Chen Huaixu

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Chen Huaixu (陈怀虚)
Alias(es)	Elder Chen; Master Chen
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Jichuntang Hall
Occupation/Role	Jichuntang Hall’s sole true alchemist; mentor to Chen Chong; grandfather of Chen Qian
Status	Alive
First Appearance	Chapter 5

Background / History

Chen Huaixu was Jichuntang Hall’s only alchemist capable of operating a pill furnace. Unlike the hall’s attendants, who prepared ordinary medicinal pills, he could combine multiple ingredients through furnace refinement to produce true pill medicine. His reputation was significant enough that even Chief Steward Yuan Zhiwu treated him with courtesy. 5 7

By the time Chen Chong became a courtyard guard, Chen Huaixu was already elderly and no longer had the stamina to sustain large-scale refinement. He therefore focused on high-value pills rather than mass production, leaving Jichuntang with a need for a younger alchemist. 6

After witnessing Chen Chong refine three usable Tiger Bone Pills on his first furnace attempt, Chen Huaixu immediately admitted him to the alchemy room. He later allowed Chen Chong to use his former workshop, shared profits from pill production, and provided him with a booklet of basic formulas. 6 7 8

As Chen Chong’s reputation surpassed his own, the title “Alchemist Chen” gradually shifted to the younger man. Chen Huaixu accepted this without resentment, enjoying retirement and asking Chen Chong to guide his granddaughter, Chen Qian. 10

Appearance

Chen Huaixu is an elderly man with a short, neatly trimmed grizzled beard. His movements are notably steady and quiet, even when carrying alchemical equipment. 5

• Usually carries a copper kettle used in pill refinement. 5
• Maintains the bearing of an experienced craftsman, carefully observing furnace conditions and medicinal changes. 5 6
• In private, he lives comfortably with attendants and often presents himself as a leisurely retired elder. 8 16

Personality

Chen Huaixu is a disciplined and experienced craftsman who believes alchemy depends on repeated practical work rather than written theory or shortcuts. He is initially skeptical of Chen Chong’s claim to have learned alchemy, suspecting him of seeking pill formulas, but quickly changes his judgment once he sees genuine fire-control talent. 5 6

Though outwardly stern and prone to dismissing praise, he is generous toward promising talent. He gives Chen Chong access to the alchemy room, shares profits, provides formulas, and uses Chen as an example for younger apprentices. 7 8

He is also indulgent and playful in private. He enjoys tea, wine, pastries, and the comforts of retirement; on one occasion, he pretends to read a medical text while holding it upside down. Despite this carefree exterior, he remains perceptive enough to offer Chen Chong practical advice about drawing out Chief Steward Wang’s weaknesses. 8 16

Abilities & Skills

Furnace Alchemy

Chen Huaixu is a true furnace alchemist with decades of practical experience. He can refine multiple medicinal ingredients into genuine pill medicine and carefully regulate the furnace’s temperature through direct tactile control. 5 6

• Demonstrated the refinement of three pills using medicinal powders, a blue-green auxiliary pill, and a charcoal-fired bronze furnace. 5
• Teaches that ingredient proportions, flame intensity, and furnace temperature must be learned through hands-on practice. 5
• Can judge pill quality and fire-control skill at a glance, recognizing Chen Chong’s exceptional precision during his first refinement attempt. 6
• His age and lack of martial cultivation limit his endurance, preventing him from maintaining prolonged or high-volume refining work. 6 7

Instruction and Assessment

Chen Huaixu serves as a mentor and evaluator for Jichuntang’s younger alchemists.

• Publicly teaches attendants the difference between ordinary medicinal preparations and true furnace alchemy. 5
• Accepted Chen Chong into the alchemy room after personally testing him with the Tiger Bone Pill formula. 6
• Uses Chen Chong’s apparent diligence as an example to admonish wealthier apprentices who lack focus and perseverance. 7
• Provided Chen Chong with more than a dozen basic pill formulas, including Essence-Nourishing Pills, Qi-Congealing Powder, and Blood-Invigorating Paste. 8

Equipment / Items

• Copper kettle — Used to pour prepared liquid into a pill furnace during refinement. 5
• Medicinal-powder box and bronze spoon — Used to measure and add ingredients in sequence. 5
• Porcelain vial containing a blue-green pill — Used during his furnace-alchemy demonstration. 5
• Bronze pill furnace — A three-legged, smoke-marked furnace used in the private courtyard where he tested Chen Chong. 6
• Basic pill-formula booklet — A collection of entry-level pill formulas given to Chen Chong. 8

Relationships

• Chen Chong — Mentor and early benefactor. Chen Huaixu tests Chen Chong’s talent, admits him to the alchemy room, shares profits, gives him formulas, and later relies on him as a successor. 6 7 8 10
• Chen Qian — Granddaughter. He asks Chen Chong to guide her, despite her greater interest in martial training than alchemy. 10
• Yuan Zhiwu — Chief Steward of Jichuntang Hall. Yuan approves Chen Huaixu’s decision to assign his former workshop to Chen Chong and treats Chen Huaixu with notable courtesy. 7 8
• Lu Yun — A Jichuntang guard manager whose attempt to discipline Chen Chong fails once Yuan reveals that Chen Huaixu personally took him into the alchemy room. 7

Story Role / Major Arcs

Introduction as Jichuntang’s Alchemist

Chen Huaixu demonstrates furnace alchemy before Jichuntang’s attendants, explaining that genuine alchemy requires practical experience, precise ingredients, and controlled fire. His lesson prompts Chen Chong to begin developing fire control through the mysterious panel. 5

Testing Chen Chong

When Chen Chong asks for guidance, Chen Huaixu skeptically provides the Tiger Bone Pill formula to test him. Chen Chong’s precise control during the pill-forming stage overturns Huaixu’s assumptions, leading him to accept Chen Chong into the alchemy room. 6

Establishing a Successor

Chen Huaixu allows Chen Chong to refine pills regularly and share in the earnings, hoping to reduce his own workload. He later gives Chen Chong his former workshop and a booklet of basic formulas as Chen Chong’s alchemical output rapidly improves. 7 8

Retirement and Continued Guidance

After Chen Chong becomes the more prominent “Alchemist Chen,” Chen Huaixu embraces retirement rather than competing with him. He entrusts Chen Qian to Chen Chong’s supervision and later advises Chen Chong to use more “bait” when investigating Chief Steward Wang. 10 16

Notable Quotes

“Alchemy is not some mysterious art. In the final analysis, it lies in practice.” 5

“The weights of the medicinal ingredients, the gentleness and fierceness of the fire, the furnace temperature—books cannot record it all. You can only try it yourself, again and again.” 5

“If the fish won't bite, just scatter more bait.” 16