"How did your search for medicines out west go? Was Longdi easy to travel through?" Pei Ye asked with a smile.
"Well enough. I found most of what I wanted." Qu Xin spoke evenly, glancing at him. "There are plenty of good people in Shaolong, except Li Piaoqing. She wouldn't feed me unless I bought her medicines."
"..." Pei Ye couldn't help laughing, then said earnestly, "Well, you can hardly blame Piao Qing for that. Just buy some from her."
"Will you pay?"
"Fine, I'll pay." Pei Ye wasn't entirely penniless these days, and he braced himself. "How much is she charging you?"
"Seventeen hundred taels a year. If you put up a quarter, the Mount Tai Medicine Lodge will make the deal, and you'll even get a share of the profits."
"..." Pei Ye glanced nonchalantly at the pear tree outside the courtyard. "Ah... you young sect masters really do talk big business."
"Why pretend when you can't afford it?"
Pei Ye changed the subject. "Stop talking about money all the time. Tell me, when did you get here? Do you know what caused the biggest stir in the Divine Capital a few days ago?"
He pressed his lips together and raised his chin, his mind full of that entry he had looked down and seen in Shaolong Prefecture: "Seventy-seven, Mount Tai Medicine Lodge, [Little Medicine Lord] Qu Xin."
"The wager over sword authority before the Vermilion Bird Gate?"
"Exactly!" Pei Ye beamed. "Looks like even though you didn't witness it yourself, you've heard plenty of rumors these past few days. In the next Crane and Teal Register, I might just rank above you."
Qu Xin nodded and said mildly, "It really was impressive. I saw several accounts. They all said Young Master Pei was a young whoremonger who