Chapter 36: First-Grade Alchemist

The end of every month is the time to receive the monthly stipend. After Hua Changxi split the pills with Eunuch Yu and Yu Gui, she quickly left the Imperial Pharmacy. She first returned to her dormitory, locked the pills she had obtained in her cabinet, and then went straight to the Internal Affairs Bureau to collect her stipend.

Halfway there, she ran into Du Ruo, Lu Qingluo, and their group, who had just finished collecting their stipends.

"Steward Du."

Hua Changxi took the initiative to greet her with a smile.

Du Ruo glanced at her, gave a faint "Mm," and then walked straight past her and left.

Lu Qingluo looked at Hua Changxi as if she had something to say, but was pulled away by Wang Yunchu. The others in the dormitory also hurried away.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi frowned slightly.

She didn't intend to be friends with them, but she didn't want to make the relationship too stiff either.

At first, Du Ruo was quite good to her, but after she started going to the Imperial Pharmacy to refine medicine, she no longer had time to help Du Ruo haul medicinal materials to the Second Bureau.

She didn't know if this was the reason, but Du Ruo had become increasingly cold toward her, and by now, it could almost be said that she made no secret of her dislike for her.

The others in the same group were also avoiding her. When she wasn't in the dormitory, everyone would be chatting and laughing, but the moment she entered, everyone would fall silent in unison.

Hua Changxi hated this kind of cold violence. Even if she didn't care about others' opinions of her, living in such an environment for a long time would still affect her mood.

She had already inherited the *Commentary on the Hundred Herbs* and the Immaculate Art; staying in the Third Bureau to wash medicinal materials was no longer of any use to her. She had to find a way to transfer to the First or Second Bureau to process medicinal materials.

Thinking about these things, Hua Changxi arrived at the Internal Affairs Bureau.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, Hua Changxi felt countless gazes fall upon her, accompanied by ambiguous pointing and whispering.

"That's her. I heard she's latched onto Eunuch Yu from the warehouse. She goes to the Imperial Pharmacy every afternoon and stays there the whole afternoon."

"She doesn't look very old. So Eunuch Yu likes to eat tender grass?"

"It's not just Eunuch Yu; Yu Gui, the steward of Warehouse No. 9, also likes this sort of thing."

"Ah, Yu Gui even took Eunuch Yu as his foster father. Isn't this father and son..."

"It's better to be a woman. You and I work ourselves to death for a month, and it might not be as good as someone warming a bed for one night."

Hua Changxi didn't expect that just because she went to the Imperial Pharmacy to refine medicine, the Menial Hall would start spreading rumors about her again. This time, more people were involved than last time.

The last time rumors were spread about her, it was by the female menials of the Sixth Bureau. Female menials still cared about their reputation, so they were restrained in their speech and didn't say anything too explicit.

But this time, the male menials from all three bureaus of the Menial Hall were involved, and the things they said were as nasty and grating as could be.

Hua Changxi looked at those male menials who were talking happily and getting louder, and walked over with an expressionless face.

Seeing her walk over, those male menials showed provocation and watched her with ease, their expressions and body movements identical to those of bullies who oppress men and women.

Hua Changxi stopped at a position three or four meters away from them, looked at them, and said coldly, "Those who speak evil will meet with retribution."

Hearing such a harmless threat, those male menials immediately burst into "haha" laughter, and even the others in the courtyard laughed.

Just then, a breeze blew through the courtyard, and immediately after, shrill screams rang out over the courtyard.

"Ah—"

"Ah—"

The male menials' mouths were full of blood, the skin around their mouths was turned inside out, and their flesh was blurred. Those with sharp eyes even saw that their tongues were covered with bloodstains.

Seeing this scene, the people in the courtyard were horrified. There was no more talking in the courtyard, only screams remained.

"Who is causing trouble in the Internal Affairs Bureau?"

A middle-aged man who looked like a steward walked out of the accounting room.

Pang Wei scanned the courtyard with a gloomy face and sharp eyes, then strode toward the male menials rolling on the ground.

The injuries were not fatal, but if not treated properly, their speech would likely be affected in the future.

Pang Wei looked at the people in the courtyard angrily: "Who did this?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone retreated, instantly revealing Hua Changxi.

Seeing Pang Wei looking at her, Hua Changxi shrugged innocently: "This steward, I've been standing here and haven't moved at all. If you don't believe me, you can ask the others present."

Pang Wei glanced at Hua Changxi and then turned his gaze to the others.

The people being looked at hurriedly said: "We didn't see anything. Steward Niu and the others suddenly started screaming."

Pang Wei frowned and looked at the accountant who was handing out silver.

The accountant hurriedly walked to his side and whispered a few words, describing everything that had just happened in the courtyard: "That young lady really didn't move."

Pang Wei knitted his brows and looked straight at Hua Changxi. Seeing that she actually dared to meet his gaze, he was a bit surprised and also angry. The pressure of a seventh-grade martial artist pressed directly toward her.

