"Right, okay, please take me to see your lady." Lin Chen nodded. Although he didn't know where he should go now, at least he shouldn't rely on others, right? Moreover, it's a woman he hasn't met; he should at least say goodbye to her.
"Then follow me." The girl nodded and led Lin Chen toward the young lady's room. Soon, they stopped in front of a cottage guarded by soldiers, the most strictly guarded one. The girl knocked on the somewhat old wooden door, "Miss, are you there? The man we found on the road today, he's awake now."
"The person we found..." Lin Chen rolled his eyes helplessly.
Seemingly realizing her mistake in words, the girl hurriedly turned to Lin Chen, apologizing, "I didn't mean it like that..."
"Oh? He's awake?" A soft and beautiful female voice came from inside, followed by a moment of silence, then saying, "Then let him come in, I have some things I want to ask him."
"No way!" However, just then, a soldier commander nearby came over, clearly hearing the young lady's invitation for Lin Chen to enter, "Miss, this person is of unknown origin, we can't let him get close to you!"
"It's okay, Romo Captain. He's just a mere apprentice swordsman, without even the strength of a trainee swordsman, do you really think he can harm me?" As the conversation continued, the lady inside seemed unconcerned, speaking in defense of Lin Chen, but being belittled by a woman still made Lin Chen somewhat uncomfortable.
"Alright then..." Hearing the young lady's words, the guard captain looked at Lin Chen, obviously seeing that he was just a Lv10 warrior, so he nodded and let his guard down.
"Lv42." Observing the level of the guard captain, Lin Chen was secretly surprised. A person of such strength was just a captain of the guard team, indicating the young lady inside must be of significant status.
Pushing open the door, Lin Chen walked in to find only one woman inside, about twenty years old with soft long hair, starry eyes, a delicate nose, and skin like cream, a waist slender as a willow, a truly exceptional beauty, even surpassing Hua Wuyan, the recognized beauty in "Reprimand."
This lady was sitting on a small stool, in front of her was a stove the size of a basketball, with some herbs laid out beside her. Lin Chen quickly understood that this lady was attempting to concoct the most rudimentary Calming Potion, capable of restoring a small amount of MP.
"Greetings, Miss, thank you for your kindness. I've come to bid farewell," Lin Chen said upon entering, watching the lady's crude technique. He didn't comment, just smiled.
"No need to thank me. Even if I didn't bring you here, you would have woken up sooner or later. It's just not safe to faint by the roadside," the lady replied nonchalantly while grabbing some Calming Flowers and putting them into the stove, not even lifting her head, focusing solely on the potion.
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At this, the lady seemed to recall something, taking a small spoon and stirring the potion while continuing, "I've heard the area nearby has become unsafe recently, rife with bandits. You must be from around here, falling on the roadside. Do you know how to avoid those bandits effectively? The villagers in this small village are terrified of them, they have no idea about the bandits' distribution."
"Sorry, I'm just passing by, I'm not familiar with the terrain here," Lin Chen responded, secretly smiling bitterly. He didn't even know what countries existed in this world, let alone directions.
"Oh, if you don't know then never mind," the lady replied, without disappointment, continuing to stir her potion until the stove exploded, the potion splattering everywhere.
"Darn! Another failure!" Quickly raising a shield to block the splashing potion, it was clear the lady was accustomed to such failures, her face showing resignation.
"Then I'll be leaving..." Seeing the lady absorbed in her potion making, Lin Chen spoke up.
"Ah? You're still here?" the lady, surprised to see Lin Chen still there, looked up from her failed concoction.
Feeling ignored and somewhat irked, Lin Chen was not used to being so dismissed. After all, in "Reprimand", even the top players would act respectfully in his presence. But here, he was overlooked by a low-level apothecary.
However, despite his irritation, Lin Chen knew the situation here was different from the game. In the game, he was a grandmaster craftsman and alchemist, respected because he was always in the main city under system protection, untouchable by others. But in this reality, knowing too much about his abilities would bring trouble.
Just as he was about to leave, he saw the lady reigniting the magic flame, ready to try the Calming Potion again. His steps paused, thinking since she did help him, he offered, "The Calming Potion you're concocting, you don't need to use so much Calming Flower, just add a bit more crystal stone powder, and it should work."
"Oh? You know how to make Calming Potion?" The lady, reigniting the magic flame, looked up sharply at Lin Chen.
"Consider it a parting gift..." Seeing her hopeful look, Lin Chen sighed and approached, observing the basketball-sized stove, a mere whiteboard furnace compared to his Qiankun Furnace.
He picked a few petals of Calming Flower and added some crystal stone powder, placing the small stove over a magic lamp to heat it. His skilled movements resembled those of a maestro pianist, turning alchemy into an art form.
"Expert!" The lady's eyes brightened at Lin Chen's smooth, uninterrupted actions.
Lin Chen, a grandmaster alchemist, didn't need a stove to concoct potions, but not wanting to reveal too much, he casually used the rudimentary stove. Within minutes, he cooled the freshly made potion in cold water, producing four or five bottles of pale blue Calming Potion.
"Trace Calming Potion (Perfect Grade), increases MP by 30 points every ten seconds for 60 seconds," Lin Chen noted, underwhelmed by the potion's attributes. If he had tried, even a trace potion could be more potent.
"Such perfect Calming Potion..." The lady, however, was stunned by the quality of the potion, her eyes fixed on the clear, pure potion without a single impurity.
"Even perfect-grade apothecaries might not make such high-quality Calming Potion," she observed, then made a decision, her gaze intent on Lin Chen.
"My name is Xia Lu, would you be my mentor? I wish to become a great apothecary under your guidance!" Her eager gaze made Lin Chen slightly uncomfortable, but her hopeful words lingered in the air.