He woke up late in the morning in decidedly better condition. He got dressed and went out for a hearty breakfast. With a full stomach and sugar in his system, Zeyang mentally organized everything he had to do.
He went to the supermarket and did some shopping, balancing healthy and nutritious food with comfort items, then headed to Andrea's place.
The doorbell didn't work, so he knocked on the door.
The young woman opened and let him in. He carried the grocery bags into the kitchen.
"It wasn't necessary, detective. Thank you, but I can't accept this."
He waved a hand and began putting the items away in the cupboards, and she helped him.
"I found a job as a clerk at the grocery store at the end of the street," she told him.
"I'm glad to hear it. How is it?"
She shrugged. "It's a job."
He nodded, then rummaged in his pockets and pulled out Lu Shen's business card. "It's from the wizard who broke the bond. He said he'd be pleased if I offered him your services as a seeker."
She took the card and turned it over between her fingers. "For now I can't: I don't have a way to get around, and usually the ingredients wizards look for are found outside the city."
"I can take you if you want. I owe him a favor, and that way I could repay part of it too. I'm a seeker as well, and I'd like to see you at work."
She looked at him, then went back to staring at the gray number. "I'd like to be able to repay both of you…"
"Call him. I'm free today."
After a moment of hesitation, Andrea took out her phone and dialed the number.
The conversation was brief, and when she hung up, she said they would have to go to the mountain north of the city.
"Okay. Go get ready. I'll wait here."
While she was gone, Zeyang checked the electricity, water, and gas. None of the three was working, so he sent Sally a message: "Pay Andrea Valenti's bills and have the utilities reactivated as soon as possible."
---
Cave mushrooms were not easy to find. But Andrea had gathered them for Lu Shen just two days earlier, so they went to the same place.
A cave reachable with an hour-and-a-half hike uphill.
The seeker stored them in a box and then in a cooler bag she had brought specifically with her, and finally they went back down to the valley.
Li Zeyang couldn't help but appreciate the girl's skills and commitment.
And when they returned to the motorcycle, he renewed his invitation for her to enroll in the academy to join the Unified Police.
"I didn't graduate," she replied as she put on her helmet.
"That doesn't matter."
"Really?"
He nodded. "Think about it. You have great abilities, and the Police are a bit like a big family."
"Thank you, I'll think about it."
---
Lu Shen went to meet them. "I'm happy to see you both again."
"The detective was kind enough to accompany me."
Lu Shen shifted his gaze to him, as if assessing his appearance compared to the day before.
Then he handed Andrea an envelope with the payment.
She thanked him. "Now I have to go to work."
"I'll take you home," Zeyang said, turning to her.
"Wait!" the wizard called out to him.
The detective stopped and watched him go inside and come back with a small dark green tin box in his hand. "Here."
He took it and examined it, but there was nothing written on it.
"It's a tea that helps rebalance internal energy. When you use your power too much, drink it: it will help you recover faster."
He looked at him, surprised. "Thank you," he said, not knowing what else to add.
Lu Shen smiled at him, then watched them leave.
---
Back home, Zeyang took off his jacket and shoes, then placed the little tin box on the kitchen counter. When he opened the refrigerator, he called himself an idiot: he had done the shopping for Andrea but hadn't bought anything for himself.
Cursing under his breath, he went out again and headed to the restaurant at the end of the block to get some takeout food.
---
Sitting on the bed, he finally took from his backpack the book Lu Shen had given him and began to leaf through it calmly. A small white sheet sticking out from more than halfway through the book caught his attention. When he opened it, he saw the image of the Rune Cube stolen from the Museum.
Reading the description, he understood that it was a box designed to contain spells, even very powerful ones, for a long time, without the magic dissipating.
He took a photo of the page and sent it to Lombardi.
Then he resumed flipping through the book, stopping from time to time to read passages.
Finally he set it aside, took the laptop from the bedside table, and began drafting the report on the searches carried out the previous day. When he finished, it was already dark outside the window. Zeyang turned off the PC and lay down, covering himself with the blanket. After a few minutes, he was already asleep.