Alchemy!

“Stop, stop, stop! Isn’t it just borrowing a place to refine some pills?” Yu Daoyi hurriedly waved his hands.

“Then may I ask why you don’t refine them at your own home? The Yu family estate isn’t exactly small!” Song Qiuling gritted her teeth as she spoke.

“Oh, well, it’s honestly a bit embarrassing… I explained it to my parents and got kicked out~” Yu Daoyi spread his hands helplessly.

He actually dares to say it outright!

“Half a year ago, you used our Song family’s alchemy room to refine Qi Restoration Pills. The furnace exploded, and the room was left in ruins.”

“Four months ago, you tried refining Soul Recovery Pills in our backyard. The furnace exploded, leaving a thirty-foot-wide pit.”

“Three months ago, you attempted Vitality Pills in our guest room. The furnace exploded, and the roof was blown off.”

“Two months ago, you used the newly built alchemy room for Power Accumulation Pills. The furnace exploded, and the new room became ruins again.”

“Half a month ago, you…”

“Stop, stop, stop, you’re making me feel embarrassed now, ha, haha.” Yu Daoyi laughed, a bit sheepish.

“And you still have the nerve to come to my house for alchemy? What’s your angle?”

“Well, you see, I ruined my own place too~” Yu Daoyi shamelessly admitted.

“I honestly have no idea what’s wrong with you. Every single time you refine pills, the furnace explodes. I’m starting to think you do it on purpose.” Song Qiuling gently massaged her furrowed brow with her slender fingers.

“Hm? Qiuling, how could you think that of me? If anyone knows what a decent, upright man I am, it should be you!” With that, he instantly put on a serious face.

“In any case, you’re not borrowing the place. Get lost!”

“Wait, wait, everything can be discussed. Take a look at this first.”

Yu Daoyi produced a black iron shard from his robes and handed it over.

“Ugh, where did you pick up this trash? I’m as disgusted by it as I am by you.”

Yu Daoyi: “...”

Song Qiuling picked up the iron shard by the corner with obvious distaste.

“Speak properly. This isn’t trash,” Yu Daoyi protested, then added, “And neither am I!”

Song Qiuling glanced at it, her eyes full of doubt, as if she wanted to pin Yu Daoyi to the ground—or perhaps to the bed!

Song Qiuling examined it for a moment. “There’s a pill formula inside, but it’s a little strange.”

“It was sealed, you see. Only after much painstaking effort did I manage to break the seal. It nearly broke me! This formula is at least a mid-tier grade one.”

There are nine grades of pills, corresponding to the nine realms of cultivation, with each grade further divided into basic, mid, high, and supreme tiers.

Of course, the reality was that, after being lectured by his father, this blockhead shamelessly begged for help breaking the seal. He’d tried himself, but since he was hopeless, he couldn’t do it. Such are the woes of the inept.

Song Qiuling’s skeptical gaze made Yu Daoyi feel a pang of guilt.

“You’ve studied this formula?” As the subject changed, he felt a little relieved. Indeed, showing off comes with risks—he didn’t want to go flying through the air again.

“It’s quite special. Rather than a pill recipe, it’s more of a one-time explosive pill.”

“Explosive pill?”

“Most formulas are for internal or external use, but this one is designed to detonate, an ingenious weapon.”

“That suits you perfectly,” Song Qiuling said, giving him a meaningful look.

“...Ahem, let’s get back to business. This formula is rare, and I’m itching to try it, Qiuling. Aren’t you interested? I’ve almost got all the ingredients ready. Soon we have to head to the back mountain—there are demon beasts there! Wouldn’t it be nice to have a handy weapon for protection?”

Song Qiuling listened to Yu Daoyi’s rambling, her eyes thoughtful. “Fine, but I want to make a copy of the formula. Don’t worry, I won’t give it to anyone else.”

“Oh, come on, you can just take it and copy it. We’re family, aren’t we?”

Song Qiuling shot him a vicious glare. “Backyard. Prepare yourself. You know my house better than I do, anyway.”

