Lin Wei kept watch by the furnace, harboring a faint expectation that she might actually succeed.
Outside, the sky was gradually growing bright.
The medicine boy, fast asleep, bolted awake from his dream and sprang instantly from the floor, instantly bursting into wails: "It's over, it's over, it's over, it's over... Senior Brother Chen's Hemostatic Pill..."
The medicine boy ran over, rubbing his eyes and weeping. Seeing that the rack for storing herbs was completely empty, he rubbed his eyes again.
"Where is my medicine?"
The medicine boy began to doubt reality.
Lin Wei stood right beside him, watching him—he truly was blind.
Lin Wei reached out and waved her hand in front of his eyes: "Little brother, I helped you put all the herbs inside."
The medicine boy was startled by this suddenly appearing living person.
And seeing Lin Wei startled him even more.
"Old, old hag..."
Lin Wei's face darkened instantly.
She knew she looked very aged now, but this kid had zero manners.
"Old woman, you said you put all my herbs in?"
The medicine boy took a deep breath, his face turning red with suppressed fury.
"How could you act on your own like that? Why didn't you wake me up!"
The medicine boy wore a bitter expression.
Lin Wei's expression was indifferent: "You were sleeping like a dead pig, how was I supposed to wake you up?"
"Do you even know how to alchemize?"
The medicine boy asked with a trembling voice.
"No, this is my first time alchemizing."
Lin Wei replied calmly.
"Yet you've ruined a whole furnace of pills! Can you bear the responsibility for this?"
Believing his last shred of hope had been shattered, the medicine boy thrust out his neck and roared at Lin Wei.
Lin Wei gave him a direct shove, knocking the medicine boy to the ground, and roared angrily back: "I'll bear it if I say I'll bear it! The worst that can happen is I forfeit this old life of mine, is that fine? Whether this batch of medicine turns out good or bad, I'll take full responsibility, alright?"
The fragrance wafting from this batch of pills was coming in waves; anyone could guess it couldn't be bad.
Yet for some reason, this medicine boy was scared to death.
Terrified of failing the pills and unable to bear the consequences, he didn't even have the courage to open the furnace and only wanted to pin the responsibility firmly on Lin Wei. Since Lin Wei wanted to seize this advantage, she simply went along with the flow.
Two other medicine boys had also been woken by the commotion and were watching from the sidelines.
"Senior Brother Jiang Ya, Senior Brother Li Hui, you both heard it, right? The old woman admitted to this herself. You must be witnesses for me."
The medicine boy shouted toward the other two.
The named Jiang Ya and Li Hui were both in a somewhat difficult position, but it was easy to choose a side between someone they knew and someone they didn't—especially since Zhao Zheng truly couldn't afford to take the blame for this furnace of herbs.
"Old woman, where are you from? How did you end up in our alchemy room? Now that you've ruined this batch of pills, the punishment from the steward master is more than we can bear. Why don't you go with Junior Brother Zhao Zheng and explain it to the steward master? Considering how old you are, the steward master shouldn't make things too difficult for you."
Jiang Ya said in a gentle tone.
Lin Wei looked at the medicine boy. Now she knew all three of their names.
Lin Wei looked at the still-glowing red furnace and nodded: "Let's go, then."
Zhao Zheng breathed a sigh of relief; this would make the punishment falling on him much lighter. He walked ahead to lead the way: "Old woman, follow us."
"Does this alchemy furnace not need to be watched?"
Lin Wei asked, puzzled, as she saw all three of them acting like they were leaving.
Zhao Zheng curled his lips in disdain.
Li Hui frowned slightly. Jiang Ya said calmly: "Old woman, the amount of firestones is fixed. The number of firestones needed for this batch of pills is set. Whether the pills succeed or not, the firestones will burn out, and then the fire will extinguish itself. Judging by the time for Hemostatic Pills, we can open the furnace in another hour."
So that was how it worked. It was even rather high-tech.
