The old beggar had no idea what Evan Yang was thinking. He simply pointed to a nearby alley and walked over, where he discovered a hidden, rundown temple. "Does no one take care of this place?" Evan asked curiously.
"Some important people died here in the past. People say poisonous creatures were left behind, so no one dares enter after hearing that. Only an old man like me comes here to hide." The old beggar laughed as he walked inside.
"Poisonous creatures?" Evan asked, surprised and suspicious.
"Are you scared, young man?" The old beggar turned to ask when he saw Evan's expression.
"You've lived here for so long without trouble, so why should I be afraid as a young man?" Evan smiled, regaining his composure.
"You really are quite brave." The old beggar found a stone slab in the temple, sat down, and said.
Evan grinned, "I've always been brave by nature." After all, his harsh life had made him fearless.
"I'm curious, why would you care about an old beggar like me?" The beggar's eyes suddenly turned sharp as he asked.
Seeing the old beggar had noticed his intentions, Evan smiled and said, "Old man, do you happen to have any precious medicinal herbs or cultivation pills on you?"
The old beggar stared at Evan in surprise, his eyes full of curiosity. "Young man, how did you figure that out?"
"I'm just sensitive to herbs and cultivation pills, so it's easy for me to sense what you're carrying, old man." Evan had no intention of telling anyone that it was actually the seed in his body causing this.
But to the old beggar, Evan's words were thrilling news. He burst out laughing, "Wonderful, wonderful!"
"Old man, what's wrong?" Evan asked, feeling uneasy at the beggar's sudden wild laughter.
The old beggar gradually stopped laughing, showing a faint smile. "At last, I've had the fortune to meet someone born with the Medicine God Body."
"Medicine God Body?" Evan was confused. What kind of constitution was that?
"A constitution that's naturally sensitive to medicinal herbs and cultivation pills is called the Medicine God Body by Pill Sect people. On the Eastern Continent, there are probably less than three people with it, and across all lands, maybe not more than ten." The old beggar explained proudly to Evan as he spoke.
"Old man, what advantages does the Medicine God Body have over ordinary people?" Evan knew he wasn't really born with it—it was just the seed in his body.
"With the Medicine God Body, you can become an alchemist. Whether it's picking herbs or refining pills, everything comes easier than for ordinary people." The old beggar's hand tendons couldn't move, but he still managed to sway his arms comfortably as he spoke.
"So the Medicine God Body really is precious," Evan exclaimed.
"Young man, do you want to become an alchemist?" The old beggar suddenly stopped swaying his arms and asked Evan.
"Why are you spacing out?" The old beggar grew a bit angry seeing Evan staring blankly at him.
"He really has quite a temper," Evan thought, but he smiled and said, "Alright, I’m willing to take you as my master."
"Good! Here’s a scripture. Study it well." The old beggar was so excited when Evan agreed that a wooden block flew from his waist and landed in Evan’s hand.
Evan was shocked to see the old beggar, missing his hands, still able to display such skill. He was glad he hadn’t offended him earlier—just that one move could probably have killed him.
"Now that I’ve passed the scripture on to you, you should still call me 'old man' when you see me, not 'Master' or anything like that." The beggar was as happy as if he’d accomplished something major in life.
"Why?" Evan asked, puzzled.
"No reason. It’s for your own good. If people find out, you can forget about being an alchemist—you’ll be chased everywhere." The old beggar laughed.
"Did you steal this scripture? Is your identity so notorious?" Evan wondered to himself, curious.
Seeing Evan spacing out again, the old beggar laughed, "From today on, you’re my disciple. Outside, just call me what you did before—don’t call me 'Master' or tell anyone who your teacher is. As for everything else, handle it yourself. Cultivate however you want."
"That’s it?" Evan thought the old beggar was truly eccentric.
The old beggar didn’t care, flashing a smile that gave Evan goosebumps. But what happened next was terrifying—the beggar vanished right before Evan’s eyes without a trace.
"Did I just see a ghost?" Evan exclaimed, flipping over the stone slabs to make sure nothing was hidden.
