The sky was still dark when Mu Lin returned to his apartment. The three girls were still waiting for him in the room without sleep, and seeing him come back, they all involuntarily let out a sigh of relief. Seeing this, Mu Lin felt a tinge of pity and silently embraced the girls. Instinctively, the girls tightened their arms around Mu Lin and held on tightly for a long time.
The next day, after a brief period of dual cultivation, Mu Lin was once again full of energy and appeared at the dining table. After Mu Lin explained things to them, the girls finally let go of their burdens and looked radiant. The two young female officers also arrived early at the table, clearly having packed their belongings and moved into the villa.
After breakfast, Mu Lin returned to his clinic’s office to continue treating patients. The fund transfers were arranged by Fenny and the others from their Swiss bank account. Mu Lin had already handed over his personal account to Fenny and the others for management. After that, the girls each went off to do their own things. The two young female officers officially took on the reception work at the clinic today, and after seeing to the day’s patients, they returned to their office.
A gang on Chinatown had been wiped out overnight, causing a huge uproar in the underground world of New York and throwing the entire underworld into a panic. These people who lived by the blade were used to violence and bloodshed every day and wouldn’t normally fear the destruction of a gang. The real reason for their fear was that Mu Lin had used a few idiots and a group of powerless individuals to scare them. Once they lost the strength they relied on to survive, they would become worse than dogs in this world of blood and force. If they ended up like those idiots, they might as well commit suicide sooner rather than later.
Before dawn, Mu Lin had already returned to his apartment. Inside the room, three girls were still waiting sleeplessly for him, and they collectively sighed in relief upon seeing him return. Witnessing this scene, Mu Lin felt a pang of pity and silently embraced the girls. Instinctively, they clung tightly to his body, unwilling to let go for a long time.
The next day, after a brief session of dual cultivation, Mu Lin reappeared at the dining table, full of energy. After his explanation, the girls also set aside their worries, now radiant with renewed vitality. The two young policewomen had arrived early at the table, clearly having settled their belongings and moved into the villa.
After breakfast, Mu Lin returned to his clinic office to continue treating patients. The matter of transferring funds was left to Fanny and the others, who managed the Swiss bank account. Mu Lin had already entrusted his private account to their care. Afterwards, the girls went about their own business. The two young policewomen officially took on the clinic’s reception duties today. Once they finished attending to the day’s patients, they returned to their office.
A gang in Chinatown had been wiped out overnight, sending shockwaves through New York’s underworld and leaving everyone on edge. These hardened criminals, accustomed to violence, weren’t frightened by the fall of a single gang—what truly unsettled them was Mu Lin’s method of turning several men into idiots and rendering a large group powerless. In a world that thrived on bloodshed and strength, losing their means of survival would reduce them to something worse than dogs. If they ended up like those mindless fools, suicide would be a preferable fate.
Mu Lin’s non-lethal approach had thoroughly shaken Chinatown. The Lion Gang seized the opportunity to reclaim the Black Tiger Gang’s territory, publicly declaring that a secret organization had eliminated the Black Tiger Gang due to their unacceptable behavior. This announcement forced the five major gangs in New York, whether directly or indirectly linked to the Black Tiger Gang, to temporarily retreat. The city’s crime rate plummeted, and some of the worst underworld figures, terrified, fled the city altogether.
When the NYPD Commissioner, who was receiving treatment from Mu Lin, casually discussed the incident, he marveled at the existence of such a mysterious organization—one that had achieved what the entire New York police force couldn’t. If he had known the truth, he would have recommended the mayor award them the “Good Citizen Medal.”
Upon seeing Sarah and Stephanie working as secretaries for Mu Lin, the Commissioner first congratulated them on finding good jobs, believing it would foster better relations with Mu Lin. He informed them that their suspension was over and that they could return to the police force anytime if they wished. Had he known their true motives for joining Mu Lin, he would have likely pulled them back immediately to prevent further trouble.
Hearing all this, Mu Lin couldn’t help but laugh. The Lion Gang really knew how to stir things up—why fabricate a secret organization? Were they trying to scare children? Everything seemed to be returning to normal.
Mu Lin actually enjoyed this leisurely lifestyle—teasing beautiful women, practicing his skills, and occasionally treating troublesome patients with a few needles. He also attended glamorous parties, mingling with influential figures to build connections. The only regret was that Mei Fang and Mei Zi were still on duty, and Claire and the others hadn’t found time to visit yet.
With time on his hands, Mu Lin decided to refine some medicinal pills. This was nothing like the alchemy practiced by worldly Taoists. The so-called alchemy of ancient times was a pursuit of immortality, rooted in baseless theories and passed down through generations without proper guidance from true cultivators. Naturally, it led nowhere.
Ancient Chinese alchemy could be divided into two methods: fire and water. The fire method involved high-temperature heating, while the water method included dissolution, filtration, and crystallization. To modern eyes, these steps resembled chemistry and physics experiments—hardly the path to immortality. This was why, after over a thousand years, alchemy eventually gave way to herbal medicine.
True cultivators, however, practiced alchemy to refine medicinal pills that enhanced bodily functions. The alchemy Mu Lin had learned from his travels and his great-uncle followed the same principle. Otherwise, he would never have ingested such concoctions.
