Following Through After a False Step

“Thank you, Elder, for praising me." Fei Xiang picked up a piece of paper and wrote something, causing Xueming's heart to flutter because he couldn’t predict the beautiful woman’s next move. “I, Fei Xiang, deeply admire Elder Yi Fei. Although I’ve studied medicine cooking since childhood, I’ve never met such a skilled alchemist who could even cook an intermediate human-level Elemental Medicine before.” All her words were spoken with a sweet voice but not in a courtship manner. In fact, there were about seven-tenths of reverence, and the other three were all of her own innate charming voice.

"Hmm ..." Xueming didn't dare to say a word, there was only a low voice in the throat with a few more nods.

"Not long ago, my respectable master has traveled to a distant place. It would probably be several months before he comes back. But I, Fei Xiang, had many questions about medicine cooking. At this time, when there was no master's guidance, I’d like to ask for your favor in answering my questions." Now Fei Xiang's voice suddenly turned into a pitiful tone. "Elder Yi Fei … could you please help to enlighten me on this?"

… Here come troubles, Xueming. That damn master, why was he gone at this time? What am I supposed to do now?

Xueming quietly took a deep breath. “Please ask me, Miss Fei.”

… Alright, the money isn’t here yet. I gotta go with the flow for now.

Fei Xiang was not interested in her father's business but still behaved as a good daughter. She occasionally used her personal abilities to help her father's commercial affairs according to her assigned mission without reluctance. Her ability and intelligence, as well as her overwhelming beauty, always helped all the missions assigned by her father to be completed with success.

But things were different this time. The smile that Fei Xiang sent Xueming disguised as the Alchemist Yi Fei was not a fake smile like those in all the previous missions, as Fei Xiang was very obsessed with the method of refining medicine. When she learned that this assigned mission was related to an alchemist, she, therefore, traveled to the Black Wood Tower immediately.

This time, Fei Xiang’s smile was like that of a baby girl who got a new toy. It looked more mischievous and charming than before that it almost shocked Xueming's spirit out of his body. Unconsciously, he looked at Fei Xiang, stunned. Before he knew it, two breaths already passed. After that, Xueming dropped his gaze downward. Luckily, Fei Xiang was still focusing on the white paper in front of her, so she could not see Xueming's spellbound face a moment ago.

Only a few breaths passed. Fei Xiang raised her head and handed Xueming a written paper from her hand.

Xueming, now able to control himself, kept his look as a serious scholar as he received the white paper to read without even a glance at Fei Xiang’s beautiful and hopeful eyes.

Xueming focused his attention on the white paper in front of him for a long time with calmness and without the slighted suspicious behavior.

... Three scales of Linzhi mushroom. Extract just their medicinal substance and mix with rainbow flowers. Then, drop the stimulating powder onto them and put them in the furnace using the hot flame from redwood charcoal. Next, pour a liquid substance extracted from the grass frost. I did everything above according to the textbook. How come when extracted, the medicine substance did not have the desired high purity? Moreover, regarding the actual cooking time, should it be slower or faster than the textbook’s instruction?

Fei Xiang wrote down the actual stumbling blocks she had encountered, and this was just a basic recipe of the Qi Stimulating Medicine. She believed that, for an alchemist who could refine the Elemental Medicine at the intermediate human level, it wouldn’t be difficult to cook the Qi Stimulating Medicine and achieve the eight-tenths or more of the purity level. The only problem was that Xueming did not know anything about medicine cooking.

Xueming secretly wailed in his heart. He didn't know any of the raw material that Fei Xiang had written, not to mention how to set up the fire and the cooking time. But when having to follow through after his false words—while waiting for the money from selling medicine—he would only have to rely on deceitful words made up out of improvisation just to pass this checkpoint.

... Well, let's try to mix things up with Qi cultivation. Speaking it vaguely should help.

"The raw material and textbook are inflexible, but the people are real. Therefore, one should not only rely on a book.” Xueming said it while glancing at Fei Xiang's expression, thinking that if he said too much wrong stuff, he would notice Fei Xiang's expression. “As for time ... fast is slow, slow is fast, not so important. Let all things move along naturally. When successful, it is successful. It can't be too fast or too slow.” His claims were haphazard, resulting from mixing the basic chapters of martial arts that he had studied altogether. When he finished speaking, he returned the white paper back to Fei Xiang's hand.

After that, although Fei Xiang was still confused and didn't understand, she didn’t argue because she thought that what Xueming had said was too deep and beyond the limits of her knowledge. Therefore, she could only remain silent and said nothing more, despite still having something packed inside her mind.

"You probably have that much to ask." Xueming hurriedly said to cut off and cause Fei Xiang to leave as quickly as possible. Because if she kept questioning him, he wouldn't be able to hide his fox tail any longer.

"Eh ..." Fei Xiang looked at the paper in her hand and turned to watch blankly at Xueming's face before deciding to say something, "Elder, if it is not too much to ask, I would like to see while your medicine cooking now. Would it be possible?” This question was the main point that her father wanted to know. Even though these two were alone in the room, but in the merchant association’s meeting room, nearly twenty pairs of eyes were staring at the large mirror which clearly transmitted the event inside Xueming's lounge.

…I’m being screwed. She wanted to see my preparation for medicine, and how can I do that? If I used time as an excuse, what if she said she could wait? That would be like digging my own grave. But if I refused, it would be even more suspicious. Hey, wait… in the question a moment ago, there was a mention of the fiery flames.

Xueming took a deep breath before speaking with confidence and calmness. "I can't waste my time on such little things. Right now, I’m traveling the world to gain life experiences and learn about nature. But for the sake of a girl like you, I'll show you the ... fiery flames, but ... "

"But what? Elder Yi Fei, please say with ease. At the merchant association, we always keep people's secrets as part of our business. If the story could not be revealed, the Association would not dare to violate your will."

Xueming nodded. "Well ... today's story must be a secret." Once his speech ended, Xueming used his right hand to lift an empty chair and stretched his arm at his chest level.

“Get out of the way,” Xueming said so to allow Fei Xiang to escape from the aura of flames because when the fire was released, he wasn't sure how quickly he could control and keep it calm, as well as how violent it would be. If his mistake hurt Fei Xiang, it would be unacceptable.

As Fei Xiang heard it, she obeyed accordingly, stepping away to stand in a corner of the special lounge.

When he saw that the girl was more than three wahs away, Xueming began to concentrate, gradually propelling the scalding energy in his body that was not tested for a long time since the day Xueming had completed the first level of the Divine Body Cultivation Technique. (On that day, he decided to keep this heat energy as the ark-bottom stratagem. Therefore, he did not try releasing the flame from his body again.

"The fire of mine ... flare up now!!!" Xueming shouted his words to make this show more realistic. At the end of the sound, the pitch-black wooden chair was burning into bright red flames. Its color was more beautiful than any flames that Xueming had ever tried to summon from his own body. The chair disappeared in the blink of an eye, even the smallest flake of ash was not found.

Having seen that, everyone gasped. Fei Xiang was unable to hold back her excitement, thus raising her beautiful hand to cover her opening mouth.

Even Xueming himself blankly looked at his own hand in confusion.

…How was that possible?