"Do you want to learn alchemy?"
Leaving the study, Lu Bei shared his plan to pursue further studies with Bai Jin, who upon hearing this was quite puzzled, assuming Lu Bei was just acting on a momentary impulse.
"It's not a sudden whim, Senior Sister, I'm very serious."
Lu Bei put on a serious face and said, "I want to learn a craft. Not to mention that having more skills never hurts and opens up more paths to survival, just the fact that alchemy is an essential skill for people of our generation means getting a head start is a good thing."
"Junior Brother, you've only just stepped onto the threshold of cultivation, so getting into alchemy now is rushing it too much. You should focus more on cultivation to steady your foundation; that is the proper way."
Bai Jin shook her head and said, "If you're lacking medicinal pills during your cultivation, just say so. When I'm not around, you can go find Senior Sister Zhu, and she will satisfy your requests."
Bai Jin suspected that Lu Bei lacked a sense of security; Sanqing Peak was too impoverished with not many cultivation resources, and coupled with his youthful pride and reluctance to ask others for help, he had come up with the idea of learning alchemy.
*If I don't learn alchemy, I won't get experience; without experience, I'll have to cultivate honestly; and if I cultivate honestly, I won't be a genius anymore.*
Lu Bei muttered inwardly, straightened his expression, and said, "Senior Sister, to be honest with you, my days consist of nothing but cultivation, and you won't let me go out. I'm bored and just want to find a hobby to pass the time."
"What Junior Brother says makes sense; it was my oversight."
Bai Jin nodded; this was a reason she could accept.
Throwing Lu Bei into the Dasheng Pass Elixir Room to learn alchemy where he wouldn't step outside—meaning he wouldn't have to worry about being harmed by a perilous world, and with Zhu Yan looking after him—truly was a good way to pass the time.
This way, it also eliminated the possibility of Lu Bei wandering off and running outside unwatched during the day when she wasn't around.
"I'll put in a word with Senior Sister Zhu for you. I imagine it won't be a difficult matter."
"Then I'll trouble Senior Sister."
Lu Bei nodded, and as he turned to leave, a sudden thought struck him. With a peculiar expression, he asked, "Senior Sister, aren't you in a rush to return to the Lingxiao Sword Sect? How come you're not in a rush anymore?"
"..."
Bai Jin instantly blushed scarlet, saying only that she still needed to purchase some items at Dasheng Pass—all personal things for a young woman—and told Lu Bei not to ask too many questions.
*You can call yourself a young woman?*
Let's look at the facts and reason things out: your junior sister's daughter is what you'd call a young woman!
Lu Bei's mouth twitched. He was tactful enough not to say it out of loud; his goal had been achieved, and it was time to make a graceful exit after a job well done.
...
The next day, Bai Jin left early in the morning, planting three sword talismans on the back of Lu Bei's hand, telling him only that they would keep him safe in times of crisis.
With lingering gloom, Zhu Yan bid farewell to Bai Jin and took Lu Bei in a carriage to the Huangji Sect's garrison in Dasheng Pass.
As the seat of government and primary county of Dongqi Commandery, Dasheng Pass was second to none in population and economy. The stationing of the Huangji Sect only brought the prosperity of this county to even greater heights.
To put it simply, the economic benefits brought by wealthy imperial family members like Zhu Yan alone were no small figure.
First of all, land prices were selling like wildfire.
Secondly, the Huangji Sect's Dasheng Pass garrison had daily replenishments and consumption of medicinal pills and array diagrams. The cooperating merchants and immortal sects coming and going generated yet another substantial tax revenue.
That wasn't the main point. The main point was that the Huangji Sect's garrison in Dasheng Pass was located in a valley to the west of the county. Even though it was far from the county center, the number of shops along the roads did not decrease in the slightest.
As for that valley, it had been entirely leased out by the Huangji Sect and divided into several zones for the use of different departments.
The elixir room area featured pavilions, towers, and shady green trees.
To the naked eye, there appeared to be no strict guards, but in reality, defensive arrays were interlocked ring upon ring. Without Zhu Yan's guarantee and a clearance certificate issued at the entrance, Lu Bei wouldn't have walked two steps before a burly man would have jumped out of the bushes and hauled him off to a dark room.
Zhu Yan was an account keeper for the elixir room, alongside a chief accountant supervisor and two colleagues who were also account keepers. The three of them handled all the daily routine work, while her main responsibility was just slacking off and coasting through the days.
By clocking in and out on time, she managed an attendance rate of fifteen days a month, making her the chief accountant's most praised and exceptional subordinate.
Don't ask why—if you ask, it's because her last name is Zhu.
