19: Chapter 19 Pharmacy

Three days later, Lu Chen was officially assigned to the Pharmacy.

It was not a temporary favor; he was a registered miscellaneous servant.

Old Zhou added his name to the roster, stamped it with the Pharmacy's seal, and submitted it to the Outer Sect steward.

From that day on, his daily work was no longer grinding medicinal herbs or sorting them by age, but fixed within the Pharmacy—watching the Pill Furnace, drying herbs, and organizing the warehouse.

The work was not heavy, but it was trivial.

He had to wake up before dawn every day to inventory the medicinal herbs in the warehouse, record what was used the previous day, and place the newly arrived ones on the shelves.

Then he would go to the Pharmacy to light the fire, preheat the Pill Furnace, and wait for Old Zhou to come for Alchemy.

In the afternoon, he would dry the herbs, spreading the damp medicinal herbs on bamboo trays, placing them under the sun, turning them twice, and bringing them in before sunset.

At night, he would tidy up the warehouse, close the windows, lock the doors, and return to his living quarters.

The days felt like the same day lived over and over again.

But Lu Chen did not feel annoyed.

Because there were many medicinal herbs in the Pharmacy.

Old Zhou said that the medicinal herbs could be used freely, as long as they were recorded in the accounts.

Three-tenths of the Medicinal Pills refined had to be handed over to the School, and the rest belonged to him.

Lu Chen worked during the day and practiced Alchemy at night.

He refined one batch of peiyuan pill every day, sometimes two.

He handed over three Medicinal Pills from each batch to the public and ate the rest himself.

The effect of the peiyuan pill was not as good as the blood essence pill, but its advantage was the quantity.

One pill did not increase much, but ten pills added up to quite a lot.

Over five days, he had eaten fifteen peiyuan pills.

The Spiritual Qi in his Dantian had risen from fifty-five percent to seventy percent.

"Almost there."

He was still three-tenths away from Qi Refining Level 3.

At night, Lu Chen sat on his bed, holding a peiyuan pill in his hand, without eating it.

He was thinking about a problem—after the Dantian was filled, how could he make it "split open"?

Wang Qishan had written in the bamboo slips: "After it is filled, the Spiritual Qi will compress automatically, and the Dantian will expand naturally. There is no need for intentional impact; you only need to wait."

Wait.

But for how long?

Wang Qishan did not write it down.

Because he did not have a Grey Spirit Root.

For Cultivators with Spiritual Roots, the Dantian splitting open was a natural process.

Grey Spirit Root was different—the Dantian needed to be "stretched," stretched to the limit until it split open on its own.

The process of stretching required continuous pouring of Spiritual Qi into it.

The more it was poured, the faster it would split.

"I need more Medicinal Pills."

Lu Chen swallowed the peiyuan pill, closed his eyes, and began Qi Channeling.

Early the next morning, Lu Chen met Su Qing in the Pharmacy.

She was standing in front of the Pill Furnace, holding a mortar, grinding medicinal herbs.

Seeing Lu Chen enter, she lifted her chin.

"You're here?"

"Yeah."

"Old Zhou said your Alchemy has been good lately."

"It's alright."

Su Qing poured the ground medicinal herbs into a bowl, rinsed her hands with clear water, and turned to look at him.

"The Outer Sect assessment is in twenty-three days. Are you confident?"

"No."

Su Qing was stunned for a moment.

"No?"

"Only Qi Refining Level 3 is qualified," Lu Chen said. "I am at seventy percent now, still three-tenths away. With the current speed, three-tenths of Spiritual Qi will take at least fifteen days. The remaining eight days for preparing for the assessment won't be enough."

"Then what do you plan to do?"

"Change the Medicinal Pill," Lu Chen said. "The peiyuan pill is too slow. I need the qi gathering pill, or the blood essence pill."

Su Qing was silent for a few seconds.

"I have the qi gathering pill, but I can't give it to you for free."

