013 Pill Refining

Li Huowang cautiously eyed the small pill furnace in front of him.Beside it stood three incense sticks used for timing.

In an environment without alarm clocks,Li Huowang had no choice but to rely on this simple method to keep track of time.

When the last incense stick burned out completely,he immediately extinguished the fire and opened the furnace door.A strange fragrance mixed with the scent of herbs wafted out.

Li Huowang's heart leaped with joy.He'd succeeded.The refined pill materials were shaking in a sieve.After all the useless,ashen pill dregs were sifted out,only some black pills of various sizes remained in the box.

These pills were the Blood-Moistening Pills mentioned by Master Danyang.They were very simple pills used for stopping bleeding.

One couldn't consume more than one or two liang at a time,or there was a risk of the body's blood completely coagulating.

They sounded rather useless;perhaps they were better for harming people than treating them.

But because these pills were the simplest,Master Danyang had let Li Huowang practice refining them.

After a careful count,Li Huowang ended up with thirteen large Blood-Moistening Pills and twenty-six small ones.

Li Huowang's gains weren't just these pills.Through the process of refining the Blood-Moistening Pills,he'd also learned some basic knowledge about pill refining.

Pill refining was far more difficult than he'd imagined.Apart from the precise timing,even herbs with different growth orientations had to be carefully distinguished.

A single wrong step could lead to a huge difference in the pill's efficacy and success rate.The pile of charred waste beside him was proof.

Li Huowang took out a small bamboo tube and put all the pills into it.Then he took a deep breath,put on the Taoist robe beside him,and headed towards the door."It's about time.The Hour of the Rat is approaching."

When Li Huowang reached out to push open the door of the ingredient room,everyone who was working there stood up in unison and stared at him in terror.

In the eyes of the others,he was like the God of Death.

Li Huowang looked at them with a complex expression.Under everyone's gaze,he walked past them and finally stopped in front of Bai Lingmiao.

The young girl's white hair trembled along with her body.She tried hard not to cry,but in the end,she couldn't hold it back.Tears streamed down from the pale pink pupils characteristic of albinism.

Li Huowang,with a solemn expression,reached out and took her hand.Then they left the ingredient room and headed towards the pill-refining room.

In the damp and dripping cave tunnel,Bai Lingmiao sobbed and made her last wishes to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang listened in silence,saying nothing.When they passed by his own dwelling,he suddenly turned and pulled her inside."Take off your pants."

Bai Lingmiao's eyes widened,and she stood there,stunned,as if shocked by his actions.

Three quarters of an hour before the Hour of the Rat,Li Huowang brought Bai Lingmiao to the pill pharmacy,and Master Danyang had just arrived.

Seeing that Li Huowang had brought the medicinal ingredient in advance without being told,a look of satisfaction crossed Master Danyang's face.He looked at his youngest disciple a bit more favorably.

"Hehe,good disciple,come here."With a wave of his hand,Bai Lingmiao flew over and was grabbed by the neck and thrown into the stone urn.

Li Huowang's heart pounded wildly,and he clenched his fists tightly.

Just as the several-hundred-jin pestle was about to smash down,Master Danyang suddenly stopped.

"Alas,why does she have her period at this very moment?The medicinal properties have all changed."Master Danyang frowned slightly as he looked at the blood-stained pants of Bai Lingmiao.

Seeing this,Li Huowang heaved a sigh of relief.His plan had succeeded.

After Li Huowang understood how pill-refining worked in this world,he'd found a way to break the deadlock.

Since the medicinal properties of other minerals,plants,and herbs were so changeable,the medicinal properties of a human ingredient would also vary.

Moreover,in his impression,in Taoism,a woman's menstruation was considered something unclean.Pretending that Bai Lingmiao was having her period was his countermeasure.

To avoid arousing suspicion,this couldn't be told by others;Master Danyang had to discover it himself.

It seemed that his goal had been achieved,and Bai Lingmiao's life had been saved.

Master Danyang waved his broad Taoist robe,and Bai Lingmiao flew out of the stone urn and landed heavily on the ground.

The fall was quite hard.It took Bai Lingmiao a long time to get up,clutching her knee.But Li Huowang couldn't offer any help;he could only stand by and watch indifferently.

"Xuanyang,take these ingredients back."Hearing Master Danyang's words,Li Huowang finally felt completely at ease.He bowed respectfully to Master Danyang."Yes,Master."

When Bai Lingmiao walked up to him,Li Huowang noticed that her head seemed to be bruised,and bright red blood was flowing down her cheek.

Even so,Bai Lingmiao still cast a grateful look at Li Huowang.In the face of death,such a minor injury was nothing.

"Anyway,we've managed to get through this.It'll probably be a long time before it's Bai Lingmiao's turn again."Li Huowang led Bai Lingmiao towards the door.

Just as they were about to step out of the huge shadow of the pill furnace,Master Danyang's soft voice came from behind.

"Xuanyang,since this medicinal ingredient doesn't work,go and bring another one.I remember there's another albino one.Go quickly and come back quickly.Don't miss the time."

These words made Li Huowang's body tremble slightly.Then he turned around and bowed respectfully to Master Danyang again."Yes,Master."

Li Huowang didn't know how he'd made it to the ingredient room.He just walked numbly up to another albino man,reached out,and pulled him outside.

The man cried out in despair,kneeling on the ground and kowtowing to Li Huowang,begging for mercy.But Li Huowang could do nothing.He could only send this man to the pill-refining room with his own hands.

His cries suddenly stopped under Master Danyang's pestle.A wisp of white smoke with a strong fragrance rose in the pill pharmacy,coating the stalactites above with a thick layer of human fat.

Li Huowang,trembling,turned to leave but was called back by Master Danyang."Don't you aspire to the path of pill-refining?Come here and take a good look.You won't see the refining of such a complex and rare pill anywhere else."

Li Huowang walked over,observing carefully and listening to Master Danyang talk about when to add what ingredients and how much fire to use.He was like a studious child observing the entire pill-refining process.

When the fire under the pill furnace went out and the furnace was opened,seven well-formed black pills lined up in front of Master Danyang.

"Not bad,not bad.You have great talent.The other disciples aren't as eager to learn as you.Here,this is a reward from your master."Master Danyang took out a pill from his palm and held it in front of Li Huowang.

"Thank you,Master,for the pill!"Li Huowang bowed deeply to Master Danyang,took the pill with trembling hands,put it into his mouth,and swallowed it.