Chapter 36: First-Grade Alchemist

Chapter 36: First-Grade Alchemist

The end of every month was the time to collect monthly stipends. After Hua Changxi distributed the medicinal pills to Eunuch Yu and Yu Hui, she left the Qihuang Hall in quick strides. She first returned to her sleeping quarters to lock the pills she had obtained in her cabinet, and then went straight to the Internal Affairs Office to collect her monthly stipend.

On her way, she encountered Du Ruo, Lu Qingluo, and their group, who had just finished collecting their stipends.

"Manager Du."

Hua Changxi proactively greeted them with a smile.

Du Ruo glanced at her, gave a faint "Mm," and then walked straight past her.

Lu Qingluo looked at Hua Changxi as if wanting to say something, but was pulled away by Wang Yunchu, and the others in the dormitory also hurried off into the distance.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi’s brow furrowed slightly.

She didn't intend to be friends with them, but she also didn't want to make the relationship too strained.

In the beginning, Du Ruo had been quite nice to her, but after she started refining medicine at the Qihuang Hall, she no longer had the time to continue helping Du Ruo fetch medicinal ingredients and deliver them to the Second Bureau.

She didn't know if this was the reason, but Du Ruo had become increasingly cold toward her, to the point where she now showed her dislike almost without concealment.

As for the others in her group, they were also avoiding her. When she wasn't in the dormitory, everyone would chat and laugh, but the moment she entered, everyone would fall silent in unison.

Hua Changxi detested this kind of cold violence. Even if she didn't care about others' opinions of her, living in such an environment for a long time would inevitably affect her mood.

She had already inherited the *Classic of a Hundred Herbs* and the Unblemished Technique; staying in the Third Bureau to wash medicinal ingredients was no longer of much use to her. She had to find a way to transfer to the First or Second Bureau to process medicinal materials.

Lost in thought, Hua Changxi arrived at the Internal Affairs Office.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she felt countless gazes fall upon her, accompanied by ambiguous pointing and whispering.

"That's her. I heard she's latched onto Eunuch Yu from the warehouse. She goes to the Qihuang Hall every afternoon and stays there for the whole afternoon."

"She looks so young; turns out Eunuch Yu likes 'tender grass'?"

"It's not just Eunuch Yu; Yu Hui, the manager of Warehouse No. 9, has the same taste."

"Ah, Yu Hui is Eunuch Yu's godson. Doesn't that make them like father and..."

"It's better to be a woman. You and I work ourselves to death for a month, and it might not even be as good as warming someone's bed for one night."

Hua Changxi hadn't expected that her going to the Qihuang Hall to refine medicine would cause the Labor Hall to start spreading rumors about her again, and this time, more people were involved than last time.

The last time rumors were spread, it was by the female laborers of the Sixth Bureau. Female laborers, after all, had a sense of shame and were somewhat restrained, not using overly explicit language.

But this time, the male laborers from all three bureaus of the Labor Hall had joined in. Their words were as foul and piercing as they could possibly be.

Hua Changxi looked at the male laborers who were talking animatedly and getting louder, and walked toward them expressionlessly.

Seeing her approach, the male laborers showed provocative expressions, watching her with leisure, their demeanor and body language identical to those of thugs who bully the weak.

Hua Changxi stopped about three or four meters away from them, looked at them, and said coldly, "Those who speak evil words will face retribution."

Hearing such a weak threat, the male laborers burst into laughter, and even the others in the courtyard joined in.

Just then, a slight breeze blew through the courtyard, followed immediately by a series of shrill, agonizing screams echoing through the air.

"Ah—!"

"Ah—!"

The male laborers were seen with mouths full of blood, the flesh around their mouths turned inside out and mangled. The keen-eyed could even see that their tongues were covered in bloody lacerations.

Witnessing this scene, the people in the courtyard were horrified. The talking ceased instantly, leaving only the screams.

"Who is causing trouble in the Internal Affairs Office?"

From the accounting room, a middle-aged man who looked like a manager walked out.

Pang Wei scanned the courtyard with a grim face and sharp eyes, then strode toward the male laborers rolling on the ground.

The injuries were not fatal, but if not treated properly, their ability to speak would likely be affected in the future.

Pang Wei looked at the people in the courtyard with irritation. "Who did this?"

As soon as he spoke, everyone retreated, instantly exposing Hua Changxi.

Seeing Pang Wei look at her, Hua Changxi shrugged innocently and said, "Manager, I have been standing here without moving an inch. If you don't believe me, you can ask the others present."

Pang Wei glanced at Hua Changxi and then turned his gaze to the others.

The people being watched hurriedly said, "We didn't see anything. Manager Niu and the others just suddenly started screaming."

Pang Wei frowned and looked toward the accountant who distributed the silver.

The accountant hurried to his side and whispered a few words, explaining what had just happened in the courtyard: "That young lady indeed did not move."

