Seeing Master Yi walk in, Randolph's face began to break out in a smile. 'Perfect timing' he thought slyly.
"Master Yi, thank you for coming." Walking over he cupped his fist and bowed slightly, showing the appropriate respect.
Master Yi nodded gently, "I was free this morning, it's no issue" he said waving his hand dismissively.
"What is it you've called me here for?" he inquired, looking around the room. His eyes stopping on Michael briefly.
Randolph cleared his throat and said "As I was saying to Master Shen earlier, there seems to be a servant here that is unfit to be called so." He stated matter-of-factly.
"This servant is so incompetent that I fear the Soaring Dragon Palace is at risk of losing hundreds, if not thousands of precious herbs were he to continue." Making sure to exaggerate, Randolph added gestures to his speech to increase the drama.
"Hoh? That is something that we cannot overlook." Master Yi said calmly. "Whom is this incompetent servant that you speak of? And do you have proof?"
Randolph nodded "Yes, were I not here to witness this fallacy, I believe under Master Shen it would have been allowed to continue." Not forgetting to throw some shade at Master Shen for his earlier defending of Michael, Randolph made his way to Michael's workbench.
Master Shen's face reddened in anger as he heard the accusation because of his earlier defiance. However, knowing Master Yi was now in charge, he quickly let any thoughts of rebuttal fizzle out.
Elena watched on in horror as she saw Randolph walk towards her and Michael's work bench, seeing the snide smile of victory etched on his face made her queasy. She had suggested switching Michael's herb mixture with her own, however the suggestion was quickly rejected by Michael.
Master Yi's eyes followed Randolph as he made his way to Michael's work bench. He remembered his conversation with his friend Grandpa Yin regarding Michael's circumstances and frowned slightly. At Grandpa Yin's request, he had promised to take care of Michael during his tenure as an alchemist servant.
He sighed lightly, feeling a headache coming on 'This will be difficult to diffuse.' Master Yi was torn, while he could absolutely quash any disputes from Randolph in order to protect Michael, the retaliation from his Father and Grandfather would be difficult to swallow.
While he was debating internally, Master Yi looked over at Michael who was currently smiling innocently. Almost as if he were unaware of his predicament.
Master Yi held eye contact with Michael for a moment before a smile creeped onto his face subconsciously 'Looks like the kid has something in mind.' He thought amusedly. 'Let's trust him for now, and if he really has nothing I'll just protect him.'
Randolph stood beside Michael and looked over at Master Yi. "Master Yi, please direct your attention to this servant. While I was doing my rounds and looking for a potential direct servant I happened upon this quack." He stated eloquently.
"Having been here for numerous days, this idiot must have ruined countless herb mixtures. Please come and inspect his work, I can't bear to look at this travesty any longer. He must be removed immediately!" Straight out of a soap drama, Randolph delivered his lines as if they were rehearsed.
'Haha! Someone give this guy an award!' Archie whooped laughingly, trying not to roll on the floor.
'What an idiot' Michael thought, watching the farce.
Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Master Yi made his way over to the bench slowly, taking in the expressions of the surrounding servants. Apart from Michael, most had a fearful look on their faces including Elena. However, some had looks of schadenfreude, taking pleasure in the peril of others.
Michael moved aside for Master Yi, giving him full access to his work bench. As he moved aside Randolph's eyes clashed with his. Randolph's faced morphed into one of victory, as if he had just sentenced Michael to death.
Mastery Yi dipped his finger in the herb mixture, first testing its consistency before bringing it toward his nose and sampling the fragrance.
"35-year White Spirit Root. 2 bushels, grinded for approximately 5 minutes and 20 seconds." He paused and gently dabbed it on his tongue to test the efficacy and continued, "Soaked using 23 drops of spirit water, added gradually throughout the mixing process."
Master Yi looked over at Michael who currently had a smug look on his face, showing confidence in his prior work. He smiled widely in response, the wrinkles on his face becoming more prominent as he stated "90% efficacy, great work Michael."
Randolph who had his nose up to the sky in victory almost jumped in fright. "90% efficacy? M-Master Yi, what do you mean? This is clearly just a ruined pile of herbs."
