Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 187: Chapter 187: Returning to the Shop

Other than the crowds, Immortal Arrival City looked just as Bai Mo remembered.

The Hengyuan giant bird was the pride of Beast Taming Peak. Instead of using the city gates, it landed directly in the city’s beast yard.

After patting the bird’s head and bidding farewell to his fellow disciples from Beast Taming Peak, Bai Mo walked out.

The streets hadn’t changed much. So even though the faces of the passersby were no longer familiar, Bai Mo could still find his way.

Squeezing through the crowd, Bai Mo suddenly heard a few crisp, catchy shouts in an unfamiliar accent.

Following the sound, he saw several traveling merchants in a corner, selling cured seafood.

Immortal Arrival City was not near the sea.

In the past, there were no such merchants in the city. Clearly, Beast Taming Peak had played a significant role in this change.

The Spirit Beasts used for transport had allowed the Immortal City an unprecedented level of trade with the outside world.

Seeing how dense the crowd was, Bai Mo decided to take a detour.

The smell of charcoal on Forging Street was the same as ever. The livelihood of these sturdy men never changed.

Before long, the street where his shop was located came into view.

As Bai Mo walked on, he saw a few Cultivators pass by, carrying dripping cuts of beast meat.

Despite the overwhelming stench of blood, they were chatting and laughing.

Seeing this, a sudden worry surfaced in Bai Mo’s mind.

’With the carefree nature of the Demon Hunting Team, would they turn the street into a filthy, chaotic place, like some kind of meat market?’

’When I first gathered those men here, I never considered this possibility.’

"Brother Bai?"

A sudden call broke his train of thought.

Bai Mo turned his head and saw the old Shopkeeper of the bookshop squinting at him.

The old man’s face showed a mix of hesitation and delight.

"Ah, old sir, it’s been a long time!"

Bai Mo quickly stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting.

The bookshop was the same as always, with few customers inside.

The old Shopkeeper said with a smile,

"I haven’t seen you in a long time. Your shop boy said you’d gone to the sect, and the neighbors were saying you weren’t coming back."

Bai Mo quickly waved his hands in dismissal.

"Of course not. A man’s got to make a living!"

He then looked around.

"The city seems to have changed quite a bit, hasn’t it?"

The old man pondered for a moment before replying,

"It’s more or less the same. People are still people. In less than half a year, how much could really change?"

"Business has just gotten better, so everyone’s life is a little easier. I’ve even acquired some rare books I’d never seen before..."

His generation had witnessed the city’s transformations. They had gone from youth to adulthood and now to old age. To them, the saying "seas turn into mulberry fields" was no exaggeration.

They were naturally unfazed by such things.

Bai Mo bid him farewell.

"I’ve been away for so long, I don’t even know how my shop is doing."

"Old sir, I’ll take my leave for now. I’ll come by to look for books when I have some free time..."

The old Shopkeeper nodded and let Bai Mo go.

The street was still clean, with no peculiar odors.

"This is all thanks to the neighbors putting up a fight!"

His neighbor, Sun Qiao, said as much.

He had gone out to buy a batch of paper and hadn’t expected to run into Bai Mo on his way back.

He said excitedly, "Those rough men, they saw business was good and actually got the idea to start selling beast meat right on the street!"

"Can you imagine? If they set up stalls, we’d all be buried in flies!"

He was quite excited as he recounted how they had nipped that terrible idea in the bud.

After all, none of the neighbors were particularly powerful people.

Getting the upper hand against a group of brawny brutes was something to be proud of.

Of course, Lanshan’s mediation must have been indispensable.

Bai Mo looked at the paper Sun Qiao was holding in his arms.

He couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen this neighbor restock his supplies. It was clear everyone was doing quite well for themselves now.

To this, Sun Qiao just said,

"Times like these are rare. No one’s a fool. Why wouldn’t we take the chance to make a killing?"

"The more we earn today, the more security we’ll have for the future, no matter what happens!"

As the two were talking, they saw a large group of men walking toward them.

