Chapter 109: Chapter 73 Precious Pill Residence!
Alchemy!_3
Wan Xun pondered briefly before saying, “Alchemists are really scarce, especially those with superb skills, which require a huge sum of money that is hard for ordinary people to imagine to cultivate. I recommend you to go to Precious Pill Residence, where the Alchemist Sun Yiyear, with forty to fifty years of Alchemy experience, has outstanding skills and also undertakes the business of helping people refine Pill Medicines.”
Being an Alchemist is indeed an expensive profession, needing a lot of practice to hone the skill of Alchemy. Initially, it’s all about burning money and operating at a loss; most families do not have the ability to cultivate an Alchemist.
The Wan Family does have Alchemists, but they only serve the disciples of the Wan Family. If outsiders want to hire them to refine Pill Medicines, the price is so exorbitant that ordinary people cannot afford it, and it also depends on whether they are willing to do it or not.
Therefore, Wan Xun recommended Sun Yiyear of Precious Pill Residence.
“Thank you for the information.” After inquiring in detail about the location of Precious Pill Residence, Su Changkong bid farewell to Wan Xun, ready to check out the situation at Precious Pill Residence and see if it was possible to hire Alchemist Sun Yiyear to help refine Qi-Blood Pills.
Precious Pill Residence was located in a secluded manor, where various medicinal herbs were planted, and even the fragrance of the medicine could be smelled through the wall.
At the entrance of Precious Pill Residence stood two men in white robes.
Upon Su Changkong’s arrival, one of the men in white on the left greeted him and politely asked, “Are you looking to commission Master Sun for Alchemy?” “Mmm, right.”
Su Changkong nodded, acknowledging his intention.
“Please come inside. I will take you to see Young Master Sun Fu, who is the grandson of Master Sun.”
The man in white did not neglect Su Changkong, understanding that anyone who could afford to pay Sun Yiyear for Alchemy was usually no ordinary person.
Following the man in white, Su Changkong entered Precious Pill Residence and met Sun Fu in a receiving hall. Sun Fu was a handsome young man in his twenties, and he was indeed Sun Yiyear’s grandson, Sun Fu.
“My surname is Li, and I would like to entrust Master Sun to help me with Alchemy,” Su Changkong introduced himself first.
After inviting Su Changkong to sit down, Sun Fu then said, “Mr. Li, this is probably your first time here, right? There’s no problem in commissioning my grandfather for Alchemy, but there are a few points I need to clarify to you.”
Su Changkong listened quietly.
“First, the materials must be provided by yourself, and depending on the difficulty and value of the Pill Medicine being refined, a certain percentage of the commission will be extracted. Second, if the Alchemy fails, no fee is charged, but Precious Pill Residence will not bear any loss due to the spoiled medicinal materials!”
Sun Fu earnestly explained the requirements for commissioning Sun Yiyear to refine Pill Medicines to Su Changkong.
If the Alchemy succeeds, a fee must be paid! But if the Alchemy fails, all the medicinal materials are scrapped, and Precious Pill Residence will not compensate!
While these conditions seem harsh, they are also reasonable. After all, Alchemy has its successes and failures, and even an Alchemy Master skilled in the art of Alchemy cannot guarantee success every time.
Still, Su Changkong couldn’t help but feel doubtful. The materials for his Qi-Blood Pill were worth 3,000 taels of silver each; a failure would mean a total loss!
Furthermore, even if the Alchemy were successful, Precious Pill Residence might skim off a pill or two, and Su Changkong would be none the wiser. It’s not that he mistrusts without reason; he just doesn’t know much about Precious Pill Residence.
Of course, what worried Su Changkong the most was Sun Yiyear’s success rate in refining Qi-Blood Pills. If the success rate was high, it would be okay to lose a few Pills to skimming. However, if the success rate was low, Su Changkong would suffer a complete loss.
Therefore, Su Changkong tentatively asked, “May I ask what the success rate of Master Sun’s Alchemy is?”
Facing Su Changkong’s straightforward inquiry, Sun Fu was not upset and honestly replied, “It depends on what Pill Recipe it is. If it’s one my grandfather is adept at, then the success rate will be high. But if it’s a Pill Medicine my grandfather hasn’t refined before, you will need to present the Pill Recipe to him for examination and judgment. Generally, you should prepare several batches of materials, and there is also the chance of complete failure.”
Sun Fu spoke very clearly, not shying away from the truth. This is because Precious Pill Residence didn’t want the trouble of clients possibly blaming them for a significant loss in case of a failed Alchemy. Hence, Precious Pill Residence would always make things crystal clear; they will not be responsible for any losses caused by failed Alchemy. If you agree, sign the contract. If not, please leave!
