Chapter 164: The Hands-Off Manager
Everyone has their own opportunities. Hua Changxi didn’t want to know how Xu Ling obtained her pills, but she thought of the white-robed Monk who lured A Niu with the sound of a wooden fish and asked, “Uncle Xu, do you still have contact with Master Kong Hai, whom Lingling saved before?”
Pharmacist Xu shook his head, “Master Kong Hai hasn’t appeared since he left. Lingling was sad about it for a while.”
Hua Changxi: “How is Lingling now?”
Pharmacist Xu nodded with a smile, “Lingling is doing well. She usually helps me manage the apothecary shop, and now she can handle all the shop’s affairs.”
As he spoke, Pharmacist Xu shifted the topic to Qihuang Hall, “Jiu Niang, I will be working under you from now on. I’ll have to trouble you for your guidance.”
Hua Changxi wanted to ask about Xu Ling’s return to her ancestral bloodline, but seeing Pharmacist Xu change the subject, she realized he didn’t want to talk much about Xu Ling’s matters, so she didn’t ask further, “Uncle Xu, with your qualifications, why did you choose to become a Medicine Child?”
Pharmacist Xu smiled bitterly, “Qualifications? Past qualifications no longer count.” He lowered his voice, “The higher-ups have already issued a decree. Without a Spiritual Root, no matter how powerful a Physician or Pharmacist you were before, you cannot remain in the Medical Affairs Department.”
“From now on, the Medical Affairs Department will only accept people with Spiritual Roots, even for Laborers. I was lucky to have just obtained a Spiritual Root; otherwise, you wouldn’t see me in the Medical Affairs Department.”
Pharmacist Xu looked at Hua Changxi, “Jiu Niang, I know very little about how to refine Elixirs, how to treat Cultivators, and my knowledge of Spiritual Plants and Spiritual Medicines is limited. You’ll have to teach me a lot.”
Hua Changxi smiled, “There’s no teaching involved; we’re all just learning together.”
Pharmacist Xu also smiled, “You are too humble. Everyone in the Medical Affairs Department knows that those who receive a Wooden Token are either Alchemy Geniuses or Medical Skills Geniuses. You all possess extraordinary abilities that ordinary people cannot reach.”
“Now, people on Ninth Street all want to become Medicine Children at Qihuang Hall. I went through a lot of trouble to transfer to Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall, using all the connections I could.”
Hua Changxi chuckled upon hearing this, “What geniuses? What extraordinary abilities? It’s all just rumors; they can’t be believed.”
Pharmacist Xu thought Hua Changxi was being modest and smiled, “Jiu Niang, we’re so familiar with each other. You don’t need to be so cautious with me; otherwise, you’ll be very tired.”
Hua Changxi smiled and didn’t respond to that. Instead, she changed the subject, “Uncle Xu, I won’t be polite with you either. Please help me look after Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall from now on, especially the other seven Medicine Children.”
Pharmacist Xu was very happy to see her trust him so much, “Don’t worry, I will.”
After chatting for a while longer, Hua Changxi dismissed Pharmacist Xu.
Hua Changxi looked at the eight Medicine Children assigned to Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall, her eyes flickering.
“Zhou Bin, Wan Feng.”
These two were the only ones she didn’t recognize.
After achieving Minor Accomplishment in the Four Diagnostic Methods, Hua Changxi could now see others’ Spiritual Roots with her eyes. At this moment, the Spiritual Root situation of the eight Medicine Children was laid bare before her.
Hua Shuran and Pharmacist Xu both had Single Wood Spiritual Roots. Hua Wanyue, Zhu Yu, Zhou Bin, and Wan Feng all had Fire-Wood Spiritual Roots. He Sirong had Metal-Wood Spiritual Roots, and He Siqi had Metal-Fire Spiritual Roots.
It had to be said that the cultivation talent of these eight people was quite good. However, the moment she thought about the various forces behind each of them, she lost any desire to nurture them.
