[Pill Refining: You are skilled at successfully refining pills from recipes. Special Effect—Concordance: When refining pills, your success rate increases by 30%.]
This ability had no Evolvable Branches, but the directly obtained special effect assured Lin Hui that those two Spirit-Enriching Reishi had not been spent in vain.
The instant he selected the skill, a massive torrent of memories regarding pill refining flooded his mind. Countless small details, tricks, precautions, and precise requirements regarding alchemy took root, sprouted, expanded, and perfected themselves within his consciousness.
Although he didn't know what pills he had refined in the past, the current Lin Hui felt that no matter the recipe, he could try his hand at it with a glimmer of potential success.
Pushing open the door, he was in a great mood as he looked at Wang Hongshi, who was approaching with a food tray.
"Why are you delivering breakfast today?"
"Temple Master, you've finally emerged from seclusion. It’s like this: someone named Lin Hongyu has been waiting for you in the guest hall. She arrived the day before yesterday, but because you sent word that you were in seclusion, I didn't dare disturb you. She has been waiting until now," Wang Hongshi said in a deep voice, placing the tray on a low wooden table to the right of the door.
"Waiting until now?"
Lin Hongyu?
Lin Hui wasn't close to this female cousin from the main branch. Moreover, the person who had snatched his spot to enter the Chen family back then was this very Lin Hongyu.
What is she doing here? And waiting for several days at that.
He pondered for a moment. "Understood. I'll go take a look."
The other party should be very clear about the conflict between them. Lin Hongyu had reportedly entered the Chen clan main branch long ago. He could use this opportunity to dig some intelligence out of her regarding the true situation inside.
As one of the three major powers of the Inner City, the Chen family had always been rather mysterious in Lin Hui's mind. Even Wang Yueheng's Wang family and his Second Mother's Liu family, compared to the Chen clan, were like ants to a giant elephant.
Lin Hui speculated internally as he turned toward the guest hall, but his footsteps suddenly paused.
"Right. I recently had a moment of enlightenment and have reconstructed and perfected the original Nine-Section Swift Sword of the Clear Wind Temple. The power of this sword technique has now increased greatly; this is a matter very much worth celebrating."
"Uh... what does the Temple Master mean?" Wang Hongshi felt a bit confused.
"Clear Wind Temple has united three branches into one, and now our foundation has greatly increased. Shouldn't you all congratulate me?" Lin Hui said seriously.
"..." Wang Hongshi had always felt his Temple Master had a few screws loose, but in this day and age, who among martial artists didn't have a few eccentricities? Didn't Song Zhanlong lust after women as if his life depended on it, coupled with a violent temper?
"Still don't understand?" Lin Hui felt helpless. "Host a celebration, understand? I like lively events. As for whether people bring gifts or not, that's secondary. It’s enough for everyone to gather happily."
"This disciple understands. I will go down and give the instructions immediately." Wang Hongshi understood instantly.
Since the mention of gifts was highlighted, he definitely had to pay close attention and determine what the Temple Master liked.
Seeing that he finally understood, Lin Hui turned and left with satisfaction, heading for the guest hall.
"By the way, Temple Master, there is one more thing. Our apothecary over in Fu'an Town seems to have been set up; someone planted fake medicine and smashed the place. The Body Tempering disciple stationed there was also beaten into heavy injuries. How do you see we should handle this?" Wang Hongshi hurriedly asked.
"Distribute the news to everyone. See who is willing to go. Whoever resolves this matter will receive a reward of two hundred thousand coins," Lin Hui said casually.
A business trip for two hundred thousand—it all depended on which of these disciples was short on cash. The current Clear Wind Temple lacked many things, but money was not one of them.
Also, the quota of Body Tempering medicinal decoctions could be utilized now. The prescription gifted by Wang Yueheng was a formula named the Cloud Water Pill. Lin Hui planned to try his hand at it shortly to see if he could tinker it out himself.
