Selling Medicine

Early in the morning, Gu Hengzhi carried a small basket of freshly harvested herbs from the Spirit Field and stepped into a medicine shop in Notting City.

The shop was small, its doorway old, and the three words "Heavenly Spring Hall" on its sandalwood signboard had faded pale after years of wind and rain. The shopkeeper was an old man past fifty. Time had carved deep wrinkles into the corners of his eyes, as if chiseled by blade and axe. He was thin and wiry, yet full of vigor, and was intently counting medicinal ingredients behind the counter. When he noticed someone entering, he casually asked, "Need medicine?"

Gu Hengzhi spoke calmly and set the basket gently on the counter, as though the herbs inside were nothing out of the ordinary.

The shopkeeper paused slightly, then looked into the basket. The dozen or so herbs had only recently been picked. Their leaves were lush and green, their roots white as jade. Though they were merely ordinary herbs, they exuded vigorous vitality, with no sign of wilting.

The shopkeeper stroked his beard, a trace of doubt flashing through his eyes. Half-convinced, he picked out several herbs and examined them closely, occasionally bringing them to his nose. He was experienced enough to see that while these herbs were not rare spiritual medicines, their medicinal properties were clearly stronger and their impurities fewer than those of ordinary wild herbs.

The shopkeeper said no more, only murmuring, "Two Silver Soul Coins per plant. That's a fair price."

Gu Hengzhi nodded slightly in acceptance, with no intention of bargaining.

After taking the Silver Soul Coins, he immediately asked, "I'd like to buy some first-tier spiritual medicine seedlings. Do you have any?"

"We do, but spiritual medicine seedlings aren't cheap, and they're not easy to keep alive." The shopkeeper raised a brow and looked him over, curiosity flashing in his eyes. "You're so young. What do you need them for?"

Gu Hengzhi did not answer. His expression was as still as water, like a silent mountain. He merely leaned slightly closer to the counter, his gaze settling on the row of wooden shelves behind the shopkeeper. Several rows of bamboo boxes sat there, each containing seedlings sealed within soul power. Their stems and leaves were slender as threads, swaying lightly beneath pale blue soul power barriers like floating grass in water, radiating a faint and mysterious aura.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper stopped trying to persuade him. He raised a hand and pointed to several common first-tier spiritual medicines as he introduced them. "This is the Qi-Congealing Flower. It helps condense the Sea of Qi and is greatly useful to ordinary soul cultivators and Soul Masters. That is Essence-Calming Grass, suitable for calming the mind during meditation. This Azure Sun Vine has a strong yang attribute and is especially suited to fire-attribute Soul Masters for cultivation. And there's the Soul-Nourishing Vine. It's the hardest to grow, but if you manage to raise it successfully, it can nourish the spirit and soul..."

As Gu Hengzhi listened, he silently studied the seedlings, the look in his eyes gradually becoming focused. He did not decide at once. Only after pondering it repeatedly did he choose three kinds of spiritual medicine, totaling more than thirty seedlings. He handed over all the Silver Soul Coins he had earned, along with an additional Gold Soul Coin, nearly investing everything he had made.

While the shopkeeper was sealing the boxes, the low conversation of two people suddenly drifted in from outside as they entered the shop one after the other.

"Have you heard? Old Jack's eldest son from Holy Soul Village... he went up the mountain to gather herbs yesterday and ended up dying in the jaws of a soul beast."

"What? Why have the soul beasts outside the mountain suddenly become active?"

"Who knows? I also heard soul beasts have been howling in the direction of the back mountain at night lately... A lot of people are too scared to leave the village."

The two men lowered their voices warily, but Gu Hengzhi still heard them clearly.

His fingers paused slightly, and his brows furrowed without him noticing. His gaze shifted discreetly toward the doorway.

Holy Soul Village, Old Jack's eldest son...

He remembered that name. He also remembered that Old Jack was an elder Tang San respected in the original story. If someone had already died to a soul beast, then the main storyline was slowly beginning to unfold—perhaps that child of destiny had already begun cultivating with the Mysterious Heaven Technique. Tang Hao was absurd too. His own son was so abnormal, yet he had failed to notice.

Gu Hengzhi's expression remained unchanged, but ripples stirred within his heart.

He took a deep breath, gathered all the spiritual medicine seedlings into his arms, and turned to leave the medicine shop. Sunlight fell across his refined face, yet his eyes held a weight and sharpness that did not belong to one so young.

Tang San is already on his way, he silently told himself. Then I can't afford to fall another step behind.

Carrying the sealed boxes of spiritual medicine seedlings, Gu Hengzhi swiftly returned to the Spirit Field.

At the edge of the field, Gu Hengzhi took out the small boxes containing the seedlings. He gently removed them one by one and planted them with the care one would give an infant. The soil was slightly damp, and thin spiritual energy rose from underground, like mist and smoke beneath the night sky. He planted the more than thirty spiritual medicines in separate areas, arranging them from the center of the Spirit Field to its edges with proper spacing.

When night fell, he was still at the field's edge, sprinkling spring water over them one by one. As the water seeped into the soil, it made faint gurgling sounds, as though responding to his expectations.

After finishing everything, he sat on the field ridge and let out a long breath. He gazed at the night sky without speaking.

That night, he did not cultivate. Instead, he passed it in quiet stillness, as though every fluctuation in every inch of the Spirit Field was reflected within his heart.

The next morning.

When Gu Hengzhi returned to the Spirit Field with a watering can, the eastern sky was just beginning to pale. The mist in the mountain forest had yet to disperse, damp and cold. He walked to the field with a fairly ordinary expression, until he lowered his head and clearly saw the spiritual medicine seedlings.

His steps halted.

The seedlings at the edges were almost without exception—there was not the slightest sign of growth.

Their stems and leaves remained thin and weak, even appearing a little more shriveled than yesterday. The tips of some had curled slightly, as if lacking water, or perhaps unable to absorb spiritual energy.

He frowned and crouched down for a closer look. There was nothing wrong with the soil. The moisture and spiritual energy were both within normal ranges. Yet these spiritual medicines seemed to be "asleep," giving no response whatsoever to the Spirit Field.

He rose and looked toward the center of the Spirit Field. The few seedlings near the Earth Vein's core had not grown enough to shoot upward, but they were clearly thriving, their leaves unfurled and their colors clear and lustrous.

Yet what surprised him most was the one at the farthest edge of a corner—

an Azure Sun Vine near the stone boundary.

It had originally been just a casually planted seedling, and its supply of spiritual energy had not even been sufficient. Yet at this moment, that Azure Sun Vine was growing the most vigorously. Its leaves were broader and thicker than those of any other plant, and its roots and stem were darker in color, with faint threads of gold showing through. Among all the spiritual medicines, it also had the highest chance of advancing into a first-tier spiritual medicine.

"Strange..." Gu Hengzhi said softly.

He slowly approached the Azure Sun Vine, his gaze intent.

There was nothing unusual about the soil, nor had the formation patterns shifted from their coverage. Yet this particular plant was not only growing quickly, but its aura also seemed more "alive," as though some force beneath the field was quietly nourishing it.

He crouched down and lightly touched the Azure Sun Vine's stem with a finger. It was warm and faintly trembling—as though some life was responding to his touch.

After a long while, he stood up without rushing to make a judgment.

"Either... something in this field has changed without my noticing, or... there's something unusual about it itself!" he muttered. His tone held no emotion, but several possibilities had already surfaced in his mind.