Chapter 58: Fourteen Years Old

"Pichi~"

In a mountain cave not far from the fire spirit mine rift valley in the hinterland of the South Chi Mountain range, Hua Changxi was focused on refining pills.

【First-Rank Alchemist (High-Grade Pill): Pill Refining 101 Furnaces 101/1000】

After refining more than 100 furnaces of medium-grade Origin Spirit Pills, the quality of the pills refined afterward was upgraded to high-grade pills.

After Hua Changxi put the medium-grade Origin Spirit Pills into the Shennong Cauldron, she continued to refine high-grade pills.

She knew that such a pill-refining environment where spiritual plants were not lacking and she was not disturbed was not the norm, so she had to seize the opportunity to improve her pill-refining grade.

The spiritual plants she needed for pill refining, a small part were picked at the bottom of the stone cliff on the Xishan, and a large part were picked around the fire spirit mine.

After obtaining the Burning Silence divine ability, Hua Changxi's combat power improved by a large margin, and she dared to explore the situation around the fire spirit mine.

Where there were spirit mines, spiritual energy was dense, so naturally, there was no lack of spiritual plants and spiritual fruits.

In the valleys around the fire spirit mine, first-order fire-attribute spiritual plants and spiritual fruits were everywhere, second-order ones were also quite a few, and there was even no lack of third-order spiritual plants and spiritual fruits.

Hua Changxi spent more than half a month turning around the surroundings and collected a large pile of fire-attribute spiritual plants and spiritual fruits.

"Chirp~"

The fragrance of the high-grade pill attracted a fire crow.

"Whoosh~"

The fire lotus broke through the air, covering and shrouding the fire crow like a net. With a "Boom", the fire crow was burned to ashes and disappeared in the air.

Hua Changxi liked to come to this rift valley.

Refining pills here, not only did she not have to worry about being discovered by outsiders, but after refining pills, she could sit and cultivate on the spot, or go down to the rift valley to dig for fire spirit stones.

If she encountered monster beasts, she could also exercise her fighting ability.

Hua Changxi was eager to improve her strength quickly. She knew very well in her heart that this fire spirit mine would not go undiscovered forever.

Once discovered by others, the fire spirit mine would either be occupied by the imperial court or by noble families.

By then, she was afraid she wouldn't even have the chance to get close to this place.

What she needed to do now was to improve herself before others discovered it.

At the end of April, the work on the herb farm side was all completed, and the laborers of the Laborer Hall were going back to the Medical Department.

Zhu Yu suddenly came to the Herb Valley, saying he was looking for Hua Changxi. Hua Changxi went to the South Mountain rift valley and was not there, so the one-armed man met him.

That evening, Hua Changxi returned, and the one-armed man told her about this.

"Steward Zhu looking for me? Looking for me for what?"

"They are going back to the Medical Department and asked if you are going back."

This reason seemed reasonable, but Hua Changxi didn't quite believe it. She was just an insignificant little laborer, and she was left behind by the Grandmaster. Zhu Yu didn't need to make this trip specially.

The one-armed man looked at Hua Changxi: "Are you on good terms with Zhu Yu?"

Hua Changxi looked confused and shook her head: "I didn't know him at all before. This time I came to the herb farm, and I didn't speak to him a few times. Master Guo, why do you ask?"

The one-armed man: "Zhu Yu came in the morning and waited until the afternoon to leave."

Treating an ordinary outsider, there was no need to be so attentive.

Hua Changxi frowned: "Did he ask you what I went to do?"

The one-armed man nodded: "I told him you went into the mountains to pick herbs."

This counted as covering for Hua Changxi. Hua Changxi immediately thanked him: "Thank you, Master Guo."

Others in the Herb Valley might not know what she was doing all day, but Guo Yu must know that she went to the South Chi Mountain.

"By the way, hasn't Master You returned yet?"

Mentioning Master You, the one-armed man showed worry on his face.

Master originally said he was only leaving for a few days. Now he had been gone for almost a month and hadn't returned. I don't know if he encountered any trouble?

