Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 78 Lost and Found

"Where's the young master? Have you found him?"

The guards sent by the Xing family to look for the whereabouts of the Heavenly Grade Pill returned to the mansion one after another. At this moment, a sturdy old man was pacing back and forth in front of the main hall of the Xing mansion.

Although his steps were not visible, his tightly furrowed brows completely exposed the old man's inner thoughts, which was enough to show that he was extremely anxious.

This sturdy old man is the Xing Mansion's steward, Butler Hu.

He was dressed in a dark blue robe. At first glance, his upright figure, like a pine tree, was so eye-catching that one had no time to look at his old face. One only felt that he was full of energy and spirit.

The sleeping white hair and silver beard were interrupted by the sudden breeze, blowing like the graceful dance of a delicate woman, swaying in the wind, elegant and soft.

Butler Hu was a mysterious figure in Yingzhou City. He was not the first butler of the Xing Mansion, and no one remembered his number.

The reason is very simple. It is because the number of housekeepers that have changed in the Xing Mansion is as numerous as stars, and it is impossible to count them.

Although he had been in Yingzhou City for less than two years, he impressed the people of Yingzhou as an old acquaintance of the Xing family. To outsiders, the relationship between the two must have been very deep.

When Butler Hu first arrived in Yingzhou City, his mysterious presence led people to speculate about his relationship with the Xing family. Some speculated that he was a relative of the Xing family, while others said he was the Xing family's savior.

However, because Butler Hu had a different surname from the head and wife of the Xing family, everyone quickly denied the idea that Butler Hu was on good terms with the Xing family due to blood ties.

In everyone's opinion, even if Butler Hu and the Xing family are indeed relatives, they should be distant relatives who don't interact much on a regular basis.

Moreover, the Xing family is originally from Yingzhou. If the two are really relatives with a blood relationship, there will be no secret at all, and some information will be known to others.

Therefore, this possibility is becoming less and less supported and is rarely mentioned.

It has been almost two years since Butler Hu arrived in Yingzhou, but no one knows his name, origin, or background. This has only added a layer of haziness to his already mysterious image in everyone's mind.

Everyone in the Xing family treated Butler Hu with great respect. Xing Yue's call of "Master Hu" further confirmed the relationship between Butler Hu and the Xing family, which was definitely not the same as that of previous Xing family butlers and was unusual.

In the hearts of the people of Yingzhou, Xing Yue was undoubtedly one of the most talented young men in the state, both for his exceptional aptitude in martial arts and his distinguished family background. Of course, in the hearts of countless young women in Yingzhou City, his handsome face was the most captivating factor.

To the locals, hearing Xing Yue call Butler Hu "Master Hu" was unbelievable. After all, this was a rebellious young man from Yingzhou City who rarely showed respect to anyone except his elders.

In this way, few people dare to disrespect Butler Hu.

People whose backgrounds and origins are unknown naturally have an air of mystery, and this sense of mystery and unknownness is enough to intimidate people. Furthermore, Butler Hu's awe-inspiring temperament and righteous character make him even more formidable and respectable, and people dare not easily provoke him.

Over the years, everyone treated Butler Hu with respect and called him "Master Hu".

As the steward of the Xing Mansion, Butler Hu rarely stays in the Xing Mansion, or rather, he rarely stays in Yingzhou City for a long time. He will go out of the city every few days.

No one knows what he is going to do, and no one knows when he will return. The only thing that is certain is that he will take nothing with him, and bring nothing with him.

Perhaps, only the head of the Xing family knows the answer to this question.

This time, Butler Hu returned to the Xing Mansion shortly after the Tianjie Dan was stolen from the Xing Mansion.

At this moment, everyone in the Xing Mansion was busy, especially in the front hall and the alchemy room.

The reasons why everyone in the Xing Mansion was busy were, firstly, that the Heavenly Grade Pill was found in the mansion, and secondly, Xing Yue, who had gone out to look for the whereabouts of the Heavenly Grade Pill, had not returned yet, and the guards were searching for it in batches.

In the alchemy room, all the pharmacists and apprentices gathered around the pharmacist who had previously refined the lost Heavenly Grade Pill and surrounded him.

The pharmacist held a convex lens in his hand and carefully observed the Heaven Grade Pill that had been magnified several times, not wanting to miss any tiny impurities and identifying them one by one.

