Chapter 145: Simplified Pill Formula

Huang Fu, rear courtyard.

Huang Qi helped the eldest lady of the Huang family with household chores.

She placed bolts of cloth one by one into a chest.

Her eyes were slightly red.

Thinking that her parents, younger sister, and younger brother were all going to Jincheng, and that they would likely only meet once every three or five years afterward, she felt a pang of sorrow.

The eldest lady had been outside directing the servants; after a while she came in, saw Huang Qi's expression, and smiled, saying, "Silly girl, you're married now; you should have been mentally prepared long ago. Why are you crying now?"

"I'm just a little sad," Huang Qi said, acting spoiled in a rare moment.

The eldest lady walked over, embraced Huang Qi, and said, "Although you are not my biological daughter, I have long regarded you as my true daughter. I am reluctant to part with you too, silly child."

"I know," Huang Qi nodded.

She knew very well that the eldest lady treated her extremely well.

In fact, the eldest lady had initially been jealous of Huang Qi's mother—a Hu Ji with such a curvaceous figure who also knew the arts of seduction.

She had fixed her husband's deadly gaze upon herself.

But at the critical moment, the Hu Ji had unhesitatingly blocked a blade for her husband; then all her jealousy and resentment vanished.

She was even extremely grateful.

Naturally, this feeling extended to the Hu Ji's daughter, Huang Qi.

She treated Huang Qi even better than her own biological daughter.

"Your husband is a Spirit Hunter; although he is not yet powerful now, he is intelligent. Give him some more time, and he will surely become a Spirit Hunter of the fourth rank or higher." The eldest lady stroked Huang Qi's hair and said, "By then, he alone will be able to protect you, allowing you to come and go freely outside. At that time, visiting relatives will be a very simple matter."

Huang Qi finally smiled.

At this moment, Huang Ling walked in from outside; seeing her eldest sister's red eyes, she too showed some sorrow on her face.

"Now you know the sorrow of parting," Huang Ling muttered with red eyes, "I told you not to rush into marriage, but you wouldn't listen... What if you had waited until we reached Jincheng to marry? Our whole family could have stayed together, unlike now, where we must be separated by such a great distance."

The eldest lady scolded, "Ling'er, do not speak recklessly. When women marry, most marry to distant places; you will likely do the same in the future."

Huang Ling pressed her lips together and said no more.

Huang Qi walked over, took Huang Ling's hand, and said, "Sister, in the future I will find ways to visit you often."

Huang Ling nodded slightly: "I also hope that you, eldest sister, will live your days happily."

"She doesn't know how happy she is," the eldest lady teased from the side, then pinched Huang Qi's cheek: "This skin is so moist and supple... much better than before she married."

Huang Qi blushed somewhat.

"Can you tell she is very happy from that?" Huang Ling was somewhat puzzled.

"You will understand later," the eldest lady smiled.

Huang Ling still wore a look of confusion.

But she did not ask further.

Huang Qi said, "Mother, I brought some Body-Strengthening Pills and Face-Retaining Pills; I placed them in my original room. Remember to take them."

"Really?" The eldest lady smiled happily: "You and your husband are thoughtful."

She was getting older and needed such things even more to protect herself.

Huang Ling snorted and said, "A jade does not contend with spring; in seclusion and purity, it proudly braves the frost. For us women, talent and conduct are still the most important. Mother, relying on such external objects is not the right path."

The eldest lady rolled her eyes at her: "You are only sixteen, of course you can say that. When I was sixteen, I was even more arrogant than you. When you reach my age, to make your face whiter, if there were no Face-Retaining Pills, I suspect you would even dare to swallow arsenic."

Huang Ling was angered: "Mother, how can you look down on your daughter so? I am not that kind of person who values only appearance."

"You were the one who teased me first."

Huang Ling immediately had nothing to say.

Huang Qi covered her mouth and laughed right there.

On the other side, with his wife and concubine not at home, Li Lin began to cultivate frantically.

