Chapter 34: Complete Alchemy Legacy

After Hua Changxi still had to clean the medicinal herbs and had "discussed" things with Eunuch Yu, she returned to the Sixth Bureau.

As soon as she left, Eunuch Yu sharply turned to Yu Gui, his eyes blazing with anger: "That girl is a martial artist—why didn't you tell me beforehand?"

Yu Gui was astonished: "Sister Changxi is a martial artist? Godfather, I had no idea! I only knew she was quite strong—how could she possibly be a martial artist?"

Seeing that Yu Gui's expression did not seem feigned, Eunuch Yu believed he wouldn't dare deceive him; after Yu Gui had told him about the pill refining, he had already sent Xiao Xizi to investigate Hua Changxi's background thoroughly.

Given Hua Changxi's family background, it was indeed unlikely that they could have trained her to become a martial artist; most importantly, she was too young.

He had cultivated for decades and was only a seventh-rank martial artist, yet that girl, just thirteen years old, had a martial arts cultivation that surpassed his own.

This was far too hard to accept!

Even the martial arts prodigies at the Kyoto Martial Academy were not so monstrously talented.

Eunuch Yu's eyes flickered—that girl must have a secret!

However, Eunuch Yu was not too anxious about this; as long as Hua Changxi remained in the Chore Hall, he would one day get to the bottom of it.

Eunuch Yu looked at Yu Gui, whose legs were still trembling slightly, and softened his tone: "That Hua Changxi—you should interact well with her. If you can find out how she became a martial artist, I will reward you handsomely."

Yu Gui quickly agreed: "Godfather, rest assured, I will definitely find out about this."

Eunuch Yu grunted in acknowledgment, then turned his gaze to the thirty-five pills placed on the stove.

Hua Changxi had refined twenty of each type of pill; that girl had originally left, but then she came back specifically to take eight pills of each type, claiming it was her share.

Thinking of the matter-of-fact way that girl took the pills, the corner of Eunuch Yu's mouth twitched—he knew he had met his match this time.

In this world, some people are obsessed with face, while others are obsessed with money; that girl, like him, wanted both face and money.

Eunuch Yu didn't want to be led around by the nose by a young lady, so he looked at the young eunuch who had just guided Hua Changxi: "Xiao Xizi, go to Sixth Street and fetch Pharmacist Zhou for me."

Xiao Xizi nodded in acknowledgment and quickly left.

Eunuch Yu then instructed Yu Gui: "You still remember the medicinal herbs Hua Changxi just picked out, right?"

Yu Gui nodded: "Yes, I remember them."

Having guarded the storeroom for many years, even if he didn't understand the medicinal properties, he had long memorized the various herbs.

Eunuch Yu took off the token from his waist: "Go to Warehouse No. 9 and fetch a set of the medicinal herbs that Hua Changxi just used."

As the head steward of the storeroom, let alone discarded herbs, he could even requisition good-quality herbs.

With both sending for Pharmacist Zhou and fetching herbs, Yu Gui immediately understood what Eunuch Yu was going to do.

They had all witnessed the pill-refining process of Sister Changxi just now.

Yu Gui knew that he relied on Eunuch Yu to keep his position in the storeroom; although he felt a bit guilty toward Hua Changxi, he ultimately said nothing and accepted the order to fetch the herbs.

Half an hour later, the herbs were brought back, and Pharmacist Zhou had also arrived.

After seeing the pills Hua Changxi had refined, Pharmacist Zhou was extremely shocked: "Were these pills really refined using only a few kinds of medicinal herbs?"

Eunuch Yu: "Would I lie to you about something like this? I've already told you the refining process. Try it quickly—if you can also refine them, we'll be rich."

Pharmacist Zhou was also very tempted; he wasn't just after the silver—he valued the medicinal value of the formula even more.

In recent years, new medicinal herbs had been discovered everywhere, and all the medical clinics on Nine Streets were researching new medicines, but the results were unsatisfactory—most were still in the exploratory stage.

As for the formula Eunuch Yu had told him, he knew all the herbs in it, but he didn't have a thorough understanding of what medicinal effects would result from combining them.

Without needing Eunuch Yu to urge him, Pharmacist Zhou himself swiftly began refining pills.

At the start, the washing and soaking went without error, but when it came to the third step—grinding—problems arose.

The medicinal herbs Pharmacist Zhou ground were not fine enough nor uniform, unlike Hua Changxi, who had ground the herbs directly into a paste.

Because this step was not done well, when it came to mixing and blending the medicine, Pharmacist Zhou was like a pastry chef kneading dough—either too much water or too little; after great effort, he still couldn't form a usable dough.

"This shouldn't be!"

Pharmacist Zhou was bewildered; in his many years of pill refining, he had never encountered such a situation.

Eunuch Yu also looked puzzled; he had known Pharmacist Zhou for decades and was well aware of his pill-refining skill—just blending medicine, there was no reason for it to stump Pharmacist Zhou.

Yu Gui seemed to have something to say but held back.

Seeing this, Eunuch Yu said impatiently, "Just say whatever you want to say."

Yu Hui: "Godfather, remember how I was wounded by that fourth-rank martial artist before? Sister Changxi treated me. The prescription she gave me for decoction can still be reused, but as for the medicinal paste she used for the wound dressing, I simply can't replicate the effect she achieved no matter what I do."

