Hundred Pills Tower, Successful Alchemy! (Seeking Follow-ups!)

"If the pharmacist has any difficulties, please speak frankly."

"This matter isn't really a big deal. Young friend, you saved my life. A few medicinal ingredients are just external things. I brought back a batch of herbs during my travels... but that fifty-year-old Blood Ginseng and the Three-leaf Blood Ganoderma, among a few other ingredients, are hard to find now."

"Roughly a few years ago, the price of ingredients like Blood Ginseng started to rise. Six months ago, not only were the prices exorbitant, but Blood Ginseng and other high-year ingredients were monopolized by Hundred Pills Tower. Now, only thirty-year-old ones are left on the market."

"I'm ashamed to say, I haven't been able to find these ingredients during my travels."

A few ingredients were missing.

Su Mu's eyes flickered, and a thought immediately crossed his mind: he could try Hundred Pills Tower first, and if that didn't work, he'd try the Black Market.

"Please, Pharmacist, give me a list."

"Alright, I'll make one right away."

The pharmacist took out paper and brush and began to write. In a short while, a list was ready. "Young friend, over the next few days, I'll also try to see if I can use lower-year ingredients or other herbs to substitute for some of these, and refine some pills first."

"If all goes well, one Blood Ginseng should yield about four or five pills."

"Thank you, Pharmacist."

Su Mu took the list, glanced at it, and thanked him. They chatted for a few more minutes. Before leaving, Su Mu took something out from his collar. "Pharmacist, this is the medical hall token the Young Physician gave me back then. Now that you've returned safely, this item should be returned to its rightful owner."

The pharmacist's pupils contracted slightly when he saw the crane-shaped wooden hairpin being handed over. A flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he immediately waved his hand.

"You should keep this item, young friend, or return it to its rightful owner yourself."

Su Mu was stunned and put away the wooden hairpin. As he left, he noticed the Young Physician had gone out. He thought he'd return it next time he saw her.

Leaving the medical hall.

Su Mu let out a long sigh. The immediate crisis of the poison acting up and leading to death was finally going to be resolved, and there was also a lead on completely removing the Gu Poison.

He didn't care how many pills one Blood Ginseng could yield. Even if it was just one, it would be a tremendous blessing. This gave Su Mu a tangible hope of survival.

As long as he could live, there would be a solution to any problem!

Afterward, Su Mu quickly headed to the market and walked into a large pharmacy.

"Do you have Blood Ginseng?"

"Yes, honored guest. How many years of Blood Ginseng do you need?"

Blood Ginseng was expensive. Hearing Su Mu's question, the pharmacy apprentice's face lit up, and his tone became more enthusiastic.

"Do you have any thirty years or older?"

The apprentice was taken aback and immediately shook his head.

Afterward, Su Mu visited several more fairly large pharmacies, and the results were the same: none had Blood Ginseng of thirty years or older.

The prices were all similar. The cheapest thirty-year-old Blood Ginseng was thirty taels, while the more expensive ones were priced at nearly forty taels.

"I'll go check out Hundred Pills Tower."

Qingyun Street, the main thoroughfare connecting the north and south gates of the county, was also the most prosperous street in Qingyun City. Hundred Pills Tower was located there.

With glazed tiles for the roof and bluestone steps, Qingyun North Street featured a lavishly decorated five-story pavilion. Above the main entrance, a vermilion plaque bore the gilded characters: Hundred Pills Tower.

"As expected of one of Qingyun's five major powers, it's truly magnificent."

Su Mu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The Black Tiger Gang's stronghold, the top gang in Qingshui Town, was like a mere speck of dust in comparison.

Upon entering, he was quickly greeted by a tall, smiling woman in a red dress.

"What can I help you with, honored guest?"

Su Mu got straight to the point. "Does your establishment have fifty-year-old Blood Ginseng?"

The red-dressed woman at Hundred Pills Tower secretly glanced at a plump, middle-aged man in silk. The man made no move, and then the woman shook her head and politely refused.

"I'm sorry, we're sold out of Blood Ginseng of that age right now. Please try elsewhere."

Su Mu saw everything and knew the pharmacist hadn't lied.

"It seems I'll have to go to the Black Market as soon as possible."

After leaving Hundred Pills Tower, Su Mu's brow twitched. He keenly sensed someone was following him. He immediately walked into the crowd and then turned into a side alley at an intersection.

A man turned into the alley a moment later. Seeing the empty alley, the shifty-eyed man was dumbfounded. He had clearly seen the kid turn in here.

Just then, a voice came from behind him, "Do you need something, sir?"

The shifty-eyed man turned and saw Su Mu, his heart startled. Although his strength wasn't top-tier, he had recently been promoted to Ninth Rank. Su Mu looked much younger than him, but the latter's strength was clearly far superior.

Su Mu's background must not be simple.

Clearing his throat, the man introduced himself, "Young man, I mean no harm. My name is Zhou Sun. My uncle is a steward at Hundred Pills Tower."

"Someone from Hundred Pills Tower?"

Su Mu's heart stirred, guessing the man's intentions.

As expected, after introducing himself, Zhou Sun quickly stated his purpose. "Young man, I can help you get the Blood Ginseng you want. I can also help you with other ingredients, but not too many at once."

"Fifty-year-old Blood Ginseng is one hundred taels per plant."

The price was extremely high, more than three times the price of thirty-year-old Blood Ginseng with inferior quality!

