Old Fan

"Goodbye." After listening to Yue Wen, he turned and left.

He'd almost forgotten where he was. He'd actually spent so long chatting with someone who could kill people without facing the law. What a waste of time.

It wasn't as if there weren't any normal people who could make medicine.

"Stop!" Old Bai suddenly barked from behind him. "You can come and go as you please? What do you think this place is?"

Yue Wen was startled by the sudden outburst. After a moment, he said, "Isn't this a mental hospital? I'm not a patient, so why can't I leave?"

He walked away even faster, afraid he'd catch something if he stayed another second.

"You think you're not? Hah, neither am I!" Old Bai shook his head with deep feeling. "Back in my day, I was the most brilliant disciple of my generation at the Medicine King Academy. My master, Li Danyang, once praised me to my face, saying that you absolutely mustn't eat the medicine Little Bai makes!"

"You call that praise?" Yue Wen stared at him, speechless. "And why are you telling me all this?"

Naturally, he knew of the Medicine King Academy. It was one of the world's leading Immortal Gates, and the strongest inheritance of alchemy in the human world. Any alchemist who came from the Medicine King Academy could stand on their own, even if they'd only audited classes there for two or three years as an outer disciple.

Li Danyang was also a renowned alchemy master of the current age, celebrated for a hundred years.

So this Old Bai was his master's disciple?

"I refused to accept it. I'd studied medical texts since childhood and risked my life to venture into the Wasteland Zone in search of Spiritual Plants. I was certain there wasn't a single flaw in my knowledge of cultivation or medicine! The medicines I made were absolutely far superior to those made by mediocre people. Why shouldn't they be eaten? To spite him, that very night, I personally... I mixed the medicine I'd made into my roommate's takeout."

"If you were normal, you'd have eaten it yourself!" Yue Wen's face was a tangled mess.

"After my roommate ate it, he became strong and light on his feet, his energy circulated smoothly, and his aptitude improved by several levels. From then on, his cultivation progressed twice as fast!" Old Bai continued. "I showed my results to the senior masters at the academy, but they were jealous of me and sent me back to my hometown, locking me up in this mental hospital!"

"They were jealous of you?" Yue Wen looked doubtful. He couldn't tell whether the story was true or not. "The Medicine King Academy has always had a good reputation. Master Li Danyang has supported newcomers for years, and I've never heard of any industry scandals. Do you have proof for any of this?"

"Of course!" Old Bai pointed diagonally ahead of him, in the direction his squinting eye was looking. "My roommate's right there. Ask him yourself."

Yue Wen looked in that direction. There was nothing there.

He didn't even need to look. The room was so small that he would've noticed if there'd been a third person.

Old Bai's utterly serious expression was just too convincing.

"See?" After a moment of silence, Old Bai nodded as if he'd heard something. "Those mediocre alchemists can go along with them, but a genius like me only makes them wary. All these years, I've let my roommate try every new medicine I make. Look how good he's doing now."

Yue Wen looked again. Still nothing.

After a long while, he turned back and said, "Bro, you're one hundred percent mentally ill. No question about it."

"Although I was framed and sent here, I haven't given up." Old Bai continued.

Yue Wen shook his head. "You weren't framed."

"The director and doctors here discovered that I have a godlike talent for making medicine, so they gave me a lot of privileges and let me make and sell medicine in the hospital. I shared a lot of the profits with them, and they gave me a hand." Old Bai grinned slyly. "I used the opportunity to keep researching my own unique medicines. This peerless Blazing Flame Powder is one of my secret formulas."

"If anyone can successfully Refine Gang using my peerless Blazing Flame Powder, that will prove the value of my work. Those mediocre alchemists at the Medicine King Academy will realize just how useless they are!"

As he spoke, he grew more and more impassioned, reaching out to grasp the empty air diagonally in front of him.

"Our names will shake the entire alchemy world!"

"..." Yue Wen watched him gazing tenderly at the air beside him and smiled awkwardly. "I'll leave you two to it, then."

"If you're willing to use my Blazing Flame Powder to break through, I'll give you a discount!" Old Bai hurriedly added. "Three liang of Blazing Flame Powder for only 520,000."

