The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

"Enough talk, let's go in."

As Xiao Fan spoke, he walked into the Hundred Herbs Hall.

The store is much larger inside than it appears from the outside. It has a three-entrance, three-exit layout, with rows of medicine cabinets lined up in a row, totaling more than a hundred.

Behind the counter was a shopkeeper in his fifties with a goatee, who was working on an abacus.

Seeing Xiao Fan enter, the shopkeeper looked up and said calmly, "Sir, what can I do for you?"

"Shopkeeper, I'd like to buy some medicine." Xiao Fan walked to the counter and, without saying much, directly named the medicinal herbs: "Three ounces of Red Essence Grass, three ounces of Earthworm, one ounce of Snow-Seeing Flower, one fifty-year-old Polygonatum, and one pound of Spirit Gathering Vine."

The shopkeeper was taken aback, then looked up, his eyes gleaming behind his glasses: "Sir, you want so many medicines? These things are quite valuable."

Name your price.

The shopkeeper thought for a moment and then did some calculations: "I'll round it up for you to one thousand taels."

One thousand taels.

Fan Jian, standing behind them, gasped in shock; they only had three taels of silver on them.

Xiao Fan remained expressionless, took out a silver note from his sleeve, and placed it on the counter.

"Here is a deposit of five hundred taels. I will pay you the balance when I go to pick up the medicine."

The shopkeeper took the silver note and saw that it was indeed a genuine silver note from Huitong Money Shop.

"When will you come to pick up your medicine, sir?"

"In three days. But I have one condition: I must personally select this batch of medicinal herbs; you cannot try to fool me with inferior products."

"The medicinal herbs used in Baicaotang are all directly supplied by Yaowang Valley, so we will never lie to you."

"Whether there are flaws or not, you can only know by seeing it with your own eyes." Xiao Fan said this and prepared to leave.

Fan Jian caught up anxiously: "Young master! How could we possibly have a thousand taels of silver? Where did you get five hundred taels of silver notes?"

"There's something wrong with this banknote."

"ah?!"

"That's a lie," Xiao Fan grinned. "A thousand taels can naturally be gathered within three days. Besides, the value of these medicinal herbs wouldn't exceed five hundred taels of silver. That shopkeeper is no good."

Fan Jian's legs went weak: "Young Master, you're trying to get something for nothing! If you can't pay it back within three days..."

"If you can't pay it back, then think of another way." Xiao Fan patted his shoulder indifferently.

Fan Jian was almost in tears.

But Xiao Fan knew perfectly well that these medicinal herbs were the main ingredients for refining the Qi Cultivation Pill, and a single Qi Cultivation Pill could easily sell for two or three thousand taels of silver.

But where can one find an alchemy furnace?

Although the Xiao family also has a pill-making room, it is managed by Sun Xingzhou. How could that old scoundrel possibly lend it to them?

We need to think of another way.

As he was pondering this, a carriage came down the street and stopped beside him.

The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a cool and exquisitely beautiful face.

Yun Ruoxi.

"Young Master Xiao."

Xiao Fan's gaze sharpened, then a smile appeared on his face as he cupped his hands and said, "What a coincidence, Miss Yun."

"Unfortunately," Yun Ruoxi said, "I came here specifically to see you."

"Looking for me? You like me?" Xiao Fan raised an eyebrow.

Fan Jian was so startled that he almost bit off his own tongue.

Young master, could you please not be so blunt?

A blush flashed across Yun Ruoxi's face, but she quickly regained her composure. She said coldly, "Young Master Xiao, we both know what happened that day. Your poem... is indeed quite good. However, I don't believe it was written by you."

"You don't believe me?"

"Young Master Xiao is utterly ignorant and incompetent; everyone in Donglin City knows this," Yun Ruoxi glared at him and said, "I came here today to ask, who exactly wrote this poem?"

Xiao Fan chuckled inwardly.

This girl is quite clever; she's not so easy to fool.

But this suited him perfectly.

"If Miss Yun doesn't believe me, you can always come to me another day," Xiao Fan said with a smile. "However, I have important matters to attend to today, so I won't say any more to Miss Yun."

"What is it?"

"Make money." Xiao Fan patted his waist. "I'm short of money right now, I need to think of a way."

Yun Ruoxi frowned slightly.

"Are you short of money?"

"certainly."

Yun Ruoxi thought for a moment, then took out a silver note from her bosom and handed it to him: "Here is five hundred taels of silver. Consider it compensation for stopping you on the street. We're even now."

Xiao Fan glanced at the silver note but did not reach out to take it.

"Miss Yun, I can't accept this."

Why?

"Because, even though I, Xiao Fan, am a scoundrel, I'm not one to freeload," he laughed. "Besides, if I take your money, how am I supposed to pursue you later?"

Yun Ruoxi's face flushed red instantly. She put away the silver note and said coldly, "Suit yourself."

As soon as he finished speaking, the carriage slowly drove away.

Fan Jian leaned closer and asked, "Young master, why didn't you accept it? That's five hundred taels of silver!"

"You don't know anything." Xiao Fan flicked him on the head. "If I take the money, wouldn't I become a piece of trash in her eyes? A real man's face is worth more than five hundred taels of silver."

"But we don't have much left..."

"Stop talking nonsense and come with me."

Xiao Fan led Fan Jianqi around several corners and arrived at a secluded alley in the west of the city.

At the end of the alley is a black-painted wooden door with a faded wooden sign hanging above it that reads "Chen's Blacksmith".

Pushing open the door, a wave of heat hits you.

Inside the shop, an old man with his shirt off was forging iron. The muscles in his arms were like old tree roots, and sparks flew from the iron block on the anvil with each strike of the hammer.

"Uncle Chen," Xiao Fan called out.

The old man stopped hammering and looked up.

His face was weathered and worn, his white hair was disheveled, and a hideous scar ran from his brow to his cheekbone near his left eye, making him look ferocious and terrifying.

"Young master of the Xiao family?" The old man frowned. "What brings you here? Are you trying to pawn your grandfather's sword again? I told you, I won't take this sword."

"It's not about pawning." Xiao Fan walked over. "I'm here today because I want you to do something for me."

"What happened?"

"To forge a cauldron for alchemy."

With a loud thud, the old man's iron hammer fell to the ground.

He looked Xiao Fan up and down with a strange gaze: "Are you crazy? What use do you have for this alchemy furnace? How can you refine pills without true qi?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Just tell me if it's okay or not?"

The old man paused for a moment, then bent down and picked up the hammer: "It's fine, but I've never forged a pill furnace in my fifty years of life. This thing is too delicate; it requires a professional to make it."

"I'll teach you."

"You?" the old man sneered, "You know how to refine pills?"

Xiao Fan didn't explain further. Instead, he walked to the table to the side, picked up a charcoal pencil, and began to draw words on a piece of iron.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a blueprint for an alchemy furnace appeared before him.

The size, angle, and material of each part—furnace body, furnace cover, furnace chamber, exhaust port, temperature control valve—are clearly marked.

The old man leaned closer to take a look and his eyes widened in surprise.