If it were before, he certainly wouldn't be worried. After all, Master was a Grandmaster, and Grandmasters were the strongest martial artists.

But now, he wasn't sure.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Hua Changxi didn't continue to chat deeply, and then parted ways with the one-armed man.

Returning to her residence, Hua Changxi thought of Zhu Yu. Besides that beard of his that left a deep impression on her, she had no memory of anything else. She couldn't figure out why he had to come specially to probe her?

Yes, her intuition told her that Zhu Yu was here to probe her.

Hua Changxi thought of Master You and the one-armed man again. The two noticed the strangeness on her from the beginning, so was Zhu Yu the same as them?

Master You used the spiritual plants at the bottom of the cliff to probe the secret on her. Zhu Yu didn't have much contact with her, but the martial arts value she revealed still attracted his attention.

Plus, she was left in the Herb Valley by Master You, a Grandmaster, in person. This probably increased Zhu Yu's curiosity about her, so he had this probe today?

No matter why Zhu Yu noticed her, it made Hua Changxi sigh that there were smart people everywhere, and any unusual behavior would attract the peeping of these people.

Hua Changxi had a headache. She couldn't limit her own development because of these peeping eyes.

Thinking of the one-armed man who helped her cover, Hua Changxi's eyes flickered.

No matter whether Zhu Yu believed the one-armed man's words or not, the one-armed man blocked some peeping for her.

After entering the Medical Department, she increasingly discovered that fighting alone wouldn't work.

She was a human, and humans had limitations. Many times and in many things, she could take care of one end but not the other.

Just like in the Laborer Hall, she focused on cultivation and pill refining. She only knew about the rumors and gossip about her when they were known to everyone.

This forced her to face the ridicule and mockery of others, and in order to maintain herself, she had to have direct conflicts with others.

If someone had informed her in advance, some conflicts could have been avoided in advance, so she wouldn't have had to expose too much of herself.

She needed someone to help her watch the places she couldn't take care of!

Perhaps, she should cooperate with more people.

Hua Changxi thought of Master You and the one-armed man. These two discovered the strangeness on her early on, but they didn't use force or power to probe her as soon as they came up. Instead, they mastered solid evidence and took out the fire spirit stone she couldn't refuse before coming to exchange for the secret on her.

After she told Master You that besides practicing martial arts, there was another cultivation path, even if he was eager to know what path it was, Master You didn't come to find her again, nor did he let the one-armed man monitor her.

Acting with rules, doing things with principles, such people, she should have more dealings with.

Thinking this through, the next day, Hua Changxi used the reason that the one-armed man blocked Zhu Yu for her to give him the Earth Gang Pill that Eunuch Yu had asked her to refine before.

The one-armed man looked at Hua Changxi, feeling that her attitude was not as distant as before, and thinking of Master You asking him to have more contact with her, he took the pill.

"Don't worry, in the future if someone comes to find you again and you are not there, I will help cover."

Seeing him so sensible, Hua Changxi smiled: "Then thank you, Master Guo. I can also refine the Heaven Gang Pill used by eighth-rank martial artists. After Master Guo advances to the eighth rank, as long as you prepare the medicinal herbs, you can come to me to refine medicine at any time."

The one-armed man also smiled. Pills for martial artists above the seventh rank were not easy to get. One was that medicinal herbs were hard to find, and the other was that alchemists were hard to find. Knowing such an alchemist who could refine high-grade pills was also a very precious connection.

"Okay, I will definitely not be polite then."

Reaching an initial cooperation with the one-armed man, in the following days, Hua Changxi's actions around the Herb Valley became more and more free.

Time slipped away quietly in Hua Changxi's busy cultivation and pill refining.

In the blink of an eye, it was the sixth of June.

"Third Brother, Sixth Brother!"

Seeing Hua Sanlang and Hua Liulang appearing at the entrance of the Herb Valley, Hua Changxi was very surprised: "Why did you come?"

Hua Liulang walked up and looked Hua Changxi up and down, then said angrily: "You forgot, today is your fourteenth birthday."

