29 Processing Herbs

In the midst of her explanation, Elena looked over at Michael who was smiling deviously. She blinked twice before sending a swift kick to his shin, snapping him out of his stupor.

"Ouch!" he cried out in fright, hopping on one leg on the spot.

Seeing Michael's exaggerated reaction, she smiled in satisfaction before continuing. "Ahem, did you even hear anything I've been saying?"

Michael double-took when he saw the smile creep onto Elena's usual timid face. 'She looks prettier when she smiles' he thought inwardly. "Um, if you could just explain it to me again" He said.

Elena rolled her eyes and replied, "Which part?".

"Let's start from the beginning" Michael said shamelessly.

"Beginning your head!" she yelled.

Elena had been engrossed in her explanations of preparing the White Spirit Roots; explaining the origins of the herb, how to prepare them properly without losing efficacy as well as how to handle the processed herb. Seeing this shameless youngster ignoring her diligence on his first day had really annoyed her.

She decided that she would show him once without any additional commentary, 'It won't be my fault if he gets kicked out on the very first day' she thought.

"Okay, I will show you this only once. I still have my own herbs to prepare" she grumbled.

Elena turned her attention back to the mortar and pestle, deftly crushing the white spirit root into a fine powder. She added a few drops of spiritual water to the mix, stirring it slowly with a wooden spatula.

"As you can see, the white spirit herb must be ground into a very fine powder and mixed with just the right amount of spiritual water. The consistency is crucial, as any deviation can cause the herb to lose its efficacy," she explained, her voice steady and confident.

She continued to stir the mixture, her eyes locked on the mortar. The spiritual water began to evaporate, and the mixture started to thicken. Elena worked quickly, adding more spiritual water to the mix to maintain the desired consistency.

After a few more minutes of stirring, she was satisfied. She carefully transferred the mixture to a small glass vial, labelling it with the name of the herb and the date of preparation.

"Master Shen is very particular about the quality of the herbs we prepare. He expects nothing but the best from the servants," she said, placing the vial on a nearby shelf.

She turned to Michael afterwards, to ensure he understood her instructions. Her eyebrow twitched uncontrollably after seeing the back of his head. 'This bastard…' she fumed.

She picked up a bundle of herbs and threw them at Michael's exposed head "You're on your own!" she yelled before storming off to the other side of the room in anger.

Michael suddenly felt a slap on the back of his head, knocking him out of his reverie. He quickly turned around and saw the miffed Elena storming off angrily. 'She's kinda cute when she's mad' he chuckled inwardly.

The reason Michael was distracted was because he was having a discussion with Archie about how to best make use of the underage White Spirit Root in his herb garden. The two had gotten into an argument about what to call the space which had an increased time ratio to the outside world.

After exchanging some heated curses, the two finally agreed to name it the Flow Realm, given its accelerated passage of time. In keeping with the same theme as his Eternal pendant, the names for the other dimensions were chosen: the Pause Realm, named for its complete stoppage of time, and last but not least, the Reverse Realm, where time flows in reverse.

'Then it's settled. Let's get to processing these herbs' Michael said with a smile.

Michael took a deep breath and began to process the White Spirit Root with a sense of determination. He followed the steps carefully, grinding the root into a fine powder and mixing it with the spiritual water. However, despite his best efforts, the consistency of the mixture was not right.

He tried again and again, but the mixture kept coming out too thick or too thin. Elena watched him from across the room, her obsessive-compulsive nature concerning alchemy was screaming at her to go fix it, but remembering Michael's attitude she quickly turned her head and ignored him.

He looked around to ensure no one was looking and quickly sent the ruined herbs into his Reverse realm, having Archie monitor them until the herbs were back to their original state. He didn't forget to send some of the White Spirit Roots that were under 20 years into his herb garden in the Flow Realm to let them grow nicely.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of work, Michael stepped back and smiled. He had done it. He had successfully processed the White Spirit Root. It may have taken him multiple tries, but he had persevered and succeeded in the end.

'It turns out the trick was to gently crush the herbs from the beginning and then gradually add the spiritual water and mix it until the consistency changes.' Michael said to Archie matter-of-factly.

