Daniel could hardly believe it, but it was real.
"What in the…?" he breathed, his eyes wide. He looked at his hands, then at the small, remaining piece of the lumpy brown soap resting by the wash bucket.
The Cleansing Root soap was more than it appeared, a potent alchemical creation, a recovery aid so powerful it defied belief.
It had not only healed his strained body but had actively strengthened it.
A new perspective on Old Man Hemlock slammed into him with the force of a revelation.
The eccentric ramblings about native ginseng, the seemingly insane advice to feel the rhythm of the radish, the forced, humiliating bath… it wasn't madness.
It had all been a test, a lesson. The old man wasn't merely a deaf, irritable farmer, he was a master in disguise, teaching through the most cryptic, exasperating, yet effective methods imaginable.
The Principal hadn't just sent him here to be humbled, he had sent him here to learn from this hidden expert.
