Resplendent – Chapter 450

Chapter 450 — The Many Faces of Apothecaries

The sun climbed higher and higher, its early-autumn heat still lingering with full force. Gu Ye had already been teaching for more than an hour. Beads of sweat densely dotted her forehead, and her voice had grown hoarse. 

Yue Yuan was distressed. She stood beside her constantly shading her from the sun and fanning her, yet the girl’s complexion continued to turn paler.

Gu Ye reached into her pouch, took out a few heat-relief pills, stuffed them into her mouth, and swallowed them whole. Prone to heat as she was, dizziness was already clouding her vision, and her chest felt tight and breathless. Her explanations to the apothecaries had become weak and strained. But faced with all those pairs of bright, eager eyes, she simply couldn’t bring herself to disappoint them.

It was the surnamed Lin who first noticed her discomfort. Seizing a brief pause, he said to the others, “Let Miss rest for a while…”

The other apothecaries finally noticed something was wrong with her. Some felt guilty, others blamed themselves, and they all urged her to rest. Gu Ye did not refuse. She knew she was showing signs of mild heatstroke; if she didn’t find some shade soon, she would definitely fall ill afterward. She didn’t want the people who cared about her to worry.

Yue Yuan supported her as she stood. Jiang Zhongtian and the surnamed Lin moved her chair under the only large tree in the courtyard. Gu Ye pressed a damp cloth to her forehead, took a few sips of warm tea, smacked her lips, and muttered softly, “If only I could have a bowl of shaved ice…”

The first-level apothecary who had initially rejected Gu Ye—surname Du—heard her and immediately dashed off, shouting, “I know a place nearby that sells shaved ice. I’ll go buy some!”

He ran so fast that Yue Yuan couldn’t stop him in time. Seeing the longing in her lady’s eyes, she softened again. It was a hot day—two bites shouldn’t hurt the girl.

By the time Pharmacist Du returned with the shaved ice, Gu Ye was already feeling a bit better. After thanking the young apothecary, Gu Ye held the shaved ice bowl and began eating it in small bites. The ingredients were simple, the ice wasn’t finely shaved, and the taste was just average. But for Gu Ye—who rarely got permission to eat something cold—it was already a precious treat.

She didn’t dare eat too much. After finishing about half the bowl, she gave the rest to Yue Yuan. She knew that if she got sick from eating something cold, she wouldn’t be allowed to touch chilled foods ever again.

By now, the novice apothecaries had dispersed in small groups: some discussing the knowledge they had just gained, others comparing notes and helping each other solve questions. The atmosphere was much livelier than at the beginning.

After finishing the shaved ice, Gu Ye felt much better and resumed strolling around. Yue Yuan followed behind her, shading her with an umbrella. Wherever she walked, people greeted her with friendly smiles and respectful nods.

Wandering like this, she eventually reached the area reserved for senior apothecaries. Over there were mostly elders past fifty years old, and even the youngest appeared to be in his thirties. Although they were discussing pharmaceutical techniques, each one held something back, as if they were practicing Tai Chi with their words. 

Gu Ye listened for a while and felt tired on their behalf!

But she was quite interested in the medicines they brought with them. She examined them one by one; a few of the formulas were actually quite ingenious. She couldn’t help but take a few extra glances.

The youngest of the senior apothecaries had already been irritated by Gu Ye’s earlier ‘open-air lecture’ style of answering questions. An eleven- or twelve-year-old child—just because she had a good master and a couple of capable senior brothers—acted like she owned the place. If her Master were here, he’d be angered to death by her, he thought. How could a sect’s secret methods be casually taught to outsiders?

“Miss Gu, what flaws does my medicine have? Please enlighten me,” the senior apothecary said in a mocking, sarcastic tone.

Gu Ye lifted her eyes and glanced at him, inwardly curling her lip. With a heart that narrow, wanting to advance further would be harder than climbing to the heavens. Even if she pointed out his mistakes, he wouldn’t listen. Instead, he’d only think she was overstepping her place.

Gu Ye smiled faintly and said calmly, “Senior, you must be joking. I haven’t even taken a single examination yet. As a mere unranked novice, how would I have the qualifications to advise you?”

“Hmph!  At least you have some self-awareness…” The apothecary cast her a disdainful glance, then looked away, as if even one more second of looking at her would dirty his eyes.

In the president’s office, the Sage Apothecary standing by the window blew out his beard and glared, furious. He rolled up his sleeves, shouting that he wanted to go out there and teach that arrogant brat who dared to look down on his little disciple a harsh lesson.

The president and vice-president quickly pulled him back, persuading him, “Let the young people handle their own affairs. First, about the honorary judge position, are you agreeing or not?”

“Agree my foot!” the Sage Apothecary barked, neck stiff with anger. “These young apothecaries nowadays are completely out of line. With that kind of character, what right do they have to call themselves apothecaries? My precious disciple has such a pure and selfless heart. She is such a lovable child,and that stinky brat actually dared to give her attitude? No way! I can’t swallow this anger. Don’t try to hold me back!”

The Sage Apothecary still had the same terrible temper he’d had twenty years ago. 

President Niu truly didn’t know what to do with him. Moments ago, Vice-President Wu had merely said one small critical remark about the girl, and the Sage immediately exploded, picking a fight to defend his disciple. And now he wanted to go argue with an apothecary young enough to be his grand-disciple. He really was an old mischievous child.

But none of them had expected that the Sage’s last disciple would be such a small, thin, fragile-looking little girl. Just what extraordinary qualities did this child possess, that the Sage held her in such high regard?

While they were still thinking about it, the Sage Apothecary, unwatched for a moment, stormed out of the president’s office. He marched straight up to that senior apothecary, picked up the man’s medicine, and criticized it so harshly that nothing good was left. He had been in seclusion for over twenty years, so not many people present recognized him. The senior apothecary, unconvinced, argued back a few times.

The Sage snorted coldly and said, “Arrogant, conceited, unable to humbly accept criticism! With a temperament like yours, you can forget about ever becoming a Grand Pharmacist in your lifetime!”

The apothecary glanced at the Sage’s faded, discolored apothecary robe and curled his lip, replying with disdain, “Whether I can advance to Grand Pharmacist is indeed uncertain. Who can predict what will happen in thirty or fifty years? But as for you… well, it seems that in this lifetime all you can do is look up at the Grand Pharmacist rank from afar!”

Back in his youth, the Sage Apothecary had been far more unruly than he was now. After earning his ninth-level apothecary qualification, he never again participated in the triennial Medicine Conferences. Once he became famous, he always served as a judge, and as for his official apothecary rank—under the weight of his reputation, few people even cared to ask.

Who would have thought that after several decades, an obscure young apothecary would dare make his rank a point of mockery? The Sage Apothecary was so furious he almost found it funny.

The president, vice presidents, and elders of the Pharmacists’ Association had just been about to intervene when a clear, delighted voice rang out: “Master! Master, when did you return to the capital? Why didn’t you send a word to your disciple? I would have prepared a fine feast to welcome you back!”

The Sage who moments ago had been fuming so intensely that his beard was practically standing on end had his anger instantly snuffed out by his disciple’s filial warmth and sincerity. He patted the little girl clinging to his arm and said with a kindly smile: “I arrived just yesterday and hadn’t yet had time to ask where you’re staying. Where are you living now? Still in that imperial-granted residence in the west of the city, the one your grandfather received?”