Chapter 14: Gao Yuyao

Seeing that Song Qingming seemed to recognize him, Qin Zhen looked at the wooden sign in front of the stall and continued, "I saw on your sign that you need medicinal pills. I happen to know a friend who frequently sells them. However, they don't want anything else—only spirit stones. I wonder if you would be interested?"

"Fellow Daoist Qin, I am here to assist my clan in collecting pills to enhance our cultivation. If someone can provide them on a long-term basis, that would be excellent; it would save my family from having to frequent the markets constantly."

So, he was a cultivator from a nearby clan. No wonder this person was so young yet could produce dozens of spirit talismans for sale at every gathering; it turned out most of these talismans were crafted by his clan elders.

Medicinal pills, such a highly sought-after cultivation resource, were essentially controlled by the various great cultivation clans in Qinghe County. Relying on accumulations over several generations, most of them possessed complete pill recipes, making it much easier for them to nurture alchemists than for rogue cultivators.

Even if a few exceptionally talented rogue cultivators managed to become alchemists by obtaining alchemical legacies through their own luck, if they wanted to acquire more recipes to improve their skills, their ultimate choice was to join the clans and become their honored guests, spending their lives refining pills for them.

The only market in Qinghe County, the Qinghe Market, was jointly established by the various large and small cultivation clans of the county. Consequently, pills refined by rogue cultivators could not compete with those of these cultivation clans within the Qinghe Market.

Of course, there were still some alchemists who were unwilling to collude with these cultivation clans and chose other ways to survive, but the pills they refined generally only appeared in these small-scale gatherings.

"Pills sold here are generally a bit cheaper than in the market. It is quite common for nearby cultivation clans to come here to purchase pills to save a few spirit stones," Qin Zhen added.

After listening to Song Qingming's words, Qin Zhen spoke with a sense of realization, "I thought, given your young age, why would you need so many pills? So, you are purchasing them for your family."

"If Fellow Daoist can introduce a source, I will offer all future talisman purchases to you at ten percent off the market price. Would that be acceptable?"

After speaking, Song Qingming pulled a few of the man's favorite Cleansing Heart Talismans from the pile of talismans in front of him and pressed them into Qin Zhen's hand.

"That is acceptable, quite acceptable. After the gathering ends, please wait for me here for a moment."

Seeing how sensible Song Qingming was, Qin Zhen happily agreed. As a rogue cultivator like him, he spent his years drifting through various gatherings; besides venturing out to hunt demon beasts, he could only rely on buying and selling information at markets to exchange for cultivation resources.

Not long after seeing Qin Zhen off, a beautiful woman wearing a veil approached Song Qingming's stall.

The woman was delicate and elegant, with bright eyes and rosy lips. She wore a pale pink palace-style dress with a slender, exquisite figure. The hem of her skirt was embroidered with light blue butterflies poised for flight, and she wore a layer of white light gauze over it. Her cultivation was slightly higher than Song Qingming's, having already reached the fifth level of Qi Refinement.

In the months Song Qingming had spent here in Caolu Mountain, this was the first time he had seen such a stunning female cultivator, and he couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.

After stopping in front of Song Qingming's stall, she carefully examined the sign on the table. After a moment of thought, she spoke, "Do you accept mid-grade Silver Leaf Grass?"

Song Qingming felt her voice was as clear and refreshing as a wind chime. Snapping out of his daze, he quickly replied, "I don't take mid-grade, but I can take low-grade."

Silver Leaf Grass was one of the spiritual herbs required to make blank spirit talismans, but since Song Qingming was currently only a low-grade talisman maker, using mid-grade materials would be quite wasteful. He did not have many spirit stones on hand and naturally would not waste them on such an acquisition.

Seeing Song Qingming's refusal, a hint of displeasure appeared on the pink-clad woman's face. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "I also have some low-grade pills to enhance cultivation. Can they be exchanged for all the Cleansing Heart Talismans on your table?"

"Pills to enhance cultivation? Let me see which kind they are first."

Hearing that this woman wanted to exchange pills for his talismans, Song Qingming was somewhat surprised. He wondered what strange wind had blown through the market today; in the past, it was rare for anyone to bring pills to exchange for talismans. How did he encounter two such people in a row today?

Upon hearing Song Qingming's request, the pink-clad woman did not answer verbally but instead placed a small bottle on the table.

Taking the small purple bottle handed to him, Song Qingming opened the jade vial, poured out a pill, and lowered his head to carefully sense its medicinal properties.

"This is a 'Qi Nourishing Pill'."

Song Qingming took out one of his own small vials and placed three pills inside. He then placed the remaining pills from the vial, along with the dozen or so Cleansing Heart Talismans on the table, in front of her.

