The Alchemy Department was an influential department in the academy. Its members had a high status, and everyone treated them with respect. After graduation, many families would come to recruit the students of the Alchemy Department, offering them money and riches and status.
Not many people could compare an alchemist with status and money. This kind of treatment bloated their ego, turning them into arrogant and conceited people, thinking of themselves as below no one and above everyone else.
Today, two figures arrived at the Alchemy Department. A charming girl and a handsome boy. The dress of the girl fluttered in the wind as she said, "Qian Jie must be in her lab. Let's go."
The boy nodded and followed her lead. They walked in the long and unremarkable corridor. Not even a shadow could be seen; it looked almost deserted. There were doors on either side of the gallery, and the medicine odor was coming from beyond them.
The girl halted in front of one door and knocked. "Who's it? I'm busy. Get lost, and come some other time," a shout came from inside.
The boy was dumbfounded, but the girl didn't flinch and knocked once more, even harder. Again, a few profanities sounded from the room and the door creaked open. "I'm going to crush your head, no matter who you are—" The speaker stopped abruptly and eyed the girl in front of her, gulping down her saliva. "Sister Yueyan?" Her voice was tinged with surprise.
"I heard you were going to crush my head?" Leng Yueyan said with a teasing smile, but there was a dangerous glint flickering inside her pupils.
Qian Jie swallowed hard and laughed awkwardly. "How could that be possible? I must have lost my mind to even think about it." Then her gaze fell upon the boy beside Leng Yueyan. "He is—?"
"He is my fiance, Qin Meng," replied Leng Yueyan. "You must have heard about him, right?"
"Yeah," nodded Qian Jie as she examined Qin Meng through the corner of her eyes. He was definitely one of the most handsome boys she had ever seen. While she studied Qin Meng, he also observed her. Her black hair was messy, and her eyes that were supposed to be black had turned red because of the deprivation of sleep. Under-circles were visible below her eyes.
Qian Jie turned toward Leng Yueyan and asked, "May I know why Sister Yueyan is here?"
"Aren't you going to invite us inside?" said Leng Yueyan instead of replying. Only then Qian Jie realized they were standing in the corridor. Though there weren't people around, as it was prohibited to talk and stroll here without reason, it was still uncomfortable to remain standing there.
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Qian Jie. "Please, come inside."
Qin Meng and Leng Yueyan entered the room, and a strong stench of medicines overwhelmed their senses. Qian Jie looked at their frowning faces and said, "If you are uncomfortable, we can go somewhere else, maybe to the cafeteria?"
"No, it's fine," said Leng Yueyan. Qin Meng also had no objection. He wanted to learn alchemy, so he needed to become accustomed to this kind of environment. He examined the room and found a medium-sized cauldron at the center — the cauldron was round at the bottom and protruded at the center. It had three legs on which it was standing, and had a long upper part like the neck of a swan. It was still red at the bottom, indicating that Qian Jie was using it just before they arrived.
The room was a complete mess, filled with herbs and medicines, jars and bottles, everything in disarray.
Leng Yueyan wasted no time and said, "Actually, Qin Meng wants to learn alchemy. Can you teach him?"
Qian Jie was stunned. It took some time for her to collect her thoughts. She stared at Qin Meng and then asked with some hesitation, "But it is almost impossible to learn alchemy without Martial Spirit. Even if someone were to learn it, he won't be able to go too far. We need a fire type Martial Spirit and a strong Soul Power." She shook her head.
"Of course, I know that," Leng Yueyan said. "Qin Meng could fulfill the requirements that's why I brought him here."
"You mean—"
Before she could finish, flames burned on Qin Meng's hand. Her mouth was wide open and then she said, "Even if he has a fire Martial Spirit, it won't help unless he has a strong soul."
"You don't need to worry about that," said Leng Yueyan with a smile. "Qin Meng has learned Talisman Engraving from his childhood. His Soul Power has already reached the limit before he awakened the Martial Spirit. It won't be any problem to meet the requirement."
"If that is the case," said Qian Jie, somewhat reluctantly. "I'm ready to teach him."
"Good," clapped Leng Yueyan. "Then I will leave him in your care."
Wasting no time, Leng Yueyan left the lab, leaving behind Qin Meng and Qian Jie. Qin Meng was somewhat out of breath. Didn't the conversation happen too fast?
"So what do you know about alchemy?" asked the girl.
"Actually, nothing," said Qin Meng, face blushing in embarrassment.
The girl looked at him and then sighed. "If it wasn't for Sister Yueyan, I would have thrown you out by now."
"I know," Qin Meng said, "but you aren't going to, right?"
Qian Jie shook her head and then explained, "Alchemy is the profession in which we combine different herbs and medicines to get the desired result. There are two types of Alchemy Masters, Pill Masters and Elixir Masters. Pill Masters, as you can imagine, refine pills while Elixir Masters refine elixirs."
Qin Meng listened without blinking and memorized every detail. He was surprised, because his memory was never this good before. He'd even forget names after some time if no one reminded him. He could recall everything that she spoke; it bewildered him, but in a good way.
Qian Jie brought a thick book and passed it to Qin Meng. [Chart of Hundred Thousand Medicines and Herbs], Qin Meng read the title. It had at least a thousand pages.
Qian Jie grinned when she spotted a confused look on his face and said, "You need to memorize everything inside this book before I teach you refining. Now you can go. I still need to continue my experiment."
"You are kidding, right?" Qin Meng's eyes widened as he looked at the red-eyed girl in front of him in disbelief.