The moon rose above the branches.
The clamor of the market continued, but the courtyard had quieted down.
Dongfang Liren had never dealt with medicine, after all, and there was little she could help with. Since she was of no use inside, she stood in the courtyard with the Dragon-Mingling Spear, leisurely practicing her spear techniques.
Niao Niao reclined on a rocking chair nearby, swaying back and forth and occasionally giving a very theatrical "Chirp~" to praise Fat-Headed Dragon's fine performance.
To maintain a constant temperature, the pill room's doors and windows had all been shut. A dim yellow fire glowed in the furnace, while smoke escaped through the flue in the roof.
Ye Jingtang sat on a small stool, holding a palm-leaf fan and carefully watching the changes in the flames. With his rather stern expression when his face was at rest, coupled with his broad shoulders and back, his profile really did resemble a master wholly absorbed in refining pills of immortality.
After grinding the medicinal ingredients and adding them to the Medicine Furnace in the order prescribed by the formula, Fan Qinghe sat down beside Ye Jingtang, cupped her cheeks in her hands, and said:
"All right. Now we just simmer it over a low flame for twenty-four hours. Once it's ready, we add the Snow Lake Flower. If it forms beads, we've succeeded. The quantities and order were exactly right, so it definitely won't explode..."
Despite her light tone, a trace of nervousness still showed on her lovely, sharply sculpted features.
Ye Jingtang pulled his stool closer and said with a smile:
"We haven't made any mistakes in the process. Even if it fails, that'll mean there's something wrong with Zhang Jinglin's formula. We just need to wait for the medicine to finish and see the