Chapter 5: The Chief Pharmacist

  "Muscle and Bone Strengthening Broth? Tianxinzi one or two... Xuhu diecao one or two... Shuijing yuliangzi one or two... Chi, this is what you call a top-grade spiritual medicine formula? Young brother, you're trying to deceive me with this trash, thinking I'm some second-rate spiritual medicine master who doesn't know the score? Alright, I won't hold it against you. You should just go back where you came from and stop bothering me while I refine my medicine."

  The prescription that Nie Kong had just written was crumpled into a ball and thrown back at him. The man opposite, who looked to be in his thirties with pockmarks all over his face, sneered as he spoke, then waved his hand impatiently, as if shooing away flies, before focusing on the medicine cauldron on the table in front of him.

  The little pet in the cinnabar field is still waiting for dinner, Nie Kong couldn't just give up like this. He suppressed his discontent and said, "Brother, using this formula to brew a medicinal liquid for bathing really has the effect of strengthening muscles and bones, especially suitable for children who have just started practicing."

  "Ugh, are you done yet? Strong muscles and bones? I'm strong in other areas too, you know. Wait, what did I just say? Haha... Oh man, that's so creative! *points at Nie Kong, laughing hysterically* Ahahaha, this is too funny... It's all about the 'strong rooster' formula, right? You use this to make medicine and take a bath, and your little rooster will definitely get bigger, haha... Come on, come on, let Uncle take a good look..."

  A pair of triangular eyes glanced down at Nie Kong, and the smile on Ma Zi's face became exceptionally lewd, causing the surrounding spiritual medicine practitioners to furrow their brows.

  "Who would have thought that there's such a guy in the Alchemy Hall?" Nie Kong sneered, "What's your name? You want to see my thingy, huh? Come on, get down on all fours and open your mouth wide. I'll pee on your face with my precious toddler urine! With your incredibly unlucky appearance, you must have been a second-rate spiritual medicine master for quite some time now. If you drink all of my toddler urine, who knows, maybe you can break through to third-rate right away. I'm always generous, so I won't charge you this time. If you look cute enough while you're down there, I might even give you another free shot of toddler urine. Be sure to thank me properly!"

  With one breath, Nie Kong only felt a refreshing and exhilarating sensation, but after finishing, he felt a bit surprised. In his past life, he had cultivated himself to be calm and composed, no matter how angry he was, he would not scold like this. Could it be that the guy from before was suppressed for too long, so that even his own personality was influenced by his memories? However, this feeling of scolding people was indeed very refreshing, as if all the pent-up frustration in his heart had been released with his voice.

  "Hehe!" "Haha!" "Hehe!"

  A dozen or so spiritual medicine practitioners around were all smiling wryly, the men making various strange laughing sounds, their teasing eyes darting back and forth between Ma Zi's face and Nie Kong, while the women had flushed cheeks and lowered eyelids, but the smile at the corner of their lips couldn't be hidden.

  "Don't laugh! Nobody is allowed to laugh!"

  Mazi's face turned alternately pale and red, his expression extremely vivid. He bulged out his two eyes to take a look around, then suddenly shouted loudly. Unfortunately, he was not very popular in the Alchemy Hall, after shouting, those spiritual medicine masters laughed even louder, and someone even gave Nie Kong a thumbs up with a mischievous grin.

  Ma Zi was even more humiliated, but couldn't do anything about it. In the end, he could only vent his anger on Nie Kong: "You little scoundrel, how dare you scold me?" Ma Zi's face turned ferocious and twisted, with his pockmarked complexion suddenly resembling a swarm of squirming maggots.

  Nie Kong smiled and said: "Little turtle egg, who are you scolding?"

  Ma's face fell, and he shouted: "You little turtle egg, I'm scolding you!"

  "Wooooo..."

  The first floor of Lianyao Hall burst into another fit of laughter and teasing, with someone even intentionally imitating the strange and peculiar laugh of Ma Zi.

  "It's not Little Wang who scolded me, but Old Wang... No, that's not right either. Looking at your age, I'd say you're around thirty years old, neither old nor young. Should we call you Middle-aged Wang? This title doesn't sound good either. Nie something, why don't you just get a bit older or younger?" Nie Kong looked troubled.

  "Good, good, good little rabbit with sharp teeth and a sharp mouth! Today I'll teach you a lesson and let you know what it means to respect your elders!" Unable to outdo Nie Kong in a battle of wits, Ma Zi was so angry that his whole body trembled, his face turned red and purple, and the triangular eyes gleamed with ferocity. With a loud roar, he pounced on Nie Kong.

  Nie Kong had long been prepared and flashed his body, hiding behind a middle-aged woman nearby.

