Before entering the palace, Qian Renxue gave Meng Chen a gold soul card and gently reminded him:
"Little Chen, there are ten thousand Gold Soul Coins on this card. When you go shopping later, buy anything you like. Don't worry about running out of money."
In Qian Renxue's eyes, a cute little boy ought to be raised in luxury.
If some strange auntie lured Meng Chen away with a lollipop while he was out, she would have nowhere even to cry.
"Mm-hmm! Thank you, Brother Xue!"
Meng Chen looked at the gold soul card, his face lighting up with delight.
As he took the Gold Soul Card, he did not forget to reach out and hug Qian Renxue, rubbing his fair, tender cheek against hers in a show of affection.
Feeling Meng Chen's affection for her, Qian Renxue stroked his little head, a trace of fondness rising in her eyes.
What a sweet child!
Qian Renxue sighed inwardly. After gently pinching Meng Chen's cheek once more, she finally left, reluctant to part.
"Sister Qingdai, do you know where the best apothecary in Heaven Dou City is?" Meng Chen asked Qingdai.
Qingdai thought back for a moment before answering softly, "Young master, the best one in Heaven Dou City is the Benevolent Heart Apothecary, but it's in the south of the city, some distance from our crown prince's residence."
"The Benevolent Heart Apothecary..."
Meng Chen murmured the shop's name.
The reason he wanted to visit an apothecary was entirely because of the first of the Golden Dragon King's eighteen seals.
To break it, he needed a hundred-year ice crystal fruit, a hundred-year Blazing Flame Fruit, and ten drops of fresh blood from a hundred-year soul beast with a draconic bloodline.
"All right. Sister Qingdai, go tell the steward to have someone take me to the Benevolent Heart Apothecary. I need to buy a few things."
"Yes, young master." Qingdai nodded without asking what he wanted to buy.
Before long, the steward had arranged a carriage, and Qingdai and Hongyu climbed aboard with Meng Chen.
A little over an hour later, the carriage stopped outside the Benevolent Heart Apothecary.
The carriage door opened, and Meng Chen hopped down. Qingdai and Hongyu wanted to follow him, but he refused.
"Sister Qingdai, you and Sister Hongyu can just wait outside. You don't need to come with me."
Qingdai and Hongyu exchanged a glance, then nodded in agreement.
"Please be careful, young master." Hongyu still felt a little uneasy.
"Mm-hmm. I'm only buying some medicine. Nothing will happen."
Meng Chen reassured Hongyu, then trotted toward the Benevolent Heart Apothecary.
The Benevolent Heart Apothecary occupied a spacious building, quaint and elegant. Flowering branches spread across its walls, the crabapple blossoms in full bloom, their rich fragrance filling the air.
Meng Chen pushed open the door, and a faint medicinal fragrance greeted him. Only a handful of customers were buying medicine inside, and there were just two female clerks behind the counter.
"Little boy, what medicine would you like to buy?"
One of the clerks, who looked a little more mature, spotted Meng Chen and was instantly captivated. She hurriedly beckoned him over, afraid the other clerk would get to him first.
Meng Chen trotted up to the counter.
Luckily, the counter was not too high, and half his head peeked above it.
Looking at the many medicine cabinets behind the clerk, Meng Chen thought for a moment before asking, "Big sister, I'd like a hundred-year ice crystal fruit and a hundred-year Blazing Flame Fruit. Do you have them here?"
"A hundred-year ice crystal fruit and a hundred-year Blazing Flame Fruit..."
The clerk nodded at his request. "We do, but what do you need them for, little boy?"
"To treat an illness," Meng Chen said, casually making up an excuse.
At that, a hint of pity entered the clerk's gaze as she looked at Meng Chen.
"To treat an illness? Child, are you sure?"
Suddenly, a gentle female voice rang out. Everyone looked toward it and saw a beautiful woman in white walking gracefully over from a corner of the apothecary.
The woman was stunningly beautiful, with silky black hair falling to her waist, a delicate oval face, and soft, graceful features. A trace of compassionate concern for all living things rested between her brows.
A lifelike crabapple blossom painted between her eyebrows lent her an added touch of holiness.
Her white robes outlined her mature, voluptuous figure, laden with ripe fruit and surging waves. Looking down, she could not see her own toes. She resembled a fully ripened honey peach, as though the gentlest pinch would draw out sweet juice.
One look was enough to tell how suffocating that sweetness could be!
"Madam." ×2
The two clerks greeted the beautiful woman in unison. Ye Cixin gave a slight nod, then slowly walked over to Meng Chen and looked down at him, a flicker of surprise crossing her lovely eyes.
