A Fine Place for Sightseeing

The next day, in the carriage headed for the Alchemy Room, Lu Bei sat primly upright while Zhu Yan leaned familiarly toward him.

Yesterday, after clocking out, she had invited several noblewomen who were also idling away their days at Dasheng Pass to shop for rouge and cloth. Lu Bei had ridden home alone, and she deeply felt that, as his senior sister, she had not shown him enough concern. If Bai Jin asked about it, she would have a hard time explaining herself, so she hurried to make up for it.

"Xiaobei, did you have fun playing in the Alchemy Room yesterday?"

"Playing?!"

Lu Bei leaned back slightly, putting some distance between them. As always, he was a very upright man.

"I mean, were you happy learning alchemy?"

"I benefited greatly."

Lu Bei nodded with a serious expression, then said, "Senior Sister Zhu, it would be better if you called me 'Junior Disciple Brother.' Xiaobei... sounds strange."

"What is there to it? Senior Sister and Junior Disciple Brother are too distant. The two of us should be closer..."

"By the way, Senior Sister Zhu, is there any news from Senior Sister Bai?"

Seeing that Zhu Yan intended to tease him for her own amusement, Lu Bei used the Attention Diversion Art. Its effect was outstanding. Zhu Yan immediately perked up and started rattling off gossip about the Lingxiao Sword Sect.

"There won't be any news from your Senior Sister Bai for a while. This matter can't be rushed. Listen, don't spread this around. The Sect Master is especially petty... blah blah... wibble wobble..."

When the carriage reached its destination, Zhu Yan reluctantly shut her mouth. Lu Bei leaped out in a single stride and hurried toward his private alchemy room.

"This child has decent character, but he's just too polite."

Zhu Yan was somewhat dissatisfied. Both were senior sisters, yet Lu Bei was far closer to Bai Jin than he was to her.

Could it be...

The flames of gossip lit up in Zhu Yan's eyes. She knew her thoughts were improper, but once they surfaced, there was no suppressing them.

"Sure enough, Junior Disciple Brother is a hot commodity wherever he goes."

In the Slacking Alchemy Room, Lu Bei spotted Lin Bohai as soon as he entered. He greeted him politely, fetched the materials, and immediately began refining pills.

Lin Bohai stood at the side watching with a strange expression. He neither spoke to disturb him nor intended to leave.

After clocking out yesterday, when he counted the finished pills, he had been astonished to discover the Qi Ling Pills refined by Lu Bei. There were no high-quality ones, but there were quite a few. Judging by the loss ratio, he had already touched the threshold of the Alchemy Room's passing standard.

It was utterly absurd!

He remembered Lu Bei saying that he had never refined pills before and had never even watched anyone do it.

So today, he had specifically come to investigate. If he discovered that Lu Bei had deceived him, then he should not blame him for turning hostile and denying everything. His earlier vow to refine a batch of pills while standing on his head would be treated as though it had never been made.

Lu Bei happily ground experience and did not notice Lin Bohai at all. The latter watched an entire furnace of Qi Ling Pills take shape, then silently left.

Lin Bohai was an old hand in the Alchemy Room. Age did not necessarily make one cunning, but experience brought many thoughts, and once there were many thoughts, misunderstandings followed.

First, he could be certain that Lu Bei was not encountering alchemy for the first time. All that nonsense about never refining pills before or never seeing anyone refine them was complete bullshit, meant to fool an old man in his fifties.

Second, people like Lu Bei had appeared before. The higher-ups had sent someone down for an inspection, concealing their identity to make things easier. That was all.

Something had happened!

Sweat rolled down Lin Bohai's forehead. Two months ago, the merchant supplying medicinal herbs to the Dasheng Pass Alchemy Room had been replaced. Connections had been pulled, and as a veteran craftsman in the trade, he could tell at a glance that this batch of Raw Materials was of poorer quality than before.

Lin Bohai had never considered how much profit lay in the price difference. It was none of his business anyway. He had merely accepted a sum of hush money.

But now that he thought about it...

Don't think. The more he thought, the more terrifying it became; the more he thought, the more afraid he grew.

"They actually came this quickly. Should I... confess voluntarily and strive for a good ending, or..."

Lin Bohai wiped away a cold sweat and decided to send word out first. The hush money was not his fault. He simply had not wanted to offend anyone. Now that something had happened, it was time for the other party to fulfill their promise and step in to settle it.

Lin Bohai was guilty as a thief, while Lu Bei knew nothing at all. He had no idea that he had somehow acquired the identity of a secret inspector and continued happily grinding experience.

This grind lasted an entire month.

Name: Lu Bei

Race: Human

Template: NPC

Level: 10

Experience: 10/40000

Cultivation: 100/100

Health: 120/120

Main Profession: Dao Cultivator

Secondary Profession: Farmer Lv1 (0/100), Alchemist Lv6 (50/30000)

Attributes: Strength 2, Speed 3, Spirit 10, Endurance 12, Charm 3, Luck 3

Evaluation: Know your own limits, what is there to evaluate!

Demon Slaying Scripture Lv1 (10/5000)

Huangji Pill Nurturing Art Lv6 (100/30000)

He had 14 Free Attribute Points, 930 Skill Points, and 220,000 experience remaining.

