Sons of Nature

3 The Witch's Dance (1)

Author's Note: Today, we're starting with the third and thus already the penultimate story of this collection. It is my favorite among the four SoN stories so I hope you'll like it too! 🥰 You can always let me know in the comments what you think ~

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The wood crackled in the fireplace, filling the room with a tart scent, the smoke burning in Zhan Cheng's throat. He cleared it, trying to get rid of the discomfort but he didn't quite manage. He raised his brows at the witch on the other side of the counter, hoping that he would get his drift and do something about it.

Unfortunately for him, the other man didn't even seem to notice his gaze. He just went on to quietly write something down in the little book in front of him.

Zhan Cheng cleared his throat again to get his attention. This time, he succeeded.

The witch looked up, his dark eyes unperturbed. "My, that doesn't sound good either. Do you want another prescription for that?"

Zhan Cheng's brows twitched. "Isn't that because of your firewood? What did you throw in there? It burns like hell."

The witch just continued to look at him silently before he glanced at the fireplace. "I'd believe that is commonly what one would want their firewood to do." Then, he lowered his head again, continuing to write.

Zhan Cheng stared at him, a vein popping out on his forehead but he didn't dare to say more. In any case, he had come here looking for help. Pissing off the witch certainly wouldn't get him that.

Another minute went by while the witch switched to a small parchment of paper to write and then finally put away the brush before he looked up again. "Alright. This is everything that will be needed to treat your problem. I will need a couple of days to gather what can still be found outside. As for the rest ... well, we will have to use the dried ones that are being sold. You should have come earlier. The fresh herbs are usually better suited as their efficacy will be higher."

Zhan Cheng pressed his lips together, not quite happy with hearing that. He had thought about it. Not just once, to be honest. But he wasn't too sure if he could trust a witch so he had tried with a couple of different physicians first. Unfortunately, neither of them had been able to solve his problem so, in the end, he had still needed to come here. He probably shouldn't have been as hesitant.

Gongliang Ye could imagine what his newest customer was thinking. He had seen this very same thing play out much too often. In the worst case, they even came in the winter when he couldn't find any fresh herbs at all and were then dissatisfied if the result wasn't as good as expected. In this case though, he felt like it wasn't as bad. At the very least, he hadn't needed to suffer an endless tirade at the beginning.

He silently pushed over the second list he had written. "I will entrust this to you. Go to any of the herb shops in the city and get these herbs in the specified quantity."

"Why me?" Even though he asked, Zhan Cheng still folded up the paper and tugged it into his clothes. He was merely curious.

"I will be busy gathering the other ones. I could make that trip myself as well but I doubt you would care to wait another day."

Zhan Cheng gave a dry cough and averted his face. "A day more or less won't make a difference."

Gongliang Ye gazed at his face before turning away. "I suppose so. Well, I should have everything else gathered in a week." He picked up a small pouch that was lying on the shelf and turned back around. "You take this. On the seventh day, come back here with somebody you trust."