"Steward Luo, who assigned this task?" Lu Chang’sheng let out a chuckle, glancing over at Luo Ming. "Aren’t they worried I’ll fail to complete it?"
Luo Ming gave a dry laugh and replied, "I’m not sure either, Alchemist Lu. Maybe you could go ask."
Luo Ming had expected Lu Chang’sheng to be angry, but who would have thought, Lu just smiled and turned back into the courtyard.
Luo Ming pressed a hand to his temple, feeling it throb fiercely.
"This Alchemist Lu isn’t a simple guy. Doing this... am I making an enemy here?"
Over the past month or so, he’d co by several tis, and each ti he saw Lu Chang’sheng he couldn’t shake a sense of guilt.
And it was only getting worse.
"I guess I can’t push too hard," Luo Ming muttered headache, as an old hand at managing affairs he knew the limits; previously, he’d only handled so minor sectors, but even so, he had a grasp of propriety. If Steward Yang hadn’t pressured him so much from above, he’d have never given soone like Lu Chang’sheng so many obstacles, so often.
······
"Whew~"
A wave of heat rose from the pill furnace. Lu Chang’sheng took the pill out, a faint smile appearing on his face.
Guiyuan Pill—success!
Two months—he’d gotten the hang of the Guiyuan Pill formula, barely able to refine it. Of course, at entry-level his success rate was abysmal, but with the Elixir Ascension Technique, he could bump up the odds a bit.
Lu Chang’sheng felt instantly reassured; currently, his cultivation had hit a bottleneck, so he wasn’t in a hurry to train. Instead, he put his focus into the alchemy dao.
"Once I leave the White Cloud Cave Mansion, it’s going to be tough to get so many free pill formulas or materials again."
So, he settled down and concentrated fully on alchemy.
As for the targeting from Steward Yang and Luo Ming, not only did he not get angry, he actually found it amusing.
Obviously, he wasn’t entirely ignoring it—the words he’d said to Luo Ming before were a bit of a warning shot.
He trusted that Luo Ming wasn’t stupid, and wouldn’t pack the schedule so tightly every single month.
Sure enough, by the third month, Lu Chang’sheng only got one assignnt for a new pill formula.
The other two tasks were for pill formulas he’d already refined.
Steward Yang and Luo Ming still had their concerns.
Without rules, everything falls apart—even with orders from up top, they wouldn’t risk going too far.
Before he knew it, three months had passed—it was ti for the first batch of assignnts to be handed in.
Steward Yang made a special trip from the mountain gate, hoping to catch Lu Chang’sheng missing the deadline and use it to put pressure on him.
He was careful about his approach, not wanting Lu Chang’sheng to hate him outright, but also giving him a hard shove to get him to leave.
If Steward Mo from the C and D courtyards knew what he was thinking, he’d just sneer at him.
Steward Mo, after all, knew that Lu Chang’sheng had helped the Qu Family refine a new Longevity Pill in just over a month.
Unfortunately, Yang and Mo weren’t close, so Yang had no idea about that.
He sent Luo Ming to Yun’an Institute to urge things along, but when Luo Ming returned, he was stunned.
"These are the pills for all three assignnts, and the herbs used were kept within the allotted range."
When refining new formulas, they’d always give a generous allotnt of herbs—unlike tasks with familiar pills.
Otherwise, nobody would bother trying out new formulas for them.
Steward Yang stepped up to check; all three batches of pills were perfect.
He couldn’t help but hesitate inwardly.
"I’d heard Lu was talented in alchemy, supposedly got a Grade A rating from Lin Yan before entry, but I always thought it was overblown. Seeing it now, he’s got real skills."
To crank out pills from a brand new formula in three months was a rarity at White Cloud Pharmacy.
He didn’t know Lu Chang’sheng hadn’t actually taken three months—just over one. Otherwise, he’d be even more shocked.
"Sha, this call wasn’t mine to make."
Yang sighed to himself. He wasn’t stupid—seeing Lu Chang’sheng’s efficiency filled him with unease.
"So what now?"
Luo Ming relaxed at last. For these past three months, every ti he faced Lu Chang’sheng, he’d felt like he was walking on nails—now that Yang was rattled too, he could finally catch a break.
"Tonight, get so spirit tea and spirit fruit ready—I’ll go pay Lu a visit."
Yang announced.
That evening, at Yun’an Institute.
Yang and Luo Ming knocked on the door, and after waiting well into the night, Lu Chang’sheng finally showed up.
"Sorry for the long wait," Lu Chang’sheng shook out his magical robe, a whiff of worldly smoke wafting off him.
"Not at all, not at all—Alchemist Lu, you’ve been busy," Yang bowed slightly. In that mont, it felt like old tis, back at the White Cloud Pharmacy.
Yang poured wine for Lu Chang’sheng and offered up spirit fruit.
Lu Chang’sheng smiled at him; Yang’s own smile faltered, then he shook his head and gave a wry grin. "Alchemist Lu, you’ve probably guessed already—the assignnts lately have been a bit unusual."
"But it’s not all targeting you, there are reasons. As you know, Elder Xiao Feng recently left with so disciples, and they took a lot of resources—including pills."
"Pretty soon, White Cloud Cave Mansion has to recruit new disciples. Without enough pills on hand, we’re in trouble, so Grade B alchemists are having to shoulder more work."
In the past, mandatory assignnts for Grade B alchemists weren’t that frequent—four or five tis a year at most.
"Of course, you’re right—the tasks given to you weren’t really reasonable. But you know, my hands were tied."
Lu Chang’sheng nodded. He could tell Yang wasn’t lying.
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