I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 58 - 57: Hypocrite

"Thank you for the trouble, grandfather and uncle."

Li Xing flashed a look in his eyes but didn’t speak.

Cui Tianxiao, fearing Chu Yunyi would miss out on the good stuff Li Xing made, quickly prepared a cup for him with the hot water at hand.

"Chu God, try this. It’s called coffee. The name sounds strange, but it has a rich aroma, and it’s not hard to drink at all. If you find it bitter, you can add cream and sugar; it tastes better and doesn’t affect the medicinal properties."

Chu Yunyi initially thought this black powder was meant to be eaten dry. He was surprised to find out that it was a drink.

The aroma from the cup didn’t smell medicinal at all. Chu Yunyi picked it up and took a sip gracefully.

The black liquid emitted a roasted fragrance. It was slightly bitter to the taste but left a sweet aftertaste. The sour pectin flavor he hated so much was completely absent.

He couldn’t help but take another sip. For the first time, some color returned to Chu Yunyi’s pale face.

"Not bad."

Chu Yunyi rarely gave opinions. Li Xing and Cui Tianxiao exchanged glances, both seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes. Li Xing certainly hadn’t let them down.

"Qingtian, where did this come from?" Chu Yunyi, having suffered from illness, could discern at a taste that this medicine wasn’t crafted by a Healing Master from the Ye Family.

Under Chu Yunyi’s all-seeing gaze, Ye Qingting had to tell the truth.

"It’s made by a friend of mine. The reason I didn’t tell you before is that her pharmaceutical skills are self-taught. I was afraid you might doubt her ability and dismiss this medicine."

Chu Yunyi listened and responded lightly with an "Oh" before taking another sip of coffee and saying:

"Although you’re not a Healing Master, you have a sharp eye. Anyone you recognize, even as an amateur, can’t be of poor skill. Besides, if this medicine was sent over, it’s passed grandfather’s examination, so what do I have to complain about?"

It made Ye Qingting happy to receive Chu Yunyi’s acknowledgment and continued:

"My friend said that if she could see your condition in person, she could make a more targeted medicine. Cousin, would you like to meet her?"

Chu Yunyi thought for a moment and declined: "I’m currently... not stable, so better not. Let her make it according to the current recipe."

"Alright then. Drink these three bottles first. I’ll have her make more according to this standard and send it over soon."

After finishing the cup of coffee, for the first time in a while, Chu Yunyi felt a bit clearer mentally, and his headache was relieved.

"Qingtian, I’ll cover your friend’s fee, including the costs the Ye Family has incurred in purchasing the Spirit Fruits for me lately."

Ye Qingting hurriedly refused: "Cousin, mentioning such things feels distant."

"You and Ah Xiao helped me find such a good medicine; I am already incredibly grateful. If I were to take financial advantage, I wouldn’t sleep easy and couldn’t properly recover."

"Cousin, you..."

"Qingtian, don’t argue. Money is about the only thing I have left."

Hearing this from Chu Yunyi, Ye Qingting couldn’t argue anymore and had to take a step back.

"If Cousin has too much money, then convert some into Crystal Stones for me. My friend’s fee is still outstanding."

"No problem." Chu Yunyi took out a spatial button and handed it to Ye Qingting.

"These Crystal Stones inside are the spoils from my training outside. Use them as you need, and if they’re not enough, tell me."

The spatial button was full of high-grade Crystal Stones, plentiful enough to pay for the Spirit Fruits collected by the Ye and Cui families, with some surplus. Even a noble family heir like Ye Qingting, who never lacked money, had to admit it was lavish.

"Cousin, you’re mistaken. They don’t want high-grade Crystal Stones; they need low-grade ones."

"What?" Chu Yunyi thought he misheard. "Low-grade Crystal Stones? Is your friend’s Primordial Spirit level that low?"

