“Welcome to Jade Healing-Oh, it’s you.”

William had hoped that since Li Xinyue’s master sent him off with a smile yesterday, she would lessen her hostility toward him. In a way, that was correct. It didn’t look like she wanted to kill him, but he wouldn’t say she was pleased to see him.

“Why are you here already? Are you that eager to make me waste my time?”

William wasn’t sure what Li Xinyue was talking about. Still, since he would be spending considerable time with the girl in the future, his first and only priority was getting her to like him, or if that wasn’t possible, tolerating him at the least.

Daoist Chen said that he apologized too quickly, but he didn’t see another way to defuse that irritation in Li Xinyue.

“I’m sorry,” William tried to look like a kicked puppy. He didn’t think it worked since Li Xinyue was unmoved, “Elder Huang was kind enough to give me something called an immortal pill. That must have been really valuable, so I wanted to repay him.”

William was happy to see that Li Xinyue softened just a little bit. Huang Jingyi might be a way to get into her good graces, but it would take more than that.

“Well, at least you aren’t ungrateful,” Li Xinyue muttered before sighing in resignation, “Alright, Wei Liang. Master told me to talk to you, so let’s get it over with. How much time do you think it will take?”

William stared blankly at Li Xinyue’s earnest face, wondering if this was some sort of joke. It was already a strange question, but even more so when a girl closer to twenty asked a thirteen-year-old.

“I never really set a time limit when I talk to people,” William said with a confused look, “Why did Elder Huang want you to do this?”

William shuddered at the sudden glare shot his way.

“It’s not for you to guess why my master does anything.”

He nodded rapidly, wondering how he had already stepped into a landmine. “Maybe we can start by introducing ourselves?”

“I already know your name. It’s Wei Liang.”

William had to stop the urge to show his frustration at the oblivious girl. Talking with her was like trying to draw blood from a stone. It was no wonder Huang Jingyi wanted her to speak to him. He had thought he interested the old man with his story, but it looked like he was just a convenient body for his disciple to practice on.

Still, that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. No matter why William came to the Jade Healing Clinic, it would still count toward his mandatory visits for his side quest.

“But I don’t know your name,” William replied.

Li Xinyue blinked, looking like she hadn’t realized reciprocating was necessary. She looked reluctant as she said, “You can call me Sister Li.”

“Sister Li, what did you mean by wasting your time?” William was using the age-old formula to make friends. The first step was to figure out their likes and talk about them.

Li Xinyue’s eyes grew bright. “I’m on the cusp of becoming an Apprentice Alchemist. Master already says that I can pass the test given by the Imperial Alchemist Association, but I need to reach the Foundation Establishment realm before I am allowed to even try.”

Li Xinyue paused when she saw the wide-eyed look on his face. She had forgotten that she wasn’t talking to a fellow cultivator in her excitement.

“That sounds really impressive, Sister Li,” William said with an amazed tone. He didn’t even have to fake it since Alchemists were the rarest type of cultivators due to the amount of dedication it required. At least, that was true in most novels. “Are you about to reach this Foundation Establishment realm soon?”

“Yes,” Li Xinyue nodded. Her excitement cooled off considerably since, in her mind, he didn’t truly understand what she was saying, “I should breakthrough in a few months at most. Sooner if I spend all my time cultivating.”

[Name: Li Xinyue | Level: 94]

William glanced at the blue text above her and didn’t doubt what she said. She had been at level ninety-three yesterday and had already leveled up. She was most likely at the edge for some time, so he wasn’t expecting her to increase to a higher level tomorrow.

Still, with what she had said and what he could see, it could be assumed that level one hundred was the limit for whatever realm she was in.

“I don’t want to delay you from something so important, Sister Li. Why don’t I tell Elder Huang that we talked for a long time and you can do what you must?”

