Yang Chan wasn’t surprised that Xu Gaocen arrived at the dicine Preparation Institute rather late. Interdiate Physicians like him rarely showed up early. Before his arrival, Yang Chan had been comparing various dicinal herbs. Since they changed in appearance after being dried, he mainly examined them by their look, scent, and dicinal Qi.
The fastest and simplest thod was to sll them. Rembering an herb’s scent also helped to engrain its associated information more deeply in his mory.
When Xu Gaocen entered the dicine Preparation Institute, Yang Chan approached him. Four others walked over as well, all of them apparently Xu Gaocen’s Pharmacist’s Assistants.
Yang Chan had seen these people before at the dicine Hall’s Martial Arts Training Institute, but he only knew one of them by na. This person had taken part in the dicine Hall’s monthly competition for Official Disciples, placing in the top twenty. His Power was also on the verge of Great Success.
His na was Li Junhao, and he was reasonably well-known. Yang Chan didn’t know the other three.
"This is Yang Chan, my new Pharmacist’s Assistant. He’ll be taking over Chu Mo’s duties. Shu Yu, today I want you to familiarize Yang Chan with the tasks a Pharmacist’s Assistant needs to complete. The rest of you, carry on as usual."
Xu Gaocen said, his eyes turning to a reserved-looking woman at his side.
’Hearing this confird Yang Chan’s suspicions. So Chu Mo really was Pharmacist Xu’s assistant. When he beca an Elite Disciple, the position opened up, and Yang Chan happened to be the one to fill it. It was a stroke of luck.’
"Yes, Pharmacist Xu."
Shu Yu smiled and nodded.
"You three, go prepare the herbs for the Bear Gallbladder Skin-Toughening Ointnt. Junhao, you get the Gentiana, Xue Jian..."
Xu Gaocen imdiately began delegating tasks and set to work.
"Junior Brother Yang, since you’ve just beco Pharmacist Xu’s assistant, the first thing you need to do is learn the layout of all the herbs in the dicine Preparation Institute."
"The one thousand two hundred fifty-three commonly used herbs are all in these three buildings. They’re arranged according to their dicinal Properties, so you’ll need to morize their locations. That way, you won’t waste too much ti when you need to retrieve them."
"Pharmacist Xu has no patience for people who are slow and prone to error. If you fail to et his standards after a while, he might reassign you to another Pharmacist. You must rember that, so be sure to diligently morize the locations of these herbs during this ti."
Shu Yu spoke with a serious expression. Seeing Yang Chan nod earnestly in response, she continued onward.
"These adjacent buildings are filled with less common herbs. However, Pharmacist Xu is an Interdiate Pharmacist, so he might need sothing from in here when preparing dicines. You’re not expected to rember the location of every single one, but it would be best to morize the locations of the herbs needed for External Refining."
"Take the Bear Gallbladder Skin-Toughening Ointnt we’re preparing today, for instance. The Xue Jian for it is in this building, right in this spot."
As she spoke, Shu Yu led Yang Chan inside. They saw that Li Junhao had already found the dicine chest containing the Xue Jian and had taken more than half of its contents.
Li Junhao rely gave the two a slight nod before quickly moving to an adjacent building to find the other herbs.
"There aren’t too many of these herbs—just over a hundred varieties in total—but their locations are rather scattered. If you use up the last of sothing, you need to inform the Steward of the dicine Preparation Institute. He’ll arrange for a restock, otherwise you might find yourself without it when you need it later."
"Of course, the best practice is to take a look inside these buildings every day when you arrive. You know that Pharmacist Xu cos in late, so you definitely have ti for it..."
Shu Yu shared her experience in detail, offering Yang Chan a few tips and tricks while also pointing out so important precautions.
Only after she had led Yang Chan on a full tour of the dicine Preparation Institute did she return to Pharmacist Xu’s side. By then, the Pharmacist was already hard at work.
Shu Yu then began teaching Yang Chan the relevant skills: how to weigh herbs, where to place them, how to sort out lower-quality ingredients, and so on. She covered a great deal of information and explained everything in ticulous detail.
Yang Chan listened intently. ’This is all knowledge I need to master before I can beco a Pharmacist.’ He took his work very seriously; it was simply his way.
By the ti Shu Yu had finished her comprehensive instruction, the blazing sun was already beginning to dip toward the west.
Pharmacist Xu Gaocen had also finished his preparations for the day and left without a word. The others saw this and thought nothing of it, being accustod to his ways.
From the mont he entered the dicine Preparation Institute to the mont he left, only three hours had passed.
Next to the spot where Xu Gaocen had been working, there were already many boxes of herb packets, all containing the ingredients for Bear Gallbladder Skin-Toughening Ointnt. They still needed to be decocted, but that task would be handed off to soone else.
Before he left, Xu Gaocen had told them that after they arranged for the delivery of these herb packets, they were to return to the dicine Preparation Institute in three days. Their ti was their own until then.
Aside from the initial burst of activity, there was quite a bit of free ti.
Seeing this, the others called for the Steward, had him arrange for the prepared herb packets to be sent out, and then their work for the day was done.
"If you want to beco a Pharmacist, you should spend this ti in the dicine Preparation Institute, morizing the locations of all the common herbs. You should also learn the various dicinal Properties of the uncommon ones. That way, when Pharmacist Xu explains dicinal principles, dicinal Properties, and other related topics, you won’t be completely lost."
Shu Yu admonished Yang Chan once more before she left.
Yang Chan nodded but didn’t leave with the others.
His knowledge of various herbs and their principles was far greater than Shu Yu or the others could have imagined. He didn’t leave; ostensibly, he was examining the different herbs, but in reality, he was watching the other Pharmacists prepare their dicines.
He had even morized all the herbs and their exact weights required for Xu Gaocen’s Bear Gallbladder Skin-Toughening Ointnt. He was confident he could replicate it. Although its effects wouldn’t be as potent as a batch made with Xu Gaocen’s skill, ’once I break through to External Refining, I can apply it to myself. I can also test if external application can increase my Potential Points.’
He had also committed the detailed ratios for the Qi Nourishing Soup to mory.
Upon leaving the dicine Preparation Institute, he received a bowl of Qi Nourishing Soup—one of the perks of being a Pharmacist’s Assistant. Assistants could also purchase dicinal herbs at the lowest possible price.
After a mont of consideration, Yang Chan bought one set of ingredients for Qi Nourishing Soup and another for the Bear Gallbladder Skin-Toughening Ointnt. He planned to go back and prepare them himself.
The Steward wasn’t surprised to see this, as it was what most Pharmacist’s Assistants did: practice preparing dicines to master the skill.
If their preparation skills were outstanding, they stood a much better chance of becoming a Pharmacist.
Most of the Pharmacists at the dicine Preparation Institute had started this way, so Yang Chan’s actions didn’t draw any attention.
Carrying the two sets of herbs and the bowl of Qi Nourishing Soup, Yang Chan returned to his room instead of heading to the dicine Hall’s Martial Arts Training Institute.
After returning to his room, Yang Chan practiced three sets of the Ox Demon’s Mighty Fist before drinking the Qi Nourishing Soup. Only then did he start a fire and take out the earthenware pot used for decocting herbs.
Now that he had brought back the ingredients for the Bear Gallbladder Skin-Toughening Ointnt, it was ti to try making it. He was already clear on the decoction process. When Xu Gaocen had been preparing the ingredients, he had written down the decoction instructions on a slip of paper for whoever would handle the next step, and naturally, Yang Chan had committed them to mory.
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