Chapter 282: Golden Medicine Pavilion Reunion

The next morning, Damian left the courtesan house with Cynthia and began wandering through the city’s commercial district.

Everywhere Damian looked, spirit stones were practically begging to be spent.

Naturally, his mood was excellent.

His gaze casually moved across the surrounding buildings until one familiar golden sign suddenly caught his attention.

Damian stopped. "Huh?"

Cynthia took another step before noticing he was no longer beside her.

She turned back. "Master Damian?"

Damian pointed toward the large pavilion across the street.

A golden cauldron emblem was carved above its entrance, surrounded by elegant medicinal herb patterns. "Golden Medicine Pavilion?"

His eyebrows lifted beneath the mask. "They have a branch here too?"

Cynthia immediately nodded. "Of course."

Damian glanced toward her. "You know about them?"

Cynthia gave him a slightly strange look. "Master Damian, almost every cultivator knows about the Golden Medicine Pavilion."

Damian coughed. "Right. Obviously."

Cynthia politely ignored that. "Their background is actually pretty crazy, since they basically operate throughout the entire country."

She gestured toward the pavilion. "They deal with pills, spiritual herbs, medicinal ingredients, furnaces, pill recipes, alchemist services... basically everything connected to alchemy."

Damian looked at the building again. "Wow, I never thought this faction was that powerful."

Cynthia sighed. "It seems like you really haven’t seen much of the world, huh, Master?"

Damian twitched after hearing that. "Enough of that. Let’s go inside. I need to sell something."

Cynthia sighed softly before following.

Once they entered, the familiar scent of medicinal herbs immediately filled the air.

Rows of jade bottles, preserved herbs, medicinal boxes, and alchemy ingredients were displayed behind counters.

Several attendants moved between customers while cultivators quietly negotiated prices.

Damian walked directly toward an available counter.

A middle-aged attendant greeted him politely. "Welcome, Fellow Cultivator. What may our Golden Medicine Pavilion assist you with today?"

Damian casually placed one hand on the counter. "I want to sell some things."

The attendant nodded professionally. "Certainly. May I see the items?"

Damian smiled beneath his mask. "Of course."

Without another word, he took out several jade bottles from his spatial ring. In just a few moments, the entire counter was covered with them.

Every bottle contained Noble-Grade pills that Damian had accumulated through system rewards over time and no longer had much use for.

The attendant’s professional expression immediately stiffened.

But Damian wasn’t finished yet.

He casually took out several talismans as well and placed them beside the jade bottles.

The attendant stared at the growing pile in disbelief before carefully inspecting the pills one by one. The more she examined them, the more shocked she became.

They were all Noble-Grade.

"F-Fellow Cultivator..." he stammered.

Damian tilted his head. "Yes?"

The man swallowed. "These are all for sale?"

Damian nodded casually. "Pretty much."

He tapped one of the talisman stacks. "Alchemists like these too, right? They’re usually not exactly famous for their combat ability."

Cynthia’s lips twitched slightly.

The attendant wisely chose not to comment but politely informed him. "Sir... would you mind waiting here for a moment?"

Damian raised an eyebrow.

The attendant quickly continued, "For a transaction of this size and quality, I don’t have the authority to personally evaluate everything."

He bowed slightly. "May I invite you upstairs to meet our branch manager?"

Damian’s expression immediately brightened. "Of course."

As the attendant hurried away to make arrangements, Damian leaned back slightly.

A strangely familiar feeling surfaced.

"Hehehe... this feels familiar."

Nearly half a year ago, something very similar had happened.

He had entered another Golden Medicine Pavilion branch, brought out things far beyond what an ordinary customer should possess, and ended up being taken directly to the manager.

And that was where he had met Esmeralda.

Damian rubbed his chin beneath the mask.

"I wonder who manages this branch."

His lips slowly curled upward.

"Hopefully someone interesting."

---

Damian and Cynthia followed the attendant upstairs.

They passed through a quieter corridor before stopping in front of an elegant wooden door.

The attendant knocked twice. "Manager, the guests have arrived."

A calm female voice answered from inside. "Let them in."

The door opened.

Damian casually stepped inside, with Cynthia following closely behind him, and glanced toward the woman seated on the sofa.

The moment he saw her, his entire body froze.

There was something painfully familiar about her face, something about her features that stirred a memory he hadn’t expected to resurface.

Damian’s eyes widened beneath his mask, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "Esmeralda?!"

The attendant blinked in surprise.

Cynthia’s steps also stopped.

Meanwhile, Esmeralda had already lifted her gaze.

The instant she heard Damian’s voice, recognition flashed through her eyes.

Her elegant smile slowly widened. "Oh?"

She placed down the document in her hand. "To think we would meet here again... Sir Damian."

Damian stared at her.

Esmeralda lightly rested her chin against one hand. "When I heard someone had suddenly arrived selling a large quantity of high-quality Noble Grade pills and talismans, it reminded me of something from the past."

Her eyes curved with amusement. "I certainly didn’t expect that troublesome customer to actually be you again."

The attendant looked between them.

Esmeralda noticed and calmly waved one hand. "You may leave us."

The man bowed and nodded. "Yes, Manager."

He quickly left, closing the door behind him.

Damian immediately removed his mask. "Yeah, I’m fucking surprised too."

His expression became amused. "I was literally thinking about what happened half a year ago when they told me I had to meet the manager."

Esmeralda laughed softly. "And somehow you found me again."

Damian chuckled. "Maybe it’s destiny, after all. You’re beautiful, and I’m quite handsome."

Esmeralda’s smile turned slightly teasing. "Oh, Sir Damian, you really do love flirting with me, don’t you?"

The two stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter at the ridiculous coincidence.

Meanwhile, Cynthia stood silently beside Damian.

Her gaze shifted from Damian to Esmeralda, then back to Damian again, the confusion on her face becoming increasingly obvious.

"What the hell happened between these two?"