Chapter 193 - 192: Buying Medicine
Chen Shouheng gave a wry smile. Calling her by her first name felt too forward. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, "Miss Shuwei."
Zhou Shuwei seemed satisfied enough with this form of address and didn’t press the issue.
She placed her food tray directly across from him and sat down, urging, "Hurry up and eat. I have something important I need your help with."
Her own meal was exquisite, yet she seemed to have no appetite, merely picking at it with her chopsticks.
Chen Shouheng nodded and said no more, burying his head in his food and eating quickly.
He ate fast, but his movements weren’t crude.
After he finished, he thought for a moment, then got up and walked back to the food counter.
"Sir, could I get another portion, to go?"
This time, he ordered two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, and had the attendant pack them in a food container.
Zhou Shuwei had been watching him the whole time. She raised an eyebrow and teased, "What’s this? You like the Martial Arts Academy’s food that much? Still not full, and now you’re getting a midnight snack?"
Chen Shouheng just smiled and didn’t answer.
Of course, he wasn’t about to say it was for Song Zilian, who was still on duty at the Bell Tower.
"Let’s go. What’s the matter?"
he asked.
"Come with me to the pharmacy."
Zhou Shuwei stood up.
The two left the noisy cafeteria and headed toward the pharmacy.
Along the way, Zhou Shuwei explained the reason. "I heard from a classmate today that the pharmacy just got a new batch of Jade Marrow Opening Pills. They’re incredibly effective and a great help for opening Profound Acupoints. But the Elixir is difficult to refine, the ingredients are scarce, and it’s not just expensive—the quantity is also extremely limited. The pharmacy only releases one batch every seven days, with a limit of three pills per person."
She paused, a fervent glint in her eyes. "I’ve already opened three hundred and twenty Profound Acupoints. If I can get a few more pills, I might be able to attempt to break through the Profound Acupoint Pass soon."
Chen Shouheng was stunned.
’So that’s why she dragged me over here in such a hurry. She wants to snap up these Elixirs, and from the sound of it, she wants to use my quota to buy three more.’
Zhou Shuwei caught his stunned expression and huffed, her tone carrying a hint of petulance she herself didn’t notice. "What? Did you think I was going to buy them for you? In your dreams!"
Inwardly, however, she felt a little vexed.
’That blockhead. Ever since he entered the academy, he’s just holed himself up in that stupid Bell Tower.’
’If I hadn’t taken the initiative to find him, I probably wouldn’t have seen him for months.’
’He clearly agreed to be my Guard, but he has zero awareness of his duties.’
Chen Shouheng gave another wry smile and didn’t reply.
When the two of them reached the courtyard where the pharmacy was located, they saw a line of twenty or thirty people already waiting outside the pharmacy’s window.
These people were clearly well-informed and had come for the Jade Marrow Opening Pill.
Seeing this, Zhou Shuwei immediately tugged on Chen Shouheng’s sleeve. "Quick, get in line!"
Quick-eyed and swift-handed, she pulled Chen Shouheng along and squeezed them into the front of the line.
Shortly after they had settled in, more students began to arrive one after another. The line quickly grew longer, and the atmosphere became faintly tense.
After a short while, the pharmacy door opened with a CREAK.
Two young students from the Martial Arts Academy walked out and announced loudly, "Fellow students, the Jade Marrow Opening Pill is on sale today! Same old rules: a limit of three pills per person, priced at five taels of gold each."
The line immediately surged forward.
Zhou Shuwei and Chen Shouheng followed the people in front of them closely, and soon it was their turn.
"For the two of us, three pills each."
Without hesitation, Zhou Shuwei took out six glittering golden leaves from her Embroidery Pouch and handed them over.
One person took the golden leaves and, after verifying them, another took two Small Jade Bottles from a Jade Plate and handed one to Zhou Shuwei and one to Chen Shouheng.
Inside each bottle lay three Elixir Pills the size of longans, their color gentle and lustrous, emitting a faint, refreshing fragrance.
