Chapter 198: Venomous Tongue
“Hall Master!”
Seeing that Hua Changxi had finally returned to Qihuang Hall, the other seven medicine children all breathed a collective sigh of relief in their hearts.
Upon entering Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall, they all had missions. First, to learn the alchemy technique; second, to investigate the secrets of Qihuang Hall; and third, to gather information on Hua Changxi.
Who would have thought that Hua Changxi was no ordinary person? After meeting them once, she never came to Qihuang Hall again.
Hua Changxi looked at the seven medicine children following Pharmacist Xu into the main hall. “Do you need something?”
The seven medicine children sensed the impatience in Hua Changxi’s tone and exchanged glances. Finally, Hua Shuran, relying on the fact that she was of the same clan as Hua Changxi and was the legitimate daughter of an Earl’s Mansion, spoke first, “Hall Master, we are here to follow your orders.”
Hua Changxi looked at the seven of them. “You were not selected by me to join the hall, so I have no orders for you.”
As soon as she said this, all seven of Hua Shuran’s group showed expressions of surprise. Even Pharmacist Xu did not expect Hua Changxi to speak so directly.
The room fell silent, and the atmosphere became somewhat stagnant.
Both Hua Shuran and Hua Wanyue did not expect Hua Changxi to be so unaccommodating. They both felt that Hua Changxi could disregard others, but since they were both Hua Clan members, they were naturally on the same side. However, judging by Hua Changxi’s demeanor, she clearly did not consider this.
He Sirong and He Siqi exchanged helpless glances. When they learned that their families had arranged for them to enter Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall without informing Hua Changxi, they had guessed that it would displease Hua Changxi. However, they did not expect Hua Changxi to be so dismissive, not even bothering with superficial pleasantries.
Zhu Yu, Zhou Bin, and Wan Feng all lowered their heads, looking at the ground, their expressions relatively calm.
Hua Changxi observed the reactions of the seven people. “If there’s nothing else, you may leave.”
Upon hearing this, Hua Shuran and the others looked at each other and remained standing.
He Sirong took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Hall Master, the hall masters of other Qihuang Halls teach the medicine children alchemy.”
After hearing this, Hua Changxi looked at Pharmacist Xu. “For medicine children to practice alchemy, are the required spiritual medicines also distributed by the Medical Affairs Department?”
Pharmacist Xu shook his head. “No, each month, the Medical Affairs Department only distributes sixty portions of spiritual medicine for refining First Rank Elixirs to each Qihuang Hall.” Spiritual medicines are precious, so they naturally cannot be supplied for medicine children to practice with.
Hearing this, Hua Changxi chuckled. “Then, by that logic, the Medical Affairs Department doesn’t intend to cultivate medicine children. The medicine children in each Qihuang Hall are just laborers to do some rough work?”
“Uh…”
Pharmacist Xu gave a wry smile and did not reply.
The others once again experienced Hua Changxi’s sharp tongue. Laborers? They were not lowly individuals. Those who could enter Qihuang Hall all had strong backgrounds. They were only staying in Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall now because they had their own objectives.
Hua Changxi asked again, “Has this month’s spiritual medicine quota been distributed?”
Pharmacist Xu nodded. “Yes, I went to collect the spiritual medicines on the first day of the twelfth lunar month.”
Hua Changxi: “Go and bring thirty portions of spiritual medicine here.”
Pharmacist Xu wanted to ask what the spiritual medicine was for, but thinking of his current superior-subordinate relationship with Hua Changxi, he swallowed the words and directly got up to fetch thirty portions of spiritual medicine.
Hua Changxi examined the quality of the spiritual medicines. Their preparation and storage were mediocre, and over thirty percent of the spiritual medicines showed signs of spiritual energy dissipation.
It seemed the Labor Department was lacking people who truly knew how to handle spiritual medicines!
It made sense. For the endless stream of various spiritual medicines, unless one had inherited knowledge of spiritual medicines, they probably wouldn’t even know their names, let alone how to prepare and process them.
“The eight of you, divide these thirty portions of spiritual medicine. Whoever takes less this month will get more next month, and it will be like this every month from now on.”
Pharmacist Xu listened and seemed to want to say something, but seeing Hua Changxi’s unyielding demeanor, he could only quickly distribute the spiritual medicines.
Hua Changxi waited for him to finish. “Alright, you have received the spiritual medicines. You may leave now.”
Hua Wanyue couldn’t help but ask, “Hall Master, none of us know alchemy. Aren’t you going to teach us?”
Hearing this, Hua Changxi chuckled and looked at the eight medicine children. “I know you all come from extraordinary backgrounds, but in Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall, your status is that of medicine children. If you cannot recognize this, then hurry back to where you came from.”
She paused.
“You must remember that I did not ask you to come to Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall. Before you entered, you should have been prepared to be medicine children. Now, you are demanding of me. Are you certain that I am obligated to be responsible for you?”
Zhu Yu spoke up. “But the Hall Master has the responsibility to teach the medicine children.”
