Uncle Huang watched the situation unfolding with a dry smile. After breakfast time ended, Grandmaster Bai picked up the portable computer to open it like yesterday. In the first moment, he thought she would go demolish someone to shreds in the cultivators' community thread again, but instead she clicked into the online book reading website.
But it might be considered a good thing. If Grandmaster Bai went into that web forum every day, someday someone would really die from anger.
"...What business do you have?"
Bai Fanxian closed the portable computer screen and turned to ask Tang Tianjie. Uncle Huang was surprised she was willing to shift her gaze from the book on screen.
But thinking about it properly, wasn't she always like this?
If it concerned people close to her, she was always ready to place importance on them first.
Whether it was the two little girls or himself.
"Grandmaster Bai... I have questions..." Tang Tianjie, seeing that Bai Fanxian was interested, immediately took out a thick stack of papers he had hurriedly brought along to show her.
They were questions he'd been stuck on his whole life and couldn't find answers to. Today he gathered them all together, hoping Bai Fanxian would help him solve these problems.
Bai Fanxian looked at that pile of papers with weariness and hesitation.
"Let me see them..."
Bai Fanxian received those papers and opened them page by page. When she encountered points that were errors, she would furrow her brows and explain point by point. Tang Tianjie, who was already quite elderly, now looked no different from a tiny student intently listening to a teacher without blinking.
The old man noted every word and every point that Bai Fanxian explained in minute detail. When he encountered parts he didn't understand, he quickly asked. Bai Fanxian's knowledge and understanding were gradually opening up the world for Tang Tianjie bit by bit. He felt as if he was being enchanted. His consciousness sank into Bai Fanxian's explanations without realizing it.
Bai Fanxian felt inexplicably familiar with times like this. In the previous era, she herself often helped explain and resolve doubts for the disciples of the Alchemy Palace. The image of her sitting in a vast flower garden, surrounded by children and disciples listening quietly—even though she held the position of Palace Master or Alchemy Empress, she never once disdained helping her people.
And she had already decided that the Tang Clan were her people as well.
Outsiders might see her as someone unconcerned with the world, but did she need to care about those she didn't know?
The answer was "no."
Because she grew up in a different era, she had neither father nor mother to care for her. If you weren't strong, you died. If you weren't tough, for a young woman like her, you'd be taken advantage of. Therefore, her personality and character traits were forged to be like this.
Because she was never protected, she had to be stronger than anyone.
Because she never received love and warmth in her youth, she felt extremely attached to her people.
She was herself like this. What she was ten thousand years ago, she was now. Her identity might be somewhat different from the people of this era.
Uncle Huang watched the scene before him with a smile, because the more Tang Tianjie heard Bai Fanxian's explanations, the more stunned the old man became. In a careless moment, he went down to sit on his knees on the floor near Bai Fanxian while his hand was scribbling on paper without realizing it. His eyes became increasingly bright and clear, as if someone was blowing away the fog in his head.
Tang Yeye, who had finished part of her training and ran back into the house, looked confused when she saw her grandfather sitting on his knees on the floor while nodding in response repeatedly with delight.
"...The clan head is just happy, young miss."
Uncle Huang spoke with a dry smile, making the little girl only tilt her head in confusion at this situation...
The lunch meal passed quickly. Tang Tianjie took the opportunity to eat lunch here as well. He asked Bai Fanxian questions he wondered about nonstop.
"Grandmaster Bai, there's one more thing..."
"What else do you wonder about?" Bai Fanxian sighed.
"No, I've troubled you enough today. It's about something else." Tang Tianjie waved his hands bashfully. Today he had truly troubled Grandmaster Bai too much. Earlier he had even fallen into a trance without realizing it. He needed Huang Zihan to come nudge him before he could get up from the floor.
"Hm?"
"About the Vitality Elixir. Previously, because you helped, we were able to find its side effects. The Alchemists' Association is very interested in this matter, so they'd like to invite the person who solved its mystery to attend the seminar."
"You just go."
Bai Fanxian refused carelessly.
Tang Tianjie smiled dryly. He knew before even asking that Grandmaster Bai would refuse. But the point was the date of going.
"I know about Hui'er's matter." The old man glanced at the little girl.
