Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Delivery
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
As promised, Lanshan arrived at Bai Mo’s shop.
"Where is Shopkeeper Bai?"
Lanshan grabbed a man carrying a piece of lumber and asked.
"Whoa!"
"Sir, be careful! This lumber isn’t supposed to touch the ground. There are rules about it!"
Lanshan raised a hand and steadied the swaying wooden beam.
The man quickly replied, "He’s in the Alchemy Room. Been in there for the past few days."
"He only came out once, yesterday, when an old man came to visit Alchemist Bai."
"Got it." Having gotten the location, Lanshan let go and strode off.
The man flailed for a moment, but thankfully his partner reached out to help him regain his balance.
"Honestly, he seemed like a decent sort the other day. How could he be so careless?"
The men muttered to each other.
Lanshan paid no mind to the chatter behind him. When he reached the Alchemy Room, he pressed his ear to the large door and listened intently.
He didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary.
’The walls here are thick, like they’re made of iron and stone. It must be unpleasant inside.’
Lanshan looked left and right, then tentatively knocked on the door.
"It’s open, come in."
Bai Mo’s voice drifted out from inside.
Lanshan gently pushed the door open and stepped inside.
As he stepped over the threshold, he was met not with the stuffy heat he expected, but a cool breeze that washed over his face.
Then, he saw Bai Mo, sleeves rolled up, busy rolling pills.
In front of Bai Mo was a pile of something that looked like wet coal ash.
"Sit."
"When the furnace isn’t lit, it’s actually quite pleasant in here."
Bai Mo said, pointing to the window directly behind him.
"Those guys outside really are experts. The window is positioned perfectly to catch the breeze."
Lanshan walked over to face Bai Mo and sat on a small stool, his eyes fixed on the blackish substance.
Though he had his suspicions, he still found it hard to believe.
"Is this..."
"Yep." Bai Mo rolled another Pill, compacted it firmly, worked it into shape, and set it aside.
"These are the Pills you wanted. Hurry up and help roll them so you can take them with you."
Lanshan rubbed his hands together, a wave of excitement washing over him.
’This is what my men and I have been talking about the most lately, and now here it is, half-finished.’
But he hesitated, feeling a little stunned.
"Why does it look like this?"
Bai Mo sighed. "I used the large furnace. It produces a lot of pills quickly, but it’s also a lot more trouble."
Lanshan felt he truly didn’t understand the business of pill making. Even though he had been to Celestial Mountain City and heard a great deal, it was still difficult to comprehend.
He thought for a moment.
"Why are you doing it by hand? The shop has a pill-rolling board. I’ll go get it for you!"
With that, he made to stand up, but Bai Mo quickly pulled him back down.
"I have one of those!"
"It’s just... I didn’t process this batch of ingredients quite right. The paste isn’t sticky enough, and it falls apart if you’re not careful..."
Understanding dawned on Lanshan. He went to a nearby water vat, washed his hands, and began to copy Bai Mo.
He rolled the paste in his hands, but with the slightest pressure, it immediately crumbled into several pieces.
SPLAT!
Bai Mo’s eyelid twitched as he watched Lanshan forcefully mash the paste together, place the shapeless lump on the tray, and then nod with grave satisfaction.
"The Pills should look presentable. It gives the Cultivators who take them peace of mind."
Bai Mo reminded him.
Lanshan scoffed.
"They’re my men, a bunch of roughnecks. What, you think they can’t handle some coarse fare?"
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Don’t you worry, Bai Mo. Who cares what it looks like as long as it’s edible?"
Bai Mo sighed and made a mental note to get the ingredient ratios right next time.
The two of them worked for nearly an hour before they finished processing the paste.
After letting the paste air-dry for a short while, it would solidify completely.
Lanshan and Bai Mo washed their hands together.
"Shopkeeper Bai, have you been working on these Pills this whole time?"
Bai Mo shook his head.
"Not entirely. I got a new Pill Furnace, so part of it was just to get a feel for it..."
