The First Alchemist - Chap 13

Chapter 13 - Money, Money, Money

“The tournament? How are you going to make money from the tournament?” Chem Au asked. “I hope you’re not thinking of the prize money because there is no way I can win that.”

“Maybe not as you are now, but you’ll definitely win next year,” Chem Al said. “No, what I’m talking about is completely different.”

“What is it?”

“We’re going to spend money to make money,” was all Chem Al said before he went back to their parents. Chem Au let out a deep sigh and just followed him, feeling tired for some reason.

The night went by with their family sleeping under the cart.

The entire market woke up with the rising sun. For most, including the Chem clan, they didn’t have to do much but make their cart full of food look presentable, then they were off selling as potential customers from all over came into the city.

“Potatoes! Radishes! Get them here, fresh!” Chem Feng shouted, although his voice was almost drowned out by everyone else.

“Rice! High quality white rice! Get it here!

“I’ve got an entire desolate beast for sale. Meat to fill you up and bones to make your soup!”

“Coal! Plenty of coal to heat up your homes. Winter is coming, you know?”

And Chem Al was shouting along with his family and everyone else. It was fun and a little embarrassing, but it reminded him of his early days as an alchemist disciple during his past life, where he had to compete with all the other disciples to sell pills.

Time passed and the rush of customers turned into a trickle. The tournament was starting and they had all gone off to watch it.

When there were very little people left in their section of the market, Chem Al took this opportunity to ask, "Can Au and I go see the tournament too? Please? It'll only be for a couple of minutes."

Chem Feng thought about it, then said, "Okay, but only for a few fights, then come back soon."

“Can we have some money too?” Chem Al asked. “For snacks and stuff.”

His father frowned. “Al, you know how tight money is.”

“Oh, you, let them have their fun. It’s not everyday we visit the city,” Chem Mai said. She held out a single low jade stone. "Here, take some money with you. It’s not much, but you and Au can split a snack with it.”

Chem Al received the low jade stone like he was being handed a historical artifact. It was a tiny, round stone made of jade, about the size of a thumbnail. It was the first time he had seen the money used in this time period.

"Thank you, Mother. I’ll pay you back soon," Chem Al said before he dragged his brother off towards the tournament.

Along the way, they passed by a couple of stalls and carts that were selling whatever they had, but Chem Al ignored them because he had better things to do with his money.

As soon as they began to hear the cheer of the crowd, it wasn't long before they turned a corner and found the tournament grounds. It wasn't anything fancy like those big stadiums with stone platforms. It was mostly a dirt field surrounded by a couple of wooden bleachers. Still, it was packed. In a world where strength was respected, everyone loved watching a good fight.

"Okay, we're here. How do you plan on making money?" Chem Au asked.

Chem Al held up his low jade stone. “Easy. We’re going to gamble.”

“Gambling? That’s your method to make money?”

“Yes,” Chem Al said while looking around to find someone who was taking bets. There was always someone in these kinds of events.

“Little Al, if gambling was a sure way of making money, then I would have suggested that!”

But his little brother wasn’t listening as he had already ran off towards a man in a booth that had a sign hanging from it. At the top of the sign, it said "Preliminaries", and below that were names along with their odds next to them.

As Chem Al got closer to the booth, he thought about the eight names in The First Alchemist’s journal. He had read those journals so often that he had memorized every word. It wasn’t difficult to recall the names that would make it to the top eight in this tournament.

"Mister, I want to place a bet," Chem Al said.

The man looked down at the little boy. "You got money?"

"It's not much, but money is money." Chem Al held up his low jade stone.

The man snorted, then he shrugged his shoulders. "The next fight is Wujang Ko vs Li Qinli. Who do you want to bet on?"

Oh, there was one of the names from the list. "Li Qinli,” Chem Al said.

"Suit yourself. The odds are six to one against."

Chem Al handed him his low jade stone. The man accepted it, then thought nothing more of it as the little boy walked away. Even if that boy wins, he won’t get much from starting at such a low sum.

The moment Chem Al stepped away from the booth, his big brother grabbed him by the shoulders. "Are you crazy? We could have at least used that to buy a snack to eat."

"Trust me." Chem Al smiled, then started pulling on his brother's arm. "Come on. If we don't hurry, we're going to miss it."

Late, they couldn't find any good seats, but they were able to find a spot to stand in to watch the match. A minute later, two young men stepped into the arena. They fought.

Chem Au could feel his blood pumping as he watched the explosion of swords and fists battling each other for supremacy, but Chem Al couldn't care less. The only thing he cared about was whether the outcome of this fight matched what he thought those list of names in the journal meant.

With one final blast of sword light, the fight ended. Li Qinli was the winner!

Chem Au cheered, lost in the excitement of watching a good fight, but then his eyes widened in realization. The winner of the fight was the person that his little brother had bet on. They actually won some money!

He turned his head to look at his little brother, only to discover that Chem Al had already ran off back to the booth. Hurrying to follow him, he got there in time to see the man hand over the money.

"Minus my fee, you've won six low jade stones," the man said.

Chem Au felt like jumping for joy after seeing the six jade stones in his little brother's hands, thinking of more things they could buy. But before he could say anything, Chem Al said, "Who is fighting in the next match?"

"Oh, pressing your luck, are you?" the man said. "The next fight is going to be (name) vs (name)."

Hmm, it wasn’t one of the names on the list. Chem Al kept asking him for the fights after that until he heard a name that he recognized, then he handed over the six low jade stones back to the man to make his next bet.

Chem Au wanted to shout. Did his little brother think that winning money once will win him more the next time? But before he could stop him, Chem Al was already running back to watch the next fight. “What are you standing there for, Au? Don’t you want to watch the next fight?” Chem Al said when he passed his brother.

Chem Au didn’t know what to say. He just ended up sighing, then followed his brother back to the tournament.

This process repeated three more times with Chem Au looking more and more shocked every time they won money. He was lucky that flies weren’t flying into his mouth.

As for the man, he was almost as shocked. He had seen repeat winners before, but never from a poor looking boy. “You’ve got great beginner’s luck,” he said as he handed over Chem Al’s latest winnings.

Chem Al thanked him, but then he said, “My brother and I have to go back soon so we won’t be here to watch the rest of today’s tournament. How about this? Instead of making bets for each individual fight, I would like to make a bet on who would pass the preliminaries.”

“Oh? You want to make a long bet?”

Nodding, Chem Al said, “Yes. I know it’s riskier, but I’m feeling lucky today.”

The man silently scoffed at the little boy. He had seen this many times. Men who were on a winning streak think that it would be safe to make bigger bets. “It’s your money. Who do you want to bet on?”

"I want to bet on these people." Chem Al listed eight names. He thought that maybe he should throw in a few losing names to throw off suspicion, but eh, this was going to be the only time he was going to gamble so he might as well make a killing.

