Chapter 52 - 53: Do I Really Have to Say These Medicinal Herbs Are Fake?

Chapter 52: Chapter 53: Do I Really Have to Say These Medicinal Herbs Are Fake?

This time, Su Chen wasn’t in a rush. After a few minutes, Xiaoya opened the door and ushered him inside.

Stepping into the room, Su Chen immediately saw a white-haired old woman lying on the bed. He nodded at her but didn’t speak. He had already realized that Xiaoya couldn’t speak; the person who had conversed with him through the door earlier had to be the old woman before him.

Seeing Su Chen dressed like a scholar, the old woman’s tense expression relaxed slightly. When she had first heard him say he wanted to buy Red Blood Grass, her heart had leaped into her throat, terrified that Xiaoya’s secret stash had been discovered.

Even though Xiaoya had explained how she met him and deduced that he wasn’t from the Medicine Gang, the old woman had still been uneasy. She had originally wanted to reject him outright. But before she could, she heard the price Su Chen was offering. The amount made her hesitate, and after some thought, Xiaoya ultimately decided to take the risk.

Xiaoya brought over a basin of sand and mud, placing it in front of Su Chen before gesturing for him to look down.

Su Chen stared at the mud in confusion. The old woman explained, "We don’t have the Red Blood Grass you want, but Xiaoya knows where it is. You’ll have to go find it yourself, though."

Realization dawned on Su Chen. "Where is it, then?" he asked.

"AH, AH, AH!" Xiaoya grunted, beginning to gesture wildly.

The old woman translated for her. After a long while, Xiaoya finally finished. She had described three different locations.

Su Chen memorized the three spots and turned to leave. All three locations were near Ao Mountain Village. He suspected they were simply Xiaoya’s hiding spots for the Red Blood Grass, rather than places where the herb naturally grew.

His guess was right on the money. Half an hour later, he found ten dried stalks of Red Blood Grass, all carefully wrapped in scraps of torn cloth.

"Sigh, what a hassle. But fortunately, I finally found them," Su Chen muttered.

With that, he tucked away the ten stalks of Red Blood Grass and headed back. By the time he returned to Medicine Town, the night watchmen were already beginning their patrols. Thankfully, he hadn’t checked out of his room. Upon arriving at the inn, he carefully stored the Red Blood Grass, read his medical books for a while, and then went to sleep.

At dawn the next day, Su Chen got up, took the Red Blood Grass, and checked out of his room. However, he didn’t immediately set off for White Stone City. Most of the herbs in Medicine Town were cheaper than those in the city, so he planned to gather all the ingredients he needed here before heading back to concoct the medicine.

He had specifically asked around earlier. Aside from the Red Blood Grass, which the Medicine Gang had strictly monopolized, the other ingredients for the Nameless Medicine Recipe were readily available at many pharmacies.

He visited several herbal shops one by one. In general, he only bought one or two types of herbs from each store. Right now, he had ten stalks of Red Blood Grass. Since one stalk could be used three times, he needed to buy thirty portions of every other ingredient. The Nameless Medicine Recipe required a total of nineteen different herbs. Thirty portions of each would add up to a massive amount.

This forced Su Chen to change his plans. He had no choice but to temporarily rent a house in Medicine Town. Since he needed space to process the herbs, he specifically found a place in a remote area. Once the lease was sorted out, he set about purchasing the rest of his supplies.

He thought, "I’m only missing the final herb—Yellow Hemp Grass. Once I buy it, I can head back."

He kept busy until around four in the afternoon. Having purchased the vast majority of the ingredients, only the Yellow Hemp Grass remained.

He walked into another pharmacy. A shop assistant sauntered over lazily and asked, "What do you need, sir?"

"Give me thirty portions of Yellow Hemp Grass, ten mace per portion!" Su Chen declared generously.

The assistant wasn’t particularly surprised by the quantity. He simply nodded and began preparing the herbs package by package.

"Wait a minute. This portion isn’t fresh. Swap it out for me," Su Chen suddenly said.

