48 Chapter 46 - Unexpected And Extraordinary

Five minutes after removing the blackened waste sludge from her cauldron, Ao Wen returned to the unidentified herbs. She didn't even know if her idea would work, but staring at her hands that continued to tremble, she couldn't think of anything wise. She was in no state to successfully concoct anything as complicated as the set of medication she had prepared for. She either had to change her plan or change herself. Since she wasn't in a good state to change her plan that left her with only the latter option.

Collecting several unidentified herbs, she brought them back to the table, testing each of them and setting them aside once she'd labeled them. Once she confirmed she had the herbs she needed she moved straight to concocting, sacrificing some of the quality of her concoction by using a more intense configuration of flames that would allow her to finish faster.

Seeing the herbs she had collected, Huang Yuze frowned. "None of that will help her make up for losing the Bitter Arrow Root," he said, concerned at the approach she was taking.

"She's not trying to fix her concoctions," Qi Yue said with a wide smile. "She's trying to fix herself."

Ten minutes later, Ao Wen brought two bottles of refined medicine to the Medical Saintess. "If it is allowed, will the Saintess judge these two concoctions? This unworthy initiate would like to consume them before resuming the exam," she said, holding back tears. Her heart raced, her hands trembled, and her mind struggled to focus. She knew, that if she could walk away now and recover her mental state, she could resolve the issues she had and complete the medicines. But she didn't have time to recover. She could only keep working as the sand spilled ruthlessly to the bottom of the hourglass.

"Ordinary grade Heart Soothing Drops, Impure grade Distillate of Sleep. You may consume them if you'd like," the Saintess pronounced. "The Distillate of Sleep will leave you with an intense headache when it wears off in two to three hours. If there are too many impurities you may be sabotaging yourself," she said kindly.

"This initiate is aware of the risk and thanks Medical Saintess for her kind intentions," Ao Wen said before returning to her workbench and swallowing both bottles down. She knew that it was risky but if she didn't risk it, she might as well give up now.

"Impressive," Qi Yue murmured, her eyes becoming even more interested in this junior sister of hers.

A few minutes after consuming her medicine, Ao Wen returned to her concoction. She would be short by eight medicines without the Bitter Arrow Root paste, but she didn't know how to solve that problem yet. Since she didn't know, she could only throw the problem to the back of her mind and proceed with the remainder of her plan, pushing those concoctions to the end and hoping that she would have a solution by the time she needed it.

Sand continued to fall in the hourglass as Ao Wen moved from one concoction to the next. Slowly at first, and then with increasing frequency, neatly labeled bottles of refined medicine began to appear in front of her. Finally, in the last twenty minutes of her exam, she returned to the unidentified herbs. Searching rapidly, she collected twelve herbs and tested them, setting four aside and directly refining the other eight, combining each of them with a few drops of a base stabilizing liquid before labeling them and adding them to the row of ninety other bottles that lined her workbench. The eight herbs she had selected could all be consumed directly for minor health benefits. Refining them into medicinal liquid enhances those benefits but it might be a stretch to call them medicine. She could only hope it was enough.

Bowing deeply towards the Medical Saintess, Ao Wen spoke in a trembling voice. "This initiate has completed her medicines. May the Medical Saintess and Seniors provide their judgment."

"It looks like junior sister was fortunate that her Distillate of Sleep didn't wear off before the time expired," Qi Yue said warmly as she came over to inspect her junior sister's results.

"This initiate is unworthy of Senior Sister's praise," Ao Wen said humbly. "The Distillate of Sleep wore off an hour ago. Thankfully, the side effect is only intense pain which can be ignored in time of need."

"Didn't I tell you Junior Sister Qi?" Huang Yuze said with a complicated expression on his face. "The thing junior sister fears least is pain."