Looking at the scripture in his hand, Evan put it away, planning to study it somewhere quiet and deserted.
Before leaving, Evan glanced curiously at the temple, thinking about what just happened. He was even more puzzled about the old beggar’s identity. "With that kind of power, why was he thrown out earlier?"
After pondering for a while without figuring anything out, Evan slipped away from the temple and quickly left the city. Out in the wilderness, he found a deserted spot to study the scripture.
"Could this scripture have been given to the old beggar by someone else?" Evan wondered, then began reading carefully.
The path of alchemy really was profound. Just studying the scripture took Evan several days, but he lacked materials to actually practice. Helpless, he sighed, "Alchemy really is harder than cultivation. Even getting practice materials is tough, and refining supreme-grade pills is even harder."
After getting up, Evan looked around, thought for a moment, and decided to search for herbs—both to help the seed evolve and to get some hands-on practice.
Once he'd made up his mind, Evan went to a lakeside and started disguising himself. To avoid attracting attention, he deliberately made himself look like a beggar.
Looking at his handiwork, Evan chuckled, "A beggar shouldn’t attract much attention, right?"
Feeling good about his disguise, Evan suppressed his aura and headed back toward White Slope City.
But just as he left the forest and stepped onto the main road, he encountered a group of travelers. One steward at the front called out, "Hey, little beggar, come here."
"Little beggar? Me?" It was the first time Evan had been called that, and it felt strange. Still, to avoid suspicion, he hurried over and asked, "Sir, what can I do for you?"
"I want to ask, is there a city up ahead?" The steward pointed toward White Slope City.
Evan checked the direction and nodded, "Yeah."
"Here, this is your reward." The steward tossed a few gold coins to Evan, who awkwardly caught them with both hands. He watched as the group passed by, noticing a sedan chair in the middle. "Is someone important inside?" Evan wondered.
Beside the sedan chair stood a maid, chattering to the person inside.
Just as the group was about to leave, a woman's voice came from the sedan chair: "Stop!"
Everyone stopped, puzzled. The steward hurried over to the sedan chair and respectfully asked, "Miss, what's wrong?"
"Bring that beggar here!" the woman ordered, her tone commanding.
The steward was curious why the lady cared so much about the little beggar, and even the maid standing nearby asked, "Miss?"
"Just bring him over," the woman inside said impatiently.
Standing in front of the sedan chair, the steward reluctantly approached Evan, who was watching them curiously. "Little beggar, my lady wants to see you."
"Oh," Evan replied curiously, then followed the steward to the front of the sedan chair. He glanced at it; a gauze curtain blocked his view, so he couldn’t see what the woman inside looked like.
Everyone wondered why their lady wanted to meet this little beggar.
Instead, the young lady inside the sedan glanced at Evan and let out a soft laugh. "He’s the one."
"Him?" Everyone was shocked. Evan saw their expressions and felt something was off.
"Miss, you can’t possibly mean that," the maid protested, alarmed by her lady’s words.
"Who says I can’t? I want those hateful people to see—I’d rather choose a beggar than that person!" the girl inside said defiantly.
"Is she some noblewoman who’s gone crazy from boredom?" Evan wondered, thinking about his current disguise. He couldn’t tell if he should feel lucky or just pathetic—now even beggars were being chosen for something.
"Why are you all just standing there? Do I have to say it twice?" the young lady snapped from inside.
The steward wanted to object but didn’t dare. Fearing trouble, he reluctantly called several guards over to surround Evan, leaving him no way to escape. Evan was so annoyed he wanted to smack them, but seeing the guards' powerful presence—stronger than his own—and counting seven or eight of them, he realized escape was impossible. In the end, Evan said helplessly, "Miss, I’m just a beggar. Please don’t make things difficult for me."
"It’s exactly because you’re a beggar that you’ll follow me. If you behave, I’ll give you plenty of gold so you won’t have to be a beggar anymore." The lady smiled, then took out a small green pill and handed it to her maid.
The maid glanced at the pill, then stepped forward and tossed it right into Evan’s mouth as he was about to speak.