Chapter 125 Chapter 126 Everyone Likes Ji Ma
A counter separated the stairs from the people.
Ji Ma easily climbed over the counter with one hand, and her cloak brushed against the counter, knocking over a potion. Just before it hit the ground, Ji Ma deftly caught it, placed it on the table, and strode up the stairs.
To put it simply, for today’s interview, she had been treated like a doll by a suspiciously strange old lady, trying on more than a dozen outfits. She felt she should give it a shot. After all, she was already here.
As soon as she reached the second floor, she saw a clerk cover his butt and dart out from a room. Upon seeing Ji Ma, his eyes widened, and he opened his mouth, but afraid of startling Master Xingji, he hurried to Ji Ma, speaking in a low voice, “What are you doing up here? Hurry back down! If the master sees you, he’ll definitely fly into a rage.”
“He’s already furious,” Ji Ma said. “I might as well have a talk with him.”
“Get down now,” the clerk said, blocking Ji Ma’s way.
Ji Ma merely smiled at him, and he unconsciously stepped aside. She pushed open the door, and a strong scent of herbs and decaying wood hit her face.
Behind a large alchemy table, a middle-aged man with black hair sat in a cool chair. He looked up, and Ji Ma saw his face clearly. He wore a monocle over his right eye and had some wrinkles on his face, but one could tell he must have been handsome in his youth, with a thick mustache on his upper lip.
Seeing Ji Ma in a black dress, he frowned and said, “You’re another noble lady introduced by Kaslan?”
Xingji was in a terrible mood; he disliked this beautiful girl in well-fitted clothes. It was obvious she was just another spoiled princess from a wealthy family, probably having read some magical potion book. With her three points of enthusiasm, she had pulled strings for an introduction, just to add to his troubles.
Looking at her delicate hands and innocent face, Xingji could easily imagine her panicking and spilling the potion all over herself when she picked up a bubbling test tube.
Damn Kaslan, I shouldn’t have accepted that so-called family heirloom sword!
Ji Ma smiled at Xingji and directly used her charm, saying, “I’m sorry, I’m not a noble, but I believe my talent will surely make you proud.”
Xingji wanted to wave her off immediately, telling her to leave. But her eyes seemed to shine, making him feel a surge of youth again. However, after hearing Ji Ma’s words, his brows knitted together. His tone softened a bit as he said, “Have you studied alchemy before?”
“Just a superficial understanding,” Ji Ma replied. “I lack a systematic education.”
Xingji looked at Ji Ma’s hands; her fingers were long and her nails translucent, showing no signs of being burned by potions.
If it weren’t for her being the chosen one and succeeding each time she made a potion, such a genius must have had an excellent teacher. Otherwise, she might have read a few books and considered herself talented.
Coincidentally, Xingji was extremely annoyed by this kind of half-baked knowledge.
Xingji waved his hand impatiently, saying, “Get out! I have enough unskilled apprentices in my workshop.”
Ji Ma subtly hooked her pinky finger at him, and the anger in his chest visibly dissipated.
She asked, “Why not a test? I believe the master wouldn’t scold a girl without reason.”
Xingji felt his anger waning, realizing Ji Ma had a point; it would give him a reason to keep her.
He said, “Fine, it’s simple. Come here and tell me the attributes of these materials.”
Xingji stood up and walked to a cabinet that occupied an entire wall. He pulled open the cabinet door, revealing hundreds of small compartments. Each compartment held glass bottles, ceramics, and cloth bags containing various herbs. Each had a label, but only the names.
“For an apprentice, identifying the properties of herbs is the simplest fundamental skill,” Xingji said, taking containers from several compartments.
He specifically took down a ceramic jar that he had prepared in advance. If his memory served him right, the jar was labeled with “Bai Jinhua” (Hundred Gold Flower), but inside was dried clover.
Typically, bookish people trust the written word infinitely; even if Bai Jinhua and clover look drastically different, they would hastily name the clover as Bai Jinhua. This way, he would have an excuse to send this troublesome girl away.
Xingji lined up ten jars from left to right, placing the ceramic jar on the far right.
He pointed to the jar on the far left and said, “It’s simple; just report the attribute names as quickly as possible.”
Ji Ma’s gaze swept over the leftmost container, where a corked glass bottle held an unknown plant, emitting a faint blue glow.
The bottle was labeled “Xiao Dou Kou” (Cardamom).
“Water.”
Ji Ma’s gaze shifted to the second container labeled “Carnation.”
“Fire.”
“Earth.”
“Water.”
…
Her speed was incredibly fast; for Ji Ma, this was as easy as someone pointing at a rainbow and asking for the colors.
The corners of Xingji’s mouth lifted slightly; she reported faster than he could, indicating that she was merely reading the names without trying to identify the herbs’ appearances.
Ji Ma’s eyes fell on the tenth ceramic jar. She took off the lid labeled “Bai Jinhua” and merely glanced inside, saying, “Fire.”
Xingji smirked, looking into the jar and said, “Wrong.”
Ji Ma took another look; there was indeed a faint flicker of flame inside. She replied, “Fire.”
Xingji chuckled, “You can leave now. If you can’t even distinguish between Bai Jinhua and clover, alchemy requires practice. Just reading books won’t cut it. Reporting attributes based on names is no different from a street vendor selling vegetables.”
“It is fire,” Ji Ma insisted. “It certainly isn’t clover.”
Xingji laughed in frustration, saying, “You girl, you’re pretty, but your head isn’t quite right. After nearly twenty years of experience, how could I make such a mistake? Do you want me to look it up for you?”
“Yes.”
“Not until I see the coffin will I give up.”
Xingji shook his head. All the anger in his chest had already been extinguished by Ji Ma’s counter.
Thus, he felt he was being exceptionally generous, taking the time to correct an ignorant girl. He grabbed a green-covered book titled “Potions.”
“This book is fundamental; it contains illustrations of herbs and their attributes,” Xingji explained. “Today, I’m in an unusual mood to show you. After this, don’t appear before me again.”
Ji Ma believed in her own abilities; the so-called master before her was just a mortal. She said, “Go ahead and flip through it.”
As Xingji flipped the pages, he took out a piece of dried herb from the ceramic jar. He looked at the herb in his hand and froze.
Ji Ma asked, “What’s wrong?”
Xingji abruptly closed the book, asking, “Who put Bai Jin Cao (Hundred Gold Grass) in this jar?”
Looking up, he saw Ji Ma smiling at him, feeling she was just lucky. But he suddenly realized if he were a beginner, would he have the confidence to refute an alchemy master?
He inquired, “Have you always identified attributes by looking at the appearance of the herbs?”
“Of course.”
Xingji felt a sense of age; he couldn’t report as quickly as she did. He ran his fingers through his thick hair and sighed, “You are officially my apprentice now.”
———
Recently not in good shape, will strive for a double update tomorrow to boost my morale.
