Chapter 183: Chapter 183: A Heavy Money Pouch, Comprehensive Herbal Collection

"Pharmacist Yang, these are the herbs from the Han Family. They’re all here. And the silver taels you specifically requested are in this pouch."

Han Bingyu had brought the herbs from the Han Family. This was the payment for the Lantian Jade Refining Pill Yang Chan had previously given her.

It was a considerable amount, but Han Bingyu carried it all herself. To ordinary people, these Official Disciples of the Cyan Yuan Sect were all incredibly strong.

Additionally, Yang Chan had made a special request for some silver coins.

From what she had gathered, Han Bingyu knew what Yang Chan needed it for. Word had already spread that he had secured a spot to attend the triennial Pharmacist Exchange Conference in White Jade City.

As the date for the triennial Pharmacist Exchange Conference in White Jade City drew nearer, everyone naturally knew who the two attending Pharmacists were.

One was Intermediate Pharmacist Xu Gaocen, who had also attended last time, so that was no surprise. The other was Basic Level Pharmacist Yang Chan, the Genius Pharmacist capable of refining the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill.

Most people in the Medicine Hall knew about this. Many had been following the selection, so once the names were confirmed, the news spread quickly.

This led to many people trying to see Yang Chan recently, but he turned most of them away with the excuse that he was preparing to improve his Pharmacist Ability. ’It’s best not to be too conspicuous at a time like this.’

’Meeting too many people wouldn’t do me much good; a polite refusal is enough.’ Han Bingyu had been the one to personally turn most of them away, so she was well aware of the situation.

’Han Bingyu deeply admired Yang Chan’s abilities. Very few people could achieve what he had. This meant it would probably only be a few years before Yang Chan became an Intermediate Pharmacist—one specializing in Alchemy, no less. His potential was immense.’

’This made Han Bingyu all the more certain of her decision.’

Among these visitors was the Elite Disciple Han Yu, whom Yang Chan had her turn away once before. The response this time was the same: he was sent away without a meeting.

"Good. Just leave everything here."

Yang Chan nodded.

’He had specifically requested extra silver coins for his expenses in White Jade City. Although he already had enough, Yang Chan wanted to be better prepared, just in case he ran short due to some unforeseen circumstances.’

’He planned to keep these coins separate as a contingency fund.’

’Having extra silver coins was never a problem, but not having enough would be a huge one. He hoped he wouldn’t have to use his backup, but if he did, it would just prove his foresight.’

Yang Chan walked over to inspect the newly delivered herbs. Their Medicinal Properties were excellent, and he was very satisfied.

The pouch was heavy. As long as he didn’t spend too lavishly, it would be more than enough.

"Have you finished reading that copy of ’Alchemy Basics’?"

Yang Chan looked at Han Bingyu and asked.

’Hard workers should be rewarded. When people see their labor bear fruit, they become even more dedicated.’

"I’ve finished it. I can go get it now. Do you need the book, Pharmacist Yang?"

Hearing this, Han Bingyu subconsciously assumed Yang Chan needed the book. For a Pharmacist’s Assistant like her, such books were essential. While the knowledge in ’Alchemy Basics’ wasn’t enough for her to refine an Elixir like the Lantian Jade Refining Pill, it was extremely useful for brewing things like Qi Nourishing Soup.

Knowledge might be easily accessible to those of a certain station, but for those of a lower rank, it was incredibly difficult to obtain.

Take a book like ’Alchemy Basics’, for example. It was easy for a Basic Level Pharmacist to acquire, but a Pharmacist’s Assistant had almost no chance of getting one unless it was from another Pharmacist. That was one way.

Many Pharmacist’s Assistants curried favor with Pharmacists for this very reason—to receive guidance or access to such books.

"No need. Since you’ve finished that one, take this copy of the ’Comprehensive Herbal Collection’ to read. It contains detailed descriptions of all sorts of herbs. If you can memorize its contents, it will be a great help to you in both brewing and refining medicines."

Yang Chan nodded and pointed to a copy of the ’Comprehensive Herbal Collection’. He had already finished the book himself and found it excellent, so he was happy to recommend it to Han Bingyu. He was aware, after all, that she was secretly practicing refining medicines on her own.

’This meant Han Bingyu wanted to become a Pharmacist herself. That was a good thing, and he was more than happy to help.’

’Helping her was a small matter for him, but for Han Bingyu, it was a valuable reward.’

’Sometimes, material rewards like Elixirs weren’t enough. Rewards of knowledge were also necessary to ensure Han Bingyu remained diligent.’

’As for her becoming a Basic Level Pharmacist, that would likely take several years. In that amount of time, even if she did get promoted, he could simply train a new assistant.’

’Of course, it was more likely that by then, his Cultivation would be high enough that he no longer needed to hide it, and his Pharmacist Ability would be even stronger. In that case, Han Bingyu might not even want to leave.’

’It wasn’t impossible.’

"Thank you, Pharmacist Yang."

Han Bingyu’s face lit up with joy. After finishing ’Alchemy Basics’, she had been hoping to get a new book from Yang Chan—ideally, one he personally recommended, as that would be of the greatest help to her.

She had learned a great deal from ’Alchemy Basics’, the very book Yang Chan had recommended, which had saved her a significant amount of time.

After all, not every book was useful to her. With Yang Chan pre-selecting them, she could skip the unsuitable ones, which greatly sped up her learning.

After finishing ’Alchemy Basics’, she felt her knowledge of combining Medicinal Properties was lacking. The required ratios for different herbs and the subsequent reactions made her keenly aware of her own ignorance, and she was eager to supplement her knowledge in this area.

’The ’Comprehensive Herbal Collection’ Yang Chan had just suggested was the perfect book to address these shortcomings. He truly is an elite among Basic Level Pharmacists,’ Han Bingyu thought with admiration.

"It’s nothing. If you run into anything you don’t understand, you can come ask me. Don’t do what you did last time and try to figure it all out by yourself. Your goal right now is mastery, not independent research. This will save you time."

Yang Chan continued, offering a reminder.

’He knew Han Bingyu was a little hesitant to ask him questions about Alchemy, probably feeling embarrassed about asking too often. But for him, answering them was no trouble at all.’

For Han Bingyu, however, she had struggled with one issue for half a month without figuring it out. It was Yang Chan who finally noticed something was wrong. Her Spirit seemed dazed during that time, and sensing a problem, he eventually discovered its source.

After he explained the intricacies of the topic to her in detail, Han Bingyu was back to her usual self and became even more diligent in her work, which was a great help to him.

’Naturally, Yang Chan didn’t want a repeat of that incident.’