43: Chapter 43 Lucky Wind Chime 43: Chapter 43 Lucky Wind Chime “Hiss—so cool…”

Upon tasting the fruit, the initial bitterness quickly turned into a mild sour-sweet flavor, accompanied by a distinct fresh fragrance.

Breathing in, a strong sense of coolness filled her mouth.

Different from the sensation of other Ice Attribute fruits, this coolness seemed to stem purely from its taste.

“Not very delicious…”

The girl’s little face scrunched up as she reluctantly ate the rest of the fruit in her hand and then looked at the remaining bunch, feeling somewhat troubled.

“Annie, help me get rid of these.”

Fiona swiftly shoved the remaining fruits into the hands of Annie next to her with her big lake-blue eyes.

Annie smiled gently, took over the unwanted fruits from the girl, holding them as they continued to walk deeper into the alley.

The few people who had gathered did not bother the girls, as they hadn’t yet entered the alley when a squad of City Guards, out of nowhere, rapidly approached them.

Magic Fluctuations flashed by, and the caught-off-guard individuals instantly fell into paralysis, skillfully carried away by two guards each.

A specialist maintained a Barrier of Ignorance nearby, preventing excessive commotion.

The entire process took less than half a minute, with the final Guard sweeping the scene and leaving, making it seem like nothing ever happened except for a few people who seemed to have vanished.

Professional team, professional conduct—

Soon, the guards interrogated and found out these were just a few reckless petty thieves from outside.

Drawn by Karlars’ prosperity, they became greedy and planned to make several heists here.

After several successful thefts, their boldness grew.

Seeing the bulging purse in the girl’s hand and the lack of guards beside them, they underestimated them, thinking they were just two noble girls sneaking out for fun.

But they chose the wrong target and made the mistake of messing with the wrong person.

Waiting for them now would be an endless spell in prison—

The quaint alley was not long, and the two continued walking while observing, soon nearing the other end of the alley.

“Annie, look, what’s that?

It seems to be an owl and a swift squirrel!”

Walking along, Fiona stopped in her tracks, her attention drawn to a stall beside the road.

Many delicate grass crafts were displayed on the stall, including some common decorative items like small animals, dolls, and little carts, as well as some practical items like grass shoes and baskets.

Their colors were light white, beige, and coffee, all natural colors of the dried grass.

“That’s grass craft, Miss.

It’s a handicraft made from dried grass,”

Annie glanced and explained to Fiona.

This stuff is rather peculiar indeed.

Fiona thought, as this was her first time encountering grass crafts.

Previously, she had only read about witch grass crafts in books.

Supposedly, they could move like real animals, serving as excellent scouts.

“Do you need anything?

Two lovely ladies.”

The stall owner was an elderly woman with white hair.

Seeing the customers, she looked up from her small stool and greeted them with a kind smile.

Next to her, a little boy with auburn hair sat.

He wore a slightly oversized coarse linen garment, appearing to be the woman’s grandson.

He was sitting like the old lady, learning to weave a simple grass doll with two-colored dry grass.

His persistent efforts showed on his flushed face, slightly sweating.

Upon hearing their voices, the boy also looked up, his lively black pupils sweeping over them, then pausing momentarily on the fruits in Annie’s hand, swallowing quietly before returning to his diligent weaving.

Fiona carefully picked up an owl grass craft, examining it closely.

This grass craft was about the size of two fists, with coffee-colored dry grass forming its back and wing feathers.

Its belly was made of light white dry grass, with strands of coffee-colored grass interspersed.

The cheeks part is cleverly made of light white dry grass to resemble fluffy feathers, with two bright copper coins embedded as eyes.

The coffee-colored claws clutching a small branch, the overall look is cunningly charming.

“Ladies, are you interested in this grass-woven owl?

It is made from sun-dried Puluo and Wind Bell Grass, and it only costs eighty copper coins.”

The old woman watched Fiona’s movements, her eyes filled with a hint of hope.

“Grandma, can this owl fly and chirp?”

Startled by Fiona’s question, the old woman then smiled and shook her head.

“Haha, young lady, don’t joke, how could a grass-woven owl possibly fly?

Perhaps those Mage sirs have the ability, but this old woman certainly does not.”

“It can’t move, huh…”

Fiona felt somewhat disappointed upon hearing the old woman’s words.

“Let’s forget it then, if it can’t fly, it’s not interesting.”

Fiona gently shook her head and put the grass-woven owl down.

“Young lady, if you’re looking for a flying grass-woven, you shouldn’t come here.

Judging by your clothes, you mustn’t be ordinary folks, right?

I don’t have items related to Professionals here.”

The old woman gazed at Fiona’s face with a smile, making her slightly embarrassed.

“Actually, I wanted to pick a gift for my brother, but I didn’t know what to choose, so I came here to look around.”

After thinking it over, Fiona decided to reveal her purpose to the old woman.

“A gift, huh.”

The old woman shakily stood up, picked up a light white grass-woven Wind Chime from her stall.

Eight uneven lengths of light white grass ropes dangled from the Wind Chime, each tied with a Mang-Gul tree fruit at the end.

“How about this lucky Wind Chime?

It’s weaved from naturally sun-dried Wind Bell Grass.

It’s said that hanging such a Wind Chime under the eaves can bring good luck to the family, making it very suitable as a gift.”

“Bring good luck?”

Fiona paused, then took the Wind Chime that the old woman handed to her.

The Wind Chime itself had a pleasant smell of sunshine, and the dangling Mang-Gul tree fruits slightly collided, making a soft clapping sound.

“Um, okay then, I’ll take one of these Wind Chimes.”

The girl looked at it and didn’t feel anything special, it still did not meet her standards for a gift.

But her kind nature did not allow her to reject the old woman’s kindness, so she decided to buy the Wind Chime.

“Not satisfied?

No need to force yourself, kind young lady.”

The old woman keenly noticed Fiona’s thoughts and smiled at her kindly.

“Do you know, young lady, this lucky Wind Chime is actually related to a legend secretly circulated among us grass weavers.”

While saying this, the old woman turned around and took a piece of light white dry grass from a basket beside a little boy, handing it to Fiona.

“This is Wind Bell Grass, a very common wild grass.

In fields, beside streams, on mountains, you can almost find them anywhere.

During the period between the Red Rain Moon and Golden Flowing Month each year, they blossom small white flowers resembling Wind Chimes.

The number of flowers usually ranges between seven and fourteen.

But if you enter a field of Wind Bell Grass, young lady, you will find that most of the Wind Bell Grass bloom with ten, twelve, or fourteen flowers.

You might occasionally see seven, eight, eleven, or thirteen flowered Wind Bell Grass.

But uniquely, Wind Bell Grass with nine flowers, even if you search the entire field, it’s unlikely you’ll find it—”

.

.

①: A type of fruit similar to a pine cone, with a rather hard texture.

②: April to August