The next morning, just as the sun rose beyond the distant rooftops of the city, the first rays of light slipped through the lattice windows of the small courtyard. Night dew still clung to the dark green lotus leaves across the pond, glittering like tiny spirit pearls. A pair of white swans drifted slowly near the bank, occasionally shaking out their wings and sending gentle ripples across the water.
Hao Nhien had been awake for some time.
He sat beside the wooden table near the window, a large sheet of parchment spread before him. On it, he was sketching the initial layout of the land southeast of the forward camp, where Hoa Van Town was planned to be built.
The important areas were gradually taking shape: the water-gathering zone, spirit fields, livestock area, granary, forge, temporary housing, and communication post. On the eastern side, close to the area believed to have a more stable source of water, Hao Nhien marked out a modest plot and wrote two words beside it.
Medicine Garden.
Next to it, he marked a small building intended for processing, preserving, and studying medicinal materials.
Medicine Room.
Behind the medicine room, however, he left a patch of empty space.
Hao Nhien rested the tip of his brush there for a long time, but in the end, he did not write anything.
The words Alchemy Room appeared in his mind, then were set aside.
It was still too early.
His Fire affinity had already awakened, and he could now mobilize Fire spiritual power and turn it into flame. Tieu Lan, meanwhile, had an excellent foundation in medicinal arts. Yet understanding medicinal properties and being able to control fire did not mean they could immediately step onto the path of alchemy.
Alchemy required pill formulas, sufficiently delicate Divine Sense, precise fire control, and an understanding of how to refine medicinal materials, fuse their properties, and preserve their medicinal force throughout the transformation. The smallest deviation could reduce an entire cauldron of ingredients to ash.
Hao Nhien understood that very well.
But at the very least, the path that had once been closed before Tieu Lan now showed the first narrow opening.
He had not forgotten about Quan Nha. Today, he would definitely go to the City Lord’s residence and find out exactly what matter had taken her away. It was simply still early, Tieu Lan was right here, and the idea of the medicine garden that had come to him the previous night had not left his mind.
Nearby, Tieu Lan was clearing away the two cups of cold tea left from the night before. She replaced the water in the pot, then used a soft cloth to wipe away every trace of moisture from the tabletop. Her movements were as gentle and careful as always, making almost no sound.
The morning light fell across her pale blue clothes, blending her figure into the quiet of the courtyard.
Hao Nhien watched her for a while.
He remembered the first bowls of medicine she had prepared for him when he was still unfamiliar with this world, the jars of healing salve she always prepared before every journey, and the times when a single glance at the color of a medicinal brew had been enough for her to notice that something in the medicinal balance was wrong.
There were also the medicinal liquids she had once created.
One of those had later been placed at auction by the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and sold for a price far beyond what either of them had expected.
At the time, many people had only seen the value of the finished product.
Hao Nhien knew it had not been luck.
When Tieu Lan was young, his father had been the one who first led her onto the path of medicinal herbs. He taught her how to recognize plants, observe the color of leaves, smell roots, distinguish medicinal properties by taste, understand which herbs could save lives, which could only be used in tiny amounts, and which could turn medicine into poison if even a single root was mistaken.
After entering Tieu Dao Sect, she had studied spirit herbs, medicinal combinations, and medicine preparation under Phong Van Tu. Her Wood affinity was naturally very pure, making her more sensitive than ordinary people to the vitality within medicinal plants. She could tell when a spirit herb lacked water, when its roots had been damaged, or when its vitality was beginning to decline, while also preserving its medicinal properties more effectively during storage and processing.
What she had lacked had never been talent.
She had simply lacked a suitable flame.
Phong Van Tu had once regretted that fact.
Tieu Lan had never complained.
Long ago, the two of them had joked that if Hao Nhien ever learned to control fire, perhaps they would have a chance to take another step along the path of medicine.
Now that condition had truly appeared.
Hao Nhien called softly.
“Tieu Lan.”
She looked up.
“Yes, Young Master?”
“Sit here for a moment. I want to discuss something with you.”
