Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 197: Chapter 197: Coming with a Request

The carriage hurried away.

The river fish from the Azure Dragon River was exceptionally delicious, and Bai Mo couldn’t stop thinking about it.

So, he decided to spend the night at a riverside tavern to savor the taste once more.

As the first stars appeared, Xue Ning and the other man did not share Bai Mo’s high spirits.

No matter how good the river fish was, they had grown tired of it after so many years.

In a flurry of activity, they closed up shop early and rushed home, immediately starting to rummage through their things.

"Where’s my aged wine? I need to go visit Brother Ling and ask him about a few things."

Xue Ning’s wife put down their child and helped him find the thirty-year-old vintage, chiding him as she did.

"You hardly ever go out, so you have no idea what’s going on in the world."

"And now look at you, panicking when things get serious. I just hope nothing goes wrong..."

Xue Ning grew irritated listening to her.

"What do you know? We’re lucky to just get by. Where would I find the energy for anything else?"

Soon after, he was dressed and left with the wine in hand.

"You take good care of our son. I should be back around midnight."

With that, he met up with Xue Anping, and they went to find their friend who often traveled to Immortal Arrival City.

「That night.」

The stars in the sky suddenly dimmed as a light drizzle began to fall, washing away some of the muggy heat.

Xue Ning’s wife was a little worried. Her husband wasn’t a big drinker, and his tolerance for alcohol wasn’t very good.

By midnight, her husband still hadn’t returned.

Thankfully, just as she was growing weary from the wait, she finally heard a familiar knock at the door.

When Xue Ning came in, he was indeed slightly drunk.

His wife was shocked when she saw what he was holding.

"How did you end up bringing so much back?"

Xue Ning, still a bit tipsy, handed her the salted fish and other dishes.

"Heat them up and put them away. It’s all good food, untouched. We can eat it tomorrow."

After taking the items and putting them away, Xue Ning’s wife asked:

"What about the matter you mentioned today?"

"Did you find out about his background?"

The mention of this sobered Xue Ning up instantly. He said sharply:

"That Pill Master... he’s the real deal, of course."

...

Meanwhile, in Xue Anping’s home next door.

"With a man like that and a monthly salary like this, what more is there to say?"

"Help me pack my things. I’m leaving with Alchemist Bai tomorrow. I’m afraid I’ll be quite busy from now on."

Xue Anping said.

His wife, looking weak as if she was just recovering from a serious illness, packed his clothes for him.

"Are you sure there won’t be any problems?"

Xue Anping shook his head.

"Brother Ling is a bit of a snob."

"When he heard we’d earned the favor of a Pill Master, he went all out, buying a ton of gifts for me to bring back and telling me we should visit more often."

"He goes to Immortal Arrival City often, so he must know about the situation with that Pill Master named Bai. It can’t be a lie."

Xue Anping wasn’t drunk; he had been thinking a lot.

"If this really works out well, with my salary, in a few years I’ll be able to settle down in Immortal Arrival City, and then I’ll bring you and our child over."

"If I get really busy with alchemy matters, I probably won’t have any free time. You two need to take good care of yourselves..."

「The next day.」

As soon as Bai Mo stepped out of the tavern, he saw Xue Ning and Xue Anping waiting at the entrance.

From their appearance, he could tell they hadn’t slept well last night, but their spirits were still decent.

Bai Mo smiled.

"Alright. Since you’ve made up your minds, let’s get on the road."

Bai Mo had specifically chosen a larger rented carriage, so there was no problem seating a few people.

Bai Mo and Xue Anping sat on one side, while Xue Ning and the two boys sat on the other.

"And these two are..."

The two boys had washed up last night. After asking a tavern attendant to buy them two new sets of clothes, they finally looked presentable, though they weren’t very talkative.

Bai Mo spoke up, "They are also assistants I’ve recruited. From now on, they will be learning the art of alchemy."

"However, they will specialize in a single pill."

Bai Mo explained the arrangements.

"They will start by assisting the two of you. Once they have a foundation, they can start working on their own."

"I’ll have to trouble you both to look after them."

Xue Ning agreed, then thought for a moment.

