Xiuxian, the sword in the hands of a loving mother

Chapter 3: Taking responsibility with your life

Chapter 3: Taking responsibility with your life
Lin Wei was watching over the stove, somewhat expecting whether she would succeed.

It was getting light outside.

The sleeping medicine boy woke up from his dream, jumped up from the ground in an instant, and immediately cried out: "It's over, it's over, it's over... Senior Brother Chen's hemostatic pill..."

The medicine boy rubbed his eyes and ran over crying. Seeing that the shelf containing rice and medicinal herbs was empty, he rubbed his eyes again.

"Where's my medicine?"

The medicine boy began to doubt his life.

Lin Wei was standing nearby, looking at him and he seemed really blind.

Lin Wei stretched out her hand and waved it in front of his eyes: "Little brother, I put all the herbs in for you."

The medicine boy was startled by the sudden appearance of this living person.

He was even more shocked when he saw Lin Wei.

"Old, old changeling..."

Lin Wei's face suddenly turned dark.

She knew she looked old now, but the child was so rude.

"Old lady, did you say you put all my herbs in there?"

The medicine boy took a deep breath and his face turned red.

"How could you act on your own like this? Why didn't you wake me up?"

The medicine boy looked bitter.

Lin Wei looked indifferent: "You are sleeping like a dead pig, how can I wake you up?"

"Can you make elixirs?"

The medicine boy asked in a trembling voice.

"No, this is my first time making an elixir."

Lin Wei replied calmly.

"But you ruined this batch of elixirs. Can you bear this responsibility?"

The medicine boy felt that his last glimmer of hope was shattered, and he stiffened his neck and yelled at Lin Wei.

Lin Wei pushed the medicine boy over and made him fall. She yelled angrily, "I am responsible, I will pay for it. I will pay for my life. I will take the responsibility for this pot of medicine, whether it is good or bad."

This pot of pills smells like medicine, so you can tell it’s good.

But for some reason, this medicine boy was scared to death.

He was afraid of the consequences of the pill's failure, so he didn't even have the courage to start the furnace. He just wanted to hold Lin Wei responsible. Lin Wei wanted to take advantage of this, so she just went along with it.

The other two medicine boys were also woken up and were watching.

"Brother Jiang Ya, Brother Li Hui, you all heard it, right? This is what the old woman admitted herself. You must testify for me."

The medicine boy shouted to the other two.

Jiang Ya and Li Hui were both a little embarrassed when they were named, but it was still easy to stand on the side of someone they knew and someone they didn't know. What's more, Zhao Zheng really couldn't take the responsibility for the medicinal materials for this batch of medicine.

"Old lady, where are you from? Why did you come to our alchemy room? You have ruined this pot of elixirs. We cannot afford the punishment from the steward. You and Junior Brother Zhao Zheng should go and tell the steward. Seeing that you are so old, the steward should not embarrass you."

Jiang Ya said in a gentle tone.

Lin Wei looked at the medicine boy, and now she knew the names of the three of them.

Lin Wei looked at the still red stove and nodded: "Let's go."

Zhao Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. This way, the punishment on him would be much lighter. He walked in front and led the way: "Old woman, come with us."

"Doesn't this furnace need to be watched?"

Lin Wei looked at the three of them who seemed to be going, and she asked in confusion.

Zhao Zheng curled the corner of his mouth in disdain.

Li Hui frowned slightly. Jiang Ya said calmly, "Old lady, the amount of flint is fixed. There is a certain amount of flint required for this batch of pills. Regardless of whether the pill is successful or not, the flint will burn out and it will go out by itself. According to the time of the hemostatic pill, we can open the furnace in another hour."

So that's how it is. It's actually quite high-class.

It is equivalent to modern smart timing. Whether a pot of rice is delicious or not has nothing to do with fire, it all depends on how you season it.

I don’t know if it’s because of staying up late, but Lin Wei feels a little tired now, with back pain.

Looking at the three young men with light steps, Lin Wei could only sigh at the passing of time.

"Old lady, do you want us to help you?"

Jiang Ya looked at Lin Wei hammering his back, paused and hesitated for a moment before asking.

Lin Wei waved her hand: "No need."

When they arrived at a small courtyard, Jiang Ya went forward and knocked on the door.

Soon the door opened and a man in his forties with a goatee came out.

Zhao Zheng has already knelt down to apologize.

"Master Liu, this is what happened."

Zhao Zheng lowered his head, his voice trembling. He should never have fallen asleep, but now that things had come to this, he just hoped that his punishment would be lighter.

Lin Wei felt something was wrong after watching Zhao Zheng's reaction. Could it be that the consequences of failing in alchemy were very serious?

Is that why Zhao Zheng is so scared?
The goatee looked at Lin Wei and asked coldly, "Is that so? Are you really willing to risk your life?"

Zhao Zheng glanced at Lin Wei, feeling both guilty and pleading.

Lin Wei was confused. It seemed that what she casually said about taking responsibility with her life really meant taking responsibility in this place.

Under Zhao Zheng's complicated gaze, Lin Wei nodded and said calmly: "I agree, but what if that furnace of elixirs is successful? What reward can I get?"

Punishment is fate, so the reward should be generous.

The goatee-bearded man raised his hand and smoothed his beard, then spoke: "Old man, if we, the alchemy boys, refine one furnace, can get one of the pills. This is the reward. An ordinary pill can be exchanged for one to ten taels of silver, a medium-quality pill can be exchanged for one hundred to one thousand taels of silver, a high-quality pill can be exchanged for more than one thousand taels of silver, and the best-quality pill is a priceless treasure."

The goatee didn't continue. He looked Lin Wei up and down, as if he was sizing up the goods, and then said, "Old man, if it were the mortal world, the government might not convict you if you committed a crime at your age, but here, the rice you eat here has spiritual energy. No matter what, you are still of some use. Human medicine is also medicine."

Goatee had a scary thought in mind, as he thought he would see an old woman with tears in her eyes.

He didn't expect that even after he said this, the old woman in front of him remained calm.

"Then let's go to the alchemy room and wait to see the results."

Lin Wei felt no wavering in her heart.

She thought she would be shocked, but her guess was confirmed and she was not surprised at all.

The man with the goatee frowned and walked ahead.

Jiang Ya and Li Hui hurriedly followed.

Zhao Zheng staggered to his feet. He glanced at Lin Wei with guilt, lowered his voice and said, "I'm sorry, old lady. You're old and I'm still so young. Please forgive me. When you go over there, I'll burn more paper for you."

Zhao Zheng couldn't afford the punishment for failing in alchemy, and he felt guilty about putting the blame on Lin Wei.

Lin Wei walked slowly, so Zhao Zheng was waiting for her.

Lin Wei asked, "What can silver buy here?"

She still couldn't understand why she had to exchange pills for silver.

Zhao Zheng was surprised for a moment, but then he quickly understood.

He explained, "Old woman, silver is not used in the sect, it is used after you return to the secular world."

"Return to the secular world?"

Lin Wei asked doubtfully.

"Yes, people like us with poor spiritual roots will not be able to achieve any results in cultivation. We will be sent out of the sect and return home within five years. With the silver, we will be able to have food and clothing without worries when we return home."

Zhao Zheng explained to Lin Wei, then looked at her with pity and added, "Old lady, you didn't return to the secular world. Maybe there are no relatives in the secular world that you care about, so you don't know these things."

(End of this chapter)