So it's the type of scene where new entrants get poked and prodded until all the players are satisfied where they stand.

Well, it's supposed to be a low-stakes social exercise. Rebecca returns a more tight smile. "I seem to have underestimated what it takes to draw attention here."

"Nah. They'll fight over most anything. Then again, a petty bureaucrat is a celebrity in the slums, innit?"

"So it seems."

Is she forgettable in a Master-Stranger way, a Changer averaged-out-features way, or in a more mundane way?

Seems like a mix of the first two?

"Hmmmmmm...  Purifier clan?"

If that's a generic term it's not plausible that she hasn't heard of it.

Something ambiguous: "Foreign."

"Taking in the sights, shopping, seeking enlightenment? Oh, do feel free to ask questions of your own. You're new, which is interesting, be a shame to drive you off too soon."

"Some of each. On a... development journey. Are you local? Any recommendations for a traveller coming from out of town?"

"I'm more local than the Three Jades Conquerers are. And the caverns underneath the city contain many hidden gems. Some people say that if you've seen one cave you've seen them all, but that's just not so."

Oh, politics!

Not going to ask directly about it just yet. She'll tease it out in time, with the type of person who mentions it the first chance they have.

"I'd only heard that they mine spirit stones here, nothing more particular. Do enlighten me." She looks genuinely interested.

"Oh, I've already said a bit much. And the show is ending. Come visit the Silver Acorn if you want a knowledgeable guide. Good talk."

And the probably Stranger quickly walks away, ducking behind a horse pulling a cart and vanishing.

Just as the two women having a duel of polite veiled insults seem to come to a conclusion and approach her together. One, short, sharp features and green eyes and freckles. The other, tall, buxom, looking somehow motherly.

"Greetings, greetings."

"We've heard that you, miss Reb Ka, are making waves today."

"Why, seen at the Five Ways Forge and the armory both, quite diligent."

"But as representatives of the local best in immortal cooking, the Great Jade Pot-"

"-And in brewing of fine medicines and potions, the Ascending Fire Alembic-"

"We both wish to treat you to a small sample of our wares in welcome. I am Meiling of the Great Jade Pot."

"And I'm Salua of the Ascending Fire Alembic."

She'd have thrown around some spirit stones in public sooner if she'd known it'd attract the useful type of sycophant!

She'll need to figure out where the Silver Acorn is and what their reputation is and whether this is a scam—and check with Wen—but the stranger has certainly caught her attention. Probably they're up to no good, but even if so, there's nothing to say she can't learn from it.

For these new saleswomen, her expectations aren't terribly high, but those are things she's interested in she hasn't seen a storefront for.

"Well met," she says. "I suppose I can spare some time to examine what you have to interest me with."

"If I might suggest a visit to our compound first so you can work up a proper appetite-" Salua begins.

"Now, now, we should let our guest decide the order of operations. Ooh, and would you say you are a fan of garlic?"

"I am getting a bit peckish. I haven't thought much of garlic, but perhaps you can surprise me?"

"Excellent! If you have a storage ring, we make a range of convenient dishes that store well. Even if you don't, properly prepared trail rations keep very well. The spirituality of a dish can have a wide range of beneficial effects, too!"

The alchemist snorts in disbelief and crosses her arms. The chef's eyes twitch in anger.

"-Right this way, young mistress. Please do tell me what meals you prefer, I'm sure we can find something."

"I did not bring my storage ring with me, regrettably." She sounds mildly peeved about the inconvenience. She addresses the alchemist, casual but digging: "You sound skeptical. Anything I haven't heard, or is it just the usual line?"

"We can certainly provide a storage ring as well!"

"I wouldn't imagine myself creative enough to come up with arguments others haven't posed a thousand times. The benefits of precision and instant, convenient application, not to mention high concentration of qi, should be obvious."

Not complimentary, surely. But she didn't see anyone selling them, so she'll take it. "Much appreciated."

To Salua, "The instant efficacy of alchemy cannot be doubted, naturally, but if one must eat, then it can only do to seek the finest with most potent boons, yes? And the experience is certainly more pleasant."

"It is true that one must eat," she reluctantly acknowledges.

The Great Jade Pot compound is full of obsequious servants, busy cooks, and fresh ingredients. The aromas in the air meld into something between an artisanal kitchen and hints the overpowering aroma of a food factory.

It all looks and smells REALLY good. And her guide saleswoman espouses the benefits of various dishes- Mental cleansing, body reinforcement, calm and focus, meridian cleaning, flexibility enhancement, battle fervor, simply being absurdly delicious, and so on. A storage ring is proffered too. 

The prices are high, and the alchemist gets over herself enough to pose halfway polite questions about the balance of qi in certain ingredients- Won't Solar Pork get too dry if you roast it? Won't the stringy wood qi in Pure Bamboo Shoots overpower all other flavors?

Rebecca has never been much of a food person, but this is tempting her to change that fact.

She will restrain herself and not get a sample of everything, but she absolutely is going to pick up a broad selection, not gearing particularly in any direction—meridian cleaning is relevant at her current stage, but she doesn't want anyone to be able to infer that, and the alchemist is probably right, this isn't the right place to be optimizing for effect—and she contains her satisfaction at the storage ring to not let on that she has never seen one in her life. While she's browsing she'll familiarize herself with its use playing with small spirit stones in her pockets, assuming it's intuitive enough to pick up that way.