After agreeing to the bet, the man accepted Chem Al's latest winnings and divided them to equally bet on each of the names, all the while making fun of the little boy in his mind. There was no way some of these names would make it into the top eight.

Throughout all this, Chem Au just stood by feeling helpless, then he followed his little brother back to their parents with his head tucked between his shoulders. He sighed, deciding to accept it. After all, his little brother might pull out a miracle and not lose all the money.

For the rest of the day, Chem Al and Chem Au helped their parents sell potatoes and radishes. Their parents didn't ask what they did with the low jade stone, assuming that they just spent it on a snack as little boys would do. As for Chem Au, he was constantly worrying about the money, while Chem Al was humming along like nothing was wrong.

While the Chem clan was selling their crops, the man in the booth was still making bets with other people. So far he was impressed that none of the little boy's choices had lost yet.

However, this next one would definitely lose. It was a fight between Li Qinli vs Jiang Ren. And Jiang Ren was this year's favorite to become the champion. There was absolutely no way that Li Qinli was going to win this fight.

Two minutes later.

Li Qinli won the fight.

“What the fuck!” the man shouted. This was impossible! There was no way this could be happening!

And yet it was.

For the rest of the matches, all of the cultivators that the little boy chose never lost. Time and time again, until all of them made it to the final eight. The man could only stand there in shock, which was how Chem Al and Chem Au found him after their parents let them go when the day’s market was slowing down for the evening.

"How did my bets do?" Chem Al said, almost knocking the man out of his delirious state.

"Wha...? How?" He stared at Chem Al for a long time. Did this little boy somehow rig the entire tournament? Although it was very unlikely, it was the only explanation he could think of. He kept opening and closing his mouth, wanting to ask something, but not sure what kind of question would give him an answer that would explain all of this.

Meanwhile, Chem Al gave him a big smile. "How much did I win?"

Behind him, his big brother was almost hopping from leg to leg, wondering the same thing.

The man finally snapped out of it. "Y-you won ten high jade stones and eight mid jade stones,” he said, barely able to believe it. He wondered how much more the little boy would have won if he didn’t start out with a measly single low jade stone.

Chem Al tilted his head at that answer, still unsure about this time's monetary value, while his big brother jumped up like lightning was surging through his body. "Ten high jade stones? Did you just say that we won over ten high jade stones?"

"Is that a lot?" Chem Al asked.

Chem Au looked at his little brother, wide-eyed. "That's ten years of our family's income, and you just won that in one day!"

Chem Al only nodded. "I guess that will do.” He held out his hand to the man.

Throughout this whole conversation, other gamblers had been eavesdropping on them. They all watched as the man handed a bag to the little boy.

"Here you go," the man said. His hands were shaking.

Chem Al and his big brother quickly checked the bag’s contents to make sure all the money was there. Nevermind Chem Al, even Chem Au had never seen a high jade stone before. They were almost the size of a fist and made of a higher quality of jade than the mid jade stones.

While they were looking in the bag, the man was watching them. He had just seen a miracle happen right before his eyes. A miracle! It was not everyday he got to see something so amazing. “I hope you will come back tomorrow to keep testing your beginner’s luck.”

"Oh, we will!" Chem Al said, slightly louder than usual. "I plan to come back and win even more money!"

The brothers then left the tournament grounds and ran off into the streets.

As they ambled along, Chem Au couldn’t stop himself from humming and occasionally singing a song he made up on the spot, not caring about the looks he was getting from the people around him. But then he was interrupted by his little brother.

“Au, please carry me on your back.”

With a smile on his face, Chem Au said, "Little Al, after what you just did, I'll do that and more." He got down on one knee to allow Chem Al to climb on.

“Thank you. Now, at the end of this street, make a turn at the last corner and start running as fast as possible. We have to escape them.”

“What?” Chem Au asked. This change in topic threw him for a loop. He had been thinking that Chem Al wanted to climb on his back to celebrate this moment along with him, but then out of nowhere his little brother wanted him to run.

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The First Alchemist - Chap 12

Chapter 12 - The Blacksmith Tai Fu

Despite trying to move as fast as they could, bringing the Wyrm’s corpse hampered their progress. But there was no way they were going to dump it. The money it would bring in would help support the village.

Carrying it just meant that the guards had to be more vigilant, gripping their spears as they surveyed the forest, though this didn’t stop them from discussing the battle with one another. For a short while, they wondered why Chem Au carried his crippled brother into the middle of the battle. It almost looked like he did something to help the village chief defeat the Wyrm, but that was impossible. How could a cripple do anything in a battle?

All the guards soon dismissed what Chem Al did and only talked about the village chief’s epic fight with the Wyrm. All of them, except Chem Au.

“Explain to me again about how you did that? How can you predict that beast’s movements?”

Chem Al sighed. “Okay, the Wyrm looks like a snake, but it’s not a snake. Once you understand that, you can predict its attack pattern.” His older brother still looked confused, so he continued. “Have you ever seen a snake attack? It only bites at its prey or wraps its body around them. It never really uses its tail to attack. But a Wyrm is different. You might not see it, but they have four small protrusions on their belly and two on their back, which will someday grow into legs and wings. And because of this body structure, it’s not as flexible as a snake. So its only options are to either bite, slam its massive body, or swing its tail. It’s not like it can breathe fire yet. Once you understand all of that, you can predict how it will attack. Get it?” Chem Al said, but what he didn’t mention was that this wasn’t the first time he had seen a Wyrm.

Chem Au tried to understand what his little brother just said, but this only caused a dull ache to throb through his head. “I don’t really get it, but okay, you somehow know a thing or two about Wyrms. But that doesn’t explain how you could throw a sharp stick at it so accurately.”

Chem Al shrugged. “I was lucky.”

A long groan came out of Chem Au. Lucky? Was that really just luck? That was a nearly impossible shot! It was like digging into the ground and finding a vein of jade stones on your first try. “That’s it? That’s your explanation?”

“I was really, really lucky.”

Now Chem Au felt like vomiting blood. He rubbed his forehead when the ache started to sharpen. “Fine, fine, if that’s all you’re going to tell me, we’ll leave it at that.” He wanted to ask more questions, but he couldn’t stay away from his guard duties for too long.

Two hours passed. The sun was getting low, making the villagers more nervous. So it was with a sigh of relief when they finally reached the edge of the forest. The only thing left to do was march through some open fields and, in the distance, there it was: Vera City.

At the sight of it, Chem Al felt surprised. It was completely different from the Vera City that he remembered in his past life. It looked small and rural, like it housed less than ten thousand people. What’s more, the wall around it was pitiful, and he could barely see the roofs of small buildings behind it. Where were the towering structures that he had come to know? A part of him knew that Vera City would be different from his time, but he was surprised about how completely different it was.

