At this point in the conversation, Jiang Chen knew the old man was completely hooked.
Qiao Baishi was quietly amused off to the side. He too understood that they had managed to extricate themselves. With his master's silver tongue, it would be strange if the old man *hadn't* been bamboozled.
"A coincidence? It's simply fate, so of course it's a coincidence."
"Fate..." Elder Fei murmured with a sigh, his gaze somewhat distant. "The Wash Dust Plain Heart Pill — I've heard the name before. But in the Tiangui Kingdom, no one knows its formula. Supposedly, the cost is indeed far lower than the Ming King Clear Heart Pill. The raw materials are easy to find, and the refinement process is simpler as well."
Suddenly, Elder Fei's eyes flickered, as if he had made up his mind about something.
"Kid, I'll trust you once. The matter of trespassing in Qingyang Valley — I'll let it slide. However, you need to introduce me to that mysterious expert."
Jiang Chen deliberately feigned difficulty. "I can't agree to that so rashly. Besides, what good would seeing him do? He hasn't concerned himself with worldly affairs for ages. If you want to ask him for help, I'd say it's very difficult."
The old man chuckled. "It's difficult for me to ask him. But what if *you* asked?"
"I... why would I ask?" Jiang Chen played dumb.
"Uh... well!" The old man laughed awkwardly. Indeed — why would the other party bother? This matter had nothing to do with him.
Rubbing his hands together nonstop, the old man offered a careful, ingratiating smile. "Tell you what, young brother — name your conditions, and I'll go ask you to put in a good word for me."
Jiang Chen put on a dark expression. "I won't ask. You just terrified me — twenty years as a medicine servant, how impressive!"
"Heh heh, don't be angry, don't be angry." The old man sidled up to Jiang Chen with an obsequious grin, patting him gently on the shoulder. "Come on, let old man here give you a back rub. What twenty years as a medicine servant? I think you misheard. What I said was — whoever can solve my Ming King Clear Heart Pill problem, *that's* who I'll serve as a medicine servant for twenty years!"
Jiang Chen was secretly amused. Looking at this old man acting like a lovable eccentric, he could hardly keep from laughing. The old man's temperament was peculiar and somewhat cantankerous, but he wasn't a bad person at heart.
If it had been someone from Qianlan Northern Palace, they certainly would have used threats of life and death to coerce Jiang Chen into submission, stopping at nothing.
But this old man was an alchemist who seemed to disdain underhanded methods entirely, maintaining a certain aloofness of his own.
A person like that, even with some eccentric quirks, was fundamentally not a bad person.
"I misheard?" Jiang Chen said deliberately.
"A hundred percent misheard." The old man nodded very seriously.
"So that means I can leave? I can go to the Royal Capital?"
"Of course you can! Why couldn't you?" The old man looked utterly bewildered, as if the question Jiang Chen had just asked was completely absurd.
One had to admit, this old man's personality really did resemble that of an old child. He could play dumb, act adorable, and throw tantrums all in the same breath.
Jiang Chen had teased him enough. He smiled and said, "Elder Fei, is it? How about this — in a little while, come find me in the Royal Capital."
"Truly?" Elder Fei's eyes blazed with excitement.
"Do I look like a liar?"
"Not at all, not at all." The old man shook his head like a rattle drum. "The moment old man here laid eyes on you, I could tell — you're handsome as a jade tree in the wind, extraordinary in bearing, a dragon among men, an immortal descended to the mortal realm... I couldn't help but feel drawn to you. I almost wanted to slaughter a chicken and burn yellow paper right then and there, to swear brotherhood as sworn kin!"
Flattery rolled off his tongue like a tidal wave, his eloquence so practiced it could not possibly have been more refined.
Jiang Chen realized this old man, just like himself, was completely without shame.
The old man saw them all the way to the main road, waving his hand like he was seeing off a loved one. "Take care on the road! If anything happens, just drop old man's name!"
The words were delivered with as much warmth and care as one could possibly muster.
Except for Jiang Chen, Gouyu, Jiang Feng, and the others all felt as though they were dreaming. They had thought a twenty-year stint as a medicine servant was unavoidable.
They never expected that a few words of bluster from Jiang Chen would leave the old man thoroughly bamboozled — so much so that he turned around and bid them farewell like family.
"Chen'er, you..." Jiang Feng wanted to say something.
"Father, let's go. This old man — he's going to be one of our people from now on." Jiang Chen chuckled. He had dug a pit, and the old man had jumped into it happily of his own accord.
Twenty years as a medicine servant. Jiang Chen smiled. Having an old man like this as his personal medicine servant would certainly be quite an interesting affair.
...
Inside Qingyang Valley, the two medicine boys Da Dan and Er Dan stood slack-jawed, their faces full of bewilderment, mouths agape wide enough to stuff in a large chicken leg.
"Elder Fei, that kid — it looked like he was just spouting nonsense. And you just let them go?" Da Dan found it inconceivable.
"Exactly. I'd say that kid was no good, eighty percent sure of it." Er Dan was equally baffled.
"Heh heh." Elder Fei let out a crafty chuckle, settling back into his chair with the serene composure of someone who had seen it all. "What do you two know? I've lived for several hundred years — what kind of person haven't I seen? That kid plays it real when it's real, plays it fake when it's fake — he's my kind of person. Knows when to play dumb, knows when to play the grandson, and when it's time to play the big shot, he doesn't hold back either."
"He's your kind of person?" Da Dan and Er Dan were even more confused.
"Mm, my kind of person." The old man closed his eyes in blissful satisfaction, humming a little tune under his breath. All that playing dumb and acting cute earlier — it had actually been a test all along.