“Your store is being targeted too?” Alchemist Wang asked, surprised and for some reason, seemingly worried.

“Targeted… I wouldn’t go that far. More like they’re trying to see how well my store does, maybe,” Alex said. “I haven’t had much happening other than that one event many months ago, so maybe they have stopped.”

“I doubt they stopped,” the guild master said. “They may have just temporarily paused it. They had to focus their attention on her shop after all.”

Alex gave those words some thought and nodded. “Then I suppose they will come after me soon,” he said. “I wonder how long they’ll wait.”

The old man gave a weird look at Alex. “You… don’t seem very worried,” he said.

Alex shrugged. “What’s there to be worried about?” he asked. “If they come after me, I’ll just leave. There are plenty of other cities I can visit.”

“You are ready to leave what you’ve built so easily?” the old man asked with a deep frown.

“I haven’t been here for that long. I can just leave and start again somewhere else,” Alex said. “Besides, it’s not like I’m a pacifist. If they want a fight, I’ll give it to them. Only hell will await them if they come after me.”

The old man finally smiled. “At least you have the guts required,” he said. “So? What do you say? You certainly lack alchemists in your shop. Will you hire our Superior Alchemist Wang?” Alex looked toward the woman who looked back at him with an expectant look. “I do have a question. Why don’t you leave the city and go start elsewhere?” he asked. “That is an option for you, correct?”

The woman nodded. “That is an option, but I don’t want to. If possible, I want to stay here. My family is here and I’ve grown up here my whole life. I will leave if there are no alternatives, but that is the last thing I want to do.”

Alex nodded with understanding. He wouldn’t want to leave where he grew up if life didn’t force him to. “And final question, are you not allowed to join the Gale’s True Apothecary store?” he asked.

“No, I just don’t want to,” she said firmly. “I might have lost the duel, but I still have some dignity. I will not go crawling to them to ask them for help. Going there is not even an option for me.”

Alex smiled upon hearing that. He liked the woman’s firmness. “You may start working here,” he said. “Come by tomorrow in the morning and we can talk about the rest of the details.”

“Really?” the woman’s eyes sparkled with hope.

“You aren’t joking, right junior?” the guild master asked.

“Of course, I’m not joking,” Alex said. “Sister Wang is free to work in my store. We might not get enough customers to share between the two of us, but once I leave, you should be the lone alchemist of the shop.”

“No, there are plenty of customers from what I saw tod—” the woman paused mid-word and stopped for a second to process what she had just heard.

“You’re leaving this place?” the old man asked, after having paused for a quick second to make sure he heard Alex right.

Alex looked at the two and understood their surprise. “I’m going to take the Blue Silk sect’s entrance exam in a year or two, and if I pass, I won’t have to keep working here,” he said. The two alchemists were quite surprised to hear Alex’s proclamation. “You wish to enter the Blue Silk sect? Are you that certain that you can?” he asked, looking Alex over once again to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

“Blue Silk sect is quite difficult to join, you know,” the woman said. “They only take the best of the best. Every alchemist that joins there has incredible potential, and easily becomes a Supreme Alchemist within a very short time.”

“So one can join before becoming a Supreme Alchemist?” Alex asked. “I had been worried on that front. Glad to hear I don’t have to be so concerned about that.”

The old man blinked in surprise. “You were vying for the Supreme Immortal rank?” he asked.

Alex shrugged. “Whatever helps me get into the sect,” he said. “I really need to get into it.”

The old man nodded. “May I ask why?” he asked.

Alex gave an awkward smile. “Reasons.”

The old man pushed for no further response. Every cultivator had their own secrets, their own lives. There was no point in trying to learn more from others, even if they may be juniors.

The old man left Alex and the others, leaving the female alchemist to talk things through before they began working.

Alex asked the woman a few more questions, mostly about what sort of pills she could make and what sort of work she did in her own store.

It turned out that she mostly did commission work where people would come to her to make pills. She had been in this city long enough that she had a loyal following from where she heard.

She did not have much knowledge about poisons and wounds beyond what a regular alchemist was forced to learn, so Alex was still going to be the only physician in the shop.

Wang Yanwei was just happy to finally get back to work. She needed funds to continue training or learn how to make different pills. With this, she could continue her alchemy journey without coming under any issue.

Starting the next, she began working in the shop.

She had used some of her influence to let people know where she had begun working, so that very day, there had been an influx of people coming to ask her to work on their pills.

The amount of people wasn’t anything massive, but to Alex’s store, it was certainly quite a lot more than he was used to.

Wang Yanwei was more than happy to work on all of their pills. It would take her a day’s time to make all those pills, but that was to be expected. People were confident in her work too.

While she had failed the duel a week ago, she had shown that she was capable of making a pill with 88% harmony. While that had been using ingredients that she had no doubt improved using the Silkstone Alchemy Store’s secret formations, that was still an impressive record to reach as a Superior Alchemist.

Many believed that she could even be a Supreme Alchemist in a few decades if she tried her best. However, they didn’t exactly know what the requirements of becoming one were. It was all so secretive.

With her arrival, Whisker also had to work less and less, and Alex was happy that he was no longer breaking any laws. He still had Whisker make True pills when they were back at home, but while they were in the shop, either he or Wang Yanwei could easily make a few within a few minutes.

Fang Yuxie had no problem with Wang Yanwei working in the store, so she was more than welcome.

Together, the three of them worked to improve the status and reputation of Dawn’s Apothecary Store.