Tieu Lan paused. She glanced at the parchment on the table, set down the cloth, then walked over and sat opposite him.
Hao Nhien pulled the plan between them.
“Look here.”
Tieu Lan lowered her head, and her gaze quickly stopped on the eastern section of Hoa Van Town.
“Medicine Garden?”
“Mm.”
Hao Nhien placed a finger on the marked plot.
“I want to reserve this area for spirit herbs. Not only varieties from the Eastern Plains, but also medicinal plants from the Western Wastes, drought-resistant species, herbs that grow near spirit springs, and things that only the desert tribes know how to use.”
Tieu Lan studied the plan for a long time.
Hao Nhien did not hurry her. He wanted her to look at it herself and form her own thoughts.
After a while, Tieu Lan finally asked,
“Who does Young Master want to place in charge of this medicine garden?”
Hao Nhien looked at her.
“I wanted to ask you first.”
Tieu Lan blinked.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Hao Nhien spoke slowly.
“Among the people we have now, you are the most suitable.”
Tieu Lan did not answer. Her hands, resting on her knees, slowly tightened.
Hao Nhien noticed, but he did not try to guess what she was thinking. He simply continued with what he had observed over all these years.
“Your Wood spiritual power is extremely pure. Medicinal plants are always more stable in your hands. Even roots close to withering can retain their vitality when you care for them. What you lacked before was never ability. You simply lacked the conditions to take another step.”
Tieu Lan’s lashes trembled slightly.
Hao Nhien opened his palm.
Fire spiritual power slowly gathered, and a small flame appeared above his hand. It did not blaze violently, but burned with remarkable steadiness, pale gold threaded with a faint spiritual glow.
The room immediately grew a little warmer.
Tieu Lan stared at the flame, and something in her eyes gradually changed.
Hao Nhien said,
“My Fire affinity has awakened. My fire control is still crude, and we are nowhere near qualified to call ourselves alchemists. But at least the door that used to be completely closed is no longer sealed shut.”
He withdrew the flame and pointed toward the blank space behind the medicine room.
“I did not write ‘Alchemy Room’ here because we do not need to think that far yet.”
Hao Nhien looked directly at Tieu Lan.
“I want to begin with what you already know. Medicinal liquids, powders, healing salves, medicine for stabilizing meridians, liquids for preventing dehydration, and treatments for burns caused by Fire energy. After that, I can use Fire spiritual power to help refine very small amounts at a time and see whether we can preserve more medicinal force or remove some impurities without damaging the medicinal properties.”
He paused.
“When we understand enough, only then will we think about pills.”
Tieu Lan continued looking at him. Her eyes had widened slightly, but she did not immediately agree.
After a long moment, she raised a hand and pointed to the medicine garden on the map.
“Young Master, I want to begin here.”
Taken from NovelPhoenix, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Hao Nhien lifted an eyebrow slightly.
Tieu Lan spoke slowly.
“I do not know whether we can become alchemists, but I know how to care for spirit herbs. I know how to prepare medicinal liquids and powders. The Western Wastes must have many medicinal plants that the books of the Eastern Plains do not describe properly. The tribes may know what those plants are used for, but they may not know how to preserve their medicinal properties for longer.”
She looked down at the plan. Her voice had been quiet at first, but became clearer as she continued.
“I want to create a medicinal compendium for Hoa Van Town. I want to record every kind of spirit herb we find, where it grows, its growing season, how it should be preserved, what it does when used alone, which herbs can be combined, which cannot be mixed, and the differences between how people in the Eastern Plains and Western Wastes use them.”
Hao Nhien listened in silence.
The corner of his lips slowly curved upward.
This was no longer a path he had laid out in front of her.
Tieu Lan had begun to see the first step herself.
She continued,
“I also want to ask the Fire Qilin Tribe and Sand Thunder Tribe. The elders among them must still remember many old remedies. Some things may not need to be refined into pills at all. Powder, medicinal liquid, or salve may already be enough to save lives.”