"Name your price."

"The words on the bone fragment," Su Qing said. "You promised that every time you understood a line, you would tell me first. You have already understood it all, but you haven't given me a single line."

Lu Chen looked at her.

"Which line do you want?"

"The part about the forgetfulness pill," Su Qing said. "Is the Pill Formula for the forgetfulness pill written on the bone fragment?"

Lu Chen thought about it.

He remembered all the words on the bone fragment. From beginning to end, every line, every word.

"There is no complete Pill Formula," he said. "There is only one sentence—'Use emotion as a guide, use blood as a bridge, use soul as firewood, to refine the forgetfulness pill.'"

Su Qing's eyes lit up.

"Use emotion as a guide..."

"It means the pill guide for the forgetfulness pill is human emotion," Lu Chen said. "Family affection, friendship, romantic love—all can serve as a pill guide. The stronger the emotion, the better the effect of the Medicinal Pill."

"So the bone fragment isn't absorbing your memories, but collecting your emotions?"

"Yes," Lu Chen said. "When emotion is extracted, the memory becomes empty. It's not that the memory is lost, but the emotion within the memory is lost. What remains is just an empty shell."

Su Qing stared at him for a few seconds.

"How did you feel when you lost your family affection?"

"I didn't feel anything," Lu Chen said. "It was empty, but I got used to it over time."

Su Qing did not ask further.

She took a small porcelain bottle from her bosom and placed it on the table.

"Five qi gathering pills. Enough for you to break through to Qi Refining Level 3."

Lu Chen picked up the porcelain bottle, opened it, and smelled it.

The scent of herbs.

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me," Su Qing said. "This is a transaction. You give me a line of words, and I give you five pills. We're even."

She turned to leave.

"Su Qing." Lu Chen called out to her.

She stopped without turning back.

"Why do you want the Pill Formula for the forgetfulness pill so badly?"

Su Qing was silent for a few seconds.

Then she said four words.

"Because I need it."

She left.

The sound of her footsteps was very light and soon became inaudible.

Lu Chen stood in place, holding the porcelain bottle in his hand.

"Because I need it."

He did not press further.

Because everyone has their own price to pay.

He did not know what Su Qing's price was.

But he knew that she was also moving forward.

On the same path as him.

At noon, Lu Chen refined a batch of peiyuan pills in the small hut behind the Pharmacy.

Four pills were successfully refined, one handed over to the public, and he kept three for himself.

Including the five qi gathering pills given by Su Qing, he now had eight Medicinal Pills in his hand—three peiyuan pills and five qi gathering pills.

He arranged the Medicinal Pills in order.

Eat the peiyuan pills first, then the qi gathering pills.

The peiyuan pill was slow to take effect but gentle. The qi gathering pill was fast but fierce.

First use the gentle one to lay a foundation, then use the fierce one to break through.

In the afternoon, Lu Chen dried herbs in the courtyard.

Bamboo trays were laid out on the ground one by one, filled with different medicinal herbs—polygonatum, lingzhi, poria, angelica, and astragalus. Each type had to be dried separately and could not be mixed.

He squatted on the ground and turned the medicinal herbs over.

The sun was strong, making his back hot.

At this moment, someone walked into the courtyard.

The sound of footsteps was heavy, as if intentionally making noise to let Lu Chen know.

Lu Chen did not look up.

"Are you Lu Chen?"

The voice was very rough, as if the throat had been rubbed with sandpaper.

Lu Chen looked up.

A fat man stood in front of him.

He was about thirty years old, with a round face and a belly as bloated as if he were pregnant. He wore a grey robe that was stretched tight, with the buttons about to burst. Hanging from his waist was a steward's jade token, but not the kind Sun Qian had—this one was larger, darker in color, and engraved with "Vice Steward."

"Who are you?" Lu Chen asked.

"Vice Steward of the Pharmacy, surnamed Wang," the fat man said. "Old Zhou is not here today, so I'm watching over it for him."

