I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 156 - 154: Repairing the Bracelet (Part 1)
The elderly man in gray had a playful look on his face, and his pupil-less, snow-white eyeballs turned towards Chu Yunyi again.
"Yun Yi, you’ve never brought a girl alone here before. Could it be, she’s your little wife?"
Li Xing’s face darkened. For some reason, even though the elder’s face was expressionless, Li Xing just felt he was winking and smirking, even inexplicably excited.
Chu Yunyi hurriedly explained, "Ninth Granduncle, you’ve misunderstood. Li Xing is just a friend of your grandnephew."
The elderly man’s expression immediately turned indifferent, and he pouted, "Tsk."
Li Xing: ...What the heck are you ’tsk-ing’ at! (￣ェ￣;)
"What brings you here today?"
Chu Yunyi said, "Grandnephew needs to go to the Artifact Room."
The elderly man in gray was surprised, "You want to do Artifact Refining?" Then he pointed at Li Xing, "For her?" His beard twitched, "How much is she paying you?"
"I owe Ah Xing a favor, helping her with Artifact Refining to repay it."
The elderly man tutted, "Why not just marry her? No need for Artifact Refining, wooden brain doesn’t get it!"
Chu Yunyi: ... (.-＿-.)
Li Xing: ... (￣ェ￣;)
"You haven’t been healed for long, spending energy on Artifact Refining now is truly not wise. How about I recommend another Heaven Rank talisman master for the task?"
Chu Yunyi shook his head, "I’ve already promised Ah Xing, I can’t break my word. Besides, it’s just repairs based on existing foundation. Ninth Granduncle, don’t worry, I know my limits."
Hearing Chu Yunyi say this, the elderly man in gray nodded, "Then go ahead. Your room has been vacant for a while, check the melting talisman beforehand."
"Thank you for the reminder, Ninth Granduncle."
"Please pay the usage fee."
After Chu Yunyi swiped his light brain, the elderly man in gray stared at Li Xing, leaving her at a loss. What does this old man mean? Is he asking her to pay too?
"Senior, I’m just here to observe, I don’t need to pay, right?"
The elderly man’s eyes widened, "Anyone entering the Artifact Room, whether using or observing, must pay!"
"Huh? Oh, okay, how much is it?"
"Fifty thousand star coins per person per day. Based on past experience, Yunyi’s Artifact Refining won’t take more than three days. You pay one hundred fifty thousand upfront, balance will be refunded or supplemented as necessary."
"What—what?" Li Xing was bewildered. Just watching would cost her a hundred fifty thousand; this wasn’t just robbery, it was like using a blunt knife to slice away her flesh!
Seeing Li Xing’s face of utter despair, Chu Yunyi quickly intervened, "Ninth Granduncle, Ah Xing is my guest, I’ll cover her costs."
"No way, the Heaven-Reaching Tower doesn’t have such a rule, everyone pays their own!"
Li Xing felt her heart bleed; she wished not to enter but couldn’t rest assured about the Glazed Pearl, and had to reach out for a transfer, only to be stopped by Chu Yunyi.
"Ah Xing, take out your Healing Master qualification certificate."
Li Xing was too downcast to ask questions, but she trusted Chu Yunyi wouldn’t trick her, so she obediently brought out the Earth Rank Healing Master qualification from her light brain.
Chu Yunyi enlarged the certificate and dragged it in front of the elderly man in gray.
"Granduncle, she’s an Earth Rank Healing Master."
The elderly man lifted his hand and sensed above the certificate, then nodded, "Hmm, not bad, this girl has some talent, much better than that useless show-off from the Lin Family! Since she’s an Earth Rank Healing Master, I’ll give her a discount—forty-five thousand star coins for three days, pay up!"
For Li Xing, forty-five thousand was still a significant sum, but the thought of it being reduced from a hundred fifty thousand made her feel less pained, and she gritted her teeth and made the transfer.
The elderly man in gray formed a seal with his hands, pointed to the center of the spacious hall, and a huge six-pointed star talisman array appeared. Chu Yunyi bowed to the elder and led Li Xing into the array, and in the next second, they appeared in another space.
This space was even more expansive than the hall, divided into countless hexagons, just like a gigantic beehive.
Li Xing exclaimed in awe, "Wow—!"
