Chapter 35: Step by Step Forward

Seven days had passed since meeting Eunuch Yu, and Hua Changxi had yet to receive word from Yu Kuai to come refine pills. On the contrary, every time she went to the storehouse for medicine, Yu Kuai would avoid her.

Yu Kuai's attitude made it clear to Hua Changxi that Eunuch Yu was not very eager to cooperate with her.

For her part, she wasn't particularly anxious about this.

Eunuch Yu's reluctance boiled down to two reasons: first, he felt she was taking too much profit; second, he thought she was hard to control—she was just a lowly menial, yet she dared to seek an equal partnership. To Eunuch Yu, that was probably a provocation.

But who could resist the temptation of making money?

The pills she refined used few ingredients, and those were the discarded herbs from the chores hall, making it nearly zero cost for Eunuch Yu.

A venture that only brings in money with no outlay, a hundred percent profit—anyone with a sound mind would cling to it tightly once they encountered it.

She believed it wouldn't be long before Eunuch Yu came looking for her on his own.

"Sixth Brother!"

Seeing Hua Liulang waiting at the back door of the Medical Department with a fairly large bundle on his back, Hua Changxi waved from far away.

"Ninth Sister."

Ever since Hua Wuniang left, following Hua Changxi's advice, Hua Liulang would come to see her every few days, each time bringing either food made by Yao Shi or buying braised dishes, roast chicken, and sweets.

The Hua sons worked at the pharmacy, earning five hundred wen a month.

Hua Liulang had spent almost all his wages this month on food for Hua Changxi. It pained him at first, but every time he saw his little sister happily eating what he brought, the money spent seemed less important.

"Sixth Brother, what delicious food did you bring me this time?"

Hua Changxi was a glutton; even though she occasionally got to eat from the dining hall's special kitchen in the chores hall, she still craved good food.

Hua Liulang handed the bundle to Hua Changxi, and seeing her rooting through it for food, he couldn't help saying, "Don't just focus on the food. Mother prepared padded coats and pants for you."

"Mother said the weather is getting colder, telling you to keep warm, wear more clothes, and never stand in cold water to wash herbs—women shouldn't be exposed to cold."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi paused for a moment.

Since November began, the weather had grown colder day by day. She was cultivating, her physical constitution greatly improved—even washing herbs in cold water didn't feel very cold to her—but that wasn't the case for other menials.

Two or three of her dorm mates had already developed chilblains on their hands and feet.

"Hua?"

"Grandfather and Grandmother won't really do anything to you, so don't stay in the chores hall..."

Before he could finish, Hua Liulang saw his sister toss him a three-finger-wide paper packet. He caught it instinctively: "What's this?"

Opening the packet, looking at the pills inside, smelling the medicinal fragrance emanating from them, Hua Liulang's eyes widened in excitement as he stared at Hua Changxi: "Ninth Sister, are these Blood Qi Pills?"

Hua Changxi hummed in acknowledgment and handed him two more paper packets.

Hua Liulang quickly opened them, his eyes growing even wider.

Blood Qi Pills!

Body Tempering Pills!

Foundation Consolidation Pills!

He recognized all three types. He had taken Blood Qi Pills and Body Tempering Pills before; he had seen Foundation Consolidation Pills with Hua Minghe and Hua Dalang.

Hua Changxi raised an eyebrow, smugly admiring Hua Liulang's stunned expression.

Hua Liulang swallowed, muttering under his breath: "Blood Qi Pills are five taels of silver each, Foundation Consolidation Pills ten taels each, Body Tempering Pills fifty taels each, eight of each..."

Over five hundred taels of silver...

After a brief burst of delight, Hua Liulang's face showed panic. He glanced around, then grabbed Hua Changxi anxiously: "Ninth Sister, where did you get these pills? What have you been up to?"

Hua Changxi had been expecting her sixth brother to worship her, but seeing him so frightened, she found it a bit exasperating: "Sixth Brother, what are you thinking? Of course I refined these pills myself."

"You refined them?"

"Hua, Ninth Sister, don't deceive me."

Hua Changxi was displeased and crossed her arms: "Why would I lie to you? Is there money in it? Don't forget, most of the pills in our family's pharmacy were made by me."

Hua Liulang muttered: "But those were ordinary medicine pills, not martial cultivator's medicines."

Hua Changxi sniffed: "If Grandpa and Grandma had agreed to my suggestion earlier and bought some martial artists' herbs for me to research, maybe our family's pharmacy would have already started selling martial artists' medicine."

Hua Liulang still didn't quite believe it and asked again to confirm: "Did you really refine this pill?"

"If you don't want it, forget it." Hua Changxi made as if to take back the medicine pouch.

Hua Liulang immediately covered the medicine pouch and quickly stepped back, apologizing with a smile as he retreated: "I believe you now, alright?"

Hua Changxi couldn't be bothered to argue with him: "You don't need the Guben Pill. When Father gets back, give it to him. Keep the Qixue Pill and the Chuili Pill for yourself."

