Tell Lao Mo I Want Fish!

"Yuhao, how much money do you have left?" Yao Lao suddenly asked from within the Sea of Consciousness.

Huo Yuhao paused, did a quick calculation in his head, then answered, "A little over ten thousand Gold Soul Coins, I think. Why, Teacher?"

"You can now begin trying your hand at Alchemy, but to refine medicine, you need ingredients, as well as a Medicine Cauldron," Yao Lao said.

"When I told you earlier that I could help solve your money problems, I meant that you could sell the medicine you refined. But first, you need enough money to buy the ingredients and a Medicine Cauldron. You should prepare at least twenty sets of ingredients, too. After all, anyone learning Alchemy must be prepared to fail."

Huo Yuhao nodded. He had already guessed some of what Yao Lao was telling him.

After all, that Flame Emperor had also started out by selling pills that he and Yao Lao refined, earning himself some money and standing in his beginner village. Huo Yuhao's current situation was no different from his back then.

Refine pills, sell them for money, then use that money to buy ingredients for more pills-that was the Alchemists' business model of compounding profits.

Moreover, anyone seeking an Alchemist's services could never provide just one set of ingredients. They usually had to supply three or even five sets.

If the refinement succeeded on the first attempt, all the remaining ingredients belonged to the Alchemist. If every set was used up without producing a pill, the Alchemist bore no responsibility whatsoever.

Conjuring cakes out of bare ground, reaping a harvest whether drought or flood-an Alchemist's business was just that profitable, with no capital at risk. Yet even so, countless people wanted to beg an Alchemist to refine medicine for them and could not even find a way in!

But for Huo Yuhao, the biggest problem right now was a lack of startup capital.

The ten thousand Gold Soul Coins he had seemed like a sizable sum, but it was not quite enough to buy pill ingredients and have a suitable Medicine Cauldron forged.

Aside from rare medicinal herbs, the ingredients Yao Lao used included the blood essence of hundred-year soul beasts. Such things were not so scarce that money could not buy them, but their prices were extremely high.

And to withstand the heat of flames generated by soul power, or even the burning of beast flame and heavenly flames, the Medicine Cauldron had to be made from rare metals with exceptional heat resistance.

Once he worked out the costs carefully, the money he had was nowhere near enough. The shortfall was enormous.

After all, his daily meals already cost a great deal. He absolutely could not spend all his money on Alchemy ingredients and a Medicine Cauldron at the expense of his own cultivation.

Yao Lao was also observing Huo Yuhao. If Huo Yuhao asked him for help and wanted him to refine something to sell first, he would not refuse. But that would mean Huo Yuhao had already begun depending on him, and continuing down that path would be very dangerous.

Flowers in a greenhouse might grow quickly, but they could not withstand wind and rain. Only by becoming strong and self-reliant could he become a true powerhouse in the future.

Should I borrow some money from someone first? Huo Yuhao pondered the question. After all, he did not want to ask Yao Lao for help over such a small matter.

Wang Dong probably isn't short of money, but I'd better keep my distance from her for now. She has a strand of God King Tang's divine consciousness inside her. I wouldn't dare get tangled up with her right now.

Ning Tian is the young sect master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, so she should be rich too. But we barely know each other yet. She probably wouldn't lend me money, would she?

As for Qian Duoduo, the vice dean of the Soul Tool Department, he'd definitely lend me money if I asked. But... forget it. Any favor owed to Shrek's people has to be repaid with your own body. I'd better not make trouble for myself...

Huo Yuhao thought of several people, but none seemed particularly suitable.

"A big fish... where can I find a big fish to get me some soul coins to spend...?"

Just as Huo Yuhao sank into thought, a lean but sturdy-looking man seemed to hear him and walked over excitedly.

"Buddy, how did you know I caught a twenty-jin Gold Dragon Fish today?"

Huo Yuhao was instantly dumbfounded. He had clearly been talking to himself, and he did not even know this man!

Who the hell asked you? You sneaky angler!

"Wait a second... fish?!" Huo Yuhao's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Brother, you've got some real skill! You actually managed to catch a Gold Dragon Fish that big?" Huo Yuhao patted the angler's arm and praised him loudly.

"Ahem, well... I didn't exactly catch this fish all by myself," the angler said, scratching his head sheepishly. "My daughter went fishing with me today, and she hooked this twenty-jin Gold Dragon Fish on her very first cast. But she wasn't strong enough, so I was the one who hauled it in."

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao cast a somewhat pitying glance at the Gold Dragon Fish on the cart beside the angler. It was well over a meter long.

Veteran anglers who always come home empty-handed aren't scary. Beginners are the ones you should fear. Why did you have to mess with her? Look at you now-you got opened up like a beginner's gift pack!

"What do you do for a living, brother?" Huo Yuhao asked.

"I deliver fish to the academy's dining hall. I'm just an ordinary merchant from Shrek City." The angler laughed. "Shrek's students are all noble Soul Masters. I wouldn't dare have you call me brother-that'd shave years off my life. Just call me Lao Mo."

"Lao Mo?!" Huo Yuhao froze at the name, then immediately grew solemn with respect.

"Hello, Lao Mo. I'm a new student at Shrek Academy. My name is Gao Qi... no, my name is Huo Yuhao!" Huo Yuhao shook Lao Mo's rough right hand.

"Starting today, I'd like to buy some fish from you. I'd also like you to help me purchase fresh meat from ten-year soul beasts, along with some vegetables and the like. I'll buy everything from you at three times the market price. How does that sound?"

"Three times the market price?!" Lao Mo said incredulously. "No, no, no, that's far too much. I can't make money off a child like you. Just give me a little something for running the errands."

Huo Yuhao smiled gently and gave the honest, plainspoken fish merchant a firm pat on the shoulder.

"It's all right. Just do as I say. Once my business grows, I'll pay you even more!"

Lao Mo declined several times, but he could not prevail against Huo Yuhao in the end and could only leave with profuse thanks.

The twenty-jin Gold Dragon Fish also became Huo Yuhao's, to be delivered to him that evening along with everything else.

Huo Yuhao gave Lao Mo a deposit of one thousand Gold Soul Coins to purchase the goods. Considering that he might not have time to collect them personally in the future, he also arranged a code phrase with Lao Mo for picking up orders.

Tell Lao Mo I want fish!

Yao Lao was utterly bewildered. Once Lao Mo left, he hurriedly asked Huo Yuhao, "Yuhao, what are you planning to do?"

"Teacher, doesn't Alchemy require practice in controlling flames?" Huo Yuhao asked with a smile.

"That's right. Using your soul perception to control the heat is the most crucial part of refining medicine. But why do you ask?" Yao Lao said in confusion.

"Nothing much. I've found a very clever method that happens to let me practice controlling flames. You'll see tonight."