Helping in the Pharmacy

Chapter 12: Helping Out at the Pharmacy

The next day, Fang Mo arrived at the Martial Hall even earlier than usual. The sky had yet to brighten. He only did this to minimize his chances of running into people outside.

He would wait until he reached Bright Force and had the strength to protect himself.

Bright Force was the first major threshold for martial artists. Though it was nothing remarkable in this flourishing age of martial arts, one would still undoubtedly be considered an expert among ordinary gang members.

Yunyang was not a major city either. A typical gang would already be doing quite well if it had a few Bright Force martial artists; most of them were merely ordinary martial artists. Thus, once he reached Bright Force, he should be able to protect himself. More importantly, he would become a true disciple of the Martial Hall and gain its protection. By then, the gangs would not dare act recklessly.

After holding his stance for a round and practicing a set of punches, the others finally began arriving.

"He sure came early!"

"He's just trying to show off. Does he think showing up early will do him any good? It's useless with Master!"

"There's a kind of hard work called pretending to work hard!"

"Hehe!"

The other trainees secretly mocked Fang Mo as he practiced his punches. Martial arts reigned supreme, and word that Fang Mo lacked the innate bones of a martial artist had long since spread. Naturally, none of them thought highly of him.

Fang Mo never paid attention to others' attitudes. He focused wholeheartedly on training, only stopping when Ding Zhiyuan arrived to greet him.

"What is it? Are there any problems with your fist technique?" Ding Zhiyuan thought Fang Mo wanted to ask about cultivating the Tiger Subduing Fist.

"It's not about the fist technique." Fang Mo shook his head and looked at Ding Zhiyuan. "Senior Brother Ding, I wanted to ask whether you have any channels for medicinal liquid and Exotic Beast Meat. The Martial Hall's supply is too small. It's nowhere near enough!"

Ding Zhiyuan looked at Fang Mo, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Junior Brother Fang, you know that Spirit Medicine and Exotic Beast Meat are controlled by forces like the military, sects, martial arts academies, and the various Martial Arts Families, Martial Halls, and gangs. They're extremely difficult to obtain on the market. Our family can get a little through our connections, but the amount is quite limited!"

Fang Mo nodded.

"I know that too, Senior Brother Ding. Do you know if there's any way to get them on the black market?"

Ding Zhiyuan hurriedly shook his head.

"You must never go to the black market. Even if you manage to get something there, it'll be expensive and poor in quality. Sometimes, you'll even get scammed. The people on the black market are black to the bone. We got taken in before—we spent hundreds of thousands, and everything we got was useless counterfeit goods!"

Fang Mo's expression turned grave at those words. Without sufficient medicinal liquid and Exotic Beast Meat, there was simply no way to guarantee his training speed.

Naturally, he could ask Yue Jian for help, but he did not want to owe Yue Jian too much either.

Seeing Fang Mo's dilemma, Ding Zhiyuan hesitated before saying, "If you don't need much, I can spare some for you!"

Fang Mo quickly said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Ding, but your own supply is insufficient. How can you give some to me? I'll think of another way!"

Ding Zhiyuan steadied himself and gritted his teeth. "I can spare five bottles of medicinal liquid and five jin of Exotic Beast Meat for you every month. Use that to hold on for now. I'll ask my family to think of something too!"

Fang Mo hurriedly said, "Senior Brother Ding, if you give those to me, won't you have even less for yourself? It's fine. If it comes to it, I'll look for other channels!"

"It's settled, then!"

Ding Zhiyuan seized Fang Mo with a resolute expression. "With my situation, there's definitely no hope of breaking through. I might as well give them to you!"

"Then... thank you, Senior Brother Ding!"

Fang Mo hurriedly thanked him gratefully. He truly was grateful. For an ordinary friend to go this far was already exceedingly rare.

Ding Zhiyuan knew that he had no hope of breaking through, which was why he wanted to invest in Fang Mo.

If Fang Mo could break through, perhaps he could lend a hand in the future. It would be good if he could help when Ding Zhiyuan's family faced trouble. His family's business also had dealings with gangs and other forces. With a Bright Force martial artist helping them, they could at least avoid some trouble.

Of course, Fang Mo was not a good target for investment, but Ding Zhiyuan's family was not wealthy enough to invest in anyone else.

If he gave these things to others, they would not even look twice at them.

Fang Mo was also deep in thought. He had to quickly secure a source of medicinal herbs and Exotic Beast Meat.

