He began to unfold sheet after sheet of his sister's notes until he found the chapter called "The Culmination of Cultivation", which discussed a lot of the aspects that had been summarized.
His attention came to a halt as he stumbled upon the sub-chapter titled The Benefits of the Pill amidst the wealth of Meisha's scribbles. It became apparent that there were discrepancies in the concoction process—errors that needed rectification, updates that begged attention, and a quest for perfection
There were tons of other concoctions that were not spared from mistakes, further strengthening Zhihao's belief that she was a stubborn and determined woman.
Yet, as he continued, he finally uncovered what he sought—the Pill of Flow. This certain mixture possessed the unique effects of smoothing meridians, ensuring a seamless flow for cultivation, akin to a river flowing unimpeded.
In this instance, Zhihao found himself bewildered, didn't understand what meridians were, not knowing much about the whole concept of cultivation. However, that was what made Zhihao even more eager to seek knowledge.
"So we don't need the cauldron?" said the man with black hair as he heated the fire, about to make a warm brew. "I see, this is how it's done."
He opened the container housing the white-colored liquid and spooned it into the cup, hot smoke emanating from it. "Where is this sculpture tool?" he circulated his sight to the room. "Sister must have put it somewhere."
He blew on the concoction to reduce the heat, warming his temperature because of the cold atmosphere. His emerald eyes were still focused on reading the book while sipping the drink. "How did this work in practice?"
He turned his head into the slightly open door. "Nah, I don't want to bother her for this." He turned back to the front, looking at the notebook. "I have to do it on my own!"
Putting down the elixir on the table, he exclaimed, "Alright, let's do this!" With newfound confidence, Zhihao searched somewhere for the tool used to form the pill, checking the cabinet attached to the wall.
Coming up empty-handed, he took another look around and found a cabinet labeled "Pills", causing Zhihao to smile. "There you are!"
The cabinet located in the corner of the room was opened by Zhihao, who found tons of stock pills in the jars. Despite each of them having their identification, he did not find Pill of Flow at all. "I can see why I need to replenish the stock."
Moreover, when Zhihao looked down, the man found the tool. "Is this sculpture tool?" he doubted as he lifted it, not too heavy and made of wood. "Wonder how to operate it."
Returning to the concoction room, he placed the device on the table and commenced to arrange the ingredients. "Pills indeed involve a variety of ingredients compared to concoctions," he noted. "Five components, and I don't know all of them."
Fortunately, Meisha wrote that down so all Zhihao had to do was find the ingredients he needed, all organized in a drawer. He separated the various herbs on a ceramic dish, confirmed by the man as he double-checked the note.
"Alright, is all correct," Zhihao reached up the mortar that was larger than the one he wore for mixing the elixir.
After that, Zhihao could not pour in the mortar but had to be weighed first on the balance, find the right weight, and then crush it in it. The black beans and the red things are put in first to be softened and thrived with care and determination. It takes time and effort. Let the other ingredients follow inside.
The sound it made was quite loud but the rain outside overwhelmed it, not too worried about waking his sister and continued pounding until it became like grains of sand. However, there is a moment when a mortar can't reach the deeper and must be sifted further.
Zhihao, after a quick check in the book, seized a sieve and poured the crushed mixture into it. He flattened it, allowing the finer components to sift into a container as he tapped the sieve. The coarser elements would require another round of grinding.
"So far so good," Zhihao mused as he smoothed out the remaining ingredients in the mortal, performing similar steps thereafter until the wooden container was filled with herbal mixture. "What next?"
"Combine with honey to create a cohesive mass to shape the pills," his face turned to his surroundings, searching for the liquid he had seen. "Is it in the cupboard?"
He quickly opened the closet and it didn't take long to find the honey which had to be liquefied as it was so thick. Zhihao then heated the furnace and on top of it was a copper container as a conductor to melt the nectar.
A noticeable transformation occurred in the consistency of the mixture. It softened, reaching a state where Zhihao could now stir it. It was at this moment that he mixed it into the herb, stirring again until it solidified. The thickness was such that even pulling the spoon from it proved challenging for Zhihao.
"Is this shape supposed to be?" the black-haired man hesitated, checking Meisha's note again. "Molded it into balls with sculpture tool."
Zhihao didn't comment much and took the combination from the wooden container, it was difficult because it was sticky until it was finally molded into a ball. "I'm not sure what to do," he muttered, lying the object on the device. "Do I have to press it first?"
He began to scrutinize the tool, there were fifteen holes with circular shapes that formed a neat line from left to right. "I suppose so," he believed and began to squeeze while moving it back and forth with a wooden board, gradually forming an elongated tube.
"Ah, so this is the technique," he then opened the tool that connected the two sides and positioned the solidified mixture in the mold, doing the same as before until it was completely formed into small balls.
"What are you doing?" the voice startled Zhihao on the spot, frozen in an instant.
As he turned his head, in front of the door appeared Meisha who had woken up without a blanket. Her white simple tunic emphasized her shape which Zhihao had ignored before. He warily watched his sister approach, leaving him unable to move.
"Uh... I..." he stammered, unable to conceal or evade his actions. His fear wasn't solely about crafting the pill but also about taking her notebook without permission. "Apologies, sister!"
Meisha seemed not to care what came out of Zhihao's lips, aware that the book containing her recipe was open on the table. Not only that, the messy ingredients and scattered dust caused her brown eyes to widen.
But, when she noticed the sculpture tool, she walked closer. "Don't tell me," she who was still in doubt opened the device and saw what was inside.
A few seconds later, Meisha turned to Zhihao, questioning, "Did you just make the Pill of Flow?"