"You’d better get back to practicing!"
Seeing Shi Sheng’s stingy expression, Si Nan rolled his eyes irritably.
Why invite you when the adults won’t go?
After all, even if Shi Sheng went to the Imperial Music Bureau, he’d just be drinking.
To this, Shi Sheng didn’t mind.
Either way, if someone invites him, he’ll go. If no one invites him, he’ll just practice at home.
,,,
After sending Shu Fan to the Celestial Prison, Ye Liuyun no longer needed to concern himself with subsequent matters.
However.
Before leaving, Ye Liuyun still heard a voice from under the black cloth, coming from Shu Fan.
"Sir, I hope we can have a good chat the next time we meet."
It was obvious.
Shu Fan had never been concerned about being imprisoned in the Celestial Prison.
And Ye Liuyun did not respond, merely glancing in the direction of the black cloth before leaving directly.
Upon returning to the residence.
Having been away for several days.
As soon as he returned, Sheng Lanzhi and Xing’Er simultaneously came to greet him. Seeing Ye Liuyun in good health, they couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Xing’Er, go and have someone heat some water."
After so many days of exposure to the elements outside, his body was nearly foul-smelling.
Although Ye Liuyun, being a man, didn’t mind such odors, now that he was back, he ought to indulge himself properly.
"Yes, Master, I’ll go right away!"
Hearing Ye Liuyun’s words, Xing’Er didn’t hesitate at all.
With a response, she turned and left to give instructions.
As for Sheng Lanzhi, she merely watched in the direction Xing’Er left and teased with a smile.
"Xing’Er is becoming more obedient to you."
There were some things that Sheng Lanzhi could sense, but with her intelligence, she knew what should and shouldn’t be said.
"I like obedient people!"
Meeting Sheng Lanzhi’s gaze.
Ye Liuyun tilted his head and said with a smile.
It was a double entendre.
Ye Liuyun didn’t mind having smart, capable people around, but the most important thing was that they needed to be obedient.
If they have other thoughts.
Ye Liuyun didn’t mind being a bit more ruthless.
Understanding the implication in Ye Liuyun’s words, Sheng Lanzhi smiled gracefully, helping Ye Liuyun change out of his dust-covered official robes.
,,,
That night.
After washing up, Ye Liuyun took out the manuals he had scavenged from the two sixth-grade mages.
Some spell manuals, along with a basic alchemy manual.
Thinking about the expensive pills he saw in the Fragrant Building, Ye Liuyun wasn’t in a rush to practice spells but instead began reading the alchemy manual.
It contained detailed descriptions of many herbs.
As well as some usage instructions.
For many herbs, a little more or less could completely change the outcome.
It could even turn a perfectly good pill into a lethal poison due to a missing quantity.
Combined with his extraordinary lavender comprehension.
Grasping the knowledge in this alchemy manual was not difficult for Ye Liuyun.
"Inner strength activation?"
In alchemy, aside from precise control over ingredient quantities,
the most important thing was the control over temperature.
Even a slight temperature variation could easily result in a ruined pill.
Ordinary flames hardily maintain a constant temperature; to achieve this, it must be driven by the Martial Artist’s inner strength, aside from using inner strength.
It could also be controlled through a mage’s flame skills.
The intricacies were more than Ye Liuyun expected.
"It seems a highly skilled Alchemy Master, while not necessarily powerful, must have profound inner strength."
Without deep inner strength, there’s no way to control the pill fire.
The same principle applies to mages.
Though having more inner strength doesn’t necessarily mean stronger overall,
when dealing with small fries, having abundant inner strength certainly helps.
Ye Liuyun skimmed the contents of the alchemy manual and memorized it.
Planning to have someone buy some herbs tomorrow to see if he could concoct a furnace of pills.
However.
This was only a basic alchemy manual, and the formulas it contained were not of high rank, nor were they rare pills.
Anyone who could refine those pills likely considered these pill formulas as treasures, not easily revealed.
After reading it.
Closing the manual again.
Ye Liuyun began reading the remaining spell manuals.
Now that his mage talent had successfully upgraded, Ye Liuyun planned to first use those newly acquired spells to advance to an eighth-grade mage in the coming days.
Then he would start working on breaking through the late-stage Innate.
,,,
While Ye Liuyun was diligently cultivating on this side.
In another setting.
All the officials of the Ministry of Justice of the Great Qian Dynasty were in chaos.
In the Great Qian Dynasty, the Celestial Prison is managed by the Ministry of Justice, and just now, it was attacked, allowing many prisoners to escape, including Shu Fan.
"Just after capturing me, now let me go. I really don’t know what you’re thinking?"
Outside the Imperial City.
Adorned in light gauze, Shu Fan couldn’t help but ask as he looked at the man before him, dressed entirely in disguise.
"Just testing someone’s mettle!"
The voice was familiar.
It was indeed the voice of the Southern Governor, Qi Yuanliang.
Although he had received orders to try to recruit this Ye Liuyun, before doing so, Qi Yuanliang intended to test his mettle.