Three days later.
On the fourth floor of the Myriad Treasures House.
Dressed in a deep purple gown, her figure voluptuous and gracefully curved, Liu Fuyan sat in her study, reviewing the branch's recent accounts.
After reading for a while, Liu Fuyan closed the ledger and gently rubbed her brow with her snowy, jade-like fingers.
Her alluring phoenix eyes, usually tinged with playful reproach, now betrayed traces of fatigue and agitation.
"Ah..."
Liu Fuyan had been rather troubled lately.
Recently, revenue at the Imperial Capital branch had fallen by nearly thirty percent.
It all stemmed from the departure of that Third-Grade Alchemist.
With him gone, the quality of the branch's pills had declined noticeably.
Although the branch had requested a shipment of quality pills from headquarters, distant water could hardly quench an immediate thirst.
To make matters worse, the one who had poached that Alchemist was the Exquisite Pavilion, one of the Imperial Capital's three great trading houses.
Lately, they had been loudly proclaiming that the Myriad Treasures House's chief Alchemist had joined the Exquisite Pavilion.
Through that Alchemist's network of connections, they had also lured away many of the Myriad Treasures House's major clients.
This had directly caused the Myriad Treasures House's revenue to plummet.
In truth, for a major trading house with powerful backing like the Myriad Treasures House, this hardly amounted to a serious crisis.
At worst, they could pay a premium to purchase some high-quality pills and fill the gap.
Then they could take their time finding, or even training, a capable Alchemist, and recover.
But the crux of the problem was that the trading house could afford to wait, while Liu Fuyan could not.
In another three months, headquarters will assess the Imperial Capital branch. Whether I can be promoted to head manager of this branch hinges on that assessment.
As things stand, the assessment is bound to suffer.
If I fail, forget becoming head manager-I might even be transferred out of the Imperial Capital.
Many people had their eyes on the managerial position at the Imperial Capital branch, and they were eager to see her fail.
Headquarters had yet to send an Alchemist, most likely because someone was obstructing things behind the scenes.
Why did trouble have to strike at such a critical juncture?
Liu Fuyan felt utterly dispirited.
She had done everything she could to persuade that chief Alchemist to stay, even offering a substantial increase in his compensation.
Unfortunately, the man had been shameless enough to harbor those filthy intentions toward her.
Hmph! How could I, Liu Fuyan, let you twist me around your fingers so easily!
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
"Deputy Manager, another Alchemist has come to apply today."
"Oh...?"
Liu Fuyan showed little reaction.
The Myriad Treasures House had recently been offering generous pay to recruit Alchemists, and many people had already come for interviews.
But Alchemists were rare, and good ones were one in ten thousand. Most had already been recruited by powerful factions.
Most of the applicants had been barely satisfactory.
Some could produce only one successful batch out of ten, and even that was of inferior quality.
Others were merely alchemy apprentices hoping to fish in muddy waters.
Although she held little hope, Liu Fuyan still rallied her spirits.
Even if there's only a sliver of a chance, I have to seize it!
"All right, take me to see him. I'll interview him myself."
A short while later.
Inside an alchemy room in the Myriad Treasures House.
When Liu Fuyan saw that the Alchemist who had come for an interview was an ordinary-looking young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six,
Liu Fuyan inwardly shook her head.
Unless an Alchemist possessed extraordinary talent, deep foundations and extensive experience were essential.
The man before her was too young, and his bearing hardly suggested an Alchemist of profound attainment.
Out of courtesy, she nevertheless spoke first.
"I am Liu Fuyan, deputy manager of the Myriad Treasures House. May I ask your name, your rank as an Alchemist, and under whom you studied?"
"Steward Liu, a pleasure to meet you. My name is Ge Hong, a first-rank Alchemist. I taught myself alchemy and have no master."
Upon hearing that he was only a first-rank Alchemist, Liu Fuyan's heart sank halfway.
When she heard that he had taught himself alchemy, it sank the rest of the way.
She could essentially conclude that if the man before her was not here to fish in muddy waters,
Then he was a self-taught Alchemist who had stumbled into some incredible luck, barely managed to produce a batch of inferior pills, and begun thinking far too highly of himself.