He quickly passed through the corridor and arrived at the guest hall. Through the guarding disciples, he saw a young woman pacing anxiously back and forth inside.
The woman was dressed in black gauze that shrouded her entire body, and her face was hidden behind a black mask. Her figure was excellent, with curves in all the right places, and her eyes were long and moist. It seemed that after entering the Inner City, she had learned how to dress up and use makeup; she was much prettier than before.
At this moment, Lin Hongyu also saw Lin Hui slowly approaching.
She had gone to the Lin Manor earlier, only to have the door slammed in her face. Lin Shunhe was so busy he barely had time to breathe and wasn’t home at all. Unable to find anyone and out of options, she had no choice but to inquire about Lin Hui’s address here.
Upon learning that Lin Hui, whom she had looked down upon before, had actually mixed his way into the position of a Sect Master, the disparity in Lin Hongyu's heart grew incredibly intense.
She had entered the Inner City, yet she was living a precarious life, and soon she would have to go out to the mist zone to gamble her life.
While Lin Hui...
Lin Hongyu looked at the man approaching.
He was tall, his physique well-proportioned and powerful, the inverted triangle of his back muscles clearly outlined. One glance was enough to see that he maintained his body with strict discipline.
Looking again at the white robe Lin Hui wore—white clothes and a jade belt, his gaze piercing. Although his appearance was ordinary, his sweeping gaze carried a breathtaking dignity. He didn't look like a young man of nineteen or twenty at all. Instead, he wasn't much different from those veteran martial hallmasters.
Why...!? Lin Hongyu looked at the high-spirited Lin Hui and inexplicably compared him to herself.
Look at her own wretched state, then look at his current elegance.
Why is it that I, who clearly entered the Inner City, have ended up like this?! Could it be that the slot to enter the city wasn't actually an opportunity, but a trap!?
Originally, this should have been Lin Hui's pit, something he should have borne. In the end, it turned into me replacing him, blocking the disaster for him...
The moment Lin Hongyu thought about how she would soon have to leave the city to gamble her life, the suppression and unwillingness in her heart seemingly found a breach, all focusing on Lin Hui.
If... if I hadn't entered the Chen family back then, but stayed in the Outer City to struggle, with my strength and aptitude being so much better than Lin Hui's, I would definitely be doing even better than he is now!
If not for back then... how did it come to this!? How did it come to this!!!
The resentment in Lin Hongyu's heart swelled increasingly. But fortunately, she at least remembered what she had come here to do.
Forcing down her emotions, Lin Hongyu stepped forward to greet him.
"Cousin... long time no see, it's Little Yu."
"..." Lin Hui entered the door, and hearing this opening line, he felt a bit numb.
He looked down at Lin Hongyu, who was slightly shorter than him. "We aren't that close, are we?"
"We are all one family, we have grown up together since childhood. Why must Brother Hui be so calculating?" Lin Hongyu squeezed out a sweet smile, removed her mask, and looked at Lin Hui pitifully.
"I came this time to ask you to help me speak to Fourth Uncle, to ask him to please go to the Inner City and put in a good word for me. I really can't hold on any longer... in the Chen family, I'm always being targeted... everyone treats me badly... they all want to bully me..."
As soon as Lin Hongyu spoke of the Chen family matters, the rims of her eyes instantly turned red.
"If you want to find my dad, go find him yourself," Lin Hui said, baffled. "Why find me?"
"But didn't Fourth Uncle go out to discuss business? I couldn't find him... so I could only come to find you," Lin Hongyu said helplessly.
"But I'm not familiar with you." Lin Hui frowned.
"But you are my brother! Fourth Brother! I'm going to die; you can't just watch me die and not save me! Even if we had conflicts before, in a life-and-death crisis, just let those small conflicts and clashes pass. We are family, why be so calculating over every little thing?!" Tears were about to overflow from Lin Hongyu's eyes.