The increase in Spirit and Endurance came from leveling up the Huangji Pill Nurturing Art, which in turn raised his cultivation and health. He was weak as dirt because he had not invested experience into the Demon Slaying Scripture.

The Free Attribute Points and Skill Points came from the advancement of his main profession and two secondary professions.

Lu Bei had invested quite a bit of experience into the Alchemist secondary profession and the Huangji Pill Nurturing Art. First, it increased his pill-refining success rate and speed. Second, he wanted to test the quality of the Huangji Pill Nurturing Art and see whether it could promote him from an alchemist to an advanced alchemist.

There had been no reaction even after reaching level 6, so he might as well stop investing experience.

He kept the remaining 220,000 experience in reserve. There was currently no survival crisis, so he had not considered strengthening his combat power for the time being. Besides, he lacked offensive skills, so improving it would not mean much.

There was another consideration. It had been a month, yet Bai Jin remained completely unheard from.

Lu Bei was waiting for news from Bai Jin. It would be difficult to explain a sudden surge in strength within a month. Once Bai Jin brought him to the Lingxiao Sword Sect, he could browse a few profound Daoist scriptures, and sudden "enlightenment" on the spot would be a good excuse.

According to Lu Bei's plan, one bout of enlightenment would carry him through the level 20 beginner phase, greatly boosting all his attributes and officially stepping into the ranks of immortals. That would be enough for him to receive a massive tilt of resources from the Lingxiao Sword Sect.

Then would come another joyful, exhilarating wave of grinding experience.

The reason he had been able to grind such a large amount of experience within a month, with some left over even after investing it, was entirely due to Lin Bohai's secret assistance.

During this period, Lin Bohai obeyed Lu Bei's every word. Even when Lu Bei did something as outrageous as opening five furnaces at once to refine pills, he did so without a word, stroking his beard with a calm smile and satisfying every request while opening every back door he could.

Lu Bei could not understand it, but he was deeply moved. He felt ashamed for having underestimated the man before. He had thought Lin Bohai was merely an old slicker coasting within the system, never expecting the man to possess such lofty character. He supported the younger generation more warmly than he treated his own son.

He was a good old slicker.

"Senior Sister still hasn't sent any news. To prevent any surprises, I should consider offensive skills. Whether I practice them or not isn't important; it would be good enough just to touch them and save a record."

Experience was certainly precious, but after refining pills nonstop for a month, Lu Bei had truly grown sick of it. He wanted to change environments and clear his head.

He had heard from the other alchemists that Yunshui Tower had received a new batch of Youzhou specialties. He was considering going there to have a look.

Lu Bei did not really understand what kind of place Yunshui Tower was, but specialties and all that sounded very full of local flavor. It was a fine place for sightseeing.

The world was so vast. He could not go to Youzhou and see it for himself, but experiencing the unique scenery at Yunshui Tower could count as a journey far from home and barely make up for the regret.

It's just tourism. Senior Sister Zhu should let me go... right?

"No Big Problem. If she worries about my safety and fears she won't be able to explain it to Senior Sister Bai, she can have Senior Disciple Brother Wei accompany me!"

Night. Wei Manor, the master bedroom.

Zhu Yan slept soundly beneath a thin silk quilt, her curves graceful. Her small inner garment could not conceal the pale, flawless springtime splendor beneath it. When she turned over in her dreams, the thin silk quilt slipped off the bedside, instantly filling the entire room with a thick air of temptation.

At that moment, a Dark Shadow quietly pushed open the door. After reaching the bed, it paused, and a large hand extended from the darkness.

Then...

It picked up the silk quilt and covered Zhu Yan with it.

Bang!

Zhu Yan kicked out, aiming directly at the vital spot three inches below the Dark Shadow's navel.

Smack!

The large hand in the darkness caught it steadily. Facing Zhu Yan as she suddenly pounced, a long arm reached out and pulled her into an embrace. After turning gracefully, it tossed her back onto the bed.

From such practiced movements, one could tell that only an Old Couple could manage them.

"Madam, why are you still awake?" Wei Mao asked as he lit the lamp.

"This bed is ice-cold. How could I possibly sleep?" Zhu Yan said annoyedly.

"Official duties have kept me busy, I also..."

Wei Mao offered a few explanations, but seeing Zhu Yan cover her ears and refuse to listen, he changed the subject. "Madam, what is happening at the Alchemy Room? The Qi Ling Pills sent over lately have always exceeded the quota."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Zhu Yan lifted her foot and kicked Wei Mao again and again.

This dead man spent all day buried among other men and did not even know to keep his own wife company.

Wei Mao did not dodge. Frowned and said, "It is a good thing, but there used to be several high-quality pills among them. Now they're all ordinary finished products."

"It's already good enough that they haven't withheld your Qi Ling Pills. What more do you want?"

Zhu Yan had been thoroughly robbed of her temper by her husband. She coldly snorted and said, "In a couple of days, I'm returning to my parents' home. Leave Xiaobei in your care. Take him to the military camp, keep a close eye on him, and don't let him run off and learn bad habits."

"What are you going back to your parents' home for?"

"You don't treat me well, so I'm going back to my parents' home and waiting for you to apologize!"

"..."

Thanks to Fish of the Right Hand for the Alliance Leader reward!

I know everyone doesn't like data panels, and I don't want to pad the word count with them either. So from now on, I'll keep everything simple... anyway, this stuff isn't important.