At this moment, a young girl with a dirty face and messy hair ran into the garden.
She was none other than Doctor Dou’s apprentice, Shi Xiaobi.
“Young Master Fang, the pills are ready!” she said.
“My master is calling for you, come with me!”
Seeing the little girl so excited, Fang Ling knew that everything had turned out fine in the end.
“Miss Bai, I must take my leave now,” he said, standing up and looking at Bai Ying.
Bai Ying nodded gently, a faint smile on her lips.
Fang Ling followed Shi Xiaobi through the twists and turns to the alchemy room in the Bai residence.
Inside the alchemy room, the usually composed and elegant Dou Qin looked somewhat sloppy.
However, her mind was not on her appearance but still immersed in joy.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Young Master Fang,” she said.
“I have successfully completed the task; the pills are ready!”
“And with heaven’s blessing, this batch of pills even has pill patterns!”
“Young Master Fang, please take a look!” With a thought, she opened the pill furnace.
Golden Vajra Bodhi Pills floated inside the furnace.
On the smooth pills, there were strange blue patterns.
“What do these pill patterns signify?” Fang Ling, who knew nothing about alchemy, asked.
Dou Qin explained, “When a batch of pills is formed, it needs to be awakened with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.”
“If lucky, during the awakening process, the pills will undergo some mutation, and blue patterns will appear on the surface.”
“These are the so-called pill patterns!”
“Pills with pill patterns have about ten times the potency of regular pills!”
“And that’s just with one pill pattern.”
“If there are two pill patterns, the potency can increase a hundredfold compared to regular pills.”
“The highest level is three pill patterns, also known as the Three Flowers Gathering Top Pill, with a potency a thousand times that of regular pills!”
“Look closely at this batch of pills; there are nine in total.”
“Eight of them have one pill pattern, and one even has two pill patterns!”
“This is the most successful batch of pills I’ve ever made in my life!”
Fang Ling had very low expectations, even suspecting that Dou Qin might fail. He didn’t expect such a pleasant surprise.
“Thank you, Doctor Dou!” Fang Ling cupped his hands in gratitude.
“These two Vajra Bodhi Pills with one pill pattern each are for you and your apprentice, as a token of my appreciation.”
With a wave of his hand, he sent two Vajra Bodhi Pills with one pill pattern each to them.
Shi Xiaobi looked silently at her master, while Dou Qin hesitated.
She had previously agreed not to accept any payment.
But as an alchemist, she dreamed of having a pill with a pill pattern to study.
After some internal struggle, she couldn’t resist the temptation and said with great shame, “Thank you, Young Master Fang!”
Seeing her master’s approval, Shi Xiaobi sweetly thanked him and put the pill into a pill bottle.
Fang Ling took out a wooden box and stored the remaining pills.
“Young Master Fang, these pills are extraordinary,” Dou Qin said again.
“Try not to let others know about them, or you might attract unwanted attention.”
She had already educated her apprentice about the importance of secrecy when the pills were being made.
“I will refine these pills as soon as possible,” Fang Ling nodded.
“By the way, I suggest you divide the pill with one pattern into four parts to consume. This way, the potency won’t be too overwhelming. Otherwise, I’m afraid your body might not withstand it…” Dou Qin added.
“And for the one with two patterns, be even more careful.”
“Just take a tiny bit each time you cultivate, never be greedy.”
“Thanks for the reminder,” Fang Ling responded casually, but he didn’t take it to heart.
He knew his body well; no matter how potent the pills were, he could handle it.
After the alchemy session, Dou Qin packed up her things, ready to take a good rest.
But Fang Ling didn’t leave; he seemed to have something to say, occasionally glancing at her face.
This made her a bit shy, mumbling, “Is there something else, Young Master Fang?”
Fang Ling: “Doctor Dou, your face is a bit dirty… you might want to clean it before going out.”
“Ah?” Dou Qin quickly turned around and took out a mirror from her pocket.
After working hard here for half a month, her face was naturally not clean.
“Damn, I actually met people looking like this!”
She was a person who cared a lot about her appearance and felt extremely embarrassed at this moment, hurriedly taking out a silk handkerchief to wipe her face.
The little girl also realized and awkwardly wiped her own face.
