Su Xuan rummaged through the kitchen for a long time.
Aside from a small bag of Spiritual Rice, there was only half a bag of ordinary brown rice and a jar of pickles.
As a cultivator, the original owner had few carnal desires, so he ate Spiritual Rice.
The two sisters, however, had almost no cultivation and likely relied on brown rice and pickles to fill their stomachs.
No wonder the girl looked so sallow and thin. ‘The original owner was doing pathetically.’
Shaking his head, he washed all the Spiritual Rice and threw it into the pot, treating it as a welcoming meal for himself.
Fortunately, the kitchen stove was just like the earthen stoves he had used in the countryside as a child, and he had not forgotten how to start a fire.
After a while, Su Xuan took a tray and carried two bowls of Spiritual Rice and a small dish of pickles back into the room.
“Come, let’s eat.”
Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Although the girl was trying her best to remain calm, her small hand was tightly clutching something.
She stared at him with a look of extreme wariness, clearly not used to his sudden change in behavior.
“Mas… Master, Zhiyi isn’t hungry. I…”
Seeing him arrive, Lu Zhiyi’s body trembled as she spoke in a low voice.
“Be good and eat properly. Look at how thin you are; it doesn’t look good at all.”
Su Xuan placed the bowl and chopsticks in front of her and spoke softly.
In truth, Lu Zhiyi had long legs and delicate features.
She was just malnourished and far too thin.
Once she grew up, she would definitely be a beauty.
Her sister seemed to be even better looking than her; they were a true pair of beauties.
“Eat!”
Seeing that she was still hesitating and unwilling to eat, his tone shifted as he mimicked the original owner’s commanding voice.
Sure enough, Lu Zhiyi’s body jerked.
As if by reflex, she picked up her chopsticks and began shoveling rice into her mouth, looking very much like someone eating their last meal.
Watching her, Su Xuan shook his head, feeling somewhat helpless.
Compared to sudden tenderness, she was more accustomed to the original owner’s commanding style.
But it was fine.
As long as he didn’t hit them anymore, he believed she would slowly get used to it.
Seeing that she was only eating rice, he picked up some pickles and placed them in her bowl, then took a piece for himself to taste.
A bitter, salty flavor exploded in his mouth, nearly making him gag.
He couldn’t help but ask, “Do you usually just eat brown rice and this?”
“To answer Master, we usually dig for wild vegetables to make vegetable buns. Only when we can’t find any do we eat a little bit of rice and pickles… We don’t eat much.”
Lu Zhiyi explained.
Sigh!
Looking at how cautious the girl was, he shook his head and pushed the rice bowl further toward her, saying softly, “Eat slowly. Later, I will refine a few more pills and buy some meat to nourish your body.”
Hearing this, Lu Zhiyi seemed to remember something, and her eyes, which had just stopped being red, welled up again.
‘She must finally appreciate how good her Master is being to her!’
Seeing her expression, Su Xuan thought she was moved and felt a sense of relief.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhiyi squeezed the ceramic shard hidden in her hand even tighter.
‘Nourish my body…’
She was now certain of what this beast intended to do after dinner!
‘This Spiritual Rice is delicious, but it’s a shame it’s my last meal. Since I’m going to die anyway, I might as well die with a full stomach!’
With that thought, she buried her head over the table and began eating the rice ferociously, chewing like a hamster.
After a while, she tilted her neck back and swallowed with great effort.
“Finished eating?”
Su Xuan’s voice drifted over.
Lu Zhiyi lowered her head and nodded, her heart pounding.
“Go boil some water and wash up properly. Your hair is all matted together!”
He continued.
‘Sure enough!’
Lu Zhiyi bit her lip.
The ceramic shard in her hand had already sliced into her palm, sending a jolt of pain through her.
She had no cultivation, so she certainly couldn’t kill him.
But as long as she stabbed it into her own neck, she could die and prevent him from having his way!
She made a silent vow and took a deep breath, preparing to act.
“Oh right, one more thing.”
Unaware of her thoughts, Su Xuan continued.
“Before you wash, help me prepare the pill materials. Then, do not disturb my pill refining tonight.”
Seeing no reaction, he asked again, “Did you hear me?”
“Huh? Oh…”
Lu Zhiyi’s large eyes blinked for a long time before she finally processed his words.
“After washing, I… rest? Do not disturb Master… while he refines pills?”
She murmured in disbelief, stealing a glance at Su Xuan.
She felt like he was acting very strangely today.
‘Nonsense. You ate two bowls of rice in one sitting. If I don’t hurry up and refine pills to exchange for Spiritual Stones, who’s going to afford to feed you?’
Su Xuan’s tone remained gentle, but he was complaining inwardly.
“Yes. The house is clean enough, so go to bed early.”
“I… I’ll go right now.”
Lu Zhiyi lowered her head and agreed.
She cleared the dishes and hurried out the door.
After a while, she brought a large pile of items and placed them on the table.
Those were the materials the original owner used for refining pills.