Tieu Lan paused, then looked at the brush in Hao Nhien’s hand.
“As for alchemy, I do not want to rush. I want to learn what Young Master’s Fire spiritual power can do to medicinal ingredients first. Then we can decide what to try next.”
Hao Nhien nodded.
“Good.”
One word.
Tieu Lan looked up at him.
Hao Nhien continued,
“The medicine garden will be your responsibility. You will also build the medicinal compendium. I will support you.”
Tieu Lan’s eyes trembled slightly. She lowered her head quickly, but Hao Nhien still caught the faint curve of her lips.
After a moment, she asked,
“Young Master truly trusts me?”
“I do.”
Hao Nhien answered without hesitation.
“I trust you because of what you have already done. I did not create the medicinal liquid that reached the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. The medicines that helped me through every injury did not appear on their own either.”
He reached out and took the hand resting on her knee.
“Tieu Lan, everything you have done for me has always mattered. But I know you can do more than that. If you want, this medicine garden can become the first thing that truly belongs to your own path.”
He looked at her.
“Not a path given to you, but one you choose for yourself.”
Tieu Lan looked at him for a long time.
Her eyes slowly reddened, but this time she did not lower her head or turn away.
“I want that.”
Her voice was very soft at first, then gradually became clearer.
“I want there to come a day when someone from the Fire Qilin Tribe, the Sand Thunder Tribe, or the soldiers of Tam Thành are wounded, and I am not only standing beside them worrying. I want to truly be able to save them.”
Her hand tightened around Hao Nhien’s.
“And I want to try alchemy too. I do not mind failing many times, as long as Young Master does not think I am too slow.”
Hao Nhien laughed.
“The one who should worry about being too slow is me. My fire control is rougher than you think.”
Tieu Lan blinked.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Hao Nhien answered with complete seriousness.
“Burning something is not difficult. Making the flame stronger is not difficult either. But making it remove only the impurities without damaging the medicinal properties is something I am not sure I can do yet.”
Tieu Lan thought for a moment before saying softly,
“Then we can learn together.”
Hao Nhien looked at her.
“Mm. Together.”
The morning sunlight had already reached deeper into the room.
On the parchment, the area marked Medicine Garden glowed beneath the pale golden light.
Tieu Lan stared at it for a long moment, then suddenly stood.
“I need to prepare.”
Hao Nhien paused.
“Prepare what?”
“The spirit herbs in the back garden, the notes left by your father, the notebooks Master Phong Van Tu gave me, and the old medicinal-liquid methods.”
She was speaking faster than usual now.
“I also need to sort out which plants can grow in the Western Wastes, which require more water, which tolerate heat, and which might be compatible with desert spirit herbs.”
With that, Tieu Lan immediately headed toward the back garden.
Hao Nhien watched her go. There was not only happiness in her hurried steps, but a kind of vitality he had rarely seen in her before.
He lowered his gaze to the plan.
The space behind the medicine room was still empty.
He wrote four small words there.
Medicine Experiment Area.
The back garden of the courtyard was not large, but every bed had been carefully tended. Fire Sand Grass, Spirit Cloud Leaf, Clearheart Flower, Qi-Recovery Grass, and several young Meridian-Nourishing Vines grew in separate plots. Near the wall were two clusters of medicinal herbs that had not yet been labeled.
Tieu Lan crouched beside each bed.
She did not immediately dig anything up. Instead, she first examined the color of the leaves, then touched the soil around the roots with her fingers. A very thin layer of Wood spiritual power spread outward, just enough for her to sense the vitality and stability of each plant.
She remained beside each plot for some time.
In the end, she selected only a few of the healthiest plants. Each one was lifted with its surrounding soil intact, the roots wrapped in damp cloth before being placed inside bags designed to preserve spirit herbs.
Plants that were still too young or had only recently grown new leaves were left behind.
Hao Nhien stood nearby and watched.
“You are not taking all of them?”
Tieu Lan shook her head.
“We cannot.”
She pointed toward several clumps of Qi-Recovery Grass.
