The next day, after completing his watch, Lu Zhiyuan went to see the clinic's alchemist.
"You want the formula for Blood Vitality Pills?" Jia Shiheng looked at him with some surprise.
"May I have it?" Lu Zhiyuan asked, cupping his hands.
After spending yesterday thinking it over, he had decided to try alchemy. It had been one of his reasons for staying at the clinic. Medicine was an entire discipline; he did not know whether the panel could simplify it.
Even if it could, the cost would probably be enormous. He was short of money as it was.
Alchemy was therefore the better choice. Learning to brew just one kind of pill could provide a steady income. He could then seek more advanced pill formulas, creating a positive cycle.
"You're one of the clinic's household guards. Giving you a formula for Blood Vitality Pills is no trouble."
Jia Shiheng nodded. "But this is only the most common formula. It doesn't include any of the clinic's special methods. And if you want to brew a batch, you'll have to buy the medicinal ingredients yourself. The clinic won't provide them for free."
"I understand."
Lu Zhiyuan nodded. The clinic would not provide medicinal ingredients until he proved his ability to brew pills. Even then, it would judge the finished pills' appearance and quality. Anything too poor would be rejected.
"Here. Return it in three days."
Jia Shiheng got up, rummaged in a cabinet behind him, and handed over a small booklet.
"Thank you, Master Jia!" Lu Zhiyuan cupped his hands in gratitude.
"It's nothing."
Jia Shiheng waved him away and paid him no further attention. Lu Zhiyuan took the hint and quietly left the medicine room.
Watching him go, Jia Shiheng shook his head slightly. He had seen plenty of people who wanted to learn alchemy and acquire a useful skill. Very few ever reached Basic proficiency and brewed satisfactory pills.
As far as he was concerned, Lu Zhiyuan would probably be another of those who achieved nothing.
Back in his room, Lu Zhiyuan read the pill formula carefully.
After the time it took an incense stick to burn, he put it down and closed his eyes, recalling what he had read.
But it occupied only a few thin pages, leaving many details sketchy. To brew Blood Vitality Pills successfully from it alone, a person would need at least dozens of failed attempts, or even a hundred or more, before having even a slight chance.
Even that required good aptitude for alchemy.
Someone unsuited to the craft might fail hundreds of times without reaching Basic proficiency. Like martial training, alchemy depended heavily on aptitude.
Sometimes you either had it or you didn't.
[Alchemy: Blood Vitality Pill (Uninitiated)]
A new entry appeared on the panel, alongside a flashing simplification prompt. Lu Zhiyuan smiled. Simplifying Blood Vitality Pill required only one silver tael.
He had chosen Blood Vitality Pills as his first alchemy project because they were so basic. Recent experience suggested that the more basic something was, the less silver its simplification cost.
Basic though they were, Blood Vitality Pills had plenty of buyers.
They worked well for both Martial Novices just starting to learn techniques and people at the Skin Tempering stage like himself. Strengthening blood vitality helped people practice martial arts better and faster.
Even those at the next stage, Flesh Tempering, sometimes bought Blood Vitality Pills when money was tight. The pills still worked for them, though less effectively.
If he could brew them, he would have no trouble selling them. The lower ranks always made up the majority of martial artists.
"Panel, simplify Blood Vitality Pill!"
"Simplifying Blood Vitality Pill... Simplification successful... Blood Vitality Pill → Stir-Frying Pork Liver!"
"..."
He blinked, nearly convinced he had misread it. The simplified action for Blood Vitality Pill was cooking? Specifically, stir-frying pork liver?
Was there some inevitable connection between the two?
Was it because both were considered good for the blood, and both involved heat?
He could not quite understand the panel's logic, but replacing pill brewing with cooking gave him far more confidence. Any ordinary person could stir-fry. The only difference was how good it tasted. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
He was planning to buy some pork liver at the market the next day when rumors about him began spreading through the clinic.
There was nothing particularly remarkable about it. He had simply asked Jia Shiheng for the formula for Blood Vitality Pills, and everyone was making a meal of it.
Two days earlier, his clash with Du Zheng had marked him out as a headstrong fool. Now he had obtained a pill formula and imagined becoming an alchemist. Many found it hilarious.
His fellow household guards were not the only ones mocking him. Even the menials who heard about both incidents thought he had no idea of his own limits.
Those menials had already envied their former peer for becoming a household guard. Naturally, this gave them all the more reason to ridicule him.
"He won't concentrate on martial training, yet he dreams of becoming an alchemist. An alchemist? A poor bumpkin like him? Ridiculous."
At a table over drinks, Du Zheng tossed a few peanuts into his mouth, his words dripping with contempt for Lu Zhiyuan.
"It's because he's lowborn. Now that he has a chance, he's desperate to climb. Pity he doesn't understand that some poor bumpkins will be poor bumpkins all their lives," a companion said with a laugh.
"I thought he'd understand the rules. I might even have helped him along. Instead, he demanded my manuals outright. If we hadn't been at the clinic, I'd have wanted to slap him in the face," Du Zheng said coldly.
"You've got real restraint, Brother Du. We'd have lost our tempers long before that!"
"Enough about him. He's a joke."
Du Zheng waved a hand. "There'll be plenty of ways to deal with him later. Did he really think he could take my manuals without consequences?"
The gossip had not yet reached Lu Zhiyuan. He was in an abandoned courtyard, lighting a fire and stir-frying pork liver.
The liver was fresh, just bought at the market. He intended to eat it afterward. It was meat, after all.
Since becoming a household guard, his meals at the clinic had improved considerably: a little minced meat with every meal, and larger pieces every few days.
But for a martial artist, particularly one as short of money as Lu Zhiyuan, no meat could be wasted.
Before long, a savory aroma rose from the pan. He had known how to cook a few home-style dishes in his previous life, so stir-frying pork liver was naturally no problem.
Stir-fry, lift it from the pan, and plate it.
The pork liver was ready, steaming hot. Lu Zhiyuan looked at his panel.
[Alchemy: Blood Vitality Pill (Basic 1/100)]