Frowning, Master Yi responded coldly "Are you calling me a liar Randolph?"
Randolph was quickly startled, recognising the err of his words. He looked over at Michael who had a smug look on his face and thought 'Is Master Yi protecting this whelp?' Remembering his father's words earlier that day, he decided to go all-in regardless of if Master Yi was trying to protect him or not.
"Master Yi, of course I would not dare to call you a liar. However when I tested these herbs earlier, they were indeed ruined." Gesticulating, Randolph made his way over to the work bench, "May I test them again?" he asked softly.
"Of course, after all, what can a 2-star alchemist see that I cannot." He said, clearly showing his displeasure at the other party's insistence.
Randolph steeled his face and lightly dipped his finger in the mixture before taking it out and rubbing his fingers together, testing the consistency. After a moment it was as if he were struck with a bolt of lightning, the excess spirit water that he had added earlier was nowhere to be found. He looked at the mixture again, not believing his eyes.
'I wish I could capture this moment forever. A painting of this idiots face right now would be heavenly' Archie commented.
'Yes, we didn't get to see the exploding pill furnace, but this isn't a bad consolation prize' Michael added on jubilantly.
With the distraction of Master Yi entering the room, Michael had asked Archie to transport the spoiled mixture to the Reverse Realm. Due to the time ratio of 365:1 (1 year to 1 day), only a fraction of a second was needed to revert the mixture, in the blink of an eye the ruined mixture was gone before the completed mix had reappeared.
Randolph turned his head slowly and was met with Michael's now innocent looking face. "What's the matter Master Randolph? Is there something wrong with my herb mixture?" he said coyly.
"I-I what is the meaning of this?" he whispered, suddenly lost in thought.
Suddenly the room began to get colder, so much so that every breath would cause a mist to appear. Michael instantly recognised this phenomenon from his experience with Grandpa Yin when he was furious.
Randolph instantly turned pale, his instincts were screaming at him to run away. He looked at the source of the chill and saw Master Yi staring at him intently.
"Randolph, the reason I arrived today was to give your grandfather face. However not only have you wasted my time, but you have also tried to deceive me. Even going so far as to question my judgement. Do not think that just because you are the grandson of a Grand Elder you can do as you please in my Alchemist Division."
Randolph tried to speak but no words came out. His mind was blank and all he could do was stand there, trembling in fear from the heavy pressure surrounding him.
"From this moment on, you will be demoted to a 1-star alchemist and will be closely monitored. If you make another mistake, you will be expelled from the Alchemist Hall." Master Yi said, his voice cold and final.
Randolph fell to his knees, stricken with confusion. He had never experienced such humiliation and shame in his life. He had planned this ruse for the past 2 days, making sure to put Michael in a position where he would be expelled before taking care of him.
Master Yi turned and began to walk away, his fluid movements still as graceful as ever. As he passed by Michael, he stopped and said, "You have done well, Michael. Keep up the good work."
Michael bowed deeply, feeling a surge of gratitude towards Master Yi. He knew that without the old master's support, he would likely not have been able to overcome Randolph's scheme, no matter if his herbs were properly refined or not.
As Master Yi disappeared from view, the room began to warm up once again. Randolph remained on his knees, his head bowed in defeat. The other servants exchanged glances, shocked at the proceedings.
Elena was mystified, she had watched the whole ordeal with clenched fists. This was not how she expected this altercation to end. She looked at Michael who had seemed to be in control of the whole situation and felt full of awe and respect at his means.
Master Shen stepped up and addressed the servants "Okay, that will be all for today. You are all dismissed." With a flourish of his sleeve he also left the room.
The servants were happy to get the remainder of the day free and made their way past the crestfallen Randolph who had just been demoted.
Michael and Elena also made their way out of the room, not sparing a glance at Randolph who was still on his knees. It wasn't until Michael reached the threshold that he turned around. As if it were pre-ordained Randolph lifted his head at the exact moment and their eyes locked.
Michael smiled widely and threw a wink at Randolph before turning around and leaving.
"Puu" Randolph suddenly spurted blood and passed out on the floor.