If Elena could hear this conversation, she would likely spit out a mouthful of blood in frustration. She had explained this process clearly while Michael was distracted, however luckily for her no one could hear his discussion.

Michael cleared his throat and beckoned Elena to come over and check out his finished product, sticking his chest out in pride.

Elena approached Michael's workstation, her eyes widened slightly in surprise at the sight of his perfectly processed White Spirit Root. Looking at the idiot who was posturing like a child she felt a headache coming on and sighed deeply. "Yes great job, Michael. You seem to have a talent for herb processing," she said with no emotion.

But then her expression turned serious. "However, we still have a lot of work to do. I need you to process the rest of this crate of herbs before Master Shen returns. You have four hours left to complete it, and I'll be checking on your progress periodically. Remember, the consistency and potency of the herbs are crucial, so take your time and do it right."

Michael looked over at the crate she was pointing to and suddenly felt a lump in his throat. There had to be at least 50 portions of the White Spirit Root in there which means he'd need to process almost 13 herbs an hour.

Watching Elena walk back to the other side of the room, Michael almost despaired. But he quickly shook off his doubt and put all his focus into the task at hand. He had come this far, and he wasn't about to give up now.

Michael took a deep breath and got to work. He moved with a sense of urgency, but he was also careful not to rush the process. He remembered all his mistakes and made sure not to repeat them.

Hour after hour passed, and Michael worked tirelessly, his hands moving quickly and efficiently as he processed one herb after another. He barely took breaks, only stopping to drink some water and catch his breath before diving back into his work.

Luckily for him, out of the 50 herbs available for processing 15 were under the age of 20 years. So as to not arouse suspicion, he decided to put the majority of them in the designated basket. There was plenty of time to accumulate herbs, no need to rush and risk getting caught.

As the deadline approached, Michael worked even faster, his fingers moving at a blur as he processed the final herbs. With only minutes to spare, he finished the last portion of White Spirit Root, feeling a sense of relief and accomplishment wash over him.

He dusted his hands before placing them on his hips in satisfaction, looking at the vials of processed herbs on his shelf. He looked over at Elena smugly, who was watching him with a hint of surprise in her eyes. "You did it," she said, feeling like she had a lump in her throat. She continued gingerly "I have to admit, I didn't think you would be able to finish in time, but you proved me wrong."

"Hehe, all in a day's work" he said matter-of-factly. However, the fact of the matter was that he had never completed a full day of work in his life. His father if he were still alive would testify until the cows come home of this fact.

Just then, the door to the herb preparation room swung open, and in walked Master Shen, the 1-star alchemist who oversaw the entire operation. He was a tall man with a bald head and a thick, bushy beard that flowed down to his chest. His eyes were sharp and piercing, and he carried himself with an air of authority that commanded respect.

Master Shen surveyed the room, his gaze settling on the vials of processed herbs on his shelf. He nodded in approval, and then turned to face Elena and Michael. "Well done," he said, his voice deep and rumbling. "These herbs will be of great use to the sect."

Master Shen turned to the two servants who had just entered the room. "You two, go and fetch some others to move these crates over to the main building. And make sure they are handled with care, we can't afford to lose any of these precious herbs."

The two servants bowed quickly and scurried out of the room to fulfill their task.

Master Shen then turned to the servants in the room. "Excellent work today, keep up the good work. If we can meet our quota this month we can request extra resources from the sect."

"You are now all dismissed." He said, waving his hand casually.

The servants including Elena and Michael bowed respectfully before making their way out of the room. Michael followed suit, still feeling a sense of relief wash over him at the thought of being done with the herb processing.

"We're going to the servants kitchen" Elena looked over to Michael and said, walking next to him.

"Nice, I'm starving" he said while gripping his stomach. "What chores will we be doing tomorrow?".

"Processing herbs of course" Elena said with a weird face, wondering what Michael was expecting.

"Huh??" he exclaimed, interrupting his yawn. He suddenly paled, thinking about the boring and repetitive processing he'd have to continue doing until he grew old.

'Shit, I've got to reach Qi Condensation fast!' he screamed internally.