"No... he's not my friend."Wu Wenxuan's expression turned a little awkward. She genuinely didn't know how to explain the situation. Her father usually refused to meet with strangers, and if it weren't for this young man accurately pointing out the problem with her body earlier, she wouldn't have brought him here at all.
"What's going on? Is it Lord Wang the City Master, or the head of some family?"Wu Cang's voice grew increasingly confused and impatient. If he weren't genuinely concerned that some important figure might have come, he probably would have lost his temper already.
"Wu Family Master, no need to ask. You don't know me,"Bai Yuzhe cut in, not wanting Wu Wenxuan to struggle further, and directly addressed Wu Cang.
"Hm? Who are you? Wenxuan, why did you bring a stranger to see me? Get him out of here immediately! Don't disturb my pill refining!"Hearing a young and unfamiliar voice, Wu Cang flew into a rage and issued a direct order to throw Bai Yuzhe out.
Wu Wenxuan's face darkened slightly—not because she was angry at her father, but because the whole situation was just too awkward. It wasn't something that could be explained in a few words.
However, Bai Yuzhe didn't let the situation drag on. He immediately responded:"Refining pills? You call that refining pills? That's just reckless medicine brewing!"
His words were blunt and completely merciless, openly calling the only alchemist in Fucheng a total fraud.
To be honest, if Bai Yuzhe hadn't still needed to cooperate with this guy later, he could have been even more cutting.
The moment he said that, not only did Wu Cang inside the pill refining room become furious, but even Wu Wenxuan's expression turned ice-cold.
Her father had always been a figure of great admiration in her heart—the only alchemist in Fucheng, and someone she was immensely proud of.
And now, this unknown boy had just called her father's work nothing more than "reckless medicine brewing"?
If not for a sliver of reason holding her back, Wu Wenxuan might have already lashed out and struck him down on the spot.
Inside the pill refining room, Wu Cang was nearly driven to vomit blood by the insult. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his eyes were filled with murderous rage.
As the dignified alchemist of Fucheng, even the city lord treated him with the utmost respect. Yet today, a complete nobody had the gall to call his life's work nonsense?
"Young man, no one in Fucheng has ever dared to speak to me this way. I don't care who you are—today, you won't leave the Wu family alive. I will personally see who you are and why you think you can speak so arrogantly in front of me!"
Wu Cang forced himself to suppress his fury, stood up, and walked toward the door. He had to see with his own eyes who this bold troublemaker was.
As the door opened, he saw a boy around thirteen or fourteen years old standing next to his daughter, dressed in ragged beggar's clothes—and his rage erupted even further.
Just a moment ago, he had still wondered if perhaps the boy was some noble heir from afar, maybe even someone from the royal family.
But now, all such possibilities vanished completely…
"Young man, I will make you pay dearly for your insolence!"
Wu Cang's words were laced with seething fury, his entire body exuding a powerful aura as he stepped toward Bai Yuzhe.
Yet Bai Yuzhe was completely unfazed by the pressure emanating from Wu Cang. For someone like him, even if Wu Cang were several cultivation levels higher, that outward aura would have no effect at all—let alone from a mere late-stage Lingqiao Realm cultivator.
"Heh, Patriarch Wu sure seems confident," Bai Yuzhe said with a calm smile. "But don't you think you really are just recklessly boiling herbs?"
"You were just refining a Heart-Calming Pill to help your daughter stabilize her body, right?" he continued casually. "But who told you to add so much Lingxue Grass and Qingxue Root? The excessive use of these two ingredients altered the pill's medicinal properties, causing harmful side effects instead of helping. It only made your daughter's internal energy flow more erratic."
"If you hadn't added a bit of Huangxiang out of sheer luck, your furnace would've exploded on the spot with that formula."
"And let's talk about your own body," Bai Yuzhe went on. "Every day at noon, don't you feel a burning sensation between your chest and abdomen, like a fire raging inside? And your right leg joint—doesn't it sting at times?"
"Oh, and that first-grade Condensing Essence Pill you refined—it's missing Wood Ginseng. Yes, that cheap herb would have eliminated the residual toxicity in the pill and significantly improved its quality."
By the time Bai Yuzhe finished speaking, Wu Cang was stunned. His eyes were wide, his mouth agape—completely speechless. All that searing rage from moments before had completely vanished.
Because every word Bai Yuzhe said struck home.
No one in Floating City knew the specific formula Wu Cang had used—not even his daughter, Wu Wenxuan. As for his physical symptoms, he had never told a soul—not his wife, not even his daughter.
And yet this boy, dressed like a beggar, knew it all with chilling precision. The storm in Wu Cang's heart was overwhelming—he had no idea how to react.
Wu Wenxuan was equally dumbfounded. She hadn't understood the details Bai Yuzhe mentioned, but the expression on her father's face said it all—this mysterious boy had hit every point with shocking accuracy.
