Terra Su, with his past life experiences, made his way to Five Treasures Hall as if treading on familiar ground. He walked straight to one of the counters and asked, "Do you have the Ice and Snow Cold Cicada? "
"Ice and Snow Cold Cicada? What's that?" The attendant behind the counter was taken aback. He had been working at Five Treasures Hall for five or six years, yet he had never heard of an herb called Ice and Snow Cold Cicada.
Terra Su wasn't surprised that the attendant hadn't heard of the Ice and Snow Cold Cicada. After all, such an item rarely appeared on the market, and he hadn't expected to find it there.
Without further ado, Terra Su requested another herb, "Then I'll take a hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb."
The hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb was a purely yang herb. Although not as rare as the Ice and Snow Cold Cicada, which appeared once in a century, it was still extremely scarce. Even a large establishment like Five Treasures Hall would at most have one or two of them.
Terra Su wanted to purchase a hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb to help his aunt recuperate.
He knew that his aunt had suffered serious injuries in her early years and had further depleted her health giving birth to Emma Jiang, leading to recurrent flare-ups of her old wounds every so often.
Each recurrence brought her extreme pain.
Many elixir masters had been invited to their home, but none had been effective.
It wasn't until Terra Su reached the Alchemy Domain that he learned his aunt's injury was actually due to cold poison, which required yang herbs to eradicate.
Therefore, in this life, Terra Su didn't want to delay a single day. The sooner he could remove the cold poison from his aunt's body, the sooner she could be free from pain.
"Sir, the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb is a rare herb. Our shop currently has only one, and it is very precious. Its price…" The attendant began to say, while casting a subtle glance at Terra Su's very ordinary attire.
Clearly, Terra Su's immediate inquiry about the Ice and Snow Cold Cicada, something unheard of by ordinary people, made the attendant suspect that he might be there to cause trouble. Moreover, young men dressed as plainly as Terra Su were a dime a dozen on the streets, and they didn't look like they could afford a hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb.
Terra Su didn't bother with small talk and directly took out a banknote worth a thousand taels, cutting off the attendant's words, "I'll take that hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb."
Upon seeing the banknote, the attendant's eyes narrowed.
Anyone who could easily produce a banknote of a thousand taels must be at least from one of the three great families.
The attendant's attitude changed immediately, and he said enthusiastically, "Please wait a moment, young master. I will fetch the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb for you."
As the attendant left to retrieve the herb, two people suddenly entered Five Treasures Hall.
One was a young lady with bright eyes and white teeth, exuding an elegant demeanor, and the other was an old man in a purple robe with short white hair.
The old man had a thick bandage on one arm, showing traces of blood, and his complexion was somewhat pale.
"Do you have the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb? We need one," the young lady called out coldly before she even reached the counter.
"Ah, right away!" A manager from Five Treasures Hall emerged from somewhere, his face full of obsequious smiles as he looked at the old man and the young lady.
From the moment the old man and the young lady entered Five Treasures Hall, the manager had noticed them. Their attire and demeanor suggested they were no ordinary people.
Strangely, these two looked unfamiliar, not like residents of Clear River City, and might well be important figures from elsewhere.
"Our esteemed guests want a hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb? I'll find it immediately!" the manager ordered his subordinates.
Just then, the attendant who had been serving Terra Su came out with a wooden box containing a hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb.
Seeing this, the manager's face lit up with joy, and he approached, saying, "Quick, give me the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb!"
"But, this hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb is for that young master…" the attendant stammered.
Without any explanation, the manager snatched the Supreme Yang Herb and scolded, "Don't you have any sense? Can't you see that the old master and the young lady urgently need the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb? We, as an elixir hall, should anticipate and meet the needs of our customers, understand?"
With that, the manager, all smiles, handed the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb to the old man and the young lady, "Here is the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb you requested."
What was clearly an act of favoritism was somehow made to sound noble and refined by the manager.
The young lady hesitated for a moment, frowning as she was about to take the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb from the manager.
At that moment, a faint cold voice suddenly rang out, "Hold on!"
Simultaneously, a hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the manager's hand.
"Manager, shouldn't sales be based on a first-come, first-served basis? The hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb was mine first," Terra Su said coldly.
The manager then looked at Terra Su as if he had just noticed him, disdainfully sizing up his attire and chuckling, "My apologies, sir, but our shop only has one hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb. Could you please be generous and let it go?"
On one side was the elegantly dressed, dignified old man and young lady, and on the other was an ordinary young man in plain clothes. Even a fool knew to whom they should sell the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb!
Terra Su replied calmly, "What if I refuse?"
At this point, the young lady, with a slight frown, spoke up, "Young master, we truly need the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb urgently. If you are willing to let us have it, we are prepared to offer you a generous compensation, ensuring you won't be at a loss."
"Sorry, no," Terra Su flatly refused.
The young lady's frown deepened, but she still patiently said, "Please reconsider. We need the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb to save someone. As for compensation, we can offer you a thousand taels in silver notes."
"To save someone?"
Terra Su glanced at the old man and the young lady and asked in a steady voice, "Save whom?"
The young lady took a deep breath, pointed to the bandage wrapped around the old man's arm, and explained with patience, "My grandfather was bitten by an Ice-Scaled Python in the mountains and urgently needs this hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb to treat his injury. By giving us the herb, you're not only doing a good deed but also profiting. Why not do it?"
By this time, due to the loud argument, other customers in the shop had also gathered around, whispering among themselves.
"Young man, please give it up. After all, it's a life-saving herb for them."
"Yes, and besides, it's not like you're giving it away for free; there's compensation."
"This young man really doesn't know what's good for him. Clearly, by giving up the herb, he could save a life, yet he repeatedly refuses."
The crowd chimed in one after another, generally criticizing Terra Su for hoarding the herb.
Terra Su lifted his eyelids, looked at the young lady, and said indifferently, "Who told you that your grandfather's injury needs the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb for treatment?"
The young lady was taken aback, "Isn't it?"
Terra Su didn't bother with pleasantries and stated bluntly, "I'm telling you, using the hundred-year-old Supreme Yang Herb to treat your grandfather's injury is a grave mistake. It will only worsen his condition!"
"How is that possible?" The young lady frowned lightly, clearly not believing Terra Su's words.
The Five Treasures Hall manager also laughed as if he had heard a big joke, shaking his head, "Nonsense!"
Terra Su, without even looking, said leisurely, "Where's that buzzing fly coming from? It's annoying. When customers are talking, why is a servant butting in?"
"You…" The manager's face turned red with anger. Strictly speaking, he was indeed just a servant of Five Treasures Hall.
"Who's spouting nonsense in my Five Treasures Hall?" Just then, a voice suddenly came from the back hall.
Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
Leave a Reply