"But the Alchemists' Association's location isn't far from the Divine Doctor's mountain village. And it's at the end of this week as well. So I asked in case Grandmaster Bai might want to go tour around a bit."
Bai Fanxian turned back to look.
"What's there to see?"
Tang Tianjie, seeing that Bai Fanxian was starting to be interested, quickly explained. "The Alchemists' Association was established almost a thousand years ago. And it has continuously inherited and developed without stopping. A tremendous amount of knowledge and alchemy sciences are recorded and stored there."
Bai Fanxian was surprised.
Previously, she herself had asked Huang Zihan about alchemy books in this era as well. But the old butler was at his wit's end, because knowledge related to cultivators mostly wasn't revealed to outsiders. So Uncle Huang tried using connections and was able to bring out some less important books for Bai Fanxian to read.
Like Master Sun's book "Fire and Medicine" was one of them.
Seeing there was an opportunity to read books about alchemy sciences in this era, it wasn't strange that Bai Fanxian would feel interested.
Because the books she had in her dimensional storage were all books from the era ten thousand years ago.
"Can I read the books at that Association?"
Tang Tianjie nodded.
"If you go with me, you should be able to read most of the books there." Though it looked like this, Tang Tianjie's status wasn't light either. And lately he still had achievements from being able to successfully dissect the incomplete Vitality Elixir method, and also discovering its side effects.
"In that case..."
"...I'll go out to broaden my horizons a bit. That's good too."
This one week passed quickly. After that, Bai Fanxian occasionally went in to read comments and reply to comments in the Martial Masters' community discussion forum. She found that besides the Elixir Problems Q&A thread, many threads specifying the Alchemy Empress's name had been created.
Some wanted her to answer their doubts.
Some wanted to know her true identity.
But the most eye-catching one was the most prominent thread filled with the most comments.
"Lady Alchemy Empress is truly excellent! Did you guys see the answer where she smacked down that troublemaker yesterday? So cool!"
"Really foolish. Who are you trying to fool? You didn't add all the ingredients and then came saying my method was wrong?"
"Exactly! The thread owner immediately deleted the comment so quickly!"
"What do you guys think she looks like? Is she a woman?"
"Comment above—she must be a woman! And she must be beautiful, elegant, and noble!"
"You guys are daydreaming too much. But do you think Lady Empress will appear at the Association's seminar?"
"Not sure, but this is the biggest event of the year. Alchemists from across the country all want to travel there. If it attracts attention, you can become famous and wealthy overnight."
"But the event happens at the same time the Divine Doctor emerges from cultivation."
"Yeah. I heard the Divine Doctor will lecture on medical knowledge and the cultivation he achieved too. Won't these two events clash?"
"Actually, I want to hear the Divine Doctor's lecture too."
"Right. I wonder what level his cultivation power has reached. But I once heard there was a time he helped guide a Martial Practitioner who had been stuck at that level for ten years. But after listening to the Divine Doctor for just one day, he was able to achieve Martial Master level."
"I heard that news too."
"So this year at Mount Kienga there are two interesting events?"
"Right. The Alchemists' Association's grandest seminar, and the Divine Doctor emerging from cultivation and opening lectures. People from this side of the world will gather there even more densely than the duel between two Grandmasters."
"If Lady Alchemy Empress went there too, that would be great, right?"
"Are you dreaming... but I myself dream about that too."
Bai Fanxian swept her gaze reading the comments in that thread through the portable computer. Right now she was sitting in the Tang Clan's extremely spacious and comfortable black car. On her left and right were Hui'er and Tang Yeye, who were excited to go on a trip. They clung to the windows on each side, watching the scenery outside with sparkling eyes.
On the other side was Tang Tianjie in a good mood, and Huang Zihan sitting beside him, smiling while serving water and snacks to all four people.
Bai Fanxian read to the last comment.
Her slender hands typed on the keyboard skillfully. When finished, she folded the screen down and turned to look outside the window.
But at that moment, the online world caught fire! Because in the thread "Lady Empress's Fan Club Gathering Place," a comment that could shake the entire thread had appeared!
Comment 1256 (Alchemy Empress)
I'm going.
Just three words.
But they were three words that made those who read them scream out in excitement!