“Three fifty-year Blackheart Grasses, two century-old Blossom Fruits, one century-old Ground-Departing Grass, and one inner core from a tenth-layer Qi Refining Emerald Python.”
Ye Chu finished listing the items and wasn’t surprised to see Ye Qingyi’s delicate white face scrunch up like a bitter gourd.
He had actually anticipated this reaction—he’d weighed the rarity of these herbs before even saying them.
Given the resource reserves of a small place like Qingyun City, being able to gather three of them would already be lucky.
But he deliberately asked.
“Is there a problem?”
Ye Qingyi didn’t speak.
She grabbed her own neck with one hand, tightening her fingers in a gesture of choking fate by the throat, and squeezed the words out through her teeth.
“I’ve seen all these herbs you mentioned in books.”
She let go and started pacing in circles, her steps quick and restless.
“The problem is, a fifty-year Blackheart Grass costs a hundred spirit stones, and right now I don’t even have ten.”
After one circle, she stopped and began counting on her fingers.
“As for century-old Blossom Fruits, only one has appeared in Qingyun City in the past ten years.”
She took another circle and dropped another finger.
“And the inner core of a tenth-layer Qi Refining Emerald Python—tenth-layer Qi Refining is already the highest cultivation level in the entire Qingyun City area. To take down a tenth-layer Qi Refining Emerald Python, at least three cultivators at the same level would have to work together, and even then they’d risk injury.”
Three fingers hung in the air.
She lifted her head and stared blankly ahead.
“Where am I supposed to gather all these ingredients?”
Ye Chu was silent for two breaths.
He could feel Ye Qingyi’s heart pounding like a drum, her breathing a little rapid.
She was really panicking.
But he still spoke in that unhurried tone.
“Mm, and then?”
‘Then? What’s with this sarcastic remark?’
Ye Qingyi’s eyes widened, her face full of disbelief.
“What ‘then’? There is no ‘then’! This is already a dead end! Wuwuwu, why am I so unlucky? Why can’t I do anything…”
Ye Chu almost laughed out loud at Ye Qingyi’s reaction but held it in.
The girl was quite amusing when she got worked up—like an angry cat.
But letting her panic for a while was fine.
People care more about things they can’t have.
He spoke in a leisurely tone.
“I’ve heard a saying—find the problem, solve the problem. If you can’t solve the problem, then solve the person who raised the problem.”
“What do you mean?”
Ye Qingyi tilted her head, then warily stepped back half a step, suspicion in her eyes.
“Are you going to solve your useless host?”
‘This guy isn’t really going to kill me, is he? No, how can a soul body kill me… Wait, is he joking?’
Ye Chu realized he had gone too far with the joke and quickly explained.
“Just joking, to lighten the mood.”
‘Alright, the host can’t take a joke. Better not scare her.’
Ye Qingyi’s mouth twitched.
She wasn’t comforted at all, and instead slumped her shoulders even more dejectedly.
“This illness isn’t funny.”
Ye Chu restrained his smile, feeling that the little girl couldn’t handle jokes, making him seem like an evil creepy uncle.
“I have another method to solve your troubles.”
Ye Qingyi’s eyes instantly lit up, her voice rising a few notches.
“Tell me quickly!”
‘Finally! I knew he couldn’t possibly not have another way.’
“What I mentioned earlier was a cure for the root cause,” Ye Chu explained slowly.
“If you find some lower-year ingredients, although they won’t cure it completely, they can treat the symptoms—at least your spiritual energy won’t keep dissipating. With luck, you might even raise your cultivation a bit.”
Ye Qingyi was furious.
She slammed the table hard, the sound echoing through the entire courtyard.
“Damn it! Why didn’t you say so earlier! Are you messing with me on purpose?!”
‘This guy clearly had a solution but deliberately listed those expensive herbs first just to see me make a fool of myself! What a jerk!’
Ye Qingyi paced around excitedly, her eyes sparkling.
“With third-layer Qi Refining cultivation, it’s hard to earn spirit stones. But if I can reach the fourth or fifth layer, that’ll be different! Gathering herbs, hunting beasts, taking quests—I can do all of that!”
With that, she rushed out in a whirlwind.
Ye Chu sighed faintly in her sea of consciousness.
‘I always feel like this kid isn’t very bright.’
….
Jade Pavilion was the largest pharmacy in Qingyun City, with soaring eaves and carved beams, a vermilion gate, and a black-and-gold plaque above the lintel.
The shop was run by the Song family, one of the four major clans in Qingyun City—Ye, Zhao, Yue, and Song.
They had a full stock of herbs and fair prices, having been in business here for over a hundred years.
Ye Qingyi trotted all the way inside, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead.
Without bothering to wipe it off, she went straight to the counter, placed her hands on the surface, and reeled off without pause: “Shopkeeper, three fifty-year Blackheart Grasses, two century-old Blossom Fruits, one century-old Ground-Departing Grass, and one inner core from a tenth-layer Qi Refining Emerald Python—do you have them?”
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man in his fifties, round-faced, always smiling—clearly a veteran of the business.
He looked up, recognized the person, and his eyes immediately curved into crescent moons as he welcomed her warmly.
“Oh my—if it isn’t Miss Ye!”
Ye Qingyi had been coming to Jade Pavilion frequently over the past three years, starting from when she was willing to pay any price for medicine to when her pockets were empty.
The shopkeeper had always been this enthusiastic toward her.
After all, Ye Qingyi was still the eldest daughter of the Ye family.
He was just a servant, so being friendly didn’t cost him anything.
If she ever made it big in the future, she might remember his kindness.
But secretly, he had also been ordered that if Ye Qingyi came looking for certain herbs, he had to report it immediately, or his entire family would lose their heads.
And as luck would have it, the herbs Ye Qingyi just listed were on that person’s list.
He could finally get the task done and stop worrying about his own life and his family’s.
While greeting her, he personally moved a chair over.
“These herbs you’re looking for aren’t common goods. I’ll have to check the storeroom. Please have a seat, drink some tea, and wait a moment.”
As he spoke, he raised his hand, and a shop assistant immediately came over with a tray bearing an exquisite celadon tea cup.
The shopkeeper himself turned and headed toward the back courtyard, walking quickly, the hem of his robe fluttering.
Ye Qingyi sat down, took a sip of tea, but kept her eyes fixed on the back courtyard.
Her heart was in her throat.
‘Will there be any? It can’t be that there’s nothing…’
Before long, the shopkeeper came back with a beaming smile, hands tucked into his sleeves.
He walked up to Ye Qingyi and bowed respectfully.
“Miss Ye, good news—we have the three fifty-year Blackheart Grasses, the two century-old Blossom Fruits, and the one century-old Ground-Departing Grass!”
Ye Qingyi’s eyes lit up.
She was about to speak, but the shopkeeper continued, his smile tinged with apology.
“It’s just the inner core of the tenth-layer Qi Refining Emerald Python… that’s really hard to come by. It’s a rare find, and we genuinely don’t have it in our shop at the moment.”
All three items were available except the inner core.
This, too, was part of that person’s orders.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.