Su Mu calmly asked, "What is the price of fifty-year-old Three-leaf Blood Ganoderma?"

"That item is slightly cheaper than Blood Ginseng, eighty taels per stalk."

Su Mu was tempted. Rather than trying his luck at the Black Market, it was better to trade with the person in front of him. Moreover, the quality of medicinal herbs from Hundred Pills Tower was guaranteed to some extent.

Should I buy one to try first?

Su Mu frowned, "Your price is too high."

"Young man, you must understand that while other fifty-year-old medicinal herbs are manageable, the two you are asking for are difficult to find. You must be aware of this."

"One hundred and fifty taels."

"Fine, one hundred and fifty taels then."

Seeing how readily Zhou Sun agreed, Su Mu knew he had likely offered a high price, but no business is without its shrewdness, and Zhou Sun did have a point.

"How shall we trade?"

"Tomorrow night, at the third watch. Cash on delivery... let's set the location here."

Su Mu had no objections. After reaching an agreement, they both left quickly.

The next evening, Su Mu arrived at the agreed location early. After confirming there were no ambushes, he quietly waited for Zhou Sun.

"Dry weather, beware of fire!"

At the third watch of the night, the watchman walked the empty streets with a lantern.

Zhou Sun sneakily arrived at the agreed alley. Just as he was looking around, a figure appeared silently and lightly tapped his shoulder.

Zhou Sun was clearly startled and shivered all over. Fortunately, he was quick-witted and covered his own mouth.

"Young man... you truly appear and disappear without a trace."

"Where is what I want?" Su Mu cut to the chase, taking out two silver notes and waving them. Zhou Sun immediately handed over a package, which, when opened, revealed two sandalwood boxes.

One of the wooden boxes was opened, releasing a rich scent of ginseng. The Blood Ginseng in the box was nearly two inches long, with gnarled roots like a dragon, and a plump, dark red body. Its quality was clearly superior to the thirty-year-old Blood Ginseng.

Su Mu quickly examined it according to the fifty-year-old characteristics described by Pharmacist Lin. Once confirmed, he handed over the silver notes.

"Young man, happy trading." As he spoke, Zhou Sun handed over a simple wooden token. "Renxin Pharmacy in the East City Market. If you need other medicinal herbs or rare items in the future, you can go directly to that pharmacy and show this token."

Su Mu nodded lightly, accepted the token, and left quickly.

The next morning, Su Mu went to Cloud Crane Medical Hall and handed a complete set of medicinal ingredients to Pharmacist Lin. After examining the herbs, Pharmacist Lin had a strange look on his face.

"Pharmacist, are these medicinal ingredients problematic?"

"It's not a major issue. This Blood Ginseng and Three-leaf Blood Ganoderma can barely be considered fifty years old. Perhaps they were not stored properly and got damp."

Hearing this, Su Mu naturally understood that Zhou Sun had tricked him, and also understood how Zhou Sun managed to procure these medicinal ingredients.

"Don't worry, young friend. If these medicinal ingredients fell into other hands, their efficacy might be reduced by thirty percent, but in my hands, not much efficacy will be lost."

"Come back in three days to collect the medicine."

As Su Mu was leaving, the Young Physician called out to him, "Young Master Su, take this book... Don't worry, Master knows."

A blessing in disguise!

Su Mu looked down. In his hand was a Compendium of Herbs. Learning from his mistakes, it was perfect as he was also interested in medical skills, and this medical book was a good starting point.

"This is an unexpected surprise... If I hadn't suffered this loss, the Pharmacist wouldn't have given me a medicinal book for free."

That night, the sound of a spear whistling echoed through the courtyard, day and night.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

This morning, the sky was a hazy gray, looking like another rainy day. When Su Mu arrived at the medical hall, he saw a wooden sign hanging outside the bamboo door that read: "Closed for three days."

"Young man, the pills were refined last night. Come with me quickly." The Young Physician was waiting for Su Mu at the entrance of the medical hall. Seeing Su Mu arrive, she smiled and hurried over.

"I've fulfilled my mission. Five were refined this time."

In the study, the Pharmacist opened the porcelain bottle, and the familiar scent wafted out. Su Mu poured one into his hand and examined it.

"Thank you for your hard work, Pharmacist, and Physician Xiao Yue."

Leaving the medical hall, Su Mu quickly returned to his courtyard. Just then, a light rain began to fall, pattering down.

The young man's face suddenly turned pale, his hands and feet grew cold, and the pain of the Gu poison gnawing at him returned.

He turned and walked into the house. Instead of taking the pill directly, he took out the remaining antidote to compare. The two pills had almost identical scents, except the pill refined by Pharmacist Lin was a slightly yellower hue.

Immediately, Su Mu activated his Force and carefully examined each pill one by one. He then split one in half to inspect it thoroughly before putting it into his mouth.

The taste was bitter at first, then sweet. The taste was almost identical. As the pill dissolved, the medicinal liquid flowed with his blood, and Su Mu soon felt the restless Gu worms inside him calm down.

Hoo!

The young man exhaled a long breath, releasing the pent-up frustration.

His tightly furrowed brows smoothed out like melting winter snow. The invisible sword of Damocles that had hung over his head for nearly two years, pressing down on him to the point of suffocation, finally showed a crack at this moment.

The manipulated fate of the young man began to deviate. The death sentence imposed upon him started to be pried loose.

"This pill... it works!"