"I went to find Yu Gui at the Medical Department. Yu Gui said you were left in the Herb Valley to work. Father and Mother were so worried that they sent Third Brother and me to see your situation."

Hua Changxi certainly didn't forget that today was her birthday. Precisely because she remembered, she stayed in the Herb Valley, preparing to have lunch with the one-armed man.

This way, she could celebrate her birthday and deepen her relationship with the one-armed man.

It was fortunate she didn't leave; otherwise, Third Brother and Sixth Brother would have had to wait for her for a day.

Listening to the conversation between the younger sister and the brothers, Hua Sanlang clasped his fists to thank Mao Yong, who led them: "Thank you, Steward Mao, for delaying your time."

Mao Yong waved his hand with a smile. If he didn't want to resolve the grudge with Hua Changxi, he wouldn't have brought these two outsiders to the Herb Valley.

Hearing that today was Hua Changxi's birthday, he even specially prepared a gift, a pair of pearl earrings.

"Sister Changxi, my brother and I are both rough people. If there was any offense before, I hope you will forgive me."

Mao Yong said while handing the earrings to Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi looked at him and took them with a smile: "Thank you, Steward Mao, for sending my two brothers over."

Seeing Hua Changxi accept the gift he prepared, Mao Yong breathed a sigh of relief: "I won't disturb you siblings catching up. I will go back to the herb farm first."

Hua Sanlang, Hua Liulang: "Steward Mao, go slowly."

Before Mao Yong went far, Hua Changxi took one brother in each hand: "Third Brother, Sixth Brother, Master Guo said he would celebrate my birthday and asked me to go to his place for lunch. Come, I will take you to recognize the person."

"Master Guo is a seventh-rank martial artist, and his master, Master You, is a Grandmaster."

"I tell you, Master You and Master Guo are especially taking care of me. When you go back, tell Father and Mother not to worry about me."

Listening to the conversation between the three siblings, Mao Yong's footsteps paused, and he once again rejoiced that he had taken the initiative to find Hua Changxi to resolve the grudge.

He knew about the stone cave on the mountainside of the Xishan. He had been a steward for so many years and had never been up there. Hua Changxi could go up there at will, which showed that she really had a deep relationship with Master You and Guo Yu.

After Mao Yong went far away, Hua Changxi didn't continue to talk about Master You and the one-armed man.

Hua Sanlang tapped Hua Changxi's head: "You and that Steward Mao are not on good terms?"

Hua Changxi's expression was faint: "A little bit."

Hua Liulang's expression was anxious: "Did he bully you?"

Hua Changxi sneered: "He doesn't have that ability."

Hua Sanlang frowned: "Ninth Sister, your temper is fierce. When you are out, you had better restrain yourself. Not everyone is as tolerant of you as at home."

Hua Changxi was somewhat unhappy: "How is my temper fierce? If others bully me, can't I retaliate?"

"Also, has the family ever been tolerant of me?"

"Every time I want to do something, it's either this one who doesn't agree or that one who doesn't allow it. If I don't obey the discipline of Grandfather and Grandmother, I am either punished not to eat or locked in a dark room. Is this called tolerance?"

Hua Sanlang had a headache: "Why do you have to go against Grandfather and Grandmother?"

Hua Changxi: "I didn't go against them. I am a human, I have my own ideas. You can't force me to do things according to the will of Grandfather and Grandmother."

Hua Liulang saw the two arguing again, and hurriedly separated them: "Ninth Sister, Mother made a lot of delicious food for us to bring to you. Quick, take us to where you live, I will open it for you to see."

Hua Changxi didn't argue with Hua Sanlang anymore and took the two to the room where she lived.

Seeing that Hua Changxi lived in a large dormitory and four male laborers lived next door, Hua Sanlang and Hua Liulang were both worried.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi smiled: "I was left behind by the Grandmaster in person. No one dares to trouble me."

Hua Liulang asked curiously: "Is it true that the Grandmaster and the seventh-rank martial artist you just mentioned are taking care of you?"