He first went through all his techniques, and only then began to study the formula for the protective barrier powder.

He felt that he could optimize this thing.

The materials in this formula were too numerous and too mixed; they were not pure enough.

He bought raw materials from the market, tested several times, and successfully simplified the formula for the protective barrier powder.

The cost dropped to about half of the original.

In this way, building a house made entirely of protective barrier powder would no longer be difficult for him.

The larger the house built with protective barrier powder, the better the effect.

Because filtering impurities requires... 'channels'.

Just like water pipes: under the same flow rate and pressure, a wider and larger pipe naturally allows more water to pass through.

The protective barrier powder is the same.

Moreover, this thing cannot be called protective barrier powder.

It should be called 'Spirit-Gathering Stone'.

Thinking this, Li Lin decided to name this newly created formula Spirit-Gathering Stone.

Just as he was about to make a few pieces first to see the effect, Zhang Afu came to report: "Master, the Ding family servant reported that Ding Xunshou wishes to see you."

What could it be?

But since it was so, he might as well go and see.

Li Lin arrived at the gate of Ding Fu and then found Zhao Xiaohu pacing back and forth there.

"Xiaohu, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see Sister Ding, but she does not want to see me." Then Zhao Xiaohu looked at Li Lin: "Lin Ge, what are you doing here?"

"Ding Xunshou invited me to discuss official matters."

Zhao Xiaohu immediately grew tense: "Lin Ge, you can't compete with me for Sister Ding."

In Zhao Xiaohu's view, Li Lin was the person he admired most, without exception.

If Lin Ge made a move, there would be absolutely no hope for him.

Li Lin helplessly patted the other's head and scolded, "What do you take me for... Rest assured, I won't do such a thing."

Hearing this, Zhao Xiaohu relaxed and said, "Since you have matters to discuss, I'll return to the village first. I'll come find him again in a few days."

Li Lin watched Zhao Xiaohu leave, then entered Ding Fu.

Ding Yingqiu sat in the main seat, having already prepared clear tea.

"Sit, County Commandant Li."

"Thank you." Li Lin was not polite; after sitting down, he directly lifted the tea and drank, then asked, "Why didn't you see Xiaohu? He seemed to be waiting outside for quite a while."

Ding Yingqiu's face turned somewhat red: "I haven't decided yet. After all, you know he hasn't even reached fourteen."

"He's close."

"If I truly marry him and others learn he is under fourteen, how can I face people? Won't our Ding family be mocked?"

Li Lin chuckled: "It's fine. Now I am the County Commandant, and the Registrar is my brother-in-law. If we want to change Xiaohu's age in the household registration, it won't be difficult. Besides, with his looks, who would believe he is only thirteen? You didn't believe it before."

Ding Yingqiu seemed somewhat tempted, then blushed and gave Li Lin an indignant glance, saying, "Let's not talk about that. This time I asked you here because I wanted to ask: your annotations on the Nature-Nurturing Scripture given to the Ding family seem... somewhat difficult to practice. We clearly understand it, yet we cannot cultivate it."

"That can't be right." Li Lin was somewhat puzzled: "I clearly practiced it exactly this way."

"So we hope you can help us examine it."

Li Lin thought for a moment and said, "May I take your pulse?"

Ding Yingqiu immediately extended her right hand.

Li Lin pressed his fingers against the pulse on her right wrist and transferred some spiritual energy into her.

He then withdrew his hand: "Strange. Why is the pulse of your Ding family so... narrow?"

At this moment, Ding Yingqiu's expression was shocked. She looked at Li Lin: "I feel the qi you transferred to me is quite extraordinary. What is it?"

As a Spirit Hunter, she naturally sensed the difference between her and Li Lin regarding 'qi'.

A difference in quality.

A difference in experience.

"This is the qi cultivated by the Nature-Nurturing Scripture," Li Lin said. "However, your meridians are indeed a bit narrow. What is the reason?"

Ding Yingqiu fell silent.

(End of this chapter)