Chapter 94: Pills
Dawn barely touched the horizon when Xiulan arrived at the small herb garden behind the alchemy hall. Mist clung to the ground, wrapping around rows of neatly arranged plants. The air smelled of damp earth and something sharper—the medicinal tang of cultivation herbs.
Su Yin leaned against a stone wall, tossing a small vial between her hands. Tao Jun sat cross-legged on a wooden stool, sketching diagrams in a worn notebook.
“You made it,” Su Yin remarked, catching the vial mid-toss.
Xiulan adjusted her satchel. “We aren’t locked out are we?”
“I told you—I have access.” Su Yin pushed away from the wall and approached the locked gate. She produced a small key from her sleeve and twisted it in the lock. The gate swung open with a creak. “Elder Wang’s great-granddaughter has certain privileges.”
Tao Jun closed his notebook. “Which you abuse regularly.”
“It’s not abuse if I’m actually learning something.” Su Yin led them into the garden. “Besides, Elder Wang knows. She pretends not to notice because I maintain the rarer specimens on weekends.”
Xiulan followed without commenting. She had never expected nepotism to be absent in the Pavilion.
The garden opened into a series of circular beds, each containing plants grouped by element affinity. Fire-natured herbs glowed faintly in the dim morning light—cinnabar grass with its red-tipped leaves, spirit moss dried to a golden hue, and tiny flame crystals growing like ruby clusters on black stems.
“These are exactly the ones we need,” Xiulan murmured, crouching to examine the flame crystals.
Su Yin puffed up visibly. “I cultivated those myself. Three months of precise temperature control and daily qi infusions.”
Tao Jun rolled his eyes. “And you’ll never us forget it?”