At that moment, a strange feeling bloomed in her heart: Who exactly is this kid? Where did he come from? How can he see right through both our physical conditions just by looking at us?
How does he know what ingredients my father used in his pills—without asking a single question or even stepping into the alchemy room?
Countless questions flooded her mind, turning it into chaos. She was nearly incapable of thinking clearly.
"What's wrong?" Bai Yuzhe said mockingly. "You look stunned. Aren't you a little old to be so easily shaken?"
He spoke as though scolding a child, without a shred of politeness.
Under normal circumstances, if anyone dared speak to Wu Cang like this—even Floating City's City Lord Wang Zhenmin—Wu Cang would've exploded with rage and broken all ties on the spot.
But right now, after hearing everything Bai Yuzhe had just said, Wu Cang couldn't even summon his anger. In fact, he felt a little helpless.
If this boy weren't dressed like a penniless beggar—if his appearance even slightly matched the image of some hidden master or pill-refining prodigy—Wu Cang might've already dropped to his knees and begged to be his disciple.
He had worked hard to become a first-grade alchemist—not an easy feat. While he'd once had a master, the man's skills were limited and far below Wu Cang's current level. Most of what he'd learned was self-taught through years of trial and error.
Wu Cang often thought: If only I had a real master, maybe I could reach second-grade alchemist…
But now, standing before him, was this wild-haired kid who didn't even look like he had a full meal in days. No matter how strong the boy's knowledge appeared to be—it was just impossible to reconcile that with his appearance.
"Could it really be that this kid is just bluffing?"
"Hmph! Kid, where did you learn about my condition? Coming to my Danxiang Pavilion to play tricks?"
Wu Cang's expression grew serious as he spoke, though it was obvious he lacked the confidence he had earlier.
"Heh, your little secrets? I'm sure you've done a great job keeping them hidden, but I wouldn't bother wasting time investigating you for something so trivial.Oh, and just so you know, I originally wanted to give you a bit of face in front of your daughter… but you just had to push it.I'd bet Madam has been pretty full of complaints lately, hasn't she?"
Bai Yuzhe shook his head with a helpless sigh, even exposing Wu Cang's most private matters—albeit in a veiled way.
Sure enough, as soon as Bai Yuzhe finished speaking, Wu Cang's face changed dramatically—turning from pale to flushed, then to a liver-purple hue.That… was truly a man's greatest humiliation.
He sneaked a glance at his daughter's face, only to see Wu Wenxuan looking completely puzzled. Clearly, she didn't understand the implication of Bai Yuzhe's words, which allowed him to breathe a silent sigh of relief.
Seeing Wu Cang's reaction, Bai Yuzhe chose not to push further.
He understood that, as the only alchemist in Floating City, Wu Cang cared greatly about his pride—it was only natural. So he didn't mind offering him a way out.
"All right, I came here this time because I want to work with you.Not only can I quickly remove the pill toxin lurking in you and your daughter, I can also help you improve your alchemy skills in a short time.Becoming a second-grade alchemist will be no problem at all."
Bai Yuzhe threw out his tempting offer directly and without reservation.
"Why should I trust you?"Wu Cang was clearly stirred—Bai Yuzhe's conditions were far too enticing.Lately, he had been worried sick about the conditions he and his daughter were suffering from. He knew it was due to pill toxins, which was why he'd been trying to refine "Calm Heart Pills" all this time—but to no avail. In fact, things were getting worse.As for the prospect of becoming a second-grade alchemist—that had been his dream for years. Just imagining it made his heart race.
"Because I could see the symptoms of pill toxin in both you and your daughter at a glance, and I could identify your mistakes and the pills you were refining just by smelling the air."
Bai Yuzhe spoke with calm authority and unwavering confidence.
And as he said it, a natural air of self-assurance and unique presence radiated from him.
"What do you want in return?"
Wu Cang, though already 80 to 90 percent convinced, hadn't lost his rationality. He knew full well this boy hadn't barged in like this just out of kindness.
"You're straightforward—I like that.What I need are resources: cultivation resources and alchemy resources."
Bai Yuzhe laid out his condition just as directly.
"You haven't named a quantity—I don't know how much you want. Surely you're not expecting Danxiang Pavilion to supply you endlessly, or asking me to bankrupt the entire place?"
Wu Cang voiced his concern once more.
But unconsciously, his tone had already changed. He had originally referred to himself as "this old man," full of seniority and pride—but now, it was just "I."
"Heh, you're really overestimating yourself.Don't worry—just make sure you don't end up begging me to use your Danxiang Pavilion's resources in the future."
Bai Yuzhe sneered in disdain.
To him, Danxiang Pavilion was merely a stepping stone, a starting platform. He firmly believed that it wouldn't be long before he'd have no need for it at all.