A line of carts full of goods and food led to the gate. The people from the other surrounding villages were here for the same reason they were. It only took another hour of waiting before the city guards let them enter the city.

Again, Chem Al was shocked. Since when does a city have a dirt street? And why were the buildings so short and stumpy? Yes, it was a lot bigger than Sorka Village, but shouldn’t it be more impressive than this? Cities were supposed to be tall and clustered together, not wide open like this. He could only shake his head.

The village chief left with the Wyrm’s body, followed by some of his guards, and headed towards the Everything Auction House. That was the only place where he could get a decent deal for it in this city.

The rest of the villagers moved through the streets until they made it to the market area. It took them awhile, but they were able to find a good place to set up shop. With the sun going down, there wasn’t going to be many customers today. Besides, the city’s martial arts tournament will take place tomorrow, and that’s when the real business will begin. Until then, there was still enough time for Chem Al to check out the city.

“Can I, Father? I just want to take a quick look around,” Chem Al said.

“Ask your mother.”

Chem Al rushed to his mother. “Please? Please? Pleeeease?” He kept repeating, as annoying as a hungry dog begging for treats.

“Okay,” she finally gave in with a sigh, “but your brother has to look after you. And you have to be back in half an hour.”

“Yes!” Chem Al jumped, then he went over to where his brother was and pulled him along, not even pausing to ask him if he wanted to come.

Chem Au just let himself be pulled since he wanted to check out the city too. “Where do you want to go?” he asked.

“To find a blacksmith.”

“Good idea. We can look at the amazing weapons they make.”

“That, and I want to commission them to make a cauldron for me.”

“A cauldron?” Chem Au asked, then he remembered what his little brother had said two months ago. “You’re still on about that?”

“Of course. Just watch me. With that cauldron, I’m going to change the world,” Chem Al excitedly said.

The two brothers went on their way with Chem Au taking the lead. He knew where the tournament stage was, and that the blacksmith shops would be close by. It wasn’t long before they heard the faint sound of metal clanging against metal, and soon they saw a few stone buildings with smoke rising out of the top.

“Which one do you want to check out first?” Chem Au asked.

Chem Al looked around until he spotted it. “There it is!” he shouted. “The legendary Tai Smithy!”

Legendary? Chem Au wondered. The blacksmith shop his little brother was pointing at was a small, stone shanty with a crude wooden sign over it that said “Tai”. Before Chem Au could direct his little brother to one of the more impressive looking shops, Chem Al had already rushed towards the Tai Smithy, leaving him no choice but to follow him.

The moment they stepped inside, they were assaulted by enough heat to form sweat down their backs. There wasn’t much in the shop. The front had a few weapons hanging on the walls, with the furnace in the back taking up most of the space. The only other person in the shop was a muscular young man who was pounding a hammer against something.

When the young man noticed the brothers come in, he quickly went up to them, but then showed a disappointed look on his face when he saw their raggy clothes that only poor villagers would wear. His shoulders sagged. “If you’re not going to buy anything, please leave. Don’t waste my time if you’re just going to look around.”

Chem Au was about to argue, but then his little brother cut him off.

“Are you Tai Fu?” Chem Al asked.

Tai Fu raised an eyebrow. “Do I know you?”

Chem Al suddenly gave a deep bow. “No, but I know of you. I can’t tell you how much of an honor this is to me. Your work is famous! I’ve traveled a long way just to meet you.”

“Uhh….” Tai Fu felt confused. “Please stop it with the jokes. You don’t look like you have a lot of money and, as you can see, my weapons aren’t exactly great sellers.” He waved his hand at the walls.

“Whoever said anything about weapons?” Chem Al said, then an excited smile appeared on his face. “I want you to make a cauldron for me!”

“A cauldron?” Tai Fu felt even more confused. “You want me to make you a metal bowl where you cook rice or soup in?”

Chem Al could only sigh. “I want a special cauldron. It will be made out of profound iron. Not the shitty pig iron that cooking cauldrons are made from. One hundred percent pure profound iron. But it won’t be as simple as that. The outer surface of the cauldron will have a complex array etched into it. As complex as,” he looked around, then pointed his thumb at a shiny shield hanging on the wall. “...that.”

Tai Fu looked at the shield. It was the most expensive thing in his entire shop. Not only was it completely made out of profound iron, it also had a complex array that absorbed the surrounding profound energy to boost its defensive strength. It was impossible for a poor village boy to afford something like that.

Even Chem Au was looking at his little brother incredulously. That shield looked really expensive, and they didn’t have any money on them.

“You want a cauldron as complex as that shield? Enough with the jokes, kid. Get out of here,” Tai Fu said, making shooing motions at him.

Chem Al sighed again. “I know it’s not going to be cheap, but money’s no option.”

Tai Fu almost burst out laughing. It wasn’t everyday a lowly villager said something like that.

“I can see that you won’t believe me until I show you the money. So just tell me how much it would cost and I’ll bring it,” Chem Al said.

Tai Fu didn’t know whether he should just shove the boy out or laugh at him, but he was never one to turn away possible profit. He rubbed his chin. "Well, profound iron is really hard to forge. It takes a lot of strength. Of course, that’s nothing special for a blacksmith. The hard part would be to make the array, which takes a delicate touch. The more complex it is, the harder it will be. You know, not all blacksmiths have that kind of skill. You’re lucky that I’m one of them. All in all, the cost of such a cauldron would be...," he paused and held up two fingers, "two high jade stones."

"What the hell?" Chem Au shouted. "Two high jade stones?"

It was just as Tai Fu expected. They couldn’t afford it. "Hey, don't look at me. Such a thing is definitely worth that price. But I'll tell you what. I'll give you a good discount. How about just one high jade stone and eighty mid jade stones?"

Jade stones? Chem Al tilted his head. He had heard of these while reading historical books, but he didn't really understand their value. In his past life, the monetary system was made of gold taels, along with some silver and copper.

How much was a high jade stone worth? He didn't know, but based on the look on his big brother's face, it definitely wasn't cheap. Still, even if it costs the entire world, it would be worth it.

"Done," Chem Al said.

"What?" Chem Au grabbed his little brother's shoulders and shook him. "Have you gone stupid? We don't have nearly that kind of money."

Chem Al smiled. "Maybe not right now, but I can get it." He then ignored his brother and looked at the young blacksmith. "Do we have a deal? I'll bring one high jade stone and eighty mid jade stones by tomorrow, and you'll forge the cauldron that I want."

Tai Fu was reluctant because everything about the kid screamed poor, but he really needed the money, and was willing to look for it in unlikely places. He held out his hand. “If you can do that, then we have a deal.”

Chem Al shook it.

After that, the two brothers left the blacksmith shop with Chem Au still wondering what the hell just happened. "Did I miss something? Where are you going to get that kind of money?"

