I've Got a Batch of Goods

"Gu Yuan! You really made me look ridiculous today!"

Zhang Tian finally couldn't take it anymore and slumped over the table in the rest area.

"My hard-earned reputation is ruined."

Gu Yuan walked over and sat beside him, patting him on the shoulder.

"Brother Tian went easy on me, though. If you'd gone all out, I would've lost in no time."

Looking at Zhang Tian, Gu Yuan could only offer some consolation.

"What's written here—I hope readers will remember our domain: Taiwan Novel Network, t͜͜͡͡w͜͜͡͡k͜͜͜͡͡a͜͜͡͡n͜͜͡͡.c͜͜͡͡o͜͜͡͡m͜͜͡͡. Super useful."

"By the way, Brother Tian, didn't you say yesterday that you had something else to discuss with me?"

Gu Yuan changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on it.

"You were all mysterious and said you had to tell me in person. You can tell me now, right?"

At that, Zhang Tian sprang upright from the table.

He warily scanned the area. Once he saw that no one was paying attention, he pulled Gu Yuan and Zhang Yining, who had been quiet beside them, closer and lowered his voice.

"Come closer. Closer."

Zhang Tian looked around, then carefully pulled two small porcelain bottles from inside his coat and set them on the table, speaking in a hushed voice.

"So, when I was at Martial University, I got some defective Breath Pills from my teacher. They have a bit more pill poison, but their medicinal effects aren't much worse..."

"So..."

Gu Yuan glanced at the two bottles and waved a hand before Zhang Tian could finish.

"Brother Tian, it's not that I don't want to support you, but I really have no use for those."

Give me a break.

Ever since Gu Yuan acquired the Saint Hand Pulse Clearing trait, his body had been cultivating automatically around the clock. The blood qi in his meridians was naturally purest when cultivated on its own.

Take defective pills with so much pill poison? That would be like pouring garbage into his body.

Besides, Gu Yuan had recently discovered that his cultivation efficiency while asleep was several times higher than when he was awake. It was practically an idle leveling cheat—why would he need pills to help?

"Cousin, there's nothing I can do for you either," Zhang Yining said with a pained expression. "I'm hoping to get into Martial University! If a physical exam shows my blood qi is impure, I'll lose points."

Seeing the two of them act like they wanted nothing to do with the pills, Zhang Tian paused, then turned to look at them.

"What? What are you thinking?"

He looked at them like they were beyond help.

"I was asking you to come with me to the black market here in Sea City. I don't know the place, and I could easily get ripped off on my own. You two are sharp—help me check things out."

"You're both at a crucial point in preparing for Martial University. Why would I make you take defective pills?"

"Cough, cough..."

Gu Yuan gave an awkward little cough at that.

"Brother Tian, it's mainly because what you said just now was way too easy to misunderstand."

"Exactly," Zhang Yining agreed with a nod.

Coming back to himself, Gu Yuan looked at the porcelain bottles on the table and asked in confusion:

"Still, Brother Tian, wouldn't selling these get you in trouble? Don't go getting arrested by the Destiny Bureau."

Besides clearing out the fierce beasts beyond the city and dealing with unusual incidents within it, the Destiny Bureau often inspected the black market for illegal goods.

Zhang Tian looked at the two of them as if they were idiots.

"What? Who told you these were illegal?" he said, exasperated.

"The Blood Qi Pills I have just don't meet the Alchemist Association's standards, so they were classified as defective. That doesn't mean they're against the law."

"Those people at the Alchemist Association charge a fortune for their pills, like they're robbing you! And they're rationed, too—they only sell a tiny amount each week. There's never enough to go around."

"Mine have a bit more pill poison, but they're cheap and plentiful. Plenty of people are eager to buy them."

Zhang Tian paused, then continued explaining. "Not everyone's aiming for the Martial Arts Academy at Martial University. Plenty of people want to get into its Alchemy Academy or Artifact Refinement Academy."

"They don't have such strict blood qi requirements. They just need to meet the minimum standard; they don't care about its purity. So plenty of people are willing to buy defective Blood Qi Pills to give themselves a boost."

"I see."

After Zhang Tian explained, Gu Yuan and Zhang Yining finally understood.

There was quite a lot to know about how things worked.

"So, are you two coming or not?" Zhang Tian invited them again. "Think of it as keeping me company and broadening your horizons."

"I'll treat you to a big meal later. The new Beast Hot Pot place in the south of town—eat as much as you want!"

"Sure," the two said in unison.

Who'd turn down something exciting to watch and a big meal?

Just then, Gu Yuan seemed to think of something and leaned toward Zhang Tian.

"By the way, Brother Tian, is alchemy really that profitable?"

Zhang Tian jumped at the sudden movement and jerked backward, putting some distance between them.

Once he'd recovered, he replied matter-of-factly:

"Obviously. Alchemists have always had the most profitable job. There's no competition."

"Even a newly initiated apprentice alchemist makes more in a month than a body-tempering martial artist who works themselves to the bone hunting fierce beasts in the wilderness."

The two of them sucked in a sharp breath at that.

Whoa!

That was outrageous.

"Then, Brother Tian, your teacher's an alchemist. Are you one too? Can you make pills yourself?"

After seeing how much money alchemists could make, Gu Yuan couldn't help asking. He was wondering whether he might be able to set out on that bright path himself.

"You think alchemists are cabbages, growing everywhere?" Zhang Tian sat beside Gu Yuan and looked at him as if he were an alien.

"Do you think pills are cold medicine? You can't just make them whenever you want. You think it's that easy?"

His expression turned a little strange.

If becoming an alchemist were so easy and pills were so simple to make, why would the Alchemist Association ration their supply?

If it were really that simple, alchemy would've become a common profession long ago, and pill prices would've plummeted.

"Let me put it this way. Sea City has a population of several million, but among those registered with the Alchemist Association, there's only one low-rank alchemist and two apprentice alchemists. What do you think?"

Gu Yuan and Zhang Yining exchanged a look.

That ratio was terrifying.

"All right, stop thinking about things that have nothing to do with you." Zhang Tian stood and dusted off his pants.

"Let's head out now. We need to sell this batch of goods as soon as possible. I'm counting on the money to buy some equipment. After school starts, our Martial University is going to the Beast Realm for practical training."

As he spoke, Zhang Tian pulled the two of them toward the martial arts center's entrance in a hurry.

None of them noticed the martial arts center student behind them, who had just finished training and was quietly dialing a number on his phone.

After the three had gone some distance, the student lowered his voice and spoke into the phone.

"Hello, is this the Destiny Bureau? I'd like to report something. I think I heard someone say they were going to sell contraband at the black market. They mentioned some 'goods' and said they had to 'get rid of this batch as soon as possible'!"