Selling Pills

At the thought of the enormous fortune he would soon have in hand, the little face beneath the veiled bamboo hat brimmed with excitement, his grin nearly wider than his face.

"No, this won't do. I really don't have time to set up a stall and sell them here. What should I do? What should I do?"

As he hesitated, Mu Bai looked up and caught sight of an imposing building: the Peony Pavilion. Drawing closer, he saw a prominent "Notice to Customers" on the wall by the entrance. Not only did it display a scrolling list of prices for various goods, but it also carried a notice seeking pills, stating that the Peony Pavilion would pay high prices for rare and precious pills.

"Rare and precious pills, my foot. It's just a front for buying low and selling high."

Although he had little experience of the world, Mu Bai thought he understood this sort of merchant's trick perfectly well.

"I'll ask what they're offering first."

The moment he stepped into the Peony Pavilion, a young woman approached and said softly, "What may I do for you, Senior? Just call for Xiao Lan whenever you need anything."

"Sorry for the trouble, miss. I'm just looking around..."

Mu Bai could hardly withstand such an enthusiastic welcome, and his face flushed before he knew it.

"Oh, so you're a young gentleman! Hee-hee..." Seeing how bashful Mu Bai was, Xiao Lan could not help wanting to tease him. "Go ahead and look. If there's anything you don't understand, come ask your big sister. I'm always here for you..."

Mu Bai suddenly remembered that a veiled bamboo hat was useless before a cultivator's divine sense. No wonder the cultivators at the tribal market had all looked at him so strangely. At the thought, sweat beaded on his forehead...

"My elders gave me some pills. I have more than I can take, so I'd like to exchange them for soul crystals."

"Have you taken a fancy to some girl and want to buy your little sweetheart a present?"

"You're amazing, big sister. You guessed it right away."

Helpless, Mu Bai could only ride the slope she had offered him down.

"Let me see your pills, then."

Mu Bai took out every pill he had on him and placed them all on the table.

Xiao Lan opened the porcelain bottles one by one and carefully sniffed them.

"Are you from the White Wolf Tribe, young gentleman? These pills were refined no more than half a year ago. Within several thousand miles of here, I'm afraid only the Alchemist retained by the White Wolf Tribe has this kind of ability!"

Xiao Lan was young but seasoned. In an instant, she had deduced a great many connections from just a few bottles of pills.

"Just name your price, big sister!"

As he listened to Xiao Lan, Mu Bai felt somewhat calmer and wanted to finish the transaction and leave quickly.

"What's the hurry, young gentleman? Don't you want to stay and chat with your big sister a little longer?"

Giggling, Xiao Lan brought her lips close to Mu Bai's ear, her figure rising and falling as she breathed out gentle, fragrant breaths. He had heard of people who liked teasing young girls; apparently, there were women who enjoyed teasing young boys just as much. At his tender age, how could Mu Bai withstand such an approach? His little face instantly reddened to the roots of his ears.

"No, no, I need to get home early for dinner!"

Glancing at the sun already slanting low outside, Xiao Lan chuckled and stopped teasing the adorably clueless boy.

"All right, then. I wouldn't want you to find your big sister annoying. Thirty soul crystals for each Soul-Nourishing Pill, twenty for each Soul-Cleansing Pill... That comes to seven hundred and seventy soul crystals. Since you're so adorable, how about I give you eight hundred?"

Mu Bai was shocked by her offer. You might look all smiles and frivolity, but you certainly know how to slash prices and fleece your customers.

"You clearly sell Soul-Nourishing Pills for sixty soul crystals each in your shop..."

"Oh, my dear boy, do you know how expensive the rent is here? I'm just a poor woman all alone, with no one to rely on, and I have to support myself on this meager profit..."

As she spoke, Xiao Lan actually raised a hand to wipe away a few tears, biting her lip as she gazed at Mu Bai with pitiful, tearful eyes.

"Would you really have your big sister end up on the streets, bullied by bad people?"

"Oh, come on, big sister. I'm not exactly well-off myself. I worked hard to save these for over half a year. I won't sell for anything less than a thousand!"

With that, Mu Bai gathered up the bottles and jars on the table and hastily tucked them into his robes.

"Don't rush off, my dear boy. We can talk this over. A thousand soul crystals is fine, but on one condition." Xiao Lan stopped Mu Bai and tapped the bridge of his nose, saying slyly, "Tell me honestly, can you get your hands on large quantities of pills?"

Mu Bai's heart jolted, and he did not know how to respond.

Xiao Lan leaned close to Mu Bai's ear again and whispered, "Tell me where the pills came from, and I'll give you a thousand."

"All right, to tell you the truth, my master is an Alchemist! And naturally, so am I..."

"Xiao Lan, bring the young gentleman twelve hundred soul crystals. These pills were refined less than half a year ago. Their medicinal potency has had time to mature without dissipating. They're worth that price."

Mu Bai looked up to see a young married woman in sumptuous clothes emerge from a room on the second floor and descend the stairs with graceful steps.

"Xiao Lan is mischievous by nature. Please don't take offense, young gentleman." The richly dressed young woman walked gracefully toward Mu Bai, the fragrance of rouge and powder wafting toward him. "When you refine new pills, please remember our Peony Pavilion. I'll certainly pay a high price for them!"

"Of course, of course." Mu Bai accepted the Soul Crystal Bag Xiao Lan handed him, swept it with his divine sense, and tucked it into his robes before returning the pill jars to the table. "I'll take my leave for today and trouble you another time."

With the soul crystals in hand, Mu Bai naturally had no intention of lingering. Xiao Lan alone had almost fed him a bewitching brew, and now there was a mature young beauty as well. If he did not grease his soles and slip away at once, was he supposed to stay and wait for the dishes to be served for New Year's?

Watching Mu Bai flee through the door in such a fluster, both women in the shop could not help covering their faces and laughing. "Let him go. There's no need to get involved in tribal disputes. We'll just attend to our own business."

After leaving the Peony Pavilion, Mu Bai hurried into the crowd, wound through several alleys, and changed out of his black clothes. Seeing that no one had followed him, he hurried back to his lodgings.

Believing he had left no gaps whatsoever, Mu Bai had no idea how lucky he had been today. Otherwise, he would certainly have brought disaster upon himself.

Twelve hundred soul crystals might not have looked like much inside the Soul Crystal Bag, but piled on the table, they formed a glittering little mountain.

Mu Bai stared fixedly at them, his little heart thumping nonstop.

"Huh? Why are five missing? I counted them already. Did I drop them on the way? No, could the Soul Crystal Bag have eaten them?"

Those were five whole soul crystals-an enormous fortune to a child from a small tribe. Yet however Mu Bai turned it over in his mind, he could not figure it out and could only let it go. Fortunately, he still had more than a thousand left, which was no small amount.

"I'll find time to buy some medicinal herbs and Fierce Beast materials. I actually saw dragon bone and Shezi Flowers at the tribal market today. By the look of them, they were at least two hundred years old."

Mu Bai had studied the Compendium of Pills and Herbs thoroughly, and even knew many medicinal ingredients he had never seen like the palm of his hand.

"There was also a Black-Tailed Snake. It should be a second-level Fierce Beast. It would help refine soul power!"

Seeing the evening lights beginning to glow, and with this clearly being no suitable place to refine pills, Mu Bai could only put aside his excitement over the thousand-odd soul crystals and make the most of his time. Sitting cross-legged, he began practicing the Spirit-Tempering Art and soon entered a state of mental cultivation, passing the night in meditation without further incident.