Vitality Pill

Wu Yuqing drove Lin Fei back to his residence, and Lin Fei stepped out of the car.

"Yuqing, please wait a moment, I'll go bring the gold coins down."

Wu Yuqing ignored Lin Fei's request; after getting out of the car, she walked straight toward the building.

"I'm not Yu the Great, passing my own door three times without entering. Lin Fei, aren't you going to invite me up for a seat?"

Lin Fei shook his head, feeling a bit helpless against Wu Yuqing.

If he were to stubbornly block her from going up, it would only serve to arouse her suspicions.

The two took the elevator up to his floor.

Lin Fei opened the door and gestured with his hand in an inviting manner.

"Please, come in!"

Wu Yuqing walked inside with her hands behind her back, a smile playing on her lips.

She looked around at the layout and furnishings of the apartment, wanting to see if there was anything unusual about Lin Fei's home.

"Your place is quite cozy. I never would have guessed you had such a flair for domestic life."

Lin Fei had originally intended this place to be a temporary home for him and Ma Weiwei after they married, so he had decorated it with great care.

That, however, was not worth explaining to Wu Yuqing.

"My conditions here are humble, and I really have nothing to entertain you with. Just a glass of water, I hope you don't mind."

Lin Fei poured a glass of water for Wu Yuqing and set it on the coffee table.

"Have a seat for a moment."

Lin Fei turned and entered the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

He pulled a box out from the closet, but just as he was about to open the door to leave, he saw Wu Yuqing standing right at the bedroom entrance.

Wu Yuqing felt a bit guilty, like a thief caught in the act, but she turned the tables on him instead.

"Lin Fei, why are you keeping the door closed and acting so mysterious? Is there something shameful in there you're hiding?"

Lin Fei closed the bedroom door and replied with a smile, "There actually is something shameful in there; I was afraid it would scare you."

"This contains three thousand gold coins. The count has been verified. You can recount them after you take them back. I have other matters to attend to shortly, so I won't keep you."

Lin Fei issued a polite dismissal, and Wu Yuqing took the hint and left.

Lin Fei carried the box containing the gold coins to Wu Yuqing's car, watched her drive away, and then returned upstairs.

After locking the door behind him, Lin Fei went back to the bedroom, grabbed a few gold notes, and activated the space gate to return to Nanli City.

Although only the time it took to eat a meal had passed for him, several days had already gone by in Nanli City.

Before leaving, Lin Fei had instructed the servants in the manor that he would be practicing bigū—abstaining from food—in his room and that no one was to disturb him.

If he hadn't left those instructions in advance, Lin Fei worried that a servant might have broken into the room.

After all, it would be impossible for a grown man to stay in his room for days without eating or drinking without drawing attention.

"Someone, prepare the carriage!"

Lin Fei left by carriage, heading toward the Duobao Pavilion.

This time, when purchasing Small Foundation Pills, Lin Fei did not intend to go through Li Ruxue.

For one, the Li Family was, after all, a cultivation family, and the people within it were a mixed bag.

If he were to purchase Small Foundation Pills repeatedly through Li Ruxue, it would inevitably invite suspicion.

For another, he had always been curious about the Duobao Pavilion, which was backed by a cultivation sect, and he had never been there before.

He decided to take this opportunity to broaden his horizons.

The Duobao Pavilion was located in the North City District; it took Lin Fei a full two hours by carriage to travel from the South City to the North City.

"So this is the Duobao Pavilion?"

The Duobao Pavilion was built in a grand and imposing style, standing a full eighteen stories high.

Not to mention the North City District, it was one of a kind in the entire Nanli City; there was absolutely no other building that could compare to it.

The Duobao Pavilion possessed an extraordinary aura, and the entire building seemed to faintly exude a sense of power.

It made everyone who approached it feel a sense of awe and an invisible pressure.

Lin Fei did not know that this was actually caused by a formation.

