FID – Chapter 1059

Chapter 545 — An Official Disciple

“Master,” Lin Nuo hesitated before asking, “You’re letting me participate in making the new medicine. Aren’t you afraid I’ll steal your secrets?”

After all, he was currently just an apprentice, not even a proper disciple. Master seemed far too unconcerned about her secret formulas. Back at the pharmacists’ gathering, she had selflessly shared her knowledge of pharmacology with unfamiliar young pharmacists…

“Steal my secrets? These are things I intended to teach you anyway. How much you learn depends entirely on your own ability. What’s there to steal?” Gu Ye shot him a puzzled look. This kid was amusing. If he wanted to learn her craft, he was welcome to take it. Why sneak around?

“Master!” Lin Nuo began trembling all over. “May… may I interpret your meaning as you’re willing to take me as your disciple?”

“Of course!” Gu Ye rolled her eyes at him. “You’ve been calling me Master for so long. Was that for nothing? Or… have you found a better option? If that’s the case, I won’t stand in your way. After all, people naturally seek higher ground…”

Lin Nuo gathered his courage to interrupt her, “Master, this disciple thought I was merely a lowly medicine boy, unworthy of learning pharmacy from you… Master, please accept this disciple’s bow!”

“Hold on! Yue Yuan, stop him first!” The one who accompanied Gu Ye this time was her maid Yue Yuan. She stepped forward and yanked the frail youth to his feet before he could complete his bow.

Seeing the light in the boy’s eyes gradually dim, Gu Ye sighed. “Now is hardly the right time to take on a disciple. This is what we’ll do: after the convention, if you still insist on becoming my apprentice, I’ll accept you as my inner disciple.”

Over these days of interaction, Gu Ye had come to highly appreciate Lin Nuo’s talent in pharmaceuticals. After observing him from multiple angles, this young man proved to be upright in character, pure and devoted to his family, and deeply appreciative… a rare gem with genuine potential worth nurturing.

Another factor swaying Gu Ye’s decision to take him on was a single phrase: “Whatever task Master has, this apprentice will serve diligently.” 

Running a pharmaceutical factory would inevitably involve countless mundane chores. Having a reliable, free pair of hands on hand—why not?

At this moment, Lin Nuo remained oblivious to Gu Ye’s devious motives. His heart felt light enough to soar. Becoming his master’s inner disciple meant being part of the direct lineage! Many pharmacists, despite studying under renowned masters, had to endure years of grueling toil just to reach the threshold of becoming a direct disciple. What merit did he possess to earn such special favor from his master?

He broke free from Yue Yuan’s grasp, knelt heavily on the ground, and bowed his head three times with utmost sincerity: “Master, rest assured. Your disciple will never betray your kindness!”

“My goodness! Get up! We don’t do this kneeling business at the drop of a hat!“ 

A man’s knees are made of gold—kneel only to heaven, earth, and parents. 

Gu Ye awkwardly helped Lin Nuo to his feet. ”With your talent, even under another master, you’d swiftly rise to become a senior pharmacist. Don’t belittle yourself. I should be the one feeling fortunate to have found such a raw gem as you.”

“When a raw gemstone goes unappreciated, it remains nothing more than a stubborn stone. This disciple is grateful to you for selecting me from among such stones and for taking the trouble to polish and carve me. I shall not disappoint your expectations and will strive to bring honor to our sect!” 

His Master said he could become a senior pharmacist, so he must work hard to fulfill her wish in the pharmacist examination in three years. Lin Nuo clenched his fists silently.

“Ooh-la-la! Cousin, who’s that delicate young man beside your future wife? She’s holding his hand. Did he just kneel down to confess? Watch out, Cousin! She has more than one suitor to choose from!” The Fourth Prince snapped his fan shut, tapping it against his palm with a tone dripping with schadenfreude and anticipation for the spectacle.

Ling Juechen shot him a cold glance, uttering a few words indifferently: “That’s her apprentice.”

“A strikingly good-looking apprentice of comparable age, and a handsome and refined Senior Brother pharmacist. As the saying goes, proximity brings opportunity. They share common interests and a language. Cousin, your romantic path is fraught with danger!” The Fourth Prince shook his head with a sigh, but Ling Juechen remained unmoved.

His two lifetimes of love with An Ye, their shared experiences, their shared memories—he understood her more deeply than he understood himself. How could he possibly lose to two ancient figures who were merely beautiful on the surface? 

No, no! Calling them merely beautiful was flattering them too much. After all, in this lifetime, he was quite confident in his own looks.

Sigh… To think that the base commander of his past life, the military war god of this one, had been reduced to relying on looks to win. But what could he do? His little girl valued beauty above all else. He had no choice but to meet her standards.

The production of Instant Heart-reliever Pills was time-consuming, though it mainly involved simmering ginkgo leaf paste and grinding various herbs into powder. With Gu Ye supervising, Lin Nuo handling the main tasks, and Yue Yuan assisting, they completed the ginkgo leaf paste on the first day of the assessment.

The second day proved more taxing for Lin Nuo and Yue Yuan, who had to grind seven or eight herbs into powder—ginseng, notoginseng, nippon lily root, and others. In modern times, machines would swiftly handle this task. But in ancient times, it was purely manual labor. By late afternoon, her two assistants were drenched in sweat, having finally completed this step.

“Three qian of ginseng and notoginseng powder, two and a half qian of nippon lily roots powder, one qian of toad venom powder,  a little less than two qian of turmeric powder…” Gu Ye sat cross-legged nearby, watching Lin Nuo weigh each powder while occasionally offering a word of guidance, looking thoroughly content.

Lin Nuo held back a moment before whispering a warning, “Master, could you please not voice such a secret formula aloud?”

“Silly child. How would you know the measurements if I don’t say them? Rest assured, no one will eavesdrop on our formula with all these eyes upon us.” Gu Ye pinched a piece of candied fruit and popped it into her mouth. “Where were we? Ah, yes. Now add a little over one qian of borneol powder…”

“Master, a little over… how much is that?” Lin Nuo felt uncertain.

“About one third qian—that should be close enough!” Gu Ye silently converted the measurements in her head for a long moment before figuring out how many maces equaled 4 grams. Goodness, ancient measurement units were such a hassle. Five hundred grams equaled sixteen liang, and one liang equaled ten qian. By her calculations, one qian was roughly 3.1 grams.

After Lin Nuo skillfully weighed all the medicinal powders, Gu Ye finally set down the candied fruit, washed her hands, and mixed the ginkgo leaf paste with all the powders, stirring them evenly. The final task of rolling the pills fell once again to Lin Nuo and Yue Yuan.

Rolling pills was no simple task either. Each pill had to be nearly identical in size and weight. One qian of paste could yield two hundred pills. With the dosage of powder Gu Ye had used, they could roll two hundred Instant Heart-reliever Pills. To finish the assessment early, the two barely slept through the night, finally submitting the finished pills by the next morning.