Li Man'er wiped down the bronze furnace from top to bottom with a rag. While it wasn't perfectly clean, the intricate patterns on the surface were now visible.
The maids were fascinated. It was the first time they had seen a furnace with so many patterns.
"The large cauldron in front of the main hall of Ganzhao Temple has carvings, but it doesn't have this many, nor is it this complex."
"It must be a different kind of thing," said Luyi. "What are the patterns on this furnace, miss?"
Li Man'er ignored her question and said, "Fetch a brush."
"Oh!" Luyi quickly fetched the usual pig bristle brush and handed it to Li Man'er.
Li Man'er dipped it in some soap powder and began to brush carefully.
This time, the exquisite patterns on the furnace's body were fully revealed. The gilded lotuses were holy yet alluring, captivating everyone into a stunned silence.
"It's so beautiful," Luyi exclaimed. Although she didn't know what the furnace was used for, just seeing the lotuses made it seem incredibly valuable. Thinking back, that old beggar truly possessed a treasure. It was no wonder he had made the furnace so grimy; it was simply to conceal its true worth.
It also seemed true that the old beggar had said the miss was destined for it. Otherwise, why would others not recognize its value, yet their miss had paid for it?
Li Man'er touched the patterns on the furnace and said faintly, "All of you, leave. I need some quiet."
Luyi froze, her eyes wide. Before she could react, Ziyan nudged her. Wu Mammy gave everyone a look, and the maids quietly withdrew.
Wu Mammy stood in the corridor and said softly, "Lock the storeroom. Miss probably won't think of the storeroom for a while." She had seen enough anyway; her focus was now entirely on the furnace.
"I wonder what that furnace is used for."
"Perhaps it's just an ornament."
Li Man'er gazed at the strangely shaped furnace, a look of hesitation on her face. She was unsure if this was the legendary Crimson Flame Lotus Furnace. If it was, she had truly struck gold.
Legend had it that this furnace had a very high success rate for alchemy, and elixirs refined with the Crimson Flame Lotus Furnace were thirty percent more potent than those made with ordinary furnaces.
Li Man'er touched the lotus on top of the furnace lid and murmured, "Zhuang Zhou dreams of butterflies."
She had only heard about the Crimson Flame Lotus Furnace in her past life and had searched for it for many years, but without any success. Her family had never given up searching for it, but no matter how much manpower and resources they spent, they found nothing, as if all mentions of the Crimson Flame Lotus Furnace were merely legends.
The furnace before her, both in its shape and its patterns, was identical to the legendary Crimson Flame Lotus Furnace. Li Man'er's heart began to race uncontrollably, almost leaping out of her chest.
It was so bizarre. She had searched for so long in that world, tried every method, and even risked incurring the wrath of heaven by venturing into underground palaces, yet still found nothing. Who would have thought that after transmigrating, she would find it in the Zhen Kingdom, a land lost to the river of time?
This was simply unscientific.
Li Man'er placed her hands on the two lotuses on the furnace lid and pressed down. The lid began to hum, and then slowly started to rotate.
Li Man'er's heart was pounding. She stared intently at the rotating lid, her eyes never blinking. After about half a minute, the lid stopped, deflating as if losing all its energy, and became quiet again.
Li Man'er lifted the lid. A faint medicinal aroma wafted out. The scent was extremely unique, making Li Man'er feel slightly intoxicated. She quickly reached into the furnace and wiped the inner wall, collecting some pale green luminous substance on her hand.
"It really is the Crimson Flame Lotus Furnace." Legend said this furnace had a two-layer structure: the outer layer was pure copper, carved with lotus imprints, and the inner layer was made of meteorite.
Perhaps due to the influence of the meteorite, elixirs refined within it not only had an extremely high success rate but also several times the potency of elixirs made with ordinary furnaces.
Today, this furnace belonged to her.
Li Man'er let out a long sigh and stored the furnace into her spatial dimension. Heaven had been kind to her, allowing her to fulfill her lifelong wish in this alternate world.
Could it be that her obsession with this furnace had led heaven to send her here to make her dream come true?
If that were the case, the Crimson Flame Lotus Furnace in her past life might have already disappeared, but surprisingly, all the legends about it turned out to be true.
It seemed she still needed to find an opportunity to refine a batch of elixirs and thoroughly experience the power of the Crimson Flame Lotus Furnace.
Alchemy, something that existed only in myths and legends, was actually real. Many emperors throughout history had sought immortality, and thus the art of alchemy arose.
Immortality was hard to attain, but elixirs were relatively easy to refine, though their effects varied.
Alchemists in ancient times were mostly Daoists who had little understanding of medicine. They used five metals and eight stones, such as cinnabar, orpiment, and mercury. Whether they achieved immortality was unknown, but poisoning was a certainty. It was said that among the Qing emperors, one was so obsessed with alchemy that he eventually poisoned himself to death. It was unknown if this was true.
Mystic physicians who practiced alchemy used Chinese herbs, whose toxicity was negligible. Furthermore, she had the spiritual mist spring in her spatial dimension, which, combined with this furnace, would make any elixir akin to an immortal pill.
If she hadn't been afraid of causing too much of a commotion, Li Man'er would have wanted to refine a batch right then and there. This furnace was what she had yearned for her entire life. Seeing it but being unable to refine elixirs, how could her hands not tingle with desire?
She would endure. She would refine a batch in her spatial dimension tonight.
Li Man'er had never felt time drag so slowly. The sun, which usually slipped away unnoticed, seemed to be fixed above the mountains today, in no hurry to set.
Li Man'er couldn't even finish her dinner properly. She only ate a bowl of soup and two shaomai before losing her appetite.
Luyi muttered softly, "Miss usually has a large appetite. What's wrong today?" And that furnace, where did miss put it? Could it really be a treasure, something valuable?
Was it perhaps made of gold?
"The weather is hot, so miss might not have an appetite. You should mind your own business," Ziyan said. Although Ziyan also felt Li Man'er was acting strangely, becoming as if bewitched since she saw that furnace.
However, Ziyan had more self-control than Luyi; she wouldn't ask questions that weren't her concern.
Luyi quickly nodded, "I understand."
As soon as it got dark, Li Man'er sat up in her bed curtains.
Although the maids didn't stay on duty at night, they would worry about her and sneak in to check on her in the middle of the night, changing ice basins or the like.
She had to hurry and refine a batch of elixirs in her spatial dimension. If she delayed and the maids discovered she wasn't in her room, it would be trouble.