Chem Al pointed at the tournament stage in the distance. "It's simple. We're going to get the money from the tournament."

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The First Alchemist - Chap 11

Chapter 11 - Silent Vow

No one moved.

Whether they were stunned that it was dead or felt fear that it might still be alive, no one approached the Wyrm. It was only after seeing that it had stopped moving did they begin to feel the rising urge to cheer.

“It’s dead!”

The village chief did it!”

“Long live the village chief!”

The guards celebrated, shouting out their joy for the world to hear while thrusting their spears into the air. Some of them cried with relief, glad to still be alive.

After that, while holding his wounded arm, the village chief started commanding his guards. Some of them were sent to bring back the villagers, telling them it was safe, while others were told to clean up this mess. A few of the carts were smashed into pieces, while the meat, their best seller, was strewn all over the ground. To save what they can, they placed them in the carts that were still useable.

The most important part was figuring out how to carry the Wyrm to the city. Its corpse would surely bring in a lot of money. In the end, since they were unable to cut the Wyrm into pieces, they decided that the only way was to load it on five of the carts and pull it in a row. It would be awkward and slow going, but it was worth it.

While the guards were doing their jobs, the village chief looked up from the Wyrm and then tried to find the cripple, only to see the little boy standing right next to him.

“Let me look at your arm,” Chem Al said.

The village chief’s arm was bleeding profusely after the Wyrm’s fang had pierced it clean through. Chem Al ripped a piece of cloth from his raggy clothes and tightened it around the chief’s upper arm to slow down the blood flow, then he took out his waterskin and poured some of the water to wash out the wound. “Don’t worry, although Wyrms look like snakes, they aren’t poisonous. We just need to wrap up your arm and you’ll be okay. But this is all I can do with what I have. I’m going to need some sticks and clean cloths. And I think my Master has some Wormite paste. It’s not very effective, but it will do.”

“Your Master?” the village chief said.

“Sheng Yi. Although you just call her the medicine woman.”

The village chief nodded. “That’s good, I guess. If you can’t cultivate, learning other skills isn’t a bad thing.”

Chem Al looked at him, his eyes as steady as stone. “Even if I could practice profound cultivation, I would still choose to practice medicine. Don’t look down on it, and don’t look down on my Master. She will do more for this village than you ever will.”

There was something solid about his words, as if he was stating a fact like the sun rising in the east. The village chief couldn’t help but take a closer look at the cripple. He didn’t scurry away like he usually did as if he was afraid of being in other people’s way. Instead, there was strength in how he carried himself. This alone was stranger than his inexplicable knowledge about Wyrms.

At that moment, Sheng Yi arrived at the site of the battle, rushing there faster than the other villagers. She spotted Chem Al, along with the village chief and his bleeding arm. After seeing what her disciple had done so far, she nodded and said,  “Chem Al, apply this Wormite to his arm while I gather some sticks and cloth to make a sling.”

Chem Al did as he was told after she ran off. While he was putting on the paste, his parents suddenly wrapped their arms around him.

“What is wrong with you?” his mother said, while his father bowed and apologized to the village chief, just in case Chem Al got in the way during the battle.

The village chief responded with no, no, no, their son didn’t get in the way, and had helped instead. But his father didn’t seem to have heard him as he bowed again and again.

As that went on, Chem Al wasn’t listening to them because he was being squeezed to death by his mother.

“Don’t you do anything like that again!” Chem Mai said.

His parents were angry, very angry, but Chem Al could see the worry in their eyes. He understood why. While their other son was also in the battle, at least he had some strength to protect himself, but their smaller, younger son was so weak a kitten could smash him into the ground.

“Mother, Father, I am sorry for worrying you, but please allow me to finish applying the medicine to the village chief’s injury,” Chem Al said.

Chem Feng and Chem Mai looked at their son and then at the village chief’s bloody arm. That stopped them from admonishing him. They knew he had been spending some time with the medicine woman and that he must have picked up a thing or two about medicine, so they left him alone as they went back to get their cart. Chem Al sighed with relief.

By the time he finished putting on the Wormite, Sheng Yi had returned with everything she needed. “Hold this,” she said as she began her work.

For the next few minutes, Chem Al couldn’t help but feel amazed. He had never seen someone prepare a sling so fast. In his past life, slings were used, but they were secondary knowledge when compared to making pills. No one really bothered practicing how to make them.

“Put your finger here,” she said. Chem Al followed his Master’s order, and with one final knot, she was done. “If you don’t agitate your arm, it should heal in three months.”

The village chief and Chem Al had ugly expressions on their faces. Three months was a long time. One of them hoped that there was a faster way, while the other knew that there was a faster way. The village chief could only accept it.

With his arm in a sling, Sorka Jiu stood up and addressed the returning villagers, who were cheering as they stared at the dead Wyrm, hardly able to believe that the village chief took down such a powerful looking beast.

“Everyone, I know that you want to celebrate, but we have to get a move on. We’re still in the middle of the forest, and who knows when the next attack will occur.” Sorka Jiu elbowed out his slinged arm. “And I don’t know if I will be able to help when that happens.”

The guards and the rest of the villagers gulped, then they ran around like ants, getting everything ready to keep moving. Some of them struggled to lift the Wyrm’s corpse on to five carts, but they managed to do it.

Chem Al glanced at the Wyrm. It might have been powerful, but it was only a mere desolate beast. Now, if it had grown up into a True Dragon, that was a different story. He would have done everything he could to strip its body parts for anything that could be used as medicinal ingredients instead of just letting the villagers sell it at a market. He shook his head. Everyone else might look at the Wyrm with money in their eyes, but it was nothing to him.

He looked away as he followed Sheng Yi around to check out if there were any other injuries, but there was nothing other than a few scrapes and bruises. “It’s a good thing that this battle only resulted in one serious injury. And only one death.”

Two of the villagers were carrying the dead guard to the side of the road, out of the way so as to allow the carts to pass through. Although they arranged the body in a respectful manner, that was all they did. They didn’t even have the decency to bury him.

The only one who seemed to mourn over the dead guard was a young woman with a scar going down her cheek. Chem Al turned away from her and the dead guard she was crying over.

Sheng Yi saw the look on Chem Al’s face. “Is this one of the memories you have forgotten? We live in a dangerous world, my disciple. Death is everywhere. Whether it’s beasts, sickness, or even other people, there are many things that want to claim our lives.” She shrugged. “It happens. You just have to accept it.”

Chem Al wasn’t a child. Logically, he could see that taking the time to bury and mourn the dead guard would only keep them longer in this forest, increasing the chances for other people to die. Doing everything you can to move faster was the right thing to do. He knew this, but he couldn’t stop himself from clenching his fists.