Zhou Shuwei turned, took the Jade Bottle from Chen Shouheng, and beamed with joy as if she had just received a priceless treasure. She immediately and carefully tucked it away inside her clothes.
However, just as they received the Elixirs and were about to turn and leave, the academy student suddenly raised his voice to the people still in line. "Everyone, the Jade Marrow Opening Pills are sold out for today. Please come back in seven days."
As soon as he said this, the courtyard erupted in an uproar.
"What? They’re already gone?"
"I’m only in the middle of the line! How is this possible?!"
"It’s like this every time! It’s impossible to get any! Are they just messing with us?"
Voices of discontent and complaint rose from all sides.
Someone couldn’t help but shout an accusation, "What is the pharmacy doing? Releasing so few Elixirs each time, are you deliberately stringing us along?"
Just then, an old man with white hair and a white beard, dressed in the robes of a Pharmacist, ambled out of the pharmacy.
His expression was calm, and his voice was gentle yet carried a natural authority. "It is not that the pharmacy is being stingy, but that the main ingredient for this Jade Marrow Opening Pill, Stone Marrow Milk, is extremely difficult to obtain. The yield is limited, and the refinement success rate is also low, so the finished product is naturally scarce. I hope you students can understand."
Seeing the old man appear, the clamor died down slightly, but the dissatisfaction was still plain to see on everyone’s faces.
Soon, someone turned their sights on Zhou Shuwei and Chen Shouheng, who had just bought the Elixirs.
A young man who had been in line right behind Zhou Shuwei and Chen Shouheng snorted coldly and pointed at Chen Shouheng. "Pharmacist, look at these two! This man clearly doesn’t need them; he bought the Elixirs and immediately handed them over to the woman! I say, it’s because of people like him just making up the numbers and taking up spots that those of us who are truly in need have to leave empty-handed! Is this within the rules? Acting like this is truly unfair!"
His words immediately drew agreement from many others, and gazes of suspicion and dissatisfaction focused on Chen Shouheng.
"He’s right!"
"Exactly! Isn’t this just exploiting a loophole?"
"Pharmacist, please investigate!"
"We trust the Pharmacist will give us a reasonable explanation!"
Streams of suspicious, disgruntled, and even condemning gazes all focused sharply on Chen Shouheng, and especially on Zhou Shuwei.
The old Pharmacist’s gaze also fell upon Chen Shouheng and Zhou Shuwei.
He frowned slightly and said to Zhou Shuwei, "Young miss, the pharmacy’s rule of limiting three pills per person is intended to benefit as many students as possible. Please abide by the rules and do not use another’s quota to purchase more."
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, having her intentions exposed and being publicly admonished, Zhou Shuwei’s face instantly flushed crimson with embarrassment. Her cheeks burned as if they had been slapped by an invisible hand.
But she still tried to save face. "Pharmacist, he’s my family, here with me at the Martial Arts Academy for Cultivation. I’m just holding onto them for him for now. What’s wrong with that?"
The old Pharmacist slowly shook his head, his tone still calm but carrying an unyielding firmness. "Even if your relationship is close, you cannot break the rules set by the pharmacy. If you cannot prove that this gentleman is using the Elixirs himself, then please return the extra three pills to the pharmacy."
"You...!"
Zhou Shuwei was so angry the rims of her eyes turned red, and she bit down hard on her lower lip with her pearly teeth.
Feeling the surrounding gazes of onlookers and those taking pleasure in her misfortune, she felt incredibly humiliated and wronged.
She bit her lip, yanked the Small Jade Bottle from her clothes, and shoved it into Chen Shouheng’s hands, saying irritably, "Eat it! Eat these three pills right now! Let’s see who dares to gossip then!"
Chen Shouheng took the Jade Bottle, feeling all kinds of gazes upon him.
Without hesitation, he uncorked the bottle, poured all three Jade Marrow Opening Pills—worth fifteen taels of gold—into his mouth, and swallowed them.
Once the Elixirs entered his stomach, they quickly transformed into three gentle yet immense streams of medicinal power that spread out, surging toward his limbs and bones and impacting his unopened Profound Acupoints.