As an Alchemist, Sun Yiyear held a prestigious position, not lacking in court officials and nobles trying to curry favor, and was not concerned about losing a few deals.
Su Changkong frowned continuously as he listened, realizing he had to give out his Qi-Blood Pill recipe to Sun Yiyear for free, supply his own medicinal materials, and also bear the losses of any failed alchemy attempts.
If Sun Yiyear failed consecutively, or only succeeded in producing one or two furnaces, three to five Qi-Blood Pills after seven or eight failures, then he would undoubtedly be at a total loss!
The forty to fifty thousand taels of silver he had seemed like a lot, but it couldn’t withstand such wasteful spending.
“Rather than letting outsiders practice alchemy with my money and my medicinal materials, why not do it myself?”
At that moment, Su Changkong had a thought, realizing he trusted himself more than anyone else!
If he could learn alchemy, it would be a permanent solution, eliminating middlemen, self-sufficient, with many skills never weighing one down!
With these thoughts, Su Changkong changed the topic and, clearing his throat, said, “Young Master Sun, may I be so bold, I am actually quite interested in Alchemy and would like to learn it at Precious Pill Residence… I am willing to offer an apprenticeship fee!”
Upon hearing this, Sun Fu was surprised at Su Changkong’s swift change of topic, but he smiled and shook his head, “Mr. Li, pardon my frankness, every Alchemist accumulates experiences and summaries that they only pass on to disciples who have completed the master-disciple ceremony or to their own descendants. Moreover, Alchemy is extremely profound—it isn’t something that just anyone can learn, or achieve success in overnight. My grandfather has already taken three to four disciples to pass on his mantle and doesn’t plan to accept any more.”
In this era, the master-disciple relationship was extremely intimate, akin to that of father and son, with disciples expected to serve their masters loyally.
Alchemists like Sun Yiyear had countless people wanting to become their disciples, but Sun Yiyear himself had only accepted three to four disciples over the decades, most of whom were related to him by blood.
For someone like Su Changkong, whose background was unknown, wanting to learn Alchemy at Precious Pill Residence was undoubtedly impossible.
“I see… Well, allow me to think it over.” Su Changkong had just casually inquired, without really expecting an affirmative response, he said.
Su Changkong had no intention to immediately commission Sun Yiyear to concoct pills for him, for if the investment did not pay off or even resulted in a total loss, he would be devastated! He needed to consider it carefully!
“No rush, my grandfather’s alchemy schedule is booked until next month. Mr. Li, if you need anything, you’re always welcome to come back,” Sun Fu said with a smile that seemed modest and polite, but there was a faint hint of arrogance in his tone.
Su Changkong didn’t trust Sun Yiyear, but there were still plenty of people begging Sun Yiyear to help them with alchemy!
Su Changkong stood up and walked out of Precious Pill Residence.
“As expected… it’s not easy to get a pill like the Qi-Blood Pill. It not only requires precious medicinal materials, but also a skilled Alchemist to concoct it! If it really comes to that, I might have to directly consume these qi boosting and blood nourishing materials. I wonder if the forty to fifty thousand taels of silver I have will be enough to achieve Qi Blood Metamorphosis!”
Su Changkong walked on, feeling somewhat speechless in his heart.
The materials for making Qi-Blood Pills, which benefit qi and blood, would surely not have the same effect as the pills when consumed directly, but it was safer, not having to place hope in someone else’s hands!
But with nearly fifty thousand taels of silver on Su Changkong, to buy medicinal materials like Blood Ginseng and consume them every day, whether it could help him reach the peak of his qi and blood and achieve Qi Blood Metamorphosis, even he was unsure!
As Su Changkong walked, he glanced behind him subtly and entered a small alley at an unhurried pace.
Soon after, a man followed him into the alley, panting and filled with confusion, “Where is he? How come he’s disappeared?”
“Sir, you’ve been following me all this way, is there something you wish to instruct?” Suddenly hearing a voice behind him, the man trembled in fright.
Su Changkong stared emotionlessly at the man.
The man appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, fairly young, with a thin build and a gaunt face, dark circles under his eyes, looking exhausted, as if worn out by excesses in drink and pleasure.
Since leaving Precious Pill Residence, Su Changkong had been aware of someone following him, so he had led this person into the alley to see why they were tracking him.
“I… I mean no harm,” stammered the man, his hands fluttering.. Seeing how he was panting from just walking a few steps, he clearly posed no threat to Su Changkong!