Two Thousand Silver Taels a Month

The medicine boy hurriedly handed the porcelain bottle to Lin Fan. Lin Fan reached out and took it. When he opened it, he found several High-grade Qi-Replenishing Pills inside—rare medicinal pills that could restore a martial artist's stamina and mental strength during battle. Each was worth at least fifty silver taels. It did not seem like much, but it was no small amount either. With his Bone Tempering Realm cultivation, Lin Fan's senses were astonishing. He had naturally noticed Su Qingwei's actions amid the crowd earlier. Raising his head toward her, he smiled in acknowledgment.

After taking a Qi-Replenishing Pill, Lin Fan immediately began refining the remaining batches of pills. Different pills required entirely different herbs, heat control, and techniques. Thus, even though Lin Fan's alchemy had reached the pinnacle, he could only practice each different pill one furnace at a time.

In the end, unsurprisingly, every batch Lin Fan refined was still high-grade. For the two kinds of pills that required him to refine double portions himself, Lin Fan tossed two identical sets of herbs into the pill furnace at once. In the end, two High-grade Pills emerged from the furnace simultaneously. Moreover, Lin Fan refined them with incredible speed. By the time he had finished all fifteen High-grade Pills, the other five veteran alchemists had only just barely completed their third batch. From that third batch, the veteran alchemists had produced two high-grade pills and three mid-grade pills.

The final result was beyond doubt. Lin Fan defeated the alchemists with crushing superiority.

Su Yuanshan stepped forward at this moment. He first inspected the fifteen pills refined by Lin Fan. Every one was crystalline and round, its surface bearing pill patterns as exquisite as art. The pills that had emerged later still carried a trace of warmth. Judging by their quality, they seemed to surpass ordinary high-grade pills by a sliver.

"The quality of these pills is exceptional. All fifteen are genuine high-grade pills." Su Yuanshan spoke slowly, his voice spreading through the great courtyard and delivering the final blow to this competition.

With the family head personally confirming it once more, the discussions in the courtyard rose and fell like waves. Yet most of them were cries of astonishment and praise for Lin Fan.

Seeing Lin Fan win in the end, Su Qingwei's beautiful eyes curved into crescents. The joy spreading through her gaze could not be concealed, and the corners of her lips rose despite herself. All her earlier worry and unease vanished. She looked at the upright young man in the courtyard, her eyes shining brightly. After watching him for a while, she seemed to realize that she had become too absorbed in staring. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, and she hurriedly lowered her head and eyes slightly, concealing that unusual emotion in her gaze. Yet no matter what she did, she could not press down the uplifted corners of her lips.

The five Su Family alchemists by the side of the courtyard wore complicated expressions. Some were filled with shame and let out long sighs; others revealed bitter smiles and lowered their heads. The facts lay before them. Fifteen batches of pills, and Lin Fan had won every one. They conceded defeat wholeheartedly, with not the slightest room for argument. After decades steeped in the path of alchemy, they had ultimately been frogs at the bottom of a well, unaware that there were always greater people beyond people and higher heavens beyond the sky.

Su Yuanshan withdrew his gaze from the pills, turned around, and strode over to Lin Fan. He once again carefully assessed the young man before him. Lin Fan's eyes were calm, and his expression remained unchanged. He showed not the slightest trace of arrogance over his overwhelming victory in this contest or the praises filling the courtyard.

This temperament was even rarer than his consummate alchemy. If one's temperament was lacking, one would be more likely to stray onto a crooked path during cultivation and suffer qi deviation. In battle, one would also be more prone to revealing flaws and giving others an opening to exploit.

"Lin Fan." Su Yuanshan spoke, his resonant voice suppressing the murmuring discussions in the courtyard. "In the competition of fifteen pills, you relied on your own strength and produced high-grade pills one after another. Your skill is truly admirable. Since you possess such great talent, my Su Family is not a stingy one. From now on, your remuneration will be raised to two thousand silver taels per month. Everything else will remain unchanged. What do you think?"

As soon as those words fell, the entire courtyard instantly fell silent.

Two thousand silver taels. This was already considered the highest salary for a Su Family guest elder, even exceeding that of the other golden-token guest elders by a great deal. It was countless times higher than the pay of ordinary Su Family disciples. When Su Qingwei had mentioned two thousand a month before, she had actually been under immense pressure. She could very well have been reprimanded for it. Although Su Qingwei held some authority within the Su Family, her own monthly remuneration was not high—only eight hundred silver taels. It was not even as much as Lin Fan's previous one thousand taels.

Lin Fan was somewhat surprised upon hearing that Su Yuanshan wanted to double his remuneration. He had originally acted only on a sudden impulse. But now that the Su Family head had spoken, and since his own system cultivation truly required the expenditure of considerable money, the Su Family was rich and powerful anyway. At worst, he could refine a few more batches of pills in the future and contribute more when enemies appeared. He immediately bowed in thanks. "Lin Fan thanks the Family Head. Should anything arise, I shall obey any command."

A broad smile appeared on Su Yuanshan's face. He laughed heartily twice and reached out to pat Lin Fan's shoulder. "Good! Good! Those words are enough! From this day onward, tell us whatever you need. If the Su Family can help you, we will never be stingy."

After speaking, he turned to look at the surrounding crowd. The might of the Late Bone Tempering Realm suddenly erupted, and he said in a deep voice,

"Today's competition ends here. All idle persons within the courtyard are to withdraw at once. All alchemists are to return to the Pill Pavilion and attend to their respective duties."

The onlookers did not dare defy the family head's command. They bowed in salute and left the courtyard in twos and threes, orderly and quietly. In only a short while, the enormous courtyard became empty. Su Qingwei had intended to leave as well, but Su Yuanshan stopped her with a look. Thus, she remained behind. In the end, only Su Yuanshan, Lin Fan, Su Qingwei standing to one side, and several of Su Yuanshan's guards remained in the Pill Pavilion courtyard, which had once been crowded with people.

Su Yuanshan instructed several Muscle Refinement Realm guards to carry the several pill furnaces in the courtyard back to the alchemy room on the third floor.

After the guards left with the pill furnaces, wind swept over the treetops in the courtyard, stirring a few scraps of medicinal herbs from the ground. The air abruptly quieted, and all around was still. Su Yuanshan's gaze fell upon Lin Fan, then he turned his head to look at his daughter, Su Qingwei, beside him.

Su Yuanshan had naturally seen the looks and actions his daughter Su Qingwei had shown toward Lin Fan earlier. Having once been young himself, he naturally understood his daughter's thoughts. And Lin Fan seemed not to dislike his daughter either.

When Su Qingwei noticed her father looking at her, her heart gave a slight jump. Her slender fingers unconsciously clenched the cuff of her sleeve, while a faint flush quietly rose on her cheeks. Deep down, she seemed to vaguely guess what her father intended to say, yet she did not dare be certain and could only lower her eyes. However, her lightly trembling lashes revealed that the young girl's heart was far from calm.

Su Yuanshan slowly walked over to a set of stone table and stools in the courtyard and sat down. Raising his hand, he gestured for the two of them to come over as well. "Lin Fan, sit. Qingwei, you sit too. There are no outsiders here. Let us have a proper heart-to-heart."