Sword Flight Through Heaven and Earth, Wine in Hand, Singing as I Go!

"Yes, I had memorized every medicinal herb recorded in the Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia by heart."

"Pharmacist Chen, you can test me."

Lin Changsheng spoke with considerable confidence.

"Fine, then I'll test you. Don't say I never gave you a chance."

Pharmacist Chen frowned slightly, but still picked up the Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia and opened it to a page.

This Lin Changsheng had reportedly only been at Hundred Herbs Hall for a little over five days. He did not believe that, in five days, he could have devoured the entire thick Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia and memorized it by heart.

"Only five days of reading the Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia, and he already wants to be assessed as a medicine boy? Hmph..."

"This kid keeps flipping through the book, but I've never seen him recite it. Could something be wrong with his head?"

"True gold fears no fire. We'll know once the assessment begins, hehe..."

"..."

At this moment, the youths who had been memorizing the Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia alongside Lin Changsheng saw him stop Pharmacist Chen, who was conducting the assessment, and request a test. They immediately began chattering, all eager to see Lin Changsheng make a fool of himself.

"Tell me the medicinal properties of Glossy Privet Fruit."

Pharmacist Chen looked at Lin Changsheng and spoke blandly.

"Glossy Privet Fruit: the fruit is oval and spherical, some slightly curved, with blue-black wrinkled skin; both ends are blunt and rounded, with a fruit-stalk scar at the base. It is odorless, sweet with a faintly bitter and astringent taste. Its functions and indications are to nourish the liver and kidneys and strengthen the waist and knees. It treats yin deficiency with internal heat, dizziness, blurred vision, tinnitus, aching weakness in the waist and knees, and prematurely white hair and beard. It nourishes the liver and kidneys, brightens the eyes, and darkens the hair."

"Mm."

Hearing this, Pharmacist Chen nodded slightly and continued. "Tell me about Motherwort!"

"Motherwort: an annual or biennial herb of the motherwort genus in the mint family, with densely growing fibrous roots on its main root... Its functions and indications are to promote blood circulation and dispel blood stasis, regulate menstruation and reduce water retention, treat fetal bleeding, difficult childbirth, painful swelling, sores, ulcers... and more!"

Without needing to think, Lin Changsheng recited it slowly.

"Huh? Bletilla!"

Pharmacist Chen turned to Bletilla, and Lin Changsheng once again recited its entry completely and without error.

Pharmacist Chen then tested him on more than ten other medicinal herbs, including Kudzu Root, Apricot Kernel, Mugwort, and Snow Lotus, all randomly selected from the Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia. To his surprise, Lin Changsheng knew them like the back of his hand and answered every one!

"In five days, you memorized the Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia backward and forward. You must have been familiar with medicinal herbs before, but that's fine. As long as you've read through the Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia, you can become a medicine boy. How about this? I'll recommend you to assist Alchemist Li."

Pharmacist Chen looked at Lin Changsheng with satisfaction in his eyes.

In his view, the only reason Lin Changsheng could recite everything backward and forward was that he had surely been familiar with medicinal herbs before.

"Huh? He actually recited all of it."

"This kid must have read medical books about medicinal herbs before. Otherwise, five days might be enough to read it over ten times, but memorizing it backward and forward? How could that possibly be done?"

"..."

Seeing that Lin Changsheng truly could recite it backward and forward, the dozen or so youths who had come with him were all stunned.

With Pharmacist Chen's help, Lin Changsheng began assisting Alchemist Li as a medicine boy.

His task was to prepare and arrange the medicinal herbs while Alchemist Li refined pills, making it convenient for him to work. Lin Changsheng had heard that Alchemist Li excelled at refining Qi-Replenishing Pills, Blood-and-Qi Pills, and Foundation-Stabilizing Pills!

"Senior Li, someone owed my father silver and used this wine to settle the debt. I don't drink, but I knew you enjoyed wine, Senior, so I brought it for you to try!"

That afternoon, Lin Changsheng spent ten taels of silver at a tavern to buy a jar of aged Carefree Brew. He secretly carried it into the pill-refining room and handed it to Alchemist Li Changchun.

