Second Time

Chapter 14 - Foundations

Shao Yue dropped off Mimi at the courtyard. "Make yourself at home. I still have some things to buy."

Shao Yue returned to the city while Mimi explored the courtyard where she'd be living until she broke her bindings.

They had a lot of space. The center of the square courtyard had a width of about fifty meters. Stone paths broke it into four quadrants and led to the different buildings. Each quadrant had a different aesthetic touch. A pond, some trees, a stone garden.

Mimi familiarized herself with the layout and locations of everything important. She had to admit, it was far nicer than anywhere she could normally hope to stay in her life. She'd be more excited about it if it wasn't for the reason why she had the opportunity.

An hour later, her surprisingly lenient taskmaster returned empty handed. However, Mimi knew that Shao Yue had some sort of ability to hide and retrieve things, so she followed behind with curiosity and suspicion as Shao Yue wandered around the courtyard.

Shao Yue went into the kitchen. When she left, the shelves and cupboards were stocked with ingredients.

"Starting tomorrow, you'll have to cook three times a day," Shao Yue instructed. "If we run out of ingredients, I'll give you money to go buy more."

"Right."

"For tonight, eat these."

Shao Yue pulled a pair of steamed buns out of the air and handed them over. Mimi didn't waste time and bit in immediately, as if scared Shao Yue would take them away. Shao Yue only smiled and pulled out a small bag.

"You can have these, too."

With her hands full, Mimi could only hold one bun in her mouth to accept the bag. She slid it into a fold of her robe to investigate later.

"I don't need sleep, so pick any bed you like and don't disturb me unless necessary."

Mimi was puzzled. "What do you mean, you don't need sleep?"

"If you can cultivate for eight to ten hours, it makes up for it," Shao Yue explained.

"Huh."

They parted ways, with Mimi finding a place to sit and enjoy her food and Shao Yue isolating herself and cultivating.

When Mimi investigated the bag, she found it full of candied lotus seeds. "At least she cares a bit."

The next morning, Grandmaster Zeng came by and spoke with Shao Yue for a while. He left her a thick book of pill recipes as well as a token for both her and Mimi to show their status.

Shao Yue flipped through the book and made a list of all the ingredients for every grade one pill. As in martial arts, the foundation of an alchemist was very important. Without the basics down, everything would crumble. She resolved to refine ten of each grade one pill to start.

While out the previous day, she had checked the prices of herbs and bought a storage bag with an interior space of a cubic meter. She gave Mimi the list, bag, and enough money to pay for all the herbs. She didn't bother following the girl with her divine sense and instead started writing in a book.

Mimi found the closest herb shop and handed over the list. "Could I purchase these herbs?"

The man scanned the list with a look of disgust. Such herbs would barely be worth the effort retrieving them from the storage. He let out a sigh and handed the list over to someone else to go retrieve them before leaning against the counter and resting his head in a hand.

"I also have this token," Mimi said, displaying Grandmaster Zeng's token. "Is there a discount or anything?"

"Hm?" The man languidly turned his eyes to the token before shooting up and standing straight as a spear. "That's Grandmaster Zeng's token!"