Resurrection Pill

After leaving Qing Lin's house, Qing Lin tugged at Qing Mo's sleeve, hesitating to speak. Her emerald-green eyes were full of worry.

Qing Mo naturally noticed her unusual behavior. He stopped and turned sideways.

"Qing Lin, is that spoiled young master who bullied you connected to the Poison Dragon Mercenary Group?"

When Xiao Ding had mentioned the Poison Dragon Mercenary Group earlier, Qing Mo had easily guessed the truth from Qing Lin's reaction.

"Brother Mo..." Qing Lin bit her lower lip, struggling inwardly. How could her simple thoughts possibly be hidden from Qing Mo?

"It's fine. I won't act recklessly."

Qing Mo patted Qing Lin's little head and said nothing more. Now that he knew who had bullied Qing Lin, he naturally would not let him off. There would be plenty of time for revenge once he was strong enough.

Along the way, Qing Mo noticed quite a few people searching for something with portraits in their hands. They wore black leather armor, with a vicious venomous snake embroidered on their chests. Clearly, they were members of the Poison Dragon Mercenary Group.

Qing Mo paid them no mind. It was merely a mercenary group he had never even heard of. He guessed their strength could not be all that impressive; they could not possibly cover the sky with one hand in Stone Desert City.

He first took Qing Lin to an auction house and sold the Storage Ring he had received from Xiao Ding.

Storage Rings were extremely valuable items on the Dou Qi Continent. They contained their own internal space and could store objects. If this Storage Ring were auctioned off, it could fetch more than one hundred and twenty thousand gold coins, perhaps even more.

But Xiao Li's condition was critical, and there was no time for an auction. He could only sell it at a low price, letting it go for the standard price of one hundred thousand gold coins.

Since he was helping someone, he naturally could not delay their affairs over a little money.

Afterward, the two went to pharmacies to buy a Resurrection Pill, but unfortunately, they found none even after checking several shops.

This surprised Qing Mo somewhat. He had thought buying a second-grade pill would not be difficult.

But reality proved that he had been thinking too simply.

Stone Desert City was the last city on the eastern border of the Jia Ma Empire, right beside the Tagore Desert.

It lay at the border between human territory and the Snakefolk domain. The environment was harsh, unforgiving, and dangerous, and Snakefolk attacks could come at any time.

Such a place naturally could not attract esteemed alchemists to settle there. Alchemists generally preferred to remain in safe, prosperous cities or great sects, where materials were abundant and they were held in high regard.

The pills sold in Stone Desert City's pharmacies were all transported in from outside. Therefore, pills here were extremely expensive. Ordinary people simply could not afford second-grade pills like the Resurrection Pill. More accurately, anyone who could easily afford a second-grade pill would never come to such a harsh place.

Thus, the pills here were mostly first-grade pills, while second-grade pills were exceedingly rare.

This gave Qing Mo quite a headache. In an enormous Stone Desert City, he could not even buy a second-grade pill.

Left with no choice, he could only visit a pharmacy called the Shimo Grand Medicine Pavilion. It was also the last pharmacy he had yet to check. If he could not buy one here, there was nothing else he could do.

The Shimo Grand Medicine Pavilion was not large. Its storefront was built from heavy sandstone, with dried herbs, snake bones, and scorpion specimens hanging at the entrance.

The air was filled with a mixture of bitter herbal scents, faint bloodiness, and the fishy odor of poisonous creatures.

The shelves were packed with all kinds of medicinal ingredients: dried desert cacti, sandwood roots, scorpion-tail powder, snake gallbladders, detoxifying herbs, and more.

Labels were pasted onto the drawers of the medicine cabinets behind the counter, listing the names of the ingredients.

There was a glass display case specially used for antidote pills and healing medicine, the most sought-after goods in Stone Desert City.

Several large earthenware jars sat in a corner, containing all manner of poisonous creatures soaked in wine or medicinal liquid.

A physician's apprentice walked over. He looked about twenty years old and was thin and wiry.

"What would this young master like to buy? Our medicines are honestly priced for young and old alike. We guarantee value for money and genuine goods..."

"Resurrection Pills. Do you have any Resurrection Pills?" Qing Mo went straight to the point. He could not be bothered to listen to the man's nonsense.

"A second-grade Resurrection Pill!" The physician was somewhat surprised. Not only was such a pill expensive, but it was also difficult to transport. Pills like this were generally only stocked when someone had placed an order, and he did not know whether they had any in store.

"Please wait a moment, Young Master. Second-grade pills are far too precious. I need to ask the shopkeeper."

"Fine." Qing Mo nodded.

Before long, the physician came back out.

"Young Master, please come inside." The physician gestured for him to enter.

Qing Mo followed the physician to a partitioned room in the back.

"Young Master, please enter. My boss is inside," the physician said before withdrawing.

Qing Mo entered with Qing Lin. A middle-aged man who looked somewhat amiable was sitting inside. He was short and fat, dressed in an expensive brocade robe.

He was toying with an emerald-green jade pendant in his hand. The pendant was crystal-clear and shimmered with light. Seeing Qing Mo enter, he quickly put away the treasure and revealed a practiced smile.

"This young master, I hear you wish to buy a Resurrection Pill." He raised his head, his eyes darting about.

"You're the owner of this shop, aren't you? You specifically called me over, so it shouldn't be just to make small talk."

"Haha, Young Master, you are quite interesting. Since that is the case, I'll speak plainly."

The pharmacy owner stood and walked over to Qing Mo, saying:

"Young Master is quite lucky. I happen to have a second-grade Resurrection Pill."

"But as for the price..." The middle-aged man rubbed his hands together, his face covered in a sly grin that made one want to punch him.

He had been worrying over how to sell this pill, yet someone had unexpectedly come right to his door. He had spent a great deal of money to have the pill transported from Desert City at someone else's request, but the moment it arrived, that person died. The pill had thus remained in his hands.

"How much?" Qing Mo's expression did not change. A profiteer like this would most likely jack up the price on the spot.

"Not much, not much. Just fifty thousand gold coins." The owner held up five fingers, smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum.

"Young Master, you must understand, second-grade pills are already rare to begin with, especially in Stone Desert City. I dare say the other pharmacies definitely do not have Resurrection Pills. Pills like this are only available by preorder."

"And besides... Young Master, time waits for no one..."

The pharmacy owner spoke meaningfully. This kind of pill could save a life. If someone had come to buy one, that meant the situation was already serious, did it not...

This damned profiteer!

Qing Mo cursed inwardly, but the man was indeed right. The pharmacy owner could wait, but Xiao Ding could not. He could not delay Xiao Li's treatment over a few tens of thousands of gold coins. Besides, it was not his money being spent.

"I'll take it."

"Young Master is truly generous! You're such a straightforward person!"

The pharmacy owner's face immediately lit up with joy, the wrinkles on his face bunching together like a flower.

He deftly took a jade box from deep within a drawer, then retrieved several bottles of premium healing medicine and hemostatic powder from beneath the counter. He wrapped them together and handed them to Qing Mo.

"Consider these a small token of appreciation from our humble shop, a gift for Young Master."

"I hope Young Master will visit us often in the future!"