"Well then, my lady. What should we do?" Phillip asked, tilting his head slightly with a knowing grin as the wind toyed with the edges of his robe.
Manuka Lan huffed and folded her arms, feigning annoyance. "You’re the one who promised a surprise, not the other way around."
Phillip chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah yes, the surprise. Forgive , my lady. How careless of to keep a noble beauty waiting." His voice was theatrical, his bow exaggerated, as if he were a court jester playing to a crowd.
"You’re mocking again!" Manuka snapped, but the twitch at the corner of her lips betrayed her amusent.
With a grin, Phillip gestured for her to follow. "I shall make ands. Co, my lady, Let’s take a little detour. You like herbs, yes? I want to give sothing magical and soul bounding."
Before she could ask further, he stepped on the chariot and extended his hand. After small hesitation, she held his hand and stepped onto the chariot. As he road the chariot at great speed, she held his shoulder tightly for support.
The onlookers who watched this scene were stunned.
City Hall – Alchemy Pavilion...
A towering structure adorned with golden herbs carved into the stone arches, the City Hall’s Alchemy Pavilion was the pride of the Red Orchid Domain. Few dared to use the largest furnace located in the central plaza—it was said to have once been commissioned by the Fire God himself during the Battle of Crimson Valleys.
When Phillip entered, the guards saluted with confusion, but let him pass. The mont they saw Manuka Lan walking in behind him, whispers broke out.
"Is that the Lan family heiress?"
"What is she doing with him?"
"Weren’t there talks of her engagent to—?"
"Hush! She’s a personal guest of the Supre Sword family herb garden. You want your head sliced in half?"
Soon, a crowd began to form. People poured in from the nearby garden court, inner sect elders peeked out of their windows, even passing rchants paused their carts.
Phillip stepped confidently onto the platform. A few master alchemists who were maintaining the great furnace stepped aside, blinking in disbelief.
"Phillip... that’s the Soul-Forging Fla Furnace. You can’t just—"
"I received permission this morning," Phillip replied, waving a scroll sealed with the insignia of the Pavilion Chief. "Now, if you’ll kindly step back. My lady and I are here to conduct a small... experint."
Manuka looked at him, half confused, half entertained. "What are you planning?"
Phillip turned to her with a twinkle in his eyes. "You’re about to witness the brewing of sothing truly unique. A pill that cannot be concocted by greed or ambition—only true affection."
The furnace roared to life, fire spirits dancing within the tallic core, reacting to Phillip’s control. He placed a silver bowl onto the inner platform, and began selecting herbs from his satchel.
"First, Flaberry roots—plucked under moonlight. Good for stabilizing one’s emotional tide."
He tossed in the shimring red roots.
"Next, the Blue Heart Vine. Grows only near coral cliffs kissed by sorrowful tides. It resists manipulation from anyone with a tainted soul."
The audience murmured in awe. Manuka blinked. "How do you even find these things?"
"I read maps upside down and talk to trees," Phillip answered with a wink.
She snorted.
Then ca a powder made of Whispering Lotus petals, followed by a single drop of Phoenix Essence—a rare liquid that hissed into the brew like a serpent in heat.
The fire changed colors—pink, violet, and finally deep crimson. Then ca the storm.
Alchemy clouds burst forth above the furnace—ethereal pink puffs that looked like cotton candy and crackled with mystic arcs. The air buzzed with tension.
Phillip raised both hands and declared, "This is the Pill of Possession! A divine-tier emotional pill. Only soone brewing it with genuine, heartfelt affection can control its reaction. Otherwise—"
BOOM!
A minor explosion echoed behind the furnace. An elderly alchemist ducked, muttering, "I told you it was insane!"
The crowd backed up. But Manuka stepped forward, eyes wide. She could feel the aura of the pill reacting to Phillip’s heartbeat.
"Why would you risk so much to create this pill?" she asked quietly.
Phillip didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, he smiled faintly as the pink clouds settled and a small lotus-shaped pill rose from the center of the fire.
He reached in, plucked it with a fire-resistant glove, and stepped toward her.
"The Pill of Possession," he said gently. "It marks the soul of the person who consus it. It only glows in the presence of their one true admirer. Anyone else? The pill turns black."
Manuka stared at the tiny glowing object nestled in his palm.
"You brewed this..." she said slowly, "... in front of everyone."
Phillip shrugged. "What’s love if not loud?"
A hush fell over the crowd as he extended the pill to her.
She hesitated.
"Are you seriously giving this to ?" she whispered. "What if the pill turns black? What if... what if I don’t glow for anyone?"
Phillip leaned close, his voice lower now. "Then it proves one thing—you’ve never been truly loved. Not yet."
Her fingers closed around the pill.
The mont it touched her skin—glow. A radiant pink shimr spread from the pill to her palm, like a butterfly wing caught in the moonlight.
A collective gasp.
Manuka’s breath caught. Her cheeks flushed. She looked up at him with eyes dancing between shock and excitent.
"This..." she began.
"ans," Phillip interrupted softly, "that soone’s watching you a little more closely than you think."
Her fingers trembled. She wasn’t sure if it was from excitent, embarrassnt, or sothing else—sothing deeper.
From the crowd, soone whispered, "They say the Pill of Possession can’t be faked..."
"...and he made it in public."
Phillip turned and bowed dramatically to the gathering, then offered his hand to Manuka.
"Well then, my lady," he said again, repeating the sa line as earlier. "What should we do next?"
This ti, she didn’t mock or complain.
She took his hand.
"Whatever you plan," she replied, her voice quieter but firr than ever before, "I want to see where it leads."
And behind them, the pink alchemy clouds curled into the shape of a blooming heart—witnessed by all.
Many recorded this scene and soon the marvel began spreading like a wild-fire!
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