An old man with fancy clothes and prideful exposition was walking the streets of the Capital without any care in the world. His cane would melodically hit the ground with his footstep and alert the other passerby. For a reason, all the people in the street would turn to look at the smiling amiable old man and smile back.
The old man wasn't hasty on his feet and was looking around without dropping his smile. His face wasn't carrying any sign of aging, despite the long years he lived. At least, people could tell he lived long years from his mannerism, but except for his gray hair, his face looked no different from a teen's, and his eyes were shining with youthful luster.
The old man finally found the place he was looking for and entered through the front door. The sign on top of the shop read Setting Sun Alchemy Shop. It was the second-best Alchemy Shop in the Kingdom. It wasn't always the second. Actually, it was the best Alchemy Shop in the Kingdom before The Floating Ghost Alchemy shop created the Youth Cream and Strength Paste that allowed them to poach every customer Setting Sun Alchemy Shop had.
"Welcome, sir. How may we help you today?" A beautiful young woman greeted the old man with a bright smile. The old man could see that the woman wasn't just a hostess from her way of walking and talking. She had a noble disposition.
"I have an offer for the master of this shop, young miss. Can you bring me to the owner?" The old man said with a smile. The woman was taken aback. First of all, she couldn't feel the old man's cultivation, secondly, something inside her was begging her to oblige.
Unintentionally, she let her Spiritual Perception cover the old man, and in the next second, her face dropped. The man across from him was using a technique to change his looks. Although because of the technique, she couldn't see who he really was, she could still tell it was a masking technique.
"I am sorry, sir. The owner is not here at the moment." The woman said after picking up her smile and showing the door. "Maybe you can come another time."
"That is too bad." The old man sighed as he turned to leave.
"Wait, sir." A voice drifted from the upper floors as the old man was about to open the door. "Yong'er, bring the esteemed gentleman upstairs."
"But grandfather—" The woman wanted to protest, but the voice hushed her.
"Now!"
"Yes, grandfather." The woman nodded and showed the way. The old man smiled lightly as he followed.
On the third floor of the shop, in a capacious room, an old man was sitting while smoking from his pipe. His face looked old and his back was arched. It felt like he was carrying the weight of the world for years. When he saw the old man enter, he rose to his feet and bowed.
"Welcome, sir." He said with a smile and turned to his daughter. "Prepare the best tea we have."
"Right away, grandfather." The woman said and left. The old man looked at them with a smile and sat across from the owner of the shop.
"I am Jiang Kang, it is my honor to meet you, sir." The owner said as he bowed his head.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jiang. My name is Yontu, no last name." The old man said as he looked at the room. In glass containers, there were all kinds of herbs. These containers all had different weather conditions that allowed the herb inside to grow perfectly.
"What kind of offer do you have for our humble shop, Sir Yontu?" Old Man Jiang asked.
"No need to humble yourself, Mr. Jiang. Just these herbs are enough to buy the best Alchemy Shop in the Kingdom." Yontu said with a devious smile. When he first entered, he didn't know the herbs were so valuable but taking a closer look, a voice in his mind told him they were priceless.
"Just fortuitous encounters I had when I was younger." Old Man Jiang said humbly.
"I know the history behind this shop, and I know how you lost your prestige when that new Alchemy Shop appeared," Yontu said slowly. Old Man Jiang looked calmly. "What if I told you I can give you a cream and a paste that is better than what The Floating Ghost Alchemy shop is selling?"
"I would find it hard to believe, sir." Old Man Jiang said without reservation.
"That is understandable. After all, those two medicines the shop is selling are beyond this Kingdom. It makes one wonder, how did they come up with them, right?" Yontu said as he pulled out two small containers.
"Right." The old man said as he took the containers that the strange visitor placed on the table. He opened them and the smell of the medicines filled the air. Just a whiff was enough to prove the claims of the old man. These medicines were at least equally good if not better.
"What do you want, sir?" Jiang Kang dropped the containers as he looked at the old man across from him.
"I want you to sell these medicines. I will be producing them, and you will be selling them. I will get seventy percent and you will get thirty. You will also supply me with the herbs I require. And if anyone asks the origin of the medicine, you will tell the truth. How about it?"
"Deal." The old man said without any hesitation. He didn't need to bargain. No, he was afraid to even offer anything better because this was heaven-sent. If he were to miss this chance for a little bit of profit, he would kill himself by drowning himself in a gutter.
"For our happy cooperation!" Yontu smiled brightly as he shook the old man's hand. Right on cue, the woman came with two cups of tea. The smell of the tea wasn't like anything the old man had had before. It was opening his brain cells and allowed him to think more clearly.
"Good tea." He praised honestly.
"Let me gift you a kilo of it, sir." The old man said. "For our partnership."
"How about you give me a sapling? I would like to raise this tea." Yontu said as he smelled the cup.
"That wouldn't be possible, sir." Old Man Jiang shook his head, "This tea can only blossom in volcanic areas."
"That is perfect. I just know a place." Yontu smiled.
"If you insist, sir." Old Man nodded to the woman who reached out to one of the shelfs in the room and took one of the glass containers. Inside of the glass, lightning was falling out of the sky on a black land. Even from outside, Yontu could see it was extremely hot. The old man took the glass from his granddaughter and opened its lid. For a second the smell of rotten eggs and sounds of lightning filled the air. The next, a sapling left the glass and flew in Yontu's direction. Yontu grabbed the sapling and like a magic trick, it vanished.
"Sir Yontu must also have a spatial artifact where he can raise herbs as well." Old Man Jiang inquired after returning the glass container.
"Not as impressive as yours, but yes." Yontu nodded. This was a good chance to flaunt his means in front of this old man. Lest he had ideas about cheating on him.
"Here are the items I require. " Yontu said as he passed the paper. He caught the greedy glint in the old man's eyes but ignored it.