Chapter 28: Nangong Yan
After Hu Lao took his leave, he quickly headed to the fourth floor of Linlang Pavilion and went to the room of the pavilion master. However, he found that the doors were shut and there were two guards on duty in front of the doors.
The doors of the pavilion master’s room were normally open. In the event of the otherwise, it usually meant he was receiving an important guest and that it was inconvenient to interrupt him. However, the current matter at hand was urgent; if news traveled of Linlang Pavilion’s inability to appraise a pill, its reputation would take a big hit.
“Brothers, I need to meet the pavilion master, can you please inform him.” Hu Lao said in a heavy tone.
The guards outside naturally recognized Hu Lao. However, the pavilion master had strictly instructed them to not let anyone interrupt him. The guards were somewhat put on a spot, “Hu Lao, the pavilion master is currently meeting with an important guest. He has instructed us to not let anyone disturb him.”
Hu Lao felt somewhat disappointed, for it was as he had expected. However, when he thought of Xiao Chen’s impatient demeanor, he was under the impression that Xiao Chen might leave if he kept him waiting. Thus, he urgently added: “I need to find the pavilion master for something very important, would you two please help me out here. I will take responsibility for anything that happens.”
The guards were once again placed in a difficult position. The position of the appraisers in the Linlang Pavilion were extremely high, to the point that even the pavilion master displayed excessive decorum in front of them. The positions of these two guards were vastly inferior to Hu Lao’s. If it truly were some major matter, then they might get implicated. However, the pavilion master had indeed instructed them to not let anyone disturb him.
Seeing the two men hesitate, Hu Lao hardened his heart and said in a cold voice, “This matter is extremely important. If this is foiled as a result of this, don’t blame me for not reminding you.”
Upon hearing this, the two guards finally chose to compromise and let Hu Lao in, “Hu Lao, let us say this first. If the pavilion master blames anyone, you have to shoulder all the responsibility.”
Hu Lao nodded his head and immediately rushed in.
Within the room, the pavilion master appeared to be in an excellent mood. He smiled at the girl dressed in a man’s clothes across from him, “Feixue, you have been here for a few days already, and only now do you remember uncle Nangong. How could you.”
Dressed in a man’s attire, the alert Feng Feixue gently smiled, “Uncle Yan, have I not come already?”
Pointing to the tea leaves on the table, she continued speaking, “I know that you like the Jun Mountain Silver Needle Tea. I have purchased half their stock from Wenxuan Teashop in the Imperial Capital just for you.”
When Nangong Yan heard this, he laughed loudly. It appeared that he actually did not mind Feng Feixue coming to visit him a few days late, “I haven't seen you for six years already. You have grown up to be so pretty now. You must have the young masters of the imperial capital coiled around your fingers right?”
When Feng Feixue heard this, she blushed slightly and smiled, “Uncle Yan, stop teasing me.”
Nangong Yan seemed to remember something as he suddenly said, “Ah, I almost forgot, you have already been betrothed to someone. How is that lad from the Bai Clan? I’ll check him out for you when I have time. If he is not good, then I will help you cancel this engagement.”
Feng Feixue felt warmth surge in her heart. She believed that the old man in front of her would definitely stay true to his words. He definitely had the abilities to do so. Not to mention that this old man had always treated her like he was his granddaughter.
At this moment, the sound of Hu Lao’s footsteps could be heard. Nangong Yan’s expression changed, irritation quickly building on his face. He had already instructed the guards to not let anyone in, so why was there still someone coming to interrupt them?
Hu Lao noticed the atmosphere in the room, as well as saw Nangong Yan’s expression, so he knew that Nangong Yan was waiting for him to explain himself. If he did not have a good reason, then he would definitely be in trouble.
After all, this pavilion master in front of him had a different status compared to other pavilion masters. He did not have to completely follow the rules.
After he paid his respects, Hu Lao spoke in an apologetic tone, “I’m sorry for this interruption, but the matter at hand concerns the reputation of our Linlang Pavilion. Thus, I had no choice but to come and bother you…”
After giving Feng Feixue a glance, Hu Lao fell quiet.
Nangong Yan understood what he meant and replied, “Speak, there are no outsiders here.”
Hu Lao nodded his head and took out the jade bottle filled with Fasting Pills, passing it to Nangong Yan right away, “A mysterious alchemist came today, and he wants to auction these pills. I was unable to appraise the grade.”
Nangong Yan received the jade bottle, but what he saw shocked him. He was very clear on Hu Lao’s abilities to appraise pills. Regardless of theory or knowledge, there were few superior to him. To think there was actually a pill that he could not appraise.
What kind of pill was this?
He took out a Fasting Pill and brought it to the front of his eye to inspect it carefully. The fragrance exuded by the pill in front of him entered into Nangong Yan’s nose. What a fragrant pill, Nangong Yan praised in his heart.
In his sea of consciousness, within a boundless mental world, there was a green sphere that was continuously rotating. There were boundless green ripples emerging in that mental space.
A green energy thread that could not be seen with the naked eye shot out from Nangong Yan’s sea of consciousness and made a connection to the Fasting Pill.
In an instant, Nangong Yan had used his Spiritual Awareness to enter into the inner area of the pill. There was a mist-like Qi inside it obstructing his view, and the further he went in, the thicker the mist became.
