Chapter 17: Joining the Apothecary

Alchemists not only needed to refine their own alchemic flame but also required a powerful soul as a guide.

Furthermore, the success rate and quality of the resulting pills were closely tied to the prescription, experience, insight, and the quality of the medicinal ingredients.

Half of those aspiring to become alchemists were stopped at the threshold of refining their flame; of the ones who made it past, another ninety percent were tormented to the brink of despair by the soul trial.

Even those who managed to survive these two basic hurdles often fell in the later stages, failing to accumulate experience or insight, and ultimately became the lowest level of alchemists, muddling through life.

There was no other reason—on the path of alchemy, apart from personal aptitude, one had to practice repeatedly, attain personal understanding, accumulate experience, and possess extraordinary perception and talent in the alchemic arts.

This process of hands-on practice consumed vast quantities of medicinal materials and was costly.

Li Ji’an was already aware of all this.

Even with his powerful soul, remarkable perception, and the experience of meticulously studying medicinal herbs for ten years at the academy’s apothecary in his previous life, he did not have much confidence in how far he could go on the path of alchemy this lifetime.

His main goal was to accumulate experience for his next life.

On any path where experience played a large role, his advantages would only become more pronounced.

If he failed in this life, he could try again in the next, and if not then, after ten or a hundred lives, he would eventually succeed.

Grain by grain, a tower is built; from the fur of a thousand foxes, a coat is made; small streams converge into mighty rivers—sooner or later, he would become a master of alchemy.

Of course, for now, it was also the best means of making a living available to him.

“A first-tier alchemy furnace, twenty spirit stones—fixed price!”

“An ancestral fasting pill prescription, streamlined process, cheap ingredients—just five spirit stones.”

“High-quality, reasonably priced, and efficient Qi Nourishing Pills—thirty spirit stones.”

...

Li Ji’an silently committed the prices to memory. He showed no disappointment; he had never intended to practice alchemy on his own behind closed doors.

He was here only to gather information.

With limited aptitude, scarce resources, and zero foundation, only a fool would lock himself away and experiment blindly from the start.

Chen Qingling glanced at Li Ji’an, only to feel disappointed yet again. That same calm, indifferent face—this aloofness made him even more exasperated.

“Have you given up now?”

“Hmph, I told you this was a pipe dream. Becoming an alchemist isn’t so easy. Even with talent, you’d need a fortune of at least a thousand spirit stones just to get started.”

“Have you seen how much effort cultivation families put into nurturing a promising alchemist? And how many actually succeed? In the end, don’t they all have to invite outside alchemists to serve as family retainers?”

Li Ji’an merely smiled, unfazed. “Where can one apply to be an alchemist’s apprentice?”

“...”

“Uncle, you’re already thirty years old... You still want to be an apprentice?”

“Do you think there aren’t others trying to learn alchemy this way? Let me tell you straight—those truly experienced alchemists have their apprenticeships packed to the brim. Do you know what people are willing to do just for the chance to be accepted?”

“Some alchemists have stricter requirements for apprentices than the major sects!” Chen Qingling was even more astonished.

Li Ji’an was long used to his attitude and remained calm. “I don’t need a master alchemist, nor do I have to be a formal apprentice. I’m fine doing menial work.”

“You... You’re too naive! Never mind being an assistant, even as an apprentice you’ll spend three years doing chores, five years serving, and only then might you get a little guidance. You’re already thirty—by the time you learn the basics, you’ll be in your forties or fifties. When you finally start making a living at alchemy, it’ll be another twenty years. By then... will it even matter?” Chen Qingling was at a loss for words.

“Does it matter? Of course it does!” Li Ji’an only smiled, offering no further explanation, just staring earnestly at him.

Chen Qingling was dumbfounded by his gaze.

“You... you really want to be an alchemist’s menial worker?”

“Yes.”

“...”

Chen Qingling felt he had been clear enough.

“Fine, do whatever you want. I’ve really done my best. If I try to talk you out of it again, I’m a dog.

