Jiang Qing followed the girl silently as they walked out.

The girl was much younger than her, but strangely enough, she felt that she could rely on her and trusted her wholeheartedly.

It wasn't until she reached the bustling square and saw the bright sun overhead that she came to her senses.

She actually ran off with a little kid?

Thinking of the master's methods, her face paled slightly.

"Sister Jiang, are you feeling unwell?" Xie Li looked down at the woman in front of him and couldn't help but frown slightly.

The other person seemed dull and her reactions were slightly slow, unlike what a normal, healthy adult woman should be like.

And... she's just too thin! She's about 1.64 meters tall and looks like she weighs only about 80 kilograms.

Xie Li took out her phone and checked it. She had made an appointment with Dr. Chen to buy medicinal herbs today, and Dr. Chen said he wanted to take her to a place called a Traditional Chinese Medicine base...

"I have something to do later, I need to go to the western suburbs, do you want to come with me?" Xie Li thought for a moment, "Your health isn't very good, you should take care of yourself. If you trust me, come with me to get some medicine to take back."

Jiang Qing hesitated for several seconds before whispering, "Okay."

——

At the Traditional Chinese Medicine base.

As Pharmacist Chen was tending to the medicinal herbs with Wu Jiang, a mocking voice sounded behind them: "Hey, Pharmacist Chen, how's it going? You're about to take the exam at the Imperial Alchemist Association. Are you confident you can pass the intermediate alchemist exam?"

Upon hearing this voice, Wu Jiang immediately flew into a rage, but before he could retort, he was silenced by a faint look from Pharmacist Chen.

Pharmacist Chen calmly wiped his hands before turning to the newcomer and saying, "Thank you, Pharmacist."

Pharmacist Xie appeared to be a man in his thirties, but in reality, he was already forty. He wore an exquisite dark blue traditional Chinese jacket and had an impressive bearing, but his eyes held a hint of shrewdness, making him appear somewhat mean and petty.

"I heard that Miss Ziyuan wanted to invite you to the capital to help her research a new drug, but you didn't agree? As an outsider, aren't you being a bit too ungrateful?"

Pharmacist Xie stared at Pharmacist Chen, feeling exceptionally pleased: "It's fortunate that you didn't know what was good for you, because the young lady invited me instead."

"You're always hiding in the alchemy room, so you probably don't know that our young lady has become an apprentice of a senior alchemist from the Imperial Alchemist Association in the capital!"

"Your alchemy skills have improved by leaps and bounds these days. You might even be in the same exam room as her this time!"

Wu Jiang's eyes flickered slightly. Xie Ziyuan was going to try to become an intermediate alchemist? That at least meant that she could now refine intermediate pills, and even if her condition was unstable, she was at least at the peak of the initial level.

That's really incredible, she's only seventeen!

It should be noted that even though Pharmacist Chen was known for his high talent, he only managed to break through to become an intermediate-level alchemist at the age of twenty-four, but failed and remained stagnant for a year.

Pharmacist Chen: "Well, congratulations."

His expression was indifferent, maintaining his usual ethereal and otherworldly demeanor; there was neither envy nor jealousy in his eyes.

But Pharmacist Xie felt that he was definitely faking it. After all, it was an opportunity to communicate with a high-level alchemist, who wouldn't want that? Getting guidance from a high-level alchemist was far better than spending years in the alchemy room making medicine on your own.

"I heard you even went to the old house last time to stand up for that guy from the countryside?" Pharmacist Xie shook his head. "Old Chen, you've really made a fool of yourself!"