Chapter 31 Renxin Hall

Early the next morning, Lin Yuan once again arrived at the Dan Yao Hall. The majestic hall standing tall made him feel emotional.

He still had a distance to truly enter the Dan Yao Hall, but compared to before, it was no longer so unattainable.

Smelling the scent of the Dan Yao Hall, after taking a deep breath, Lin Yuan no longer stopped to watch and turned to the side hall. After completing the handover of the token, following the instructions of the registered disciple, he arrived at Renxin Hall.

*******

Under the plaque of Renxin Hall.

"Where do I register this task token? I hope Senior Brother can give me some guidance." Lin Yuan took out the task token and handed it over.

Looking at the token in Lin Yuan's hand, the person reached out to take it and look at it.

"A chores disciple?"

Initially, he didn't pay much attention. Even as a chores disciple at Renxin Hall, there wasn't much status here, just manual labor workers. Wanting him to take another look was impossible.

Moreover, according to the information he received, there was nowhere that was lacking people recently.

"Hmm? Could it be?" The person pondered to himself, thoughts flipping through his mind, and suddenly a flash of insight crossed.

Dressed like Lin Yuan, it was clear he was a new disciple. Serving at the counter of Renxin Hall, his judgment of these grey-robed disciples was quite discerning.

"I heard Pharmacist Shen is planning to become a Pill Master soon and needs an assistant disciple. Many people in the hall are hoping for this opportunity, and Pharmacist Shen hasn't decided on a candidate these past two days. At this time, coming to the Dan Yao Hall?"

Thinking of this, the middle-aged man smiled, "So it's Junior Brother coming to report, please follow me."

The person's attitude changed, and Lin Yuan didn't think too much about the twists and turns in it, following him into the inner hall.

In the process, Lin Yuan and this person exchanged a few words. This middle-aged man's name was Liu Chaoyi. He was also a chores disciple at the Dan Yao Hall before, considered an old hand at Renxin Hall. However, having been with Shen Huaining for a long time, he developed some feelings and was arranged in a leisurely position.

After passing through several winding corridors, Lin Yuan followed Liu Chaoyi into the depths.

Passing through various courtyards, Lin Yuan could basically see groups of busy chores disciples in each courtyard, working in groups of two or three. Some people were sifting through the herbs in their hands, removing extra debris. Others were cutting dried herb blocks into pieces and handing them over to others to grind into fine powder on a stone mill.

Some were burning the stove to dry-fry herbs, removing some moisture from inside.

As Lin Yuan passed by these working people, many people looked at him, their eyes containing some scrutinizing meaning.

Amidst the gaze of these people, Liu Chaoyi led Lin Yuan to the largest hall in the middle. He gestured for Lin Yuan to rest for a while, then walked into the room.

Before long, a thin figure in a black robe walked out, accompanied by Liu Chaoyi who had entered before, and another young man in a grey robe.

The thin figure had a slender face with a goatee, but his eyes were calm, holding a scroll of books in his hand, resembling a teacher from ancient times.

"This must be Shen Huaining?" Lin Yuan looked at the person coming over, estimating in his heart.

Liu Chaoyi bowed to Shen Huaining, then clasped his fists toward Lin Yuan and left directly.

Shen Huaining's expression remained calm, he looked Lin Yuan up and down, making Lin Yuan feel a little anxious.

"Lin Yuan?" Once Liu Chaoyi's figure disappeared, Shen Huaining finally spoke.

In his gaze, Lin Yuan stood tall, with a delicate face, he nodded slightly with satisfaction. Someone indeed asked him to take care of Lin Yuan slightly, and he was not offensive to look at.

After a round of questions and answers, Lin Yuan, relying on his previous life experience of selling folk medicine, responded fluently.

Not bad!

The thought flashed, and Shen Huaining nodded with satisfaction.

"For the time being, work with those disciples outside to familiarize yourself with the process of refining medicine, but you have to use your brain more." Shen Huaining looked at the busy scene of the disciples outside and sighed.

Among these chores disciples, those with a little understanding of alchemy were very few. There were very few who could be considered helpful in his alchemy work.

"This basic herbal book requires memorization during this time, do not slack off." Shaking his head, Shen Huaining no longer thought about the group of disciples outside and handed the book in his hand to Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan received the book and then heard Shen Huaining speak again.

"Sheng Fang, you lead Lin Yuan, and settle him down." Shen Huaining glanced around and instructed the grey-robed youth behind him, completing Lin Yuan's arrangement.

After Shen Huaining left, Lin Yuan carefully observed the grey-robed youth.

This person was not tall but had a robust body. His long hair was well-groomed, and he stood there exuding a refreshing aura.

"Junior Brother Lin, the pharmacist has already arranged, come with me." The person's dark eyes scanned Lin Yuan up and down, turned and remarked.