He knew that people die, but this..., this was different. Why was everyone acting so casual about this person’s death? Chem Al sighed. It must be because for these villagers, death was so common that they were almost numb to it. Instead of mourning this one death, they seemed almost relieved that there was only one death.

Chem Al silently swore to himself. Before, he had decided to help this village because that was what The First Alchemist did, but now, he was going to do it because he wanted to build a place where these villagers, and especially his family, could live in peace. A place where death was rare.

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The First Alchemist - Chap 10

Chapter 10 - Journey through the Forest III

Everyone froze like rabbits suppressed by a tiger. The Wyrm before them had an aura that sent chills running down their backs. It was a creature they had never seen before.

To many, it looked like a huge, wide snake, but Chem Al knew that it was a baby dragon that had yet to grow its legs or wings. Thanks to eating almost all the desolate beasts in the surrounding forest, it had become massive, almost to the point where it looked like it was ready to evolve into its next form: the Dragon Newt.

“That’s a baby dragon?” Chem Au shouted, surprise lacing his voice.

His words seemed to have woken up everyone. Screams erupted from all the villagers as they abandoned their carts, pushing each other out of the way as they tried to get as far away from the beast as possible.

When some of the guards started running, Sorka Bo yelled, “What are you doing? Kill it! Kill it!”

That command got through to them. Together, they struck the Wyrm with their stone-tipped spears, but there wasn’t even a single scratch.

Watching all of this from behind a cart, Chem Al couldn’t help but think of how foolish they were. This beast may be the weakest form of a dragon, but its scales were still tough enough that weak profound cultivators such as them couldn’t even hope to hurt it. Still, he couldn’t offer any better suggestions.

A thousand poisonous pills ran through his head, each of them toxic enough to take down a Wyrm, but he couldn’t make any of it without the ingredients or a cauldron. There was nothing he could do. It looked like the best course of action was to run away with his family. If they were faster than the other villagers, they would be able to live a few seconds, or even a few minutes, longer.

Who was he kidding? With his big brother fighting amongst the other guards, he couldn’t just abandon him.

The Wyrm twisted its head, annoyed by the tiny little ants poking at it.

“Look out!” Chem Al shouted. He had seen enough Wyrms in his past life to know when they were about to swing their tail.

In the heat of battle, the guards didn’t know who shouted those two words, but it got them to back off. White light flashed around their legs as they tried to dodge. One of them didn’t make it. The Wyrm’s tail smashed against one of the guards, sending him flying. He was already dead before he hit the ground.

When the other guards saw his caved in chest, they gulped. If they had been just half a second slower, they would have joined him.

The Wyrm swung its tail again. The guards managed to avoid this blow, but only by inches. How much longer could they last?

“Soaring Crane - Second Layer!” A crescent white light flew through the air and struck the Wyrm’s body, leaving behind a small scratch.

Sorka Jiu ran towards the battle, white light flowing from his legs as he moved as fast as he could. With a swing of his sword, another white crescent light shot out, hitting the Wyrm.

“It’s the village chief!” one of the guards shouted. They all cheered.

The moment Sorka Jiu arrived, he began cutting at the Wyrm’s body while dodging its attacks. But it was a losing battle. Just one hit from Wyrm would have left him heavily injured, or even dead, while all he could do was leave little scratches on its body. If this fight continued any longer, he wouldn’t survive. The only thing he could do was wait for an opportunity.

As the battle raged on, all the wooden carts around them were smashed, splintering into pieces. The same would have happened to the guards, but they backed far enough away to avoid getting massacred. They knew that they couldn’t help their village chief. They would just be in the way.

However, Chem Al wasn’t one to sit by. Even with the odds against him, his mind still kept looking for a way to win. That was when he saw the splintered pieces of woods on the ground. An idea formed in his head. He looked around until he could find the thinnest sliver of wood there was.

It wasn’t a silver needle, but it would have to do. He didn’t have profound energy, but he could still throw accurately. With all that in mind, he focused on the Wyrm. The way it swayed, the moment before it strikes, anything to help him predict its movements.

The Wyrm leaned forward. There!

Chem Al aimed for the Wyrm’s jaw, then threw the sliver of wood. It flew … then wobbled to the ground.

He missed.

He couldn’t believe it! He hasn’t missed in centuries! Chem Al felt frustration rising up his throat. It was because he couldn’t infuse the wood with any profound energy. His throws were usually faster, sharper, and they flew further. They used to be like a rising phoenix, but now they were more like a broken-winged chicken. He had to get closer.

Chem Al circled around what was left of the carts, making sure to pick up another slim piece of wood along the way. He stopped behind his big brother who was watching the fight.

“Au,” he said.

Chem Au jumped. He was about to stab his spear at whatever had startled him, until Chem Al shouted, “Stop! It’s me! Me!”

“What are you doing here? It’s dangerous.”

“I need your help. Can you get me closer to the Wyrm?”

“What?” Chem Au rubbed his ears, wondering if he was hearing things. “You want to get closer to that thing?”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan.” Chem Al held up the splinter of wood. “I’m going to stick this into the Wyrm.”

Now he knew he was hearing things. “Are you crazy? What’s that going to do?”

“Trust me, okay? Just take me to the Wyrm.”

Chem Au was about to tell him no, but then he saw the determination in his little brother’s eyes. “Look. Even if I wanted to get you closer, how do you expect me to do that? Carry you? I can barely dodge its wild attacks without the extra weight slowing me down.”

Chem Al rolled his eyes, then he stepped forward. “Body slam. Right tail swing. Left tail swing. Bite attack from the top….”

At first, he didn’t understand what his little brother was saying, but as time went on, Chem Au’s eyes got wider and wider. Somehow his brother was accurately predicting what move the Wyrm was going to make one second before it made it.

“H-how?”

“It doesn’t matter. Are you going to carry me or not?”

Chem Au faintly nodded his head. With a jump, Chem Al climbed on to his big brother’s back. Once he was secure enough, he said, “Okay. Do whatever I say the moment I say it. Wait for it....wait for it. Now! Jump forward!”

“Soaring Crane!” Chem Au’s legs started to glow with white light, activating the first layer of the Soaring Crane Cultivation Skill.

To the surprise of all the other guards, Chem Au jumped into the range of battle while carrying the cripple on his back.

“Left! Jump left now!”

“Take one step back!”

“Duck!”

“Five steps to the right!”

“Now move forward!” Chem Al kept yelling out instructions. Like some kind of magic trick, they didn’t get turned into meat paste.

“Okay, this is it! The moment it leans forward again, I want you to jump diagonally to the right. Get ready. Wait for it… Now!”

The Wyrm tried to bite down on Sorka Jiu, but he managed to dodge, barely this time. Sweat poured down his forehead, his legs felt weak. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold on. But before he could worry about his next move, one of his guards ran forward. Why was he carrying the cripple on his back?

