Chapter 18: Bargaining

Disguise was entirely a precautionary measure by Chen Fei. After all, he was about to sell Grass-Returning Pills in the black market; if he went there with his current appearance and physique, it would be very easy for people to recognize him.

The black market was an almost public existence among the martial artists of Pingyin County, and there were inevitably members of the Zhang family among them. Chen Fei did not want to break ties with the Zhang family yet, so hiding his identity was of utmost importance.

"Simplifying Disguise... Simplification successful... Disguise $\rightarrow$ Face Washing!"

Wonderful!

Seeing the result of the simplification, Chen Fei grinned. He tried washing his face with plain water, and the experience points for Disguise indeed increased by +1, while various insights regarding the technique surfaced in his mind.

Not wasting any time, Chen Fei proceeded to rinse his face with water over ten times in succession, and the experience points for Disguise surged upward.

After a moment, Chen Fei stopped. The experience gained from washing his face wasn't slow, but he wanted to go even faster. Based on his observations over the past few days, this simplified method actually allowed for some clever shortcuts.

Chen Fei tried wetting a towel and then wiping his cheeks. The insights regarding Disguise in his mind immediately increased, and a smile couldn't help but appear on his face.

In the following days, Chen Fei consumed one Grass-Returning Pill every day to steadily push his cultivation to the peak of the Skin-Refining Realm, while simultaneously refining Blood-Qi Pills continuously to raise the experience points of the Grass-Returning Pill, gradually approaching the Perfection stage.

It was foreseeable that the places where Chen Fei needed money would become increasingly frequent; the Grass-Returning Pill would be his stable source of income moving forward.

In the intervals between refining pills, Chen Fei never stopped practicing his movement techniques. After integrating the fifth movement technique, the assistance provided by the new techniques began to slowly diminish.

The most obvious change was that after integrating the new movement technique, the proficiency of the "River-Crossing Cloud" had already approached the Perfection level.

However, this situation was inevitable. After all, the function of basic movement techniques was relatively simple; there were only a few specific paths to use when circulating internal energy.

It was already quite difficult for Chen Fei to have cultivated his movement techniques to this level relying solely on these few basic manuals. However, Chen Fei could also feel that a transformation in his movement techniques was imminent.

Perhaps after integrating the ten newly purchased movement technique manuals, his speed would reach a new plateau.

He did not neglect pill refining or movement techniques, and naturally, he did not forget the newly acquired Disguise technique.

Aside from refining pills, during his free time from cultivation, or during short breaks after meals, Chen Fei never forgot to take out a towel and occasionally wipe his face.

Within a few days, the people at the medical clinic noticed Chen Fei's somewhat peculiar habit.

They had previously heard that this deputy manager loved to stir-fry dishes, though they hadn't seen him actually cooking; now, they discovered that Chen Fei seemed to have a bit of a cleanliness obsession.

There was clearly no sweat on his head or face, and he looked extremely clean, yet Chen Fei would wipe his cheeks from time to time. It felt as though he was going to rub his face raw.

Chen Fei did not care about their gazes. Being clean was no flaw. Moreover, as he watched the experience points of various techniques continuously rise, his mind was constantly agitated by various insights.

This feeling of successful learning and intellectual abundance left Chen Fei quite intoxicated.

"Something big has happened."

Early in the morning, Liu Jun approached Chen Fei with a mysterious air.

Chen Fei nodded, signaling Liu Jun to continue.

"Weren't several wealthy households in the county killed a few days ago? Last night, the county yamen's constables and bailiffs were deployed to surround and capture someone."

Chen Fei's expression shifted slightly. No wonder he had heard commotion outside last night; it turned out to be caused by this. Chen Fei couldn't help but think of the portrait he had thrown into the yamen.

"Did they catch him?"

"No. I heard that the bandit was a bit caught off guard at first, but once the constables got close, he instantly injured everyone and fled."

Liu Jun shook his head with some regret. After all, anyone would be afraid of such a fierce bandit who slaughtered entire families, and everyone hoped he would be caught.

Chen Fei nodded slightly, understanding that the yamen had somewhat underestimated Jian Liang's strength, which allowed him to escape. However, from another perspective, it also reflected Jian Liang's formidable power, which was incomparable to that of ordinary martial artists.

He just didn't know if this incident would cause the bandits to restrain themselves or if they would retaliate even more crazily.

"I heard someone provided information to the yamen, but didn't take a single bit of reward silver... So much money, what a waste!" Liu Jun walked away muttering to himself, his eyes full of longing for money.

Ten days passed quickly, and the experience points for the Grass-Returning Pill finally reached the Perfection stage. Not only did the number of pills produced from each batch increase, but every single one was plump and rounded.

These were already high-grade Grass-Returning Pills. Within the entire Qingzheng Medical Clinic, there were very few alchemists capable of refining pills of this standard.

A single Grass-Returning Pill sold for ten taels of silver, while the cost of medicinal ingredients was quite low, almost negligible compared to the selling price.

In those ten days, Chen Fei had also cultivated the Disguise technique to the Perfection stage. His facial features could now change at will, and even his physique could be slightly adjusted.

Thus, the conditions for Chen Fei to sell Grass-Returning Pills in the black market were now met. The only remaining issue to solve was the source of the medicinal herbs.

It was impossible for various medical clinics and pharmacies to sell medicinal herbs to Chen Fei in large quantities; after all, they had their own alchemists and had no reason to dispose of herbs this way. Therefore, Chen Fei needed to find another path.

At the same time, Chen Fei's cultivation was expected to complete its breakthrough within these few days. At that time, he would be a martial artist of the Flesh-Refining Realm. Compared to the low level of the Skin-Refining Realm, the Flesh-Refining Realm would at least give Chen Fei some power for self-protection.

The Black Market.

"I need a batch of medicinal herbs. Can you provide them?"

In front of a book stall, a man wearing a mask and a bamboo hat spoke. His face had also been altered—specifically, the corners of his eyes were intentionally elongated, and his stature was slightly taller. The impression he gave others was that of a cold and unapproachable person.

"If you have money, everything is easy."

Chi Defeng looked at Chen Fei, feeling a sense of familiarity. However, with people coming and going in the black market, a bit of familiarity was normal.

"I want ten portions of these medicinal herbs!"

Chen Fei handed over the written list. Chi Defeng took it, glanced at it, and said, "They aren't hard to find. Market price plus ten percent, delivery in six days, how about it?"

Chen Fei wanted to roll his eyes but said nothing. He took the list back from Chi Defeng's hand and turned to leave.

The main reason he came to Chi Defeng to buy herbs was familiarity; it wasn't that he had to find him. He could still collect sufficient herbs elsewhere.

"Hey, don't go! The price is negotiable!"

Chi Defeng hurriedly tried to stop him. What was wrong with people these days? They wouldn't even negotiate a price; truly, people's hearts were no longer what they used to be. Business wasn't this difficult in the old days.

"Market price plus five percent; the margin is enough for your trouble," Chen Fei said, turning around.

"It's chaotic outside right now; even medicinal herbs are hard to find," Chi Defeng said, shaking his head.

"There are so many refugees. If you are willing to give them money, they will naturally help you find the herbs."

The number of refugees outside Pingyin County had not decreased recently; instead, it was increasing. With several more county towns having fallen, the surrounding area had become increasingly chaotic.

Rumors said that armies had already been sent to suppress them, but no one knew what the final outcome would be.