Not daring to be careless, he immediately walked to an empty spot to the side, sat down cross-legged, and began to circulate his Inner Breath to guide the medicinal power.
When the surrounding crowd saw him actually consume the pills on the spot and immediately begin circulating his energy to refine them, the voices of doubt and accusation gradually died down.
But the eyes of many were still filled with regret and reluctance.
The pharmacy was now out of medicine and there was no more commotion to watch, so people began to disperse in twos and threes. The courtyard soon grew quiet again.
About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Chen Shouheng slowly opened his eyes. The medicinal power had been initially refined.
He carefully sensed the changes within him, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
The three Elixir Pills had only opened six of his Profound Acupoints.
’This effect... it seems even worse than the Eight Treasures Spirit Nourishing Soup my father prepares at home.’
A single course of the Eight Treasures Spirit Nourishing Soup, while not as convenient as an Elixir and requiring about three days to consume completely, could open approximately seven to eight Profound Acupoints.
The most crucial part was the price. The ingredients for one course cost only about five hundred taels.
But these three Jade Marrow Opening Pills were worth a full one thousand five hundred taels of silver!
That was more than three times the cost of the ingredients for the Eight Treasures Soup!
’Not worth it...’
Chen Shouheng shook his head inwardly.
’Looks like I won’t need to buy any more of the pharmacy’s elixirs in the future.’
’The Medicinal Cuisine from home is good enough.’
Zhou Shuwei had been waiting by the side. Seeing him wake up, she began to mutter under her breath, her tone filled with gritted-teeth resentment for the troublemaking youth from before. "It’s all that detestable guy’s fault! Such a busybody! A real gossip! He made me lose three Elixir Pills for nothing! Great, just great. Now who knows how long my breakthrough will be delayed!"
The angrier she got, the more she spoke, until she kicked a small pebble by the roadside as if it were that detestable young man.
Chen Shouheng listened quietly. When her complaints subsided a little, he finally asked, "Miss Shuwei, doesn’t the Zhou Family have Medicinal Cuisine to assist with Spirit Realm Cultivation?"
Zhou Shuwei sighed helplessly. "Of course we do, but the effects are a bit lacking. It’s nowhere near as good as this Jade Marrow Opening Pill."
Chen Shouheng was silent for a moment before asking, "Is it possible to buy raw medicinal ingredients directly from the Martial Arts Academy’s pharmacy?"
Zhou Shuwei paused, thought for a moment, and said, "The pharmacy generally doesn’t sell raw ingredients directly. However... students of the academy can commission them to procure ingredients, but you have to pay a commission fee, a Yaqian.
For common ingredients, the Yaqian isn’t high, usually just one or two percent. But if the ingredients are too rare, then the fee gets high, and they might not even be able to get them. Why are you suddenly asking about this?"
Chen Shouheng led Zhou Shuwei to his dormitory, found a brush and paper, and wrote down the list of ingredients needed to make the Eight Treasures Spirit Nourishing Soup.
To avoid anyone finding out the recipe, he mixed in some of the relatively cheaper ingredients from other prescriptions, like the Mysterious Black Tortoise Tribulation Secret Medicine, before handing the list to Zhou Shuwei.
"It’s a recipe passed down in my family, and it’s quite beneficial for my Cultivation. I was wondering if Miss Shuwei could ask someone to help me buy the ingredients for a few courses? As for the silver coins, I will pay you back in full."
"You’re supposed to be my Guard, so how did it end up with me running errands for you?"
Zhou Shuwei rolled her eyes at him but still readily took the paper. "Fine, I’ll agree to it this time, but don’t think this sets a precedent."
Chen Shouheng went into his dormitory and brought out the silver coins to offer her.
Zhou Shuwei looked at the pile of silver he was holding and rolled her eyes at him again. "You expect me, a young lady, to carry this huge pile of silver? Forget it! I’ll front the money for you first, you can pay me back later."
"Thank you, Miss Shuwei."
Chen Shouheng clasped his hands in a gesture of thanks, not dwelling on the matter.
...