Chương 8: Red Haired Woman

Zhihao found himself bewildered as a red-haired woman, devoid of manners, strolled unannounced into his abode. Her attire betrayed no hint of rain, leaving him perplexed.

"Who... are you?" Zhihao stammered, prompting the woman to face him, mirroring his own confusion.

"What?" Her laughter echoed, baffled by the host's reaction. "Oh, dear! Have those concoctions robbed you of some memories?"

"Well, I might be too hard for teaching you," she brought some ingredients on the table, went to her room to take off her tunic, and revealed her white knee-length chemise. "But that is needed to make you a true alchemist."

Zhihao was still frozen in the spot, watching the woman who returned to the living room, carrying the ingredients that seemed to contain a lot of fungi and flowers to the kitchen.

"You... Meisha?" in that brief remembrance, Zhihao did not remember the faces that appeared in his head, making him still in doubt.

Halted, the red-haired woman turned her head, "You serious aren't you?" She then stepped closer to Zhihao and secrutinized his emerald sharp eyes. "Ah, you seemed fine enough."

Not satisfied with that, she even opened the man's eyes, pulling his face closer to take a look. "You are not sick either."

Zhihao was stunned by her face, despite her age might be in her thirties, she still looked attractive with those two brown eyes, twinkling to reflect the lantern's light. It was then that he realized that she indeed was the same Meisha as he saw in his mind.

"Fooling me won't work, you know?" Her hand traced his cheeks, a broad smile gracing her face.

Returning the expression, Zhihao spoke, "Apologize, sister, for a moment, I forgot I wasn't alone in this house." He awkwardly brushed his hair aside.

"Wait a minute, has alchemy made you lose yourself?" She teased then moved on. "We don't even dive to the bottom of the ocean, you know!" she laughed once more, heading to the kitchen.

"I hope you're not exhausted tonight," she remarked, laying out all the ingredients and igniting the black cauldron.

Zhihao, oblivious to Meisha's intentions, approached. "Why? Is there a specific task at hand?"

"Yeah, from Jinsao School," she informed as she reached a knife. "We have twenty orders of Relaxia Potion."

The black-haired man who was now next to her also helped. "Seems not too much."

"You truly lost your memory, aren't you?" she began to cut off the strange flower. "Did you forget much that this brew takes some meticulous attention to make?"

"This one I can't teach you yet," Meisha handed the fungi to Zhihao. "Because I haven't mastered it myself. So expect some failures."

"Cut that mushroom and mashed it in mortal but don't be too soft, leave the texture," she added, seemingly taking a tonic from the cabinet and pouring it into the cauldron. "Even as an adept alchemist, this elixir is difficult to craft. That is why the school looks to us for aid."

Zhihao realized that there were levels in his alchemist profession, he quickly checked the personal data information.

[Data Information:

Name: Lin Zhihao

Race: Human

Profession: Alchemist (Novice)

Profession EXP: 20% to Apprentice

Age: 17

Cultivation: Not Cultivate (10% to Chi Gathering)

Dantian: 100

Chi Regeneration: 10%

STR: 5

DEX: 5

END: 5

INT: 20

WIS: 20

CHA: 10

More Details]

Zhihao, curious about his progress, sought to determine the extent of his acquired skills.

[More Details:

Skills: Experimental Consumer (1/3), Potion Brewer (1/3), Power Link (1/3), Nimble Hand (1/3), Pureness (1/3).]

Startled from his daydream, Zhihao felt a tap on his shoulder from Meisha. "What are you doing? Are the mushrooms ready?"

"Ah, here, just in time," Zhihao chuckled, hoping to avoid Meisha's frustration and not slow her down. "So, what level is this elixir exactly?"

"Should be A-tier judging from its benefits," she mixed the mushrooms into the heated cauldron. "Crucial for the Jinsao school, of course."

"What are their benefits?" Zhihao inquired, not remaining idle as there were still numerous ingredients to soften.

"To induce muscle relaxation, eliminate tension without compromising its maximum strength," she explained, wielding a large wooden spoon to commence stirring the concoction. "Crucial for the disciples of internal martial arts. This brew is indispensable for them."

Zhihao nodded, started to lift the veil of ignorance on the training method. "Why is it called internal martial arts? Is it any different from normal martial arts?"

Meisha did not answer, still focused on her activities. Even so, she thought of the right answer, "Well, if common martial arts is about action strength, internal is more about reaction."

The man frowned, this was the first time he had encountered martial arts that focused on such matters. "Does that count as self-defense?"

"Yes, indeed," she was now right next to him, chopping the needed herbs. "What is it? You seem to be interested in that."

Zhihao smiled. "Of course, I've never known that kind of thing before! All I know is the normal one."

The red-haired woman chuckled. "Well, your mind might be troubled because you've been to that school and seen them train," she uttered. "You were only twelve years old, I remember that time you said that their method was boring and whined about going back."

Meisha then turned to Zhihao. "And now you're interested in it," with a friendly and cheerful face, she added. "You sure changed so much and reached this high."

Out of nowhere, Mikael felt a rush of emotion, a sense of family. Despite returning to life, reuniting with his children and grandchildren seemed impossible, the ties severed forever. Yet now, a chance emerged to rebuild that sensation.

Meisha's words held no jest; they indeed labored on the concoctions until the sun neared the eastern horizon. Zhihao's appearance was disheveled, exhaustion evident with reddened eyes and bags adorning his face.

"Twenty potions, and it took an absurdly long time!" Zhihao complained, weariness apparent. If he closed his eyes for even a moment, the dream world seemed ready to engulf him.

Despite the ordinary look, weariness didn't dim Meisha's spirited demeanor. Laughing, she teased her disciple, "Thanks for that. Normally, I could have done it alone when you were a kid."

She consolidated the fruits of their efforts into a special cardboard bag for delivering the concoction. "Done! Now, let's move out!" She headed back to the room to change her clothes.

Zhihao, who was almost asleep on the sofa, was startled to hear this. "What? We off now?"

The woman who was still at the lip of the door then turned around, putting on a wide smile that showed her teeth. "Yup! Aren't you curious about internal martial arts yourself?"

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