Zi Yan
"Old man! I don't care. You have to give me the medicine."
Just as Lin Ming and his companion reached the door of Elder Huo's room, a Little Girl's voice rang out.
Lin Ming turned to look at Steward Yang with a puzzled expression. He saw Yang covering his face with one hand and saying helplessly, "Sigh! This little rascal hasn't left yet."
After sighing, Steward Yang solemnly said to Lin Ming, "Lin Ming, don't provoke this little devil when you go inside. Otherwise, if you anger her, you might not be able to withstand a punch from her."
"Little Girl's voice, the Alchemist called her 'Little Ancestor,' and couldn't withstand a punch from her. Could it be her?" Combining these characteristics, Lin Ming already had a guess in his mind.
Having formed this conjecture, Lin Ming largely agreed with what Steward Yang had said. If it really was her, he wouldn't be able to withstand a single punch from her in his current state. So Lin Ming nodded.
They entered Elder Huo's room together with Steward Yang. Inside the room, besides Elder Huo, there was also a Little Girl.
As Lin Ming and Steward Yang entered, the Little Girl looked up at them. Lin Ming then got a clear look at the Little Girl's face.
The Little Girl was about waist-high to Lin Ming. Her fair and delicate face was as if it had been sculpted from the finest crystal, crystal clear and without a single flaw. At the age of twelve or thirteen, her large, bright, and sparkling eyes were enough to melt the hearts of any doting father.
What's most striking is her long, straight purple hair that falls to her waist. Yes, that's right, it's purple hair.
After seeing the Little Girl, Lin Ming's guess was confirmed. This Little Girl was definitely Zi Yan.
"Elder Huo!" "Elder Huo!" Lin Ming and Steward Yang addressed Elder Huo simultaneously.
"Lin Ming, is there a problem with the Pill Fusion? Tell me, which step went wrong?" Elder Huo asked.
He had only been gone for a little over an hour when Lin Ming came looking for him. It seemed that Lin Ming had encountered a problem during the Pill Fusion and had failed on his first attempt, so he had come to ask for his guidance. That was what Elder Huo thought.
As for Lin Ming's first attempt at refining Tier 4 Medicinal Pill, which he succeeded on his first try, Elder Huo hadn't considered that.
Elder Huo knew that Lin Ming's overall strength had reached the level of 4th Grade Alchemist. But does reaching the level of 4th Grade Alchemist mean that he could successfully refine Tier 4 Medicinal Pill?
Moreover, this was someone who had never refined a Tier 4 Medicinal Pill -Tier 4 Medicinal Pill before, and succeeded in refining one on their first try. The difference between Tier 4 Medicinal Pill and Third-Grade Pill is enormous; how could they expect to refine Tier 4 Medicinal Pill after only a few failed attempts?
Almost no one could believe such a thing. That's why Elder Huo asked Lin Ming which part of the Pill Fusion had a problem and he needed to consult him.
As for why the question is about the Pill Fusion process, it's because when Elder Huo left, Lin Ming had basically completed the extraction of medicinal herbs, so the problem could only be with the Pill Fusion.
"Elder Huo, Lin Ming has successfully refined the Fire Cleansing Pill, making him the youngest 4th Grade Alchemist." Before Lin Ming could reply to Elder Huo's question, Steward Yang spoke up first.
"Why are you interrupting Lin Ming's alchemy? What, you can refine Tier 4 Medicinal Pill now?" Elder Huo reprimanded Steward Yang for speaking Steward Yang.
Now, he was asking Lin Ming what problems he encountered in refining the Tier 4 Medicinal Pill, but you, a Third-Grade Alchemist, came to help this 4th Grade Alchemist asking him questions. Isn't this just causing trouble? So Elder Huo reprimanded Steward Yang without any politeness.
It's like a professor instructing a doctoral student, asking the student an academic question. Just as the student is about to answer, a recent college freshman interrupts, jumping in to speak. Of course, the professor will be angry. The question he's asking is probably far more relevant to this new student, and you're spouting nonsense. Who else would the professor yell at but you?
After scolding him, Elder Huo suddenly realized what Steward Yang had said. Looking at the aggrieved Steward Yang, Elder Huo ignored him, but said in a much gentler tone, "What? Can't I say anything to you? Say what you just said again!"
Seeing the much more amiable tone in Elder Huo's voice, Steward Yang's aggrieved expression vanished instantly. The Elder Huo could reprimand Steward Yang so bluntly was not because of a bad relationship; on the contrary, it was precisely because their relationship was as good as father and son that Elder Huo reprimanded Steward Yang in this way.
From the moment Steward Yang entered the academy, it was Elder Huo who discovered his talent to become Alchemist. From then on, Steward Yang followed Elder Huo. Over the years, the relationship between Elder Huo and Steward Yang has become no different from that of father and son, which can be seen from the fact that Steward Yang can freely come and go from Elder Huo.
As for Steward Yang, who was like a child to Elder Huo thought of him because he had taught him for so many years and had already passed on his knowledge through words and deeds. Steward Yang also behaved very properly when Elder Huo met with old friends, which pleased Elder Huo.