The master and apprentice had been working together for so long, always by each other’s side, so they hadn’t noticed this at all.
After cleaning her face, Dou Qin turned around shyly.
But by then, Fang Ling had already disappeared.
She couldn’t help but smile, thinking that Young Master Fang was really considerate, leaving her with a bit of dignity.
“Master, the pill for you!” At this moment, Shi Xiaobi handed over the pill.
Dou Qin patted her head and said, “Young Master Fang just said, one pill for each of us.”
“You’ve been helping me tirelessly for the past half month, you deserve it.”
“Keep it! This pill is invaluable to us.”
“You’re so young and already have the chance to study pill patterns. Your future achievements will surely surpass mine.”
Shi Xiaobi grinned and nodded, “Alright! Then I’ll accept it.”
“This Young Master Fang is really generous. If it were me, I wouldn’t be willing to give away such a pill.”
Fang Ling returned to his guest room.
He couldn’t wait to take out the box of Vajra Bodhi Pills.
He opened the box, grabbed all the pills, and put them in his mouth.
Crunch, crunch, the pills were surprisingly crispy and tasted unexpectedly good.
After swallowing six Vajra Bodhi Pills, a terrifying energy surged from his abdomen to his entire body.
“This energy is vast and boundless. I wonder how long it will take to refine it…”
He closed his eyes, fully focusing on guiding the energy to nourish his body.
……………………
On the other side, in the pavilion of the back garden.
After Fang Ling left, Bai Ying put away the zither.
Then she took out paper, brush, and a drawing board, and started painting.
It was unclear what she was painting, but her face was full of joy.
She had been well-read since childhood, skilled in poetry, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Although she painted quickly, without much fine detail, the painting was very lifelike.
The scene in the painting was none other than Fang Ling lying on the rocking chair, listening to her play the zither.
“Ying’er, what are you painting?”
A voice suddenly came from behind, startling her.
She seemed afraid that the content of the painting would be seen, hurriedly crumpling it into a ball.
“Nothing… Father, why are you so quiet?”
“You scared me,” she said.
Bai Jiang looked at her sternly and said, “I’ve actually been here for a while.”
“But you were so engrossed, you didn’t notice at all.”
“Ying’er, could it be that you’ve fallen for this Young Master Fang?”
Bai Ying’s face turned red, and she quickly shook her head, “No, I haven’t…”
Bai Jiang, being experienced, knew exactly why his daughter was acting this way. He sighed deeply.
“You’ve always listened to me since you were a child. Except for this accidental poisoning, you’ve never given me any trouble.”
“But I have to tell you clearly, you should stay away from Young Master Fang and never fall in love with him,” Bai Jiang said earnestly.
Bai Ying frowned and immediately asked, “Why is that?”
“Isn’t Young Master Fang my savior? He saved my life!”
Bai Jiang: “Young Master Fang did save you, but our Bai family has given him enough compensation.”
“So, Ying’er, you don’t owe him anything.”
“And don’t think, like in those absurd novels, that you have to marry him to repay him.”
“I don’t have such thoughts, it’s just… I just like being around Young Master Fang,” Bai Ying said, lowering her head, her hands clenched in front of her.
“Sigh! Let me be frank, we and Young Master Fang are from two different worlds,” Bai Jiang said.
“You and he will never have a future, and it won’t end well.”
“Of course, I’m not saying Young Master Fang is a bad person.”
“On the contrary, I admire him very much.”
“But someone like him is destined to roam the world and face countless dangers.”
“To be his woman, you are not enough, and it will only harm you in the end.”
“It’s also my fault as a father for being incompetent…”
“Although in the South Sun Kingdom, I am considered someone of importance.”
“But outside the South Sun Kingdom, your father, our Bai family, is nothing.”
“It’s my incompetence that deprives you of the right to pursue happiness…” Bai Jiang said, his eyes filled with sorrow.
Bai Ying’s eyes reddened, and she quickly said, “It’s not like that. Father, you’ve been good enough to me.”
“I’ve always been proud of you!”
“I won’t think about it anymore, I won’t have any more wild thoughts.”
Seeing his daughter so understanding, Bai Jiang felt even more upset, but he said nothing more.
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