"They’re all complete beginners. If they do this, they’ll be treading an unconventional path in the Alchemy Dao..."

There were such "unconventional" Alchemy Cultivators in the Alchemy Dao. They only refined a single type of pill and weren’t well-versed in pharmacology or Pill Principles, only able to manage their own small niche.

Therefore, the pills they could refine couldn’t possibly be very profound.

Bai Mo said, "It’s too difficult to train a proper Alchemy Cultivator. This is the only way."

"If they have other ambitions, that will depend on their own destiny."

"That makes sense." Xue Ning nodded.

Xue Anping stroked his long beard.

"I wonder, Pill Master, what kind of pill will you have us refine?"

Bai Mo chuckled.

"No rush. They are several pills of my own creation. I will teach you the Pill Formulas when we get back. They aren’t difficult."

"In the future, my pills will be refined by your hands and flow to all corners of the world along the Azure Dragon River."

Xue Anping’s hand, stroking his beard, paused as he sighed inwardly. ’Truly, a Pill Master is on another level. While we’re still struggling with the basics of alchemy, he’s already blazing a new trail.’

Qin Wen drove the carriage up along the Azure Dragon River, where the road was a bit smoother.

Along the way, they could also take in the scenery of the river.

Watching the people and daily life nearby, Bai Mo was suddenly reminded of something and said:

"Right, in a few days, Brother Qin, when you have a free day, head down the Azure Dragon River and buy one of each pill sold in the shops along the way."

"I want to take a look at them."

Qin Wen raised his whip and gave it a gentle crack.

"Got it."

The group traveled for another half a day. Before they reached Immortal Arrival City, Xue Ning and Xue Anping had already grown tired and drowsy.

Bai Mo, on the other hand, felt no discomfort and was resting with his eyes closed.

In the midst of this, the carriage suddenly lurched. The draft horses came to an abrupt halt, swinging the carriage half a circle around.

The people inside were startled. Xue Ning and Xue Anping, in particular, were jolted wide awake.

"What happened?"

No one blamed Qin Wen. Throughout the journey, the man’s driving skills had been praiseworthy.

Lifting the carriage curtain, they saw Qin Wen looking as if he were facing a great enemy.

Several figures were approaching, the last one leaping directly from a boat on the Azure Dragon River.

"They’re all experts!"

Qin Wen said in a low voice.

Bai Mo narrowed his eyes. Before he could say anything, he heard the leader of the group call out loudly:

"Is that Junior Brother Bai up ahead?"

Bai Mo realized what was happening.

"They’re from my sect."

Only then did Qin Wen let out a breath, relieved as if a great weight had been lifted.

Bai Mo went forward to greet them and saw several senior brothers he didn’t recognize. He had truly never seen them before.

However, they were very friendly.

"Haha, Junior Brother, you really gave us a hard time finding you."

Bai Mo cupped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute.

"I’ve been away for a few days. I didn’t expect fellow sect members to come looking for me."

"May I ask what business you senior brothers have with me?"

Hearing this, the four Cultivators who had gathered around looked a bit sheepish. They rubbed their hands together and handed a piece of paper to Bai Mo.

"Of course, we have a favor to ask of you, Junior Brother."

"We know you have something called the Five Obstacles Pill, but that’s not what we’re after."

He laughed. "This is a Pill Formula we... borrowed... from our master. It’s also a mineral pill. We were hoping you could refine it for us, Junior Brother."

Bai Mo’s eyelid twitched.

"How can you casually refine a Pill Formula belonging to a sect master?"

"Besides, Senior Brothers, why not ask one of the other senior brothers in the sect?"

The disciple who was speaking sighed.

"It’s not that we don’t want to. To be honest, we’re a bit short on funds."

"Don’t you worry, Junior Brother. The fact that I could ’borrow’ the Pill Formula means our master tacitly approved. There won’t be any repercussions."

"We know what you’re capable of. If you succeed, besides giving you the Pill Formula, we have other rewards for you as well."

Bai Mo thought for a moment. ’This is definitely doable, but I need to get some things clear first.’

"Who leaked my abilities?"

"Many people in the Outer Sect know by now."

The disciple blinked.

"As for who told us... how could we possibly sell them out?"

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