Chapter 29: Buying Medicine
After hearing his question, Xiao Bai stopped and looked at him with a gloomy look.
Xiao Yan looked at his eyes and couldn't help shrinking his neck. He was familiar with this look. Xiao Bai always looked at him like this right before a beating.
"I have a flexible moral bottom line!"
Xiao Bai stared at him for a moment, then uttered a sentence that made Xiao Yan a little puzzled at first, and then continued walking out.
"Flexible moral bottom line?"
Xiao Yan muttered for a while and suddenly realized—Brother Bai was just shameless!
If you can beat someone, then you can talk about morality. If you can't beat them, what's the point of talking about morality?
But he didn't dare say it out loud, for fear of being beaten!
He gave Xiao Bai a thumbs up in his heart. It's you, Brother Bai, who makes shamelessness sound so fresh and refined.
Yao Lao in the ring also rolled his eyes, weighing his own strength against Xiao Bai's, wondering if this kid would talk about morality in front of him.
The two arrived at the Miteer Auction House in the North District without saying a word.
The Miteer Auction House was the largest and most high-end trading place in the Jia Ma Empire.
There were branches in various cities, and Wu Tan City was no exception.
Though called an auction house, it also included auctions, appraisals, acquisitions, and retail.
The front of the building bustled with activity.
Wu Tan City was close to the Magic Beast Mountains, and many mercenaries sold their harvested herbs and magic cores here.
Because only here could they sell large quantities quickly and at a fair price.
If they tried retailing in a street stall, prices might be better, but it would take longer—time better spent back in the mountains.
"Brother Bai, why are we coming here? Let's go to the market instead."
Seeing Xiao Bai heading directly toward the Miteer Auction House, Xiao Yan was confused. What he wanted to buy was just a few medicinal herbs and a magic core. Why go somewhere this fancy?
In Xiao Yan's eyes, people only came here to buy things in bulk or to purchase something rare—something the market didn't have. For everyday needs, most people went to the market.
After asking, he looked around sneakily, leaned toward Xiao Bai, and whispered with a smirk, "Hehe. I heard a very charming female auctioneer started here recently. Brother Bai, you didn't come just to see her, did you?"
Then he patted Xiao Bai with a knowing grin. "Don't worry! Brother Bai, we're good brothers. I'll never tell my cousin Xun'er, hehe!"
Xiao Bai was speechless.
Yao Lao was also speechless.
The two of them now had the urge to beat this guy to death. Bah! Shame on him!
Am I that kind of person?
I am a scholar! (I am a pharmacist!)
This is simply insulting (the master), hetui!
A maid from the auction house not far away noticed the two entering.
One had gray hair, a handsome face, and an easygoing manner.
The other was young, with delicate features and confident eyes.
These maids had excellent people-reading skills. Realizing these two were important customers, one quickly approached with a professional smile.
"Gentlemen, welcome to the Miteer Auction House. What can I help you with?"
"I need some medicinal herbs," Xiao Bai said.
"Certainly. Please follow me."
The maid led them to a private reception room, served tea, and then smiled:
"I wonder what medicinal herbs this young master needs?"
"Purple Sun Fruit, Blood Clotting Grass, Jade Flower—200 of each."
Then she turned to Xiao Yan, who quickly added, "I need three ten-year-old Purple Orchid Grass, two Marrow Cleansing Flowers, and a first-level wood magic core!"
After recording everything, the maid calculated and said:
"Gentlemen, the total cost of these medicinal materials is 23,800 gold coins."
Xiao Bai nodded and said, "Go and prepare the medicinal materials."
Upon hearing this, the maid's smile became more sincere. "Please wait here!" she said before turning and leaving.
"Brother Bai, why do you need so many first-level medicinal materials?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.
"Xiao Bai, you're not really planning to make pills, are you? Can someone with thunder attributes even refine pills?" Yao Lao was also confused. If it were anyone else, he'd think they were crazy.
But this kid—smarter than a monkey—didn't seem like a lunatic. He'd come to him the night before asking for basic alchemy knowledge and two first-grade pill recipes. He hadn't thought much of it and handed them over, thinking the boy just wanted to read them.
But now Xiao Bai had bought ingredients specifically for the Blood Coagulation Powder, one of the recipes he gave—and in two hundred copies! That confused him.
Thinking of the small tripod that looked like an incense burner earlier, he'd assumed it was just that—a burner. But now, Yao Lao started to suspect whether it was actually an alchemy cauldron.
"Well, not bad. I want to try," Xiao Bai replied calmly.
He really had to thank the Jia Lie family for the reward. Without it, he wouldn't have been able to buy so many ingredients. Otherwise, he'd only have been able to afford a few sets.
He could've borrowed from Xun'er, but he'd never asked that little girl for anything and had hesitated.
"Teacher, didn't you say only those with fire or wood attributes can refine pills? What's going on?" Xiao Yan asked in his heart.
Yao Lao was just as surprised. He had watched Xiao Bai grow up and knew he wasn't someone unreliable. Yet the boy looked so confident now.
But based on all his alchemy knowledge, no one in the Dou Qi Continent had ever succeeded as an alchemist without fire or wood attributes.
At this moment, Yao Lao was 80% unconvinced and 20% suspicious.
This kid must be bluffing. With my eighth-grade alchemist knowledge, how could thunder attribute possibly refine pills? Light attribute would make more sense than this.
But what if… he has some special method?
No! Impossible.
Yao Lao shook his head. He couldn't believe thunder could be used in alchemy. Maybe this kid wanted to become a alchemist so badly he was delusional.
Sighing, Yao Lao said privately to Xiao Yan, "There's no such thing as using thunder to refine pills. Maybe your Brother Bai just wants it too much."
Hearing the teacher's sigh, Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Bai with pity and said:
"Brother Bai, don't worry. I'll work hard to become a high-level pharmacist. If you ever want pills refined, just tell me. I'll definitely help you!"
Xiao Bai rolled his eyes. Seeing Xiao Yan's pitiful look, he knew the two had been talking in secret and couldn't be bothered to explain.
As for refining pills, he wasn't 100% sure yet. Any promises now would be empty talk. Better to wait for success. If he failed—well, failure is failure. What else could you do?
His purpose wasn't just to become a alchemist. That was a side benefit. What he really wanted... was Piil Thunder. That should allow him to break through quickly.
Read 80+ Advanced Chapters At PA Treon
patreon.com/FictionsTL
[ end of the chapter ]