He’d actually been considering many things over the past few days; it wasn’t as simple as just making one type of Pill.
Elder Tao hadn’t waited for Bai Mo to seek him out; he’d shown up on his own yesterday.
The elder was, of course, more than happy about Bai Mo’s offer to buy the shop.
During their talk, Bai Mo had tentatively asked about the Miaofa Sect’s attitude toward Immortal Arrival City.
The answer he received was surprising.
"A mutually agreeable transaction."
That was what Elder Tao had said, though he didn’t know the specifics of the deal.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Bai Mo brought up another matter with Lanshan.
"White Deer Blood, also known as White-Hair Flower, is not easy to collect."
"Although the plant is common, few people bother to specifically wait until night to gather the stalks that turn red."
"The plant is everywhere in the Celestial Barrier Mountains. Lanshan, when you’re up there, keep an eye out. If you see any, bring it back."
Lanshan immediately agreed.
"We can never have too many Pills. We’ll keep an eye out."
"But Shopkeeper Bai, you could also keep an eye out for the Loose Cultivators in the city. Those young lads wouldn’t turn down a chance to make some pocket money..."
Bai Mo gave a bitter smile.
’Pocket money, sure, but the price for White Deer Blood is just too low.’
’I’d be better off just hiring someone to cultivate it. It doesn’t need much looking after anyway.’
The two chatted and laughed for a moment. By then, the pills on the tray had solidified.
Bai Mo picked one up and examined it. The presentation was terrible, but the medicinal effect was definitely there.
Without further delay, he found a cloth bag, counted out the pills, and packed them for Lanshan.
"Two hundred and seven of them. I’m not bothering with pill bottles, just take them as is!"
A bag full of Pills that could dispel a Blood Curse, for just over forty Spirit Stones.
As Lanshan took the bag from a nonchalant Bai Mo, he suddenly felt a sense of disbelief.
’The Pills I used to purchase with such ceremony... are now treated so casually?’
’When buying medicinal powders from the Julu Daoist, I even had to haggle over the price.’
"Well, Shopkeeper Bai, I’ll be off then?"
"Mhm."
Bai Mo nodded.
"Once I’ve collected enough White Deer Blood, I’ll refine another batch. For now, everyone in the Demon Hunting Team will have to make do with these."
That was what he said.
But given the size of Lanshan’s team, this amount of Pills was hardly enough.
At most, it was only enough for two trips into the Celestial Barrier Mountains. It absolutely wouldn’t last for a third.
After all, the medicinal properties of these Pills weren’t very potent.
Clutching the bag, Lanshan walked out the door in a bit of a daze.
Bai Mo, meanwhile, stood up and gave his body a thorough, formal stretch.
He had been running around for the past two days and had expended a great deal of energy. He was definitely tired.
’At the end of the day, my constitution is still a bit weak.’
’I wonder if Sun Qiao is around. I should go check on the quality of those Talismans!’
’He looks so lazy and unreliable. If those Talismans are no good, he can’t blame me for taking my business elsewhere...’
Bai Mo leisurely strolled out the door.
The walls of the original storefront had now been torn down.
Master Wang, the carpenter who was quite familiar with Bai Mo’s shop, was discussing with his men how to proceed.
’It’s almost done,’
Bai Mo thought.
’I wonder how Xu Ruyuan is doing. He’s been out of the city for a while, and I haven’t heard anything from him.’
...
Meanwhile, when Lanshan returned to his garrison and entered the courtyard, he was met by Limping Ma and several other team leaders.
"So? What did Alchemist Bai want with you?"
"We’re heading into the mountains the day after tomorrow! Cultivation, food, training—it all costs Spirit Stones!"
Lanshan tossed the cloth bag onto the table.
"There!"
"Pills."
Limping Ma raised an eyebrow. Since when were Pills carried around in a cloth bag?
He opened the bag, and everyone saw the misshapen Pills inside.
Limping Ma looked at Lanshan, wanting to say something but holding his tongue.
"This?"
Lanshan shot him a cold look.
"Hmph? You got a problem with it?"
