In the pill-refining room of the Xiao Clan, an old man with disheveled hair, clad in a brown robe and looking for all the world like a madman, was currently glaring at a pill furnace. His eyes, clouded with age and frustration, scanned the vessel as he scrutinized every detail.
"Where in the world did I go wrong?" The old man was clearly on the verge of a breakdown, nearly jumping up and down in his agitation.
Despite his crazed appearance, the members of the Xiao Clan passing by the pill-refining room did not dare show the slightest bit of disrespect. After all, the brown robe he wore was the standard attire for an Alchemist, and the pill furnace emblem embroidered on the chest left no doubt as to his status. Furthermore, two ripples shimmered in a noble purple hue upon the surface of the emblem, marking his rank as an Alchemist.
*Thump, thump.*
Hearing the knock at the door, the old man’s face darkened. He huffed and puffed, his beard quivering as he shouted, "Who is it? Can’t you see this is a restricted area? Don’t you know I’m in the middle of refining pills? Get lost! Even if Xiao Zhan himself were here, he could get lost! Do you have any idea how much it would cost to compensate me if you ruined this batch?"
His roar was so loud it startled the birds flying near the building, and the clansmen in the vicinity quickly picked up their pace to get away, terrified of becoming the target of his wrath. The old man’s eccentric temper was legendary within the Xiao Clan; when he was in a fury, even Xiao Zhan, the current Clan Head, was not spared his tongue. After all, he was a Second-Grade Alchemist, which gave him every right to be arrogant—not to mention he was currently the only Alchemist serving the Xiao Clan.
"Elder Jiang, it’s me."
Outside the door, Xiao Yue spoke in a calm, steady voice.
Hearing her, Elder Jiang’s expression shifted instantly. The face that had just been contorted in rage, dismissing even the Clan Head, transformed in a heartbeat into a look of servile flattery.
"Oh, my! It’s Xiao Yue! Come in, come in, please, sit down, sit down! Hehehe!" The old man scrambled to open the door, ushering Xiao Yue and the girl behind her, Xiao Xun'er, inside with a look of fawning eagerness.
"I’m just here to collect some medicinal ingredients. Please, go back to what you were doing," Xiao Yue said, walking past him to start gathering herbs.
The old man scratched his head sheepishly, glancing toward his pill furnace, wanting to speak but holding back. Xiao Yue paid him no mind; once she had gathered her herbs, she prepared to leave with Xiao Xun'er.
"Er, little Yue'er!" Seeing she was about to leave, the old man grew anxious and hurried to call out to her.
"Use the blood ginseng as the sovereign, the jade ganoderma as the minister. As the saying goes, if water does not nourish the wood, the yang cannot hide the yin..."
Before he could finish, Xiao Yue glanced at the furnace, dropped those enigmatic words, and turned to leave, taking Xiao Xun'er with her. She left behind only a graceful, lingering silhouette.
"Tsk, that back... she’s truly damn graceful," Elder Jiang muttered, watching her go. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. This was what a genius looked like. "It’s a pity. A genius with an almost perfect understanding of pharmacology, yet she cannot cultivate Dou Qi and cannot become an Alchemist herself..." He sighed, filled with regret.
***
Medicine and martial arts have been inseparable since ancient times. As a master of medical arts, Xiao Yue was deeply interested in the alchemy and exotic herbs of this world. She had visited the pill-refining room often, and over time, Elder Jiang had discovered her startling talent for pharmacology.
While Xiao Yue had initially struggled to grasp the properties of this world’s strange, spiritual herbs, once she understood the theoretical nature of the ingredients, figuring out how to combine them became simple. After all, everything in the world was inseparable from the evolution of the Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. Pharmacology was no different. Yin and Yang could derive the Five Elements, the Five Elements could derive the Eight Trigrams, and the Eight Trigrams could derive sixty-four variations, and so on, extending to all things in existence.
It was a universal formula; the difficulty lay in the fact that one had to constantly deduce and calculate until the correct combination was found—a process that was tedious and dull. Sometimes, you might pull your hair out in frustration, and the formula still wouldn't yield the desired effect.