If he wanted to obtain pill formulas, he had to give something in return. Why else would anyone teach him?

"Oh?"

When Li Changchun saw Lin Changsheng offering up Carefree Brew, his expression immediately said that the boy could be taught. Smiling, he said, "What did you just call me?"

"Senior... Disciple Lin Changsheng greets Master!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Changsheng immediately cupped his fists and bowed respectfully.

"Mm, that's more like it!"

Li Changchun waved at Lin Changsheng. "Go. Prepare ten portions of the medicinal ingredients listed in the Qi-Replenishing Pill formula on the table."

"Yes, Master!"

Lin Changsheng's heart stirred as he turned to retrieve the pill formula.

With the formula, he could simplify it!

When the time came, using his identity as an alchemist, pills would flow in without end, and his speed of advancing to a First-Rate Master would greatly increase!

[Detected pill formula: Qi-Replenishing Pill! Consume 1 tael of silver to simplify it?]

The instant Lin Changsheng finished reading the Qi-Replenishing Pill formula and committed it to memory, he saw a red notification appear on the panel.

"Simplify!"

Lin Changsheng immediately confirmed it in his mind.

Less than ten breaths after Lin Changsheng confirmed it in his mind, another red notification appeared.

"Hmm?"

"Mudball Rubbing?"

Seeing the notification, Lin Changsheng's eyes widened in surprise.

This was far too simple.

Simply rubbing mudballs could increase his experience in refining Qi-Replenishing Pills.

One had to know that ordinary alchemists had a success rate when refining pills.

The higher one's experience in refining Qi-Replenishing Pills, the higher the success rate.

For example, when refining pills for someone else, because of the success rate, they might provide ten portions of medicinal ingredients and ask for four pills. But if your success rate was one hundred percent—

You could earn six pills.

That way, without spending any medicinal ingredients, one could continuously obtain pills. Moreover, an alchemist's pay was not something a medicine boy could compare to.

[Alchemy: Qi-Replenishing Pill (0/100)]

Looking at his panel, Lin Changsheng planned to go back and rub mudballs after work to increase his experience.

The county yamen.

Back courtyard.

"Old Li, are you sure that the bamboo shavings in Lin Changsheng's home are made of exactly the same material as the arrow shafts of the four arrows that killed my brother?"

A woman whose voluptuous charm still remained looked at the black-clad old man before her, Sha Qi showing on her lovely face.

"From my observations, they are indeed exactly the same."

Old Li nodded.

He knew he was no match for Lin Changsheng, but the gang leader's younger sister was the county magistrate's concubine. Would the county magistrate simply stand by and do nothing?

As long as Lin Changsheng died, it would count as avenging his son.

"I want Lin Changsheng dead! Flay his skin and pull out his tendons!"

Ma Qian turned to Chen Ling, the county magistrate beside her, and spoke.

"Don't worry. This man will definitely not survive."

Chen Ling spoke slowly.

"My heavens, look! An Immortal! Sword Flight!"

"I never thought that in my lifetime, I would actually encounter an Immortal flying through the skies!"

"I had long heard that Immortals existed in this world, but I had never seen one. Today, having seen an Immortal, this old man can die without regrets!"

"..."

That afternoon.

There were many pedestrians on the streets of West City. As Lin Changsheng returned from Hundred Herbs Hall, he suddenly heard many people around him pointing at the sky, their faces filled with shock as they discussed it animatedly.

"An Immortal?"

Hearing the discussions around him, Lin Changsheng looked up. At that moment, two streaks of sword light appeared in the sky.

They were clearly two flying swords. One was fiery red, with a man in white standing upon it.

The other was pale blue, with a woman in blue standing upon it. Riding their flying swords, the two became streaks of escaping light and flew toward the horizon, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"Sword Flight!"

"Now that I have the panel, I wonder if I might have a day like that?"

Looking at the two streaks of escaping light that had long since vanished from the sky, Lin Changsheng's eyes filled with anticipation and boundless envy.

Given another life.

Having transmigrated into a world where martial artists could pull up mountains and Immortals could shatter stars with a flick of a finger, who would not want to fly through heaven and earth on a sword?

Wine in hand, singing as they went?