Those near Pang Wei couldn't withstand the pressure and all knelt on the ground with "bang, bang, bang" sounds.

As for Hua Changxi, she had no reaction and still stood there motionless, her expression not even changing.

Seeing this, Pang Wei's eyelids twitched.

Not affected by his pressure—could this girl's martial arts cultivation be higher than his own?

Although Hua Changxi had no reaction on the surface, she was thinking in her heart.

Last time, when Eunuch Yu released his pressure, she wasn't affected, and this time she wasn't either. Both times being like this was enough to show that a martial artist's internal energy had no effect on her.

This discovery made her very happy. In the future, when facing martial artists, as long as she didn't fight them in close quarters, even a Grandmaster would likely be unable to do anything to her.

Pang Wei looked at Hua Changxi with more caution and pointed to the male menials still rolling on the ground, asking: "Why do you think they were injured?"

Hua Changxi answered very readily: "Retribution, perhaps. I read in a storybook that in the eighteenth level of hell in the underworld, there is a level called the Tongue-Plucking Hell, which punishes those who insult others and speak evil."

Hearing her answer, the people in the courtyard retreated in unison again, and a trace of fear appeared in their eyes as they looked at Hua Changxi.

For no other reason than that they had also spoken ill of her just now, they just weren't as arrogant as those few people on the ground.

Pang Wei could almost be certain that the injuries of those male menials on the ground were caused by the little girl in front of him, and this little girl didn't seem to want to hide it.

Without any movement, she caused several grown men to be injured simultaneously, and these men were all martial artists. Was it caused by the release of internal energy?

Releasing internal energy was something only an eighth-grade martial artist could do.

Was this girl an eighth-grade martial artist?

An eighth-grade martial artist coming to be a menial?

Pang Wei couldn't see through Hua Changxi and didn't want to make an enemy of her. Naturally, he wouldn't cause trouble for a few unknown male menials. He waved his hand, had people drag away the male menials who were still screaming, and then said to the others in the courtyard: "Alright, it's fine now."

After saying this, he returned to his room.

The people in the courtyard looked at Hua Changxi, and no one dared to move.

People living at the bottom were very sensitive to danger. Even if they didn't know what had happened, their intuition told them that the injuries of those male menials must be related to Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi didn't care about the others. She walked straight to the window where stipends were collected, took her two taels of silver, and then strode out of the Internal Affairs Bureau.

As soon as she left, sighs of relief erupted one after another in the Internal Affairs Bureau.

Hua Changxi returned to the Sixth Bureau in a bad mood. If she hadn't obtained her opportunity, she would probably have had to endure this kind of tawdry gossip with humiliation.

While passing the ditch, Hua Changxi noticed that the female menials of the Sixth Bureau were secretly sizing her up. Only then did she realize that the rumors about her must have been spreading for quite some time.

Perhaps the last time she took action to teach someone a lesson, it scared the female menials of the Sixth Bureau, causing them not to dare to talk nonsense in front of her. Plus, her attention was all on refining medicine, so she hadn't noticed such an obvious thing.

So much so that when she went to collect her stipend today, she discovered that she had become the subject of gossip for the entire Menial Hall.

However, this matter also reminded her that the Menial Hall had many people and eyes. Even though she tried her best to avoid people every time she went to the Imperial Pharmacy, she was still seen.

She would have to be careful and more careful when doing things in the future!

Hua Changxi returned to the dormitory. Since her chores were done and she didn't need to go to the Imperial Pharmacy to refine medicine, she lay on the bed and closed her eyes to practice.

In the evening, the others in the same dormitory returned. Seeing that Hua Changxi was "asleep," they all lowered their voices in unison, even Wang Yunchu.

Obviously, they had already heard about what happened at the Internal Affairs Bureau.

What they heard was a version that had evolved several times. Even though Hua Changxi didn't take action, those who spread it all said she did, beating those male menials until they were in a sorry state and directly ruining their tongues, making them all about to become mutes.

Before, they thought Hua Changxi was bold enough to teach someone a lesson in the Sixth Bureau, but they didn't expect her to dare to take action in the Internal Affairs Bureau, and against male stewards and male menials at that.

This kind of person was not to be provoked!

Within two days, even the Apprentice Hall, separated by a square, had heard about this.

As soon as Lu Qingling heard about this, she immediately came to the Menial Hall and gave Lu Qingluo a thousand warnings, telling her not to have any involvement with Hua Changxi.

"Such a person who offends everyone everywhere, no matter how capable she is, cannot gain a foothold in the Medicine Department."

Yu Gui on the warehouse side also heard about this. Knowing that the people below were actually spreading gossip about his foster father and Sister Changxi, he was also furious.

But it wasn't easy to come forward to stop such things, and even harder to explain, so he could only comfort Hua Changxi with words.

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Laba Festival, Hua Changxi was selecting usable medicinal materials from a pile of discarded ones in Imperial Pharmacy No. 9 when Yu Gui suddenly ran in.

