Divine Flame Crystal

Chapter 629 Genius Pharmacist Candice

The hymns continued, but the air in the square seemed to have been quietly drained away, even the light from the Holy Light Pillar seemed oppressive. The Investigating Knight was only a dozen steps away, his gaze fixed firmly on Xingluo.

Xingluo still had a faint smile on his face, as if welcoming a belated believer. His fingertips rubbed a small teleportation symbol on his palm, but he didn't trigger it immediately - that would alert the entire square.

Pandora took a half step forward, standing between him and the spring, pretending to recite in a low voice, but secretly activated the divine aura in her body, letting it spread out like the wind, covering up the suspicious aura on Xingluo's body.

The Inspector Knight walked up to them, staring at Pandora, then at Xingluo, as if weighing something. Several of the deputies around them had their hands on their swords, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder, ready to be drawn at any moment.

While everyone's attention was focused on the hymn, he used his sleeve to cover the miniature magic circle in his hand, leading the spring water into a spatial crack and sealing it instantly - the whole process took only two seconds.

Pandora's hand gently touched his wrist, as if to remind him, but also as if to secretly encourage him.

Xingluo glanced at her sideways and whispered, "When this is over, you have to compensate me."

"Compensation?" She raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"

"An uninterrupted dinner, preferably with dessert made by you."

Pandora couldn't help laughing, and a hint of tenderness flashed in her eyes: "Let's talk about it when we get back."

All doubts disappeared with the close cooperation between the two.

The hymns surged like water, and the holy stone pillars in the square lit up one by one. Xingluo, having finished his work, was about to leave. He walked at the front of the group, his platinum robes glistening majestically in the light. With every step, he maintained the calm demeanor expected of a divine messenger. The "Holy Light Seal" in his hand faintly exuded the aura of a high-ranking divine messenger—in reality, it was simply a forged creation, created by fusing the Divine Flame Crystal with the "divine aura" Pandora had brought back.

Pandora followed him half a step behind, dressed in soft white ceremonial clothing, her long hair cascading down her shoulders. She lowered her head slightly, like a submissive acolyte. But out of the corner of her eye, she kept an eye on the fluctuations of the surrounding magic circle.

As she passed through the second layer of the magic circle, the scanning light swept from her toes all the way to the top of her head. Just as the beam was about to touch her brow, she felt her heartbeat suddenly quicken. Although the divine aura was real, it was as weak as a candle in the wind, and it might be judged as an "incomplete mark of divine authority."

Xingluo seemed to have expected this. The moment the light touched her, he pretended to reach out to hold her shoulders and superimposed his disguised aura on her.

Pandora was so close to him that she could clearly feel his breath and body temperature. She panicked and subconsciously whispered, "You're too close—"

"I'm saving you." Xingluo chuckled softly, his voice filled with malicious tenderness, "And I'm taking advantage of you."

Pandora's ears flushed red as she glared at him fiercely.

They passed the inspection successfully again.

In addition to taking some away, Xingluo also placed the "elemental neutral stone" refined by Candice at the bottom of the spring, slowly transforming the divinity of the spring water into absolutely neutral elemental power.

Candice was born in the Bow Tribe on the western border, a place bathed in sunshine and sea breeze.

Her skin was a warm wheat color, sculpted by the sea breeze and the scorching sun; her eyes were a clear amber, like ears of wheat in midsummer reflecting the setting sun. The children of the tribe all learned to ride horses, shoot arrows, and identify the rhythm of the tides, but Candice's arrows were always faster and more accurate than those of her peers.

However, fate never shows mercy to one's talent. When she was fifteen, the tide brought a fleet that didn't belong to this sea—the "Purification Expedition" of the Holy See of Light. In that bloody and fiery purge, Candice's people were utterly slaughtered, and she was captured and taken to a prisoner-of-war camp inland.

There, she heard a name for the first time - Xingluo.

A riot outside the prisoner-of-war camp allowed Candice to escape. Dragging her injured leg, she fled through the snowy night. As her pursuers pushed her to the edge of a cliff, a powerful magical aura descended from the sky, sending her pursuers and their horses into oblivion.

