Vouching for Him

Before long, the white smoke inside the pill furnace dissipated. Song Huai leaned in to look, and his pupils involuntarily contracted.

Six round, plump pills lay quietly at the bottom of the furnace.

"This... He made six Blood-Qi Pills on his very first batch?!"

Song Huai's voice rose several notches despite himself.

As the chief Alchemist of Benevolent Heart Medicine Hall, even when a batch of Blood-Qi Pills went perfectly, he could make no more than five.

Yet Jiang Feng had made six on his very first try.

That result said it all. Could it be that the seemingly reckless steps the boy had just taken were actually the proper way to make Blood-Qi Pills?

He took out the six pills one by one and spread them across his palm, examining them closely.

Four were low-grade and two were mid-grade. Overall, their quality wasn't particularly high.

But for someone making pills over a furnace for the very first time, this was already an impressive achievement.

With a few more batches, the roughness and flaws in the details would naturally be smoothed away, and the quality of his pills would surely rise with the tide.

"Teacher, this batch... was it decent?" Jiang Feng asked tentatively.

Song Huai didn't answer right away.

He stared at Jiang Feng's far-too-young face, his gaze roiling with emotions too complicated to put into words. He seemed both amazed and moved.

After a long silence, he let out a deep breath. His tone was more solemn than ever.

"Jiang Feng, you're a true Alchemy genius.

"It's a certainty that you'll surpass me one day. Your future is limitless."

Jiang Feng felt a little embarrassed by the praise and scratched his head, his voice tinged with sheepishness.

"Teacher, isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? I didn't do anything special. I just made a little spur-of-the-moment adjustment at the condensation stage."

He had no exceptional talent for alchemy. Nor had his action just now been a spur-of-the-moment idea. After his Blood-Qi Pill proficiency had reached the Minor Achievement level, the system had forcibly infused the experience into his mind.

All he had done was reproduce that process at the right moment.

But Song Huai waved a hand, his expression growing even more serious. There wasn't a trace of politeness in his tone.

"Jiang Feng, there's no need to be modest.

"You have no idea what your actions just now mean. Improving the method of making a pill like the Blood-Qi Pill, with its long-established formula, is no small matter."

At that, Song Huai suddenly fell silent. His gaze settled on Jiang Feng, and, unusually, he seemed a little uneasy.

The method had clearly been worked out by Jiang Feng, yet he had told Song Huai every last detail without holding anything back.

Song Huai had only taken him on as an Alchemy Boy today. He hadn't offered him any decent benefits; if anything, he'd taken advantage of him immensely.

He had always been proud and self-possessed, but now he couldn't suppress the guilt welling up inside him. He paced back and forth around the pill room, brow furrowed as he considered how to make it up to Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng had no idea what Song Huai was thinking. Seeing how grave he looked, he simply waited quietly at his side, careful not to disturb him.

After a while, Song Huai suddenly stopped. A glint appeared in his eyes. He turned and looked at Jiang Feng with utmost solemnity, speaking each word distinctly.

"Jiang Feng, your alchemy skills are already more than enough to meet every requirement for becoming a true Alchemist.

"Keeping you as my Alchemy Boy would be a disservice to you. I'm willing to personally vouch for you and make you an official Alchemist of Benevolent Heart Medicine Hall."

Jiang Feng froze.

An Alchemy Boy was, in the end, little more than a gofer. But an Alchemist's standing at Benevolent Heart Medicine Hall was an entirely different matter.

The Alchemy Hall was the very heart of the Medicine Hall, so the Alchemists' treatment was naturally beyond the ordinary. Their monthly stipends far exceeded those of the guards and apprentices, and even most stewards couldn't match them.

Their status went without saying. Alchemists answered almost exclusively to the Wu Family household. Other stewards had no authority to order them around and had to greet them with a polite smile whenever they met.

After all, sooner or later, everyone needed an Alchemist's help. Offend one, and it often meant that no one in the entire Medicine Hall would be willing to make pills for you. Your only choice would be to spend a fortune hiring an expert from outside.

"Teacher, I only became an Alchemy Boy today, and now you want to promote me to Alchemist. Isn't that too soon? Maybe... we should wait a while?"

Jiang Feng wasn't trying to decline out of false modesty. He really did have some reservations.

His promotion was happening far too quickly and would inevitably attract more hostility.

For one thing, Second Young Master Wu Han had only left him alone because he was too busy dealing with his own troubles. If he suddenly found out that Jiang Feng had become an Alchemist at the Medicine Hall, it would be strange if he didn't cause trouble.

But his polite refusal had no effect.

Song Huai swept a hand through the air, leaving no room for compromise.

"None of those concerns are a problem, as far as I'm concerned.

"So what if you only became an Alchemy Boy today? You can already make Blood-Qi Pills on your own.

"Given the Medicine Hall's current circumstances, and with me personally vouching for you, no one can stop you from becoming an Alchemist."

Jiang Feng opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but Song Huai raised a hand and cut him off. His voice carried the unquestionable authority of an elder.

"Jiang Feng, I know you're modest and not the sort to chase fame and fortune. But I've made up my mind for you. You don't need to worry about anything else."

Looking at Song Huai's utterly unyielding expression, Jiang Feng eventually nodded helplessly.

Meanwhile, a grim atmosphere hung over the courtyard of the Guard Hall.

The Patrol Team had already assembled, but instead of setting off in formation as usual, they stood ramrod straight under the blazing sun, letting its scorching rays beat down on them. Not one dared utter a word.

A moment later, Tie Rong pushed open the door and strode into the courtyard.

His gaze swept over the entire team like a blade, but he couldn't find the figure he wanted to see.

"Where's Jiang Feng? Why hasn't he shown up yet?"

A stooped middle-aged man hurried out from the rear of the team. With a fawning smile, he came up to Tie Rong and spoke carefully.

"Reporting to Steward Tie, we've already sent people to look for him, but no one can find Jiang Feng anywhere. I have a feeling... he's deliberately avoiding us."

Tie Rong's lips curled into a cold smile, though there wasn't a trace of amusement in his eyes. His voice rumbled like distant thunder.

"Interesting. That boy's really something.

"It's been a long time since I've met someone so eager to die. He joins my Guard Hall, then dares to disobey my orders? Does he think Tie Rong has a gentle disposition?"

The courtyard fell utterly silent.

Tie Rong's anger weighed heavily over everyone's heads. No one dared provoke him now.

"Cancel this afternoon's patrol."

Tie Rong stood with his hands behind his back, surveying the crowd. His tone abruptly turned ruthless and decisive, each word sounding like a death warrant.

"You have only one task: capture Jiang Feng anywhere within the Medicine Hall. He doesn't need to come back in one piece. Just leave him breathing."

A sinister smile spread across his broad, fleshy face.

The Patrol Team members seemed to catch a spark of vicious zeal. They shouted their assent, their expressions feverish, like soldiers about to charge into battle.

Just as the entire team was about to surge out of the courtyard, an unhurried figure walked in from outside.

Tie Rong narrowed his eyes. The newcomer was Xie Shu.

His brows lifted slightly, and a sense of foreboding surged within him. Xie Shu's visit at a time like this almost certainly had something to do with Jiang Feng.

He scoffed inwardly.

Could that coward have run off to complain to Xie Shu?

No wonder the Patrol Team searched the entire Medicine Hall and still couldn't catch him. What a joke. Did that boy really think that clinging to Xie Shu would make life easy for him in the Medicine Hall?