"Please speak frankly if you're having any difficulties, Pharmacist."
"This really isn't a big deal. You saved my life, young friend, and a few medicinal herbs are just material things. I also brought back a batch of herbs from my travels... It's just that several of them, including fifty-year-old Blood Ginseng and Three-leaf Blood Ganoderma, are hard to find these days."
"Starting a few years ago, the prices of Blood Ginseng and other such herbs began to climb. Half a year ago, not only had they become exorbitantly expensive, but Hundred Pills Tower had monopolized the older Blood Ginseng and other herbs. Now, only thirty-year-old ones remain on the market."
"I'm ashamed to say that I couldn't find those herbs during my travels, either."
Several herbs were missing.
Su Mu's eyes flickered as an idea immediately crossed his mind. He could check out Hundred Pills Tower first. If that didn't work, he could try the Black Market.
"Please make a list for me, Pharmacist."
"Certainly. I'll write one up right away."
The pharmacist fetched paper and brush and swiftly wrote out a list. Before long, he was done. "Young friend, in the meantime, I'll also see whether I can substitute lower-year herbs or other medicinal ingredients for a few of these and refine some pills."
"If all goes well, one Blood Ginseng should yield around four or five pills."
"Sorry for the trouble, Pharmacist."
Su Mu took the list, glanced over it, and thanked him. The two chatted a little longer. Before leaving, Su Mu took an object from inside his robe. "Pharmacist, this is the medical hall token that the Young Physician gave me back then. Now that you've returned safely, I should return it to its rightful owner."
The pharmacist's pupils contracted slightly when he saw the crane-shaped wooden hairpin being offered to him. A strange glint passed through his eyes, but he simply waved his hand.
"Keep it, young friend. Or return it to its rightful owner yourself."
Su Mu paused, then took the hairpin back. As he was leaving, he learned that the Young Physician had gone out. He thought he would return it the next time they met.
After leaving the medical hall,
Su Mu let out a long breath. The urgent threat of dying from the poison was finally about to be dealt with, and there was now a lead on completely removing the Gu Poison, too.
He didn't care how many pills one Blood Ginseng could yield. Even if it yielded only one, that would be a tremendous boon. It gave Su Mu a real hope of staying alive.
As long as he could live, there would always be a way to solve any problem!
After that, Su Mu hurried to the market district and entered a large medicine shop.
"Do you have any Blood Ginseng?"
"We do. How many years old does the honored customer need?"
Blood Ginseng was expensive, so when the Pharmacy Apprentice heard Su Mu's question, his face immediately lit up with a smile, and his tone grew warmer.
"Do you have any that are over thirty years old?"
The Pharmacy Apprentice froze, then shook his head.
Su Mu then visited several other sizable medicine shops in succession, but the result was the same: none of them had Blood Ginseng over thirty years old.
The prices were more or less alike, too. The cheapest thirty-year-old Blood Ginseng cost thirty taels, while the more expensive ones were priced at nearly forty.
"I'd better check out Hundred Pills Tower."
Qingyun Avenue ran between the county town's southern and northern gates. It was also the busiest street in Qingyun City, and Hundred Pills Tower stood along it.
With glazed tiles for a roof and bluestone steps, a magnificent five-story pavilion stood on North Qingyun Street. On the vermilion plaque above the main entrance, gilded characters read: Hundred Pills Tower.
"As expected of one of Qingyun's five great powers. What a grand place."
Su Mu couldn't help but marvel to himself. Compared to it, even the Black Tiger Gang's headquarters, home to Qingshui Town's number-one gang, was like a tiny shrew beside a mighty elephant.
After he entered, a tall woman in a red dress approached him with a smile.
"What can I help you find, sir?"
Su Mu got straight to the point. "Does your tower have any fifty-year-old Blood Ginseng?"
At his question, the woman in red glanced discreetly at a middle-aged man in silk robes with a plump build. The man made no move, so she shook her head apologetically.
"I'm sorry, but we've sold out of Blood Ginseng of that age. Please try somewhere else."
Su Mu had seen everything. The pharmacist hadn't been mistaken.
"Looks like I'll have to go to the Black Market as soon as possible."
After leaving Hundred Pills Tower, Su Mu raised an eyebrow. His sharp senses caught someone following him. He walked into the crowd, then turned down an alley at the next intersection.
A man turned into the alley shortly after. Seeing the empty passage, the shifty-eyed fellow was dumbfounded. He had clearly seen that kid turn in here.
Just then, a voice came from behind him. "What business do you have?"
The shifty-eyed man turned and saw Su Mu. His heart lurched. His own strength wasn't especially great, but he had at least reached the Ninth Rank not long ago. Su Mu looked much younger than him, yet his strength was clearly far greater.
Su Mu's background was surely no ordinary one.
The man coughed and introduced himself. "Young master, I mean no harm. My name is Zhou Sun, and my uncle is a manager at Hundred Pills Tower."
"Someone from Hundred Pills Tower?"
Su Mu's thoughts stirred. He had guessed more or less what the man wanted.
Sure enough, after introducing himself, Zhou Sun quickly explained his purpose. "Young master, I can help you get the Blood Ginseng you need. I can help you find other herbs, too, but I can't get too many at once."
"A hundred taels for one fifty-year-old Blood Ginseng."
The price was exorbitant—more than three times that of a lower-grade, thirty-year-old Blood Ginseng!
Su Mu asked casually, keeping his expression neutral, "How much for fifty-year-old Three-leaf Blood Ganoderma?"
