Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Attempt
The female cultivator watched Bai Mo merge into the stream of people outside. He was utterly inconspicuous in the crowd.
"That cultivator has been here many times before. He only ever looks, never buys. He has a very pleasant temperament."
She was a little stunned, recalling the times she and her friends had teased Bai Mo.
"Hmph!" the old man snorted.
"Your judgment is getting worse and worse. Find someone who’s free and go find out where he comes from!"
With that, he nodded to a familiar customer, who then went back behind the counter.
The female cultivator muttered a few words to herself but ultimately said no more.
She mentally noted the direction Bai Mo had gone and retreated as well.
Bai Mo walked among the cultivators, a large, feather-light bundle on his back.
He naturally guessed his identity had been exposed. That old man’s eyes were incredibly sharp; one look was enough to tell he was a pillar of the merchant association.
But it was a trivial matter, not worth his concern.
Back on the familiar street, the bookshop was already open. The old shopkeeper was chatting with a few customers and didn’t notice Bai Mo pass by.
Seeing the old shopkeeper so busy, Bai Mo smiled and continued on his way.
But he soon noticed something was off.
’Hm?’
’Since when were there so many cultivators on the street?’
With the city’s market in a downturn, foot traffic should have been much lighter.
Yet now the street was bustling with cultivators coming and going, chatting with one another. For a moment, it felt like things were back to how they were a few months ago.
Bai Mo watched the cultivators. The road-worn look about them was impossible to hide.
’Could this be related to Lanshan and his people?’
Bai Mo wondered.
He became even more certain when he noticed several people casting furtive glances his way.
"Freshly baked pastries!"
"Meat jerky! The finest meat jerky..."
Shopkeepers and clerks along the street hawked their wares with gusto, waving cloths in their hands.
The rising and falling cadence of their shouts finally sounded a bit more like it used to.
After so many quiet days, this rare burst of activity had every shopkeeper and clerk running on adrenaline.
’It’s a blessing for the neighbors, at least.’
Bai Mo shook his head and smiled at a cultivator who happened to be looking his way.
The man flinched as if shocked, instantly whipping his head away, yet his expression remained perfectly neutral.
When he got home, Han Meng was already waiting outside.
"How long have you been waiting?"
Bai Mo asked as he opened the door, ushering him inside.
Han Meng scratched his head and followed him in.
"Shopkeeper Bai, did you notice all the tough-looking guys outside?"
Bai Mo casually set down his bundle and pushed open the window.
Light streamed in, brightening the room.
"With that many of them out there, it’d be impossible not to notice."
"So, what’s going on?"
Bai Mo took out the White-Hair Flowers. After being dried, the blood-red color on their surface had faded, receding into the deeper tissues.
Some of the stems and leaves still needed to be removed.
Seeing Bai Mo’s simple task, Han Meng picked up a few stalks and began helping as if he were preparing vegetables.
"It’s nothing much, really."
"After Brother Lanshan secretly spread the word, a lot of Demon Hunting Teams scrambled to move into the area."
"The rent for nearby houses has shot up quite a bit!"
Han Meng snuck a glance at Bai Mo’s face. Seeing no change in his expression, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
"No one’s going to turn down a good opportunity. They all have their own agendas, but none of them mean you harm."
"You can just think of it as them helping watch your back, Shopkeeper Bai!"
Bai Mo caught the implication in his words, looking up with a frown.
"Are people really going to cause trouble for me?"
Han Meng nodded grimly.
"Never mind those persistent pests from the Wondrous Law Sect’s Talisman Faction. Even some low-level cultivators who have a grudge against you might get a stupid idea in their heads..."
"There’s no shortage of idiots like that in Immortal Arrival City!"
Bai Mo let out a breath and tossed aside the White-Hair Flower stalk he had just finished preparing.
"Then let them be."
"I don’t really mind, just tell those cultivators outside not to crowd me for no reason!"
Han Meng was overjoyed.
"Great!"
’Honestly, this was exactly the situation they had hoped for.’
