By the time Jun Wangchen finished drinking milk tea with Zi Hanyan off campus, it was already five in the afternoon. Remembering that he had yet to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill, he found an excuse to leave her for the time being and headed back to his dorm.
As he passed a pharmacy, Zhang Zhengxiao called and asked him to bring back a bottle of liniment. Remembering that Zhang Zhengxiao had been hit with a ball during the basketball game, Jun Wangchen agreed without hesitation, hung up, and entered the pharmacy.
Just as Jun Wangchen was about to pay for the liniment, an old man in rather ragged clothes hobbled into the pharmacy on a cane.
On his back was a large basket used for gathering wild greens, stuffed with various plants. Some still had soil clinging to them, and the earthy smell carried quite a distance.
At the old man's arrival, several girls who were particular about cleanliness immediately frowned, pinched their noses, and backed away while fanning the air.
His clothes were filthy and disheveled, and a faint unpleasant odor clung to him. Clearly, he had not bathed in a long time.
The old man glanced around with his wrinkle-ringed eyes, slowly approached the counter, and asked politely, "I heard you buy medicinal herbs here. How much do you pay for mugwort leaves and cogongrass roots?"
The male clerk behind the counter had been engrossed in watching television. Irritated by the interruption, he raised his eyebrows and looked up. Once he saw the old man's face and clothes, disgust flashed in his eyes.
Fanning the air in front of his nose and keeping his distance, he said disdainfully, "We're not buying. Get out. You stink."
Unbothered by the clerk's obvious revulsion, the old man pointed toward the