Chem Al threw the sliver of wood. Due to the short distance, it was able to fly majestically. It hit the Wyrm right on its jaw, between its scales.

“Now run away,” Chem Al shouted at his brother.

Chem Au’s legs pumped as fast as it could as he ran to the circle of guards, away from the battle. They fell to the ground, rolling as they landed. Catching his breath, Chem Au said, “Now can you tell me what that was all about?”

Chem Al smiled. “I hit one of its nerves. Now it can’t close its mouth.”

“That’s it? You made me run around a life and death battle just to do that?”

“Just watch the fight, and remember what I said about its weakness.”

The guards didn’t know what the hell was going on, but Sorka Jiu did the moment he saw it. Somehow the cripple had managed to force the Wyrm to keep its mouth open. That was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

Profound energy surged throughout his whole body, his sword glowing with the most brilliant white light since the start of the battle. It was obvious that he was putting all of his effort into one final strike.

He jumped. With his fast speed, he made it into the Wyrm’s mouth. It tried to bite down on him, but all it managed to do was drive one of its fangs into his arm. Sorka Jiu forced back his painful scream, trying to focus on his task.

With his other hand, he stabbed up with his sword, trying to force his way through the Wyrm’s upper jaw. It may have been its weakness, but the top of the jaw still had some resistance. With one huge burst of profound energy surging into the his sword, he pierced through.

The sword stabbed past the upper jaw and into the Wyrm’s brain.

A loud roar pierced the heavens. All around the forest, birds took to the sky. With blood trickling down his sword, Sorka Jiu pulled it out and jumped back, avoiding the Wyrm’s violent death throes.

Finally, it slammed into the ground and died.

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The First Alchemist - Chap 9

Chapter 9 - Journey through the Forest Part II

Chem Al’s bout of homesickness eventually faded away. At the end of the day, he still had to accomplish his goal: introducing alchemy to the world. Breaking down was not an option. He had to keep moving forward.

After Chem Au confirmed that his little brother was okay, they set off to catch up with their family’s cart. They passed by dozens of rare medicinal ingredients, ones that were a lot more powerful than the Golden Earth Dan Root he was holding, but Chem Al had to stop himself from picking them up even though his hands were itching.

They’re so common they grow on the side of a road, they’re so common they grow on the side of a road, they’re so common…. He repeated to himself.

Until he saw something horrifying: Firedrake Berries.

Chem Al ran up to it just to make sure. They were indeed Firedrake Berries, less than a year old. They were a medicinal ingredient that could only grow under one condition. But he wasn’t thinking about alchemy right now, he was thinking about saving the lives of all the villagers, especially his family.

“Au, I need you to go warn the village chief. Tell him to get the villagers to move faster.”

“What’s wrong? Did you see something?”

Chem Al shoved the red berries into his brother’s hands, then he explained everything he knew about them. “Now go! The village chief won’t listen to a cripple like me. You’ll have to tell him all of this.”

With a push, Chem Au was sent running to the front of the group. To be honest, a part of him didn’t completely believe his little brother’s words, but his eyes were so serious and there was so much urgency in his voice, it almost scared him. If what his little brother said was true, then they were all in danger.

“Village chief! Village chief!” Chem Au shouted.

The village chief, and his son, was riding in the only cart that was pulled by a horse. Seeing one of his guards running up to him, he asked, “What is it? Is it a desolate beast?”

“Maybe. At least, my brother thinks we’re in the territory of one.”

“Your brother? You mean the cripple?” Sorka Bo sneered.

Chem Au tried to hide the annoyance on his face. He may have great respect for those who were stronger than him, but the village chief’s son’s face looked a lot like a target right now. “Yes, my brother. He says that there could be something dangerous nearby. He called it a Wyrm.”

“A worm? Oh, that’s definitely something your little brother would be scared of.” Sorka Bo found it hard not to laugh.

“No, a Wyrm. He says it’s a baby dragon.”

Before Sorka Bo could say anything else, his father cut him off with a wave of his hand. “Speak,” he said to Chem Au. He had never told anyone this, but when he was a boy, he had a huge fascination with dragons. He had learned that baby dragons were called Wyrms, which not a lot of villagers would know. He was surprised that the cripple knew this name too.

Chem Au held up the Firedrake Berries. “My brother found these berries on the side of the road. He says that they only grow in one place, the territory of a Wyrm. The low heat from their scat is what helps them grow. At least, that’s what my brother says.”

Sorka Bo was now openly laughing. “Let me get this straight. Your brother, the cripple, says that there is a baby dragon out there somewhere, and that he got this from berries that are grown by hot shit?”

The village chief frowned, agreeing with his son. He also found it hard to believe. Besides, how would a cripple who spent his life in the village know anything about dragons? 

Seeing the incredulous faces between the two, Chem Au made one final plea. “Can you at least tell the villagers to quicken their pace? Even if you don’t believe my brother about the Wyrm, there are always dangers in this forest. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

The village chief thought about it, then he shook his head. “That would only lead to accidents. I too want to leave this forest as soon as possible, but I also know that if we go any faster than this, it would drain our strength. The villagers, as well as the guards, would only get more tired, making it even harder to defend ourselves if we really were attacked by a desolate beast. Not only that, but some of the carts might break down if we rush. And there would definitely be stragglers. I know that I said we would leave any straggler behind if they can’t catch up, but I would like to get as much people and their carts to the city as possible.”

“But…,” Chem Au said.

“Enough. If you are really worried, then go warn the other guards to keep up their vigilance. Tell them something, like you sensed a desolate beast nearby. That would really get them focused.”

Chem Au nodded. It was better than nothing. But before he left, he said, “There’s one more thing. My brother said that the average strength of the guards is too weak. There would be no way for us to pierce through the Wyrm’s scales. The only way to kill it would be to jump into the Wyrm’s mouth, then stab through its upper jaw and into its brain.” After saying everything his little brother told him to say, Chem Au left.

Sorka Bo felt insulted by this. He was only a little stronger than the average guards, so wouldn’t saying that the guards were weak also saying that he was weak? He turned back and spotted the cripple, who was standing on top of the Chem clan’s cart, looking around while nervous and scared. Sorka Bo scoffed at him. What would a cripple know?

But after turning back to face the front, he happened to see the look on his father’s face. “Father, you don’t actually believe him, do you?”

Sorka Jiu seemed to be contemplating something. “I am worried, son. Why haven’t we seen any desolate beasts yet? We should have at least spotted one by now.”

“Maybe they are afraid” Sorka Bo said, though he didn’t really believe it.

“Or maybe a new, more powerful beast had moved into this territory, treating the other desolate beasts like prey.” Sorka Jiu seemed to have understood something. He turned to his son. “Do you remember what you told me after you went out hunting? You said that there seemed to be less desolate beasts around. You complained about it because, although it made the forest safer, it also meant less meat for the village.”

