Chapter 36: First-Rank Pill Master

The end of each month was the time to collect the monthly allowance; after Hua Changxi, Eunuch Yu, and Yu Gui divided the pills, she quickly left the Qihuang Hall, first returning to her dormitory to lock the obtained pills in her cabinet before heading straight to the Internal Affairs Courtyard to claim her stipend.

Halfway there, she encountered Du Ruo, Lu Qingluo, and their group, who had just finished collecting their allowances.

"Steward Du."

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

Du Ruo glanced at her, gave a faint "hmph," and then walked straight past her without stopping.

Lu Qingluo looked at Hua Changxi as if wanting to speak but holding back, only to be pulled away by Wang Yunchu, while the others from their dormitory also hurried off into the distance.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi's eyebrows knitted slightly together.

She had never intended to be friends with them, but neither did she wish for relations to become so strained.

Initially, Du Ruo had been quite kind to her, but ever since Hua Changxi began spending her time refining medicine at the Qihuang Hall, she no longer had the time to continue gathering medicinal ingredients for Du Ruo to deliver to the Second Division.

Whether this was the reason or not, Du Ruo had grown increasingly cold toward her, to the point where her dislike was now barely concealed.

Meanwhile, the others in their group were also avoiding her; whenever she was absent from the dormitory, everyone chatted and laughed, but the moment she entered, they all fell silent in unison.

Hua Changxi deeply despised this kind of cold violence; even if she did not care about others' opinions of her, living in such an environment for prolonged periods inevitably affected her mood.

Having fully inherited the "Annotations on the Hundred Herbs Classic" and the Spotless Technique, continuing to wash medicinal ingredients in the Third Division served no further purpose for her; she needed to find a way to transfer to either the First or Second Division to process medicines.

Pondering these matters, Hua Changxi arrived at the Internal Affairs Courtyard.

The moment she stepped into the courtyard, she felt countless eyes fixed upon her, accompanied by ambiguous pointing fingers and hushed whispers.

"That's her; I heard she's gotten close to Eunuch Yu of the storeroom, going to the Qihuang Hall every afternoon and staying there the whole time."

"She doesn't look very old; so Eunuch Yu prefers tender young grass?"

"It's not just Eunuch Yu; Steward Yu Gui from Storehouse Number Nine also has a taste for this."

"Ah, but Yu Gui acknowledged Eunuch Yu as his godfather; wouldn't that make them father and son..."

"It's still better to be a woman; you and I work ourselves to death for a month, yet it might not equal the value of her warming someone's bed for a single night."

Hua Changxi had not expected that her refining medicine at the Qihuang Hall would spark fresh rumors in the Laborer Hall, with even more people participating this time than before.

The last time rumors spread about her, it was the female laborers from the Sixth Bureau; being women concerned with face, they showed some restraint and did not speak too explicitly.

But this time, male laborers from all three divisions of the Laborer Hall had joined in, saying things as ugly and ear-piercing as possible.

Hua Changxi watched those few male laborers speaking ever more loudly and joyfully, then walked toward them with an expressionless face.

Upon seeing her approach, those male laborers wore looks of provocation, watching her with leisurely amusement, their expressions and body language identical to those of bullies who oppress men and dominate women.

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

Hearing such a toothless threat, those male laborers burst into loud laughter, and even the others in the courtyard joined in the mirth.

Just then, a gentle breeze swept through the courtyard, immediately followed by piercing screams echoing above the yard.

"Ah~"

"Ah~"

Those few male laborers were seen with mouths full of blood, the flesh around their lips torn outward and mangled, while those with sharp eyes noticed their tongues were also covered in bloody marks.

Witnessing this scene, everyone in the courtyard was terrified; all conversation ceased, leaving only the sounds of screaming.

"Who is causing a disturbance in the Internal Affairs Courtyard?"

From the accounting office, a middle-aged man resembling a steward walked out.

Pang Wei, with a gloomy expression and sharp eyes, scanned the courtyard before striding toward the male laborers rolling on the ground.

The injuries were not fatal, but without proper medical treatment, their ability to speak in the future would likely be impaired.

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

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone stepped back simultaneously, instantly exposing Hua Changxi.

Seeing Pang Wei looking at her, Hua Changxi shrugged innocently and said, "Steward, I have been standing here without moving a muscle; if you don't believe me, you can ask anyone else present."

Pang Wei glanced at Hua Changxi, then shifted his gaze to the others.

Those under his scrutiny hastily replied, "We saw nothing; Steward Niu and the others suddenly started screaming."

Pang Wei frowned and turned to look at the accountant responsible for distributing silver.

The accountant quickly approached and whispered a few words in his ear, recounting everything that had just occurred in the courtyard: "That young lady indeed did not move."

Pang Wei furrowed his brow and stared directly at Hua Changxi; seeing her dare to meet his gaze, he felt both surprise and anger, immediately releasing the oppressive pressure of a seventh-rank martial artist.

