Spirit Energy

In the next moment, Jean tilted his head to the side and gazed at the corner with narrowed eyes.

As soon as Casper noticed Jean's staring at the corner, he patted the boy on the shoulder as a gleam of curiosity flashed in his eyes.

"What are you staring at."

With a facade cough Jean flinched as he slowly turned and faced Casper.

"N-Nothing."

Jean answered with a stutter.

He was trying to hide the curiosity of wanting to confirm if Casper had plucked the herbs somewhere in the corner. This could have looked absurd, considering how smart Jean was. But the reason of him not throwing away such possibility was the fact that, Jean didn't see the possibility of Casper sneaking the herbs into the kitchen since they could have at least weathered in the process of the guy bringing them home.

"Okay, then let's continue with our lesson."

Casper said in a calm tone.

Grumpily adhering to Casper's suggestion, Jean sighed.

"I want you to look at the herbs closely and keenly, because next time, it would be you going to look for them."

Casper stated in a friendly tone.

"If I would be the one going to pluck them next time as you suggest, then it would be important for me to at least know where to find them."

Jean said as he looked Casper straight in the eyes.

Blinking for a couple of times, Casper lingered.

"That's where I was heading to. But since you have already asked for it, my answer would be in the forest."

Casper answered nonchalantly.

Suddenly, Jean was petrified.

'How can he provide me with such an ambiguous answer?'

A moment later, Casper continued...

"I know you must be asking yourself 'where exactly in the forest.'"

Pausing for a moment,Casper glanced at Jean with a serious expression.

"We shall have a forest tour with you when you have fully recovered. I guess that would be after I have taken you to my friend to charge your cellphone."

In response Jean nodded curtly.

"This herb isn't one of those common herbs you hear or know about. It is contains traces of spirit energy that gives it the ability to suppress any kind of physical pain on the patient's body. It is rare to find it because of its high demand."

With that Casper went mute.

At this point, the water in the pot had already started boiling.

"What do you mean that its demand is high?"

Staring at Jean with dubious eyes, Casper snorted.

"For you to ask me such question, it clearly affirms to me that there is something that you don't understand."

Casper said as he glanced at the boiling water in the pot.

Jean was confused by Casper's statement, but still he didn't let it show on the surface.

'Something I don't understand? I know people get hurt, but how can... Now I understand, the beasts in the forest... they must be the ones inflicting the locals with injuries making the demand for the Painkiller heighten.'

For a moment, Jean seemed to have understood Casper's statement, but still, he waited for his explanation.

"People getting injured is a common happening in the surroundings. These injuries might be caused by people themselves or the beasts that I told you about."

As soon as Casper confirmed Jean's speculations, the boy immediately had the urge of turning down the offer of the forest tour that Casper had promised him.

"Now look..."

Casper stated as he dipped the herbs into the pot of boiling water.

Gazing at what the guy was doing, Jean increased his concentration.

Just at that moment, Casper turned to him and grinned.

"The next step after making sure that the water boiling, is dipping the herbs in it just the way I have done."

Nodding silently, Jean inquired.

"Why is it that you only have to dip the herbs in water after it has boiled and not before it starts boiling?"

Jean asked out of curiosity.

With a gulp, Casper responded.

"The secret here is the extraction of spirit energy."

Suddenly, Jean interjected.

"And what is this spirit energy that you are talking about?"

For a moment, Casper was flustered.

"I can put it as supernatural force that is used to expel pain from the body tissues. It isn't a common force since its origin is untraceable."

Casper stated with a complicated look.

For a moment, Jean felt like he was getting drawn out of the real world into a world of imaginations and wonders.

'This doesn't sound real. It seems more like a fairy conclusion rather than a real one. How can something without a known origin be considered real?'

For a couple of minutes, Jean's mind was clouded with numerous thoughts that he even forgot why he was in the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Casper's voice echoed in the room, and in the process, snapping Jean out of his reverie.

"Should we continue with our lesson or what?"

Casper said as he waved a hand in front of Jean's eyes to get his attention.

Noticing this awkwardness, Jean gasped as he struggled to liven up.

"Let's continue. Where were we?"

Jean shamelessly threw a random question after realising that he was caught off guard.

With a smirk, Casper shook his head.

"I was explaining to you why we had to immerse the herbs in boiling water instead of immersing it in the water before it boils."

Suddenly, Jean's mind was put into a factory reset. His concentration increased as he waited for Casper's explanation.

"How could that escape my mind?"

Jean asked with a contorted face.

"The reason to why we do that, is because the hot water is capable of dissolving the spirit energy. If the herbs are immersed in water that isn't that hot, the spirit energy will escape into the atmosphere untapped."

Casper explained in a calm tone.

"So, it is only the boiling water that is able to dissolve the spirit energy?"

Jean asked after a moment of contemplation.

With a nod Casper answered.

"Yes. What you need to know is that; when the herbs are immersed in warm water, the spirit energy escapes from them. But when it comes in contact with the warm water, it escapes since the water isn't hot enough to dissolve it."

"So, what you are trying to mean is that it is only hot water that can dissolve it?"

Jean asked with a confused expression.

"Yes. And the water must be at its boiling point. That's why we only immersed the herbs in the water when it is boiling."

Casper explained.

"What if the water cools afterwards?"

Jean asked immediately Casper was done explaining.

"The spirit energy will remain intact as it would have combined with the water molecules into a single compound. At that point, the water is no longer regarded as water again. It now becomes the Painkiller."

Suddenly, a wave of understanding hit Jean.

'No wonder the concoction was as tasteless as water. Only to find out that water was part of it.

Just as the herbs were boiling, Jean noticed a strange smell that was being emitted by the boiling contents. Without a second thought, he opted to ask Casper about the smell.

"I have a question..."

Adding firewood in the fireplace, Casper lingered. He then turned and glanced at Jean with a questioning look.

As if understanding his body language Jean went ahead to ask the question.

"How comes the boiling contents have a smell yet the Painkiller I have been consuming have never had a noticeable smell, as far as my smelling senses are concerned?"

Jean asked in a gentle tone.

With a sigh, Casper responded.

"After the content has been boiled for a period of at least twenty minutes, it is transferred into a different pot and placed at a corner for it to cool down.

The cooling process takes at least two to three hours. When the content is finally cooled down, the herbs are served out. The obtained solution is then placed to rest in an empty container for at least thirty minutes. This is the period that the smell fades away from the solution. I think now that answers your question."

Immediately Casper was done with his explanation, Jean nodded in acknowledgement as he now directed his focus on the task ahead of him.

The eagerness of putting what Casper had explained to him in practice couldn't allow him pursue the talk any further.

'This skill could be helpful in my life. I don't know if I can carry the herb to my home so that when I return home, I shall surprise mom with this special skill. This might put an end to the use of those hospital painkillers that always have side effects.'

With that thought in mind, Jean decided to inquire about the possibility of transporting the herb to his home.

"If I may ask; Is it possible for me to transport the herb to my home?"

Jean asked with a genuine smile.

"For you, I don't think it is possible. But for me and some other people in this country, it is very possible."

With that, silence settled in the room like a third person.

For a minute, Jean had even forgotten to breathe. With a gasp, Jean regained his concentration as he tried to come up with the right framing of question to extract the best explanation from Casper.

'Should the reason for this possibility be in the herb itself or the guy himself?'

Jean pondered.

With a gulp, Jean glanced at Casper with a complicated look as his eyes twitched uncontrollably.

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