But the world always had its geniuses. It was just like a math problem.When you were still learning simple arithmetic and memorizing multiplication tables, some geniuses were already using their brains to solve nuclear physics equations.
Take Xiao Yue, for instance.
Except she was infinitely more formidable; while others were still studying nuclear weapons, she was already deciphering the antimatter equations of a water droplet.
"Sister Yue'er, are you a Tier 3 Alchemist?"
Xiao Xun'er looked at the pretty, silver-haired older girl before her, her heart filled with astonishment.
That crazy old man just now was clearly a Tier 2 Alchemist, yet he had asked Xiao Yue—a child of only six years old—for guidance. Didn't that mean her Alchemy level was even higher than that old man's, at least a Tier 3?
Yet, a six-year-old Tier 3 Alchemist with such terrifying Alchemy talent—even within the Medicine Clan, no such freak of nature seemed to exist...
"I just happen to know a little bit about pharmacology. I was merely speaking off the cuff earlier, I didn't expect him to actually believe me," Xiao Yue smiled, casually brushing it off.
Hearing this, Xiao Xun'er lowered her head and puffed out her cheeks slightly, remaining silent. She might be young, but she wasn't stupid; she could naturally tell that Xiao Yue was brushing her off, and could not help feeling somewhat depressed. She treated Xiao Yue like a sister, yet her sister treated her like a fool...
Gazing at her adorably sulking expression, Xiao Yue could not resist pinching her slightly chubby, baby-fat cheek.
"I'm not lying to you. Sister isn't any sort of Alchemist, and I can't even practice Dou Qi..." Xiao Yue said calmly.
Hearing this, Xiao Xun'er's little face shifted in shock. She raised her head in disbelief to look into Xiao Yue's eyes.
"Sister, you can't practice Dou Qi?" Xiao Xun'er seemed scarcely able to believe it.
In her eyes, although she had only spent a single day with this pretty, silver-haired older girl, Xiao Yue was so dazzling. Whether it was her temperament, her appearance, or her modest and unarrogant demeanor, along with how considerate and attentive she was—everything about her was simply flawless. Yet, this intellectual sister whom she regarded as flawless could not practice Dou Qi.
"Mhm..."
Xiao Yue nodded slightly. A gentle breeze swept past, a few strands of silver hair veiling her vision and obscuring her expression.
The air suddenly turned somewhat sorrowful. This instantly left the slightly miffed Xiao Xun'er at a complete loss, not knowing what to do. She wanted to comfort her, but had no idea how.
Seeing her flustered and adorable appearance, the corners of Xiao Yue's mouth lifted in an imperceptible arc, her mischievous streak seemingly finding a measure of satisfaction...
"Then what does Sister use these medicinal herbs for?" Xiao Xun'er changed the subject.
"Your constitution is weak, and you didn't sleep well staying up late yesterday, so I specifically brewed some soothing and sleep-assisting medicine for you..." Xiao Yue said softly.
Hearing this, Xiao Xun'er felt even more guilty. Being still quite pure-hearted at present, her young soul could not help but feel a twinge of being moved; she had not expected her sister to notice even her most subtle changes.
*Such a cute little girl.* Looking at her guilty expression, Xiao Yue smiled inwardly and made this mental appraisal.
"Bubble, bubble..."
In the dim room, flames flickered. By the moonlight filtering through the window, two figures—one tall, one small—could faintly be seen in the shadows, standing before a large cauldron filled with strangely colored liquids that were bubbling away.
"It's done..."
The taller figure in the shadows spoke, her voice crisp and melodious. She picked up a medicinal ladle and slowly reached it into the cauldron, the firelight casting a glow over her waist-length silver hair, making her look both beautiful and mysterious.
"Do I really have to drink this?"
Looking at the bowl of strange medicinal liquid that her sister had just ladled out and handed over, Xiao Xun'er asked with a grievance-laden tone, her small, cute face filled with reluctance. All her previous touching sentiments had vanished without a trace.
"What do you think?"
The corners of Xiao Yue's lips ticked upward, revealing a squinting, seemingly very benign smile.