But remember, if you ever regret this, don’t blame me for not warning you. This is your own choice—I’ve done everything I could...” For a moment, he wasn’t sure if he was moved by Li Ji’an’s determination or simply resigned.

He vaguely sensed that this fortuitous uncle before him might never return to the ordinary folk’s district again.

“Don’t worry!” Li Ji’an nodded with a smile.

“If you’re really set on being an alchemist’s menial, don’t bother with the market stalls. Here, alchemists recruiting apprentices have enough to deal with—people who work without complaint, treat their masters like their own fathers, and don’t even ask for pay. Go to South Street.” Chen Qingling turned away, numb.

“South Street?” Li Ji’an recalled that South Street housed family-run shops and branches of outside factions.

“Only the family alchemy shops on South Street hire menials.”

“The eight great families here haven’t been established long—only one has produced a family-trained alchemist; the others involved in the pill trade rely on outside alchemists as retainers, and they often post notices recruiting menials.” Chen Qingling explained listlessly.

He hadn’t thought much about the reason.

But after hearing this, Li Ji’an quickly picked out several keywords.

“Retainers.”

“Outside alchemists.”

“Recruiting menials...”

After seven steps, he raised his brows, his thoughts now clear.

Previously, his incomplete understanding of basic cultivation world common sense prevented him from making the right judgment. He’d assumed that with so many family members, there would be no shortage of workers.

But now, with Chen Qingling’s information, he understood.

Retained alchemists naturally wished to enjoy their privileges for the long term.

The families, meanwhile, wanted to cut costs and hoped to train their own alchemists.

With such inherent contradictions, a compromise was inevitable. The retained alchemists might promise to take on disciples, but only a limited number, and they would never teach their most precious secrets unless absolutely necessary.

As for the menial tasks, they preferred to hire outsiders rather than allow the family to assign their own members.

After all, some subtle secrets of alchemy might be hidden in the smallest of details.

“Good! To the South Street alchemy shops it is!”

In this scenario, his age and lack of talent actually became advantages.

Sure enough, three shops on South Street were hiring menials to assist the alchemists. Two of them even had age requirements—they wanted no young applicants, only those clearly past the hope of ever becoming alchemists, above thirty.

It was as if the position had been created for him.

“Lingzhu Mountain Yan Family... Monthly pay: one spirit stone and fifty taels of spirit sand.”

“Purple Bamboo Valley Wei Family... Monthly pay: one spirit stone.”

“Silver Sand Lake Wang Family... Monthly pay: one spirit stone.”

All three were family-owned alchemy shops, and all their alchemists were outside retainers.

The Yan family’s retainer was a mid-stage first-tier alchemist, in his forties.

The other two employed senior late-stage first-tier alchemists, both quite advanced in age.

After weighing his options, Li Ji’an chose the Yan family’s alchemy shop.

“Li Chang’an? From the Wilderness Settlement, thirty years old... First level of Qi Refinement... Very good, very good.” On the second floor of the shop, the Yan family’s manager and retainer, Master Mo, met with Li Ji’an.

Master Mo was quite satisfied.

Manager Yan Tong breathed a sigh of relief.

As an outsider granted the Yan surname and favored by the elders, he’d been put in charge of the market shop and felt immense pressure.

Especially in dealing with the retainer, Master Mo, he dared not slack off in the slightest.

Now, finally, he had hired a menial to Master Mo’s satisfaction, resolving his most urgent problem.

“Chang’an, from now on, follow Master Mo and do your work well. The shop won’t mistreat you. If Master Mo is pleased, your pay might even increase.”

Li Ji’an bowed. “Thank you, Master Mo. Thank you, Manager Yan.”

Both parties signed a soul contract, establishing their employment.

Except in special circumstances, Master Mo would open the furnace once every five days, each session lasting less than two hours. Li Ji’an only needed to arrive at the shop two hours beforehand, prepare the ingredients as instructed, clean the furnace, and handle the post-session cleanup.

Thus, Li Ji’an had at last found his footing in the market, able at least to cover his annual rent.

What surprised him was that, as he was cultivating that evening, Yan Tong himself came to call...