Chapter 22: Rumors
When Hua Changxi returned to the Sixth Bureau after helping out in the storeroom, it was already past the hour of Hai (9 PM to 11 PM), and everyone in her dormitory room had returned.
They hadn’t gone to sleep yet and were chatting. The moment Hua Changxi entered, the room fell silent as if a pause button had been pressed. After a while, the chatter resumed.
During this time, not a single person greeted Hua Changxi.
Hua Changxi naturally felt a bit uncomfortable with such obvious isolation, but she didn’t pay it much mind. She had come to the Labor Department to cultivate and inherit medical skills, not to make friends.
Hua Changxi didn’t linger in the room. She picked up her water basin and left the dormitory, taking the Spirit Origin Grass she had just obtained directly to the canteen.
As soon as she left, Wang Yun Chu’s voice grew louder.
“What do you think she was doing all afternoon today?”
“I heard she was getting along famously with the male laborers in the storeroom.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, I really couldn’t tell that someone so young would be so adept at handling things.”
Lu Qingluo felt that Wang Yun Chu’s words were a bit much and immediately said, “Yun Chu, don’t talk about Changxi like that.”
Wang Yun Chu became even more animated. “Am I speaking nonsense? Didn’t you see the bundle she was carrying? Who do you think gave it to her?”
She said this with a smile.
“The people in the storeroom are not easy to deal with. Why would they give her anything for no reason?”
“Also, she wakes up so late every day, yet the medicinal herbs she brings back are always easy to wash and process. Can you say there’s nothing going on here?”
Lu Qingluo fell silent. Everyone in the dormitory had experienced receiving difficult-to-process medicinal herbs when they went to collect them late, so they knew exactly what kind of herbs would be left.
“Alright, let’s stop talking about Hua Changxi. Hurry up and wash up and go to sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”
Someone intervened to smooth things over, and Wang Yun Chu didn’t continue.
On the other side, Hua Changxi entered the canteen and found Granny Sun, who was guarding the kitchen. “Granny Sun, may I borrow the stove? Is that okay?”
Granny Sun was a bit displeased at being disturbed so late at night, but she knew Steward Qin was very fond of the young woman before her, and the other kitchen staff mostly praised her. Therefore, she didn’t immediately refuse.
“What do you need the stove for?”
Hua Changxi revealed the withered Spirit Origin Grass in her basin. “I’m here to brew medicine.”
Granny Sun frowned. “These herbs are withered, can they still be used?”
Hua Changxi shook her head. “I don’t know. I can’t afford fresh medicinal herbs, so I can only use these withered ones. I have great strength and my body consumes a lot, so I need to drink medicine frequently, otherwise, I’ll get dizzy and have ringing in my ears.”
Granny Sun: “Is that so? Where did you get these withered herbs?”
Hua Changxi: “These were discarded due to improper storage in the storeroom. I helped the storeroom staff move some medicinal herbs today, and this is their reward for me.”
Upon hearing this, Granny Sun immediately began to curse. “Those people in the storeroom are becoming heartless. You helped them, and they sent you away with discarded medicinal herbs.”
Hua Changxi’s lips curved slightly. “Thank you for your concern, Granny Sun, but it’s alright. I know the people in the storeroom have their own difficulties. I’m already very grateful that they could give me these withered herbs.”
Granny Sun looked at Hua Changxi and finally led her into the kitchen.
“Everything in the kitchen has its designated place. You are not allowed to touch anything randomly.”
Hua Changxi quickly assured her. “Granny Sun, don’t worry, I won’t touch anything randomly.”
“Granny Sun, I’m so sorry to bother you so late at night. You should go rest, I’ll be back once I’m done.”
Granny Sun: “It’s fine, I’ll stay with you. I can’t sleep anyway.”
Hua Changxi knew Granny Sun was worried about her, concerned she might misuse things in the kitchen. She didn’t say anything and began to process the Spirit Origin Grass.
Spirit Origin Grass is the main ingredient for Spirit Origin Pills. She couldn’t refine pills, but she could make medicinal powder.
First step: soaking.
Second step: burning fire to dry.
In this step, Hua Changxi used the Fire Control Technique, slowly drying the Spirit Origin Grass until it was crisp, but without letting it burn to a crisp.
Third step: grinding into powder.
While processing this step, a line of text appeared in Hua Changxi’s vision: Meridian Chart Compendium Beginner: Disassemble Medicinal Herbs 1/10.
