After getting dressed in light gray robes and leather shoes Bai Xiang left home with the intention of finding the store to buy a pill to repair his cracked spiritual core and fix the system that seemed damaged. As soon as he left his family home the first thing he noticed was the smell of the area he lived in, compared to the heavily polluted modern world the air had a certain freshness and was comforting.
Looking around he also realized that he lived in a city of a fairly large size for the seemingly middle-aged time period the area seemed to be in. The home he came out of was a small two-story house on a comparably slim street, the home was made out of brick and had no particularly stand-out characteristics, perfectly fitting his seemingly average family. After spending some time taking notice of certain landmarks so he could find his way back later Bai Xiang set off to explore this new city he was thrust into.
Since he did not know the area in the slightest the best choice was to find someone to ask for directions, with that in mind he began walking around looking for someone who seemed to be somewhat wealthy, after all, it was guaranteed that a place like a pill store was a luxury store that the average person would not regular.
As he explored the city there were many amazing places he came across, the smell of exotic food and the sound of familiar and unique music was a treat for the senses, it was like traveling to a foreign land and experiencing new a culture for the first time. After searching for many minutes he finally arrived at a pastry shop, it was not particularly extravagant but compared to food stalls and restaurants it seemed like a better choice.
As he walked in a bell chimed to announce his entrance he was a single middle-aged woman behind a counter with assorted sweets in front of her. She did not look friendly or attractive and seemed to have a bored expression.
As Bai Xiang walked up to the counter she woke up from whatever daydream she was having to amuse herself.
"Welcome young man, what would you like?"
It was no surprise that despite not looking very friendly she at least had some knowledge of customer service.
"Hello miss, I am here to ask you for directions. If you can help me I will definitely buy a cupcake!"
In response instead of looking at him strangely she took a cupcake out and set it down on the counter.
"Where are you trying to go? I have lived here for a few decades so I know just about everywhere."
As Bai Xiang looked at the cupcake he couldn't help but be slightly disappointed, anyone with any idea how to read instructions in the modern day could make a better-looking cupcake, on the other hand since coming to this world he had not eaten and he was getting hungry.
"I am looking for the pill store Aquae Vitae."
The older woman looked at him in surprise why would a kid want to go there?
Since she had not sold anything today so far she quickly recovered and answered, at least if she had a sale the owner wouldn't be annoyed later.
"I don't know why a young lad like you want to go there but you can find it by going down the street to the left until you reach the end of the road, then turn right and you will find the main square, it should be the nicest looking building there."
After taking a second to make sure he remembered the instructions he thanked the woman and she handed him the cupcake.
"That will be 3 bronze coins."
When Bai Xiang handed her a silver coin all she could do was look at him seemingly aggrieved.
"You want me to give you 97 bronze coins back? Don't kids know that it is common to keep such a large amount of change in this kind of store? We have a few dozen bronze coins let alone almost a hundred."
Hearing this Bai Xiang got slightly embarrassed, did that mean he could not buy anything that was sold in bronze coins since he only had too high of denomination coins?
"Sorry but this is all I have, it seems I cannot buy this cupcake, my apologies."
After bowing his head slightly he put the cupcake back down and took his silver coin and left hurriedly. Instead of being angry like some might be the woman just looked at him strangely, was this guy an idiot or what?
After leaving in embarrassment Bai Xiang quickly followed the directions he was given and made his way to a city square, there was a statue in the center depicting a man and a large number of people walking around and many stalls set up selling various things. It was clear that this was the rich area of the city since all of the buildings lining the edge of the square looked extravagant, the air of luxury surrounded them and gave off the feeling that poor and middle-class people did not belong there.
In wake of the aura Bai Xiang almost felt too poor to enter any of them, let alone the most opulent building that had its own fountain made of marble outside. The building itself was made of a navy blue stone he could not identify but could tell was expensive and had large golden embossed letters above the door writing out Aquae Vitae.
After finding the place he was searching for he quickly went to the store and walked inside, surprisingly the store was completely empty, even giving off the idea that it might be closed at the moment.
While looking around he was taken aback by the level of wealth shown inside the building, even though the layout was rather simple the materials and atmosphere were completely transcendent, making Bai Xiang feel like he was in a royal palace instead of a store.
While he was looking around a woman with long blonde hair, a slim build, deep blue eyes, and most noticeable long elf ears walked out of the back room of the store holding a book that looked somewhat mesmerizing.
Upon seeing her he felt an instant sense of inferiority and weakness, she was without a doubt the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Even with the outfit of a long sleeve button-down shirt, black vest, and long slacks, it was apparent that she was simply above normal people.
As she looked at him through the golden-rimmed glass she spoke in a sweet voice that made her sound like a saint.
"Hello little fellow, what can I help you with today?"
Even though he felt ashamed to talk in front of someone like her he quickly remembered why he was there.
'Once my system is fixed, I will become an immortal and will be even more impressive than this woman.'
"I am here looking to buy a pill to fix my cracked spiritual core!"
Although her expression did not obviously change the look in her eyes changed from boredom to pity, even Bai Xiang could tell.
"You must be looking for the heart-repairing pill, although it is not the most expensive pill it is still rather expensive for most people. Most likely you will not be able to afford it."
Although it was obvious she was looking down on Bai Xiang he was not offended by her, after all, it was not like he was rich, in fact, he had already thought that most likely he would not be able to afford the pill so he came up with a plan.
"I understand miss, I have 10 silver coins and am willing to work the rest off, I hope you will give me this chance since I need this pill to become immortal in the future!"
In front of his bold words, the store clerk couldn't help but look at him surprised, what kind of child was bold enough to declare that they would become immortal in the future, even young geniuses and noble scions would not dare say that. Although his words made her change her expression it was not a major shock to her.
"You seem slightly ignorant of how this shop runs, I'm the only employee here, I work here all day so there is no need for another person to be here. What value would you bring by sitting here doing nothing to "pay off your debt"?"
Upon thinking about it Bai Xiang realized that it made sense, this woman was clearly the strongest out of anyone he had seen so far, and in a cultivation world isn't it simple to work the entire workday by yourself, it is probably possible to work all day every day if you are powerful enough!
There was a slightly awkward silence while thinking of a way to show some value to this lady, luckily he quickly had a flash of inspiration while looking at the book in her hand.
"I can definitely tell you amazing stories about all kinds of things to make up for the money I am missing."
After thinking for a few seconds the elf woman sat down on a stool situated behind the counter and rested her chin on her palm and nodded for him to continue.
After thinking for a moment he quickly began the story from Earth he had picked to tell her.
"Alright, this is the story of Moby-Dick!"