Chapter 548: Pill-Refining Furnace
Yang Haoran's concluding words set Feng Xiao's mind at ease. Already swayed, Feng Xiao accepted Yang Haoran's invitation and decided to leave the valley with him.
That Feng Xiao would accept his invitation was well within Yang Haoran's expectations. However, upon hearing her agree with his own ears, although he showed nothing on his face, he was extremely happy in his heart, even agitated.
Feng Xiao didn't understand what a Pharmacist meant for a team, but Yang Haoran certainly did. To gain the assistance of a Pharmacist was indeed something worth his excitement.
To leave a good impression on Feng Xiao, Yang Haoran didn't touch a single one of Pharmacist Feng Laotou's belongings. Although he knew there must be all sorts of medicines among them, and naturally some that he needed,
he decisively gave up on these items in order to establish a positive image in Feng Xiao's mind.
However, as Feng Xiao's current strength wasn't sufficient to open an independent space, at her request, these items ultimately found their way into Yang Haoran's independent space.
Aside from Pharmacist Feng Laotou's belongings, Feng Xiao also had some of her own things. Most of these were related to alchemy. Feng Xiao sorted and packed these items, also troubling Yang Haoran to store them in his independent space.
Feng Xiao and Pharmacist Feng Laotou had lived here, and they didn't have many possessions. The vast majority of their belongings were related to alchemy, with only a few personal effects and a small amount of daily necessities being unrelated.
No matter what it was, even pots and pans, as long as Feng Xiao decided to take it, Yang Haoran didn't utter a single superfluous word and stored everything in his independent space.
There were also some of Pharmacist Feng Laotou's belongings in the small house, but not many. Feng Xiao likewise packed and sorted all of these items, not leaving a single one behind, deciding to take them all. . .
As the master and apprentice didn't have many possessions, it didn't take long for Feng Xiao to have Yang Haoran store everything she wanted to take in his independent space.
As Feng Xiao was about to leave the house, Yang Haoran called out to her, pointed to the main hall in the center of the small house, and asked, "Are you not going to take this item?"
Although the small house was compact, it still had a main hall, with a room on each side, one for Feng Xiao and one for her master. The kitchen was in a shed outside the house.
In the main hall that Yang Haoran was pointing to, a somewhat strangely shaped cauldron-furnace was placed in the center.
Although Yang Haoran wasn't a Pharmacist, he had seen this cauldron-furnace in books. It was an essential tool used by Pharmacists to refine Dānyào, known within the circle as a pill-refining furnace!
The pill-refining furnace used by Pharmacists was different from Yang Haoran's Soul-Refining Cauldron. The Soul-Refining Cauldron was a tripod, very small, and had no lid. This pill-refining furnace, however, was a proper furnace and had a lid.
Of course, not all tripods were small; it was just Yang Haoran's Soul-Refining Cauldron that was particularly tiny.
Compared to Yang Haoran's Soul-Refining Cauldron, the pill-refining furnace before them was far too large. This furnace was a full two meters tall, plump and round, clearly weighing a considerable amount.
Yang Haoran saw that Feng Xiao had packed away all the tattered pots and pans, preparing to take them, but had not touched this pill-refining furnace. His heart filled with confusion, he couldn't help but ask.
"Aside from the herb garden, this pill-refining furnace was Master's most cherished possession during his life. If I take it, I'm afraid Master would be very sad," Feng Xiao replied.
Yang Haoran felt a bit speechless. Her master's soul had already undergone Soul Transformation, so how could he be happy or unhappy? But he certainly couldn't say that, so Yang Haoran changed his approach to persuade Feng Xiao.
"Do you have a pill-refining furnace? " Yang Haoran asked.
In truth, even without asking, Yang Haoran already knew the answer in his heart; he merely asked to lay the groundwork.
Feng Xiao shook her head, then said, "Pill-refining furnaces are very valuable. Obtaining a suitable one isn't easy. I don't have a pill-refining furnace right now; I usually use Master's for alchemy."
"Since you don't have a pill-refining furnace, what will you do about alchemy in the future? Of course, I will definitely use every means to find a pill-refining furnace for you, but this process will take time, and I can't guarantee how much exactly. In the meantime, how will you perform alchemy?"
