The next day, in the carriage headed for the Elixir Room, Lu Bei sat upright and proper, but Zhu Yan leaned toward him with easy familiarity.
Having finished her shift yesterday, she had spent the day shopping for rouge and silk fabrics with a few other ladies of leisure who, like her, were whiling away their days at Dasheng Pass. Lu Bei, meanwhile, had returned home alone in a separate carriage. Feeling that she hadn’t shown enough care for her junior brother—and worried that Bai Jin might ask about him later—she decided to make up for it immediately.
"Xiao Bei, did you have fun at the Elixir Room yesterday?"
"Fun?!"
Lu Bei leaned back slightly, putting a bit of distance between them. He remained steadfast in his assertion: he was a man of high moral character.
"I meant, was your study of alchemy enjoyable?"
"I benefited greatly."
Lu Bei nodded with a serious expression, then added, "Senior Sister Zhu, it would be better if you called me 'Junior Brother.' 'Xiao Bei'... it sounds a bit strange."
"What’s wrong with it? 'Senior Sister' and 'Junior Brother' sound so distant. We should be closer than that..."
"By the way, Senior Sister Zhu, have there been any updates from Senior Sister Bai?"
Seeing that Zhu Yan was intent on teasing him for her own amusement, Lu Bei employed the "Great Technique of Distraction." It worked wonders. Zhu Yan immediately perked up, chattering away about the gossip surrounding the Lingxiao Sword Sect.
"You won't hear anything from your Senior Sister Bai for a while yet; this isn't something to be rushed. Let me tell you, but don't go repeating it—our sect master is incredibly petty, and..." She rambled on and on.
When the carriage reached their destination, Zhu Yan stopped mid-sentence, looking unsatisfied. Lu Bei jumped out of the carriage in a single bound and hurried toward his private alchemy room.
"This kid. He’s a decent person, just too stiff."
Zhu Yan felt a hint of dissatisfaction. Even though they were both senior sisters, Lu Bei’s attitude toward Bai Jin was much more intimate than it was toward her.
"Could it be..." A fire of gossip ignited in Zhu Yan's eyes. She knew her thoughts were inappropriate, but once they surfaced, she couldn't suppress them. "As expected, our little junior brother is a hot commodity wherever he goes."
...
Inside his solitary alchemy room, Lu Bei greeted Lin Bohai politely as soon as he entered, then gathered his materials and began his alchemical work without pause.
Lin Bohai stood to the side, watching with a strange expression. He didn't interrupt, nor did he intend to leave.
When he had checked the finished elixirs after the shift ended yesterday, he had been shocked to discover the Enlightenment Pill that Lu Bei had refined. While there were no masterworks, the sheer quantity was significant. Based on the loss ratio, it had already hit the threshold of the Elixir Room’s passing grade.
It was outrageous!
He remembered Lu Bei saying that he had never refined elixirs before, nor had he even watched anyone else do it.
That was why he had come today—to get to the bottom of it. If he discovered that Lu Bei had been lying to him, he would not hesitate to flip the table. As for his previous vow to refine a batch while standing on his head, he’d just pretend he never said it.
Lu Bei was happily grinding experience, completely unaware of Lin Bohai’s presence. The latter watched an entire batch of Enlightenment Pills take shape, then turned and left without a word.
Lin Bohai was a veteran of the Elixir Room. Age didn't necessarily bring wisdom, but it did bring a wealth of experience and a tendency toward overthinking. And when one overthinks, misunderstandings follow.
First, he was certain that Lu Bei was not a novice at alchemy. All that talk about never having done it or seen it was utter nonsense meant to deceive a man in his fifties.
Second, he had seen people like Lu Bei before. They were often sent from above to conduct secret investigations, hiding their identities to make their work easier.
*Something has gone wrong!*
Sweat beaded on Lin Bohai’s forehead. Two months ago, the supplier providing herbs to the Dasheng Pass Elixir Room had been changed through connections. As a veteran practitioner, he had noticed at a glance that the quality of these raw materials was inferior to what they had used before.
Lin Bohai had never dwelt on how much profit was being pocketed from the price difference—it was none of his business, and he had simply accepted a hush-money payment.
But now, thinking about it...
He couldn't think about it. The more he pondered, the more terrified he became.
"To think they’ve arrived so soon. Should I... should I confess voluntarily to ensure a peaceful end, or..."
Lin Bohai wiped away a cold sweat. He decided to send word out first. He shouldn't be blamed for the hush money; he just hadn't wanted to offend anyone. Now that things had come to this, the other party needed to fulfill their promise and step in to smooth things over.
Lin Bohai was plagued by a guilty conscience, while Lu Bei remained completely oblivious. He had no idea he had inexplicably acquired the status of a secret agent, and he continued to happily grind his experience.
And grind he did, for an entire month.
Name: Lu Bei
Race: Human
Template: NPC
Level: 10
Experience: 10/40,000
Cultivation: 100/100
Life: 120/120
Main Profession: Daoist Cultivator
Sub-Profession: Farmer Lv1 (0/100), Alchemist Lv6 (50/30,000)
Stats: Strength 2, Speed 3, Spirit 10, Stamina 12, Charm 3, Luck 3
Evaluation: Have some self-awareness, why would you need an evaluation for this!
[Slaying Demon Scripture Lv1 (10/5,000)]
[Huangji Pill-Nurturing Essentials Lv6 (100/30,000)]
Remaining: 14 Free Attribute Points, 930 Skill Points, 220,000 Experience.