He walked to the bamboo tray and looked down at the medicinal herbs inside.

"polygonatum. Dried well. Turned evenly, not scorched."

Lu Chen did not speak.

Vice Steward Wang walked to another bamboo tray.

"Lingzhi. This one is over-dried. The sun is strong at noon; lingzhi cannot be dried for too long, and it must be collected after half an hour."

He bent down, picked up the lingzhi from the bamboo tray, and smelled it under his nose.

"Wasted. This batch has lost at least thirty percent of its medicinal efficacy."

He threw the lingzhi back and turned to look at Lu Chen.

"Didn't Old Zhou teach you these things?"

"He did," Lu Chen said. "The sun was strong today, and I thought it wouldn't matter if I dried it a little longer."

"Thought?" Vice Steward Wang laughed, his face flesh shaking as he did. "Who do you think you are? You are a Grey Spirit Root, Qi Refining Stage 2, Outer Sect miscellaneous servant. You don't even have the qualification to 'think'."

Lu Chen looked at him without speaking.

Vice Steward Wang walked up to him, very close.

"Do you know why Old Zhou wants to use you?"

"I don't know."

"Because he is a Grey Spirit Root, and so are you. He saw himself in you," Vice Steward Wang's voice lowered. "But he didn't tell you—what the fate of a Grey Spirit Root is."

"What is it?"

"Death," Vice Steward Wang said. "Li Gusheng died in the Inverted Tower. Old Zhou's Master also died inside. People with Grey Spirit Root all eventually walk into that tower, and then—never come out."

Lu Chen's hands clenched slightly.

"How do you know these things?"

"Because I have also been inside," Vice Steward Wang said. "But I only walked to the first level and came out. I am a person with Spiritual Roots and don't need to pay that kind of price."

He took a step back and patted Lu Chen's shoulder.

"I'm not here to scare you. I'm here to remind you—the path Old Zhou has you walking is a dead end. The path you chose yourself is also a dead end. But if you are willing to change direction, I can help you."

"What direction?"

"Hand over the bone fragment," Vice Steward Wang said. "Give it to the School and exchange it for the status of an official Disciple. You won't have to be a miscellaneous servant anymore, and you won't have to practice the Grey Spirit Root Cultivation Technique. You will have Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, and Cultivation Techniques, and live the life of a normal Cultivator."

Lu Chen was silent for a few seconds.

"The words on the bone fragment are gone."

"It doesn't matter if the words are gone. The bone fragment itself has value," Vice Steward Wang said. "As an ancient relic, the Danding Sect is willing to pay a high price for it. You hand it over, exchange it for a future, it's not a loss."

"What if I don't hand it over?"

Vice Steward Wang looked at him and smiled.

His eyes did not smile when he did; they remained cold.

"Then you will continue to be your Grey Spirit Root miscellaneous servant. Refine your pills, eat your medicine, and walk step by step into the Inverted Tower. In the end, you will become a bone on the wall."

He turned and left.

When he walked out of the courtyard, he stopped without turning back.

"Three days. I'll give you three days to consider."

The footsteps faded away.

Lu Chen squatted down and continued to turn the medicinal herbs.

polygonatum, turn over.

Lingzhi, collect.

Poria, dry for a while longer.

His movements were steady, not stopping.

But he was thinking about what Vice Steward Wang said.

"People with Grey Spirit Root all eventually walk into that tower, and then never come out."

Li Gusheng went in and didn't come out.

Old Zhou's Master went in and didn't come out.

What about Old Zhou?

Did Old Zhou go in?

Or—did he come out, but paid the price?

Lu Chen did not know.

But he knew one thing—the "change direction" Vice Steward Wang talked about was not a way to live.

It was a retreat.

Go back, be a normal Cultivator, with Spiritual Roots, resources, and a future.

But the price was—giving up immortality.

How long can a normal Cultivator live?