If each cell is an Artifact Refining Room, just how many are there here!
"Ah Xing, the terrain here is complex, with no landmark buildings, easy to get lost. Stay close to me."
Li Xing nodded and followed closely behind Chu Yunyi, navigating through the hive. The place was so vast that they ended up chit-chatting as they walked.
"Brother Chu, is the discount rule for Healing Masters set by the Heaven-Reaching Tower, or is it your granduncle’s idea?"
Chu Yunyi laughed, "Of course, it’s the Heaven-Reaching Tower’s rule. Granduncle is just a regular Tower Guardian, he just follows the rules."
"Oh. As an Earth Rank Healing Master, I get a seventy percent discount. If I reach the Heaven Rank, what discount would I get?"
"Many public facilities offer discounts to qualified Elemental Spirits. Generally speaking, Spiritual Rank gets twenty percent off, Profound Rank forty percent, Earth Rank seventy percent, and Heaven Rank ninety percent off. In the Heaven-Reaching Tower, the Artifact and Medicine Rooms charge according to this discount rate."
Li Xing pouted; sharing the same Artifact Room as Chu Yunyi, she had to spend an extra thirty thousand star coins just for being one rank lower—it was just unfair!
As they continued, Li Xing suddenly let out a pained cry, startling Chu Yunyi, who quickly turned back. Li Xing’s face was as pale as paper, standing there with vacant eyes.
Chu Yunyi was shocked, "Ah Xing, what’s wrong?"
Li Xing’s eyes were tearing up, her lips trembled, and she asked, "You said, many public facilities offer discounts to qualified Elemental Spirits, then, what about the Teleportation Port..."
Although Li Xing didn’t finish her sentence, Chu Yunyi already understood her meaning and nodded, "Yes."
Li Xing broke down, covering her face. Oh my god, why didn’t anyone ever tell her? She always bought full-price tickets, feeling like she’d lost a fortune!
"Ah Xing, why don’t we... take a break?"
"No!" Li Xing wiped her face, her voice faint, "I’m fine, let’s hurry up!"
The sooner they finished, the sooner they could leave, and maybe some of her forty-five thousand could be refunded.
After about half an hour, Chu Yunyi led Li Xing to his beehive Artifact Room. With a swipe of his light brain, he unlocked the door, the lights came on, and the Artifact Room was revealed to Li Xing.
The Artifact Room was spacious and bright, the walls of the white room were smooth with no decoration or furniture, and in the center was a circular metal device with a five-meter diameter, looking very much like a giant stove. Li Xing discreetly used her Divine Sense to scan it and found the stove was covered with complex talisman patterns.
Chu Yunyi waved his hand to bring a breeze that refreshed the room’s air. As the two entered the Artifact Room, Li Xing pointed at the large stove and asked, "Brother Chu, is this the Melting Furnace?"
"Yes, the refined steel used for the Melting Furnace is inscribed with fire attribute talismans, capable of producing extremely high-temperature flames, ideal for melting materials."
Li Xing clicked her tongue, wondering if such a furnace could be made smaller for Ning Zhun to use for Alchemy.
Chu Yunyi took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and carefully inspected the talismans. Once everything was set, Chu Yunyi said to Li Xing, "Ah Xing, when I refine the artifact, I need to focus entirely and can’t afford distractions." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
"Brother Chu, I understand the rules, I won’t disturb you. Just treat me like I’m not here."
Chu Yunyi handed Li Xing a spatial button, "Your hand bracelet has a delicate structure and complex talismans, making the repair quite challenging. But I’ll do my best to finish early so you won’t spend more on the Artifact Room rental fee. The spatial button has a Thousand Machine Tent and Nutrient Liquid, you can rest in the tent if you get tired. The washroom is hidden in the wall, just touch it to open the sensor door."
Li Xing took the spatial button, feeling a little moved by Chu Yunyi’s careful consideration, and then pulled out the Glazed Hand Bracelet and Southern Celestial Eye from the Jade Pendant, handing them to Chu Yunyi.
"If it takes longer than three days, it’s okay. Compared to the rental fee, the Glazed Hand Bracelet is more important. Brother Chu, if any accident occurs during the repair, please ensure the hand bracelet’s integrity at all costs, not a single one of the eighteen pearls can be missing, even if it means giving up inscribing the talismans!"