“These have only just stabilized. If we move them now, their roots could still be damaged even with spirit-preserving bags. We also do not know whether the soil and water around Hoa Van Town will suit them.”
She looked at the plants she had selected.
“I will only take a few for testing. If they survive, we can move more later.”
Hao Nhien nodded.
This was exactly what he lacked.
In his mind, he could already see a vast Hoa Van Town where thousands of people lived, but Tieu Lan could see each individual plant that needed to be tested in new soil before anything could be expanded.
One saw the whole.
The other saw the smallest lives within that whole.
Both were necessary.
Near noon, Tieu Lan carried out a stack of notebooks and began making a list. She divided her notes into several categories: known medicinal materials, plants that needed soil testing, Western Wastes herbs that required investigation, remedies that could be used immediately, remedies that needed improvement, and experiments that might be carried out with Fire spiritual power.
At the end, under the section concerning alchemy, she wrote only one line:
Alchemy: wait until conditions are sufficient.
Hao Nhien looked at it.
“You are not writing down a goal?”
Tieu Lan considered the question.
“This already is the goal.”
Hao Nhien laughed.
“Very cautious.”
“Master Phong Van Tu once said that medicine used to save people cannot rely on guessing. If something is uncertain, then it must be clearly marked as uncertain.”
Hao Nhien nodded.
“I will remember that.”
Tieu Lan set down her brush.
“Young Master.”
“Yes?”
Both of them froze.
Tieu Lan stared at him.
Hao Nhien also realized that he had unconsciously answered the way she usually did and could not help laughing.
Tieu Lan pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh before continuing.
“We still need more books. We need records about Western Wastes spirit herbs, preservation methods, basic fire control, and if we truly attempt alchemy in the future, we will also need introductory alchemy knowledge and pill formulas.”
Hao Nhien nodded.
“I will go to the Tam Thành library. The medicinal stores may also have some samples you can study.”
Tieu Lan immediately said,
“There is no need to take anything valuable. Common materials are enough for now.”
Hao Nhien looked at her.
“You are already worried I will empty the stores?”
Tieu Lan blinked.
“Young Master has a Frontline Support Token and currently needs many things. I am only reminding you in advance.”
Hao Nhien considered that seriously for a moment.
“That is reasonable.”
He took out the Frontline Support Token.
Tieu Lan handed him a sheet of paper.
Hao Nhien looked down.
The list was shorter than he expected, consisting mostly of low-grade medicinal ingredients and ordinary supplies: Qi-Recovery Grass, Clearheart Flower, young Meridian-Nourishing Vine, Sand Spirit Root, dried Fire Sand Grass, several leaves used for treating burns, roots used against sand toxins, a few soil samples, medicine bottles, and tools for processing spirit herbs.
Hao Nhien asked,
“That is all?”
“For now.”
Tieu Lan answered.
“I do not know how Young Master’s Fire spiritual power will react with medicinal ingredients yet. Using valuable materials from the beginning would be too wasteful.”
“What about books?”
“Western Wastes medicinal properties, spirit-herb preservation, and introductory fire-control methods. If there are basic alchemy texts, we can borrow them and read first.”
Hao Nhien folded the list.
“Good.”
He did not leave immediately.
His gaze briefly moved toward the window.
Quan Nha’s matter was still waiting.
Once he had collected the medicinal materials and books, he could go directly to the City Lord’s residence.
The medicinal storehouses of Tam Thành were located near the military supply district.
When Hao Nhien arrived, several carts of medicine had just been delivered from the Eastern Plains. The smell of dried spirit herbs mixed with wood, medicinal oil, and road dust.
The storekeeper was a short elderly man whose hair had already turned mostly white. He was bent over the account books when Hao Nhien approached.
Hao Nhien did not waste time.
He placed the Frontline Support Token on the table and handed over the list.
“I need some medicinal materials and tools to prepare an experimental medicine garden for Hoa Van Town. Anything reserved for the wounded or outside my permitted allowance does not need to be issued.”