From their formidable auras, it was obvious they were from the Demon Hunting Team.

One of the men recognized Bai Mo, and a smile immediately spread across his face.

"Alchemist Bai is back!!"

His voice was loud, instantly drawing the attention of those nearby.

Bai Mo chuckled.

"I’m back. Things should finally be a bit more settled from now on. I hope you’ll all continue to support my business..."

"Of course we will! We’ve all been thinking of you!"

The man was very excited.

"We’ll stop by your shop in a few days!"

To them, Bai Mo held a special significance.

Seeing him back in person, the man was naturally very enthusiastic.

Seeing that a small commotion was about to start, Bai Mo and Sun Qiao quickly picked up their pace and left.

Before they even reached the shop, the news had already spread down the street, passed from one man to the next.

As a result, Wei An, who was minding the shop, found out even later than everyone else.

When Bai Mo hurried into the shop, Wei An was still poring over the ledgers.

"What kind of Pill can I get for you, honored customer?"

He didn’t even look up, his fingers expertly flicking the beads of an abacus.

Bai Mo leaned in to watch for a moment before Wei An seemed to sense something and looked up.

"Immortal Master!?"

"Ah, no—Shopkeeper, you’re back!?"

Wei An shot to his feet, knocking over his stool and nearly stumbling.

Bai Mo nodded.

"I’m back."

He glanced around at the shop’s interior. It was exactly as he had left it, the Pill bottles arranged in neat rows, though there were fewer of them now.

"You’ve managed things very well while I was away."

Bai Mo paced slowly, surveying the shop.

Wei An followed closely behind.

"It’s mostly thanks to Brother Lanshan and the others. Senior Xu also came by often to help manage things."

Bai Mo sighed.

"It’s just that the stock of Pills is a little low. It’s a bit of a sorry sight."

"How are your studies? Have you gained any new insights into the Alchemy Dao?"

Wei An froze and stammered,

"I feel like I’ve made progress, but when it comes to actual Alchemy, it still feels so far away."

"Pills are a serious matter. I’m just afraid something unpredictable might happen..."

Bai Mo was satisfied with his attitude.

’Even the disciples at Beast Taming Peak are still fumbling blindly in the Alchemy Dao without success. It would be unrealistic to expect my own shop assistant to make huge leaps and bounds.’

’They’re just ordinary Cultivators. It’s better to be cautious when it comes to the Alchemy Dao.’

’You have to be careful with anything you ingest.’

"Still, you need to get some hands-on experience with Alchemy."

"Pills for Cultivators are refined and complex, so I understand why you’re afraid to try them. But you can still try making Feeding Pills."

Having made a decision, Bai Mo said,

"The things Spirit Beasts eat don’t require as much finesse..."

Wei An was very surprised to hear this, not expecting to get a hands-on opportunity so soon.

He felt a mix of excitement and trepidation.

"Yes."

Bai Mo watched him for a moment and was about to ask Wei An to boil a kettle of water when he suddenly noticed a mark on one of the shelves.

It was clearly a gash from a blade, a finger’s-width deep in the wood.

Bai Mo stopped in his tracks.

"What’s this from?"

Wei An quickly explained,

"It was from a few arrogant out-of-town Cultivators. They were no different from street thugs, trying to swindle and extort people."

"A lot of the neighbors ran into them and lost some Spirit Stones."

Bai Mo could easily imagine their reaction upon seeing that the shop was being minded by a young assistant.

"Did they cause trouble here?"

Wei An shook his head.

"Just as they drew their blades to threaten me, one of the good men from outside put an arrow through one of their arms. They were dragged off after that."

’Looks like the shop still needs someone to hold down the fort.’

Bai Mo thought for a moment.

"Looks like I’ll have to pay a visit to Brother Lanshan and ask for his help."

Wei An, knowing what he was thinking, reminded him,

"Shopkeeper, you should bring a gift. Some of Brother Lanshan’s men were seriously injured recently. It would be a good chance to pay them a visit..."