Hua Liulang's face lit up with joy, but then he hesitated: "Shouldn't we hand them over to Grandpa and Grandma for distribution?"

Hua Changxi glared: "They're my things; I decide." She paused, "There are only a few pills. With so many people in the family, giving each person one pill wouldn't have much effect. It's better to give them all to you."

With that, she patted Hua Liulang's shoulder: "Sixth Brother, I'm planning to train you into a grandmaster. Don't let me down."

Everyone has their close and distant relations. In the entire Hua family, apart from her parents, this silly Sixth Brother treated her the best, almost always going along with her. Knowing he loved martial arts, now that she had pills, she naturally prioritized him.

Hua Liulang, moved by how much his sister cared for him and even wanted him to become a grandmaster, said emotionally: "Jiuniang, don't worry. I'll train hard and won't let anyone bully you."

Hua Changxi looked at him with full trust: "Sixth Brother, I believe you. Remember, don't tell the family about me giving you the pills."

"If you tell them and cause me trouble, don't ever expect to get any more pills from me. You'll have to find your own way to train."

Hua Liulang nodded hastily: "Don't worry, I won't say a thing."

Seeing she had been out for quite a while, Hua Changxi said: "Remember to hide the pills well."

After watching Hua Liulang disappear into the distance, Hua Changxi returned to the Sixth Bureau and continued her duties and cultivation as usual.

Two days later, when she went to the storeroom to collect herbs, Yu Gui took the initiative to greet her.

Seeing this, the corners of Hua Changxi's mouth lifted ever so slightly.

"Sister Changxi, my godfather has acquired another batch of discarded herbs. After you finish your work today, could you go to the courtyard where you met my godfather last time? Is that okay?"

Yu Gui looked at Hua Changxi nervously. He knew this girl's temper. He had been avoiding her these days and wondered if she was angry.

Hua Changxi didn't put on any airs and agreed with a smile: "I'll head over after lunch."

Yu Gui's heart immediately settled back into his stomach. He wanted to explain a few things, but Hua Changxi waved her hand: "Brother Yu, I understand your difficulties. Fortunately, things worked out. The rest isn't that important."

This made Yu Gui feel even more uneasy: "Sister... from now on, you're my own sister."

Hua Changxi chuckled: "Brother Yu, just remember we're friends." With that, she went to collect the herbs.

After lunch, Hua Changxi went to the courtyard where she had met Eunuch Yu before. Last time, the young eunuch had walked too fast, so she hadn't had a good look at the surroundings.

"Qihuang Hall."

Hua Changxi noticed that all the courtyards nearby were called by this name. These courtyards had no plaques; the words 'Qihuang Hall' were carved into the gate walls, and the walls were made of stone.

She hadn't entered the wrong courtyard, because Yu Gui was waiting for her at the gate.

"Sister Changxi, remember, this is Courtyard Nine. Next time, don't go into the wrong one."

Yu Gui pointed to a stone pillar about three feet high at the entrance, which was engraved with the character '九'.

Hua Changxi asked: "These courtyards are quite old, aren't they? They look very historic."

Yu Gui: "They should have been built a long time ago. I heard the buildings in the Medical Department have looked like this since the previous dynasty and have never changed."

Hua Changxi was surprised: "Since the previous dynasty? That's really old."

You see, the Great Jin Dynasty was different from the feudal dynasties she had learned about in her previous life's textbooks. It was a dynasty that had lasted nearly a thousand years.

She had always been curious: how had this dynasty maintained its rule for so long?

Unfortunately, her circle of contacts was too narrow, and she had never been able to find out.

While talking, the two entered the courtyard.

Once inside, what greeted Hua Changxi's eyes was an even larger pile of discarded herbs than last time.

Hua Changxi looked worriedly at Yu Gui: "Bringing so many discarded herbs here—is that really okay?"

Yu Gui quickly whispered: "Don't worry, it's fine. I only found out a couple of days ago that my godfather has the authority to move these discarded herbs. As long as we don't go too far, even if the higher-ups find out, they'll turn a blind eye."

"In the menial hall where you work, even before processed herbs are sent to the pharmacy storeroom, Eunuch Jia and the others can take some out for their own use."

"These are considered a kind of hidden benefit of the Medical Affairs Bureau, from the Director to the stewards of the miscellaneous service halls."

Hua Changxi immediately felt envious, and at the same time a bit puzzled: "Since Eunuch Yu could use the discarded medicinal herbs, didn't he ever think of finding an alchemist to help him refine pills before?"

Yu Gui: "My godfather probably didn't think much of these discarded medicinal herbs before."

Hadn't he heard Alchemist Xu from Sixth Street say these discarded medicinal herbs were trash? Probably in his godfather's mind, that's what he thought as well.

Hua Changxi sighed inwardly. A steward of a single storehouse could mobilize so many resources—having power was really good.

Eunuch Yu didn't come over this time, adopting an attitude of fully entrusting the matter to Yu Gui.

Looking at the pile of discarded medicinal herbs like a small mountain in the courtyard, Yu Gui looked at Hua Changxi worriedly: "Sister Changxi, can you handle this all by yourself?"