Once she left and closed the door, Su Xuan took out the equipment one by one, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
The original owner claimed to be an alchemist, yet he didn’t even have a proper cauldron!
Refining pills in a kitchen pot was truly a unique method.
Shaking his head, he poured a “pill” out of a small porcelain bottle.
“An Inedia Pill… no, it doesn’t even qualify as a pill. It can only be called an Inedia Pellet.”
As he recalled the details, his head began to ache.
The original owner called himself an alchemist, but in reality, after studying at a sect for several years, he couldn’t even refine a complete Grade 1 pill.
He could only make powder and then roll it into pellets using honey.
Although there was only a one-word difference in their names, the disparity in effect and difficulty was like heaven and earth.
Anyone who started out in alchemy at the Marketplace could make those kinds of pellets.
But someone who could refine an actual pill was a formally initiated alchemist, and there were very few of those in the entire Marketplace.
It was no wonder the original owner lived such a miserable life that he couldn’t even afford a cauldron.
There were still a few sets of materials for Inedia Pills.
He carefully recalled the original owner’s techniques and measured out a portion.
“Spiritual Rice fragments… Ox Bone Powder…”
Following the steps in his memory, he took out the iron pot, circulated his spiritual energy to generate fire, and began refining step by step.
Various powders and liquids tumbled and melted within the black iron pot.
As spiritual energy was injected, a fragrance gradually began to waft out.
After the initial awkwardness, Su Xuan gradually became proficient.
However, the further he went, the more he felt something was off.
It wasn’t that there was a problem; it was that it was too smooth!
It almost felt like he was just cooking and adding seasonings!
The parts in the original owner’s memory where controlling spiritual energy and managing the heat of the materials should have been difficult were now happening naturally.
Two incense sticks’ time later, the powder in the pot twisted itself into four or five pills, emitting a dense medicinal fragrance.
‘It’s done just like that?’
‘I didn’t even put in the honey yet?’
Su Xuan looked puzzled.
He carefully picked one up.
It was indeed a genuine Grade 1 Inedia Pill, though its appearance was quite poor, likely due to the refining equipment.
Thinking back on the refining process, he slowly began to understand.
His aptitude hadn’t improved, but his control was very adept.
Perhaps because he was a transmigrator, his mental strength was greater and more focused.
Silently thanking his past life’s intense schooling, he picked up the iron pot and continued refining.
An hour later, the moon hung high in the sky.
Su Xuan let out a long breath and stopped.
There was still half a portion of materials left, but the spiritual energy in his body had been exhausted.
The energy of Qi Refinement Level 2 was truly meager.
He rubbed the porcelain bottle in his hand, filled with excitement.
According to market prices, an Inedia Pellet went for five Spiritual Sands, but an Inedia Pill could be sold for twenty Spiritual Sands!
He had refined ten bottles of Inedia Pills, with five pills in each bottle.
They could be sold for one Spiritual Stone!
After deducting the costs, he could earn three Spiritual Stones in a single night—the original owner would have needed half a month to earn that much!
‘I still have one Spiritual Stone. Tomorrow, after selling the pills, I’ll have eleven. Then I’ll need to buy that miscellany book, more pill materials, pay for medical expenses, and buy some food…’
By the moonlight, Su Xuan pulled out the only savings the original owner had and began to plan his tasks for tomorrow.
Regardless of everything else, he had to survive first and get these two disciples to trust him a little.
And then…
And then he would find a way to make them completely unable to pose a threat to him.
That way, he would be completely safe!
After calculating twice and confirming he would still have four or five Spiritual Stones left for cultivation, he breathed a sigh of relief, his mind slightly at ease.
“Can I ever go back…”
Gradually, after the excitement of the successful refining faded, a strong sense of melancholy and loneliness flooded his heart.
Sighing, he packed his things and opened the door.
The courtyard was pitch black.
The girl should have been asleep by now.
Driven by a strange impulse, he walked to the woodshed.
Lu Zhiyi had already bathed and was lying on a floor bed in the woodshed, covered by a quilt.
Her eyes were tightly shut; she appeared to be asleep.
Although he didn’t have much affection for this girl, having someone nearby in this strange world was a form of comfort.
With a long sigh, he tucked the corner of the quilt in for her and walked out with light steps.
The moment he walked out the door, Lu Zhiyi’s tightly shut eyes snapped open!
Throwing back the quilt, the ceramic shard was clutched tightly in her hand.
She had even sharpened it further until it was keen.
She stared blankly at the door, her eyes full of confusion.
‘He didn’t do anything? He even tucked me in?’
‘Is this really my Master?’
Under the moonlight, she tilted her small head and thought for a long time, but she truly had no clue.
“Pretend, keep on pretending! How could a scumbag like you suddenly become a good person? I’m not stupid!”
She touched the bruises on her arm, which sent waves of pain through her.
She shook her head and whispered softly.
Tomorrow, once he went out to sell the pills, she would sneak out to find her sister and then run away from the Marketplace!
Looking at the full moon in the sky, she nodded firmly, having made up her mind.