After grinding all ten stalks of Spirit Origin Grass into powder, Hua Changxi’s mind was filled with meridian charts of mortal plants and beasts. At the same time, she learned another new technique—the Disintegration Technique.
The Disintegration Technique was even more profound than the art of butchering an ox. It could not only dissect but also turn dissected medicinal herbs and animal tissues into fine powder.
Although Hua Changxi had baked the Spirit Origin Grass until it was crisp and brittle, she had to crush the herbs by hand because there was no mortar and pestle in the kitchen. Therefore, the powder from the first ten stalks of Spirit Origin Grass was not uniform, nor was it fine enough.
After learning the Disintegration Technique, Hua Changxi controlled her Spiritual Power, and the medicinal herbs in her hands instantly turned into fine powder.
An hour later, under Granny Sun’s astonished gaze, Hua Changxi left the canteen carrying a pound of Spirit Origin Powder.
“It seems Changxi really didn’t lie to Steward Qin. She truly knows medical skills.”
As an elder in the Labor Department, Granny Sun had some experience.
The Labor Department and the Apprentice Hall were separated by a plaza. Granny Sun had also seen apprentices making medicine in the Apprentice Hall. Their techniques and proficiency were no match for Changxi’s.
Returning to the dormitory, she saw that everyone else was asleep. Hua Changxi quietly climbed into bed, eager to test the effects of the Spirit Origin Powder.
This was her first time taking a spiritual plant. Hua Changxi didn’t dare to take too much, scooping 10 grams of the powder into her mouth.
The powder melted in her mouth, turning into a warm current. The warm current was like a surging flood, rushing straight down and quickly sweeping through her entire body.
The warm current came too fiercely, and Hua Changxi clearly felt her body instantly swell and ache, as if it were about to burst.
After a moment of panic, Hua Changxi quickly lay prone on the bed and began to circulate the Little Bird Breathing and Exhalation Method.
One cycle, two cycles…
After the warm current circulated ten times in her body, the feeling of swelling and pain began to weaken.
At this point, Hua Changxi’s worried heart finally settled, and she began to immerse herself in cultivation.
The next day, upon waking, the room was empty as usual. Hua Changxi glanced at her stats, and her lips immediately curled up.
Realm: Qi Refining Realm 133/1000.
After refining and absorbing 10 grams of Spirit Origin Powder, her Spiritual Power Points increased by 20 points at once.
She was quite satisfied with this result; it was equivalent to four days of her usual cultivation!
Hua Changxi calculated that one pound of Spirit Origin Powder could help her increase her Spiritual Power Points by 1000.
After her Spiritual Power Points reached 1000, would she be able to enter the next realm?
“Helping Yu Hui this time was a huge profit!”
Hua Changxi carefully put away the Spirit Origin Powder and then, with a smile, went to the canteen for breakfast.
As soon as she entered the canteen, she was warmly welcomed by Steward Qin and others.
“Changxi, I often feel unwell. Can you take a look at me? Do you think I’ve contracted some illness?”
Granny Sun had told Steward Qin and the others about Hua Changxi borrowing the kitchen to make medicine last night. Upon learning that she could actually make medicine, and that she was no worse than the apprentices in the Apprentice Hall, their trust in her medical skills deepened.
Hua Changxi smiled and performed the four diagnostic methods on everyone, prescribing a few remedies. In return, her breakfast became even more lavish, with eggs and salted eggs, which she had never seen in the canteen before, appearing before her.
Hua Changxi liked this kind of mutually beneficial situation. She smiled and accepted everyone’s good intentions.
However, this happiness didn’t last long, as it vanished when she went to the front courtyard.
“It’s her. She’s gotten involved with the people in the storeroom. She spent most of yesterday there and only returned after dark. Who knows what she was doing inside?”
“I heard she wakes up late every day, but the medicinal herbs she gets from the storeroom are easier to wash and process than what we get even though we go earlier.”
“The male laborers in the storeroom don’t do anything without a reason. They wouldn’t take care of a young woman for no reason.”
Then, the speaker began to wink and exchange knowing glances, with meaningful smiles.
Hua Changxi looked at the pointing fingers of the crowd and listened to their insinuating whispers. Her brow furrowed into a knot. She glanced at Wang Yun Chu and the others, who were also whispering, and then left the Sixth Bureau without a word.
