Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy
chapter-2014

Alex's life returned to some form of normalcy again. The two women understood that he had been given a special allowance to not have to remain in the sect, and so his presence didn't confuse them at all.

Alex had been regularly pitied for the first few days after the patients learned about his 'failure', which he let continue. There was no point in telling the truth to these people, and he didn't want to tell it to them anyway.

He didn't want people acting weirdly around him just because he had joined a sect now, so he let the people believe that he had failed and thus returned.

The shop sowed some steady progress as well. It was hard to judge the progress over a week or two, but in the 2 months after Alex returned, the number of patients had gone up by nearly 10%. That was a fantastic improvement to everything.

He was sure most of it was thanks to him even getting to a chance to take the test to enter the Blue Silk sect. The sect's name was influential enough that people were more than willing to come to his shop just because he had taken a test in it.

Or maybe the information about him fainting was actually helping him advertise his sect. That was not a bad thing in any way at all. However the fame came, it was always useful to bring in more customers.

Alex was in the back room, taking care of an elderly with her back issue when Fang Yuxie quickly walked in and said something directly to him.

The guild master of the Bluehorn Alchemy guild had come to his shop.

Alex looked toward Fang Yuxie with a questioning look, and she gestured for him to go out as quickly as he could.

Alex nodded and looked back at his patient, dealing with her issue. It took him 5 minutes to find the problem and suggest the remedy for her.

Once he was done, he finally walked out.

Wang Yanwei was apparently in a staring contest with the sect master of the Bluehorn sect as she didn't do anything but glare at him with unhidden fury. She said nothing at all, only maintaining a stare with a gloomy look on her face. In the meanwhile, the white-haired old man with a clean-shaven face simply gave a small smile toward her.

The wrinkles in his face folded around the red blotch on his cheeks that was clearly a birthmark.

Alex walked up to the two, clearly realizing that Wang Yanwei was not happy with this man's presence at all. He looked at the man and smiled. "I am honored to have the guild master of the Bluehorn grace our store with his presence. How may we help you, senior?"

The man turned to look at Alex and his smile deepened. "Ah, junior Dawnblade. I was hoping to meet you," he said.

Alex raised his eyebrows. "I'm honored that senior knows my name. How may I be of help today, Senior?" The man looked around the store with a calm smile on his face and said, "You're doing quite well. I'm glad to see that the store is full of people."

"It is," Alex said. "I'm happy with what I've got."

The old man nodded. "I'm glad you haven't let your misstep stop you from moving forward. You should forget about what happened during the entrance test and continue doing well."

"I will," Alex said. It appeared despite owning an Alchemy guild that was officially part of the Blue Silk sect, the guild master did not know about his current situation. The two turned out to be more distant than he would've first expected.

"You must want to take the test next year," the old man said. "It will be sad to see an up-and-coming individual like you shut down such a promising apothecary store in the city, but hey, life is life."

Alex was sure this man knew that he knew what sort of stance he took against this store, so it was surprising how he spoke to make it sound like he cared so much about the store.

"I won't shut it down," Alex said. "I have no intention to do so."

The old man looked at Alex with a confused look. He smiled a little, "I'm not saying you have to shut it down. I'm only talking about the situation where you will join the sect and will have to leave."

Alex smiled. "Even when I'm a part of the Blue Silk sect, I have no intention of shutting down the store. I already have two alchemists working their hardest. They will keep it running even if I have to somehow be absent."

The old man gave a surprised look. "I suppose they can do that," he said. "They might have a hard time though, since your shop is more than just a place to get pills."

"It will be alright," Alex said. "I'll be here long enough that there shouldn't be any issues."

"I suppose you have thought about it already then," the man said with a smile. "A man of your talent, you wouldn't have thought about your future."

He took a look around the shop again. "I see that you don't have many rooms here. Where do you keep your patients?" he asked.

"We have a room in the back where we test them. If they need to be admitted, however, we do not have that capability, so we send them to the guild since it is close by."

"I see, I see," the man said. "You should definitely expand the store to make it useful for more people. Maybe move to a location with more rooms. I believe I know a few of those on the other side of the city. If you wish to move there, I can help get you acclimated to the surroundings."

Alex felt a deep aura emanating from Wang Yanwei to the side, which he found a little difficult to ignore now. No doubt, the old man had been sensing it from the start given he was the target of that.

Alex ignored it the best he could. "I have no intention to move the store at all, senior. I'm happy with what I've got."

"Really?" the man asked before sighing. "Of course, you wouldn't want to put such a burden on yourself while you are preparing for the test next year. You should actually work less. A single other alchemist and a single receptionist alone wouldn't do much for the store. You should get a few more staff. I have a few alchemists looking for work, do you want me to refer the store to them?"

Alex gave as warm a smile as he could muster and bowed. "Thank you for everything you are trying to do for me, senior, but I do not need any help right now. If we do need any help, we will hire new staff."

The old man shrugged. There was nothing else for him to say. "Well, if that's what you want to do then there's nothing more for me to say about the store," he said. "Although, I do want to say something to you directly."

"Do you want to join our guild?"