A Mortal's Wife

The most difficult Black Heart Blood had also become available through channels that could be obtained "openly," thanks to Alchemist Li's rapidly improving medical skills.

Within the pharmacy and in outsiders' eyes, Alchemist Li's acupuncture was unquestionably second only to Cheng Tangyin's at Cheng Ji Pharmacy.

He had long since qualified to make house calls on his own.

By treating patients, he naturally "stole" batches of Black Heart Blood in succession.

He had already figured out that the vast majority of mortals in Nine Sons Heaven—especially youths and children under sixteen—were medicinal resources for the "Immortal Lords."

In Wanfu City alone, strange illnesses like that of the young master of Sun Manor emerged one after another every year.

In the eyes of the cityfolk, these were "stubborn ailments." Once afflicted, one was practically doomed to die. There were very few alchemists capable of treating such stubborn, strange diseases; only Cheng Tangyin and two other renowned elderly alchemists could delay them a little.

Now, Alchemist Li Qingyun had joined the ranks of those barely able to treat this disease.

His reputation had gradually risen among the cityfolk, particularly among female patients. Naturally, his pay had risen with the tide, and Cheng Tangyin, the proprietor, had come to appreciate him more and more, raising his wages five or six times in a row.

His monthly wage was now fifteen taels of silver, placing him among the highest-paid at Cheng Ji Pharmacy, above the three female alchemists.

Such wages were already enough to support an entire household.

Yet Alchemist Li still lived alone in the quiet house in Little Fortune Alley.

"Qingyun, there's a little tavern at the street corner. The dishes are quite good. Shall we go have a seat?"

At this moment, seeing that nearly everyone else in the shop had