"Sister Changxi, look, what is this?"

Hua Changxi turned her head to look. Seeing the basket of Yuanling Grass Yu Gui was carrying, she stood up abruptly and walked over in two or three steps: "Brother Yu, where did you get this spirit... medicinal herb?"

Seeing that Hua Changxi really cared about this medicinal material, Yu Gui immediately smiled: "This is a medicinal material sent from the Three-Fork Medicine Valley. Take a look and see if it can still be used?"

Hua Changxi nodded with a smile: "It can be used."

This batch of Yuanling Grass was much fuller than the last time and hadn't completely withered yet.

Yu Gui breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as it can be used."

During this time, he had been trying to find ways to make it up to Hua Changxi. After all, that kind of tawdry gossip had a very bad impact on a young lady's reputation.

Seeing Hua Changxi carefully placing the herbs one by one into a water basin, Yu Gui hummed: "The herb gatherers at the Medicine Valley are becoming less and less attentive. Every time this kind of medicinal material is sent over, it's withered."

Hua Changxi smiled: "If it weren't withered, I wouldn't be able to get this kind of medicinal material."

Yu Gui nodded: "That's true. Sister Changxi, I'll keep an eye on it next time. As long as this kind of medicinal material arrives at the warehouse, I'll save it for you."

Hua Changxi hurriedly thanked him: "Thank you, Brother Yu."

Yu Gui: "The warehouse is still busy, I'll go over first."

After he left, Hua Changxi couldn't care about the discarded medicinal materials anymore and began to focus on processing the Yuanling Grass.

What excited her was that this batch of Yuanling Grass retained at least half of its spiritual energy.

This time, cleaning, processing, grinding, modulating, condensing into pills, and sealing, she followed the steps of the inheritance she obtained completely, using spiritual energy to control the entire process.

When ten white pills the size of a little finger appeared neatly in Hua Changxi's sight, an ethereal voice rang in her mind.

【Shennong Alchemy Inheritance Activated】

Immediately after, Hua Changxi's mind was filled with the formulas for all the first-grade pills needed by practitioners. Afterward, a line of text appeared in her sight.

【First-Grade Alchemist (Low-Grade Pill): Alchemy 1 furnace 1/10】

"Shennong Alchemy Inheritance..."

Hua Changxi was a bit dazed.

Shennong...

She was too familiar with this. In her previous life, she was born in the Shennongjia region of the Chinese country. Her family was a well-known family of traditional Chinese medicine in Shennongjia, the kind that had been passed down for dozens of generations, and they all claimed to be the descendants of Shennong.

Hua Changxi had always thought that the medical inheritance she obtained was because of that altar, but now, she wasn't so sure.

There was no way around it; the Shennong inheritance and that altar really didn't match at all. On the contrary, the bird breathing and meditation method she practiced matched the altar quite well.

Hua Changxi pondered. She obtained the opportunity on the altar, but the opportunity should only be the bird breathing and meditation method, while the Shennong alchemy inheritance was most likely because she was a transmigrator.

She couldn't confirm this, but no matter how the inheritance came about, it was beneficial and harmless to her anyway.

Hua Changxi didn't delve into it. She nimbly collected the Yuanling Pills into a porcelain bottle and began to refine the next furnace.

There were ninety-six stalks of Yuanling Grass in the basket. Because most of the spiritual energy had been lost, Hua Changxi worked all night and successfully refined sixteen furnaces.

When the number of alchemy attempts exceeded 10, the text in her sight changed: 【First-Grade Alchemist (Mid-Grade Pill): Alchemy 11 furnaces 11/100】

Low-grade pills had become mid-grade pills!

Hua Changxi took out the mid-grade pills refined in the last six furnaces and compared them with the previous low-grade pills, finding that in appearance, the mid-grade pills were rounder and fuller.

Because it was dawn, Hua Changxi didn't have time to test the efficacy of the low-grade and mid-grade pills. She quickly went to the warehouse to collect medicinal materials to wash, finished the day's chores, and then couldn't wait to return to the dormitory to taste the pills.

Hua Changxi first swallowed a low-grade Yuanling Pill. The pill melted in her mouth, and a warm current like a flood instantly swept through her whole body.

It took Hua Changxi three hours to refine the Yuanling Pill, and she opened her eyes with bright eyes.

Digesting and absorbing one low-grade Yuanling Pill could increase her spiritual energy by 50 points, equivalent to ten days of her step-by-step practice.

Too busy to eat dinner, Hua Changxi put another mid-grade Yuanling Pill into her mouth. Four hours later, she opened her eyes again.

This time, the light in Hua Changxi's eyes was brighter and more excited than before.

One mid-grade Yuanling Pill could actually increase her spiritual energy by 100 points!

This time, she refined a total of 100 low-grade Yuanling Pills and 60 mid-grade Yuanling Pills. With these pills, could she enter the next realm? ===== CHAPTER 37 =====