Hua Changxi: “That is for other hall masters, not me. This is just how I am. If you have any objections, the door is right there. You can leave anytime.”
At this, everyone fell silent.
Hua Changxi’s lips curved into a smile, her expression somewhat cold. “Don’t compare our hall with other Qihuang Halls. They are all in the same boat. As for you and me, if you don’t stab me in the back, I’ll be grateful. And you still expect me to teach you alchemy? You really think I’m a pushover?”
Pharmacist Xu and the other seven: “…”
With Hua Changxi having said all that, Hua Shuran and the others had no choice but to withdraw from the main hall.
After Pharmacist Xu and the others left, they looked at Hua Changxi helplessly. “Jiu Niang, this is not how a Hall Master should act.”
Hua Changxi was unconcerned and shrugged. “I’m just this special.”
Pharmacist Xu felt a pang in his chest. “. If you act like this, you won’t have any subordinates to use in the future.”
Hua Changxi looked at him and chuckled. “To use subordinates with divided loyalties, how much of a failure would that make me?” Seeing that Pharmacist Xu was about to say more, she interrupted him directly. “Uncle Xu, you just need to handle the miscellaneous affairs of Qihuang Hall for me. As for other matters, I have them under control.”
Seeing her like this, Pharmacist Xu could only shake his head and sigh.
After he withdrew, Hua Changxi’s spiritual sense swept over the four alchemy rooms in the West Wing. She found that three of them had prohibitions activated, which made her speechless.
To openly ‘plot’ right under her nose, how much did they look down on her? Were they afraid she wouldn’t discover the prohibitions, or did they think she would be helpless even if she did?
In Alchemy Room Number One, Hua Wanyue was complaining to Hua Shuran. “Is Hua Changxi’s brain faulty? It’s one thing that she doesn’t give us face, but are the things she said meant to be said in front of outsiders? Is she stupid?”
Hua Shuran did not reply. After a moment of silence, she said, “But what I see is that Hua Changxi has a lot of confidence.” She then looked at the indignant Hua Wanyue. “She doesn’t care about our reactions at all, nor is she afraid of us spreading her words.”
“We entered Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall without her consent. Now, she wants to make us unhappy and publicly humiliate us.”
Hua Wanyue’s anger subsided slightly. She said indignantly, “She has no respect for the clan. Doesn’t she realize that without the Hua Clan, there would be no her?”
Hua Shuran did not respond to this. Her father had told her that Hua Bin’s family, except for Hua Bin himself whose parents had passed away and received care from the clan, had not only received no help but had also been suppressed. Trying to coerce them with the sentiment of kinship was almost impossible.
In Alchemy Room Number Two, He Sirong and He Siqi were also discussing Hua Changxi.
He Sirong: “The Hua family’s status is still too low. Hua Changxi’s behavior clearly shows a lone wolf mentality. She is so reckless because she never intended to use us.”
He Siqi: “What do we do now? Hua Changxi is so dismissive of us. Whether it’s alchemy or anything else, I’m afraid we won’t achieve our goals.”
He Sirong: “The mansion spent a great deal of effort to arrange for us to enter Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall, so of course, we will stay. The higher-ups distributed sixty portions of medicinal herbs, and Hua Changxi gave thirty portions to us. What does that signify?”
“It signifies that she is very confident, confident that she can use the remaining thirty portions of medicinal herbs to refine the thirty bottles of elixirs that need to be submitted to the Medical Affairs Department.”
After hearing this analysis, He Siqi’s eyes widened. “In that case, wouldn’t Hua Changxi’s success rate in refining elixirs be as high as one hundred percent?”
He Sirong: “This point will be confirmed soon. If that’s the case, then Hua Changxi’s alchemy technique is far beyond what you and I can imagine. There are quite a few alchemists in the entire Medical Affairs Department, but who dares to claim they succeed in every alchemy attempt?”
“Even if Hua Changxi is unwilling to teach us, when the Qihuang Halls take turns lecturing next year, you and I can discreetly listen in, and I believe we can learn a lot.”
In Alchemy Room Number Three, Zhou Bin and Wan Feng were also speaking in low voices.
Zhou Bin shook his head. “Before entering Qihuang Hall, I heard that our Hall Master had a bad temper and a strained relationship with her family. Today, we have truly experienced it.”
Wan Feng also expressed his disapproval. “The Hua family’s upbringing is still lacking. The Hall Master speaks without thinking, completely acting on her whims. Although her words are blunt, she doesn’t consider the consequences at all. Look, the Hall Master will have to eat her own words later.”
In Alchemy Room Number Four, Zhu Yu sat alone by the window, holding the 《Mortal Plants Compendium》 compiled under Hua Changxi’s supervision. He appeared to be reading diligently, but in reality, he was contemplating Hua Changxi’s recent words.
“Grasshoppers on the same rope…”
Was this the rambling of someone with insufficient knowledge, or did she not take the other seventeen Qihuang Halls seriously? Did she believe that the Royal Family’s arrangements and distributions for Qihuang Hall would ultimately be in vain?
