Chapter Thirty-Nine: Medicine
As soon as she saw someone coming over to snatch the jade pendant, Su Xiaomu grew anxious. She tugged on Shi Qi’s sleeve, urgently saying, “Big brother, quickly, or someone else will buy it!”
Shi Qi simply smiled in silence by her side.
The shopkeeper, noticing the newcomer, also grinned as he addressed the old man, “Ah, sir, you truly have an eye for treasures. Look at this pair of dragon and phoenix pendants—see their color, their craftsmanship, truly the finest of the fine!”
The old man stroked his beard and exclaimed loudly, “I have been in the jade business for decades. My eyes are sharp; I would never be mistaken. This dragon and phoenix pair is a once-in-a-millennium uncarved gem! In my estimation, it’s worth at least eight thousand taels of silver!”
Su Xiaomu’s eyes widened in astonishment. “Whoa! Eight thousand taels! Big brother, the shopkeeper only asked for two thousand! Hurry and buy it—we’ll make a fortune!”
Shi Qi continued to smile without saying a word.
The jade seller hesitated and said, “Er, Daoist sir, you see, I just realized that two thousand taels was too little. I can’t sell you the jade.”
Su Xiaomu cried out, “How can you go back on your word? You said two thousand, now you won’t sell!”
She then tugged on Shi Qi’s sleeve again. “Big brother, say something!”
The old man once more stroked his beard, giving Shi Qi a sidelong glance before turning to the shopkeeper. “Shopkeeper, I’ll offer six thousand taels. Will you sell?”
The shopkeeper wavered. “Well…”
Su Xiaomu grew even more agitated. “You just said it was worth eight thousand, and now you’re offering six thousand? Even I can do the math—no way!”
At last, Shi Qi spoke. “It’s fine, why not? The shopkeeper likes it so much, Xiaomu, we can’t snatch it from him, can we?”
The jade seller, hearing this, quickly said, “Daoist sir, I, Wang Laowu, have been selling jade in Yongzhou for years. I was wrong just now—business must be conducted honestly. I am an honest merchant, but I was blinded by money for a moment. How about this, three thousand taels. You see, this gentleman offered six thousand, but I won’t sell it to him.”
Su Xiaomu exclaimed, “Wow! Three thousand taels! Eight thousand minus three thousand—that’s five thousand taels profit! Oh—”
Shi Qi flicked her forehead and then chuckled, “No way—how could you not sell? If it were me, I’d sell it. Six thousand taels of snowflake silver! Only a fool wouldn’t take it.”
The shopkeeper hesitated. “Well…”
“Heh.” Shi Qi snorted coldly, took Su Xiaomu by the hand, and walked away.
Su Xiaomu couldn’t stop tugging at his sleeve. “Five thousand taels!”
As Shi Qi led her away, he whispered in her ear, “I call you a silly girl, and you really are one.”
Su Xiaomu protested, “How am I silly? I’m clever and quick-witted!”
Shi Qi replied, “Didn’t you notice that old man and the jade seller were working together?”
Su Xiaomu said, “Of course I knew! Wait—were they really in cahoots?”
Shi Qi smiled. “This is a simple trick—find someone who looks like an expert to drive up the price, making the buyer willingly pay more, all the while thinking they’ve struck a bargain. Hah, those two saw we were young and tried to con us, but little did they know I’m thoroughly familiar with such schemes.”
Before he turned ten, Shi Qi had roamed the marketplace, well acquainted with every con and swindle.
Su Xiaomu stammered, “I—I saw through it ages ago. I was just testing you, to see if you’d notice! Oh—”
Shi Qi flicked her forehead again.
Tears welled up in Su Xiaomu’s eyes. “You hit me again… What if I turn stupid from it…”
Shi Qi teased, “If you turn stupid, you won’t be able to eat candied hawthorn anymore~”
Su Xiaomu perked up at once. “What? Candied hawthorn? Where?”
Shi Qi stepped forward, bought two sticks of candied hawthorn, and finally coaxed a smile out of her.
Meanwhile, back at the jade stall, the shopkeeper and the man who looked like a wealthy merchant were quarreling.
The shopkeeper complained, “See, I told you not to raise the price so much, but what did you do? Right off the bat, eight thousand, six thousand—you scared them off!”
The merchant scratched his head, mumbling, “Wasn’t I supposed to raise the price? I thought the more I raised it, the more we’d earn.”
The shopkeeper fumed, “You’re driving me mad—get out, get out!”
The man held out his hand. “What about my wages?”
The shopkeeper snapped, “You still want pay after that? Get lost!”
As Su Xiaomu nibbled on her candied hawthorn, she mumbled, “What’s for lunch?”
As expected, her mind was never far from food.
Shi Qi wandered with her through the bustling city. Yongzhou was famed for its abundance of delicacies; just one street boasted over a hundred different dishes. Thanks to its favorable geography and large population, the city placed great importance on food.
Yongzhou’s cuisine was diverse and finely crafted, with a focus on delicate, flavorful dishes. The ingredients were varied, with chilies often used as the main element, resulting in a wide array of tastes and types. The food was richly colored, generously oiled, and always offered good value.
Shi Qi found a small eatery and led Su Xiaomu inside.
They chose a corner seat. The waiter hurried over.
Shi Qi sat down. “What dishes do you have?”