"Godfather, I feel Sister Changxi must have some special technique for handling medicinal materials. It may look simple on the surface, but there's definitely a trick to it."

Eunuch Yu didn't understand these matters either, so he turned to look at Pharmacist Zhou.

Pharmacist Zhou, at this moment, didn't know exactly where the problem lay either, so he said, "Old Yu, give me some time to study it."

Eunuch Yu nodded. Seeing that the medicinal materials they had obtained had all been wasted, he said, "Should I transfer some medicinal materials for you?"

Pharmacist Zhou smiled: "I'm not short of medicinal materials."

As an apothecary, even if he failed in developing new medicines and wasted some materials, as long as he explained the reason, he wouldn't be held accountable.

To some extent, he could access even more medicinal materials than Eunuch Yu, and they were directly transferred from the medicine storeroom—where all materials were already processed—while Old Yu's storeroom only had fresh ones.

Pharmacist Zhou took three pills each of the Qi-Blood Pill, Body-Tempering Pill, and Foundation-Solidifying Pill that Hua Changxi had refined. Just before leaving, he curiously looked at a pile of discarded medicinal materials in the courtyard.

"Old Yu, why are you piling trash in the yard?"

Hearing this, Yu Hui and Xiao Xizi both lowered their heads, and Eunuch Yu's expression also turned awkward. If his old friend found out that Hua Changxi had refined pills using this trash, his friend's pride would certainly be wounded.

"The underlings made a mistake; I haven't had time to clean it up yet."

Pharmacist Zhou was clearly not very concerned about this matter. He said "Oh" and left.

Eunuch Yu watched Pharmacist Zhou leave. When he returned to the courtyard, he saw Yu Hui following behind him, hesitating as if he wanted to say something. "How many times have I told you? Don't be so petty and timid all the time. If you have something to say, say it; if you have something to fart, let it out!"

Yu Hui stopped beating around the bush and asked, "Godfather, Sister Changxi cleans the medicinal materials very quickly. She usually finishes the day's tasks by morning. If you allow it, Godfather, we can start refining the pills tomorrow."

Eunuch Yu slanted his eyes at Yu Hui: "There's no rush. Let's wait until Pharmacist Zhou gives his reply."

Hearing this, Yu Hui let out a disappointed "Oh."

Seeing him like this, Eunuch Yu snorted coldly. After thinking it over, he still gave Yu Hui four pills each of the three types Hua Changxi had refined. "This is your twenty percent share."

Yu Hui was extremely surprised that Eunuch Yu hadn't withheld his portion. "Thank you, Godfather, thank you, Godfather! Godfather, once I've trained my martial arts well, I will definitely repay you, Elder."

Yu Hui was only a first-rank martial artist, so Eunuch Yu didn't think much of him. Still, he appreciated Yu Hui's filial piety. "Since you've acknowledged me as your father, how could I mistreat you, my son? Work well for me, and you won't be shortchanged."

Yu Hui nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Son will surely serve Godfather well."

At least the cooperation on pill refining had gotten off to a good start. Although his share was one-tenth less than he had anticipated, he was still satisfied.

He was only the intermediary. His godfather provided the materials and the courtyard, Sister Changxi provided the refining technique, and he—having contributed nothing—took a twenty percent profit—that was more than enough.

While Yu Hui was excited and delighted, on the other side, Hua Changxi was also overjoyed.

Just as she was refining the Qi-Blood Pill, Body-Tempering Pill, and Foundation-Solidifying Pill, new techniques appeared on her data panel.

[Fusion Art (Initial Mastery): Blending & fusing medicinal materials 16/100]

When the number of medicinal materials blended together reached ten, Hua Changxi's mind was filled with various methods for processing mundane plants and mundane beasts.

[Pill-Coagulation Art (Initial Mastery): Coagulating pills 60/100]

When the number of pills she rolled reached ten, Hua Changxi's mind was filled with various techniques for solidifying medicinal substances into pills.

[Sealing Art (Initial Mastery): Sealing pills 60/100]

When the number of pills Hua Changxi sealed with wax shells reached ten, her mind was filled with various methods for preserving the medicinal efficacy of mundane plants.

The appearance of new techniques made Hua Changxi even happier than reaching an agreement with Eunuch Yu. She knew that, following the pattern of previous techniques, once she refined pills over a hundred times, she would be able to use Fusion Art, Pill-Coagulation Art, and Sealing Art with spiritual power.

After a burst of excitement, Hua Changxi gradually calmed down and began to recall the medical knowledge she had learned.

"Annotations on the Hundred Herbs Classic" discusses the medicinal properties of mundane plants, spirit plants, divine plants, and xx;

Stainless Art teaches how to mobilize water power and wind power to cleanse medicinal materials;

"Complete Compilation of Processing Methods" teaches how to process medicinal materials;

"Complete Atlas of Meridian Drawing" teaches how to dissect and grind medicinal materials;

Fusion Art teaches how to blend and fuse medicinal materials;

Pill-Coagulation Art teaches how to form medicinal mixtures into pills.

The sealing technique is about sealing the medicinal properties and spirit energy of pills.

These seven types of medical knowledge, when summarized together, form a complete alchemy process.

Therefore, she obtained a systematic alchemy inheritance.