Cultivating Chai

43:

Lianhua watched with her arms crossed as Xiao Feng trailed behind a procession of alchemist designates that had full wooden baskets slung on their backs with sturdy rope straps.

Had it not been for the fact that she was waiting outside the passageway that led to the Administrative Division, they would not even be allowed to pass through the vigilant gazes of two armed guards that definitely concealed armor beneath their loose-fitting robes, an embroidered patch that depicted a sword crossed against an arrow stitched above the chest level signaled their status as Martial Division cultivators.

Neither of the early-layer Core Formation Cultivators spared Xiao Feng more than a single glance, their stoic expressions and the blades sheathed on their right telling him that the Frontier Sect and by extension, the Azure Lotus Sect, greatly valued the individuals housed behind that passageway.

The bustle of the central foyer had dulled as they stepped into the Administrative Division. From the artful tile mosaics running across the passageway to the potted spiritual plants that were spaced out evenly,, the change in atmosphere forced Xiao Feng to take on a more solemn expression that was at odds with his usual persona.

Xiao Feng took in the offices flanking his either side with interest, making sure not to let his gaze linger even as he spotted a familiar name on one golden plaque. He wasn’t supposed to be in the Administrative Division and he certainly did not wish to give Grand Alchemist Xin Wu, who was quite possibly behind that door right now, a reason to find fault with him.

His gaze turned ahead, noting a break in the main passageway near its center, as it branched out into opposing directions.

Lianhua took the first and only left, leaving Xiao Feng no time to muse on what lay behind the unmarked wooden double-doors at the very end of the main passageway.

Instead, he found himself staring down a much shorter but equally wide corridor, not taking long to identify the residence that was labeled Senior Alchemist - Lianhua Wu.

His gaze, however, was much more captivated by what lay at the end of the corridor. A mottled stone door that was in clear incongruity to the elegant wood used in the other residences, it’s sheer thickness and the purported strength required to move a gateway so heavy, was self-evidently beyond what he was capable of.

What in the world? Is that really a residence? Or… is it more of a prison. How powerful would someone have to be to ask for a door to be made that heavy? Why? Xiao Feng mused, not having expected to stumble upon such a secret in the Alchemy Division of all places.

Lianhua’s expression was calm as she twisted her room key, a loud click sounding out before she gently pushed it open.

The three alchemists stepped in after her, clearly accustomed to delivering orders in the Administrative Division.

“Place them next to my study table, please,” Lianhua directed, her tone carrying a twinge of authority that was absent when she taught him or for that matter, even addressed him.

The alchemist designates complied without a word, giving Xiao Feng a few moments to sweep his gaze across what he could see of her room from his angle.

Wow, He thought, as he took in a room that was three times his own in surface area, the walls colored a gentle cream that in Xiao Feng’s eyes, suited Lianhua’s personality. A large landscape painting that depicted the Stone fist of the Frontier, alluding to the flatter tops of the mountains that served as part of a natural defense on top of which the frontier sect was located, was hung on the wall that her study table was placed before.

His gut told Xiao Feng that Lianhua was the one who had drawn the stunning painting, with its harmonizing hues of grays and whites.

Two wide wardrobes lined the wall behind the study table, but they were not what had caught Xiao Feng’s eye.

He did his best to stifle the appreciation in his gaze as he studied the equipment rack. A wooden face dotted with dozens of hooks seamlessly melded into a more standard cabinet with multiple drawers. It was like a chiffonier but with a series of hooks where there should have been a mirror and presently, each of those hooks were occupied. From standard stirring spoons and knives of varying lengths to three entire cutting boards that were hooked at the bottom row, glass pipettes and razor sharp scalpels.

There was likely more such paraphernalia in the drawers, too.

The fact that stunned Xiao Feng the most, however, was that every piece of equipment Lianhua owned was forged out of spiritual silver, the same material used to forge his sword.

I really doubt that I can waltz into old Jian’s shop and demand him to forge a set like that for me. No, the time and effort it would require to forge spiritual silver into such precise instruments? It’s almost certainly something the sect commissioned for her, Xiao Feng concluded, himself not sure how long it would take old Jian to forge a set like that.

“Gawking at a woman’s room can be interpreted in many ways,” Lianhua commented, snapping Xiao Feng out of his reverie.

He was so enamored by the spiritual silver tools that Xiao Feng hadn’t even noticed that the alchemists had already left, leaving only him and Lianhua in the corridor.

“I…err,” He turned his gaze away, a light flush coloring his cheers. “Sorry.”

Lianhua giggled, her mirth echoing through her laughter.

Oh, she didn’t mean it, He realized, just having gotten played.

“Well, are you just going to stand there,” Lianhua asked.

“You… want me to come in?” Xiao Feng asked in turn, his expression looking taken aback.

“That’s what I’m saying,” She replied sweetly.

“I thought I was supposed to get my pill furnace and then we’d meet at the Alchemy Vaults,” Xiao Feng explained his point of view.

“You can get your pill furnace if that makes you more comfortable, but you won’t be refining anything today. Oh and as for the Alchemy Vaults, well, you’re already here.”

“You have an alchemy vault in your room?” Xiao Feng asked, his tone tinged with incredulousness.

Lianhua just mischievously smiled at him before retreating into her room.