Nangong Yan turned pale with fright, as he had never encountered such a situation before. If he did not leave now, he might not be able to come out later.
He pulled back his Spiritual Awareness with some lingering fears. Looking at the stripes and the luster of the pill, Nangong Yan’s expression turned grave. He was one of the best at alchemy within the Great Qin Nation. Just by taking a look at any pill, he was able to tell the refining method and the skill level of the alchemist.
However, this pill in front of him was actually able to stop his Spiritual Awareness from entering the core of the pill. He was sure that the refining method was not the mainstream method of the continent. It could very possibly be a long-lost ancient method of refining pills.
Thinking of this, Nangong Yan got very excited. He had been stuck at the peak of a Rank 7 alchemist for many years already. Having lacked the opportunity to increase his rank all along, this could be his chance.
Outsiders only believed that the seventh rank of the alchemist vocation was the peak, but he knew that it was definitely far from the peak. He had seen with his own eyes alchemists of even higher ranks.
The distance between the two was like that of heaven and earth.
“Did that person say what pill this is?” Nangong Yan calmed himself down.
Hearing Nangong Yan’s tone, Hu Lao finally relaxed. This pill had indeed aroused the pavilion master’s interest. He nodded his head and explained, “He called this the ‘Fasting Pill’. After consuming this pill, there would not be any need to eat or drink anything for a month. I have never heard of this kind of pill before, so I had no idea as to what kind of price I can set.”
Fasting Pill? Hearing those miraculous effects, Nangong Yan felt shocked, and then he laughed out loud, “I was right, Hu Lao. I will remember your contributions. After this month's auction, I will transfer you to a prefecture city’s Linlang Pavilion branch.”
Hu Lao felt joyful in his heart and hurriedly cupped his hands in gratitude. To be promoted from Mohe City to a prefecture city was a promotion of three ranks. He was originally under the impression that he would never be able to reach such heights in his lifetime, but who knew that this dream of his would be realized in one go like this.
Feng Feixue, who was at the side all the while, did not understand Nangong Yan’s excitement. Although it had miraculous effects, it did not seem especially useful to cultivators. Why would her Uncle Yan view it with such importance?
Nangong Yan looked at Feng Feixue and smiled, “Girl, come with me to see this senior. See if we can gain any fortuitous encounters.”
This aligned with Feng Feixue’s intentions, as she felt a little curious about this miraculous pill and the one behind its creation. Thus, she followed Hu Lao downstairs to the inner area of the pavilion.
Soon, the three of them had already reached the door of the inner area. Nangong Yan threw a quick look at Xiao Chen, but his immediate response was the bitterness of disappointment. He shook his head dejectedly. With one look, he could tell Xiao Chen’s strength. The strength of his core was unbelievably weak, making it obvious that this was an alchemist who had only awakened his Spiritual Awareness recently.
Xiao Chen nervously clutched the black cloak around his body. The pressure released by Nangong Yan was too enormous. With that one look of his, he had seen through the cloak and wholly exposed everything about him under his gaze.
Seeing Feng Feixue follow behind, he was shocked. Why was this woman here? Her background was indeed very mysterious.
When Feng Feixue saw Xiao Chen completely covered in that black cloak, she felt incredibly shocked. Based on the blood vessels she could see, she could identify this person as Xiao Chen. She had never thought that he truly was an alchemist, not to mention one who was able to shock Nangong Yan.
Although her heart was in turmoil, Feng Feixue did not change her expression. Since Xiao Chen had dressed in such a style, then he definitely did not wish to reveal his identity. If she behaved in too shocked a manner, it would cause suspicion on Nangyong Yan’s side.
“This little brother, were you the one who refined this Fasting Pill?” Although Nangong Yan was not able to see his face, he was able to extrapolate his age and immediately bluntly asked this question.
Xiao Chen did his best to calm himself. Although Nangong Yan did not intentionally release his own aura, the tiny green sphere in Xiao Chen’s sea of consciousness could not help but keep trembling. This was an instinctive fear stemming from the core when meeting with a high-ranked alchemist whose core exceeded his.
Xiao Chen, who was under the cloak, gently released his breath and rapidly flitted through his thoughts. In a short moment, he replied in a deep voice: “No, this was refined by my master.”
Indeed, it was as I expected, Nangong Yan thought in his heart as he went on a happy streak of inquiries, “How may I address your master? This old man recognizes all of the alchemists within the Great Qin Nation.”
This pill was refined by myself, how could there be a master? Xiao Chen laughed coldly in his heart. As of now, his mental state had already recovered. He coldly replied, “Is Linlang Pavilion running a business, or does it investigate the backgrounds of those that step into its space? If you are not interested in making a deal, I’ll be taking my leave.”
Speaking up to that point, Xiao Chen decisively stood up to leave!
Nangong Yan was startled. He knew that he was too hasty and had been too rude. He hurriedly went up and backtracked as hard as he came on in the beginning, “My young friend, please don’t go, this old man has been too rude.”
Xiao Chen stopped and replied with his back facing Nangong Yan: “I can stay, but I will only talk about business.”
Nangong Yan gave Hu Lao a glance. Hu Lao registered the gesture immediately and swiftly went on over to usher Xiao Chen back into his seat with a smile, “If you are here to auction this, then there is no place in Mohe City more suitable than Linlang Pavilion!”