Chapter 33: Hundred Herbs Pavilion

Wasn’t Senior Brother Li the champion of the monthly tournament?
How could he fail to withstand even a blow from someone at the eighth level of Qi Refining?
Could it really be as the young master said… that he won by…
But Li Jian-san did not panic in the slightest, because he knew that there were experts hidden nearby, secretly protecting him.
Sure enough, just as Li Jian-san was sent flying by the blow, a figure shot out of nowhere, caught him, and stuffed some spirit medicine into his mouth. Li Jian-san quickly recovered.
Then, the person’s gaze fell upon the two burly men.
With just a single look, the two previously arrogant brutes were instantly pinned to the ground by an overwhelming aura, unable to move.
Chu Xi’er hurried over, her voice anxious and slightly flustered as she asked, “Senior Brother Li, are you all right? Are you hurt?”
Seeing that Li Jian-san was unharmed, Chu Xi’er’s tone turned suspicious:
“Senior Brother Li, didn’t you win first place in the monthly tournament? How could you not even handle these two?”
“Ah… I… That’s because they ambushed me—yes, they caught me off guard. If they hadn’t, how could they possibly be my match?”
“Ding.”
“The system has detected that Chu Xi’er’s favorability towards the host has decreased by 10 points.”
Hearing the system’s voice, Li Jian-san was speechless.
Damn, this makes no sense. Why did her favorability drop instead of rise?
Was all his effort wasted?
Looking at Li Jian-san, Chu Xi’er’s eyes gradually softened.
After all, Senior Brother Li had put himself in harm’s way to protect her…
“Ding.”
“The system has detected that Chu Xi’er’s favorability towards the host has increased by 10 points.”
It rose, it rose.
This is how the script should unfold.
Meanwhile, an elder sternly interrogated the two men, “Where are you from? Do you not know what place this is?
How dare you attack my young sect master? Clearly, you don’t know the meaning of death.”
Upon hearing this, the two burly men immediately panicked. They were doomed now—they’d kicked an iron wall. This boy had backing!
Soon enough, their faces fell as they kowtowed and begged for mercy,
“We didn’t know he was your young sect master! If we’d known, even if we had ten times the courage, we wouldn’t have dared lay a finger on him!”
The elder turned to Li Jian-san, “Young master, how do you wish to handle them?”
“The one who struck me—cripple him. As for the other, give him a beating and throw him out. I’m not a heartless man, after all.”

“Spare us, young master, please spare us!”
“Take them outside to deal with them. Don’t chop off hands here and ruin our appetite.”
“Yes, young master.” The elder pulled a long face as he dragged the two men away.
The two were full of regret, cursing themselves for coveting beauty and provoking Li Jian-san.
Chu Xi’er looked at Li Jian-san and laughed, “You’ve been through all that, and you’re still thinking about eating?”
Noticing the change in Chu Xi’er’s demeanor, Li Jian-san knew their relationship had taken a step forward.
He joked, “I promised to treat you, how could I go back on my word? Consider this meal my way of calming your nerves, junior sister.”
“Sigh… Senior Brother Li, next time something like this happens, don’t try to act tough!”
“All right, thank you for your concern.” Li Jian-san smiled.
Chu Xi’er blushed, “Who’s concerned about you?”
“Ding.”
“The system has detected that Chu Xi’er’s favorability towards the host has risen to 60 points.”
Wonderful! That beating wasn’t for nothing after all.
Li Jian-san was secretly delighted. With Chu Xi’er’s favorability now at 60, just a little more effort and he could win her over.
If something were to happen with Ye Tian’s side, wouldn’t the whole of Xi’er’s sect soon bow to him?
Outwardly, Li Jian-san maintained his composure, but inwardly, he was overjoyed.
The shopkeeper, too, seemed to have a strong heart. Despite the commotion in his restaurant, he made no move to clean up the mess.
Just then, the owner came over with dishes in hand, “Young Master Kongxu, are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Li Jian-san waved his hand.
“By the way, can you tell me where I can buy medicinal herbs around here?”
Li Jian-san, having always indulged in pleasure, knew the area well but only the entertainment spots.
“Medicinal herbs?”
The owner looked at Li Jian-san in surprise, “Are you planning to refine pills?”
When Li Jian-san nodded, the owner’s gaze changed completely.
An alchemist—now, that was a person of true prestige…
“If you’re looking to buy herbs, you should try the Hundred Herbs Pavilion.”
After their meal, Li Jian-san and Chu Xi’er headed straight for the Hundred Herbs Pavilion.
Moments later, they arrived.
Without hesitation, Li Jian-san strode inside.

“Greetings, sir.”
As soon as he stepped in, an attendant came forward,
“May I ask what medicinal herbs you require?”
Li Jian-san made no attempt to conceal his intentions and produced a prescription he had prepared in advance.
“Gather everything on this list for me.”
The process here was straightforward: write out your formula, pay, and collect your herbs.
Li Jian-san understood well the real purpose behind this procedure—they wanted to see if any valuable pill recipes could be discovered.
If they found one useful, they would try to buy it outright.
After all, alchemists held such an esteemed status in this world, and using their formulas without permission would incur the wrath of the Alchemist Guild.
Upon seeing Li Jian-san’s prescription, the attendant was taken aback, “Purple Star Grass, Celestial Wolf Flower? What kind of herbs are these?”
“I’m sorry, sir, but our shop doesn’t have these in stock. It will take some time to gather them.”
Hearing this, Li Jian-san turned to Chu Xi’er, “Very well, we’ll come back another day.”
“Hey, isn’t that the young sect master of Shengjing Sect?”
“You mean Li Jian-san, the notorious wastrel who never cultivates?”
“That’s him! But what’s he doing here?”
After Li Jian-san left, the bystanders began to gossip.
The attendant, hearing their chatter, grew a little frustrated.
“I couldn’t recognize what that formula was and thought it might be some precious recipe.
Turns out it was just something Li Jian-san made up. Good thing I didn’t take it to the manager, or I’d have become a laughingstock.”
Once he realized it was Li Jian-san, the attendant was relieved.
Though new to the shop, he’d heard Li Jian-san’s reputation.
How could such a notorious playboy possibly possess a genuine pill recipe? He’d probably just scribbled it for fun.
“Bah, what a waste of my time.”
With that, the attendant crumpled Li Jian-san’s prescription and tossed it aside.
Just then, a middle-aged man entered, picked up the discarded ball of paper, and, upon reading the formula, his expression changed drastically.
“Who wrote this prescription?”