Hua Changxi laughed: "Of course. Just now, in order to deter Mao Yong, what I said was a little bit exaggerated, but it was about the same."

Saying that, she opened the package brought by the two older brothers and took out a few kinds of food.

"Let's go, let's go to the Xishan for lunch."

Hua Liulang was excited: "Are we really going to have lunch with the Grandmaster?"

Hua Changxi smiled: "The Grandmaster is away for this period of time, only the seventh-rank martial artist is here."

Hua Liulang was somewhat disappointed, but it was good to see a seventh-rank martial artist. You know, the highest martial artist he had contact with was his own eldest brother, a sixth-rank martial artist.

Hua Changxi looked at her two brothers. She couldn't see the martial arts cultivation of the two.

No way, in her eyes, the two were too weak.

It was like an elephant looking at an ant. Even if it was the strongest among the ants, it had no weight in the elephant's eyes.

Hua Liulang saw his sister's look and smiled: "Third Brother and I are both third-rank, and other brothers in the family have also stepped into the ranks of martial artists one after another."

Hua Changxi said while taking the two up the Xishan: "Those pills, girls can also eat. Don't just take care of yourselves, also take care of the sisters in the family."

Hearing this, Hua Sanlang and Hua Liulang didn't answer.

The distribution of pills in the family was entirely up to Grandfather, and they had no power to speak at all.

Seeing the two silent, Hua Changxi couldn't help but hum, thinking that the two ran from far away to see her, so she didn't say anything in the end.

Soon, the mountainside arrived.

The one-armed man seemed to have known that Hua Changxi's two brothers were coming, and had taken out the wooden table and wooden stool in the stone cave in advance and placed them on the stone cliff.

Hua Changxi smiled at him: "Master Guo, my two brothers came to celebrate my birthday, let's have lunch together."

In these one or two months, Guo Yu and Hua Changxi had more dealings, and both had the intention to get closer to each other, so they got along quite well.

Hua Changxi introduced the two brothers to Guo Yu. Guo Yu was quite polite and told the two that if they had any questions about practicing martial arts, they could ask him.

In close contact with high-rank martial artists, Hua Sanlang and Hua Liulang were both somewhat excited.

The four had a harmonious lunch, and Hua Changxi took Hua Sanlang and Hua Liulang down the mountain.

On the way, Hua Liulang laughed and said: "I didn't expect high-rank martial artists to be so approachable."

Hua Sanlang didn't have his younger brother's nerve, knowing that Guo Yu was polite to them because of Ninth Sister, so he couldn't help but ask: "Ninth Sister, how did you get on good terms with Master Guo?"

Hua Changxi looked at him: "Third Brother, the interaction between people is all about getting what they need." Saying that, she smiled, "In your eyes, it is I who climbed up to him, but in reality, maybe it is he who climbed up to me."

Hearing this, Hua Sanlang's eyes flickered, and Hua Liulang scratched the back of his head with a silly smile. Both of them had the same thought at this moment: Ninth Sister's tone is so big!

After going down the mountain, Hua Changxi took Hua Sanlang and Hua Liulang to stroll around the Herb Valley.

Looking at the medicinal herbs all over the mountains and plains, Hua Liulang was tongue-tied: "No wonder you want to stay here and not leave. If I also liked medicine, I wouldn't leave either."

Hua Sanlang was also somewhat admiring this younger sister at this moment. In order to improve her medical skills, she was willing to stay in such a place where people were rare and conditions were hard.

Outsiders couldn't stay in the Herb Valley. After strolling for a while, Hua Sanlang and Hua Liulang prepared to leave.

Hua Changxi: "Go back and tell Father and Mother that I am very well here, let them not worry about me."

Seeing with their own eyes that the younger sister had a deep relationship with a seventh-rank martial artist, Hua Sanlang and Hua Liulang were indeed relieved a lot, and after giving some other instructions, the two left.

Watching the departing backs of the two older brothers, Hua Changxi was suddenly thoughtful: "I have a spiritual vein, will others in the Hua family have it too?" ===== CHAPTER 59 =====