Chapter 9: Identifying Herbs by Scent

The moment Tang Yan named his price, a brief silence fell over the shop.

Every eye turned toward him. From the start, this young man had carried himself with an air of extreme flippancy — clearly some pampered second-generation heir who had wandered into Miaodan Pavilion looking for trouble. But Miaodan Pavilion held a position of great prestige and considerable power. This scoundrel had clearly kicked an iron plate.

Three thousand silver taels… When that figure left Tang Yan's lips, Ge Ming thought for a moment he had misheard.

A feeling welled up inside him — the sensation of a cat being played by a mouse. Ge Ming nearly flew into a rage. He slammed his palm on the table and roared, "Boy, do you have any idea what kind of place Miaodan Pavilion is?! How dare you cause a scene here!"

"Grandmaster Ge, whatever do you mean?" Tang Yan looked at Ge Ming with an expression of startled innocence. "Don't frighten me. You set a sky-high price, so I countered with a low one — how is that causing a scene?"

"A second-grade pill — do you think three thousand silver taels is enough to buy one? Such an insulting price is a mockery of the pills sold by Miaodan Pavilion. If you cannot give Old Ge a reasonable explanation today, I'm afraid the doors of this pavilion will not be so easy to walk out of!"

Hearing the unmistakable threat in Ge Ming's words, Tang Yan let out a faint, dismissive smile. "Grandmaster Ge, these pills all came from the same cauldron batch, didn't they."

"I already said as much — they were just freshly refined not long ago."

"What I mean is — that single cauldron batch only yielded these three usable pills." Tang Yan said it plainly, without inflection.

The fury that had been blazing in Grandmaster Ge's eyes vanished in an instant. His pupils contracted sharply, and his heart filled with disbelief.

His pill refining chamber was completely sealed off — he had been entirely alone. How could this young man possibly know? Turning the matter over in his mind, the only interaction between them had been a few brief words of conversation… and the moment this young man had sniffed the mouth of the bottle.

Could it be — that a single sniff of the bottle's opening had told him that the entire batch had been ruined, with only three pills salvaged?

Suppressing that absurd notion, Ge Ming forced a calm tone. "A single cauldron yielding three mid-tier second-grade pills — isn't that perfectly normal? Do you think mid-tier second-grade pills are candy beans, something anyone can just casually refine?"

"The fragrance of the pills is far too intense, with just a faint trace of a scorched smell — clearly, during the final step of pill formation, the fire was withdrawn a moment too late. At that point, there are two choices. The first is to let the pills continue forming, but there's a ninety-nine percent chance the entire batch burns to waste. The second option is to sacrifice part of the materials and create a protective buffer for the forming pills — this reduces the final count and causes uneven heating that diminishes the potency. Grandmaster Ge chose the second option."

"Word outside has it that Grandmaster Ge is a mid-tier second-grade Alchemist of great renown. Given such an esteemed standing, if I were to purchase these pills at one hundred thousand silver taels, I imagine a man of your benevolent character would feel uneasy in his heart — and that unease might even become a mental block on your path of Alchemy. So why not let this young one simply offer a low price instead?" Tang Yan spoke with calm reason, his words flowing naturally.

Everyone around them felt as though they had stumbled into a dream, unsure what to believe. This young man had deduced all of this purely through his sense of smell?

Inside Ge Ming's chest, a storm was raging. The reason was simple: every single thing this young man had said was exactly right — not a single detail off.

Watching Tang Yan's self-assured composure, Ge Ming's heart stirred. He probed further: "Old Ge is already a mid-tier second-grade Alchemist. How could I possibly make an error in fire control when refining mid-grade pills?"

"Under normal circumstances, refining mid-grade pills would be effortless for Grandmaster Ge. The reason for the failure could only be one of two things: first, Grandmaster Ge was not in peak physical condition and could not maintain full concentration throughout the refinement; second, there was a problem with the pill cauldron."

"But Grandmaster Ge appears to be in fine condition right now. So my guess is that the cauldron was the issue — Grandmaster Ge recently switched to a new pill cauldron, didn't he?" Having said his piece, Tang Yan fell silent.