Pang Wei knit his brows and stared directly at Hua Changxi. Seeing that she actually dared to meet his gaze, he felt a flicker of surprise and annoyance. He released the pressure of a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist directly toward her.

Those close to Pang Wei could not withstand the pressure and fell to their knees with heavy thuds.

But Hua Changxi had no reaction; she remained standing perfectly still, her expression unchanged.

Seeing this, Pang Wei's eyelid twitched.

Unaffected by his pressure—could this girl's martial cultivation be even higher than his?

Although Hua Changxi showed no outward reaction, her mind was racing.

Last time Eunuch Yu had released his pressure, she was unaffected, and this time was the same. The fact that it happened twice proved that a martial artist's internal strength had no effect on her.

This discovery made her very happy. In the future, when facing martial artists, as long as she didn't engage in close-quarters combat, even a Grandmaster likely wouldn't be able to do anything to her.

Pang Wei's gaze toward Hua Changxi grew more cautious. He pointed at the male laborers still rolling on the ground and asked, "Why do you think they were injured?"

Hua Changxi answered very readily, "Retribution, I suppose. I read in a storybook that in the eighteen levels of hell, there is a level called the Tongue-Pulling Hell, which punishes those who insult others and speak evil words."

Hearing her answer, the people in the courtyard retreated in unison once more, and a hint of fear appeared in their eyes as they looked at Hua Changxi.

For no other reason than the fact that they had also been badmouthing her just now, though they weren't as arrogant as the men on the ground.

Pang Wei was almost certain that the injuries to the male laborers were caused by this young girl, and she didn't seem to intend to hide it.

Without any movement, she had caused several grown men to be injured simultaneously—and these men were all martial artists. Was it through the projection of Qi?

Projecting Qi was something only an Eighth-Grade Martial Artist could achieve.

Was this girl an Eighth-Grade Martial Artist?

An Eighth-Grade Martial Artist working as a laborer?

Pang Wei could not gauge Hua Changxi's true depth and did not wish to make an enemy of her. Naturally, he would not cause a stir over a few unknown male laborers. He waved his hand, ordering people to drag the screaming men away, and then said to the others in the courtyard, "Fine, it's over."

With that, he returned to his room.

The people in the courtyard stared at Hua Changxi, none daring to move.

Those living at the bottom of society were highly sensitive to danger. Even if they didn't know exactly what had happened, their intuition told them that the injuries to those male laborers must be related to Hua Changxi.

Ignoring the others, Hua Changxi walked straight to the window to collect her monthly stipend, took her two taels of silver, and strode out of the Internal Affairs Office.

As soon as she left, sighs of relief rose one after another throughout the office.

Hua Changxi returned to the Sixth Bureau in a bad mood. If she hadn't obtained her fortuitous opportunities, she feared she would have had to endure such scandalous gossip with humiliation.

As she passed through the drainage ditch, she noticed the female laborers of the Sixth Bureau were secretly eyeing her. Only then did it dawn on her that the rumors about her had likely been circulating for quite some time.

Perhaps her direct action of teaching people a lesson last time had intimidated the female laborers of the Sixth Bureau, preventing them from speaking recklessly in her presence. Combined with the fact that her attention was entirely on refining medicine, she hadn't noticed something so obvious.

Consequently, it wasn't until she went to collect her stipend today that she realized she had become the gossip subject of the entire Labor Hall.

However, this served as a reminder: the Labor Hall was a place of many eyes and ears. Even though she had tried her best to avoid people whenever she went to the Qihuang Hall, she had still been seen.

In the future, she would have to be extremely careful!

Hua Changxi returned to her dormitory. Since her duties were finished and she didn't need to go to the Qihuang Hall to refine medicine, she lay on her bed and closed her eyes to cultivate.

In the evening, when the others in the dormitory returned, they saw that Hua Changxi was "asleep" and instinctively lowered their voices; even Wang Yunchu did so.

Clearly, they had already heard about what happened in the Internal Affairs Office.

The version they heard had already been distorted several times. Although Hua Changxi hadn't actually moved, those spreading the news claimed she had struck them, beating the male laborers until they were terrified and directly destroying their tongues, turning them into mutes.

Previously, they thought Hua Changxi was bold enough to teach people a lesson in the Sixth Bureau, but they never expected her to dare to act in the Internal Affairs Office, and against male managers and laborers at that.

Such a person was not to be trifled with!

Within two days, even the Apprentice Hall, separated by a plaza, had heard of the incident.

Upon hearing the news, Lu Qingling immediately came to the Labor Hall and repeatedly warned Lu Qingluo to avoid any involvement with Hua Changxi.

"Someone who offends people everywhere, no matter how capable, will never be able to establish a foothold in the Medical Bureau."

Yu Hui, over at the warehouse, had also heard of the matter. Knowing that the subordinates were spreading gossip about his godson and Sister Changxi, he was furious.

However, it was difficult to step in and stop such things, and even harder to explain. He could only offer verbal comfort to Hua Changxi.

