Unbeknownst to him, night had quietly fallen.
Li Chen sat cross-legged in his room, practicing the Breathing Technique.
Suddenly!
A frail shadow appeared at the door. Then, an anxious knocking sound ensued.
"Benefactor, are you asleep?"
Li Chen slowly opened his eyes. The voice sounded timid and was not from the Ning siblings, but from that little girl, Zhang Lingshui, who had lunged at Zhang Zhong during the day.
His first thought was that Zhang Zhong’s injury had worsened and the little girl had co to seek his help.
With that thought, Li Chen flicked his sleeve, and the door creaked open, revealing a delicate figure, still softly lifting her finger in a knocking motion.
Without waiting for her to speak, Li Chen bluntly asked: "How is your father?"
Zhang Lingshui replied nervously: "My father is well, he has already gone to sleep!"
Seeing that it wasn’t what he had expected, Li Chen’s expression beca perplexed: "Uh, then why have you co to my room so late at night?"
"The Clan Leader, my grandfather, sent here. He said you have saved the lives of both the Ning Family’s Castle, and my father, and asked to..." Her cheeks flushed crimson as she reached this point, stamring without being able to find the words.
Although Zhang Lingshui was only thirteen or fourteen years old, she was precocious due to her family’s poverty and was also quite intelligent, understanding her own fate.
Therefore, after Clan Leader Ning Changhe had spoken to her, she ca to knock on Li Chen’s door.
Li Chen’s face imdiately turned to anger, he scolded loudly: "What nonsense!"
Zhang Lingshui startled and trembled, imdiately dropping to her knees to apologize to Li Chen.
Li Chen quickly helped her up, saying, "Get up, this isn’t your fault!"
After finishing, he shouted into the corridor: "Enough with the hiding, co out!"
Fortress Master Ning Changhe and several Elders, having not expected to end up in such an awkward situation, reluctantly ca out.
Li Chen eyed Ning Changhe at the front and asked coldly: "I did not expect anything in return for lending a hand, it was just an easy effort for . If you really wanted to repay , you should have co yourself. What’s the aning of sending this girl over?"
Feeling guilty like a thief, Ning Changhe awkwardly smiled apologetically: "Benefactor, you misunderstand. I saw that you were in need of a maid to serve tea and water, and Lingxiu here is eager to show gratitude. Moreover, she is very clever, so I took the liberty of deciding to send her over. I’m sorry for the inconvenience!"
Li Chen had no interest in arguing and turned to face Zhang Lingshui.
Zhang Lingshui shyly hung her head, her hands nervously fidgeting as if she were a schoolgirl who had done sothing wrong, awaiting a teacher’s scolding.
Li Chen gently patted her little head and said: "You possess a Spirit Root within you and have a good aptitude, so you have the potential to beco an Alchemist. Here, I’ll pass on to you an Alchemy Secret Manual. How far you can go will depend on your own comprehension!"
Everyone present was taken aback by Li Chen’s words.
Zhang Lingshui stood frozen on the spot, her sparkling eyes filled with astonishnt.
Ning Hua was the first to co to her senses, shouting to Zhang Lingshui.
"Lingxiu, what are you waiting for? Hurry and perform the Disciple’s Salutation, and thank Alchemist Chen for his great kindness!"
Zhang Lingshui snapped out of it and once again "thump" fell to her knees.
Li Chen casually took out the most basic Alchemy Secret Manual and handed it to Zhang Lingshui.
"Alright, here you go!"
This was sothing left by Master Sanchi. Li Chen’s own mastery of alchemy was far beyond his, and he had no use for these trinkets. However, it seed a pity to just throw them away.
Now seeing that this girl, Zhang Lingshui, was quite clever, he decided to help Master Sanchi find an heir, returning the favor for looting his cave abode.
For Li Chen, it was just a simple gesture. But for Zhang Lingshui, it was a turning point that could change her life.
Zhang Lingshui took the yellowed Secret Manual with both hands, her expression extrely tense, clutching it as if holding a baby that had been passed down for generations, afraid to drop it.
That night, Li Chen did not go to sleep but instead called Zhang Lingshui into his room to impart so foundational alchemy techniques and the commonly used Breathing Technique.
Unconsciously, dawn was already breaking in the east.
Li Chen glanced outside the window and asked nonchalantly, "Have you rembered all the things I taught you?"