"That she doesn't fear pain is admirable indeed," the Medical Saintess said softly. "But I fear that the thing she treasures least is still herself. You concocted both a batch of Ordinary grade Twilight Mist and a batch of Pure grade Numbing Cloud Drops," she continued, examining the bottles of medicine. "Why didn't you ask permission to consume one or both of them to mitigate the pain?"

"It wasn't necessary," Ao Wen said simply. "A soldier cannot fight only when they are uninjured and free of pain," she continued, repeating a phrase she'd often heard from Teacher Xie. "My battlefield is the medical tent. My enemy is injury, suffering, and death. Pain should not stop me from fighting. The medicines I gave myself were already equivalent to cheating on the test. A better student wouldn't have needed such measures. This Initiate couldn't further strain Medical Saintess' generosity," she finished humbly, her voice growing fainter toward the end. 

"You see? This is what I mean by not treasuring yourself," the Saintess said, reaching out a hand and placing a trio of silver needles in Ao Wen's skin along the base of her skull, relieving Ao Wen's pain instantly. "You do not need to suffer needlessly. You are worthy of having joy, of living a life without unnecessary pain. You are important, all by yourself. Please act like it. It breaks our hearts to see you suffer so," she said gently as she retrieved her needles.

"Little Yu," Huang Yuze said gently. "You push yourself so hard. Do you know that most Initiates prepare for two years before taking this exam? Only one in five pass on their first attempt. Most take at least two or three attempts, six months apart, to pass this exam."

"I see," Ao Wen said, her spirit collapsing. "Senior Brother is kind to console me. This Initiate will practice hard for the next six months to not disappoint him again."

"When did anyone ever say that you failed? You've exceeded the requirements in every measure," the Medical Saintess said with pride in this little alchemist. "Yuze, you've done very well in tutoring her these months, I'm very happy with her skills so far. You may bestow the Enlightened Flame Surge pill on her as we planned but I think she needs to rest today. Yue can help her consume the pill tomorrow to complete her breakthrough to become a Novice Scholar."

"Yes Master," both disciples said with a slight bow and wide smiles.

"One more thing Little Yu," the Medical Saintess said gently to the stunned Ao Wen. "I had intended to wait a bit longer, but I can see now that I've only been harming you in doing so. In my many years, I've seen countless talents, but rarely have I seen someone like you. Three months ago, I had intended to prepare you to be my next Direct Disciple, to nurture you for the next fifty years as you take Huang Yuze's place when he becomes a Master Alchemist next year. This past month, however, I've felt the status of a Direct Disciple is exceedingly inappropriate," she said after a pause, placing both her hands on Ao Wen's trembling shoulders.

"Little Yu, the more I've watched you these past months, the more I felt that I needed to resolve the last lingering unresolved matter from Salt Flats City Orphanage. One sole survivor of that horror has been left to drift without place, without family, and without home. Yesterday, I updated the official record to resolve this issue," she said, looking deeply into Ao Wen's misty eyes.

"Little Yu of the Salt Flats City Orphanage," she said formally. "From now on, you are no longer an orphan without a home. From now on, you are Cong Daiyu, adopted and only daughter of Cong Houzi. You have a place, you have a home and you have family if you'll accept me. You don't have to accept," she added. "You've proved you're adult enough to go your own way, but I would be very happy to have a daughter like you if you'll have me," she said, her voice containing a hint of pleading at the end.

Ao Wen stood there stunned. At first, she hadn't felt like an orphan at all. She still had her parents in Turning Leaf town to return to. But as the months had worn on and after burying so many of the orphans she'd been entrusted to, the identity of Little Yu the orphan had settled into her bones without her noticing. Looking at both her seniors smiling at her warmly she took a long look at the gentle face of the Medical Saintess, the True Dragon that wanted to adopt her, and once again she felt the kinship that existed between dragons. Even if she still had her own parents, even if she didn't currently have her earth dragon bloodline, it didn't matter. In this life, the life of Little Yu, she had found a person who felt like kin. "I accept," she said, tears streaming down her face. "Mother," she managed to say. "I'm home."