“Ummm… like how I’m a noble? Or maybe like how there is the emperor?” She responded, and seeing how her reaction was genuine, I couldn’t help but likely chuckle. “What’s wrong? Did I do something funny?”

“No, no, no,” I laughed, shaking my head side to side before narrowly catching my breath. “Shit… there is so much more to learn about this world.”

The woman stared at me yet again, but this time her eyes scanned me from top to bottom.

“What? Do you know magic or something? Do you know an ancient technique that is better than mine?”

“No, of course not. You’re the master at medicine,” I smiled back, and as the woman scoffed ever so slightly, I shifted my eyes over to the vial of purple and black medicine.

My eyes were practically glued to it, its mystical properties latching onto my pupils and holding me there. Staring at it. Unable to look away. I tried. But I couldn’t.

A drop of sweat ran down my cheek, and as I felt my foot tap the ground rapidly, Wu soon noticed and covered my eyes, allowing me to snap my head away from that mystical concoction that was trying to control me.

“Ugh… what was that?” I muttered, rubbing my eyes and then shielding my vision from such a thing.

“That’s the potion. This one right here, honestly is a bit more powerful than normal due to the amount of aura hidden within that crystal. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Here, drink up,” She smiled, and I visibly shivered as she swung the vial around and hung it in front of my face.

I looked away from it but heard its bubbling and crackling within the glass container. It was nauseatingly powerful, to the point where I had to suppress a gag at just the thought of consuming such a thing.

“What? Are you not gonna drink it?”

“Of course not! That’s gonna kill me if I consume it!” I shouted, pushing her hand away and sitting down on a nearby stool, mentally reinforcing myself as I saw the woman tip the concoction towards her lips and pour.

It slid effortlessly through her soft red lips and then into her mouth, where she seemingly began to gulp it down with very exaggerated movements.

And as she finished the concoction, she smiled and walked over to me, holding my face and then placing her lips against mine.

But I could already tell what she was going to do as once her tongue slipped into my mouth, I pulled back and watched the liquid fall from in between her teeth and gums.

“Kekekekeke… you’re so adorable…” She chuckled, spitting out the rest of the concoction on the floor.

“So, do you want to kill me or something?” I questioned the woman as she chucked the glass vial on the floor, creating an ear-shattering sound that was enhanced by something. “What the hell….”

As I adjusted my ears, the woman pulled out another free stool and sat it right in front of me, her eyes staring into mine.

“There are rules to alchemy that you must learn. One, you must follow your instincts. Always follow your instincts otherwise, you might end up regretting it later… just like what you did here,”

“I didn’t swallow it because I saw you fake swallowing it. Relying on your instincts is stupid when you’re in such a controlled situation.”

The woman smirked before continuing. “Second, never trust another alchemist. Don’t even trust me, your teacher, because we alchemists can be very selfish. We may label ourselves as creators of medicine, but in reality, we create more poison than anything else. We are used and trained for chemical warfare.”

My ears perked upon hearing such sweet and tingling words slide into my brain, and my choice of accepting this side quest only got more manageable the further I delved into this extraordinary art form.

𝑜𝒱𝓁𝒩xt.𝗰𝗈𝑚

“And then the third rule. Never create something you cannot control. If you cannot control your own poison, then you are a horrible alchemist. Entire empires have fallen in the past because of my family, who have made stupid mistakes… yet we are so irreplaceable to the royals that we are still here in such noble positions.”

Creeeeeeeek

The wooden door to this lab that had been set up slowly opened, and a man so tall he had to duck down walked into the room.

The two almost feathery golden strands of hair in front of his face fluttered ever so slightly as a breeze swept into this surprisingly musty room.

“Okay, and that is the lesson for today!” Han exclaimed, clapping her hands together and turning towards the flying general who was standing in the doorway like a dad waiting to pick up his child.

“Seems you two had some fun,” He muttered, but before I could walk over to him, Han’s lips folded onto mine.

She soon pulled back and seductively licked her lips, her eyes shifting over to Lu Bu, who was as expressionless as usual.

“You two are so similar it’s almost creepy….” She chuckled and waved me goodbye as I left the lab with the towering man.

We didn’t really talk as we walked through the dirt street and even as we left the town and walked towards the hill we normally trained at. It was silent yet peaceful.

As we scaled the mountain, I looked over at him, and he just focused on climbing up, reaching the top before me, and stretching out a hand for me to grab.

“Thanks,” I muttered, taking it and getting pulled to the very top of the hill, seeing the sun slowly set from its noon position. “Today’s a long day….”

“Okay, let’s take a break for now. Meditation is important when mastering the art of any weapon. You must be calm and not wildly swing at your opponent. So, for now, every day for thirty minutes, we will meditate. It’s not for long, but just enough to clear your mind of all unnecessary thoughts.”

Clearly, he was talking about Han.