"Your Qi Nourishing Pills are worth about three spirit stones each on the market. My dozen or so talismans are only worth three of your pills. If you agree, we can exchange."

The pink-clad woman did not hesitate. She nodded readily, quickly gathered the pills and talismans, gave Song Qingming a glance, and then turned to drift away gracefully.

After completing this transaction, it seemed as though Song Qingming's good luck had run out, as he never encountered another opportunity to exchange for pills again.

However, the sales of the talismans he displayed remained very stable. By the end of the day, he had sold most of them and had also collected some talisman-making materials. Only the black stone that Uncle Jiu had left with him remained untouched and ignored by everyone.

***

At dusk, as the sun sank lower in the west, Song Qingming stood on the west side of Caolu Mountain, looking at the person Qin Zhen had introduced as the pill seller, feeling a sense of bitter irony.

The familiar figure before him was exactly the pink-clad woman who had exchanged pills for his talismans earlier today. He simply hadn't imagined at the time that she would also be selling the rest of her pills.

He felt bad for those Cleansing Heart Talismans he had worked so hard to craft.

The pink-clad woman was still wearing that white veil. Although Song Qingming had never clearly seen her face, he quickly confirmed from her clothing that she was the stunning woman who had traded with him half a day ago.

Seeing Song Qingming, the pink-clad woman was also somewhat surprised. She turned to ask Qin Zhen, "Fellow Daoist Qin, is this the person you mentioned who wishes to purchase pills?"

"Fairy Gao, this is Fellow Daoist Song. He is also a cultivator from a nearby clan and has a decent reputation here in Caolu Mountain. He has come this time to purchase some pills for his clan elders."

Qin Zhen seemed somewhat respectful toward the woman, his tone carrying a hint of concern that she might not be satisfied with Song Qingming as a trading partner.

Hearing Qin Zhen's introduction, the pink-clad woman asked Song Qingming another question.

"Are you from the Song Clan of Funiu Mountain?"

"Funiu Mountain, Song Clan, Song Qingming."

Seeing that this woman knew his origin immediately, Song Qingming assumed she was someone who had been cultivating nearby for many years. He did not hide it further and generously stated his name.

After hearing Song Qingming's answer, the pink-clad woman pondered for a long time. Finally, as if having made a decision, she tossed a yellow cloth bag toward Qin Zhen.

Qin Zhen caught the bag, took a quick look inside, and nodded to the two of them with a joyful expression before quickly departing.

Only after Qin Zhen had moved out of their sight did the woman speak slowly, "I wonder, what kind of pills does Fellow Daoist Song require?"

"I want anything that can enhance mana, like these Qi Nourishing Pills. The more, the better."

"I only want spirit stones; I want nothing else."

"That goes without saying."

After speaking, the pink-clad woman took out several identical purple jade vials and placed them in Song Qingming's hands. As Song Qingming took them and looked, he found all three vials were filled with the Qi Nourishing Pills he had been dreaming of. Shocked, he couldn't help but form more conjectures about this woman.

To be able to produce so many Qi Nourishing Pills at once, her alchemy skills must be incredibly high, far beyond what a low-level alchemist like his second sister could compare to. She was at least a mid-grade alchemist, a figure not commonly found in Qinghe County.

"The quality of my pills is excellent. If you take a whole vial, I can give it to you for two spirit stones less."

Song Qingming agreed. After accepting one vial of pills, he took out a bag of spirit stones and handed them to the woman.

"I was in a hurry when I came out today and didn't bring many spirit stones. One vial is enough for today. For the rest, come find me at the same gathering location next month. I will be setting up a stall here every month. As long as the quality is guaranteed, I can purchase from you on a long-term basis."

"As long as you have spirit stones, the quality of the pills I refine is guaranteed. However, if you want long-term cooperation... I have one more requirement."

"Please, Fairy, speak."

"You must not reveal our transactions to your clansmen. That shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"

Song Qingming was initially puzzled by the pink-clad woman's strange request, but upon careful thought, he realized that perhaps her alchemical legacy came from the Qinghe Market, and thus she did not want the clan cultivators to know her identity.

"I can do that!"

Compared to her, Song Qingming was even more reluctant to let his clan know the secret of how he was earning spirit stones. For him, being able to steadily exchange for pills to increase his cultivation was the most important thing.

At most, he would only dare to take a small amount of these pills to the clan's Treasury Pavilion to exchange for talisman materials. If he took them all, how could he explain to the Fourth Elder where he got the spirit stones to purchase them? In the eyes of the other members of the Song Clan, he could at most possess twenty or thirty spirit stones.

The pink-clad woman counted the spirit stones, satisfied, and tucked them into her storage bag, preparing to drift away.

"May I ask for your honorable name, Fairy?"

"Gao Yuyao."

(End of Chapter)