Immortal Martial Arts Son-in-Law: Having Too Many Wives Isn't My Fault

The man was carefully putting things into the earthenware jar, muttering incantations to himself.

"It failed. It shouldn't have happened. Let's try again. Three pieces of Tongxin Grass, two pieces of Diling Leaf, and one Huiyuan Flower. The order cannot be wrong."

Chen Hao stared at the water in the jar, watching as tiny bubbles began to rise to the surface.

The spiritual herbs slowly unfurled in the water, and the spiritual water gradually turned into a light amber color.

The Qingnang Medical Classic states that when the medicinal liquid turns "amber in color, has a clear fragrance, and is slightly warm to the touch without being hot," it is ready.

"That's about it."

Just when the color of the medicine was just right.

Chen Hao removed the charcoal fire underneath, used a piece of coarse cloth to cushion his hands, and lifted the pottery jar off the stone platform.

He leaned closer and took a sniff.

It has a faint, fresh scent of grass and wood, without any burnt or charred smell.

done?

He poured the medicine into a rough porcelain bowl, about half a bowlful.

The amber-colored liquid shimmered faintly in the sunlight.

The remaining task is to evaporate the liquid and condense it into pills.

Chen Hao examined it for a while, then carefully took a small sip.

It has a slightly bitter taste at first, followed by a sweet aftertaste, and a warm sensation rises from the stomach.

The sensation spreads along the meridians to the limbs, making the whole person feel as if they are soaking in warm water, an indescribable comfort.

Although it is not yet fully developed, its medicinal efficacy is only 60-70% of what is recorded in the book.

However, the scent of burgeoning vegetation is unmistakable.

Su Wanqing stood a few steps away, watching Chen Hao's movements, but she seemed frozen in place.

She watched Chen Hao holding the bowl of medicine, watching him carefully savor it, and her mind went blank.

Is this man... refining pills?

Wasn't he just an ordinary old nurse?

How come they can also refine pills?

Su Wanqing placed the wooden basin on the ground, tiptoed over, and peeked into the amber-colored liquid in the bowl.

"What is this?"

Chen Hao turned to look at her and smiled.

"The original liquid of the Herbal Hair Growth Pill, the lowest grade, isn't worth more than a few spirit stones, but at least it's been successfully refined."

Su Wanqing smelled the fragrance, then looked at the remaining residue in the pottery jar, her brows furrowing slightly.

"Where did you learn that?"

"In the book."

Chen Hao answered casually.

Su Wanqing stared at him for a long time, then suddenly didn't know what to say.

She recalled how skillfully the man had harvested rice in the field a few days ago.

Then I remembered the confident look on his face when he returned with Uncle Wang's written agreement.

Thinking back further, to that rainy night, to how this man charged around the room like a wild bull...

Su Wanqing's ears suddenly felt hot.

She lowered her eyes, suppressing those inappropriate thoughts, and then looked up at Chen Hao.

This man was far more complex than she had imagined.

She originally thought that Chen Hao was just a down-on-his-luck old nurse who had been neglected by the Su family for so many years, and that he married her to make a living in the short term.

But after spending the last few days with him, she found that this man was methodical in his actions and spoke with reason and evidence.

Neither reckless nor cowardly, they act decisively when necessary and remain patient when needed.

They even know how to refine pills now.

Although it was the most basic kind of craftsmanship, the techniques and the control of the heat were not something that could be achieved by simply flipping through a book.

A strange feeling suddenly arose in Su Wanqing's heart.

This old nurse was more capable than she had imagined.

In bed, it was even better than she had imagined...

I feel like I've... struck gold?

She quickly dismissed the thought, her expression remaining calm, and simply said, "You really think you can drink this medicine?"

Chen Hao handed her the bowl of medicine.

"Why don't you give it a try?"

Su Wanqing hesitated for a moment, then took the bowl and took a small sip.

The warm sensation spreading through the body was indeed invigorating.

She put down her bowl, looked at Chen Hao, and said something seriously.

"If you really know how to refine pills, you'll have more options in the future."

Chen Hao shook his head and sighed.

"Alchemy is not that easy."

"To properly refine pills, one needs a pill furnace or a medicine cauldron. A pill furnace gathers fire, and a medicine cauldron condenses qi. Only with these two things can the medicinal properties of spiritual herbs be truly extracted. My earthenware jar is too poor; it can only extract about 60-70% of the medicinal effects, which is already the limit."

"It's a pity that even the worst alchemy furnace costs several dozen low-grade spirit stones."

"A decent medicine cauldron costs at least several hundred or a thousand yuan. With the little we have left, we can't even afford a furnace leg."

On the seventh day, the original liquid finally condensed into a pill.

Chen Hao tried taking one, and felt his whole body burst with vitality, even his internal organs felt cool.

Aside from the long refining time, this elixir has no other drawbacks.

After gaining his first experience, he planned to refine more and sell them to supplement his family's income.

But what I didn't expect was the morning of the eighth day.

A message spread throughout Qingzhu Mountain.

The message was personally delivered to the back mountain by Steward Wang.

That morning, Chen Hao was practicing standing meditation in the yard.

Su Wanqing sat under the old locust tree picking vegetables. Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, scattering golden light on her and falling to the ground.

This is what Wang Er, the steward, saw when he pushed open the courtyard gate.

"Manager Wang."

Su Wanqing stood up and bowed.

"Miss, there's no need for such formalities."

Manager Wang waved his hand, his gaze lingering on Chen Hao for a moment.

The man stood motionless in the center of the courtyard in a strange posture, as if his feet were rooted to the ground.

Then he moved aside, took out a letter from his sleeve, and handed it to Su Wanqing.

"The master has just issued a new order, one copy for every household in the back mountain."

Su Wanqing took the invitation and unfolded it.

Chen Hao finished his work, walked behind her, and looked down at her.

The post was very brief.

The Su family is selecting two guard captains this time.

All members of the Su family, regardless of whether they are principal or secondary, male or female, or of high or low cultivation level, are eligible to participate in the selection.

The candidates were to assemble at the main residence's martial arts training ground at 7:00 AM three days later.

After Steward Wang left.

After reading it, Su Wanqing handed the post to Chen Hao.

What do you think?

Chen Hao took the post, read it again, and frowned slightly.

Commander of the guards.

The Su family has about several dozen guards, but for some unknown reason, they suddenly need to select two guard leaders.

Thinking back to Madam Su's previous actions of gathering middle-aged retainers to marry into the family, and then considering the tragic state of the mountain branches after this crop failure,

Chen Hao had a vague feeling that something big was about to happen in the Su family.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be in such a hurry to gather military forces right after the harvest season.

"You want to go?"

Su Wanqing looked at his expression and asked.

Chen Hao folded the invitation and placed it on the stone table.

"Go, the higher our status in the Su family, the easier our lives will be in the future."

Su Wanqing was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Then let's go. But there are a lot of competitors from the Su family this time. We want this position, and so do others. We need to be careful that someone doesn't sabotage us."

Chen Hao nodded, indicating that he understood.