Chapter 52: Mother-in-law's Change of Heart, the Girl Alchemist

Lu Xun, this is the Student Office; someone is looking for you.

The next morning, the Student Office called again.

Lu Xun frowned slightly; usually those looking for him wouldn't be notified so seriously by the Student Office.

Just as he approached the Student Office, Lu Xun's steps paused slightly.

Murong Yan stood not far away, obviously waiting for him.

"Auntie, what do you need from me?"

Lu Xun approached with a flat tone, his eyes showing some detachment.

After she drugged him, having this attitude from Lu Xun was already quite good.

"Lu Xun, I'm sorry."

Murong Yan lightly bit her lower lip, her eyes showing sincere apology.

Lu Xun remained silent in response, merely watching her quietly.

"An apology? If apologies were useful, what would we need the police for?"

"I'll return to Rong Cheng today; this is the key to Star Moon Pavilion. From now on, Star Moon Pavilion belongs to Youqing. Please help keep an eye on it, and split the profits evenly between you and Youqing."

Murong Yan handed over a key.

Lu Xun did not reach out.

"I won't interfere in your and Youqing's affairs anymore," Murong Yan sighed, "but be careful of the He family; I've clearly refused them, fearing they might retaliate against you."

Seeing her sincere expression, not feigned, after careful thought, Lu Xun took the key: "Auntie, I can help Youqing watch over Star Moon Pavilion; as for the profits, I won't take a share."

"Thank you." Murong Yan finally showed a relieved smile, "What happened that day, I'm truly sorry."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Lu Xun did not see her off.

"Lu Xun, how did my mom suddenly change? She not only doesn't oppose us, she also refused the He family... By the way, she transferred Star Moon Pavilion to my name."

A few hours later, Chu Youqing called.

"I don't know either."

Lu Xun didn't tell her what happened that day.

Besides Murong Yan and him, only Murong Wan knew about that matter.

Murong Yan was the instigator.

But the real victim was actually her younger sister, Murong Wan.

On the contrary, Lu Xun didn't suffer any loss.

"Wow, I just found out you're ranked first on the newcomer list! Surely after Mom discovered this, she saw your potential—Lu Xun, you're amazing!"

Chu Youqing made a new discovery and felt proud of her boyfriend.

Lu Xun didn't know why Murong Yan suddenly changed.

Could it be that after that day, her conscience awakened, or perhaps the newcomer list played a role?

No matter what.

It's a good thing that the mother-in-law no longer opposes.

"Train well; I'll keep an eye on Star Moon Pavilion for you."

"Mm."

After chatting on the phone for half a day, they each rested.

The next day, Lu Xun deliberately went to Star Moon Pavilion to check; he found that Murong Yan had indeed left.

On the fourth floor, her personal belongings had been mostly moved out, leaving only furniture and appliances.

In the shop, Lu Xun needn't worry; the people Murong Yan hired are quite reliable.

Star Moon Pavilion's business is indeed good, with monthly sales in the millions.

This is Qingbei Jie.

Even students of Qingbei who receive the lowest tier of resources can obtain hundreds of units of Dark Energy each month.

In the ordinary world, that's equivalent to a monthly salary of 100,000.

Of course, very few students exchange Dark Energy for money unless they truly can't get by.

"Boss, someone is looking for you."

Lu Xun was about to leave when the shop manager suddenly called him.

"Who?"

"An alchemist who says they want to cooperate."

"An alchemist?"

Lu Xun went downstairs; aside from students selecting goods in the shop, he didn't see any alchemist.

"Are you the boss?"

A pretty girl with twin tails suddenly bounced up to him.

"It's me."

Lu Xun sized her up; so young, could she be the alchemist looking for him?

"I'm Bai Ling, a second-rank alchemist. I have a business that guarantees profit without loss—does the boss have any interest in cooperating?"

The twin‑tailed girl asked.

"A second‑rank alchemist?"

Lu Xun wasn't very familiar with the ranks of alchemists, but he had heard a bit about them.

A second-rank alchemist's refined pills correspond to the second realm.