Zhang Lingshui nodded vigorously like a pecking chicken: "Mhm, I’ve rembered it all!"
Li Chen waved his hand and said, "That’s good, go ahead, as long as you persist, with your talent, you will eventually achieve success!"
Zhang Lingshui nodded in confusion and, after a slight hesitation, she mustered up the courage to ask another question: "Master, can my future achievents surpass Sister Ning Yu?"
Although she seed fragile, this girl was inwardly very ambitious. Ning Yu was recognized in the village as the Heavenly Pride Girl, an existence she looked up to, and also her goal.
However, Li Chen only gave her a aningful smile without giving any answer.
Zhang Lingshui’s eyes dimd slightly; she assud that her goal was too unrealistic, and she lowered her head in disappointnt.
Many years later, she would understand what Li Chen’s smile truly ant when she thought back to this mont.
Not long after Zhang Lingshui left, the courtyard beca noisy.
The villagers were loading dicinal herbs and Demon Beast skins and furs into the carriages.
They were quite far from Ningling, a journey of six to seven hundred li, and the roads were infested with bandits, making them unsafe. Therefore, trips to the city were made only once every two months.
And these dicinal herbs and furs were all the savings they had amassed over those two months, filling up six carriages.
Ning Hua and Ning Yu, along with thirty-six robust young n temporarily selected from the village, were responsible for escorting the carriages.
After having a hearty breakfast, Li Chen also set off with them towards Ningling County.
The villagers all ca to see them off, with the elders from Ning Changhe reminding them to be cautious on the road and the like.
Zhang Lingshui was among the crowd, her eyes slightly red as if she had just been crying.
Li Chen turned to her with a slight smile, waved his hand, and galloped off onto the official road.
"Brother Chen Li, what are you planning to do in Ningling County?"
Ning Hua and Li Chen were of the sa age, so he didn’t call him Benefactor any longer, referring to him directly as ’brother’.
Li Chen replied offhandedly, "To buy so herbs for Alchemy!"
A robust young man nad Luodan pointed to the two big carriages of dicinal herbs behind them and shouted at Li Chen: "Alchemist Chen, we have two whole carriages of dicinal herbs here; do you see anything you can use?"
Li Chen gave them a quick glance; these were all materials for Ninth Grade Pills, with very few Eighth-grade materials, hardly worth his attention.
"Your herbs are of too low a grade; they don’t have what I’m looking for!"
Ning Yu felt sowhat displeased upon hearing Li Chen’s straightforward reply.
Moreover, from yesterday to today, she was amazed to find that Li Chen had never looked her in the eye, yet he had spent the night with that young girl, Zhang Lingshui, passing on Alchemy Secret Manuals to her.
For soone as self-confident in her appearance and always proud like Ning Yu, it was a feeling of being ignored. Consequently, she tried various ways to capture Li Chen’s attention, subtly highlighting her own excellence.
Last night in the ancestral hall, she had bluntly expressed her feelings, showing indifference towards Li Chen. Yet now, because of Zhang Lingshui, she felt an inexplicable jealousy. This seemingly contradictory psychology is actually quite understandable.
In 21st-century Huaxia, there is a very appropriate term for won of her type: a scheming witch!
"Alchemist Chen, what grade of pill are you planning to refine this ti? Our East Spirit Pavilion also has many alchemists, including one Seventh-grade Alchemist. I have a good relationship with him; perhaps he could give you so pointers!"
As she spoke, Ning Yu looked at Li Chen with boastful eyes, hoping to discern admiration and awe from his expression.
Before Li Chen could respond, Luodan and others were envious and full of flattering words, praising Ning Yu to the skies, almost to the point of losing themselves.
Nevertheless, Li Chen remained undisturbed, rely offering a light smile.
"No need, the Pill I intend to refine is not sothing your East Spirit Pavilion’s alchemist can assist with!"
The Cloud Spirit Pill he planned to refine was a Fifth-grade Pill. Such a level of alchemist might only be found in the Cloud Sea Sect.
For a Human-level Sect like the East Spirit Pavilion, it was impressive to even have a Sixth Grade Alchemist, let alone a Fifth-grade one.
In today’s world, aside from a few old beings in the Immortal Realm who had lived for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, truly no one in the alchemical field could provide guidance to him, Li Chen.
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