Ye Qingting inwardly screamed: Look, look, anyone hearing about settling payments with low-grade Crystal Stones would naturally think the other party has a low level. It’s not his fault!

"No. She has a Battle Pet Spirit Plant that feeds on low-grade Crystal Stones, and it eats a lot, so she needs a substantial amount of them."

Chu Yunyi understood: "In that case, you’ll have to exchange them at the Chu Group’s stores. I’ll have the steward handle this, and you’ll have them by tomorrow at the latest, okay?"

Of course, Ye Qingting had no objections. With the critical matters discussed, the three of them began chatting about anything and everything.

"Chu God, why did you go to the Second Corps’ fortress that day?" This question had been in Cui Tianxiao’s mind for a long time. The Chu Family supported the First Corps, and without a special reason, Chu Yunyi wouldn’t go to other corps.

"Jiang Yuesheng invited me to visit."

"Damn it! He’s really a cursed star; nothing good ever comes from being with him!" Cui Tianxiao rolled his eyes. If not for Jiang Yuesheng, Chu God wouldn’t have gone to the Second Corps, wouldn’t have encountered the beast tide, and naturally wouldn’t have been so severely injured.

"Ah Xiao, don’t talk nonsense! If Cousin hadn’t been there by chance, it would have been dangerous for the Federation."

The large-scale beast tide that caused the Wolf-headed Bats to cross the border that time was halted by Chu Yunyi’s deployment of the Sky Wind Annihilation Array.

If Chu Yunyi hadn’t been there that day, the Southern Fortress would have surely been breached, the Star Beast Tide would have swept in, the towns behind it would have been in ruins, and billions of civilians would have become souls devoured by beasts. Chu Yunyi’s personal misfortune was actually the Federation’s fortune.

"That Jiang guy wouldn’t possibly want to drag Chu God into the Second Corps, right? He’s dreaming if he thinks he can. Who doesn’t know Chu God is slated for the First Corps?"

Ye Qingting frowned: "Who did you hear say that Cousin was slated for the First Corps? Cousin hasn’t decided yet, and you already know?"

Cui Tianxiao "tsk"-ed. Both he and Qingtian were future entrants to the First Corps, and he absolutely wouldn’t allow Chu God to be poached by another corps.

"Jiang Yuesheng’s spiritual power isn’t weak. Why didn’t he help when Chu God was forming the array?"

Ye Qingting knew that Cui Tianxiao had a longstanding grudge against Jiang Yuesheng since childhood. When the two met, it was like thunder and fire, and they fought viciously. Unfortunately, Cui Tianxiao was younger and always lost, which only deepened his resentment against Jiang Yuesheng.

This time, Cousin had been affected in both his Spirit Sea and Primordial Spirit levels due to utilizing the Sky Wind Annihilation Array. Cui Tianxiao, who admired Cousin so much, naturally couldn’t help but assign blame to Jiang Yuesheng.

"How could he help? He’s not a talisman master, and meddling would only mess things up. The only thing he could do was protect Cousin from the Star Beasts’ sneak attacks while he formed the array. In fact, Jiang Yuesheng did fulfill his duty. Any problem with that?"

Cui Tianxiao’s peach blossom eyes widened in displeasure, "Qingtian, whose side are you on? Why do you keep speaking up for that jerk Jiang Yuesheng?"

"You—"

Ye Qingting was about to be driven mad by Cui Tianxiao. One should give some face, especially since Jiang Yuesheng was Cousin’s childhood friend and teammate. Insulting him was equivalent to disrespecting Cousin!

Yet Cui Tianxiao was as stubborn as a mule, persistently spouting nonsense that Ye Qingting couldn’t stop.

"Chu God, Jiang Yuesheng is a hypocrite. Who knows when he’ll stab you in the back, so you mustn’t trust him."

Ye Qingting was anxious over his lack of diplomatic skills: "Cui Tianxiao! If you don’t say anything, no one would think you’re mute!"

"I’m just speaking the truth."

"..."