Chapter 52: Putting on airs

After dinner, Feng Ling was called away by a communication from Qin Yilang. While Luo Bi was sitting on the sofa lost in thought, someone arrived at the house.

Luo Bi was puzzled as to who would be visiting at this hour. She stood up and opened the door to find two women of considerable beauty standing outside. Both were wearing expensive gauze dresses; unless one was blind, the translucent nature of the dresses made it immediately obvious that they were Contract Masters.

Contract Masters believed that the less they wore, the more ethereal and celestial they appeared, opting for styles that were teasingly revealing. Luo Bi swore that she would rather die than wear such clothes.

Not recognizing them, Luo Bi looked at them with confusion.

The woman wearing a moon-white gauze dress said with a smile, "Hello, my name is Hu Li, and this is Fang Cen. We are your neighbors."

Luo Bi immediately remembered Feng Ling mentioning during dinner that he had invited someone over to guide her. Realizing the situation, she said, "Ah, Feng Ling just mentioned it to me. Please, come in and sit."

Hu Li was very famous in the garrison base as a Level 3 Dual-Attribute Contract Master, something Luo Bi had heard of before. She smiled and ushered them into the house.

Hu Li maintained a very approachable demeanor, sitting on the sofa with ladylike grace, whereas Fang Cen’s attitude was the complete opposite; her back was straight, and her expression was quite arrogant. Luo Bi secretly curled her lip and went to the kitchen to pour two glasses of plain water.

Hu Li accepted the glass with both hands, but Fang Cen didn't move an inch. She pointedly remarked, "I am a Contract Master; I don't drink plain water like this." She drank nothing but nutritional juices every day.

*Fine, don't drink it then,* Luo Bi thought. She glanced at the Level 1 Alchemist Contract Master certificate pinned to Fang Cen's chest and her smile faded. To show up so brazenly with a certificate and then go out of her way to remind someone of it—as if people were blind. Luo Bi had no respect for people like this. Why bother coming to someone else's house to act like you're running a shop if you can't stay at your own? She placed the water glass on the coffee table and ignored it.

Hu Li gave Luo Bi an apologetic smile. "I heard you haven't mastered the proper methods of alchemy and that you had two furnace explosions today. Tell me what happened, and Fang Cen and I will analyze it for you."

At the mention of the furnace explosions, Fang Cen finally cast a sidelong glance at Luo Bi, the contempt in her eyes unmistakable.

Luo Bi felt angry but pretended not to notice, as she was the one in need of help. Fortunately, Hu Li's attitude was excellent. After a moment of thought, Luo Bi recounted the details of the three furnace explosions from start to finish, then watched Hu Li's expression carefully, waiting to hear her thoughts.

Hu Li frowned, while Fang Cen lifted her chin slightly and said, "If you don't understand, don't go refining blindly. If you can't even control the heat source, it's no wonder the furnaces explode. I advise you to just give up; someone like you will never be able to refine spiritual medicine in a lifetime."

Fang Cen's words were incredibly condescending. Sensing the tension, Hu Li quickly smoothed things over: "You've only just awakened, so you don't know any of the basic knowledge of alchemy. It would be difficult for me to explain it all now. How about this? I have an introductory textbook at my place; you should take a look at it first."

Hu Li went home to fetch the book for Luo Bi, calling Fang Cen to come along. Fang Cen had no intention of staying, so she gracefully followed Hu Li out.

Luo Bi didn't mind; she wasn't exactly eager to have Fang Cen in her home.

A few minutes later, Hu Li returned with a beautifully bound book and instructed, "This book is very precious. You must be very careful when reading it."

Luo Bi suddenly felt as if the book in her hands were burning hot. With complex emotions, she saw Hu Li to the door. She stared at the book for a long time before finally washing her hands and flipping it open.

After reading for just a few minutes, Luo Bi felt dizzy. She recognized the characters, but she couldn't understand the content. Things like "spiritual power tentacles" and "soul source light points"—she had tried to apply them several times, but she couldn't feel a thing, even though her furnaces had exploded three times.

(End of Chapter)