"If the pharmacist has any trouble, please speak frankly."
"In fact, it’s not a big deal. Little Friend has saved my life, and so herbs are rely material possessions. During my travels, I’ve brought back a batch of herbs... However, the Blood Ginseng and Three-leaf Blood Ginseng of fifty years are now hard to find."
"Starting a few years ago, the prices of Blood Ginseng and other herbs began to rise. Half a year ago, not only did the prices soar, but Blood Ginseng and other herbs of high years were monopolized by the Hundred Elixir Tower. Now, there’s only thirty-year-old ones left on the market."
"Shafully, during this trip I failed to find these herbs."
Missing a few vital herbs.
Su Mu’s eyes flickered as a thought crossed his mind: He could first check out the Hundred Elixir Tower, and if that didn’t work, he could try the black market.
"Please have the pharmacist make a list for ."
"Okay, I’ll make a list right away."
The pharmacist took out pen and paper and quickly listed the items. "Little Friend, anwhile, I’ll also try to see if I can substitute so of the herbs with lower-year ones or other types to refine so pills first."
"If successful, one Blood Ginseng could produce about four or five pills."
"Thank you, pharmacist."
Su Mu glanced at the list and thanked him. They chatted a bit more, and before leaving, Su Mu took out an item from his robe, "Pharmacist, this is an item given to by the Little Doctor as a token when he handed it over. Now that you’ve safely returned, it’s only right to return this to its original owner."
The pharmacist saw the Crane-Shaped Wooden Hairpin offered to him, and his pupils slightly contracted, a hint of unusual expression in his eyes, but he quickly waved it away.
"Keep this item, Little Friend, or return it as you see fit."
Su Mu was taken aback and retrieved the hairpin. As he left, he found the Little Doctor had gone out, thinking he would return it next ti he t him.
...
Leaving the pharmacy.
Su Mu exhaled deeply. The urgent obstacle of imminent death from toxic outbreak was finally close to being resolved, and the matter of completely eliminating the Gu Poison was looking promising.
He didn’t care how many pills a piece of Blood Ginseng could produce; even if it provided only one pill, it would be a great boon, giving Su Mu visible hope of survival.
As long as he can survive, any problem must have a solution!
Then Su Mu quickly made his way to the market and chose a large pharmacy to enter.
"Do you have Blood Ginseng?"
"Yes, esteed guest, how many years’ Blood Ginseng do you require?"
Considering the high price of Blood Ginseng, upon hearing Su Mu’s inquiry, the dicine Boy imdiately beca all smiles, his tone slightly more enthusiastic.
"Do you have anything above thirty years?"
The dicine Boy was taken aback and imdiately shook his head.
Subsequently, Su Mu visited several rather large pharmacies, receiving the sa response: no Blood Ginseng over thirty years old.
Prices were sowhat similar, with the cheapest thirty-year Blood Ginseng costing thirty taels, and the more expensive ones nearing forty taels.
"Better take a look at the Hundred Elixir Tower."
Cyan Cloud Avenue, the main street connecting the town’s north to south city gates, and the busiest street in Qingyun City, with the Hundred Elixir Tower located therein.
Glazed tiles and blue stone steps, North Cyan Cloud Street reveals a luxuriously decorated five-story pavilion, with the main entrance adorned with a vermillion plaque and gold letters: Hundred Elixir Tower.
"Indeed, one of the Five Great Powers of Cyan Cloud, truly magnificent."
Su Mu couldn’t help but muse silently, thinking that the Black Tiger Gang’s base in Qingshui Town was simply dwarfed by comparison.
Upon entering, a tall, smiling woman in a red dress quickly approached.
"What would the guest like to see?"
Su Mu went straight to the point, "Does your tower have Blood Ginseng of fifty years old?"
Upon hearing this, the red-dress woman from the Hundred Elixir Tower glanced discreetly at a middle-aged man with a rounded physique in silk, who did not respond, causing the woman to shake her head and politely decline.
"I’m sorry, at the mont, Blood Ginseng of such years is sold out, you might want to look elsewhere."
Su Mu observed closely, knowing the pharmacist’s words were true.
"It seems I’ll have to visit the black market soon."
Upon leaving the Hundred Elixir Tower, Su Mu raised an eyebrow, sharply sensing soone was tailing him. He then entered the crowd and turned into an alley at the road junction.
Soon after, a man also turned into the alley, finding it empty, leaving him sowhat dumbfounded, as he distinctly saw Su Mu turn in here.
At that mont, a voice ca from behind, "What does the gentleman want?"
Seeing Su Mu, the thief-like man was startled, although his own power was not high, he had recently advanced to Ninth Grade. However, the youthful Su Mu before him clearly possessed power far superior to his own.
Su Mu’s origins must be extraordinary.
After a brief cough, the man introduced himself, "Little Brother, I an no harm. My na is Zhou Sun, my uncle is a steward at the Hundred Elixir Tower."
"People from the Hundred Elixir Tower?"
Su Mu’s mind raced, partly guessing the man’s motive.
Sure enough, after introducing himself, Zhou Sun quickly explained his purpose, "Little Brother, I can help you get the Blood Ginseng you want, and other herbs as well, but the quantity each ti can’t be too large."