The growth in Spirit and Stamina came from the leveling up of the "Huangji Pill-Nurturing Essentials," which in turn drove the increase in his cultivation and life. He was still incredibly weak because he hadn't invested any experience into the "Slaying Demon Scripture."
The free attribute points and skill points had come from his main and sub-professions.
Lu Bei had invested quite a bit of experience into his alchemist sub-profession and the "Huangji Pill-Nurturing Essentials." Firstly, to increase his success rate and speed, and secondly, to see if the "Huangji Pill-Nurturing Essentials" could promote him to a master alchemist.
Since nothing had happened upon reaching Level 6, he simply stopped putting experience into it.
He kept the remaining 220,000 experience as a reserve. He wasn't in any immediate danger of dying, so he didn't feel the need to strengthen his combat abilities yet, especially since he lacked offensive skills—it wouldn't be worth the investment.
There was another consideration: a month had passed, and there was still no word from Bai Jin.
Lu Bei was waiting for her. A sudden, massive increase in strength within a month would be hard to explain. Once Bai Jin brought him to the Lingxiao Sword Sect, he could get his hands on a few profound Daoist texts, and an "enlightenment" on the spot would be a perfect excuse.
In Lu Bei's view, one "enlightenment" to finish his Level 20 novice phase, a massive surge in all stats, and an official step into the ranks of immortal cultivators would be enough to earn him a deluge of resources from the Lingxiao Sword Sect.
And then, another wave of happy, effortless experience grinding.
The reason he had been able to farm so much experience in a month, with plenty left over, was entirely thanks to Lin Bohai’s secret assistance.
During this time, Lin Bohai had been incredibly accommodating. Even when Lu Bei was outrageous enough to fire up five furnaces at once, Lin Bohai would just stroke his beard, smile calmly, and satisfy his every whim, opening every backdoor possible.
Lu Bei couldn't fathom why, but he was deeply moved. He felt ashamed for having looked down on the old man before. He had thought Lin was just a slick bureaucrat, but it turned out the man had high standards—he was more nurturing to his junior brother than most parents were to their own children.
A truly decent old fox.
"Since there's no word from Senior Sister, I should consider some offensive skills just in case. I don't necessarily have to master them, but touching them to 'save' the progress would be good."
Experience was precious, but after refining elixirs for a month straight, Lu Bei was truly fed up. He wanted a change of environment to clear his head.
He’d heard other alchemists say that the Cloud-Water Tower had just received a new shipment of specialties from Youzhou. He thought he might go check it out.
He didn't quite know what the Cloud-Water Tower was, but the word "specialties" sounded like local flavor. It seemed like a good place for a bit of leisure.
The world was vast. He couldn't go to Youzhou, but getting a taste of its unique scenery at the Cloud-Water Tower would count as a journey of sorts, barely making up for his regrets.
"It’s just a sightseeing trip, Senior Sister Zhu should let me go... right?"
"It shouldn't be a problem. If she’s worried about my safety and afraid she won’t be able to answer to Senior Sister Bai, I’ll just have Senior Brother Wei accompany me!"
...
At night, in the master bedroom of the Wei Estate.
Zhu Yan was fast asleep under a thin silk quilt, her figure elegant and curvaceous. Her undergarments could not hide her fair skin. In her sleep, she shifted, and the thin quilt slid to the edge of the bed, instantly suffusing the room with an air of temptation.
Just then, a shadow pushed the door open lightly. After pausing at the bedside, a large hand reached out from the darkness.
And then...
It picked up the quilt and tucked it back over Zhu Yan.
*Bang!*
Zhu Yan kicked out, aiming straight for the vital point three inches below the shadow’s navel.
*Slap!*
The hand in the darkness caught it firmly. Faced with Zhu Yan, who had lunged at him, the figure reached out with long arms to catch her, swung her around with practiced grace, and tossed her back onto the bed.
Watching this seamless operation, one knew it could only be a long-married couple.
"My dear, why aren't you asleep yet?" Wei Mao asked as he lit the lamp.
"This bed is freezing cold, how could I possibly sleep!" Zhu Yan replied, annoyed.
"Official business was heavy, I also..."
Wei Mao started to explain, but seeing Zhu Yan cover her ears, refusing to listen, he changed the subject: "My dear, what’s the situation at the Elixir Room? The Enlightenment Pills delivered recently have been constantly exceeding the quota."
The Huangji Sect managed all cultivation affairs within Wu Zhou, including the military’s supply of elixirs. Because the Huangji Sect was drifting further and further from the central royal power, local military logistics had become increasingly stingy.
For example, daily consumables like blood-stopping pills or Qi-Nurturing Pills were often delayed. Don't ask—if you did, the answer was always that they were "in production."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Zhu Yan kicked out, striking Wei Mao one time after another.
This dead man, buried in a pile of men all day, never even knowing how to keep his own wife company.
Wei Mao didn't dodge, but frowned: "It is a good thing, but in the past, there would always be a few master-grade ones. Now, they are all standard."
"It's good enough that they aren't deducting your Enlightenment Pills, what more do you want?"
Zhu Yan, having lost her temper with her husband, let out a huff: "In two days, I'm going back to my parents' home. I'm leaving Xiao Bei in your care. Take him to the military camp and keep a close eye on him. Don't let him run off and get into bad habits."
"Why are you going back to your parents'?"
"You aren't treating me well, so I'm going back to my parents' and waiting for you to come and apologize!"
"..."