Gu Lingzhi wore an embarra.s.sed look as she responded in agreement to everything Gu Rong said.
"Father is right, Lingzhi has let you down."
"It’s okay as long as you know you have done wrong, don’t make the same mistakes in the future," Lin Yue-er interrupted before Gu Rong could let his anger manifest. With a face full of concern, she grabbed Gu Lingzhi"s hand and said softly, "Today, your father and I did not come here to scold you. You have been cultivating for quite a while and we specially came to ask about your progress. We were wondering if you can refine any Spiritual Medicine yet."
Gu Lingzhi was startled for a moment as she broke out into an uncomfortable expression. She stuttered, but no words came out.
Gu Rong immediately thought of what Lin Yue-er had told him the night before and his expression immediately darkened.
"You haven’t been lazing around every afternoon instead of practicing Alchemy, have you?”
Gu Lingzhi shook her head fervently. "No, today is an exception."
"Then why can"t you answer your mother’s question?"
"That"s right, if you were able to cultivate Spiritual Medicine already, why haven"t you brought it out? I heard people from the Medicinal Kitchen say that since you’ve began practicing alchemy, not once have you brought a successful product in exchange for medicinal ingredients. You’ve been getting them for free using Father"s name. Our Gu Clan"s business is big and do not care for these small amounts of medicinal ingredients, but we cannot tolerate you wasting them like this!" Gu Linglong cut in to exclaim.
Lin Yue-er patted Gu Linglong"s arm in approval.
"What your younger sister said is right, if there are things that you don"t understand regarding alchemy, you must go and ask your teachers. It was not cheap hiring the past two teachers, they will naturally pay careful attention to what you do not understand."
Gu Rong remained silent but the disappointment he felt towards Gu Lingzhi was apparent in his eyes.
Gu Linglong continued adding fuel to the flames, "Mother, you’re wrong. Have you forgotten what the two teachers have said? She has zero talent for alchemy and simply has no affinity with it. Even after a few days, she can"t even grasp the most basic techniques. How can such a stupid person like her ever become a Master Alchemist?"
The both of them echoed one another, causing Gu Rong"s face to become blacker.
"Lingzhi, I am so disappointed in you! If you don"t understand anything, can’t you seek help from your teachers? I’ve heard from your teachers that you remain silent when they are teaching you. If you don’t tell them what you understand or do not understand, it makes things very difficult for your teachers. If you behave this way, how are you going to become an Alchemist?”
All these comments made Gu Lingzhi feel wronged, causing her eyes turned red. "Father, I really tried my best to learn. Whenever the teachers teach me, I always did well, and the teachers would always praise me for being clever and learning so quickly."
"Ha!" Gu Linglong could not help but mock her, "If you are really as smart as you claim you are, why haven’t we seen any medicinal pills that you’ve successfully made? Why would the two Master Alchemists tell everyone that you are so stupid that it was impossible to teach you?"
"This…how would I know?" Gu Lingzhi felt extremely wronged, "I don’t know why the two teachers would say that."
"Enough! You should not be blaming your teachers for not making any progress!" Gu Rong cut Gu Lingzhi off mid-sentence and scolded in disapproval, "Not only do you not work hard to improve yourself, but you still dare to fabricate stories and lies to try and deceive us. Lingzhi, I’m truly disappointed in you!"
"Father, I really don"t know why the teachers would say that…" Gu Lingzhi purposely acted lost in panic as she looked as Gu Rong. Suddenly, she turned and rushed into her house.
"Oh, is she too embarra.s.sed to even face us?" Gu Linglong exclaimed coldly.
A smug satisfaction could be seen Lin Yue-er"s eyes, but she did not pretended to reprimand Gu Linglong.
"How can you say that about your big sister? Everyone makes mistakes, your sister only lied because she’s afraid of letting your father down."
Gu Rong huffed, "If she really didn"t want me to be disappointed, she would’ve focused more on practicing Alchemy. Even if she doesn’t have talent in Alchemy, can"t she put in more effort to improve her cultivation instead?"
Finis.h.i.+ng his words, he turned to leave. Lin Yue-er and Gu Linglong exchanged glances as they grabbed onto his arms and spoke softly, trying to appease his anger.
Cui Lian regarded them coldly and actually started to pity them. Looking at how happy they were now, they were truly oblivious to what was in store for them. Cui Lian wondered how they would react upon receiving Gu Lingzhi’s "present". Their reactions would certainly be priceless.
Just as the three people were about to walk out of the garden, Gu Lingzhi came out of the house. In her hands, she held a jade bottle filled with Spiritual Medicine as she shouted to them, "Father, please hold on, I have really been trying my best at alchemy. Inside this bottle is the result of my hard work these past few days!"
All three of them turned.
Looking at the jade bottle in Gu Lingzhi"s hand, Gu Linglong scoffed, "Older sister, you are truly so hardworking. It has been almost half a month and you’ve only made one bottle of Spiritual Medicine. From what I know, in this amount of time, if the medicinal ingredients you used were to be given to any other alchemist, they would have made at least five bottles."
Lin Yue-er turned to Gu Rong and said, "Husband, look, Lingzhi is not stupid after all. Though she has taken more time, at least she has made something."
This time, without waiting for Gu Rong to respond, Gu Lingzhi followed on from Lin Yue-er"s words and lifted her chin, demonstrating a stubborn expression, "Mother, Sister, I don"t know why the two teachers would praise me and say that I am a rare talent in Alchemy in front of me, yet go behind my back and claim that I am someone who is completely useless. These few days, I have definitely been focusing on refining medicine. Today’s nap was also because I exhausted a large portion of my energy cultivating this Spirit Moulding Pill till late last night.”
Spirit Moulding Pill? The three people were instantly stunned.
In a split second, the expressions on their faces had changed.
Gu Rong turned abruptly and took a few huge strides towards Gu Lingzhi. Staring at the medicinal bottle in her hand, "Is there really a Spirit Moulding Pill in this jade bottle?"
"Your daughter would never dare to deceive you, Father," Gu Lingzhi lowered her chin as she replied obstinately. She vividly and thoroughly portrayed the look of someone that was falsely accused by outsiders and not her own family.
"How is this possible?" Gu Linglong sneered and s.n.a.t.c.hed the jade bottle from Gu Lingzhi"s hand, pouring the medicinal pill out.
In that moment, a pill about the size of a thumb giving off a golden glow appeared in front of the group.
At the same time, a waft of Spiritual Energy containing water and earth energy was given off by the medicinal pill.
"This is the Spirit Moulding Pill that is suitable for Martial Artists with dual water and earth Spiritual Roots."
With one look, Gu Rong could tell the function of the medicinal pill and the look that he gave Gu Lingzhi was even more complex.
Gu Linglong pointed at Gu Lingzhi in disbelief, "This is not possible, you couldn’t have made this yourself! This was something you secretly got from Gu Chengze right? How could you have made the Spirit Moulding Pill yourself?"