Those near Pang Wei, unable to withstand the pressure, collapsed to their knees with loud thuds.

Hua Changxi, however, remained completely unaffected, standing motionless without even a change in expression.

Seeing this, Pang Wei's eyelid twitched.

Unaffected by his pressure; could this girl's martial cultivation possibly be higher than his own?

Although Hua Changxi showed no reaction on her face, her mind began to race with thoughts.

Previously, when Eunuch Yu released his pressure, she was unaffected; this time, she remained unaffected again; twice now, this proved that a martial artist's internal energy had no effect on her whatsoever.

This discovery delighted her; in future confrontations with martial artists, as long as she avoided close-quarters combat, even a Grandmaster would likely be unable to harm her.

Pang Wei's gaze upon Hua Changxi grew more cautious as he pointed at the male laborers still rolling on the ground and asked, "Why do you think they were injured?"

Hua Changxi answered readily: "Perhaps they suffered retribution; I read in a storybook that among the eighteen layers of hell in the Underworld, there is one called the Tongue-Plucking Hell, which punishes those who insult others and speak evil words."

Hearing her answer, the people in the courtyard stepped back in unison once more, their looks toward Hua Changxi now tinged with fear.

There was no other reason; they too had just spoken ill of her, though not as arrogantly as those lying on the ground.

Pang Wei was almost certain that the injuries suffered by the male laborers on the ground were caused by this young girl before him, and it seemed she had no intention of hiding this fact.

Without making any move, she had injured several grown men simultaneously, all of whom were martial artists; could this be the result of externalized Gang Qi?

Externalizing Gang Qi was something only an eighth-rank martial artist could achieve.

Was this girl an eighth-rank martial artist?

Would an eighth-rank martial artist come here to work as a laborer?

Pang Wei could not gauge Hua Changxi's depth and did not wish to make an enemy of her; naturally, he would not stir up trouble for the sake of a few unfamiliar male laborers. Waving his hand, he ordered the still-screaming men dragged away, then addressed the others in the courtyard: "That's enough. It's over."

Having spoken, he returned to his room.

The people in the courtyard watched Hua Changxi, none daring to move.

Those living at the bottom possessed keen instincts for danger; even though they did not know what had happened, their intuition told them that the injuries suffered by those male laborers were surely linked to Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi paid the others no mind, walking straight to the window for monthly stipends to collect her two taels of silver, then strode out of the Internal Affairs Courtyard.

The moment she left, sighs of relief rose one after another throughout the Internal Affairs Courtyard.

In a foul mood, Hua Changxi returned to the Sixth Bureau; regarding today's scandalous gossip, had she not obtained her fortuitous encounter, she feared she would have been forced to endure the humiliation in silence.

Passing the drainage ditch, Hua Changxi noticed the female laborers of the Sixth Bureau secretly sizing her up; only then did it dawn on her that rumors about her must have been circulating for quite some time.

Perhaps her direct intervention to teach someone a lesson previously had frightened the female laborers of the Sixth Bureau, causing them to dare not speak recklessly in her presence; coupled with her focus being entirely on pill refining, she had failed to notice something so obvious.

It was not until today, when she went to collect her monthly stipend, that she discovered she had become the subject of gossip throughout the entire Laborer Hall.

However, this matter also served as a reminder: the Laborer Hall was crowded with many eyes and ears; even though she had tried her best to avoid people whenever visiting the Qihuang Hall, she had still been seen.

In the future, she would have to be extra, extra careful in her actions!

Hua Changxi returned to her dormitory; since her duties were completed and she did not need to go to the Qihuang Courtyard to refine pills, she lay prone on her bed, closed her eyes, and began cultivating.

That evening, when the others from her dormitory returned and saw Hua Changxi 'asleep,' they all unanimously lowered their voices, Wang Yunchu included.

Clearly, they had already heard about what happened in the Internal Affairs Courtyard.

What they heard was a version that had evolved several times over; although Hua Changxi had not actually laid a hand on anyone, those spreading the story claimed she had, beating those male laborers until they fled in panic and ruining their tongues, rendering them all mute.

Previously, they had thought Hua Changxi bold enough for disciplining someone within the Sixth Bureau, but they never expected she would dare act within the Internal Affairs Courtyard, striking male stewards and male laborers alike.

Such a person was not to be trifled with!

Within two days, news of this incident had reached even the Apprentice Hall, separated by a whole plaza.

Upon hearing of this, Lu Qingling immediately rushed to the Laborer Hall, earnestly admonishing Lu Qingluo again and again, urging her never to have any association with Hua Changxi.

"Someone who offends people everywhere, no matter how talented, will find no footing within the Medical Bureau."

Yu Gui at the storeroom also heard about this; knowing that subordinates were spreading baseless gossip about his godfather and Sister Changxi, he was furious.

Yet such matters were difficult to suppress openly or explain away; he could only offer Hua Changxi verbal comfort.