Throughout the alchemy room, the sounds of everyone's heartbeats intertwined. Time slipped away quietly, but everyone, focused on the elixir, was completely unaware. "Huh..."

Finally, as the pharmacist let out a long breath, everyone in the alchemy room stopped observing and waited for his conclusion.

"How is it? Is there any problem?" An apprentice who did not squeeze into the center of the crowd could not help but shout to the person in the center because he could not see the specific situation clearly.

The apprentice who shouted was the least respected among all the pharmacists and apprentices in the mansion because of his impatient temper, and was even disliked by some of the people who worked with him in the alchemy room.

At this moment, no one was willing to take the time to look at him, not even a glance of contempt for him.

"It's not poisonous! It's just like the unfinished pill as expected. It's not potent enough and has too many impurities." The pharmacist who was surrounded put down the convex lens. He didn't try to identify the source of the sound, nor did he listen carefully to who the owner of the sound was. He just put the pill in the box, gently closed the lid, and answered.

After a series of actions, the pharmacist looked at everyone and smiled heartily, and everyone in the alchemy room also smiled, as if a stone had fallen from their chest and they finally felt relieved.

In an instant, the entire alchemy room was filled with a joyful atmosphere and laughter.

……

"Master, there's news from the alchemy room! The pharmacist is waiting outside." The guard guarding the door of the main hall of the Xing Mansion strode into the hall and clasped his fists to the middle-aged man sitting on the main seat.

"Let him in!" Xing Rufeng raised his eyebrows slightly and ordered the guard in front of him.

The matter of the Heavenly Grade Pill made Xing Rufeng's mood like an endless mountain range, constantly rising and falling.

The recovered Heavenly Grade Pill made him feel like a dream. Although he couldn't believe it, he temporarily put aside his doubts and immediately sent the recovered Heavenly Grade Pill to the alchemy room and ordered the pharmacist to check it carefully.

The pharmacist who refined the Heaven Grade Pill, after being announced, walked slowly into the main hall with a jade box in his hand.

The person sitting in the main seat did not speak, but the pharmacist was filled with anxiety.

As the person in charge of refining the Heaven Grade Pill, he failed to take good care of the pill and lost it, which is his unshirkable responsibility.

Although the elixir mysteriously appeared in the mansion again and nothing seemed to have gone wrong, he was still worried and just hoped to perform well and receive less punishment.

"Master, I have checked it carefully and it is non-toxic." The pharmacist, holding the jade box in his hand, spoke first to Xing Rufeng from a distance away from the main seat.

"Give it to me." Xing Rufeng's face remained calm, but he was indeed much happier in his heart.

The pharmacist stopped in front of Xing Rufeng and carefully handed the jade box over.

Xing Rufeng opened the jade box and kept turning it in his hands, changing the direction, focusing on the pills inside.

"Is there any problem?" Xing Rufeng closed the lid, placed the jade box on the table, and pushed it away from the side where the teacup was placed.

"Looking at its appearance, I didn't find any problems. It's just like the Heavenly Grade Pill that was about to be refined as expected. The medicinal effect is insufficient and there are more impurities precipitated." The pharmacist replied.

"Can I eat it?" Xing Rufeng looked at the pharmacist with some concern.

"Although I have seen many failed and poorly made Heavenly Grade Pills, I have never experienced one being unrefined midway through. Therefore, I can only speculate on the quality of this type of Heavenly Grade Pill that is about to be released. The one I found is exactly as I expected."

"As for the internal conditions of the Heavenly Grade Pill, I'm not an alchemist, so my abilities are limited, so I can't investigate. I can only roughly guess based on the surface conditions, but it's likely nothing has been tampered with."

The pharmacist took a deep breath and continued, "The efficacy is indeed not as good as expected, but impurities and the like are not a big problem, and there are definitely no common poisons. If it is truly untampered with, and there is no better option, I think it is safe to take."

In response to Xing Rufeng's concerns, the pharmacist explained his understanding in detail. With his current abilities, he couldn't guarantee the safety of the lost and recovered Heavenly Grade Pill, but if he couldn't find a second refined Heavenly Grade Pill, it seemed that Xing Yue taking it was the best option.

(End of this chapter)