I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 74 - 73: The Element Testing Instrument Incident

Returning to the dormitory in the evening, Li Xing received a delivery from home containing delicious dried sausages, cakes, cookies, and other treats made by Anna. The courier industry on Qianyuan Continent is advanced; with enough shipping fees, Li Xing could even enjoy a hot meal from home.

When Li Yi called, Li Xing was happily savoring the flavors of home while sitting on the bed.

The communication screen lit up, and the first thing Li Yi saw wasn’t his daughter but that ugly, eye-stinging purple flower, making his heart suddenly tighten.

"Xing, could you please put the spirit plant in a flowerpot? You may not be scared, but I am! I’ve told you countless times that free-range growing is dangerous, but you don’t listen!"

This flower has grown taller than a person, and Li Yi has had nightmares many times, dreaming that the Big-mouth Flower swallowed Li Xing. It’s unclear why Li Xing likes it so much, often letting it roam freely outside the pot, frequently embracing and holding it, without any sign of disdain.

"Oh, I’ll put it in now." Li Xing pretended to take out a flowerpot and put Hui Hui inside, actually letting it leave the video range to play on its own.

"Uncle Li, is everything at home okay?"

"Everything’s fine. I’m calling to tell you that the Datang City Lord has been arrested."

"What?"

Li Yi looked indignant (schadenfreude): "Not only arrested, but the City Lord Mansion was also raided, uncovering huge assets. Wang Jin is now charged with corruption and dereliction of duty, and his son and wife, knowing but not reporting, also have associated liability, facing at least forty years in prison."

Li Yi recalled the scene from that day, feeling a bit fearful. Some people didn’t want the Datang City Lord to be caught, and immediately tipped him off. If Yang Zhou hadn’t brought people to surround the City Lord Mansion, that kid would have escaped.

He was the most crucial witness in the Element Testing Instrument corruption case. If Wang Jin had escaped Datang City, someone would surely have aided him, hiding him in a safe location or directly silencing him. Without the City Lord, lacking key witnesses, the Elder Council’s corrupt officials couldn’t be convicted, and the matter would again be unresolved.

"That bastard Wang Jin even wanted you to marry his son’s purple eggplant, but luckily, I was wise enough not to agree! I wondered at the time how a lower-city lord could afford so many betrothal gifts; turns out they were all ill-gotten."

Li Yi firmly rejected the City Lord’s proposal. While the City Lord couldn’t openly harm him, he might secretly cause trouble. Now that the City Lord’s family deservedly caught, Li Xing no longer has to worry about Li Yi and Anna facing revenge.

"These days, Datang City is quite lively, with patrol teams and officials sent from higher cities everywhere. The Elder Council brought in a high-level Element Testing Instrument, retesting children under sixteen. Many spirit elements’ results have been found inaccurate, but none as severe as yours."

"The biggest discrepancy was an A-grade Water Elemental Spirit being misjudged as B-grade. There are also many lower-grade spirits mistakenly elevated one grade, which is troublesome, potentially leading to accountability and sentencing. Cities are organizing self-examinations, and victims have been receiving government compensation one after another."

Li Xing knew this and received a large sum of money today.

"Uncle Li, I also received compensation money; I’ll give it to you."

"Why give it to me? Keep it to spend yourself; Harssas isn’t like Datang, a developed city, where prices are high. Buy whatever you want to eat or wear; the Big-mouth Flower missing a few meals won’t starve, so don’t cheat yourself."

This child, Li Xing, has indeed earned a substantial amount over the years through part-time work, but it’s all spent on that wretched Big-mouth Flower, and she doesn’t even have decent clothes.

Choosing such a money-draining battle pet, Li Yi truly feels it’s not worth it for Li Xing.

Li Xing laughed: "Alright, don’t worry. By the way, Uncle Li, is Principal Yang very busy these days? Why can’t I reach him?"

"It’s not just you; even I haven’t heard from the senior for a long time."

Li Xing was shocked: "What’s going on?"

Li Yi scratched his head and said, "It all started the day you retested your Elemental Spirit. After receiving your test results, the senior left angrily without saying where he was going. Later, when the Elder Council came to arrest Wang Jin, I learned from them that the senior went to the Elder Council. After that, he never returned, his optical brain can’t be reached, and he doesn’t reply to messages. Until yesterday, when the Education Department sent a public notice saying Yang Zhou would no longer be the principal of Datang Academy, and they would promptly arrange for a new principal to take office, instructing us to wait."

"Principal Yang was transferred? Why?"

"I don’t know," Li Yi said, frowning deeply in the forehead. With Yang Zhou gone these days, he’s been hosting the big picture, extremely busy, and he wants more than anyone to know why Yang Zhou was transferred.

"The new principal hasn’t taken office yet, and all departmental plans and applications are stalled; the academy is in chaos. If it weren’t for me and a few senior teachers holding things up, Datang Academy would have collapsed."

Background noise of shouting and commotion came from Li Yi’s side, sounding like something happened at the school’s practice field. He hastily urged Li Xing to eat well and hung up.

Li Xing watched the darkened screen, frowning, worrying for Yang Zhou.

Yang Zhou must have stood up for her when he went to the Elder Council; maybe because of his arrogant attitude, he was detained there? She must find a chance to inquire about the news.

Today, the Healing Master Department has a class that interests Li Xing, and she walked into the Healing Department classroom just on time.

Perhaps because Healing Masters aren’t forced to study Martial Arts, their personalities are relatively peaceful, and students in the Healing Master Department calmly accepted Li Xing coming to audit, with some even welcoming her.

There are only twenty-six first-year students in the Healing Department; reportedly, Harssas can only recruit about this number annually for Healing Master Department, showing how rare Healing Masters are.

In the first part of the course, the teacher uses holographic images and real objects to explain botany. Healing Masters deal with plants, so they must understand the properties and characteristics of plants from the Qianyuan Continent that can be used for medicine.

Li Xing listened attentively to the teacher’s explanation, benefiting greatly, hearing for the first time about some rare plants growing in distant regions; this lesson truly broadened her horizons.

After the theory, it’s the practical stage; this class mainly practices medicine preparation, and students work on the medicine formula provided by the teacher.

Li Xing had seen Healing Masters’ pharmaceutical tools online long ago, different from her Shennong Cauldron, more modern—Flame Furnace, crucible, measuring cups, beakers, and glass rods, etc.

Healing Masters’ methods of preparing medicine also resemble Western potion-making processes; the products are mostly liquid, with no condensate forming a pill or furnace-opening pill collecting stages.

Possibly because of simplified steps, Healing Masters rarely experience explosive furnace cases during the pharmaceutical process, boasting high safety.

Li Xing also tried using the Healing Masters’ tools, successfully preparing a primary antidote.

Li Xing’s initial success in pharmaceutical preparation earned the teacher’s praise, but while she looked at the cloudy liquid in the glass bottle, she wasn’t happy at all.

The pride of a Dan Cultivator couldn’t accept such methods or product outcomes; she’d better stick to using her Shennong Cauldron, lest the ancestors’ spirits appear and scold her for disgracing them.