When the Police Chief, who had come to Mu Lin for treatment, casually chatted about this incident with him, he couldn’t help but marvel at the existence of such an organization in the world—an enigmatic group that was even more effective than the entire New York police force. If he had known about them, he would have certainly recommended to the mayor that they be awarded the “Good Citizen Award.”
When the Police Chief came for treatment and saw that the two young female officers, Sara and Stephanie, were now working as Mu Lin’s secretaries, he first congratulated them on finding such a good job, believing that they could now build a better relationship with Mu Lin. He announced that their suspension was over, and if they no longer wanted to work for Mu Lin in the future, they could return to the police station anytime they wished. If he had known the real reason the two young officers had come to Mu Lin, he would have surely tried to get them back to the police station immediately, to prevent them from causing even more trouble.
When Mu Lin heard this news, he couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. The Lion Gang really knew how to create trouble for themselves—why make up a secret organization for no reason? Were they trying to scare children? Everything seemed to have returned to normal again.
Actually, Mu Lin quite liked this leisurely lifestyle—teasing pretty girls when he had nothing to do, practicing his cultivation, treating a bunch of eccentric characters with acupuncture when needed, and then attending various elegant banquets. Chatting with big shots, cracking jokes, and building relationships—this was the life. The only downside was that Meifang and Meizi hadn’t started their vacation yet, and Krill and the others also didn’t have time to come over.
With nothing else to do, Mu Lin decided to refine some more pills. But these were not the kind of pills made by ordinary Taoist alchemists in the mundane world. Speaking of mundane alchemy, it refers to the ancient human practice of making pills in pursuit of “immortality.” This kind of practice originated very early in China. According to the “Biography of Liu Xiang” in the Book of Han, Prince Liu An of Huainan mentioned in his Pillow Book of Secret Techniques that during the Warring States period, Zou Yan had a “precious formula for prolonging life.” This may have been the earliest known alchemical formula in ancient China.
However, this formula was not passed down to the world, and Liu An’s book has long been lost, so its contents are now impossible to verify. However, in the Strategies of the Warring States, there is a record of a Taoist offering an “elixir of immortality” to King Zhuang of Chu. The Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) also gives a detailed account of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s quest for “immortal medicine” and his dispatch of the Taoist Xu Fu with thousands of boys and girls to sea in search of immortals. This shows that the practice of alchemy was already widespread in China during the pre-Qin period. By the Western Han dynasty, Emperor Wu Di pursued immortality with even greater intensity, following the suggestion of the Taoist Li Shaojun to set up an alchemical furnace in the palace and personally engage in the practice of refining pills. From then on, the practice of alchemy became widespread among the feudal ruling class and remained popular for centuries, continuing through the Song and Yuan dynasties.
Thus, throughout Chinese history, many alchemists emerged—those who practiced the art of refining mercury and cinnabar. The ancient mundane alchemical activities involved many different fields of natural science, but their main content focused on the following three areas:
First, the research into making longevity medicine using various inorganic substances, including minerals and metals, through chemical processing; second, the metallurgical research aimed at creating artificial “gold” and “silver” for medicinal use; and third, the research into medicinal plants in search of plant-based longevity remedies.
The goal of mundane alchemy was immortality, and most of its theoretical basis was based on wild guesses. Since it did not receive genuine instruction from true Taoist cultivators, it was passed down through erroneous interpretations, leading to results that were completely off track.
Ancient Chinese alchemical methods can be divided into two main categories: fire methods and water methods. The fire method mainly refers to anhydrous heating techniques with metallurgical characteristics. In the Eastern Han dynasty, the alchemist Wei Boyang, in his book Zhouyi Cantong Qi, mentioned that there were six hundred chapters in the Fire Record, which described this fire method. However, this book has long been lost, so its contents are now unknown. The fire method generally includes techniques such as calcining (prolonged high-temperature heating), smelting (heating dry substances), roasting (localized heating), melting, distillation, sublimation (also known as “flying” or “ascending”), and “fusing” (heating to change the properties of medicinal substances).
The water method of processing medicinal substances roughly includes the following techniques: dissolving (sometimes also referring to melting), rinsing (using water to dissolve part of a solid), sealing (enclosing reaction materials for long-term storage or burying underground), boiling (heating in large amounts of water), simmering (prolonged high-temperature heating with water), nurturing (prolonged low-temperature heating), fermenting (long-term storage in a humid or carbon dioxide-rich environment), spotting (using a small amount of medicine to change a large quantity of substance), pouring (pouring out a solution to let it cool), soaking (cooling a container externally with cold water), and filtration and recrystallization.
If modern people were to look at these steps, they would basically recognize them as chemistry and physics experiments. This is also why, after being popular for over a thousand years, alchemy was eventually replaced by herbal medicine. It was a small mercy in a misfortune. In fact, the so-called alchemy practiced by true Taoist cultivators was simply the refining of medicinal pills—specifically, pills made from herbal ingredients that could enhance bodily functions. The several alchemical texts that Mu Lin obtained during his travels and the alchemical teachings passed down by his great-uncle were based on the same principle. Otherwise, Mu Lin would never have dared to take those substances.
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