"Either follow me or fall off."

That was the second time Xingluo appeared before her—he was wearing a traveling cloak, his eyes sharp yet with a hint of mockery, as if he were looking at a stray animal. Candice didn't ask any more questions and shook the hand of the man she once despised.

Later, she learned that Xingluo had only saved her, and his real goal was to steal a batch of magic scrolls from the prisoner-of-war camp. But Candice kept this secret in her heart—after that, she followed him unconditionally. Xingluo's first Deadpool almost never appeared. To Xingluo, Candice was just a casual helper, and she simply refused to leave, so he had no choice but to make her his Deadpool.

Originally, Candice only knew how to use a bow and arrow. She followed Xingluo around, helping him snipe targets, explore the way, and even shoot life-saving arrows in times of crisis.

Until one day, they found a batch of half-finished alchemical tools in an abandoned dwarf workshop. Xingluo was looking over a complex potion formula when he casually said, "What a shame, such good alchemical tools."

Candice didn't know what struck a chord in her, but she instinctively took the recipe. She had never been exposed to alchemy before, but within a few days, she used the most primitive methods to recreate a low-level version of the recipe. Although it was unstable, it saved Xingluo's life during a surprise attack.

When Xingluo looked at her, surprise and approval flashed in his eyes for the first time. At that moment, Candice felt as if an arrow had pierced her heart—not pain, but burning.

Candice began to study alchemy actively. Every time an experiment failed, she gritted her teeth and got up again. Every time she succeeded, she would show the results to Xingluo as soon as possible, looking forward to his words "well done".

Sometimes, Xingluo would reach out and ruffle her hair, and sometimes, when she was too tired to sleep, he would cover her with his cloak. This kind of tenderness was like sprinkling a little water in the desert, making Candice even more unable to extricate herself.

But she also knew that Xingluo's eyes would change when she mentioned Pandora. There was a gentleness in them that even she had never seen before.

Sometimes, she would sit alone by the campfire at night, watching Xingluo's smile as she wrote to Pandora. A bitter feeling welled up in her heart, but she pretended to be nonchalant and teased, "I really envy Pandora. You're even gentler when you write to me than when you talk to me."

Xingluo just smiled and didn't answer.

In order to help Xingluo carry out a more dangerous plan, Candice forced herself to embark on the most difficult path of alchemy - fusing combat and alchemy, combining potions, traps and archery to become a force that can destroy an entire team on its own.

She had visited the half-elf pharmacist in the deep forest, sneaked into the holy medicine storehouse of the Church of Light, and even secretly learned the forbidden art of metal fusion in the secret chamber of the dwarf king. Each adventure left its mark between her bowstring and alchemy furnace.

A few years later, Candice was already able to independently concoct top-tier alchemical products like the Crystal of Imbalance and the Elemental Neutral Stone. On the continent's bounty list, she was known as the "Mistress of the Bow and Crucible," and in Starfall's plans, she was a sharp and secretive blade.

No matter how great her achievements are, in front of Xingluo, she is still like the girl who was rescued from the cliff.

After a mission, Candice returned to the camp with a few scrapes. When Xingluo applied medicine to her, she mustered up the courage to ask, "If one day Pandora is gone...will you look back at me?"

Xingluo was silent for a long time, and finally just said: "You are my most trusted partner."

At that moment, Candice smiled with tears in her eyes - she knew that this answer was both a comfort and a rejection.

Now, Candice stood before the hearth of the Flame Hammer workshop, mixing alchemical ingredients that could change the course of battle. Her bow slung across her back, ready to deliver a deadly arrow where her enemies least expected it.

Her gaze would always linger for a moment on the falling stars, but she never expected more.

Because she understood—Xingluo's heart had long since flown to that distant sanctuary of the heavens, and she was willing to spend her life guarding the land beneath his feet, igniting the flames of his battle. Candice whispered, "I do not kneel to gods, nor seek grace. I use my will as my arrow, my fire as my heart." Her voice echoed through the workshop, as if echoing the distant porters. She knew this was more than just a vow; it was a conviction she held fast to. Xingluo might never look back, but she remained willing, in her own way, to be his strongest support.