That is to say, she can refine pills useful for first- and second-realm cultivators.

Alchemists are basically immortal cultivators; martial cultivators find it hard to practice alchemy.

This is because spiritual power is gentler and more inclusive.

True qi, however, is excessively overbearing, belonging to the aura of slaughter; using it to control alchemy easily leads to failure.

"Please speak."

Lu Xun actually wanted to hear.

"Your shop's location is not bad; give me half. I'll sell pills here, giving you thirty percent of the profit. How about it?"

Bai Ling stretched out three fingers.

Give her half the shop to sell pills?

Lu Xun pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you know what this shop used to do?"

Bai Ling shook her head.

Lu Xun said, "This shop previously sold pills."

"Ah?"

Bai Ling was stunned.

"This place was previously called Bao Dan Ge; the owner hired two alchemists, one second-rank and one third-rank, yet even so, their shop closed after less than a year."

Lu Xun was quite familiar with this shop, because Li Bu Fan had bought pills here.

In Li Bu Fan's words, those pills were just ordinary pills, with too-common effects.

Lan Xing's martial arts, immortal cultivation, and magic development are actually not bad, but there still aren't any exceptionally skilled alchemists.

As for the reasons, on one hand, several catastrophes have caused significant damage to the wild natural environment, making high-grade alchemical materials hard to find; one can only search for them in the Starry Ancient Road.

On the other hand, it's because alchemists are still at the stage of feeling their way across the river by touching stones.

There are many legacies on the Starry Ancient Road, but so far no good alchemist inheritance has been found.

"Boss, why is that?"

Bai Ling did not understand.

"Why? You're an alchemist; don't you know why?"

Lu Xun felt she was doing it on purpose.

Bai Ling shook her head: "I don't know."

"Come on, come out."

Lu Xun came to the doorway.

After Bai Ling also came out, he pointed to the opposite shop bustling with people and asked, "Take a look, what kind of shop is that?"

"Jia Shi Dan Yao, such big characters—can't the boss see them?"

Bai Ling looked utterly confused, as if doubting Lu Xun's eyesight.

Lu Xun was speechless.

Is this girl genuinely stupid or pretending?

"You've recognized Jia Shi Dan Yao, yet you still don't understand why Bao Dan Ge went out of business?"

Lu Xun countered.

Bai Ling shook her head, wearing an innocent expression: "They sell theirs, we sell ours—what's the relation?"

"Eh."

This girl must have come from the mountains, right?

She didn't know that, because of the existence of the Jia Shi Dan Yao shop on Qingbei Jie, almost no pill shop could survive.

On the whole Qingbei Jie, the most profitable is undoubtedly the Jia Shi Dan Yao shop.

Murong Yan's Star Yue Lou can't even earn a fraction of what they make.

Moreover, what they earn more of is Dark Energy.

That is the hard currency of the cultivator world.

"Do you think your pills can outsell the Jia Shi Group?"

Lu Xun didn't want to waste words with her.

Bai Ling nodded: "Well, for first- and second-rank pills, I refine them better than they do."

"This..."

Lu Xun specifically confirmed that she was serious.

When she spoke, her gaze was clear, as if stating an utterly ordinary fact.

"Boss, if you don't believe me, I have a bottle of Ju Qi Dan here; you can see that the pills I refine all have golden lines."

The girl took out a small jade bottle and handed it to Lu Xun.

"Golden lines?"

"What are golden lines?"

Lu Xun really didn't understand.

"Even alchemists of the same rank differ in skill, just like cultivation methods, divided into the four tiers of Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow."

"Above the Yellow tier, the Mystic tier has white lines, the Earth tier silver lines, and the Heaven tier golden lines."

"Above the Yellow tier, the Mystic tier has white lines, the Earth tier silver lines, and the Heaven tier golden lines."

"The rank only indicates the level of pills an alchemist can refine; what truly determines pill quality is the alchemist's tier."

"And I am precisely a second-rank Heaven-tier alchemist."

Bai Ling raised their chin high, their face full of pride.