Chapter 86 - Extraordinary Ingredients

In the morning, several people gathered in the public Grand Hall of the City Lord's manor. Six jade tortoises ringed the hexagonal audience chamber, each one aligned on the primary axis of the hexagonal pattern inlaid on the audience chamber. A large throne of ironwood stood at the head of the hall, flanked by lesser seats prepared for Zhang Bai and the rarely seen official wife of the City Lord, Ju Tse, a fierce woman with hawk like features and the beginnings of grey at the temples of her otherwise dark chestnut hair. Mortals would mistake her for a woman entering her forties not realizing that the accomplished Warrior was one of the few third-stage cultivators in Turning Leaf town who had long marked the passage of her first century. 

Along one side of the hexagon, two burly Soldiers, members of the City Lord's personal guard, stood flanking the captured Mao Ailum who appeared to have slept little in his night of captivity. Opposite him stood Ao Wen, Feng Xi, and Tang Jin who felt his presence might offer further proof of Ao Wen's alchemical skills that were on trial today. 

Finally, on the side of the hexagon closest to the entrance, a young gentleman of slender build and graceful presence stood accompanied by several mortal laborers carrying a vast collection of alchemical ingredients. Where Mao Ailum radiated physical dominance as though he would bully his concoctions into completion, Alchemy Novice Wu Lin possessed the demeanor of a true Scholar, though even his refined demeanor couldn't disguise his disdain for many of the mortals and lesser cultivators gathered here. "As City Lord has commanded," he spoke formally, "I have brought the ingredients listed in the prescription that Lady Wan provided last night. I must advise, however, that this prescription not only seems incomplete but several of the ingredients are of outrageous specificity and rarity. If City Lord can tell me which legendary alchemist has such exacting standards, I would most like to make this Elder's acquaintance," he said with cupped hands. 

"It looks like you brought half an herb stand with you," Ao Wen said as she stepped forward. "Were the ingredients I requested that difficult to procure? Just how many substitutions will I need to make in this concoction?" Ao Wen asked as she eyed the gathered ingredients dubiously. 

"I didn't realize Brawler Ao knew enough about herbs to make such assessments," the older Alchemy Novice said, looking down his long thin nose at Ao Wen's shorter figure. "Perhaps the ingredients must be extraordinary to make up for a dabbler's lack of ability?"

"Alchemy Novice Wu," City Lord Zhang said sharply, his voice instantly drawing an air of sharpened quills that prickled the Novice Scholar's skin. "This City Lord has asked Alchemy Novice Ao to prepare an elixir to treat his second concubine's ailment, an ailment that your master, Independent Alchemist Wai, was unable to so much as diagnose," his gaze sharpened and several quill pricks formed on Wu Lin's skin. "If you disrespect Alchemy Novice Ao in my presence, you are disrespecting me and my judgment. I think you are wise enough not to repeat that mistake, no?"

"As City Lord says," Wu Lin said shakily, sweat breaking out on his brow as he made the slightest bow possible, terrified that moving forward too much would impale him on the invisible sharpened quills conjured by the City Lord's gaze. "This Alchemy Novice will await enlightenment so that he may experience Alchemy Novice Ao's skills first hand." 

"So tell me," Ao Wen said, hoping to escape further posturing to get on with the delicate work. "Which ingredients were troublesome?"

Shuffling slightly the Alchemy Novice pulled a lengthy list from his robes and began to read. "We do have Mother's Blush Orchid Nectar but could not verify whether it had been gathered at Dawn or any other time of day. Since the properties of it's energy may be misaligned we prepared an Ashen Dawn Quail Egg as a supplemental ingredient should it be needed," he said, regaining his equilibrium as the topic moved to familiar territory. "Similarly the Raven's Nest Lingzi Mushroom in our collection lacked notes about the age of the trunk it had been harvested from so we have brought three fold the amount requested as well as a piece of Laurel Tree wood taken from a tree aged two hundred and fifty years. Finally, while we possess Corvid Flight Cloud Vine grown in the mountains, it's unclear if it was grown in a true mountain pass, as such we've brought Ten Thousand Li Boot Sole Powder and Crystaline Summit Grass aged seventy five years to use as substitutions," he said with a sigh. It felt shameful to have to acknowledge the gaps in the notes their Alchemy Consortium chapterhouse kept on many of the herbs in their treasury. It felt like being called to task by a master for being lazy in their record keeping, or worse, not understanding what supplemental qualities might be important to the practice of alchemy. "That completes the list of components that we have but may lack the required secondary attributes."

"That's actually not so bad," Ao Wen said with a light smile. "You had no trouble with the remainder of the list then?"

Wu Lin tried his best to not look embarrassed as he shook his head. "I wish that was the case. Of the ingredients that we did not have at all, there is no Queen's Inkstain Agate, Night Prowler Cougar Fur or Ravenbrood Blood Berry in our collection, fermented or otherwise. There are also two ingredients that I couldn't find mention of in any alchemical text in our library," he said, truly embarrassed. "I'm unfamiliar with Lion's Cry Bellfower or Empress Crown Pollen. The descriptions provided left me uncertain if any of the Bellfowers in our collection might be what you were seeking under a different name, and likewise if Empress Crown Pollen might be the Pollen of the Ruler's Might Sacred Tree or a similar tree so I brought several possibilities that might match what you require."

Hearing the list of ingredients that would require substitution Ao Wen's expression grew darker and darker. She'd known that the alchemy standards of Turning Leaf town couldn't be compared to the standards of the Sacred Flame Celestial Temple's but she'd hoped that they matched up to at least the most remote of the sect's chapterhouses! She'd already made several substitutions to reduce the age and rarity of ingredients required! Walking over to the gathered ingredients, Ao Wen began to inspect the array of choices she'd have to make if she wanted to produce this elixir. After several minutes spent calculating, she nodded to herself before looking at the other Alchemy Novice in genuine thanks. Faced with a prescription he couldn't possibly fill, he'd certainly done his best to fill out the list of alternatives. No wonder he'd brought so many servants carrying packs stuffed to overflowing with materials. 

"You know, you're actually fairly lucky," she complimented. "I didn't think you'd have a Pure Yin Lunar Jay Tail Feather, they're such rare birds, I'd been planning to make due with Lion's Cry Bellflower and Empress Crown Pollen to make up the lack. This is actually a better ingredient," she praised. "City Lord should compensate you well for this one," she added, noticing that the label on the feather simply read "Lunar Jay Feather" and had likely been severely undervalued by the local alchemists. Wu Lin might be an arrogant ass, but he had genuinely worked hard, likely all through the night, just to prepare these ingredients. As long as she had what she required, she wouldn't make him suffer for it. 

"Thank you fellow Novice," Wu Lin said, acknowledging Ao Wen for the first time. He'd certainly gotten off to a bad start but that didn't mean he couldn't see which way the wind was blowing and adjust his course to suit! 

"If fellow Novice Wu would like to assist in the concoction, the City Lord's manor has provided the remainder of the materials we'll be using. I'll need to purify and concoct myself but if you're willing to serve as an herb boy for a day it would help reduce the strain while I concoct. I realize it's beneath your station but…" she trailed off, looking up at him with genuine curiosity about whether or not he'd take an opportunity that many would take as an insult.