“Oh,” Li Xinyue’s stance toward him softened even further. Her cheeks turned slightly red as she admitted, “Well, it won’t make much difference right now. I have to stay here in case someone comes to the clinic. I usually read alchemy recipes to pass the time.”

That caught William’s attention, and he decided to try his luck.

“Then you can do that, Sister Li. If you think Elder Huang might not be satisfied, maybe I can read with you?”

“Impossible,” Li Xinyue shot it down immediately, “You should never study higher-level alchemic material if you don’t have a foundation. That is often the cause of disasters.”

William sighed, already having expected that it wouldn’t be so easy. Until Li Xinyue added something surprising.

“Wait here. I have something a beginner like you can study.”

William blinked when Li Xinyue turned into a blur and disappeared for a second before she was in front of him again. This time, there was a small stack of papers in her hands.

“This is the Introduction to Alchemy. Master first gave this to me when I broke into the Qi Gathering realm.”

William was taken aback by her generosity and hesitated in taking the offered papers. His main concern was if Huang Jingyi would fly into a rage if he took something meant for his disciple. It should have been something he thought about when asking Li Xinyue if he could read with her, but he never actually thought she would allow it.

“Do you not want them?” Li Xinyue frowned in displeasure.

“No, it’s not that, Sister Li. Will Elder Huang be alright with this?”

Li Xinyue gained a look of realization. “You’re surprisingly thoughtful, Wei Liang. There’s nothing to worry about. These are given to everyone that wishes to learn alchemy. You can even buy them with Gold in the mortal world.”

“Oh,” William brightened, “Then thank you, Sister Li!”

“Good,” Li Xinyue nodded, her view of him rising even more when he immediately started to read with interest.

If this was the result of visiting the clinic, then William was more than willing to come every day. He could already picture the future. Becoming an alchemist’s disciple and being invited by sects to make pills. That would be the life.

He eagerly read through each page, and the more he flipped through, the worse his mood got. Li Xinyue was right when she said that the book covered the very basic foundations of alchemy. It included mentions of some common herbs and the properties they had. How they would react when mixing with others, the rate you should inject your spirit energy, and which elements to use for the best efficiency.

It was all very helpful, as Li Xinyue said. However, there was an issue that couldn’t be solved.

The alchemy in this world reminded William of studying chemistry, except exponentially worse since it might take your life with a mistake. It needed knowledge of all sorts of herbs and superb control of spirit energy to have a chance of becoming a mediocre alchemist. As for one that was well-renowned, he didn’t even want to think of the grueling hours needed for that.

William already had a job in his old world that required him to sit on his ass all day. He would not willingly pick a path requiring him to do the same here.

Of course, he didn’t speak out loud his dissatisfaction in front of Li Xinyue. He finally sensed that she was getting a favorable view of him, and doing that was a surefire way to reverse that hard work.

William decided to memorize the section detailing the herbs since it could be helpful in the future. Well, that was the plan.

“Yue’er, you can take the rest of the day off. Take Wei Liang around the city and show him your favorite spots.”

William stiffened in surprise and looked up to see Huang Jingyi staring at Li Xinyue. He couldn’t see his expression, but with how she looked at her master, he could safely assume that it wasn’t as placid as the tone of his sentence.

“M-Master! We are fine here. Look, Wei Liang doesn’t want to leave either!”

William cursed in his head and looked like a stunned deer when Huang Jingyi glanced at him. He wanted no part in what Li Xinyue was doing. If she wanted to convince her master, she could do it herself and leave the innocent bystander in peace.

“You need to take a break, Yue’er,” Huang Jingyi declared, “Don’t try to change my mind.”

Li Xinyue deflated and muttered, “Yes, master.”

“Good! Wei Liang, accompany Yue’er. She’ll show you some places that aren’t available to mortals.”

“Yes, Elder Huang!” William wondered if he showed too much excitement when Li Xinyue gave him an annoyed look.

However, according to the first of his three keywords, respecting the Elder took precedence over the disciple.