The examination room was smaller than Xiao Yan expected — just a stone chamber with a furnace, a shelf of basic ingredients, and a single examiner. The examiner was an old woman with hair like spun silver and eyes that had seen more alchemy than Xiao Yan had seen days of his life.

'Three tasks,' she said. 'First: identify these five ingredients by smell alone. Second: extract the essence from this Silver Leaf Grass. Third: brew a First Tier pill of your choice within one hour.'

Xiao Yan approached the table of ingredients. Five glass jars, each containing a different herb. Their labels had been removed, and their scents were masked by the general herbal smell of the alchemy chamber. A normal apprentice would need to touch them, maybe taste them, to be sure.

Xiao Yan closed his eyes and breathed.

Yao Lao had trained him for this. The old ghost's teaching method had been brutal but effective: blindfolded herb identification, hundreds of repetitions, until his spiritual sense could distinguish between a three-year Silver Leaf and a four-year Silver Leaf by the subtle difference in their energetic signatures.

'Green Spirit Grass, two years old. Blood Clotting Flower, northern variety. Purple Rhododendron Heart. Fire Lotus Seed — this one's been stored poorly, it's lost about fifteen percent of its potency. And...' He paused at the last jar, frowning. 'This one's tricky. It smells like Moon Shadow Leaf, but the energy pattern is wrong. It's Common Moon Grass that's been soaked in Moon Shadow extract. A fake.'

The examiner's silver eyebrows rose slightly. 'Correct on all counts. The last one fools nine out of ten examinees.'

Xiao Yan allowed himself a small, private smile. Yao Lao, wherever your ghost is, thank you.