Cultivating Chai

Xiao Feng was content to let the alchemist designate weigh each pair of spiritual herbs that he had purchased, as he arrived before the trash heap.

Essence Cultivation Art, He thought, surreptitiously activating a cultivation art that not even Nascent Soul cultivators could see through, as long as he didn’t challenge them directly.

His gaze was once again confronted by a visual overload, but this time, Xiao Feng had resolved himself to stay focused.

Well, he wasn’t lying, Xiao Feng thought as he reached out for a claw shaped spiritual fruit and held it aloft before him. In his gaze, Xiao Feng saw the true nature of the bruised fruit. He searched and searched again, but he could not find any traces of a core. That explained why the spiritual fruit was down to a quarter of its Qi reserves, that sparse amount diffused across its surface area.

It seemed that as long as a spiritual herb or fruit’s core remained alive, it could hold on to the Qi it had amassed from either the tree it belonged to or the bountiful soil. But the moment the core finally shattered, or shattered in the uprooting process, it lost the ability to contain that Qi.

I guess I might’ve gotten a bit too excited, Xiao Feng thought, as he tossed the spiritual fruit back into the trash pile. Deciding that it would take too long for him to manually scan each herb or fruit, Xiao Feng allowed his gaze to sweep across the length and breadth of the trash heap.

Rotting, rotten or damaged. They probably keep these around for recruits like me to experiment with, though a third aren’t even worth the price they’re asking, Xiao Feng thought. It would’ve been a useful resource if he was low on cash like he was supposed to be, at least in the eyes of everyone in the Alchemy Division.

Not willing to give up just yet, Xiao Feng used his hand as a paddle and began to stir the sea of discarded spiritual herbs and fruit. The recruits and alchemist designates were likely observing his eccentric movements with enough unspoken judgements to go well with a few cups of chai to go around, but that was good.

The more eccentric he seemed in their eyes, the less they would question the meaning behind his movements.

A gleam of red flickered past his vision.

Xiao Feng froze.

That’s not supposed to happen, He thought, before instinct kicked in. Recalling the exact spot he had noticed the glimmer of a color that did not belong in the pile, Xiao Feng began to frenetically dig.

A few moments later, he was holding a small, misshapen lump of black stone. Its surface was covered in whorls, with one spiral giving way to the next. It was a thoroughly unremarkable, completely rotten spiritual fruit that should’ve been thrown into the bin instead of being sold.

However, Xiao Feng’s gaze was trembling.

It had a core. One that was gently pulsing, brightening and then dimming. But there was a problem.

The core was red. The Qi contained within the ostensible fruit was a light red, too.

When had Xiao Feng last seen a red core?

On the battlefield, Xiao Feng thought. He had seen it on the battlefield, as the demonic path unleashed a squadron of Shadow Bloodhounds that peppered through his ranks.

This isn’t a fruit, He realized. It’s an egg.

Xiao Feng hurriedly began to grab spiritual fruits out of the wooden basket at random, until he had fourteen more on top of the egg he was gingerly holding onto with his right hand.

He walked over to the alchemist designate, who gestured to an empty basket lying on the ground next to the veritable cash register. Xiao Feng dumped the fruits to build up cushioning, before he gently deposited the black egg on top.

A moment later, the door that led to the Alchemist’s Haven opened and the alchemist designate who had gone to fetch the milk, returned with five bottles carried in a sturdy metal receptacle.

There we go, Xiao Feng thought. Now, let’s close this deal before these alchemists realize that I’m the one winning out here. Well, maybe.

Twenty minutes later, Xiao Feng finally gave up on his efforts towards trying to maintain a low profile.

Three alchemist designates followed him as he ostentatiously walked across the Verdant Harmony Tree. Well, he wasn't trying to be ostentatious, but he knew that it would be interpreted as such anyway.

When Xiao Feng had realized that there was no way he could lug across three baskets full of herbs back to his room, the alchemist designate had informed him that they would be assisting him on his journey back. For such a big order, it was apparently the least that they could do.

I hope Lianhua doesn’t see me as a gaudy jerk after this. The writing might already be on the wall, but a man can hope, Xiao Feng thought, having genuinely enjoyed her company so far.

Soon, Xiao Feng stood before the warden, who had hollered at him with a completely flabbergasted expression.

“Recruit Xiao Feng,” The warden addressed, his tone feigning sternness to mask his confusion.

“Yes, sir?” He asked.

“You are aware that I must inspect and log every item you take into your room, yes?” He asked.

“You are?” Xiao Feng questioned, his expression turning odd. “But sir, earlier with the pill furnace…,” He trailed off, expressing his doubt.

“A pill furnace is naturally fine, Recruit Xiao Feng. Though yours is very impressive, I must say.”

“Thank you, sir,” Xiao Feng replied, awkwardly chuckling at the compliment.

“Well, place the first basket on my desk. Let’s begin this log now, I don’t have all day.”

“I’m uh, sorry sir. I’ll make sure not to inconvenience you like this in the future.”

“Now, now, it’s my job, Recruit Xiao Feng,” He said.

Xiao Feng whispered to the alchemist designates, telling them that they could leave. He had to give them due respect, after all— they were alchemists and he was not. That was not a gap that money could bridge.

“Yes, sir,” He replied, before placing the first basket on his desk as instructed.