Equivalent to a modern smart timer: whether a pot of food tastes good has nothing to do with the fire; it all depends on how you season it.
Perhaps due to staying up late, Lin Wei felt a bit tired now, her waist and back aching.
Looking at the brisk steps of the three young men, Lin Wei could only sigh at the passage of years.
"Old woman, do you need us to support you?"
Jiang Ya saw Lin Wei massaging her back, stopped, hesitated for a moment, and then asked.
Lin Wei waved her hand: "No need."
Upon arriving at a small courtyard, Jiang Ya stepped forward to knock on the door.
Soon the door opened, and a man around forty with a goatee walked out.
Zhao Zheng had already knelt down to plead guilty.
"Master Liu, that's how it happened."
Zhao Zheng kept his head down, his voice trembling slightly. He should not have fallen asleep no matter what, but matters having reached this point, he only hoped his punishment would be lighter.
Lin Wei looked at Zhao Zheng's reaction and felt something was amiss. Could the consequences of alchemy failure be that severe?
Is that why Zhao Zheng was so terrified? The goatee glanced at Lin Wei and asked coldly: "Is that how it is? You'll really use your life to bear it?"
Zhao Zheng looked at Lin Wei, his gaze mixed with guilt and pleading.
Doubt stirred in Lin Wei's heart. It seemed that the penalty of using one's life that she had casually blurted out was actually a literal demand for one's life in this place.
Under Zhao Zheng's complex gaze, Lin Wei nodded and said calmly: "I agree. But what if that batch of pills succeeds? What reward can I get?"
If the punishment was her life, the reward ought to be substantial.
The goatee-bearded man raised a hand to stroke his beard, then spoke: "Old woman, for us medicine boys, if we successfully refine a furnace, we get one of the pills as a reward. That's the reward. A low-grade pill can be exchanged for one to ten taels of silver. A mid-grade pill can fetch from a hundred to a thousand taels of silver. A top-grade pill can command over a thousand taels of silver, while a top-grade pill is a priceless treasure."
Without continuing further, the goatee looked Lin Wei up and down as if appraising merchandise, and then added: "Old woman, in the mortal world, the government might not even convict someone your age for committing an offense. But here, even the rice you eat is imbued with spiritual qi; no matter what, you're still of some use. Human medicine is medicine, too."
The goatee had intended to frighten her, expecting to see a tearful old woman.
He never imagined that, despite him saying all this, the old woman before him would remain completely calm.
"Let's go back to the alchemy room and wait to see the results."
Lin Wei's heart was entirely devoid of ripples.
She had expected herself to be shocked, but with her guess confirmed, she felt not a single trace of surprise.
The goatee's face darkened, and he walked in front.
Jiang Ya and Li Hui hurriedly followed.
Zhao Zheng stumbled to his feet. He cast a guilt-ridden glance at Lin Wei and lowered his voice to say: "Old woman, I'm sorry. You're so old and I'm still so young, please forgive me. After you go over there, I'll be sure to burn plenty of joss paper for you."
Zhao Zheng couldn't bear the punishment for failing the alchemy, yet felt guilty for shifting the blame entirely onto Lin Wei.
Lin Wei walked slowly, and Zhao Zheng waited for her.
Lin Wei asked, "In this place, what can silver buy?"
She was still trying to figure out the business about pills being exchanged for silver.
Zhao Zheng was momentarily startled, but then quickly understood.
He explained: "Old woman, silver isn't used within the sect; it's used when we return to the mortal world."
"Return to the mortal world?"
Lin Wei asked with a question.
"Yes. Those of us with clumsy spiritual roots cannot achieve any real results in cultivation, and within five years we'll be sent back home from the sect. With silver, we can live a worry-free life when we get back."
Zhao Zheng explained to Lin Wei, and upon finishing, he cast a pitying glance at Lin Wei and added: "Old woman, you aren't returning to the mortal world, which must mean you have no relatives left to miss in the mortal world, and that's why you don't know these things."