On the eighth of the twelfth lunar month, during the Laba Festival, Hua Changxi was in Qihuang Hall No. 9 selecting usable materials from a pile of discarded medicinal herbs when Yu Hui suddenly came running in.

"Sister Changxi, quick, look at what this is!"

Hua Changxi turned her head. Seeing the basket of Spirit Essence Grass in Yu Hui's hands, she stood up abruptly and walked over in a few quick strides. "Brother Yu, where did you get this... Spirit Grass?"

Seeing that Hua Changxi was indeed interested in the herbs, Yu Hui smiled and said, "These were sent over from the Three-Forked Medicinal Valley. Quickly, see if they are still usable."

Hua Changxi nodded with a smile. "They are usable."

This batch of Spirit Essence Grass was much fuller than the last, and had not completely withered.

Yu Hui breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as they are usable."

During this time, he had been trying to find ways to make it up to Hua Changxi. After all, such scandalous gossip had a very negative impact on the young lady's reputation.

Seeing Hua Changxi carefully placing the herbs into a water basin, Yu Hui grumbled, "The herb collectors from the valley are becoming increasingly careless. These herbs are withered every time they are sent over."

Hua Changxi smiled. "If they weren't withered, I wouldn't be able to get such herbs."

Yu Hui nodded. "True. Sister Changxi, I will keep an eye on it next time. As long as this kind of herb arrives at the warehouse, I will save it for you."

Hua Changxi hurriedly thanked him. "Thank you, Brother Yu."

Yu Hui: "I still have work to do at the warehouse. I'll head back now."

Once he left, Hua Changxi abandoned the discarded herbs and focused entirely on processing the Spirit Essence Grass.

What excited her was that this batch of Spirit Essence Grass had retained at least half of its spiritual energy.

This time, for cleaning, processing, grinding, mixing, pill-forming, and sealing, she followed the steps of her inherited knowledge perfectly, using spiritual energy to control the entire process.

When ten small, thumb-sized white pills appeared neatly before her eyes, an ethereal voice rang in Hua Changxi's mind.

[Shennong Alchemy Inheritance Activated]

Immediately following that, Hua Changxi's mind was flooded with all the pill recipes required by a cultivator for First-Grade pills. Then, a line of text appeared in her vision.

[First-Grade Alchemist (Low-Grade Pill): 1/10 Furnaces Refined]

"The Shennong Alchemy Inheritance..."

Hua Changxi was momentarily stunned.

Shennong.

She was all too familiar with this name. In her previous life, she had been born in the Shennongjia region of China. Her family was a renowned traditional Chinese medicine clan in Shennongjia, one that had passed down its legacy for dozens of generations and claimed to be descendants of Shennong.

Hua Changxi had always thought the medical inheritance she received was because of that altar, but now, she was uncertain.

There was no helping it; the Shennong inheritance and that altar were quite mismatched. On the contrary, the Little Bird Breathing Technique she practiced was quite compatible with the altar.

Hua Changxi pondered. She had obtained her fortuitous opportunity at the altar, but that opportunity should have only been the Little Bird Breathing Technique. The Shennong Alchemy Inheritance was likely due to her being a transmigrator.

She couldn't confirm this, but regardless of how the inheritance came, as long as it was beneficial and harmless, it was fine.

Not delving deeper, Hua Changxi briskly placed the Spirit Essence Pills into a porcelain bottle and began refining the next batch.

The basket contained a total of ninety-six stalks of Spirit Essence Grass. Because most of the spiritual energy had been consumed, Hua Changxi worked through the night and successfully refined sixteen batches.

When the number of refinements exceeded ten, the text in her vision changed: [First-Grade Alchemist (Mid-Grade Pill): 11/100 Furnaces Refined]

Low-grade pills had become mid-grade pills!

Hua Changxi took out the mid-grade pills from the last six batches and compared them with the previous low-grade pills, finding that the mid-grade pills were rounder and fuller in appearance.

Since dawn had broken, Hua Changxi did not have time to test the medicinal effects of the low-grade and mid-grade pills. She quickly went to the warehouse to collect more herbs for cleaning, finished her daily duties, and rushed back to her dormitory to taste the pills.

Hua Changxi first swallowed a low-grade Spirit Essence Pill. The pill melted instantly upon entering her mouth, and a warm current, like a flood, swept through her entire body.

It took three hours for Hua Changxi to fully refine the pill. She opened her eyes, her gaze bright.

Digesting and absorbing one low-grade Spirit Essence Pill could increase her spiritual energy by 50 points, which was equivalent to ten days of her standard cultivation.

Forgetting about dinner, Hua Changxi placed a mid-grade Spirit Essence Pill into her mouth. Four hours later, she opened her eyes again.

This time, the light in Hua Changxi's eyes was even brighter and more excited than before.

A single mid-grade Spirit Essence Pill could actually increase her spiritual energy by 100 points!

In total, she had refined 100 low-grade Spirit Essence Pills and 60 mid-grade Spirit Essence Pills. With these pills, would she be able to enter the next realm?