"When it's not discounted, it's 500,000!" Yue Wen covered his forehead and shook his head. "I really don't have time to mess around with you."

He felt he had to leave. Listening to this man talk had left his brain feeling drained.

"Five hundred and twenty thousand includes this!" Old Bai suddenly pulled out a plastic box. Inside were five sandwich cookies, each made of two white wafers with a dark filling in the middle.

"What's this supposed to be?" Yue Wen asked, puzzled. "Oreo?"

"Traditional Qi-replenishing Pills and Blood-replenishing Pills are separate. One restores qi, while the other heals injuries. Taking them together can cause the effects to clash." Old Bai explained, "But my exclusive, secret recipe—the Qi and Blood Integrated Pill—combines restoration and healing. There's blood in the qi, and qi in the blood. Eat one during a fierce battle, and you'll be restored to peak health and mana in an instant! It'll have you back in fighting shape in a second, bursting with yang energy, while your enemies yell 'Daddy!' on the spot!"

"That's not a pill." Yue Wen examined it. "We usually call these cookies."

"You don't have to like it, but don't insult it!" Old Bai said emphatically. "This box of Qi and Blood Integrated Pills costs 20,000, but I'm prepared to give it to you for free."

"Free?" Yue Wen caught the key word.

"That's right." Old Bai smiled confidently. "Take it home and try it. Feel the effects for yourself. Once you realize how powerful my pills are, you'll naturally change your mind. When you come back to buy the Blazing Flame Powder, you can pay me the 520,000 then."

"Well, even so..." Yue Wen accepted the box of "Qi and Blood Integrated Pills" and looked up. "There's still no discount at all! Not even a single cent off!"

"Hah, old friend." Old Bai looked at the empty air diagonally in front of him. "I have a feeling that our hope of getting out of here may rest with this talented young man."

"You'd better stay here a while longer." Yue Wen waved. "And remember to take your medicine on time."

"Phew—"

Yue Wen didn't let out a long breath until he'd gotten into the car for the ride back.

Talking to Old Bai had been exhausting. He felt as if someone had been standing on his cerebral cortex and stretching it out.

But when he thought about it, although he hadn't gotten the Blazing Flame Powder he wanted, he'd gotten a box of Blood Qi Biscuits without spending a cent. That counted as something.

He'd just have to check carefully whether they were actually safe to eat.

He hadn't been in a hurry to get the Blazing Flame Powder anyway. He'd only come to inspect it this time, and even if it passed muster, he wouldn't have enough money to pay for it until later.

So he wasn't too disappointed.

And strictly speaking, this trip couldn't be called a failure. In terms of its effects, Old Bai's Blazing Flame Powder was indeed incredibly powerful. It was just powerful in a rather bizarre way, which made Yue Wen hesitate. But Old Bai seemed so confident that his alchemy skills could win him over, so he must have had his reasons.

He'd try the Blood Qi Biscuits first, then decide whether to use Old Bai's Blazing Flame Powder.

Qi-replenishing Pills and Blood-replenishing Pills were both common medicines, but Yue Wen had never bought any before. Usually, only people who ventured into the Wasteland Zone needed such expensive restorative pills. When you were active in the city, you could just go to the hospital if you got injured.

The car hadn't gone far when a message from "Old Bai" came through on Cultivation Chat.

["Old Bai": You can have the Qi and Blood Integrated Pill with milk. Twist it, lick it, dunk it—the best way to enjoy it.]

And you're still going to tell me this isn't a cookie?!

Yue Wen couldn't help wondering if this bastard had really tricked him with a box of sandwich cookies. A normal person definitely wouldn't do something like that, but there was no way to define Old Bai as normal.

Even though he was thinking that, Yue Wen's reply remained polite.

["Enthusiastic Netizen 00772": Thank you, Alchemist Bai.]

That enthusiastic netizen was Yue Wen's ID on Cultivation Chat. He hadn't revealed his real information, and since the name had already been taken, he'd had to add a string of numbers to the end.

["Old Bai": I'm not Alchemist Bai. He's making medicine right now. I'm his roommate. I didn't introduce myself earlier—you can call me Old Fan.]