Yu Daoyi grinned and thanked her, darting off to the backyard, leaving Song Qiuling speechless.

The Song family’s backyard was separate from the main estate, covering over ten acres, all paved with expensive blue stone. In the center, there was a new patch of earth, thirty feet across—clearly where the last explosion had been filled in.

Yu Daoyi, all fired up, bustled about with Song Cheng. First, they carried in a furnace, then another, and yet another—soon, the corner of the backyard was piled high with nothing but furnaces.

“Ah, that’s what I call a sense of achievement.” Yu Daoyi nodded with satisfaction. With so many furnaces, surely he could produce some decent pills this time.

Other alchemists only had to worry about materials. But him? He needed loads of furnaces too. Genius truly does come with its own troubles.

“Brother Daoyi, is this really necessary…” Song Cheng, knowing his quirks, still thought it was excessive to bring in nine furnaces. The family alchemy room was now empty!

“Song Cheng, never underestimate your brother Daoyi,” Yu Daoyi declared proudly.

“...”

“You two have emptied the entire alchemy room, haven’t you!” Song Qiuling appeared behind them, her eyes blazing with suppressed fury.

She’d been kind enough to lend them the backyard, already risking another explosion, and yet he had the gall to move every last furnace out here!

“Qiuling, don’t worry. I have plenty of self-awareness. Once these nine furnaces are gone, we’ll have a batch of explosive pills!” Yu Daoyi patted his chest, making a solemn vow.

To hell with your ‘self-awareness.’ Song Qiuling suddenly felt she was too young, that she’d been taken in, agreeing to let him refine pills here…

“These are just minor details, pay them no mind. Come, let’s see how these explosive pills are made.”

With that, Yu Daoyi gazed intently at the black iron shard.

“Yes! Yes, yes! Qiuling, I think I’m ready!” Yu Daoyi nodded shamelessly.

A quarter of an hour later, black smoke billowed from the furnace, a pungent stench filled the air, and a few muffled pops rang out from within.

“Huh? It didn’t explode… Ah, I failed.” Yu Daoyi looked regretful, but didn’t even bother to check inside.

Song Qiuling: “...”

Song Cheng: “...”

By what measure do you judge success?! What were you hoping for?!

And so the entire day passed.

The Song estate knew no peace. Strange odors and black smoke drifted from the backyard, sometimes punctuated by thunderous booms and bursts of flame. The servants, terrified, rushed to inform the master of the house—only to remember he’d told them, on Yu Daoyi’s arrival, that he was ‘not home.’ What else could the poor man do? He couldn’t punish the boy, so he simply chose to look the other way.

The family head knew all too well that this troublemaker never stopped. Since there was some friendship between the Song and Yu families, he couldn’t drive him away and simply told the servants to ignore all backyard matters.

The servants, too, had become numb. With the Yu family’s brat around, nothing was surprising anymore. If he ever blew up the house, they’d just move into the Yu estate and see if he felt any shame.

The Song family’s backyard was a scene of utter devastation. There wasn’t a patch of ground left unscathed—scraps of ruined materials and shattered furnace fragments littered the earth, small fires still smoldered, thick black smoke hung in the air, and the acrid stench was overpowering.

Song Qiuling’s expression was dazed, her face etched with disbelief and a faint crisis of faith. All for a batch of pills—yet in less than a day, eight out of nine furnaces had been annihilated, leaving only a single battered survivor. The rest were blasted to pieces. The ground was a shattered wasteland, pitted with smoking craters.

Song Cheng stared in shock. He knew Brother Daoyi’s every attempt at refinement ended in disaster, but eight explosions in a row? And he was trying to make explosive pills! Some half-finished ones even went off on their own. That kind of carnage he’d only seen in nightmares. Thank goodness the backyard was separate and spacious—ten whole acres. If this had been done in the family’s alchemy room, the Songs would have had to move out entirely. Now these ten acres… well, it was a tragedy beyond words.