As soon as he entered the building, Lin Fei felt a faint fragrance permeating the air. After smelling it, he felt light and airy, his mind refreshed.

In the entire first-floor lobby, there was only one woman dressed in green receiving guests.

The woman was in her twenties, with sharp eyes and a deep, powerful aura; she did not seem like an ordinary mortal.

Just by meeting her gaze, Lin Fei felt an inexplicable pressure, and even his breathing became heavy.

"A mere mortal!"

The other party saw at a glance that Lin Fei possessed no cultivation base, her expression cold and her gaze arrogant.

In a place like Duobao Pavilion, they didn't look at what clothes you wore or what gold and silver jewelry you adorned yourself with; they looked at the level of your cultivation.

A mortal without cultivation was the lowest of the low and would receive no preferential treatment whatsoever.

Only those with higher cultivation could enjoy sufficient respect.

"What is your business coming to Duobao Pavilion?"

"This... Immortal Maiden..."

Fearing he might offend her, Lin Fei quickly changed his form of address.

"Immortal Maiden, I wish to purchase a few Small Foundation Pills."

"Mortal-grade pills can be purchased with gold and silver. One Small Foundation Pill costs one thousand gold. Have you brought enough?"

"I have brought enough."

Lin Fei took out his gold notes and let her catch a glimpse.

The woman in green remained unmoved, her gaze not lingering on the gold notes for even a second.

To an ordinary person, gold notes were wealth.

To a cultivator, gold notes were nothing but waste paper.

"Wait here!"

She picked up a small bell and gave it a light shake.

Before long, a young man dressed in black walked out and bowed to the woman in green.

"You handle this person."

"Understood, Senior Sister Qingxuan!"

The young man in black glanced at Lin Fei and beckoned, "Follow me!"

He led Lin Fei toward the back, entering an inner hall.

Inside the inner hall were rows of cabinets, much like the medicine cabinets in a traditional pharmacy.

"How many Small Foundation Pills do you want?"

"Ten!"

Since it was rare to visit Duobao Pavilion, Lin Fei naturally wanted to buy more pills.

Three Small Foundation Pills for Wu Zhen, and one for Zhou Wangdao.

As for the remaining six, he could keep them for himself in case of an emergency.

"One Small Foundation Pill costs one thousand gold coins. Ten will be ten thousand gold. Hand it over!"

Lin Fei took out a gold note with a denomination of ten thousand and handed it to him.

The young man in black walked to the front of the cabinets, found the one labeled Small Foundation Pill, and took out a white porcelain bottle from within.

"There are ten Small Foundation Pills in here. Do you have any other needs?"

Lin Fei examined the cabinets, which were labeled with the names of various pills.

Among them was the Snow Ginseng Jade Toad Pill.

This was an excellent medicine for treating external injuries such as flesh wounds and bone damage; the last time Lin Fei was injured, he had taken one and recovered immediately.

"How much is this Snow Ginseng Jade Toad Pill?"

"One hundred gold coins each."

"Give me one hundred of them."

Lin Fei had brought enough gold notes this time. These pills were impossible to buy on Earth, so he decided to purchase a larger quantity.

"May I ask what this Vitality Pill is used for?"

The young man in black let out a scoff, his eyes filled with disdain as he looked at Lin Fei.

"You have no use for this Vitality Pill."

Lin Fei did not get angry; after all, in a place like Duobao Pavilion, even a mere servant might be someone he couldn't afford to provoke.

"Hehe, I am just curious. Could you enlighten me?"

The young man in black crossed his arms over his chest, chin held high, looking down his nose at him.

"Fine, I will tell you. One Vitality Pill costs five thousand gold. It is specifically for cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm to consume, as it can accelerate their cultivation speed."

"If an ordinary person were to consume it, they would be unable to refine the medicinal power, and it would act like poison. At best, it would shatter their meridians; at worst, they would bleed from their seven orifices and explode to death."