Alchemy Boy

"I have already reached an agreement with Tie Rong. Jiang Feng's living quarters will remain that same dog kennel. You all remember what I tasked you with earlier, right?"

In the apprentice courtyard, Xue Zhao gathered the group of apprentices before him. Standing with his hands behind his back, his voice was low, heavy, and malicious.

The apprentices immediately scrambled to pledge their loyalty, their faces filled with eager excitement and their eyes gleaming with cruelty.

"Don't you worry, Steward Xue, we remember it all! As long as he dares to close his eyes tonight, we guarantee he'll be begging for mercy!"

"That's right! We've long found that brat an eyesore; this is the perfect chance to let off some steam!"

Once people gather to commit a misdeed, their enthusiasm is always exceptionally high.

This group of apprentices had been harboring a bellyful of resentment over Jiang Feng shedding his slave status and successfully turning the tables. Every one of them was itching to personally drag him down from his high horse and trample him into the dirt.

If they couldn't live well, they certainly wouldn't let Jiang Feng live well either.

"But, Steward Xue,"

Someone suddenly lowered their voice and interjected cautiously,

"What if someone among us leaks the news? If that brat Jiang Feng gets wind of it beforehand, I'm afraid the few of us might not actually be able to take him..."

"A traitor?"

Xue Zhao's brows knit together. His cold, sinister gaze swept over the crowd and landed squarely on the smallest figure in the group. He pulled at the corners of his mouth in a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Zhao Sen, you wouldn't be thinking of running your mouth, would you? Jiang Feng has the ability to run out of here, but I'm afraid you don't."

Zhao Sen shuddered under his stare, his face turning pale in an instant. He had indeed entertained the thought of tipping off Jiang Feng, but now he could only shake his head frantically, not daring to let a single word escape his lips.

Xue Zhao nodded in satisfaction before withdrawing his gaze. He swept his eyes over the rest of the group once more, his tone carrying a note of firm reassurance:

"As for whether you can take him or not, you needn't worry. I have already summoned several experts from the Guard Hall to join tonight's operation. I guarantee you, there will be no slip-ups.

You can do whatever you want tonight; as long as you don't kill him, nothing else is a problem."

With Xue Zhao's words as a foundation, the apprentices had no more reservations. They rubbed their palms together, the ruthlessness on their faces fermenting in the twilight, waiting only for night to fall completely.

At high noon, the scorching sun hung in the sky, casting a bright, glaring light over the Alchemy Hall courtyard.

Xie Shu stepped into Song Huai's courtyard once again. From a distance, he could hear his old friend's familiar cursing erupting from the alchemy room:

"Are you lot a bunch of pigs? You can't even handle such a small task! You might as well be dead; living is just a waste of food!"

Xie Shu walked into the alchemy room with a smile, catching sight of the white-haired old man pointing his finger at the noses of two burly guards and berating them.

The two guards hunched their shoulders, their faces full of grievance, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"Alchemist Song, why such a temper? Helpers need to be trained slowly; no one is born knowing how to do these things. Mistakes are inevitable."

Xie Shu smiled, trying to mediate.

Song Huai spun around abruptly. Upon seeing it was Xie Shu, his anger didn't dissipate—it flared even higher. He didn't even give the Medicine Hall manager any face, snapping back immediately:

"Xie, you still have the nerve to speak!

You were the one who sent Jiang Feng to me in the first place. I finally got used to having him around, and what kind of bastard move did you pull?

You actually transferred him to collect herbs!"

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, his face turning beet red. He was clearly genuinely furious.

"There's no one as heartless as you! I really want to pry your head open and see if it's filled with nothing but sewage!"

Xie Shu stood there with an awkward smile, not daring to refute him. He was indeed in the wrong here, so he stood his ground and took the verbal lashing head-on.

Once Song Huai had vented enough, he waved his hand to chase the two assistants out. Only then did he glare at Xie Shu, his lingering anger evident as he asked sharply:

"Manager Xie, why have you run over here at this hour? Don't tell me you came specifically to be scolded."

Xie Shu gave a bitter smile and briefly summarized the letter from the Wu Family.

After listening, Song Huai didn't mince words. He laid out his bottom line, his tone stiff and leaving no room for negotiation:

"Five Blood-Qi Pills per furnace, four furnaces a day—that is the limit I can promise you.

Any more, and the quality won't be stable. Not only will the herb consumption skyrocket, but you'd be lucky to get one or two pills per furnace."

He paused, then added:

"Other alchemists in the Alchemy Hall will only be worse than me, not better. Even so, it's still a far cry from the Wu Family's quota.

I advise you to spend a fortune to hire alchemists from outside early. Otherwise, this task is simply impossible to complete."

Xie Shu nodded, looking troubled, his voice filled with exhaustion and helplessness:

"That seems to be the only way. But the alchemists here in Black Water Town have long been carved up by the other medicine halls. It won't be easy to recruit new ones in such a short time."

Song Huai lifted his robes and plopped back down onto the meditation cushion in front of the alchemy furnace, his tone indifferent and detached:

"That is for you, Manager Xie, to figure out.

You don't expect me, an alchemist, to go out and scout people for you, do you? Am I supposed to keep refining these pills or not?"

Xie Shu smiled and changed the subject:

"Alchemist Song, that Barrier-Breaking Pill for the Second Young Master—it should be nearly finished by now, right?"

Song Huai glanced at him and sneered, his tone laced with displeasure:

"Manager Xie, you think far too highly of me.

Although this Barrier-Breaking Pill is for Martial Apprentices in the Blood-Moving Realm, it is a genuine second-grade pill. The difficulty of refining it is dozens of times higher than the Blood-Qi Pill, and the process is extremely tedious. How could it be finished in a day or two?

I've been purifying the auxiliary ingredients for the past two days. If those two idiots hadn't messed up the herb ratios earlier, I could have had all the ingredients ready today and started the furnace tomorrow.

Now, it's been pushed back by a full day. You tell me, how can I not be furious when I have to face such clumsy fools every single day?"

At this point, the anger Song Huai had barely suppressed began to rise again. He looked up at Xie Shu and abruptly changed the tone of his inquiry, asking bluntly:

"What about Jiang Feng? Has he not returned yet? Does it really take this long to go out and collect herbs?"

Xie Shu's expression stiffened at the question. He coughed twice before answering with a hint of embarrassment:

"Jiang Feng... he returned yesterday. However, he passed the Guard Hall's assessment and is now a guard for the Medicine Hall."

Before the words had even faded, Song Huai shot up from his cushion and pointed at Xie Shu's nose, his voice rising an octave:

"Xie, do you have any integrity left at all?

We agreed that you'd return him to me as soon as he got back, yet you turned around and sent him to the Guard Hall?

Are you doing this to spite me on purpose?

You move those two pigs out of my courtyard right now and swap Jiang Feng back for me, or don't you dare expect me to lift a finger for the Wu Family's business again!"

Xie Shu was startled by this reaction. He never imagined that Song Huai would be willing to trade two guards just to get Jiang Feng back.

He remembered clearly that when he first brought Jiang Feng here, this old man had been full of disdain and refused to keep him at all costs.

What kind of methods had Jiang Feng used to make this notoriously stubborn old man change his attitude so completely?

"Alchemist Song, please don't be hasty."

Xie Shu quickly offered a conciliatory smile, his tone becoming exceptionally gentle.

"I came here specifically to ask for your opinion. Jiang Feng himself is very eager to enter the Alchemy Hall. Would you be willing to take him on as an alchemy boy?"