And now, she was leaning against a door in the dead night, her lips trembling as one memory after another replayed in her mind.
The little adorable she once teased was grown in someone who could look her in the eyes and his words still echoed within her heart:
Believe me, we will definitely find a way to solve this. Together, we will…
But then her thoughts struck as she realized something. "Wait… THAT LITTLE BITCH!"
Ying'er's eyes narrowed, her cheeks pouting in frustration. "This whole mess was created by him in
the first place! And did he just say we would overcome it?
We?
When did I agree to help him?"
With a huff, she threw herself down on her bed, arms and legs spread wide, her hair spilling over the pillow. "Tch… I'll deal with him tomorrow."
After a while, the replaying voice in his head faded.
"My pill… is…" she muttered one last time. And with that, Ying'er drifted into uneasy sleep.
—
—
—
{Next Morning}
In the library of the Xu residence, a place overflowing with books and scrolls, with a faint scent of ink and dust in the air.
Every shelf was stacked with scrolls and books about alchemy passed by generations of alchemists. Xu Yuan was strolling through the rows, one by one.
"I need to improve my alchemy faster…" he muttered, a clear indifferent but serious expression stretched over his face.
With the system, he can easily identify the best art among them. So he took out almost every books, scroll out there but not a single one can be called useful.
It should have been a treasure of knowledge gathered through generations turned out to be nothing but a graveyard of half-baked techniques.
Also, the alchemy he had learned from Grand Elder long ago, even that has been blanked out of his mind.
And in first place, the Dao of Alchemy has never been simple.
Before one could even refine a pill, they must have mastery over several fundamentals, like knowledge of countless herbs, medicinal ingredients and nature of their true essence, and then there is the delicate process of refining.
While refining, you must make sure that the fuse rate, amount used and fire temperature is perfect. You need to do countless experiments and develop an incredible soul perception to do that.
The higher one's skill, the smoother the process and the greater the pill's grade.
And that is why every Alchemist requires a teacher.
To become a strong Alchemist is impossible without a teacher guiding you. Just the time one spends trying out the different combinations of herbs could cost them their whole life.
Therefore, In the whole mainland Alchemists were truly rare and highly valued even among Great sects.
Meanwhile, after strolling so long Xu Yuan dismissed another scroll with a wave of his hand, his lips twitching.
"Forget it! I'll have to find another way out of this mess."
…
...
{Later, West Wing Courtyard}
A quiet courtyard stretched beneath the shade of towering pines. A faint white mist was clouded in the atmosphere. Inside a small pavilion located the koi pond, Xu Yuan lounged lazily on a chair with a teacup in hand, enjoying the faint aroma.
"Heh?" Xu Yuan nearly spat out his tea. "Tsk, Upgrade, my ass! Why am I still stuck at the first layer, huh?"
"Well, let's just upgrade it!"
Xu Yuan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ha~ Getting admiration is not easy. Since I came here it hasn't increased a bit—"
[Step] [Step]
His thoughts broke when a slender figure approached near him.
"Sister Ying'er!" He straightened his back slightly. It was a little awkward to talk her after the incident happened last night.
"What were you muttering just now?" she asked, her sharp eyes narrowing.
"Hehe… Nothing! Nothing! Just… thinking of some way to improve myself."
She tilted her head, studying him closely, a faint hint of surprise clearly visible on her face. Strangely it's getting more and more complicated to see through this guy, it should have been a piece of herb for her.
"Well, people need to grow up, you know," Xu Yuan said with a sheepish grin on face.
"Tch!" Ying'er clicked her tongue, turning her face, upon hearing such words from his mouth she remembered something utterly annoying and embarrassing that she could beat pulp out of him right here. Then, after a pause, she sighed.
"Fine, Let's talk about the real matter first."
She sat on a chair beside him, swaying robes slightly, clasping her hand on the table, her eyes clear and serious. "A few days ago, I asked my sister for help."
Xu Yuan leaned back, swirling a sip of his tea with moving thoughts in mind.
'Right now, only Zhao family is helping us with sales. But that is only because Zhao Ying is a disciple of Elder Yuhong. With the Lu family's rising fame, even Zhao's support won't last long. And knowing that old fox Zhao, he's already must be looking for a way to cut ties with us and trade with the Lu's…'
While Ying'er continued speaking in her serious tone. "Elder Sister just sent me very interesting news; A third tier pill recipe is about to be revealed at the Celestial Treasures Pavilion."
Pill recipe, a recipe carried fixed ingredients and precise methods used in making a pill for different purposes. For example for a third-tier healing pill Recipe, there will be a record of required herbs and methods for condense and refine them.
And there were only a few rare high grade alchemists that could give birth to or alter such recipes.
"Too bad we couldn't buy it directly!" Ying'er shook her head while letting out a long breath. "In most of the cases, the auction never purchases items. They just act as a mediator, and also most sellers prefer bidding wars to raise the price highest. And that recipe is also..."
"When is it happening?" Yuan asked, lazily scratching his stomach, putting hand inside his clothes.
"In just two… days…" Her voice faltered for a moment, her gaze falling on Xu Yuan's delicate features as he leaned lazily against the chair. The morning light outlined his sharp jaw, some of his black hair falling across his forehead.
Unconsciously, her face grew faintly red. While Xu Yuan was simply yawning and scratching his hair, suddenly his eyes darted toward Ying'er who was staring at him with red cheeks.
"What happened?"
"No… nothing." She quickly turned her head.
"Then it's settled. Let's visit the auction."
"Mhm." She nodded softly before leaving abruptly, without another single word.
Xu Yuan just gave a glance and smirked to himself. "Well, Since Auction belongs to the Zhao family… Huhuhu"