At that moment, Ge Ming's eyes went blank. A casual follow-up question, and this young man had guessed correctly again? He was absolutely certain that no one could have been watching him during the refinement.

And the fact that he had switched his pill cauldron — that had only happened last night. Even the shop attendants didn't know.

This young man's mind was so sharp, so meticulous… yet his cultivation core had been shattered? Wait — if his cultivation core was destroyed, could it be that this young man was here seeking a pill to restore it?

Based on his own experience, any pill capable of restoring a shattered cultivation core would need to be at least sixth-grade or above. Moreover, such pills were a niche specialty, extraordinarily difficult to refine, and their value could rival that of a seventh-grade pill.

Did Miaodan Pavilion even have a sixth-grade Alchemist?

This young man's wish was destined to go unfulfilled.

No wonder he had sensed no fluctuation of True Qi from this young man.

"Young friend, your eyes are as sharp as a torch. Old Ge is impressed. These three pills — consider them a gift from me, not a single coin required. Think of it as a good karmic connection." Ge Ming let out a sigh and extended the porcelain bottle back toward Tang Yan.

The onlookers stared at the porcelain bottle, their eyes burning with longing. This young man, with just a few simple words, had earned three mid-tier second-grade pills for free?

"Then I thank Old Ge." Tang Yan cupped his hands in gratitude and tucked the porcelain bottle into his robe without the slightest hesitation.

"Young friend, I imagine you came here hoping to find a pill to restore your cultivation core — I'm truly sorry, but something like that would be very difficult to come by." Ge Ming smiled with a touch of helplessness.

Tang Yan paused at those words, then smiled. "Old Ge, I actually came here for something else entirely — I'd like to discuss a business proposition."

"Oh?" Ge Ming looked at Tang Yan with curiosity. Something told him this young man was no ordinary sort, and whatever he had in mind was unlikely to be a small matter. He gestured with one hand: "Please, let us speak inside."

Leaving Little Cui to wait outside, Tang Yan and Ge Ming walked one after the other into the inner room.

Once inside, an attendant brought tea. Ge Ming smiled and asked, "I still don't know this young brother's name."

"Tang Yan."

Ge Ming paused. Tang Yan? Wasn't that the name of the notorious scoundrel from the Tang Clan? Then again, with so many people in the world, sharing a name was hardly rare. This was probably a young master from some other family. He smiled and said, "What sort of business did Young Brother Tang wish to discuss with Old Ge?"

"I'd like to borrow a pill cauldron." Tang Yan came straight to the point.

"Borrow a pill cauldron? How so?" Ge Ming grew even more curious.

"I'd like to borrow a pill cauldron for four hours. The refinement can take place inside Miaodan Pavilion — there's no need to move the cauldron. I need to refine a batch of pills, and I hope Old Ge can make an exception for me."

After a long moment of deliberation, Ge Ming spoke: "Alchemy requires Soul Force, perception, and True Qi to sustain it. With your cultivation core destroyed, even having a cauldron may not be of any use."

"That's nothing to worry about. The pills I intend to refine are of a low grade, and the demands on one's own condition are not particularly high."

"Four hours…" Ge Ming rested his chin in his hand and thought for a moment, then made up his mind. "That I can agree to. But since this is a business arrangement, what does Miaodan Pavilion stand to gain?"

Tang Yan's mind worked quickly. The pill he intended to refine this time was a first-grade mid-tier Spirit Initiation Pill — its effects were gentler and more easily absorbed than a Qi Gathering Pill. Among first-grade pills, nothing was better suited for Primary Realm cultivators than the Spirit Initiation Pill.

But what could he offer as payment? If he used Spirit Initiation Pills, would Miaodan Pavilion covet his formula?

He glanced up sharply — and noticed a faint red glimmer in Ge Ming's eyes. Tang Yan's brow furrowed. He knew that kind of red glimmer all too well, and in an instant, an idea came to him. "I'll give it to you once the refinement is finished. If Old Ge finds my payment unsatisfactory at that point, you're welcome to keep every pill I've refined as compensation."

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Edited by Fat Goose