  Ma Zi pounced, but ended up with nothing, and chased after him with a sly smile. However, the woman always managed to get in the way, intentionally or unintentionally blocking Ma Zi's path. The three of them started playing a game of cat and mouse, with Ma Zi as the hawk trying to catch the little chick, and the woman as the mother hen protecting her young. The hawk was unable to succeed, and eventually became so enraged that he jumped up and down, shouting wildly: "You little rabbit, you think you can hide? You think you can keep hiding behind her? If you've got the guts, then just stay hidden forever! I'm going to wear you out today!"

  "What's going on? Making such a racket in the alchemy lab, what kind of behavior is this?" Just then, an old man with a gaunt face and red hair like blood walked in from the doorway, wearing only a hemp robe and barefoot. Seeing the scene in the alchemy lab, he suddenly puffed out his beard, glared with wide eyes, and shouted angrily.

  "Master Tianxin!"

  The moment the old man entered, the Alchemy Hall fell silent. Immediately afterwards, all the spiritual alchemists, including Ma Zi and the middle-aged woman, bowed their heads and called out in unison with a respectful attitude.

  Nie Kong walked out from behind the middle-aged woman, thinking to himself: "Tian Xin Master? I suppose he is the chief fifth-grade spiritual medicine practitioner that the Nie family has invited." Tian Xin had been in the Nie family for twenty years, and Nie Kong had heard many rumors about him, such as how he often wore hemp clothes and went barefoot, with hair as red as blood. It was said that the two characters "Tian Xin" in his name came from the spiritual medicine "Tian Xin Zi".

  However, despite hearing a lot about him, Nie Kong had never seen him before. The two 5th-grade spiritual medicine masters in the Nie family's Medicine Hall were Practitioner Tianxin and Elder Nie Xingyun. As for Elder Nie, he was even more mysterious, and Nie Kong had never laid eyes on him, nor had he heard much about him.

  "Tianxin Master, you've arrived just in time. That little brat said he came to offer a prescription, but actually brought a fake one to cause trouble in the alchemy hall. He must be taught a lesson." Ma Zi swiftly ran to Tian Xing's side and tattled, his face full of righteous indignation, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

  "Oh, a fake prescription? Let me take a look." Practicing Tianxin said to Nie Kong, and did not make a big deal out of Ma Zi's one-sided words.

  "Please take a look, Master."

  Nie Kong unfolded the crumpled prescription and handed it over. In the Divine Spirit Continent, only those fifth-grade or higher spirit medicine masters could be called "masters". Such people were absolutely dedicated to researching medicines for their entire lives, and Nie Kong still had great respect for them.

  Ma Zi glanced at Nie Kong with a pleased expression, and everyone in the Alchemy Hall knew that Lian Tian Xin was a strict and serious person who wouldn't tolerate any mistakes. If he determined that the prescription was fake, then Nie Kong's crime of causing trouble in the Alchemy Hall would be confirmed, and he would have to face the consequences.

  "Tiān xīn zǐ yī liǎng, xū hú dié cǎo yī liǎng, shuǐ jīng yù lián zǐ yī liǎng, chì mó huā èr liǎng……" As he read the words "Tiān xīn zǐ", Practicing Sky Heart looked at Nie Kong with some surprise. When he finished reading the last word "chì mó huā", a hint of contemplation had appeared in his eyes.

  "Tianxin Master, look at this prescription, isn't it ridiculous? The first three ingredients, Tianxinzi, Xuhu Diecao and Shuijing Yulianzi are not a problem, but he actually added two liang of Chi Mohua which contains trace amounts of toxins to these three medicines. And he claims it's suitable for children's healthy muscle and bone soup? If it doesn't harm people's bodies, that's already good enough...". Ma Zi buzzed around Tianxin like a fly, stirring up trouble.

  Tian Xin didn't scold Nie Maozi, but instead closed his eyes for a few seconds before suddenly opening them again. A smile spread across his solemn face: "Little guy, your 'Muscle and Bone Strengthening Soup' is quite good, especially the last two liang of 'Red Devil Flower' you added - it's truly the icing on the cake. The Red Devil Flower contains a small amount of toxins, but when paired with Tian Xinzi, Xu Diecao, and Shui Jingyu Lianzi, not only are the toxins completely eliminated, but the medicinal properties can also be fully brought out."

  "Huh?"

  A low, suppressed cry suddenly erupted in the Alchemy Hall. The alchemists looked at each other in dismay, seeing the astonishment in each other's eyes. Although they had always looked down on that Nima, after hearing the formula, they had already secretly acknowledged it as fake, but unexpectedly, it was able to receive such high praise from Tianxin Master.

  Nie Mashizi listened more and more, his heart sank to the bottom, until he was stunned, his face covered with numbness twitched, his mouth slightly open, and half of his tongue stretched out from his mouth, weakly hanging on his lower lip, like a duck with its neck pinched, the appearance was indescribably ridiculous.

  ……