"Fifty-year-old Blood Ginseng is a hundred taels per plant."
The price was exceedingly high, nearly triple the cost of the thirty-year Blood Ginseng of lesser quality!
Su Mu asked calmly, "What’s the price for a fifty-year-old Three-leaf Blood Ginseng?"
"That thing is slightly cheaper than Blood Ginseng, eighty taels per plant."
Su Mu was intrigued. Instead of trying his luck at the Black Market, it was better to make a deal with the person in front of him. Moreover, the quality of the herbs from the Hundred Elixir Tower was sowhat guaranteed.
Should I buy a portion to try?
At that mont, Su Mu frowned, "Your price is too high."
"Brother, you should know that while other fifty-year-old herbs are relatively easy to find in the market, these two herbs are not. I’m sure you realize this."
"One hundred and fifty taels."
"Alright, one hundred and fifty taels it is."
Seeing Zhou Sun agree so readily, Su Mu knew he was probably overpaying, but business is business, and Zhou Sun’s reasoning was valid.
"How do we make the transaction?"
"At midnight tomorrow, at the third watch, cash for goods... let’s et here."
Su Mu had no objections; after reaching an agreent, the two quickly left.
The next night, Su Mu arrived early at the designated spot, ensuring there were no ambushes around before quietly waiting for Zhou Sun to show up.
"Be careful with fire in this dry weather!"
At the third watch, the Night Watchman walked down the deserted street carrying a lantern.
Zhou Sun stealthily approached the agreed alley, and as he looked around, a shadow appeared silently and patted him on the shoulder.
Zhou Sun was obviously startled, shivering all over, but he quickly covered his mouth with his hand.
"Brother... you’re truly elusive."
"Where’s what I asked for?" Su Mu cut to the chase and took out two silver notes, waving them. Zhou Sun imdiately handed over a package, which, when unwrapped, contained two sandalwood boxes.
Opening one of the boxes, the rich aroma of ginseng wafted out. The Blood Ginseng inside was nearly two inches long, with tendrils twisted like a dragon, dark red and smooth, clearly of higher quality than those thirty-year-old Blood Ginseng.
Su Mu quickly checked the fifty-year characteristics described by Pharmacist Lin, and after confirming there was no mistake, he handed over the silver notes.
"Brother, pleasure doing business." Zhou Sun said as he handed over a simple wooden token, "At Renxin Pharmacy in East City Market, if you need other herbs or rare items, just show this token there."
Su Mu nodded slightly and took the token before leaving quickly.
The next morning, Su Mu went to Yunhe Clinic and handed over a complete set of herbs to Pharmacist Lin, who examined them with a strange expression on his face.
"Pharmacist, is there a problem with these herbs?"
"It’s not a big issue. These Blood Ginseng and Three-leaf Blood Ginseng barely reach fifty years. Perhaps due to poor storage, they’ve beco damp."
Upon hearing this, Su Mu understood that he had been tricked by Zhou Sun, and realized how Zhou Sun managed to get these herbs.
"Don’t worry, young friend. In soone else’s hands, the herbs might lose thirty percent of their efficacy, but in mine, they won’t lose much."
"Co back for the dicine in three days, young friend."
As Su Mu was leaving, the Little Doctor stopped him, "Su, take this book... don’t worry, my master knows."
A blessing in disguise!
Su Mu looked down at the Hundred Herbs List in his hand. Learning from his mistake, he was genuinely interested in dical skills, so it was a perfect starting point with this dical book.
"This is indeed an unexpected joy... without this loss, the Pharmacist wouldn’t have given this book freely."
The sound of long spears echoed continuously in the courtyard, days and nights passed.
Ti flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
On that gray and drizzly morning, Su Mu arrived at the clinic, seeing the bamboo door with a sign reading: Closed for three days.
"Brother, the pills were made last night, follow quickly." The Little Doctor was waiting at the clinic door. Seeing Su Mu arrive, he smiled and walked briskly ahead.
"Mission accomplished, we made five pieces this ti."
In the study, the Pharmacist opened the porcelain bottle, releasing a familiar fragrance. Su Mu poured out a piece to examine it.
"Thank you, Pharmacist and Doctor Xiaoyue, for your hard work these days."
Leaving the clinic, Su Mu hurried back to his residence as it started to rain lightly, drizzle pattering down.
His face turned white, his limbs cold from the pain of the Gu Insect gnawing at him.
He turned back indoors, not directly consuming the pills, but took out the one remaining antidote to compare. The scents of the two pills were nearly identical, only the color of the pills made by Pharmacist Lin was slightly more yellow.
Then Su Mu activated his power, examining each piece carefully, breaking one in half to ensure everything was fine before putting it into his mouth.
The taste was bitter yet slightly sweet, almost indistinguishable. As the pill lted, the liquid coursed through his veins, and Su Mu soon felt the troubleso Gu Insect within him calming down.
Hu!
He exhaled a long breath of pent-up frustration.
The tightly knitted brows gradually relaxed like snow lting away, and the invisible guillotine that had hovered over his head for nearly two years, smothering him, finally showed its first crack.
The fate that had bound the young man began to shift, and the death shackles imposed upon him started to loosen.
"These pills... they are effective!"
...
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