"This. . . " Feng Xiao looked troubled, momentarily unsure how to answer Yang Haoran.
Seeing her expression, Yang Haoran continued, "You just said that a pill-refining furnace is valuable. If you leave it here, do you think it can stay with your master forever? If someone breaks in, do you think they'll be kind enough to leave the pill-refining furnace here to accompany your master, or will they take it with them?"
"They'll definitely take the pill-refining furnace! " Feng Xiao thought for a moment and gave a firm answer.
"Since you know they'll definitely take the pill-refining furnace, why would you still leave it here? Are you leaving companionship for your master, or are you delivering warmth to future thieves? " Yang Haoran asked.
"Big Brother makes sense. I must take this pill-refining furnace; I can't let future thieves defile Master's pill-refining furnace."
At this point, Feng Xiao looked towards the herb garden and continued, "Originally, I wasn't going to take the medicinal herbs planted in the herb garden either. But now that Big Brother has said that, I think it's better to take them all. Otherwise, not only will the herbs in the garden be dug up and emptied, but even Master's grave might be trampled flat by them."
Hearing Feng Xiao's words, Yang Haoran's face broke into a smile.
"You're very intelligent, able to infer other things from one instance. If your master heard what you just said, he would surely be immensely gratified," Yang Haoran praised.
Praised by Yang Haoran, Feng Xiao wore an embarrassed expression.
"Big Brother, don't make fun of me. My master often called me foolish; I'm genuinely not associated with intelligence at all," Feng Xiao said awkwardly.
"Nonsense, your master was likely just speaking sarcastically to spur you on. " Speaking of which, Yang Haoran pointed to the pill-refining furnace in the center of the main hall, then asked, "So, I'll take this pill-refining furnace then?"
After Feng Xiao nodded in agreement, Yang Haoran waved his hand, collecting the pill-refining furnace from the house into his independent space.
Next, Feng Xiao picked up a hoe and went to the herb garden, carefully digging out all the medicinal herbs.
To ensure the herbs weren't damaged, Feng Xiao's movements were very cautious. This was delicate work, and highly particular. Yang Haoran had the strength, but he didn't understand medicinal herbs; if he were to wildly dig with a hoe, these herbs would likely suffer varying degrees of damage. Therefore, he didn't interfere; Feng Xiao did all the work, and he was only responsible for storing the dug-up herbs into his independent space.
One by one, the medicinal herbs in the garden were dug out by Feng Xiao and then stored by Yang Haoran in his independent space. The herbs in the garden grew fewer and fewer, while the soil-laden herbs in Yang Haoran's independent space grew more and more numerous.
When the last medicinal herb was also carefully dug out by Feng Xiao, she sat on the ground, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily, clearly quite exhausted.
Yang Haoran didn't rush her. After storing this last herb, he sat beside Feng Xiao, preparing to give her some time to rest.
To prevent any awkwardness between them, Yang Haoran found a topic to chat with Feng Xiao about.
"Earlier, your master had potent poison on him, and you had direct contact with him, yet you didn't use any power. Why didn't the poison affect you? Are you immune to all poisons? " Yang Haoran asked with a smile.
Feng Xiao took a few gasping breaths, then wiped the sweat from her face with her dirt-stained sleeve before answering Yang Haoran's question.
"Complete immunity to all poisons isn't quite accurate, but ordinary potent poisons don't have much effect on me. Moreover, I've consumed almost all the poisons and poisonous Dānyào my master refined, so my body has developed antibodies to such poisons, and they generally won't harm me," Feng Xiao replied.
Hearing this, Yang Haoran felt a little surprised. Although Feng Xiao's power fluctuations weren't strong, it seemed her poison resistance was quite high.
"In my eyes, you are already considered immune to all poisons; that's very impressive," Yang Haoran said with a smile.
Feng Xiao shook her head and said, "But I don't think it's very useful."
"Whether it's useful or not depends on the circumstances and how you interpret it. By the way, this valley your master lived in was exposed long ago, and many people know about it. Why didn't he take you and move somewhere else? " Yang Haoran asked.
Feng Xiao shook her head again and said, "I don't know either; Master never told me about these things."
Hearing this, a flicker of doubt crossed Yang Haoran's eyes, and his face took on a thoughtful expression.
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