Chapter 250: A Special Youth
Translated by Kollumceti
It had only been two days since You XiaoMo last opened his stall.
You XiaoMo did not know the pills he had refined would be compared against the other mages. He only knew that the second time he opened for business; there were already a couple of people waiting for him. This phenomenon could only be described as a wonder in the bazaar, and attracted the attention of many.
When You XiaoMo got there, the crowd thought that his stall was already occupied. However, occupation of a spot that was not yours would lead to a severe penalty from the school. Thus it would be an highly unlikely scenario.
Seeing that You XiaoMo had finally arrived, the two young men let out a sudden expression of joy. One of them delightedly said, “Hey little fella, you’ve finally arrived! We’ve been waiting a long time for you, and even came to look for you yesterday. Who would have thought that you wouldn’t come?”
You XiaoMo was astonished, “I was busy yesterday, so I couldn’t come. But why are you guys here?” The bystanders behind them looked at You XiaoMo with inquisitive gazes – it was possible that the group was acquaintances with the two young men.
News of yesterday’s duel between him and Chai Jun had already spread to the two young men. Thus You XiaoMo’s absence was not unexpected. Coupled with the fact that refining magic pills took time, the young man replied: “The magic pills that I previously purchased were quite effective. So I came to inquire about your stock of pills. We would like to buy all of them.”
His stall was not even set up, and yet, his magic pills were all sold out. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
You XiaoMo quickly refuted, tentatively asking, “Are you sure you want everything?” Was the effect of his magic pill that great? Although he had never compared his pills with others, the pills of the other mages also seemed pretty good.
The man smiled and replied, “Since you’re a new student, it’s normal that you are not familiar with the current state of affairs.”
You XiaoMo was certainly unfamiliar with the present circumstances, thus he asked, “What do you mean by state of affairs?”
“First, let me introduce myself. I am Rong Xuan, next to me is my friend, Qin Zhang. It is nice to meet you, Classmate You XiaoMo.” Rong Xuan grinned as he exposed You XiaoMo’s identity. You XiaoMo had indeed become famous – it was not unexpected that he recognised him the first time.
You XiaoMo was not surprised. No matter who said they knew him, it would not be unexpected.
Rong Xuan continued, “You may not be aware, but with regards to the sale of magic pills, ninety percent of the customer base is monopolised by a cartel which has fixed the price of the magic pills. However, the price is disproportionate to the quality of the pills.”
“Are you referring to the number of times the magic herbs are distilled?” You XiaoMo immediately caught onto the main point. Since the quality was not high, the only reason could be due to this.
“Correct! When they refine pills, they only distil the magic herb four times, leaving behind a good deal of impurities. After assimilating the magic pills, the impurities will remain in the body unless they are immediately removed. These impurities are detrimental to cultivation. To cleanse yourself of it, they force you to buy a Mental Purification pill which they deliberately created for removal of these impurities.” Rong Xuan frowned as he said this.
How despicable could they be? Just to gain points they would even defraud their fellow students.
But nothing could be done about this situation. If the students did not buy the magic pills, they would be unable to enter the mountains to hunt for demon beasts. If they cannot hunt the demon beasts, they would be unable to earn points. It was indeed a fact that many depended on hunting to earn points.
From their words, You XiaoMo guessed that the two were not part of the cartel, and must have been deceived of a sizable amount of points.
No wonder they would be willing to buy all his magic pills. There was a great difference in the amount of impurities remaining whenever a magic herb was distilled an additional time. Since he distilled his herbs two more times, the impurities in his pills would definitely be greatly reduced. You XiaoMo could not help thinking such narcissistic thoughts.
Rong Xuan continued, “Classmate You, my brothers and I are planning to head into the mountains soon. So we would need a large amount of magic pills. As the qualities of your pills are higher, our proposal is to purchase all your pills at the market rate. What do you think?”
Since these people were willing to pay a higher price, how could You XiaoMo not accept this? As he had heard the whole story, there was nothing for him to feel guilty about. After all, who would not want to sell their goods for a higher price?
You XiaoMo had refined all the magic herbs that he bought into magic pills. He had thirty Yuan Yang pills, forty Huo Xue pills and fifteen Zhen Yang pills. This would earn him a total of three hundred and fifteen points.
This was a huge amount of points!
Seeing the points on his card rise from one hundred and ten to four hundred and twenty five points, You XiaoMo could not believe his eyes. If this continued, he could probably enter the ranks of the rich within a few months.
But for Rong Xuan and his group to have the capacity to spend three hundred plus points in one go, it was most likely that they were one of the big fishes in Ward B.