One hundred and fifty years for the Qi Refining Stage, three hundred years for the Foundation Establishment Stage, eight hundred years for the Golden Core Stage.

After eight hundred years?

Dead.

Like a Mortal, rotting in the ground.

Lu Chen didn't want this.

What he wanted was immortality.

Regardless of the cost.

Evening.

Lu Chen returned to his living quarters, closed the door, and took the Medicinal Pills out of his bosom.

Three peiyuan pills, five qi gathering pills.

He ate the three peiyuan pills first.

One, one, and another one.

Spiritual Qi surged into the Dantian, rising slowly.

From seventy percent to seventy-two percent, then seventy-four percent, then seventy-six percent.

Three peiyuan pills, an increase of six percent.

Then he picked up a qi gathering pill.

Bit it open.

Swallowed it.

The Dantian exploded.

Spiritual Qi surged in like a flood, making the Dantian walls creak.

Lu Chen gritted his teeth, guiding the Spiritual Qi through the Meridians.

One circle, another circle, and another.

After the Spiritual Qi surged, the Dantian quieted down.

He opened his eyes.

The Spiritual Qi in the Dantian had risen from seventy-six percent to eighty-six percent.

"One qi gathering pill, an increase of ten percent."

Four more pills.

Eat them all, and it can increase by forty percent.

Eighty-six percent plus forty percent—exceeding one hundred percent.

The Dantian would be filled to the brim.

Then—split open.

Lu Chen put the remaining four qi gathering pills back into the porcelain bottle and tucked them into his bosom.

"Tomorrow."

It wasn't that he didn't want to breakthrough today, but he needed to prepare.

When it splits open, something will be lost.

This time, it might be friendship.

He looked down at the black thread on his left wrist.

Given by Qin Wu.

The thread hadn't broken yet.

But after tomorrow, he might not remember Qin Wu.

Not remember that Person in Black who stood in the snow waiting for him.

Not remember that Loose Cultivator who said, "Don't let him die."

Not remember that Cultivator who placed a thread on a stone.

Lu Chen untied the black thread from his wrist.

The thread was very thin; he wound it three times and tied a knot.

He placed it on the table and stared at it for a long time.

Then he picked it up and wrapped it around his wrist again.

Tied two knots.

"If I forget, I forget."

"The thread is still there."

"As long as the thread is there, the person is there."

He closed his eyes and began Qi Channeling.

Spiritual Qi surged into the Dantian.

Tomorrow.

No matter what is lost.

He will not stop.

The night was deep.

Someone came outside the door again.

The sound of footsteps was light, standing outside the door.

Like the previous days, there was no knocking.

But this time, the door opened.

It wasn't Lu Chen who opened it.

It was pushed open by the person outside.

Moonlight shone in from the doorway, drawing a white rectangle on the ground.

A person stood at the doorway.

Grey robe, tall, high cheekbones, eyes sunken in sockets.

Sun Qian.

"Lu Chen," he whispered, "Vice Steward Wang sent me to ask you—have you thought it through?"

Lu Chen sat on the bed, looking at Sun Qian at the doorway.

Moonlight shone on his face, half bright and half dark.

"Tell him, no need to wait."

"What is the answer?"

"I won't hand it over."

Sun Qian was silent for a few seconds.

"Are you sure?"

"I am sure."

Sun Qian nodded.

"Good."

He turned to leave.

"Sun Qian." Lu Chen called out to him.

Sun Qian stopped.

"Whose person is Vice Steward Wang?"

Sun Qian did not answer.

He walked out the door and disappeared into the night.

The door was still open.

The wind blew in, making the porcelain bottle on the table sway gently.

Lu Chen sat on the bed, looking at the empty space at the doorway.

The moonlight was bright.

But it couldn't shine into the depths of the room.

He sat in the darkness, the black thread on his left wrist wound three times with two knots tied.

Tomorrow.

Qi Refining Level 3.

Friendship.

No matter what is lost.

He will not stop.