The old storekeeper inspected the token, then read through the entire list.
The tension in his expression eased noticeably.
“Most of these are ordinary medicinal materials. They can be issued within your allowance.”
He marked several lines with his brush.
“We do not have much Meridian-Nourishing Vine at the moment. The better stock is reserved for soldiers with damaged meridians, so I can only give you a few young cuttings and some seeds.”
“That is enough.”
Hao Nhien replied.
The old man continued down the list.
“We have plenty of Sand Spirit Root, but the quality varies. If you are using it for research, I can give you both good and poor samples so you can compare them.”
Hao Nhien raised an eyebrow.
“That would be even better.”
“I can issue twenty medicine bottles. There is also an older set of herb-processing tools that still works well.”
The old man paused at the last item.
“As for soil, the storehouse has samples from three different oases. I will have someone prepare one bag of each.”
Hao Nhien cupped his hands.
“Many thanks.”
The old storekeeper waved him off.
“The token allows it, and the list is reasonable. As long as you do not take beyond the permitted amount, it makes my work easier.”
Hao Nhien smiled.
“The list was prepared by the person in charge of the medicine garden, not by me.”
“Then that person understands what they are doing.”
The old man said,
“If Hoa Van Town truly manages to grow medicinal herbs in the future, remember to sell a portion to the military camp at a fair price.”
“Of course.”
Hao Nhien replied.
After leaving the medicinal storehouse, he went directly to the Tam Thành library.
The library was nowhere near as large as the Scripture Pavilion of Tieu Dao Sect. Its keeper was a thin old man with a severe gaze. The moment he saw the Frontline Support Token, he checked its permissions before pushing the borrowing register toward Hao Nhien.
“Even with a token, you still write your name.”
“Of course.”
Hao Nhien replied.
He explained that he needed records on Western Wastes spirit herbs, medicinal preservation, fire control, and introductory knowledge of alchemy.
The old librarian looked at him.
“You want to learn alchemy?”
“Not yet.”
Hao Nhien said.
“I only want to know what I am still missing.”
The old librarian remained silent for a moment, then turned and disappeared into the shelves.
Not long afterward, he returned with six books and two jade slips.
Among them were records on desert medicinal properties, a catalog of one hundred common spirit herbs of the Western Wastes, methods for preserving vitality in spirit herbs, several military medicinal powders, and basic medicinal liquids for treating wounds. The final book concerned the introductory use of spiritual fire.
The two jade slips contained Basic Fire Control and Introduction to Alchemy.
Hao Nhien looked through them briefly before asking,
“There are no pill formulas?”
“There are.”
The old librarian replied.
“Introduction to Alchemy contains three simulated formulas. They do not require real medicinal materials. They only teach the processing order and how to recognize the correct moment for fusion.”
He looked at Hao Nhien.
“Read those first. If you truly want to learn alchemy later, find someone who knows what they are doing.”
Hao Nhien cupped his hands.
“Thank you, Senior.”
The old librarian gave a soft snort.
“Return them within seven days. Anything marked as restricted may not be copied.”
“I will remember.”
Hao Nhien had just finished putting the books away when the old librarian called out again.
“Wait.”
He bent down, opened the lowest compartment, and pulled out a thin volume.
Medicinal Compendium of the Western Wastes Tribes.
“It is incomplete, and many entries are only based on oral accounts. But if you truly intend to establish a medicine garden in Hoa Van Town, it may be useful.”
Hao Nhien accepted the book.
“This one can be borrowed?”
“Yes.”
The old librarian replied.
“But remember one thing. What is written in a book is not necessarily correct. If you intend to use it to save lives, verify it yourself.”
Hao Nhien nodded slightly.
“The person in charge of the medicine garden said the same thing.”
The old librarian looked at him for a moment.
“Then at least you chose the right person.”
After leaving the library, Hao Nhien glanced at the position of the sun and changed direction.
He did not return to the courtyard immediately.
There was still one matter he had remembered since the night before.
The City Lord’s residence.