The waiter produced a picture menu, showing images of more than a dozen dishes.
Shi Qi handed the menu to Su Xiaomu. “Here you go.”
Su Xiaomu flipped through it, then pointed. “This one, this one, this one… These three I don’t want, but bring us the rest.”
Shi Qi nearly spat out his tea. “What?”
Su Xiaomu nodded seriously. “Just enough for eighty percent full.”
Shi Qi broke into a sweat. Fortunately, the old witch had left plenty of gold leaves in the Qiankun pouch, or this girl would eat him into bankruptcy.
While waiting for the food, Su Xiaomu suddenly remembered something. She pulled an object from her clothes and placed it on the table.
“Big brother, look!”
Shi Qi glanced at it—it was an exquisitely crafted porcelain bottle.
He picked it up and found nothing unusual, but as soon as he opened the lid, a fragrant aroma wafted out, instantly refreshing his mind.
Shi Qi poured out the contents, catching a single pill in his palm.
“This is…” Even without medical knowledge, Shi Qi could tell this was no ordinary medicine. Just inhaling its scent sharpened the mind; who knew what miraculous effect it might have if consumed?
He returned the pill to the bottle and asked, “Xiaomu, where did you get this?”
She replied, “It fell from the girl who bumped into you earlier. I caught it before it hit the ground, but before I could give it back, she disappeared. So I put it in my pocket, and then forgot all about it…”
Shi Qi nodded, thinking: This medicine is valuable—most likely stolen by that female thief. The two men from Qingshan Sect were probably chasing her for this very item.
Oh well, let things take their course.
He tossed the porcelain bottle into the Qiankun pouch.
Time to eat!
That night, Shi Qi sat in meditation on the guesthouse bed, the Qianren Shield placed before him. He channeled his true energy continuously into the shield, which readily accepted it without resistance.
In the process of refining a magical treasure, if the item shows no resistance, the time required is greatly reduced.
Shi Qi was eager to raise the Qianren Shield to the second level as soon as possible, so he could unlock its innate special ability. Since this was a life-saving treasure, improving it early on would greatly enhance his survival.
“Beep, beep, beep…”
A familiar voice sounded in Shi Qi’s mind—it was the Jade Ruyi.
“So late at night—who could it be?”
Shi Qi took out the Jade Ruyi from the Qiankun pouch and sent his consciousness into it.
Sun Fanbai said, “Brother Bai, Brother Shi, Master Yuanwu.”
Bai Qiu replied, “Brother Sun, is there progress on the matter of Bo Yunxin?”
Shi Qi thought to himself: Bai Qiu really has too much free time—always the first to reply.
Sun Fanbai continued, “Indeed, though I wouldn’t call it progress. After returning to Yunqing Sect, I reported the whole incident regarding Bo Yunxin to my master, Jinghong Zhenren.”
He went on, “Master was greatly surprised—after all, Bo Yunxin grew up in Yunqing Sect and had never ventured outside.”
“Later, Master sent me to investigate. I went to the archives and checked Bo Yunxin’s records.”
Bai Qiu asked, “Were the records odd?”
Sun Fanbai replied, “No, on the contrary—they were so perfectly ordinary as to be almost suspicious. Bo Yunxin lost his parents at five, was taken in by Master, showed remarkable talent, and was made a personal disciple. He was always gentle and courteous, even considered a candidate for sect leader by the elders—until this incident.”
Bai Qiu asked, “Could the problem have started before he was five?”
Sun Fanbai answered, “I considered that possibility, so I investigated Bo Yunxin’s parents in the North Province. I found that his parents were just ordinary farmers. The whole village was massacred by bandits; only he survived, hiding in a dry well. Master happened to pass by and saved him—he was already near death at the time.”
Sun Fanbai concluded, “If the trouble started before he was five, then the scheming of the evil sects must be unimaginably long-term.”
Bai Qiu agreed, “That’s true.”
Sun Fanbai asked, “Brother Bai, what about your Baixiaosheng family?”
Bai Qiu replied, “I told my father everything. He was shocked, too. He said there’s no one in our Baixiaosheng Bai family who matches Bo Yunxin’s description. He then went to consult our ancestors, but there’s no news yet.”
He added, “I’ve already left Baixiaosheng and am on my way to Little East Province. If anything comes up, I’ll let you know.”
Sun Fanbai said, “Thank you, Brother Bai. By the way, is Brother Shi there?”
Shi Qi was just about to reply when Bai Qiu jumped in ahead.
“Of course he’s here—Little Qi is definitely eavesdropping.”
Shi Qi paused for a moment, then sent his thoughts through the Jade Ruyi: “I was just cultivating. Brother Sun, what do you need?”
Sun Fanbai replied, “Brother Shi, while searching the archives, out of curiosity I perused some of the oldest records of Yunqing Sect, tracing its ups and downs over ten thousand years.”
He paused, then continued, “While looking through these ancient documents, I found an old painting inside one of them. It was very old, and when I opened it, I noticed something strange.”
Shi Qi asked, “What was strange?”
Sun Fanbai explained, “The painting showed a young woman—not unusual, as many ancestors have had their portraits painted. But the odd thing is, the woman in the painting—”
Bai Qiu, ever curious, pressed, “What about her?”
Sun Fanbai revealed, “She looks exactly like your master—Bailu Zhenren!”