“Yes, but this and that are different things. It doesn’t mean there’s a worm crawling around like the cripple said.”

“Wyrm,” Sorka Jiu said before going back to his thoughts.

That one word seemed like an admonishment at Sorka Bo, telling him to be more respectful of this mysterious beast, and by association, maybe even a little more respectful to the cripple.

Sorka Bo grew annoyed, then he left the cart.

Meanwhile, Chem Al could only be described as fidgety as he kept staring into the forest, like he was expecting it to throw something at him. This was one of the moments that The First Alchemist’s journal didn’t mention. It went from him ranting about how much he hated farming, then skipped to describing what Vera City was like.

Maybe it was because nothing happens. After all, right now all they were doing was delivering their crops and meat to the city. Something like that was boring, not worthy of being written down.

Boring was good.

It meant that they wouldn’t be attacked by a creature from the dragon race. Chem Al sighed with relief after thinking that.

“What are you thinking about?”

Chem Al nearly jumped in shock. At some point, Sorka Bo had walked up to his family’s cart. Off to the side, Chem Feng and Chem Mai were greeting him with respect, but Chem Al just looked at him suspiciously. What did he want?

“I was just hoping that nobody dies on this trip.”

Sorka Bo snorted. “Then you’re naive.”

Chem Al stared at him, not believing what he was hearing. “I do not understand. It’s like you’re expecting someone to die.”

“Look around you. With so many people traveling through the forest, we’re bound to attract a few desolate beasts. This large group will stop most from attacking, but occasionally someone almost always dies on this trip. It’s the way it’s always been.”

“Well, it shouldn’t be. Shouldn’t the village chief be keeping everyone safe?”

Sorka Bo grew angry. “What do you know? My father is doing the best he can. More than you, at least, making up stuff about worms.”

“Wyrm,” Chem Al simply said.

Sorka Bo held back his spear. Something was different about this cripple. In the past, he usually cowered before him, but now he was looking at him straight in the eye. There was even a slight tinge of disrespect in his tone.

“Listen here, cripple. Do you know what banishment means? When I become village chief, it will be you dying in this forest,” Sorka Bo whispered, hiding his words from the cripple’s parents.

Chem Al smiled. Something about that smile disturbed Sorka Bo. It was like the cripple believed, no, he knew that Sorka Bo would never become the village chief. Frozen fingers of dread crawled around his stomach. Just before Sorka Bo was about to say something, a crashing sound came from up ahead.

One of the villagers yelled, “What the heck?”

Guards all around were running towards the source of the commotion, and so did Sorka Bo and Chem Al. When they got there, they could see that one of the meat carts had turned over. What had crashed into it was a goat.

“Hmph, is that your Wyrm? It looks more like a weak Hilltop Goat to me.” Sorka Bo sneered.

Chem Al ignored him, focusing more on the goat. It was trying to get off the ground, but one of its legs had broken, probably from the crash. The thing that struck him the most were its eyes. It was frightened.

“Look at it, everyone. A pile of money just jumped into our laps. Come on, help me put it out of its misery.” Sorka Bo held up his spear as he walked towards the fallen desolate beast. The other guards did the same.

“Stop!” Chem Al shouted. “Everyone get away from it now!”

All the guards stopped, more out of confusion than obeying what Chem Al said. Sorka Bo turned around, a smile on his face like he was about to humiliate the cripple in front of everyone. He pointed at the cripple and...heard something behind him.

Sorka Bo looked over his shoulder, only to see a huge, snake-like beast rushing out of the forest. It was fast. Before he knew it, its mouth had already bit down on the Hilltop Goat’s body. The goat screamed.

With a twist, the goat spluttered and died as its body was ripped in half. The snake-like beast rose up, its mouth pointing at the sky as it swallowed half the goat.

Once it was finished, the beast looked down at the other half of the goat, then it looked at all the villagers.

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The First Alchemist - Chap 8

Chapter 8 - Journey through the Forest Part I

After two months had passed, the village was busy harvesting what crops they had, while the guards were trying to hunt for as much meat as possible while staying safe. All of this would be sold at the market in Vera City.

Chem Al moved as fast as he could, plucking the potatoes and radishes out of the ground and loading them on to their cart. Without any help from his big brother, who was away hunting for meat with the other guards, he and his parents had to rush their harvest or else they would get left behind.

By the time the cart was loaded up, the sun hadn’t risen yet. Whew, they actually made it.

Since their family didn’t have a horse, his father had to pull the cart. It wasn’t a problem even though his profound strength was low. They made their way to the wooden gate that was the only entrance to the village. Most of the other villagers had already gathered there.

In the distance, Chem Al could see his brother loading a dead desolate beast on to a cart. It was a Horned Rabbit, a low level desolate beast with not a lot of meat on the bone. It didn’t seem like his luck was good.

“Attention! Everybody, can I have your attention!” A man stood up on a cart that was harnessed to the only horse in the village. Chem Al, and the rest of the villagers, turned to look at the man. It was Sorka Jiu, the village chief.

“Before we leave, I want to remind everyone about the rules. I know you all already know this but it bears repeating, or else you might die.” Sorka Jiu coughed into his fist. “Once the sun comes up, we will leave immediately. It takes half a day to get to Vera City, so if there aren’t any problems, we will make it there before nightfall. I hope that I don’t need to remind you why no one should try crossing the forest when it’s dark.”

Sorka Jiu looked at the crowd, but no one responded. “Good. Now, once we get going, everyone must stick close together. No stragglers. If any of you fall behind, you better move quickly or else we’re going to leave you. And remember, everyone, always be on your guard.” His last words were solemn, hoping that no one would die on this trip.

Soon the sun broke through the horizon. It was time to set off into the forest.

Passing through the gate, they made their way down the trail. Nothing happened for the first hour. It was peaceful, almost to the point where those warnings didn’t seem to matter. Everyone stuck together, but some people would break off from their family’s cart to go chat with one of their friends. If it weren’t for the guards, with spears and leather armor, surrounding the villagers, this journey would look like a group vacation.

Chem Al certainly enjoyed himself, except for all the walking. He wouldn’t ride on his family’s cart because he didn’t want to become an extra burden for his father who was doing all the pulling. To him, the only good thing about this trip so far was that they were going downhill. Everything else was just foot sores.

He was chatting with his big brother at the time when he suddenly shouted, “Holy shit!”

“What?” Chem Au asked while starting to circulate profound energy within his body, thinking that his little brother had spotted a desolate beast. But no, Chem Al was just running towards a weird plant on the side of the road.

“Uhh...what are you doing?”

“Au, do you know what this is?”

“A pretty flower?”

“This is a six hundred year old Nine Colored Rainbow Blossom!”