You XiaoMo was not wrong. The group, led by Rong Xuan, was quite famous in Ward B. They depended on hunting demon beasts to earn points, and would always return with a big haul. Due to this, many people knew about them.
After the transaction, Rong Xuan made a humble request to You XiaoMo – hoping that the next time You XiaoMo refined pills; they would be given the priority in purchasing.
It would definitely be more convenient if he had a fixed buyer. Thus, You XiaoMo agreed to the request.
As You XiaoMo did not need to pack up his stall, he immediately left the sales area with BaiLi XiaoYu.
BaiLi XiaoYu greatly admired that You XiaoMo could earn so much in few days, and enviously thought that he wanted to follow his example and earn points by refining pills.
They were both eighteen years old, but compared with You XiaoMo, he was akin to a useless pampered young master who depended on his elder brothers for points to live comfortably. BaiLi XiaoYu felt as if the scales had fallen from his eyes.
Thus he decided, from today on, he would start earning points with his own effort. The first step would be to follow You XiaoMo to buy some magic herbs.
Seeing his determination, You XiaoMo decided to bring BaiLi XiaoYu along – after all, they were heading to the same destination.
The sales area for magic herbs was just next door to the area for magic pills, and it took less than fifteen minutes to walk there.
You XiaoMo heard of this sales area from Ning Jing-daoshi’s lesson. Previously, he was very curious about where the supply of magic herbs came from. This was because the prices of the magic herbs were not particularly high; in addition, there were also large quantities put up for sale.
He later learned that these magic herbs were dug from the mountains.
The mountains have existed for an immeasurable amount of time. There are many demon beasts and all kinds of different grades of magic herbs in the mountains. Low and middle grade magic herbs are especially common. As long as one dared to enter, they would be rewarded.
You XiaoMo returned to the stall where he first purchased his magic herbs.
The one selling magic herbs was a youth of approximately twenty years. His level was not that high, and according to him, the amount sold was not more than sixty sets of low grade level four magic herbs per day. Even if he had additional stock, he would not continue selling. If he was not able to sell all sixty sets, he would bring the remainder back.
The first time You XiaoMo came, he only had a few bundles left and was about to close for the day. But You XiaoMo managed to catch him in time.
It was clear that the youth still recognised him, and was a little surprised to see him back so soon.
You XiaoMo browsed his wares. As he came earlier, it appeared that the youth had just opened his stall, and only sold a few stalks of herbs.
“Fellow classmate, how many sets of materials do you have here?”
The youth was momentarily surprised. But he soon regained his calm, and indifferently replied, “I have materials for Zhen Yang pills, Yuan Yang pills and Huo Xue pills. All three pills have twenty sets each. Do you want everything?”
“Yes, I do, how much do they cost?” You XiaoMo nodded and said.
The youth bluntly replied, “It costs a total of seventy-five points. Since you are the first customer who has bought everything, I can give you a discount. The total would be seventy points.”
You XiaoMo was pleased, “Thank you so much! In addition, I will probably be coming back every two days for the rest of the month. Could I reserve your stock of sixty sets of magic herbs once every two days?” You XiaoMo calculated this out, since he needed a supply of magic herbs, he might as well find a fixed seller.
The youth jolted, but instantly replied, “Of course I can.”
He was also thinking along the same lines as You XiaoMo – it was truly a fortune to have a fixed buyer.
You XiaoMo continued, “I’m staying at the First Autumn Courtyard, in the Ninth pavilion. If I do not come that day, if it’s convenient, could you send it over?”
Since it was only the delivery of goods, the youth agreed, “I can.”
The discussion of the deal concluded smoothly, leaving both parties relaxed and refreshed.
Seeing his points in his card drop by seventy, You XiaoMo did not feel distressed as it would not be long before he could earn enough to cover his cost, and make a net profit of fifty points.
Leaving the sales area for magic herbs, You XiaoMo gave half of his haul to BaiLi XiaoYu. Of course it would not be for free. BaiLi XiaoYu had close to five hundred points which were all given by his brothers.
You XiaoMo firmly refused to acknowledge his jealousy, and ferociously transferred thirty five points to his own card.
On the way back to the pavilion, You XiaoMo parted ways with BaiLi XiaoYu.
He asked BaiLi XiaoYu to return first, and then went to look for Ling Xiao alone.
The last time, he accompanied Ling Xiao to rent his room, so he knew where his room was. After defeating Sun Zhe, Ling Xiao gained authorization to stay in the First Spring Courtyard. He was staying in the Ninth pavilion, which was the same number as You XiaoMo. It was rumored that the first to eighth pavilions were rented by the top eight students who ranked before Sun Zhe.