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His progress had clearly slowed. Without medicinal liquid and Exotic Beast Meat, his body could not recover, and he could no longer train overtime the way he had before. At this rate, it would take even longer to cultivate the Tiger Subduing Fist to the third realm.

"Miao Ping, arrange for someone to come help me grind medicine!" At that moment, Pharmacist Xie stood at the pharmacy window and shouted toward the courtyard.

"Alright!" Miao Ping answered. His gaze swept across the courtyard, and the trainees immediately looked away. Some lowered their heads, while others suddenly became utterly absorbed in their training. No one wanted to waste time helping Pharmacist Xie grind medicine.

Every month, the Martial Hall purchased Spirit Medicine, which Pharmacist Xie refined into various medicinal liquids for training.

These medicinal liquids were vital supplies that ensured the trainees' training progress, but the workload was immense. Each session took one or two days, so the trainees were not very willing to go. It would delay their training, and there was no payment for it.

"Fang Mo, you go!" Miao Ping's gaze fell on Fang Mo.

How tight was Fang Mo's time?

Although he possessed a divine ability, he still had to train in earnest. How could he have time to waste? But under Miao Ping's unquestionable stare, he knew that refusing would likely bring trouble. He could only nod. "Alright, Senior Brother Miao!"

When the others saw that Miao Ping had chosen Fang Mo, they could not help breathing sighs of relief. The looks they gave Fang Mo carried a hint of gloating.

Ding Zhiyuan opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing, merely letting out a faint sigh.

He felt some indignation on Fang Mo's behalf. Helping out at the pharmacy consumed a great deal of time. Fang Mo already had poor innate bones—wouldn't this delay waste even more of his time? But he was not yet a true disciple himself and had little say before Miao Ping.

Fang Mo arrived at the pharmacy. Pharmacist Xie was sorting medicinal herbs. Without even raising his head, he said flatly, "Grind all these herbs into powder!"

Looking at the medicinal herbs in several baskets, Fang Mo's scalp tingled. Finishing all this would likely take quite a while.

"Kid, don't look so unwilling!"

Pharmacist Xie sorted through the medicinal herbs as he said, "This is good work. Those guys don't understand it, but if you can learn a trick or two from me, you'll never have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of your life!"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Seeing Fang Mo remain silent, Pharmacist Xie smiled and said:

"Kid, don't underestimate alchemy. There are only a dozen or so alchemists in all of Yunyang, but how many martial artists are there in Yunyang? How much do they consume? Once you learn this craft, you won't have to worry about being unable to buy spirit medicine. People will bring their herbs right to your door and ask you to refine them. You can soak in medicinal liquid every day, and even eat Bone Strengthening Soup and Blood Nourishing Pills!"

"You haven't even tried either of those yet, have you?"

Pharmacist Xie looked at Fang Mo with a beaming smile.

At those words, Fang Mo's thoughts began to stir.

Exotic Beast Meat and spirit medicine were controlled goods. With his status, he had no channels through which to buy them at all. The black market prices were exorbitant, and quality was not always guaranteed. If he became an alchemist himself, it would also guarantee his cultivation progress.

His heart was moved, and he hurriedly said, "All right, Pharmacist Xie. I'll work hard!"

Fang Mo settled down and began grinding medicine in earnest, asking Pharmacist Xie whenever he encountered something he did not understand.

Every kind of herb required a different grinding method. It was not as simple as chopping and grinding them at will. Only by understanding the medicinal properties and grinding techniques could one better bring out their effects.

[Medicine Grinding: Beginner (/100)]

After he successfully ground a batch of medicine, golden words appeared on the Bronze Mirror in Fang Mo's mind.

Sure enough, his divine ability worked on Medicine Grinding as well. With this divine ability, what was there to fear about not being able to learn it? He became even more diligent, grinding batch after batch of medicine.

Half a day later, the Bronze Mirror in his mind trembled, and golden words appeared.

[Medicine Grinding: Elementary Mastery (1/1000)]

Immediately afterward, a great deal of information flooded into his mind, and his understanding of Medicine Grinding rapidly improved.

This was much faster than practicing fist techniques. He became even more focused on grinding medicine and learning the properties of herbs.

Seeing Fang Mo's grinding technique grow increasingly skilled, Pharmacist Xie's eyes flashed with surprise and approval.

He had never expected that Fang Mo, who had originally been considered poorly endowed, would possess such astonishing talent in alchemy.

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