Chapter 4: Luocheng, the Herbal Medicine Shop
"Synthesize."
Swish!
Two stalks of century-old Qingling Grass vanished.
The next second, a green plant resembling a daffodil appeared.
It emitted a soft white glow, with blue veins tracing its leaves, giving off an aura of rarity.
[Grade-4 Qingling Grass]: 300 years old, contains the bloodline of the Qingling King. Consuming it can enhance a low-level soul master's soul power.
Grade-4?
And it even contains the Qingling King's bloodline?
"Not bad at all."
Examining the Grade-4 Qingling Grass, Su Ye resisted the urge to consume it.
Still unwilling to give up, he reached into his basket to rummage again.
"…"
Unfortunately, not a single one was left~
Su Ye felt a bit unsatisfied.
He had used over thirty one-year-old Qingling Grasses just to synthesize one Grade-4 Qingling Grass.
Herbs are classified from Grade 1 to Grade 9, with Grade 9 being extremely rare in the world — yet still not as valuable as immortal-grade herbs.
Grade-4... meh, stuck in the middle.
In his previous life, he especially hated it when, during critical synthesis moments, he lacked low-level cards.
That feeling… was like having your wedding night ruined because your bride got her period—
—Stuck in an awkward position, absolutely infuriating!
He placed the Grade-4 Qingling Grass in a pot to keep at home, then turned his attention to some other herbs like the Three-Inch Leaf.
After another round of synthesis, Su Ye obtained three more Grade-4 herbs.
Unfortunately, none of them boosted soul power. They were only good for body conditioning and healing.
In other words—pretty useless.
Taking those three herbs with him, Su Ye slung on his basket and set off toward the main city: Luocheng.
Luocheng was a very small city located north of Xingluo City, only about 300 li (~150 km) from the Star Dou Forest.
Even though Mingri Village wasn't that far, it was still over ten li (~5 km) away.
If Su Ye hadn't cultivated Baji Fist and strengthened his body, his legs would've given out halfway there.
"Phew… Finally made it!"
Wiping sweat from his forehead, Su Ye looked up at the large characters on the city gate: Luocheng, and let out a long sigh of relief.
The city guards didn't question him, and he entered without trouble.
After asking for directions, he arrived at a herbal medicine shop.
The owner was a middle-aged man whose face resembled a golden toad. He was currently grinning and cozying up to a short-skirted female clerk, seemingly practicing his "waist massage" technique.
Cough cough—!
Su Ye coughed loudly. Seeing someone enter, the girl instantly shook off the owner's groping hand and blushed as she scurried into the back room.
His "duck about to reach his mouth" having flown away, the shopkeeper's face darkened immediately.
"You there, what medicine you looking for?"
The shopkeeper tilted his head, lazily asking with a tone of 'Buy if you want, don't if you don't'.
Oh? Treating customers like this, huh?
Su Ye wasn't having it. He placed a mushroom-like herb onto the counter.
"Ta-da-da~"
"Come on, see how much this thing is worth!"
"…"
You little punk… you calling pigs to eat or what?
The shopkeeper was just about to get angry and say "We don't accept that kind of stuff here", but the moment his eyes landed on the nearly spirit-grade Giant Ear Fungus, his professionalism immediately took over.
In an instant—
As if seeing the love of his dreams, the man's eyes lit up.
"This is… Giant Ear Fungus?!"
The man rushed closer, the more he looked, the more excited he became — practically embedding his eyes into it.
"Amazing, truly amazing. Decades-old Giant Ear Fungus — that's already a rare tonic."
"Judging from its form, this one must be over a hundred years old. Its medicinal power rivals, maybe even surpasses, a century-old ginseng. It's even rarer."
"Top-quality!"
"Truly top-quality!"
The shopkeeper's hands were trembling. He didn't even dare to touch it, afraid he'd damage such a treasure.
Swipe!
A hand grabbed the Giant Ear Fungus by the stem and took it back instantly.
Without a word, Su Ye turned around and walked straight out.
The sudden turn of events left the shopkeeper momentarily stunned.
But seeing this fat piece of meat about to walk out the door, there's no way he'd let it go!
"Brother, wait! Hold up!"
"Hey now, what're you doing?"
"Let's talk this through!"
The shopkeeper rushed out from behind the counter, bumping his knee on the table corner but ignoring the pain. He grabbed Su Ye's arm.
He did have century-old ginseng in his shop — valuable to soul masters, but not that rare. Too high to sell casually, too low to be coveted.
But this top-grade Giant Ear Fungus… was something else entirely.
That was a precious herb for pregnancy protection and fetal nourishment—nobles were always willing to spend big on it, and selling it often came with significant favors.
Su Ye raised his eyebrow at the shopkeeper's hand, "Boss, what's the meaning of this?"
"Brother, brother, I was wrong earlier. Come on, let's head back inside and talk it over slowly."
"Talk about what? I'm not selling, alright?"
Seeing Su Ye about to leave again, the shopkeeper panicked and pulled harder, trying to stop him. "Brother, don't go! Don't worry, I'll give you a satisfying price!"
"Ten! Ten gold soul coins—how about that?"
Su Ye turned his head and kept walking.
"Fifteen! I'll pay fifteen gold soul coins!"
Whoosh—
"Twenty coins!"
Whoosh—
"Sir, okay? You win, alright?"
"Twenty-five! That's really the highest I can go! This is already a top price!"
The shopkeeper was nearly in tears. Had he known it was such a treasure earlier, he never would've looked down on Su Ye.
Su Ye gave an "Oh?" and smirked, "So it's worth at least twenty-five gold coins, huh?"
"Thanks, boss. Gotta say—you really are a pro!"
He gave a big thumbs-up, then turned and walked off. The sudden burst of strength nearly pulled the full-grown shopkeeper off his feet.
Baji Fist trains one's center of gravity to sink like a mountain; explosive power from the waist is not something an ordinary person can counter.
"You... you..."
As the boss stood stunned, Su Ye strode across the street and entered a rival herb shop nearby—making the first shopkeeper so angry he nearly passed out.
Seeing Su Ye walk into a competitor's store, the older shopkeeper inside—who looked like the dad from Adventures of Tintin—seemed sharp enough to know what was up. He skipped the small talk and gimmicks.
In the end, the three herbs were sold for 81 gold coins.
Clink—
"Here, count it yourself."
"Once you leave my store, if anything's missing, I won't be taking the blame."
Su Ye weighed the coin pouch in his hand—Damn, it's pretty heavy.
"Wait a sec!" Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned back with enthusiasm and got up close to the old shopkeeper.
"Boss, do you have any books on herbal medicine?"
"Don't worry, just the kind an apprentice could understand is fine."
"…Wait here."
Since the deal had gone well, the old man was in a good mood. He slowly pulled out a booklet from the cabinet.
"Here, take this one for free."
"If you've got more top-quality herbs, send them my way—however many you have, I'll buy them all."
Su Ye accepted the booklet.
Then, with a flick of his fingers, he rolled a gold soul coin across the counter. It stopped in front of the old man, who looked completely dumbfounded.
The shopkeeper: "??"
Su Ye's eyes gleamed like a hunting leopard, and he spoke with steel in his tone:
"No hidden meaning—"
"I want all the herbal manuals you have in this shop."
"If you're out, get someone to print more. I'll take as many as you've got!"
"…"
The old man was speechless. In all his decades of running this shop, he'd never heard such a crazy request.
Dammit!
This is a herbal store—not a damn bookstore!
(End of Chapter)