There was no amazed reaction from Chem Au. He only said, “Is it rare?”

“It’s definitely not something you would find on the side of a road!”

Chem Au tilted his head. “Congratulations for finding it, I guess?”

Chem Al groaned. It wasn’t strange that his big brother didn’t know how amazing this was. Then he brightened up as he realized that Sheng Yi was someone that would understand. Chem Al carefully plucked the flower, then made his way towards his Master who was near the back of the group. She was giving a young girl some water after treating her bruise.

“Master!”

Without turning around, Sheng Yi knew who was calling her. “Please lower your voice.”

“Master! Look at this!” Chem Al practically shouted.

Feeling a little exasperated, she looked back at the huge flower that her disciple was holding. “Oh, a Nine Colored Rainbow Blossom?”

Chem Al’s smile widened. “Yes! Isn’t it amazing?”

“It’s very pretty. You know, a lot of nobles would use them as decoration for their homes. Once we get to the city, maybe you can find a noble who is willing to buy it.”

“Decoration?” Chem Al was stunned. “What do you mean by using it as decoration? It’s not like this blossom is just a common flower.”

“Isn’t it? I know that last year I saw twenty or thirty of those while I was walking around the forest looking for medicinal ingredients.”

“Twenty or thirty? Finding them by just walking around?” Chem Al couldn’t believe it. In his past life, he had to trudge through a vast, maze-like forest for over five weeks just to find one of these. Yet, his Master talked about them like you could just trip over any root and fall on one. That was impossible!

But wait. Was it really impossible?

Chem Al said goodbye to his Master, then walked back to his family’s cart while mumbling under his breath. He stared at the Nine Colored Rainbow Blossom in his hands.

This was one of the medicinal ingredients that no one, including The First Alchemist, had ever figured out how to cultivate, so it was impossible to grow them on a farm. Because of this, by the time he was born in his past life, this flower had become rare. But in this era, before alchemy was created, they must be as common as bouquets.

He thought back to The First Alchemist’s journals. There were times where The First Alchemist mentioned finding a rare medicinal ingredient, and he always felt envious of how lucky The First Alchemist was. But it turned out that The First Alchemist wasn’t lucky. Can you call someone lucky when they find a leaf in a forest?

Chem Al’s eyes started to shine. What other medicinal ingredients would he be able to find?

By the time Chem Al returned to his family’s cart, he was paying more attention to the sides of the road. If it wasn’t for how dangerous the forest was, he would have looked deeper. But just focusing on the grassy areas near the road provided a lot of fruitful gifts.

“Two hundred year old Scarlet Vein Heart Leaves!”

“One thousand year old Udumbara Flowers! Nobody touch them! They’re mine!”

“Venture Mushroom Caps! Yes, they’re just the right age!”

“Nine hundred year old Golden Earth Dan Root! Can someone help me pull this up?”

Gathering all of these things didn’t go unnoticed by the villagers, but they mostly ignored him, thinking that the crippled boy had something wrong with his head. There was even a mother who warned her son to never act like this.

Chem Al didn’t care. He was happily grabbing medicinal ingredient after medicinal ingredient. It was such a blissful moment.

When his hands were full, he went to his family’s cart to pile them on, but his father stopped him. “Sorry, Little Al. I can’t take any of that. It’s taking all of my strength just to pull these crops. How about this? Once the cart is empty after selling all of our crops in the city, you can put some of your plants in.”

Chem Al paused. He had been so excited about finding these rare medicinal ingredients that he didn’t think about what to do next. There was no way for him to carry all that he wanted by himself. “Please, father. Just take them to the city. Once we get there, maybe I can get a spatial ring to hold them.”

“Spatial ring? What’s that?” Chem Feng’s eyebrows furrowed.

Now Chem Al froze on the spot. A realization struck him. Stupid, that was what he was. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He was one hundred thousand years in the past. Since medicinal cauldrons weren’t invented yet, he should have realized that other things from his past life wouldn’t be here too. What else hasn’t been invented yet?

He thought back to the The First Alchemist’s journals, as well as other historical records describing this point in time. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t remember them ever mentioning spatial rings, or jade transmission slips, or bank cards. Shit. How was he supposed to store things? How was he supposed to send people messages? How was he supposed to carry around his millions and millions of gold taels?

Lost in thought, he couldn’t react in time when someone shoved him to the side, knocking the medicinal ingredients out of his hands. “Move it, cripple! Don’t just stand there in the middle of the road!”

Usually he would rise up in anger after getting treated like that, but all he could do was lay there in the dirt, watching the villagers stepping on the rare medicinal ingredients that he had dropped as they went by.

This is a completely different era, Chem Al thought.

For the past two months, he had been so overwhelmed by the fact that he was now in The First Alchemist’s body that he never truly understood how different this time was...until now. Modern conveniences that he took for granted didn’t exist. Those who practiced medicine were treated like dirt. All of his family, friends, and disciples weren’t even born yet. And he wasn’t the leader of the Alchemist Association anymore. He was no longer someone that even kings would bow to. He was just a cripple.

“Hey, are you okay? Let me help you…. Are you crying?” Chem Au asked, after he ran over to his little brother.

“No. Shut up. I’m not crying.” Chem Al rubbed his eyes.

“Okay, okay. Do you want me to hit the guy that did this to you?”

Chem Al just shook his head, then he sat there while watching the progression of carts go by. His brother stood there for a second, not knowing what to do, then he sat down next to him. It was quiet.

“I’m really far away from home, aren’t I?” Chem Al almost whispered.

“What? We’re less than half a day’s journey from the village. I know that might seem far to you, but after you grow up, it would seem like nothing.”

“No, I mean…. Nevermind.” Chem Al paused. It was quiet again. After awhile, he got up and walked to the middle of the road, making sure to avoid the villagers and their carts. He picked up the six hundred year old Nine Colored Rainbow Blossom.

Bruised and covered in dirt, it was in such a poor state that Chem Al didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. In his past life, people would risk their lives to own one of these flowers, but in this era it was treated like mud on the bottom of boots. The same could be said for all of these other medicinal ingredients that had been flattened on the ground.

He looked around. The only thing that survived was the Golden Earth Dan Root. Before a cart came by, Chem Al hurried over and picked it up. Since it was so hard, it managed to not get crushed.

“I don’t know why these plants are important to you, but you can always get more,” Chem Au said, standing next to him.

Chem Al shook his head. “No. It was wrong for me to pick these up in the first place. Without a proper place to store them, they’ll just lose their medicinal efficacy.” He realized that he had never truly appreciated how useful a spatial ring was.

He held the nine hundred year old Golden Earth Dan Root in his hands. If he couldn’t carry all of these medicinal ingredients, he could at least keep this one. After all, it was the one that his big brother needed the most.

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