The assistant had just finished organizing the herbs and was about to bag them up when he heard the complaint. He watched as Su Chen pulled one portion out from the pile of thirty and placed it in front of him.

"Alright!" The assistant glanced at Su Chen, nodded, and quickly replaced it with a fresh portion.

Su Chen frowned the entire time, watching him closely. Once the man finished packing it, Su Chen spoke up again: "This one isn’t fresh either. Swap it out for a fresh one."

SMACK!

Hearing this, the assistant slammed the herbs down on the counter. He stared at Su Chen, forcing a smile as he said in a stiff tone, "Sir, this is the freshest Yellow Hemp Grass we have in the store. We just collected it from the medicinal farmers yesterday!"

Su Chen shook his head resolutely. "Swap it!"

The assistant’s face darkened instantly. He said grimly, "While our store’s Yellow Hemp Grass might not rank first in all of Medicine Town, it is easily in the top three. The quality is obvious to all—"

"Are you going to swap it or not?" Su Chen interrupted.

"Are you here just to pick a fight, sir?" the assistant asked in a low voice, glaring at Su Chen with cold, displeased eyes.

Hearing this, Su Chen sneered. "Cut the crap. Do I really have to spell it out and say you’ve mixed fake herbs into this bundle?"

"What—what nonsense are you spouting?!" Panic flashed in the assistant’s eyes, and he yelped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Our store is honest with all its customers! You’d best watch your mouth, sir. Loose lips sink ships."

"What’s going on here?"

Hearing the commotion, the pharmacy owner walked over. He shot the assistant an angry glare before smiling warmly at Su Chen. "Sir, is there a problem?"

Su Chen waved a dismissive hand. "No problem at all. I just don’t have the stomach for your esteemed store’s herbs. Goodbye!"

With that, he turned and left, leaving the two men standing there with grim expressions. Noticing the curious glances from bystanders, the pharmacy owner glared furiously at the assistant.

"It’s not my fault! He was deliberately picking a fight!" the assistant said defensively, hanging his head in grievance.

"Clean up these herbs!" the owner coldly snorted.

The assistant nodded. Shortly after the owner left, he made up an excuse and slipped out of the pharmacy.

Fortunately, the next pharmacy didn’t mix in counterfeit goods, and Su Chen quickly bought his thirty portions of herbs.

"Hmm?"

On his way back, Su Chen noticed someone tailing him. He promptly turned into an alleyway.

"Brother Leopard, I think he spotted us."

"So what if he did? Come on, hurry up and follow him! Don’t let the brat get away."

Seeing Su Chen enter the alley, the group involuntarily quickened their pace.

Su Chen wound his way through the streets, soon leaving Medicine Town entirely. He came to a halt in a desolate, uninhabited area.

"Haha! Kid, I was just wondering how to kill you, but you’ve gone and found yourself a perfect burial plot!"

The scarred man leading the group signaled his lackeys to surround Su Chen, a fierce look on his face. "You offended my brother at Zhong’s Pharmacy earlier. Today, I’m going to make you pay!"

Su Chen didn’t answer. Instead, he started walking toward them.

"Hmph, you have a death wish! Get him, boys! Slaughter him!" the scarred man barked, enraged that Su Chen still dared to approach.

The five thugs instantly swarmed forward, lunging at Su Chen.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

Five slaps echoed out. A moment later, five half-dead men lay sprawled across the ground in a disordered heap.

The scarred man wailed in pain. Glaring at Su Chen, he bellowed, "You bastard! How dare you launch a sneak attack—"

But his words caught in his throat as Su Chen took a step toward him.

"W-What do you want? W-We’re from the Medicine Gang! If... if you dare touch me, your whole family will pay with their lives... AH—"

Hearing this, Su Chen paused for a brief second. Then, he lifted the scarred man up and slammed him onto the ground as easily as whipping a bamboo pole.

THUD!

The man smashed violently into the earth, spewing a mouthful of blood before dying on the spot.

Next, Su Chen turned his gaze to the remaining four thugs.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

A moment later, Su Chen looked down at the lifeless corpses of the scarred man and his gang. He spat lightly, "Too much bullshit."