Chapter 56: Alchemy Goddess

P.S. I am sorry to all of my readers for my recent blunder. My body didn't feel well recently and was forced to rest (It's not COVID guys, don't worry), so it has totally messed up my publishing schedule, and I forgot to check the old drafts that I had already set the timer on. Please give the book a second chance, and I'll promise the similar mistakes won't be repeated for the second time.

Without further ado, please enjoy the new chapter!

***

"I-is she already...?"

The old man looked at Snowy solemnly and nodded, "Yes. She had fallen in her last battle." A glimmer of sadness and regret flickered in his eyes for a moment before changing back to their usual indifference.

Snowy fell quiet after hearing the old man's confirmation. Her record slowly played in Snowy's mind.

***

Once upon a time, back in the indiscernible era, there was an ugly little girl with an indescribable lack of talent. Even her family said that she couldn't be saved, and they simply ignored her.

The other's child in the family didn't want to get closer and befriend her, and some even shunned her. They didn't even remember her real name, for they usually called her with derogatory words like "stupid", "idiot", or "ugly goose" — for Hong was the family where she was born.

Other people could memorize an ordinary incantation after listening to it once or twice, but the little girl needed to hear it ten times before barely remembering a bit of it. Her memory's capability was extremely limited.

A person with average talents could learn it after eight to ten days to understand the most ordinary cultivation technique. Still, the little girls would need ten years or an even longer period of time to obtain the same results.

One could even say that there was not much difference between the little girl's intelligence and a mentally disabled person, except she was not mentally disabled. It was just that her learning ability was quite indescribably awful.

She came from a prominent clan, but her talents were unsightly. She had never been given a chance to learn any cultivation technique afterward because the elders thought she was a piece of foolish, rotten wood that couldn't be carved. It was better to preach to a stone than to teach her how to cultivate.

However, her mother was always there for her and gave her comfort whenever her little heart couldn't contain the hurt; She always said that she would be a beautiful swan one day; she would soar in the vast sky, and everybody felt awe and reverie for her elegant and grace.

Her mother's support and her bright heart, which always saw the positive aspect of her experience, strengthened her will to keep learning despite what others said.

One could imagine that in the past, this was an ugly little girl that couldn't speak properly, someone without any confidence. She was even dirty and had a slow-witted appearance. No one in her clan was willing to look out for her. Despite their treatment, the little girl never gave up every opportunity she could get to learn a little bit of cultivation. Alas, her effort never got rewarded.

One day, her mother suddenly fell ill and bedridden for almost a week. Every day passed, her mother's consciousness was growing weaker and weaker. The little girl felt frightened by her mother's condition and ran crying to the family house to beseech for help.

Unfortunately, no one willing to give her help since her mother was only a widow of one of their family's disciples. Some even insulted her by saying that she was the source of her family's bad luck and invited punishment from heaven. Even though her father had a considerable position when he was still alive, it was all gone when her father breathed his last breath. That was how the world running: cruel and merciless.

She didn't lose hope and went to the city afterward. She knocked on the door of every alchemist in town diligently and didn't stop whether she got scolded, kicked, or even spit on. One old alchemist felt pity for her and agreed to help her check her mother's condition.

But here the saying goes, "Man proposes, Heaven dispose", the alchemist couldn't cure her mother's sickness and propose to adopt her instead because he was moved by the girl's piety. But the girls refuse his offer politely and still trying to find the cure for her mother.

A week went by, and the little girl's still persevered to find someone who could help her mother. Although her feet were tired and her stomach rumbled, she didn't dare to stop after seeing her mother's condition kept getting worse. At this point, her appearance was no different than a beggar caused the surrounding to instinctively avoid her. Despite that, the smile on her face never disappear.

And finally, their fateful meeting took place.

The little girl's found a tattered cauldron by a chance when she strolled through the city's back alley. She found that the cauldron was similar to her, ugly and lonely, and because of this, she grew fond of the cauldron. She thought how nice if she could use the cauldron to make medicine for her mother but quickly shooked her head to stop daydreaming. How could such a miracle happen to her?

But fate was sometimes playing with people's life. The moment she touched the cauldron, a ding sound appear on her head. The little girl's eyes opened wide and her body shaken to the point she tripped down on her small butt.

"S-s-system...? A-are... A-are you God? Can you save my mother, p-please!" begged the little girl with a small and wavering voice yet filled with determination while she prostrated in front of the cauldron.

That was the first time Snowy met her, or to be precise, The System met the little ugly girl who deemed as a rotten wood by her family, yet, would be the pinnacle of Alchemist Dao someday in the future, and also marked the beginning of the trio's—the little girl, the system and the cauldron—journey.