"I'm calculating?" Lin Hui laughed out of anger. "Is there something wrong with your brain? Do you want me to fix it for you?"
"Fourth Brother! Isn't it just that you hate me for taking your spot back then? That's all in the past; it's been so long, yet you're still brooding over it! What exactly do you want me to do for you to be willing to help me!?" Lin Hongyu also cried out in anger. "You're doing so well now, so glorious and respectable, why must you use that little matter from back then to make things difficult for a dying person!? Do you have any conscience at all!?"
Bang!!
A slap, fast as lightning.
Lin Hui struck the side of Lin Hongyu's face with one hand, sending her flying sideways. She crashed onto the floor tiles of the martial drill grounds outside the guest hall, dragging out a long trail.
The person stopped moving, having fallen into an infant-like sleep.
"Arrange for someone to drag her away and throw her back to the Lin clan grounds." Lin Hui retracted his hand and pulled out a silk handkerchief to wipe off the tears and snot he had touched. Then he directly threw the handkerchief away; this thing was stained with shit, and he didn't want it anymore.
"Throw this away too," he ordered.
"Yes."
Two servants who had entered the door hurriedly responded. One stepped forward to pick up the silk handkerchief, while the other went to carry the unconscious Lin Hongyu.
In a short while, the dirty things disappeared.
Only then did Lin Hui feel slightly better. Leaving the guest hall, he headed straight for the pharmacy. He quickly asked Chen Meng to wrap up some raw materials for the Cloud Water Pill. He prepared to try his hand at it.
The Clear Wind Temple originally had Body Tempering medicine, the Black Dragon Gate had it, and the Intent Blade Sect naturally had it even more. But these were medicinal powders with strong specificity; they couldn't be used mutually across the three branches, and blending the prescriptions was relatively troublesome.
Chen Meng had even applied to recruit two extra assistants specifically to configure the three types of medicinal powders. Those three medicinal powders had relatively strong effects and were simple to configure, but the price wasn't low, and they were only supplied to disciples within the sect. Thus, the disciples within the sect needed to constantly do tasks to earn money to purchase Body Tempering medicinal powders.
The reason Lin Hui placed such importance on the Cloud Water Pill was primarily that its medicinal properties did not conflict with the other three types of Body Tempering medicines; in fact, their effects could even stack. Just thinking about that was enough to make his heart race.
Next, he found a courtyard in the rear mansion and had someone buy a pill furnace first, sending it over to be set up. Following the prescription's records, he bought firewood, coal, and fire starters. Then he arranged the prepared medicinal ingredients neatly in bowls.
Finally, he invited Chen Meng to help keep an eye on things.
After tinkering for two hours—opening the furnace, placing the pot, adding water, and throwing in the initial medicinal powder.
Boiling, stirring. Boiling until the end.
Finally, a pot of incredibly viscous, yellow-brown medicinal paste was finished boiling.
"This isn't a pill?" Lin Hui frowned.
"It's very successful, why isn't it?" Chen Meng stood by the side with a look of surprise. It was the Temple Master's first time boiling it, yet he actually succeeded!? It was simply inconceivable.
Could it be that the Temple Master had a foundation in pill refining before?
"I heard that pills are round and rolling. I followed the steps to make this, but it's not right..." Lin Hui questioned.
"It's correct, it's correct." Chen Meng stepped forward, reached out to scoop a spoonful of medicinal paste, rubbed her hands together, and with a few quick motions, she rolled out a round shape. "See, isn't this round?"
She handed it to Lin Hui with a smile.
"Could it be that those pill pellets are all...!?" Lin Hui was speechless.
"Most of them are. Some stop halfway through rolling to go to the latrine and don't even wash their hands," Chen Meng laughed.
Looking at the pills in the large pot, Lin Hui was once again rendered speechless. But regardless of how it looked, at least, it seemed to be a success...
Next, he would take it to test a bit. If he confirmed there were no issues, he could try configuring the prescription obtained from the Hundred Flowers Sect.