I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Luan Jingfu

Duan Rong unfastened his badge and handed it to the old man.

The old man took it, examined it carefully under the dim evening light, looked up at Duan Rong, and asked, ”Are you an Apprentice Escort Master?”

Duan Rong nodded.

The old man returned the badge to Duan Rong, chuckled, and said, ”An Apprentice Escort Master coming to brew potions; you seem to be the first one!”

”One piece of silver.”

Duan Rong took out one piece of broken silver and handed it to the old man.

The old man accepted it and handed Duan Rong a key with a boiler number on it.

Duan Rong took the key; the old man covered himself with a quilt and lay back down.

Duan Rong glanced at the greasy, dirty quilt and shook his head slightly.

This old man was no ordinary person.

Ordinary people couldn’t enter the middle courtyard to guard the medicine furnace room.

He was the father of Luan Jingfu, the current Chief Leader of Yuan Shun Escort Agency.

”To let his own father live like this. This Luan Jingfu, he must be somewhat unfilial!”

Duan Rong muttered to himself, took the key, picked up the medicine package, and entered the medicine furnace room.

Once inside, Duan Rong stood at the entrance, slightly stunned.

To his surprise, there were already two people in the medicine furnace room, seemingly waiting for their potion to be done.

The two were dressed in uniform trimmed brocade, yet distinct from what Zhao Mu and other Escort Masters wore.

Duan Rong’s mind raced, realizing these were the clothes of a Leader! This was Duan Rong’s first sight of a Leader!

Luan Jingfu, the Chief Leader of Yuan Shun Escort Agency, oversaw escorts and commanded six teams.

Each team had a Leader, commanding several Escort Masters and Porters.

Although Duan Rong guessed their identity by their clothes, he didn’t know them personally.

What made Duan Rong more embarrassed was that these two were whispering to each other when he suddenly entered.

As Duan Rong stood at the door, the two immediately noticed him.

The long-faced one scrutinized Duan Rong, noticing his brown short dress and a potion in his hand, then glared and asked, ”Which courtyard are you from?”

”I am an Apprentice Escort Master from the middle courtyard,” Duan Rong promptly replied honestly.

The long-faced one was slightly stunned, originally thinking it was someone sent from the inner courtyard to brew a potion, not expecting an apprentice, and sharply demanded, ”Let me see your badge!”

Duan Rong handed over his badge; the man glanced at it, returned it, and said with a sinister tone, ”No empty furnaces, leave.”

Duan Rong glanced at the wall, clearly noticing several empty furnaces, but said nothing, took back his badge and left.

Behind him, the long-faced Leader remarked, ”Since when did even Apprentice Escort Masters start brewing potions?”

Outside, Duan Rong woke the old man again, saying, ”They said there were no empty furnaces inside.”

The old man seemed unsurprised, casually gave Duan Rong back a piece of broken silver, and said, ”Give me the key, come again tomorrow morning.”

Duan Rong took the silver, somewhat frustrated, and returned to his dormitory.

There was no alternative; he was just an apprentice, not even considered an intern in this Escort Agency’s hierarchy; anyone could give him a hard time, and he could only endure it.

The world is the same everywhere, survival is no easy task!

Duan Rong washed himself with well water, lay on his bed, intending to read a magazine before sleeping.

However, these days, he had been staying up all night, exhausted; after only a few lines, his eyelids became heavy as if filled with lead.

Duan Rong closed his eyes and fell asleep, lying down.

He slept deeply, without dreams, throughout the night.

When Duan Rong awoke, the oil lamp had already extinguished; he jumped out of bed, put on his clothes, opened the door, and looked out at the setting crescent moon.

Estimating the time, Duan Rong grabbed the medicine package from the bedside, locked the door, and headed to the medicine furnace room.

The medicine furnace room was open twenty-four hours a day.

The crescent moon hung dimly, surrounded by faint stars flickering like small eyes.

The entire Yuan Shun Escort Agency was silent; lanterns hung under the eaves, illuminating the path, as Duan Rong hurriedly returned to the medicine furnace room.

Waking the old man again, he handed over the silver, took the key, and entered the medicine furnace room.

The room was empty, except for a large lantern on the wall, casting a tranquil yellow glow.

There were six medicine furnaces in total, arranged along three walls within the room.

On the eastern wall, high-quality charcoal and mountain spring water were placed.

Duan Rong chose a furnace closest to the mountain spring water.

The furnace was made of pure copper, supported by a coarse iron frame, suspended over a large charcoal basin.

The furnace’s opening had a specialized spring lock, which could be locked with a twist and required a matching key to open.

Once the furnace’s opening was locked, only three pinhole-sized vents remained for the steam to escape.

This was for high-pressure and high-temperature brewing, fully extracting and activating the medicinal potency.

Duan Rong used the key to open the spring on the furnace’s opening, twisting it in reverse before removing it.

Duan Rong examined the spring and found it quite intricate.

It seemed there were many skilled craftsmen in this world; such a copper furnace probably wasn’t cheap, collecting only one piece of silver from them could be seen as a benefit from the Escort Agency.

Duan Rong then studied the internal structure of the copper furnace.

The core was a three-tiered bamboo rack with a filter mesh, designed for placing herbs.

The lead herb went on top, the main herb on the bottom, and supplementary herbs in the middle.

Moreover, the copper furnace had an outer copper layer, but inside it was lined with a gray-white clay.

Duan Rong opened his package, carefully placing each herb, then set the three-tier rack back into the copper furnace.

He fetched several ladles of mountain spring water, filling the furnace to ninety percent, replaced the lid, and fastened the spring.

Upon completing these tasks, Duan Rong gathered some thin sticks from the woodpile, placed them in the charcoal basin, then lit a bundle of dry grass from the lantern, adding it to the basin to ignite the sticks.

Then, Duan Rong gradually added thicker pieces of charcoal to the basin.

Soon, a fierce flame blazed in the charcoal basin, causing Duan Rong’s cheeks to sting!

Seeing the fire burn vigorously, Duan Rong stopped adding fuel.

The concoction needed to simmer for an hour, so he waited.

With time on his hands and being alone in the medicine furnace room, Duan Rong put two Blood Deer Antler slices in his mouth and began practicing his stance!

The copper furnace conducted heat well, and within about fifteen minutes, it started boiling, with steam spurting from needle-like holes, making peculiar sounds.

While practicing, Duan Rong periodically added a few thick sticks to the charcoal basin!

An hour quickly passed.

By now, steam no longer ejected from the needle-like vents of the copper furnace!

Though the charcoal basin underneath the copper furnace was filled with glowing coals, no flames were rising.

The entire medicine furnace room was filled with strange medicinal aromas!

Standing in stance, Duan Rong didn’t know why, but the medicinal scent made his heart race uncontrollably.

After an hour of practice, the two Blood Deer Antler slices in Duan Rong’s mouth had long dissolved.

Duan Rong exhaled deeply and immediately relaxed his stance.

For the past few days, he stood in stance only for an hour a day, yet the sensation of physical depletion grew stronger.

Duan Rong opened his eyes, looked at the copper furnace with the red glow reflecting off it, and with excitement said, ”The potion is finally ready!”