Kokuyou Apothecary Diaries Novels & Stories

Just quiet. His car was spotless, the scent of pine and leather lingering as I buckled in. No evidence of the fight we had in it just two days ago. The apothecary sat at the edge of town, tucked between an old bookstore and a tiny café. Inside, it smelled of dried herbs, honey, and dust. Rows upon rows of tiny jars, labeled with what looked to be duct tape, lined the walls. “Feverroot,” I read aloud from the list.

Clutching the small paper sack containing one of my diet pills, I approached the counter—wearing a surgical mask and some sunglasses to hide my identity. “I was hoping you could analyze the contents of this for me,” I said, trying to keep my voice level. “There are some… concerns about what might be in it.” The apothecary’s bushy eyebrows rose, but he didn’t question me further. With a solemn nod, he took the bag and made his way over to the workspace on the other side of the shop. I watched with bated breath as he carefully emptied the contents of the bag onto a ceramic plate and began crushing the little blue pill with a mortar and pestle.

Upstairs. Mary Kinson shut the door, walked straight to the closet, took everything out, and started looking for the medicine she needed. In the wardrobe is an antique mahogany box. The lock construction demonstrates the advanced intelligence of ancient humans. It can only be opened by Mary Kinson and Yaoi. After opening, there are nicely stacked bottles of miniature medicine cans within, containing various specifically made medicines. The cell phone in her pocket rang at this precise moment. Mary Kinson looked up and pressed the answer button.

On the big screen, a stunning jewel-encrusted box slowly appeared. The box opened, revealing an ancient manuscript with the words *Yun's Aromatic Codex* embossed on it. As the auction video showcasing the item played, the atmosphere quickly grew lively. People began discussing the legendary *Yun's Aromatic Codex* and its incredible value. The auctioneer continued, "This is the legendary *Yun's Aromatic Codex* from Yun's Fragrance & Dye Studio, passed down through generations. Experts have authenticated it as a genuine antique manuscript."

With a total of 100 mage coins at hand, Audrey started on her shopping spree. She and Niccoli visited different emporiums. 'Magus Athenaeum' was written majestically at the entrance of the first shop that they visited. As a new student, obviously they have to buy the book for their studies. So it is normal that their first stop will be a book store. There are a total of six books listed on the paper given to them and they look around the library for these specific books. Meanwhile, the library was divided into different sections and they were neatly separated by subject. The bookshelves for Herbology and Beasticology for the study of mystical plants and magical beast respectively were placed

It was a common thing, nobody would even be surprised, given the line of work that the madame was into. We had just murdered a well known person in society and questions would be asked. Luckily for us, I paid attention in chemistry classes and did some extra researches on my own. The answer to our problem was a mixture of sodium hydroxide with water, also known as lye. When this mixture is heated to boiling point, it dissolves tissue in a matter of hours. The body is reduced to a brownish slime, leaving only crisp bones that can be easily disposed.

I repeated. “Indeed. One sent to that house every month. And yet, the owner of the house himself never knew about it. I suspect it must be some kind of drug, as it came from an apothecary.” “Really? Which one?” I asked again. “If I recall… I believe it was called the ‘Euphoria Apothecary’. Do you know it?” I grimaced a bit at the question. “Yeah. It’s a place that sells homemade medicine. Supposedly, at least.”

I grinned. I opened a page of the most boring book on the shelf, Kyro despises the idea of war thus the book 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu, is misplaced to be in this shelf. He must have left a message or a clue inside that he kept such book in his room. I flipped the pages and found a piece of paper with an intricate sketch of a beautiful Cinchona on page 1052, I also scanned the page and the word grape was encircled then. Huh, how peculiar!

He asked, "What do you mean?" Qin Shaoyang looked out of the window, where the wind had carried several dead leaves into the room. "Zuoqiu Que, a Level Four apothecary." Xiao Chen's heart sank. Naturally, he knew about apothecaries. He had heard quite a few stories about them from Gui Xian. High-level apothecaries not only could revive the dead but also possessed extraordinary pill concoction skills. Thus, in the Violet Manor, apothecaries were very well-connected. Many would rather offend an entire sect than offend an apothecary of Level Three and above.

Usually, shrines have a storage room. He disappeared from view, and Kyoko was again impressed by his calm demeanor. Kyoko had been panicking for hours—ever since she realized they were lost. Though she hadn't shown it by screaming or acting hysterical, she was truly panicking inside. She was able to keep her cool only because Ryu remained calm. "I found this. It should help keep us warm later," Ryu reappeared, carrying a dusty wooden box, which he opened to reveal sealed bottles of white sake. "How is there sake in the mountains? And in a shrine?" Kyoko asked, bewildered.