’They wouldn’t be able to rest easy until they’d turned this area into their own turf.’
’As for those trying to curry favor for no good reason, they definitely needed a little warning,’ Han Meng mused.
’They all wore their intentions on their sleeves. Did they really think they, the newcomers, could get ahead of us?’
No sooner had he seen Han Meng off than the foreman of the crew next door showed up.
The man had swapped the giant hammer he usually carried for an axe. He set the tool down by the door and boomed in a loud voice.
"Alchemist Bai!"
"I’ve got that Spirit Wood for you! It’s full of oil!"
Bai Mo stood up.
"Let me see. Alchemy isn’t a normal craft. Too much oil in the Spirit Wood isn’t necessarily a good thing."
The man grinned.
"Don’t you worry. I picked it out special. I hear Alchemy Cultivators love this kind of Spirit Wood."
"It burns hot, it’s cheap, and there’s a lot of it!"
Bai Mo followed him to inspect the delivered Spirit Wood.
Twenty or thirty logs were stacked in a corner of the Alchemy Room. Their cores were brown, and their bark was coarse.
He broke off a piece from one of the logs and lit it. After it burned away, there were hardly any impurities left.
"Not bad."
Bai Mo clapped the dust from his hands. "Put it on my account."
"You got it!" the man shouted.
"Two of you, get over here and chop this wood for Alchemist Bai!"
He was clearly experienced in the Spirit Wood business—very thorough.
"That’s very thoughtful of you," Bai Mo said with approval.
"It’s no trouble at all." Then, the man seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right, Alchemist Bai. In a couple of days, we’ll start work on your residential side."
"You should get ready. We’ll send some men to help you move your things."
’They were all efficient people. Once the two storefronts were combined, this whole deal would be complete.’
But now, a matter lay before Bai Mo.
’It’s time to talk to Elder Tao and finalize the transfer of the shop.’
’I wonder where he is now?’
The scattered White-Hair Flowers at home still needed to be cleaned up.
Bai Mo bid the foreman farewell, returned home, and finished gathering the rest of the White-Hair Flowers.
Then, he tossed them into an earthen pot and burned them to ash.
The sound of axes splitting Spirit Wood echoed from next door. Bai Mo decided he would test out his new Pill Furnace that night.
He worked alone for the better part of the day. By nightfall, the preparation of his medicinal ingredients was finally complete.
A few of the workers, having finished for the day, were heading out with their arms slung over each other’s shoulders, off to who-knows-where.
They happened to spot Bai Mo, who was carrying a large bundle of medicinal ingredients in his arms and a bucket in his hand.
"Hiss! I’ve heard that some Alchemy Cultivators use ores in their pills."
"Today I finally get to see Alchemist Bai use ash in his!"
SMACK!
The man who had been muttering was smacked by his companion.
"You dare gossip about Alchemist Bai?!"
"I was just saying..."
"Who knows what he’s using that ash for? Why do you care so much? If you knew anything about it, you wouldn’t be stuck with a life of hard labor like us!"
Bai Mo watched the men walk off, finding it a bit strange.
’At night in Immortal Arrival City, there was nowhere lively to go besides the brothels. What could they be up to at this hour?’
But that wasn’t his concern.
WHOOSH!
Flames ignited beneath the Pill Furnace, expanding rapidly.
In moments, a searing heat washed over Bai Mo’s face.
’Heh, this is Spirit Wood, all right!’
He was already breaking out in a fine sweat.
With no time to spare, Bai Mo scrambled onto the platform and poured in all the medicinal ingredients.
After a flurry of activity, with a heavy THUD, Bai Mo managed to struggle the wooden lid of the Pill Furnace closed.
The fragrant aroma of the ingredients was sealed inside.
’This large furnace is really something else. A bit too much effort to handle.’
Wiping away a bead of sweat, Bai Mo began to plan. He needed to find time to visit Sun Qiao and buy a fire-resistant Talisman.
’Just for guarding against the furnace fire, a long-lasting Talisman would be best.’