Zhu Yan was very self-aware. People respected her not because of who she was, but because they didn't want to invite trouble. Therefore, she carried no airs in her dealings with others, greeting everyone with a smile and making friends everywhere.
With her help, Lu Bei quickly found a job in the elixir room.
An apprentice alchemist.
The master responsible for showing him the ropes, Lin Bohai, was experienced—a twenty-year veteran of the elixir room, originally from the Huangji Sect, who had undergone systematic alchemy training.
Lin Bohai looked at Lu Bei with a helpless expression, and seeing his eager-to-try demeanor, looked even more helpless.
As a veteran of many years, what he dreaded most was dealing with connections-based newbies. If you ignored them completely, it didn't look good for report; but if you managed and questioned them...
To put it bluntly, managing a kid like this would take a miracle!
Fortunately, life in the elixir room was dry and tedious. Lin Bohai had plenty of experience dealing with newbies and was confident that within three months, he could make this distant relative of Zhu Yan back down from difficulty.
He readjusted his mood and said amiably, "Lu Bei, have you ever practiced alchemy before?"
"No."
"No matter."
Lin Bohai nodded, the answer well within his expectations, and stroked his beard with a smile. "It doesn't matter if you haven't; just watching someone else do it is enough, it's very easy to pick up."
"I haven't watched either."
"..."
Lin Bohai fell silent for a moment. So he wasn't a newbie; he was just a young master looking for trouble.
Thinking of Zhu Yan's status, this young master's family background probably wasn't bad either. Being this bold, perhaps he was also surnamed Zhu, coming here incognito to find some amusement.
That made things even simpler.
Lin Bohai led Lu Bei to an elixir room—a single-person unit located on the second floor, complete with a desk, tea service, landscape paintings, and a window offering a distant view of the valley's beautiful scenery.
Practicing alchemy here for long periods not only drastically improved one's tea-brewing skills, but also reinforced a steadfast belief in freedom.
Whenever young masters and misses had arrived in the past, this was how Lin Bohai brushed them off.
"Lu Bei, the path of alchemy is profound, and its complexities cannot be explained in words. After years of studying this path, old man, I have boiled it down to four characters."
Lin Bohai raised four fingers and said with conviction, "Nothing in the world is difficult, provided one is only practiced!"
"Master Lin says it well."
Lu Bei nodded repeatedly. He felt the same way; no need to complicate things, his personal status panel would handle everything.
With that, Lin Bohai brought over several introductory alchemy texts covering a wide range of subjects, along with some cheap herbs and tools, telling Lu Bei to practice while reading. If there was anything he didn't understand, he was to write it down on paper first, and Lin Bohai would answer them one by one the next morning.
"The alchemy furnace is right here; you can try your hand at it first. That batch of mine is about to yield pills, and the fire is a bit fierce, so I won't keep you company." Seeing Lu Bei enthusiastically weighing medicinal herbs, Lin Bohai greased the soles of his feet and slipped away at top speed.
From a personal standpoint, Lin Bohai didn't like Lu Bei. The reason was very realistic: taking on apprentices meant losses—it wasted time and cost money.
An alchemist's salary and monthly stipend were pitifully low, and this point held true in both official and civilian circles.
The reasons on the official side were overly complicated; speaking just of the civilian side, alchemists had a yield rate. Every batch of refined pills was divided into premium grade, finished grade, and scrap pills.
When luck was good, a whole batch would be premium grade; when luck was bad, a slight tremor of the hand, and that batch was considered ruined.
Therefore, every time a batch of pills was started, the raw materials were provided in excess, allowing the alchemist a certain margin of loss.
Meanwhile, an alchemist's main source of income was never their salary. Skilled alchemists made money from the raw materials: after a batch of premium or standard pills was finished, the leftover raw materials went straight into their own pockets to be sold for profit.
Because of this uncontrollable unwritten rule, alchemists' salaries grew lower and lower, serving as a disguised tacit approval that allowed alchemists to use their experience and skills to make extra money once they completed their assigned quotas.
As a newbie among newbies, Lu Bei was bound to have a lot of losses, a portion of which would be counted against Lin Bohai. Although Zhu Yan had guaranteed that he didn't need to worry about losses, it was always better to be safe than sorry. What if the losses were too great and the other party reneged on their word? Could he really stand up to royalty and aristocracy?
"Forget it, who told old man me to be so broad-minded! The elixir room is dull and devoid of any fun, so I doubt a young master like him will last long."
Lin Bohai stroked his beard. Ten days—at most ten days. If Lu Bei could last ten days, he would do a handstand and refine a batch of pills.