In coherent with the moment when the white light appeared, a prolonged anciently clear hum likewise too sung inside Ling Yue’s mind. It was both a dragon’s roar and a phoenix’s cry, but strangely enough, only she could hear it while the rest in the room remains deaf to the music.
Eh? Something strange was nudging at Manager Chou’s mind but he’s unsure why. Then it happened.
Normally eighty percent of his spirit force should’ve crushed the girl into mush, yet this puny alchemist can still barely cling onto her consciousness. And he’s sure of it, his spirit force had weakened there for a second.
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Yes, it’s definitely weaker! He reaffirms his suspicion with a quick check.No longer sustaining a heavy burden on her shoulders, Ling Yue has now transformed into a living, breathing vortex as she sucked the old man dry through her black cauldron. There’s a massive suctioning force coming out beyond her control.
Ling Yue’s abrupt change didn’t go unnoticed of course. Manager Chou was an eight cauldron alchemist so he can tell his power was quickly leaking out like a stream into the girl. What eludes him was where did it go in that tiny body.
A good question, one that can be explained inside the Dantian. Once the energy was sucked out of the dwindling man’s body, it would immediately circulate into the cauldron and reinvest itself into Ling Yue’s Dantian to supply her with a renewed source of power.
Note: Dantian is the Chinese version of a Naruto’s chakra core inside the abdomen.
These newly born spirit energies, no… the correct saying should be Manager Chou’s spirit force, was both vigorous and powerful. Ling Yue can tell her strength was quickly rising at an astonishing speed never before seen.
Wahh~! All of a sudden something snapped within. No longer the measly four cauldron that she was, she’s now broken into the realm of a fifth cauldron with clear signs of her power still surging upwards for the next limit.
Now it’s Manager Chou’s turn to sweat for however much spirit force was swallowed was however much he’s lost. If this keeps going then his cultivation might degenerate to the point of falling below the eight cauldron mark. An urgent sign he needs to stop.Initially the rest of the occupants in the room didn’t notice their rivalry, but as time dragged on – over half an hour – anyone would see something’s wrong.
Watching the straightening back of the girl in front of him, Manager Chou became infuriated. Veins popped under his skin like wriggling worms, proof of his anger. As much as he wanted to end this with a massive burst of power, things only got worse. Then the final straw kicked in when the fine wrinkles started to show on that old yet still youthful face. It’s like he’s the one being pressured under Ling Yue’s spirit force.
“Qinglin, go pay your greetings to Princess Yue.” No longer able to persist, the man lost control of his spirit force and staggered backwards. In the fit of the moment, he dropped the two jade lions in his hand and left them smashing into the ground to pieces.
In response to the demand by her master, Nangong Qinglin only had disbelief in her eyes. Turning venomous in her gaze, she can only unwillingly make an awkward bow.
“Princess Yue, I am the main manager of the Royal Hospital. Since today is your first day reporting you must not know the rules here. Know this though, we don’t have the same ranking system as the court, only experience and seniority. In a bit I will have the deputy manager bring you over to the outer courtyard to familiarize yourself with the affairs. Do well and you shall be reassigned to the middle or inner courtyard.” Although the grudge has been set, but with so many eyes watching, Manager Chou was in no position to get revenge so openly.
“Master, are we just going to let that little tramp get away like this?” Complaining, Nangon Qinglin simply can’t accept it.
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Not minding the blaming tone from his disciple, Manager Chou got more important matters to attend to. For example, his spirit force. First glimpse at his cultivation and he realized one-tenth of it was gone!
One-tenth may appear little on paper, but that’s the one-tenth of an eight cauldron alchemist master. Even for the old man, he would need over a year to recuperate the losses.
Just the thought of the damage made him choke in the throat like something’s pent up in there. Lan Ling Yue, this isn’t the end between us!
“Patience Qinglin, the deputy manager will certainly deal with her instead. Let’s see how she will make it past the next few days in the outer courtyard.” A snickering laugh escapes him.
A little girl that hasn’t even grown all her pubic hairs yet would dare challenge me? Humph, here in the Royal Hospital I am king.
Following the lead of Deputy Manager Meng that came to get her, Ling Yue departs from the inner courtyard of the Royal Hospital. The woman looked skinny, around forty something years of age. To her credit, she did have a lofty arrogant appearance which fits her.
“Miss Yue, I’m assuming Manager Chou has told you about the rules here?” Since the woman had remained absence from the whole fight earlier, she still didn’t know the girl was on bad terms with Manager Chou.
And in response to the question, Ling Yue only nodded randomly because her mind was too occupied with the strange behavior of her cauldron.
What rules? There’s only one set of rules in Ling Yue’s heart. Fighters rely on their fist, alchemists rely on their alchemy, that’s how the world works in her view.
Getting the nod from the girl, Deputy Manager Meng returns with a approving nod. Stopping, she turns around and stretched her old skinny hand out like she’s waiting for something.
Watching the action of the lady, Ling Yue became a bit confused by the act, unsure what to make of that gesture.
As a newcomer, plus she’s on bad terms with the head of the department, her colleagues would naturally stay clear of her. Therefore, the tips and tricks needed to interact with this Deputy Manager Meng was withheld from Ling Yue’s ears.
As her post implies, this woman known as Manager Meng was in charge of the affairs pertaining to the outer courtyard and the pharmacy of the Royal Hospital. A well-known snob in the palace.
To be clear, this Manager Meng did have a decent eye for finding the right targets to curry favor from. Whenever a concubine or royal member gains some power or favor, she would scurry off to bestow her Dan pills as gifts to the individual. In contrast, if the individual were stuck in a ditch, she would find all sorts of excuses to refuse the request for medicine or treatment.
And in addition to being a snob, Deputy Manager Meng’s also had a major hobby: collecting gold.
Since she’s in charge of the newcomers in the outer courtyard of the Royal Hospital, it’s become a common practice for the new entries to offer her gifts (money) as a show of respect.
She’s done her due diligence so Manager Meng knows full well about Ling Yue’s relationship with the dowager and queen. Besides, as the second miss of the Lan House, the woman doesn’t believe a titled princess like Ling Yue would lack money. As such, the open hand just now was her form of saying “give me money”.
However, her expectations appears to have been aimed at the wrong target for she got no reaction whatsoever. Hopeless and a tad frustrated, Manager Meng can only become more direct and performed a money counting gesture with the other free hand.
Now the girl should understand right?
Ling Yue’s no idiot so of course she can understand the meaning. It’s just that there are certain principles in which she lives by. Even if she has to give the money away to a beggar on the street, she won’t stoop to the level of colluding with these corrupt officials.
“Manager Meng, is your hands having a cramp? If it is, you need to go have it checked.”
Towards the dumb act portrayed by her, Manager Meng only had gloom on her face.
What a dork, this second miss of the Lan House is asking for a beating. Fine, don’t give me the money eh? I will show you!