"That herb costs a little less than Blood Ginseng. Eighty taels apiece."
Su Mu was tempted. Rather than try his luck at the Black Market, he might as well make a deal with the man in front of him. Besides, the herbs sold by Hundred Pills Tower were bound to be of reasonably reliable quality.
Should he buy one batch and see how it went?
Su Mu frowned. "Your price is too high."
"Young master, you should know that other fifty-year-old herbs are still relatively easy to find on the market. But the two herbs you want are especially hard to get. I'm sure you understand that."
"One hundred and fifty taels."
"Fine. One hundred and fifty taels it is."
Seeing Zhou Sun agree so readily, Su Mu knew he had probably offered too much. But there was no honest merchant, and Zhou Sun had a point.
"How do we make the exchange?"
"Tomorrow night, at the third watch. Cash for goods... We'll meet here."
Su Mu had no objections. After reaching an agreement, the two quickly parted ways.
The following evening, Su Mu arrived at the agreed location early. After checking that there was no one lying in ambush nearby, he waited quietly for Zhou Sun.
"The air is dry, so mind the candles!"
At the third watch, the night watchman walked along the deserted street with a lantern.
Zhou Sun furtively made his way into the agreed-upon alley. Just as he was looking around, a figure soundlessly appeared and lightly tapped his shoulder.
Zhou Sun was obviously startled, and his whole body shuddered. Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough to cover his own mouth.
"Young master... you really do come and go without a trace."
"Where's what I asked for?" Su Mu didn't waste words. He took out two banknotes and flashed them. Zhou Sun immediately handed him a bundle. Inside were two sandalwood boxes.
When Su Mu opened one of them, a rich ginseng fragrance wafted out. The Blood Ginseng inside was nearly two inches long, its roots twisted like coiling serpents. Its body was round and a dark red, and its quality was clearly superior to that of the thirty-year-old Blood Ginseng.
Su Mu quickly checked it against the fifty-year-old characteristics Pharmacist Lin had described. Once he confirmed it was genuine, he handed over the banknotes.
"Young master, it's been a pleasure doing business with you." As he spoke, Zhou Sun handed him a crude wooden token. "Renxin Pharmacy in the East City market district. If you need other herbs or rare goods next time, just show them this token at the shop."
Su Mu gave a slight nod, accepted the token, and soon left.
Early the next morning, Su Mu went to Cloud Crane Medical Hall and handed Pharmacist Lin a complete set of the herbs. After inspecting them, the pharmacist showed a strange look.
"Pharmacist, is there something wrong with the herbs?"
"It's nothing too serious. The Blood Ginseng and Three-leaf Blood Ganoderma barely make the fifty-year mark. They might have gotten damp due to poor storage."
At that, Su Mu naturally realized Zhou Sun had swindled him. He also understood how Zhou Sun had managed to get hold of these herbs.
"Don't worry, young friend. If these herbs fell into someone else's hands, their medicinal properties might be reduced by thirty percent. But in my hands, they won't lose much of their efficacy."
"Come back in three days to collect your medicine."
As Su Mu was about to leave, the Young Physician called out to him. "Brother Su, take this book... Don't worry, Master knows about it."
Every cloud had a silver lining!
Su Mu looked down. In his hands was a copy of the Compendium of Herbs. Having learned from a hard lesson, he was also interested in medicine, so he might as well start with this medical text.
"This is an unexpected windfall... If I hadn't taken that loss, the pharmacist wouldn't have given me a book on herbs for nothing."
That night, the sound of a long spear whooshed without cease in the courtyard. Days and nights turned, time flew by.
Before he knew it, three days had passed.
It was early morning. The sky was a dim gray, and it looked as though another rainy day was in store. When Su Mu arrived at the medical hall, he saw a wooden sign hanging outside the bamboo gate. It read: Closed for three days.
"Young master, the pills were finished last night. Come with me!" The Young Physician was waiting at the medical hall entrance. The moment she saw Su Mu arrive, she smiled and hurried over.
"I've done my best. I managed to refine five pills this time."
In the study, the pharmacist uncorked a porcelain bottle. A familiar, sweet fragrance wafted out, and Su Mu poured one pill into his hand to examine it.
"Thank you and Young Physician Xiao Yue for all your trouble these past few days."
After leaving the medical hall, Su Mu hurried back to his residence. Just then, a light rain began to fall, pattering softly.
The young man's face immediately turned pale. His hands and feet went cold as the pain of the Gu Worm gnawing at him struck.
He turned and went inside. Instead of taking the pill right away, he took out the single antidote pill he had left and compared the two. The pills smelled almost identical, but the one Pharmacist Lin had refined was somewhat yellower in color.
Then Su Mu circulated his inner force and carefully examined the pills one by one. He also broke one in half to check it thoroughly before finally putting it in his mouth.
It tasted bitter at first, then sweet, with almost no difference in flavor. As the pill dissolved, its medicinal liquid flowed along with his blood. Su Mu soon felt the agitated Gu Worm inside him settle down again.
Phew!
The young man let out a long breath, expelling the pent-up air in his chest.
His tightly furrowed brow relaxed like winter snow melting in spring. The invisible executioner's blade that had hung over his head for nearly two years, pressing down on him until he could barely breathe, had finally cracked for the first time.
The fate that had been manipulated was now veering off course, and the shackles of death forced upon him were beginning to break apart.
"This pill... works!"
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