Hua Changxi saw there was a well in the courtyard and all kinds of pill-refining tools were complete, so she nodded: "I can manage." Since there was no time limit, she would just take it slowly. Rolling up her sleeves, she walked toward the discarded medicinal herbs.

Out of about ten cartloads of discarded medicinal herbs, Hua Changxi selected three cartloads that could be used.

After picking out the usable herbs, she then washed and cleaned them, removing the parts that could not be used as medicine, leaving only two cartloads of herbs.

Next came sun-drying and processing according to their medicinal properties.

Some herbs required a long time for drying and processing, while others took a short time. And with just one or two rounds of selection, it was not necessarily possible to collect all the ingredients for a complete pill formula. Hua Changxi could only store the herbs in the house.

In the following days, Eunuch Yu would deliver ten cartloads of discarded medicinal herbs to pile up in the courtyard every day.

Hua Changxi would work her shift in the morning, and in the afternoon she would come over to pick through the usable herbs, then wash, dry, and process them.

[Complete Canon of Processing (Minor Achievement): Processed Medicinal Herbs 100/1000]

When the number of processed herbs reached 100, Hua Changxi's mind was stuffed with all kinds of knowledge about processing spirit plants and spirit beasts.

She also came to know that the reason the Yuanling Powder she had refined last time had low spiritual energy was not only because the herbs had withered and lost their spiritual energy, but also because she had not processed them properly.

"I wonder if the Herb Garden will send more Yuanling Grass?"

Hua Changxi mused inwardly. She would have to visit the storehouse more often. What if she ran into Yuanling Grass again?

When she had enough types of stored herbs, Hua Changxi began to try refining various pills based on the explanations of medicinal properties in the *Baicao Classic Annotations*.

She didn't succeed every time she tried to refine pills; she also ruined a lot of medicinal herbs.

Although she didn't have to pay for those herbs, she always treasured them. As a result, by the end of November, she had still refined quite a lot of pills.

Eunuch Yu looked at several gourd-shaped porcelain bottles, each the size of an adult's palm, placed on the table, and his cheek twitched a little.

Even the most extravagant alchemist wouldn't use such large porcelain bottles to hold pills, making the pills seem as if they were worthless.

"Godfather, five hundred each of Blood Qi Pills, Body Tempering Pills, and Root Consolidating Pills, one hundred Bone Forging Pills, one hundred Organ Pills, and fifty Meridian Unblocking Pills."

For every pill that Yu Gui named, Eunuch Yu's eyes brightened a bit. After he silently calculated how much silver he could earn by selling these pills, he saw that Hua Changxi and Yu Gui were also staring at him with bright eyes.

Damn, he had forgotten that he still had to give them a share of the profit!

The thought of having to part with sixty percent of the profit made Eunuch Yu's heart tremble.

But for the sake of a long-term arrangement, Eunuch Yu still tremblingly handed over Hua Changxi and Yu Gui's shares personally.

Hua Changxi took the pills and smiled until her eyes narrowed: "Thank you, Eunuch Yu. Next month I'll keep up the good work and try to refine even more pills."

Eunuch Yu glanced at her: "Once we enter December, the medicinal herbs sent from various places will decrease significantly, so there will be even fewer discarded herbs. From now on, you only need to come here once every five days."

Hearing that she couldn't come every day in December, Hua Changxi felt a bit regretful. But she also knew that haste makes waste, so she adjusted her mindset.

With this batch of pills in hand, not only would it be enough for her Sixth Brother to cultivate for a while, but she could also sell some to earn silver. She should be satisfied.

Also, during this period, having processed so many medicinal herbs, many of her stats had improved.

[Baicao Classic Annotations (Perfection)]

[Stainless Technique (Perfection)]

[Complete Canon of Processing (Perfection): Processed Medicinal Herbs 4608/]

[Complete Canon of Meridian Mapping (Perfection): Dissected and Ground Medicinal Herbs 3511/]

[Integration Technique (Perfection): Blended and Integrated Pills 2672/]

[Condensation Technique (Perfection): Condensed Pills 2672/]

[Sealing Art (Perfected): Sealed Pills 2672/]

"The Hundred Herbs Classic Annotations" had been fully inherited, and Hua Changxi also learned that after ordinary plants, spirit plants, and divine plants, there are Dao plants.

Dao plants: comprehending the rules of the great Dao of heaven and earth, clarifying the mind and calming the nature, transcending all desires, seeking the true essence...

Divine plants are tens of thousands fewer than spirit plants, only a few thousand kinds, and Dao plants are even rarer, only a few hundred kinds, and their growth conditions are all extremely demanding.

Based on the four major chapters of "The Hundred Herbs Classic Annotations", Hua Changxi roughly guessed what several stages of cultivation would be.

Knowing the general cultivation stages, she gained a few more points of understanding regarding the matter of cultivation.

This made Hua Changxi very happy. Although she had almost no channels to obtain cultivation information, she was still steadily moving forward step by step.

As long as she was making progress, that was enough!