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Laba Festival, while Hua Changxi was selecting usable herbs from the pile of discarded medicinal materials inside Qihuang Hall No. 9, Yu Gui suddenly jogged in.

"Sister Changxi, look quickly at what this is!"

Hua Changxi turned to look; upon clearly seeing the basket of Yuan Spirit Grass Yu Gui held, she abruptly stood up and took three long strides in two to approach him: "Brother Yu, where did you get this... spiritual herb?"

Seeing that Hua Changxi indeed cared about these medicinal materials, Yu Gui smiled immediately: "These herbs were sent over from the Sanca Medicine Valley; hurry and see if they are still usable."

Hua Changxi nodded with a smile: "They are usable."

This batch of Yuan Spirit Grass was far plumper than the last and had not completely withered.

Yu Gui breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as they are usable, that is good."

During this period, he had been searching for ways to make it up to Hua Changxi; after all, scandalous gossip like that severely damaged a young lady's reputation.

Watching Hua Changxi carefully place the herbs one by one into a basin of water, Yu Gui snorted: "The herb gatherers over at the Medicine Valley are becoming increasingly negligent; every time such herbs are delivered, they arrive withered."

Hua Changxi laughed: "If they weren't withered, I wouldn't be able to obtain such herbs."

Yu Gui nodded: "That is true. Sister Changxi, I will keep watching next time; as soon as such herbs arrive at the storeroom, I will save them for you."

Hua Changxi hurriedly expressed her thanks: "Many thanks, Brother Yu."

Yu Gui said: "The storeroom still has much to attend to; I must head back now."

Once he left, Hua Changxi disregarded the discarded medicinal materials and began focusing entirely on processing the Yuan Spirit Grass.

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

This time, for washing, processing, grinding, mixing, condensing into pills, and sealing, she followed every step of the inherited technique precisely, manipulating the entire process with spiritual energy.

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

[Shennong Pill Refining Inheritance Activated]

Immediately afterward, Hua Changxi's mind was flooded with all the formulas for Grade One pills required by cultivators; shortly after, a line of text appeared in her vision.

[Grade One Pill Refiner (Lower Grade Pills): Pills Refined 1 Furnace 1/10]

"Shennong Pill Refining Inheritance..."

Hua Changxi was slightly stunned.

Shennong...

She was far too familiar with this name; in her previous life, she had been born in the Shennongjia region of Huaxia, her family being a prominent traditional medicine lineage of Shennongjia, passed down for dozens of generations, publicly claiming to be descendants of Shennong.

Hua Changxi had always assumed the medical inheritance she received came from that sacrificial altar, but now, she was no longer certain.

There was no helping it; the Shennong inheritance and that sacrificial altar simply did not match well, whereas the Little Bird Breathing and Exhaling Method she cultivated fit quite harmoniously with the altar.

Lost in thought, Hua Changxi reasoned that while she had obtained her fortuitous encounter on the sacrificial altar, that encounter likely referred only to the Little Bird Breathing and Exhaling Method, while the Shennong Pill Refining Inheritance was most probably granted because she was a transmigrator.

She had no way to confirm this matter, but regardless of how the inheritance originated, as long as it benefited her without harm, that was sufficient.

Not delving deeper, Hua Changxi deftly stored the Yuan Spirit Pills into a porcelain bottle and began refining the next furnace.

The basket contained ninety-six stalks of Yuan Spirit Grass in total; since more than half the spiritual energy had been lost, Hua Changxi worked through the entire night, successfully refining sixteen furnaces.

When the number of refinements exceeded ten, the text in her vision changed: [Grade One Pill Refiner (Medium Grade Pills): Pills Refined 11 Furnaces 11/100]

Lower Grade Pills had become Medium Grade Pills!

Hua Changxi took the last six furnaces of Medium Grade Pills she had refined and compared them with the earlier Lower Grade Pills, discovering that in appearance, the Medium Grade Pills were rounder and plumper.

Since dawn had broken, Hua Changxi had no time to test the efficacy of the Lower and Medium Grade Pills; she quickly went to the storeroom to collect herbs for washing, completed her daily duties, and then eagerly rushed back to her dormitory to taste the pills.

Hua Changxi first swallowed one Lower Grade Yuan Spirit Pill; the pill melted instantly upon entering her mouth, and a warm current, like a floodgate bursting, swept through her entire body.

It took Hua Changxi three double-hours to fully refine and absorb the Yuan Spirit Pill before she opened her eyes, which now shone brightly.

Digesting and absorbing one Lower Grade Yuan Spirit Pill could increase her spiritual energy points by 50, equivalent to ten days of steady cultivation.

Without bothering to eat dinner, Hua Changxi placed another mid-grade Yuan Spirit Pill into her mouth; four hours later, she opened her eyes once more.

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

A single mid-grade Yuan Spirit Pill could actually increase one's spiritual energy points by 100!

She had refined a total of 100 low-grade Yuan Spirit Pills and 60 mid-grade Yuan Spirit Pills this time; with these pills, could she now break through to the next realm?