What an adorable child!
Meng Chen also lifted his head, but those towering, unreachable peaks blocked his view. Though he was somewhat taller than other children his age, he still barely reached the beautiful woman's hips.
"Child, the medicinal potency of even one hundred-year ice crystal fruit or hundred-year Blazing Flame Fruit is more than an ordinary soul master can withstand. Their attributes also clash. How could they be used to treat an illness? Who gave you this prescription?"
Ye Cixin's fine brows drew together slightly as she crouched, her full, rounded buttocks resting lightly against her calves, and gently questioned Meng Chen.
She knew that some prescriptions used herbs with conflicting attributes, but they also included other medicines to harmonize them. Asking for only two conflicting medicines, as Meng Chen had, was practically asking to harm someone!
As the beautiful woman drew closer, a delicate crabapple fragrance drifted from her, lingering around Meng Chen's nose. It was subtle and pleasant. He shook his head and explained:
"It isn't just these two spirit fruits. There are other things, too."
"What else?" Ye Cixin pressed.
"Um... I can't say." Meng Chen shook his head again.
Hearing this, Ye Cixin recalled that some apothecaries liked to purchase ingredients separately, fearing that others would decipher their secret prescriptions.
Since that was the case, Ye Cixin asked no more questions and instead explained the prices of the two spirit fruits.
"Hundred-year ice crystal fruits and hundred-year Blazing Flame Fruits aren't ordinary medicinal ingredients. They're quite valuable, and each costs three thousand Gold Soul Coins. Do you have enough?"
Meng Chen nodded and handed Ye Cixin the gold soul card Qian Renxue had given him.
Ye Cixin noticed the imperial crest on the card, and her gaze shifted slightly.
Is this child a member of the imperial family?
Taking the gold soul card, Ye Cixin instructed a clerk to fetch the medicine.
Compared with the Douluo Continent twenty thousand years later, the environment of the present-day Douluo Continent had yet to suffer damage, and its resources were abundant. Natural treasures such as hundred-year ice crystal fruits were hardly rare.
The clerk returned carrying two medicine boxes. Ye Cixin took them and opened each one to inspect its contents.
"These two spirit fruits were picked recently and preserved using our apothecary's special methods. Their medicinal potency will last for a month at most, weakening as time passes. If you intend to use them in medicine, it's best to do so within three days."
Ye Cixin instructed Meng Chen, and he nodded earnestly, his clear voice carrying a touch of childishness.
"Mm, I understand, Auntie."
Seeing how sweet and sensible Meng Chen was, Ye Cixin grew fond of him and could not resist reaching out to stroke his head.
Soon, the clerk finished wrapping the two medicine boxes, and Ye Cixin handed them to Meng Chen along with his gold soul card.
Meng Chen thanked her, then turned and left with the medicine boxes.
Outside the apothecary, Qingdai and Hongyu had been waiting for some time. Seeing Meng Chen emerge safely, they quietly breathed sighs of relief.
"Young master, shall we head back?"
Qingdai took the medicine boxes from Meng Chen's hands as she asked.
Meng Chen shook his head. "There's one more thing I need to buy. Sister Qingdai, do you know anywhere that sells fresh soul beast blood?"
"Fresh soul beast blood? I don't think anywhere sells that. What do you need it for, young master?"
Qingdai thought for a while, but she could not think of anywhere in Heaven Dou City that sold fresh soul beast blood. Mainly, no one had any use for the stuff.
On the Douluo Continent twenty thousand years later, soul beasts were on the brink of extinction, so their fresh blood had also become a so-called natural treasure.
But at present, soul beasts were plentiful, and no one paid any attention to something like their blood.
Meng Chen said, "I want to use it to temper my body."
"Young master, if you need fresh soul beast blood, you can hire a soul master to hunt a soul beast and collect its blood. There's no need to specifically buy it," Hongyu interjected from beside him.
Realization dawned on Meng Chen. He immediately instructed Hongyu, "Sister Hongyu, sorry for the trouble, but I'll leave this to you. I need ten drops of fresh blood from a soul beast with a draconic bloodline, no more and no less. The sooner, the better, so the dragon blood retains its vitality."
"Oh, and Sister Qingdai, please prepare a metal container for me, too. It needs to be sturdy."
"All right, young master."
"Yes, young master."
Hongyu and Qingdai agreed at the same time. They had the coachman take Meng Chen back to the crown prince's residence first, while they went to purchase the fresh soul beast blood and metal container...
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