27 New Apprentices (3)

Louis brought Emmalee and Meyrin into his alchemy room, grabbing the clay orb he made for himself. This one was modified specifically for his fire element, since his fire element was lagging behind compared to his other two elements, but after he caught up, he no longer needed it anymore. He tossing the orb to Meyrin, he grabbed the pseudo unique grade Fire Qi Replenishing PIll.

"Emmalee, the way your qi flows through your body is weird, your meridians are somewhat different than what your technique requires, so you have to compensate according. Eat this pill and follow my qi, this is just a quick fix, but it should make your qi flow better in the long run. The downside is that you cannot concoct pills in the meanwhile, until you have readjusted." Louis said, pushing Emmalee onto the bench, as much as a five year old pushes an adult around. At the same time, he looked at Meyrin. "As for Meyrin, I do not know how you injured your soul, but use the clay orb when you cultivate, it will at least make your soul a tiny bit stronger." Turning back to Emmalee. "Sit down, I'll show you the path you should be taking, but eat the pill first."

Meyrin and Emmalee both frowned, not quite understanding what was going on, refusing to eat the pill. Louis sighed as he walked across the hall to get Elaine and her apprentice. Having the head shrine maiden around always gave authority to one's words, especially in the art of healing.

"Elaine, I need your help. My apprentice won't listen to me help her, so I need you to vouch for me." Louis said, opening the door and walking in. "Oh, were you doing something important?"

Elaine and Vanessa were talking, but had quickly closed the book and stopped talking. Elaine stood up, sighing. "Nothing that important. Could you not get your mother or maid to vouch for you?"

"They do not have the authority that you do. They know about you more." Louis said, shaking his head. "I promise I will craft more pills for you later to compensate."

"Alright fine, but it has to be a tier four pill, otherwise it will be too easy to use me. I'm not cheap, you know." Elaine said, smiling, as she walked into the hallway. "Is she in your room?"

"My alchemy room, yes." Louis said. "I'm only five, you know, and you are a shrine maiden."

"Was." Elaine corrected. "Don't remind me, I will feel so old." She stopped for a moment. "What was her issue, anyway?"

"Wrong meridians. Her technique needs to be adjusted to be compatible with her." Louis said. "She will be fine after she fixes it and adjusts to it."

"Adjusted like you did with my daughters?" Elaine said, raising her eye.

"We both know I have helped them." Louis retorted.

"Well, behind my back. Who knows what other secrets you have kept." Elaine said, stopping once more. She turned her head back for a moment before walking once more. "Although this is a bit late, thank you for looking after them."

"My pleasure." Louis said.

"Relax, I would have killed you otherwise if I ever doubted you in the first place."

This time, Louis stopped, only to have Vanessa bump into him.

"Just a joke." Elaine said. "You take life too seriously, you know? Surely Silva has told you."

Elaine walked into his alchemy room and looked at Emmalee and Meyrin. "Now, which of you doubts my little munchkin?" Once she laid on eyes on Meyrin, however, she smiled and hugged her. "Now, now, I see you have been troubled…" she said, dragging Meyrin in tow, leaving Louis in his original position.

Vanessa bowed to Louis and Emmalee before leaving the room. Emmalee looked at Louis and he simply shook his head. The room entered an awkward lull.

"How about this, since you do not really trust me, why not you gather the other four and I'll let you watch me concoct a pill, alright? That should prove at least a part of my credentials." Louis said.

Vanessa nodded and left the room. Louis sighed as he walked into the ingredients room to get more ingredients for his pills. The ones in his room only had the standard set of ingredients, so he would have to tell Silva to change the list when she got more materials.

As Louis placed the last set of ingredients into the box, since he would need multiple batches of these ingredients, the images of Song Jian and Qi He appeared in his mind. Not how they looked when he had last seen them, but when he first did. Song Jian had been the runner up in the under fifteen alchemy tournament when Louis had chosen him as an apprentice. Louis could remember how shocked face Song Jian had when his mother and daughter, the two referees, announced Louis' victory. Song Jian fell still in shock, before raging in angry, demanding to see Louis' pill to find any foul play he could, only to fall still in shock once more. Song Jian immediately kowtowed and asked to be under his tutelage. Although they, along with Qi He, would debate about alchemy theories later in life, each with their own philosophies, specialities and methods, they were akin to father and son. Not in blood nor marrying into the family, but in spirit and knowledge.

Louis smiled as he brought the ingredients into his room. How long had it been since his student would watch his alchemy? How long had it been before he could show the wonders of alchemy, the ephemerality of its beauty as each stage flowed into the next? Showing it to Amelia and the others just was not the same, they only saw the surface, the beautiful glow of lights as the fire burned away the physical container and unveiled the qi, the treasure, locked within.

When everyone squeezed into the bench, the unwillingness of their body only surpassed by their curiosity. Louis took a deep breath before starting the array. Today was not simply creating an unique grade Fire Qi Replenishing Pill nor just proving his qualifications, but a show, to express just what he thought alchemy could be to his students, even if only briefly. For this, he did not use a cauldron, but used his hands, to show the entire process without letting a single part go hidden.

Without any consideration to conserve his qi, he began to pour his qi into each step with a level of care surpassing his normal research fervor. The fire within his palms danced while each pill ingredient, burning away only the mortal flesh of the qi with surgical precision, leaving behind the most beautiful, glistening gems. Once the pill was completed, Louis leaned back, smiling. He crafted a grade 15 Fire Qi Replenishing Pill

"Did you see?" Louis asked, handing the pill over to them.

"See what?" Treize asked, staring right at pill.

Louis froze as he looked at the other four students. "Do any of you see what I did?"

Everyone looked at the pill once more. They looked at each other but remained silent.

It was like Louis was thrown into a deep pool of water in the middle of winter, just after he left a sauna. He stared at them for a moment, before he put the pill into the glass container and left, without even bothering to leave a word to them nor his notebook.

It was only early afternoon, but Louis went to bed straight away. Crafting that pill without a cauldron was taxing, especially when he dedicated such a level of focus the entire way through. He had laid his technique, his heart, bare but, after all that, they just could not see it. They were older than his original apprentices, but his apprentices were at a much higher level in alchemy. Or, perhaps, the alchemy they learned was simply too different for them to comprehend what he just did. Unique grade pills were not rare overall. They were only rare or impossible in certain pills and they probably had not seen anyone concoct a three star pill.

Louis felt no better after realizing this thought. Just as he was about to roll over, Silva walked in.

"I heard you threw a fit," she said, her voice serious.

"They don't understand what I did, what I showed them."

"The pill? It's an unique grade pill, but you can make them by the dozens, can't you not?" Silva asked. "What's so special about that?"

"It was not a Spiritual Energy Upper Pill, but a Fire Qi Replenishing Pill. And it's not just an unique grade, but one of the best unique grades you can ever get." Louis said, rolling over to face her. "Ask their original teacher. If they can't appreciate it, send the students back. I don't need them either."

Silva nodded. "Alright, I'll try to get an answer tomorrow. If not, then the day after."

"I will be waiting." Louis said, tucking himself in as he fell asleep.