Eventually, once she has spent a solid enough chunk of money that any more might stretch belief, she'll pick up something to have on the go right now and tie up her business here.

The storage ring is pretty intuitive. It requires some amount of qi control, and hers is still slightly shaky, but she gets the knack inside of five minutes. Threading a tiny bit of energy into it makes her visualize the contents, and then select something to appear or store.

Wonderful! They wish her all the best! They'll have the rest of her delicious order packed and sent to her residence.

Her remaining escort explains that the fundamental pursuit of alchemy and cultivation are the same- Purification and transformation. Simply describe a medicinal effect, and they can probably meet it. Most obviously, blood and qi pills, the blending of spirit stones into something one can conveniently eat for a sudden shot of both spiritual qi and vitality, invigorating spirit and body.

She's heard that relying on alchemical aids for cultivation can stunt one's skill development and make it easier to get blocked later on. Are there solutions which mitigate this problem, or alternatively assist in developing foundational skills rather than make the process of growth itself faster?

"From what I have seen and from the wisdom of my own elders, the phenomenon you speak of is real, if overstated. It is more the pitfall of reliance on pills, at least, should the pills be of high quality. Pill toxicity is also real- Though again overstated. One who uses pills to excess to speed their advance at every turn never tempers their heart for the difficult journey of cultivation. Pill toxicity is difficult to measure and typically only seen if one uses dozens of pills per month, or ones that have negative indications with each other. The ideal solution is to use the best quality pills you can afford relatively sparingly as part of a cohesive plan to improve your cultivation. I have also seen some merit in the use of, for example, spirit sensitivity and burning blood pills before an intense cultivation lesson, in order to make greater gains from the teaching. Your master would know best where your weaknesses and strengths lie, to plan such things."

Well, of course the alchemist would say that the dangers of their product are overstated.

She doesn't say that.

Then again, her situation isn't the same as most. Without any opportunity cost of spending, it doesn't matter if she's trading momentary shortcuts for future delays, so long as the total time spent is reduced in the final accounting. And with Anything You Can Do, there's a strong possibility that physical constraints of her spiritual growth will be rate-limiting, and not her ability to learn the relevant skills; it's not the same as tempering character, but there's a relevance there.

."What are ways to be forewarned of and head off pill toxicity? Is there a reliable way to determine negative indications between pills acquired from different sources, or is it simply recommended not to experiment by oneself?"

She has Immunity System, but it's unclear how well that applies to interactions of performance-enhancing drugs, which might not be strictly poisoning, but still impose undesirable costs.

"Of course! There are qi testing treasures- You cycle a small amount into them to get a rough reading of toxicity. Blood testing elixirs, which turn a precise color based on pill toxicity level. What we call 'pill toxicity' is at times, two different things- The impurities and unwanted energies that linger after a pill disperses, and cascading effects upon the spirit usually caused by severe overuse or a bad interaction. Or trying to consume a pill that is not designed for your cultivation level. Many pills are simply too potent to be consumed by those who are weak. I would call the first pill toxicity and the second, pill scarring.

"As for evaluating negative indications, the most reliable way is to learn alchemy in all its details yourself, which is of course a journey of years in the best case. The second is to listen to your provider's warnings. Half of the complaints of bad pills are from idiots who don't listen. -Ahem." She takes a deep breath and composes herself. "The Mirror Evaluation Art allows one to closely inspect the interactions all the pills and foreign qi in their systems, and also to visualize the hypothetical interaction of two, or at higher mastery, more, signatures that are in front of them."

"As for general tips and issues to watch out for, I'm sure many things I would consider basic common sense would not occur to you, but that does not mean I could list them out on a whim without being prompted specifically... The most obvious is to remember the elemental cycle and keep in mind your affinities, I suppose. And the opposition of yin and yang. As a woman, you will probably have a slight yin nature, so powerfully yang pills can sicken you and will contribute more to pill toxicity, while yin pills will be easier to consume. The same principle goes for the elemental cycle, where earth or metal pills will work better for you, but fire worse- Though some types of pills need to be of a suppressing element. For example, a body refinement pill formulated for you would need to have strong fire presence, in order to overcome your metal nature and actually apply the effect it carries."

She seems to catch herself and cut herself off from rambling, adopting a more respectful register of speech. "Honored customer, I apologize. Please do not take this casual instruction as indication of true safety; There are far too many factors to sum up in a moment, and I would be ashamed if you made a hasty decision based on my own faulty instruction."

"Of course. Complexities of an art are never so easily summarized. These qi-testing methods: how difficult are they to acquire for oneself? I have an unusual consitutiton that I suspect may interact oddly with certain pills, and I will be travelling much, so it may be difficult to retain suitable and consistent consultation. Do they apply to 'pill scarring' as well, or only to the narrower definition of pill toxicity?"

The first rule of tinkertech drugs is you don't trust rules about tinkertech drugs. You take them with the Tinker's supervision or not at all. This is probably not analogous, since alchemy is a replicable science here, but she would rather take no chances.

"I would also be interested in a recommendation for an introductory text about pill usage and alchemy from a user's perspective, for similar reasons."

And secondly, eventually she does want to understand alchemy well enough that she can self-medicate on her unlimited supply.