Under the guidance of Ji Shengfang, Lin Yuan briskly gained a general understanding of the medicinal processing procedures throughout Renxin Hall.

Finally, the two came to a side hall, and waves of heat surged out, accompanied by various scents of medicine continuously wafting. As Lin Yuan entered the hall, there were dozens of neatly arranged medicinal stoves like enlarged incense burners, with smokeless coal burning bright red beneath, emitting green-blue smoke constantly.

Among them, various chores disciples in gray robes were smoked by the fumes, with their clothes stained with some black ash. They placed various herbs into them to roast, transported the roasted herbs in bags, and then weighed the bagged herbs at the entrance of the hall.

At the entrance, two chores disciples paced with their hands behind their backs, constantly inspecting the incoming herbs and supervising those roasting disciples. Their clothes were slightly cleaner, evidently having a higher status.

At this moment, the patrolling chores disciples saw Lin Yuan and the other coming, quickly welcoming them.

"Greetings, Senior Brother." These two were from the roasting chores, their faces long been smoked dark and charred.

"Hmm, this is the new Junior Brother Lin." Ji Shengfang nodded slightly at the arrivals, then addressed Lin Yuan, "Junior Brother Lin, I have been in Renxin Hall for so many years, and I have some understanding of medicine. According to my limited knowledge, the Roasting Furnace Hall is very beneficial for getting to know herbs. Why don't you start with the Roasting Furnace Hall?"

"At the command of Senior Brother." Lin Yuan clasped his hands and replied.

"Very good, let's start with bookkeeping." Ji Shengfang smiled a little, addressing the two, "Miao He, Gu Yongjin. Junior Brother Lin is new here, you two should look after him."

After Ji Shengfang left, the slightly taller among the two stepped forward, "Junior Brother Lin, follow me."

Lin Yuan was then arranged to oversee the task of weighing and bookkeeping the herbs.

When Lin Yuan became familiar with the new operations, Ji Shengfang sat upright in a certain room of the side hall, with none other standing before him but Miao He, the manager of the Roasting Furnace Hall.

"Brother Ji, rest assured that Lin Yuan won't learn any craftsmanship about herbal materials inside the Roasting Furnace Hall." At that moment, Miao He was beating his chest before Ji Shengfang, confidently promising.

"Very good." Ji Shengfang's efficient face showed a smile, "Pharmacist Shen is about to be promoted to Alchemist. That Lin Yuan wants to compete with me for the position of an assistant disciple, and being arranged here at this time suggests some background. Pay attention to limits when arranging tasks, don't overdo it. Best for him to be stuck in the bookkeeping position."

"Heh, understood." Miao He grinned, the dark face revealing white teeth.

"Additionally, how much of the medicinal material this month can be spared? Like before?" Upon finishing this matter, Ji Shengfang asked, frowning.

"It's already prepared, just waiting for Brother Ji's inspection." Miao He nodded, restraining his smile.

"Originally, the position of the assistant disciple was a certainty, but with Lin Yuan's advent, I feel somewhat uneasy." Ji Shengfang sighed, then calmed his expression, staring at Miao He, "Arrange for shorter roasting times, leave one part more."

"Senior Brother, if later products have issues, I fear..." Miao He looked worried.

"Use the good ones for the hall, anything else we'll discuss later." Ji Shengfang ignored Miao He, waving him off.

*****

That night, in Lin Yuan's small room, using the moonlight, he flipped through the Herbal Basics given by Shen Huaining. The book was rich with drawings and the medicinal properties of various herbs, making it difficult for him to memorize much all at once.

However, these were essential skills for him to establish himself in the Dan Yao Hall, crucial for paving the way for the future.

After an unknown amount of time, feeling a bit tired, Lin Yuan finally closed the book.

Thus, during the day Lin Yuan practiced, kept books, manufactured and sold folk medicinal plasters, and occasionally took time for sparring to cultivate his body and mind.

About half a month's time passed.

That day, as usual, Lin Yuan finished reading under the moonlight. After laying down the book, moonlight streamed through the window onto his profile, dividing his face into light and shadow along the ridge of his nose.

"The herbs completed by the Roasting Furnace Hall vastly differ from their original appearance as depicted in the books, and some are already processed. Mostly, what's fresh out of the roasting furnace is only the useful parts of the complete plant, roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits, all differing. If ordinary disciples without a medicinal foundation tried, they wouldn't be able to differentiate these herbs at all."

"The bookkeeping position is basically an idle task, with no exposure to the original appearance of herbs, offering no enhancement of understanding in medicinal properties or pharmacology. For me, solely doing bookkeeping is completely pointless."

"I came to Renxin Hall to learn alchemy, even alchemy. Sheng Fang can't possibly not understand this. In these past half a month, I have already familiarized myself with the recording of herbs, yet there's no sign of any change in duties."

"It seems, this Brother Ji, is indeed no good man."