But just now, when Steward Yang answered Elder Huo's question about Lin Ming, Elder Huo felt that Steward Yang, who was usually satisfactory, had acted without any manners this time.
Elder Huo knows perfectly well how much you, Steward Yang, are capable of. This question is clearly beyond your comprehension, yet you dare to come and spout nonsense first, of course you deserve to be reprimanded.
When Elder Huo reprimanded him, Steward Yang Lin Ming knew what 4th Grade Alchemist Elder Huo was thinking. He was so happy and excited that he wanted to tell Elder Huo the good news first, hoping that Elder Huo, who had been bothered by Zi Yan for half a day, would also be happy.
Steward Yang meant well, wanting to make Elder Huo happy, which is why he disregarded etiquette. He never expected Elder Huo to scold him after hearing the good news, leaving Steward Yang feeling wronged.
But when Elder Huo's tone softened and he asked Steward Yang to repeat what he had just said, Steward Yang understood. Elder Huo hadn't been listening to him carefully before, but now that he realized what he had said, his gentle tone and the way he asked him to repeat himself showed that he was in the wrong and had lashed out at him.
Many fathers and sons don't get along very well. It's not because the father doesn't love the son, or the son disrespects the father. It's because sometimes neither of them can bring themselves to apologize. Sometimes, even if the person who is wrong knows they are wrong, it's very unlikely that they will say "I'm sorry." If their tone is kind, that's already considered an apology.
Steward Yang knew Elder Huo very well. When he saw Elder Huo's kind tone, he knew that Elder Huo was saying that he had acted impulsively just now, so Steward Yang's grievances disappeared instantly.
What harm would it do for this fatherly old man, who had taught him for most of his life, to scold him a few times? Besides, he spoke in a kind tone, almost like an apology.
With this in mind, Steward Yang immediately relayed the news to Elder Huo that Lin Ming had successfully refined the Fire Cleansing Pill and had now officially become 4th Grade Alchemist. He wanted to make Elder Huo happy as well.
After Steward Yang informed Elder Huo that Lin Ming had successfully refined the Fire Cleansing Pill and had now become 4th Grade Alchemist, Lin Ming, who was standing next to him, took out the Fire Cleansing Pill he had just refined, held it in both hands, and handed it to Elder Huo.
After a moment of surprise, Elder Huo took the Jade Bottle handed to him by Lin Ming, poured out the pills inside, and held it in his hand to sense them.
Looking at this pill, about the size of a longan, perfectly round and entirely green, it was undoubtedly the Fire Cleansing Pill. Although this Fire Cleansing Pill still had some flaws, they did not significantly affect its overall efficacy. Furthermore, because it had only recently been refined, Elder Huo could still feel the residual warmth of the pill, which had not yet completely cooled.
"Hahaha~!" After looking at the pill, Elder Huo burst into laughter. He truly hadn't expected Lin Ming to be able to refine the Fire Cleansing Pill in one go; this alone could be considered a miracle.
As he laughed, a few tears welled up in the corners of Elder Huo's eyes. At this moment, Elder Huo was truly content. Having Lin Ming as a student in his life, Elder Huo had no regrets.
Elder Huo could already imagine that in the near future, Lin Ming would surpass him Alchemist, and then gradually rise to the top, reaching the 6th Grade Alchemist. Beyond the 6th Grade Alchemist, he might very well reach the pinnacle of Alchemist.
While Elder Huo was laughing absentmindedly, a delicate pink hand snatched the pill from his hand with lightning speed. By the time Elder Huo realized what was happening, the hand had already distanced itself and spoke.
"Old man, give me this pill, and then give me a few more like it, and I won't hold it against you for taking my medicinal herbs."
Of those present, only Zi Yan was capable of obtaining the pill from Elder Huo, so Zi Yan was the one who did it.
Coming to his senses, Elder Huo glared at Zi Yan and said directly, "Zi Yan, if you continue to act so recklessly, believe me, I'll have the Great Elder put you in solitary confinement again!"
Upon hearing the words "closed tightly," Zi Yan visibly became uneasy, seemingly a little frightened. However, the thought of her medicinal herbs being taken by this old man instantly made her unhappy, and Zi Yan glared at Elder Huo with the same expression. Although her appearance made such an expression anything but frightening.
The two stared at each other, and after a while, Zi Yan was the first to give in, saying aggrievedly, "That Ice Spirit Fruit was something I found with great difficulty, and I couldn't bear to eat it, but you took it. Waaah!"
Seeing Zi Yan's tearful voice, Elder Huo's heart softened. After all, any old man would soften when he saw Zi Yan, whom he treated like a granddaughter, with a wronged and choked-up expression.
So Elder Huo said kindly again, "Zi Yan, return the pill to me. It's proof that Lin Ming has become 4th Grade Alchemist, and it's also the first Tier 4 Medicinal Pill he's refined. It has a special meaning."
"As for medicinal herbs, the Medicinal Material Repository has so many. There are quite a few that are even higher grade than this Ice Spirit Fruit. Go eat something else! Don't keep staring at my Ice Spirit Fruit, okay?"