"Er... Mister Ge, I'm sorry, but our establishment urgently needs high-quality First-Grade Pills.
"So we would prefer to recruit a second-rank or even third-rank Alchemist to ensure the quality of our pills."
The best-selling pills at the Myriad Treasures House's Imperial Capital branch were First-Grade Pills intended specifically for Source Qi Realm martial artists to use in their cultivation.
But producing high-quality First-Grade Pills generally required a higher-ranked Alchemist.
Liu Fuyan's words were already a veiled rejection, intended to make him recognize the difficulty and withdraw.
Yet the man named Ge Hong replied calmly.
"Steward Liu, how do you know I cannot refine high-quality First-Grade Pills?"
At those words, Liu Fuyan and the elderly steward beside her exchanged a glance, both harboring doubts.
After all, they had encountered no shortage of boastful talkers lately.
"If you have doubts, Manager Liu, I can refine a batch of First-Grade Pills before you," Ge Hong offered.
Hearing that he wished to demonstrate his alchemy in person, Liu Fuyan's eyes finally brightened, and she grew somewhat curious about him.
"In that case, we'll make the preparations immediately. Which First-Grade Pill would you like to refine?"
"An Essence Pill."
"Very well. Please wait a moment."
A little later.
The ingredients needed to refine an Essence Pill had been laid out in the alchemy room.
Liu Fuyan and the elderly steward stood in a corner, quietly watching Ge Hong refine the pill.
They had assumed that before beginning, Ge Hong would meditate to restore his focus and adjust his condition.
Instead, he merely tested the heat, picked up the various spiritual materials, and began pouring them into the Pill Furnace.
His movements were brisk, even somewhat rough.
He displayed none of the elegance of other Alchemists.
The speed at which he added the ingredients was like someone tossing seasonings into a stir-fry.
The sight left Liu Fuyan and the elderly steward's hearts pounding in alarm.
They even wondered whether he was an Alchemist or a cook.
However, as he removed each successfully purified portion of spiritual materials from the furnace, the two finally relaxed.
The man did have some skill. He had successfully purified all the spiritual materials.
Once that was done, Ge Hong dumped all the purified ingredients into the furnace like beans pouring from a bamboo tube, stirring and blending them together.
From time to time, he even reached out to feel the Pill Furnace and slapped its walls, making it thump and boom.
This series of actions left Liu Fuyan and the steward utterly bewildered.
Until half an hour later.
With a clear ding, the Pill Furnace trembled, and the fragrance of a pill spread through the room.
"Pill Formation!"
Liu Fuyan's eyes lit up. He really had succeeded.
The fragrance was quite rich and pure. This was certainly no inferior pill-it was at least medium quality.
Sure enough, Ge Hong lifted the Pill Furnace lid.
He took out a pale yellow pill and casually tossed it to Liu Fuyan.
Liu Fuyan hurriedly caught it, feeling rather speechless.
This man really is rough. This is a First-Grade Pill worth thousands of taels. How can he toss it around like a piece of candy?
Then she and the elderly steward began examining the pill.
"Mm, a smooth surface, a crystalline texture, a pure fragrance... Medium quality, approaching superior. Very good, very good."
The two appraised the pill and were quite satisfied.
Although this Essence Pill's quality still fell short of their former chief Alchemist's work,
The gap was already small. It would just about suffice as a temporary stopgap.
"Mister Ge..."
Liu Fuyan raised her head, about to discuss compensation with Ge Hong.
But she saw that Ge Hong had already busied himself before the Pill Furnace again, continuing to add spiritual materials.
"Mister Ge, what are you...?" Liu Fuyan looked puzzled.
Without turning around, Ge Hong said, "I was just testing the heat to get a grasp of this Pill Furnace's quality and characteristics. Now I'm starting to refine pills."
"What...?"
Liu Fuyan and the elderly steward exchanged a glance, each seeing shock in the other's eyes.
That medium-quality Essence Pill had actually been an experimental product he had used to test the heat and the Pill Furnace.
Could this man refine an Essence Pill of even higher quality?