Even with Pharmacist Xu, she harbored doubts. Given the incident where A Niu was lured by the Demon Race’s guardian Monk, she remained somewhat uneasy about Xu Ling.
Hua Changxi didn’t linger at Qihuang Hall. With eight Medicine Children watching, even if she could set up a Concealment Array and an Isolation Array for Alchemy, she was unwilling to do so.
Seeing Hua Changxi leave, Hua Shuran couldn’t help but step forward and ask, “Changxi, what should we do?”
Hua Changxi looked at her, then at the other seven, and smiled, “Qihuang Hall was mostly vacant before, and there was no need for management. The higher-ups have assigned eight Medicine Children to each Qihuang Hall, and I’m not sure how to arrange you all. Please find something to do yourselves.”
After speaking, she left directly, adopting an attitude of indifference.
Seeing this, Hua Shuran and the other seven exchanged glances. Then, they each occupied a room and busied themselves with their own tasks.
As soon as Hua Changxi exited Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall, she saw Lin Sheng waiting outside.
“Master.”
Lin Sheng’s attitude was extremely respectful. Ever since he was rejected last time when he proposed to cultivate the second stage, Muscle Refining Chapter, of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique, he knew Hua Changxi would no longer heavily rely on him.
He was well aware that his only role now was to be a messenger between his Godfather and Hua Changxi.
“Godfather is taking a group from the Eastern Depot to the Ghost Market to purchase supplies in a few days. He asked if you want to go with them.”
Hua Changxi pondered. She had originally planned to go to the Ghost Market after refining a Fourth-grade Elixir, but the difficulty of refining a Third Rank Pill was much greater than that of First and Second Rank Pills, and she couldn’t refine a Fourth-grade Pill in a short time.
She had also encountered a bottleneck in her cultivation, and her Realm Points couldn’t break through ten billion. She really should go out and gain some Experience.
“Specifically, which day?”
Lin Sheng was overjoyed to see Hua Changxi agree, “The first day of November.”
Hua Changxi: “Alright, I understand.”
After parting ways with Lin Sheng, Hua Changxi left the Capital City and flew directly to Lingguang Hall on her cloud.
Upon arriving at Lingguang Hall, Hua Changxi’s expression began to fluctuate.
On the Red Stone Plaza between the Palace Complex and the archway, there were many figures bathed in fire. These were Cultivators from various places, all wanting to obtain the cultivation methods of Lingguang Hall.
When Hua Changxi summoned the Vermilion Bird Army Roster, she found that there were already over seven hundred people on the roster, which surprised her greatly.
Although the entrance to Lingguang Hall was still guarded by Imperial Court soldiers, so many people had still broken through the blockade and arrived at Lingguang Hall.
This showed that human initiative was immeasurable!
Hua Changxi released her Spiritual Sense and scanned the Training Hall area. Seeing that the Cultivators in the training rooms were all diligently cultivating, she withdrew her Spiritual Sense.
She had no arrangements for these people, nor did she know how to arrange them. For now, she could only let them develop on their own.
Hua Changxi entered the main hall, took out her Alchemy Furnace, and began refining Third Rank Pills.
Although she had removed the modifications Eunuch Lin had made to the Ghost Market Token, she still had to be extra cautious when going to the Ghost Market with people from the Eastern Depot. She definitely needed to prepare enough pills.
For the next few days, Hua Changxi stayed in the main hall refining pills.
During this time, at Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall, Hua Shuran and the others were becoming restless because Hua Changxi hadn’t appeared again after showing herself once.
They came to be Medicine Children partly to investigate the secrets of Qihuang Hall and partly to learn something.
But now Hua Changxi didn’t even come to Qihuang Hall, letting Pharmacist Xu manage everything while she acted as a hands-off manager, showing no concern. This greatly frustrated those who had gone to great lengths to enter Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall.
