to decorate gardens and mansions.” The female clerk answered skillfully.
“Many veteran florists know how to use ‘Emerald Dew Water’; they just can’t afford it normally.”
After registering, the clerk handed a small, delicate glass bottle to the maiden.
“Thank you.” The maiden’s eyes flickered slightly as she observed the quality of this bottle of Emerald Dew Water.
【Emerald Dew Water】（0-tier – Emerald Honey）: Dew water that makes flowers and grass grow and bloom quickly. （Concentration 14%）
Only 14% concentration? the maiden thought, but it wasn’t easy to evaluate if this value was reasonable right now.
She’d have to go back and try it.
After getting the ‘Emerald Dew Water’, she was a bit excited and expectant all night, falling into a deep sleep very late.
……
Another dawn.
Xilutiya opened the window, just in time to see the sun that had risen not long ago. The morning air still carried quite a chill.
She poured a few drops of Emerald Dew Water into the only celadon plate at home, then followed the ‘Dew Prayer Method’ description, closed her eyes, sensed, and studied.
First, she sensed the faint ‘Emerald Honey’ nature power in the few drops of ‘Emerald Dew Water’ in the plate, then slowly perceived and guided it with her mind.
Time passed minute by minute. The water droplets on the plate remained unchanged in the dawn light. The maiden standing under the window also stayed still, her soft brows illuminated by the dawn, her face tinged with faint gold, the fine hairs on her skin clearly visible in the pale golden light.
Gradually, the sun rose higher, about to enter a spot where it couldn’t shine on the maiden. Strands of water mist gathered in the air, finally condensing into a small droplet that fell, merging with the ‘Emerald Dew Water’ on the plate.
（’Dew Prayer Method’ completion +6）
『Dew Prayer Method Lv.0』(Emerald Honey): An ability not yet formed, current progress （6/100）
Phew, she had finally taken the first step. The maiden opened her eyes, looking at the extra drop of liquid in the plate.
If she could really become a gardener, she could stand on her own here. As for what comes later… she’d take it step by step.
Thank Tang Fei
uYexiu, Salty Fish Cuisine, Peach Zero, Dream Realm Book Boy, Lone Immortal Cloud, Don’t Part Casually, Sweet and Sour liyuu, Reader 20250905225138389, and other readers’ rewards~
