"Are these herbs available at your store?" Zhiyan, without giving a direct answer, took out a list from her sleeve and handed it over to him, densely packed with the names of over a hundred herbs.
The elder only glanced at it indifferently at first, but as he saw the handwriting clearly, his face suddenly changed, and he looked at the young girl before him in shock.
"Are all these for you?" The elder held the list, asking uncertainly. How could a little girl like her know about these herbs?
"Indeed, how much are all these going to cost approximately?" Zhiyan nodded and proceeded to the question she cared about most. When leaving home, Ouyang Peng gave her a hundred gold coins, a sum which would be an annual livelihood for ordinary people, but it was far from enough to pay for a large batch of herbs.
"The herbs you want are not ordinary, and some are even unobtainable in this store. A rough estimate would be at least five hundred gold coins!" The elder frowned, a glimmer of keenness flashing in his gray pupils. The young girl before him was graceful and extraordinary, and with that particular list in her hand, could she possibly be a disciple of some Pill Master?
"Take a look at this!" Zhiyan, with a quick thought, took out the prepared Primordial Essence Liquid from her bosom.
The elder, skeptical, took the ordinary-looking white porcelain bottle. As soon as he lifted the cap, a rich energy immediately spilled out, causing his hand holding the bottle to shake uncontrollably, and an irrepressible shock appeared on his weathered face.
"What, what is this?" the elder asked, trembling as he looked at Zhiyan. His gaze unconsciously held a touch of reverence; could this be...
"Primordial Essence Liquid, a medicinal liquid that strengthens the foundation and nourishes one's vitality, with effects second only to the Second-grade Vitality Nourishing Pill!" Zhiyan spoke calmly and lightly, in contrast to the elder's agitation.
"Boom!" As if lightning had struck on the spot, the elder and the shop assistants' mouths hung open in astonishment, still processing Zhiyan's words. Primordial Essence Liquid, just a step below the Second-grade Vitality Nourishing Pill...
"Is this the Medicinal Liquid refined by the legendary Alchemy Technique?" the elder asked excitedly, his eyes wide with fervent enthusiasm, as if to burn away everything.
Alchemy Technique, an ancient secret art long lost, parallel to Alchemy, shared the same roots but different branches, intricate and profound in practice. Importantly, it was not as demanding on the Alchemist as Alchemy was on Pill Masters. With a prescription and perseverance, anyone could potentially become an Alchemist.
Thus, the real value lay in the prescription behind the Pharmacist. Prescriptions are harder to come by than gold, and to this day, Alchemists had disappeared from the Mainland. Yet, unexpectedly, he encountered this legendary Medicinal Liquid brought by none other than a young child.
"A Second-grade Vitality Nourishing Pill is valued at four hundred gold coins. My Primordial Essence Liquid may not match the pill's effects, but it wins in stability, not to mention its large supply. Take the bottle in your hand; it can be used twice, and the effects are cumulative. Without saying, you should know its value." Zhiyan lifted her head, the clear and pure brilliance in her eyes flickering with a wisp of wisdom. Her cheeks were tender and pink, her lips curved with a hint of confidence, her whole being seemed enshrouded in a glow, making her untouchable.
"The elder knows the value is naturally equivalent to that of the Vitality Nourishing Pill. However, what do you intend with this, young lady?"
"Frankly, I don't have that many gold coins on hand, so I'd like to use the Primordial Essence Liquid to offset the cost. If one bottle isn't enough, I have more here!" Zhiyan said, magically pulling out two more bottles from her bosom, making the old man salivate. My, my, this little girl is too bold—getting one bottle of Primordial Essence Liquid is already difficult, yet she carries three bottles with her. No, perhaps even more than three bottles!
The elder's eyes shone brightly, his gaze fixed fervently on Zhiyan as if he saw a vast treasure house beckoning to him.
"Young lady, are you serious?" the elder struggled to suppress his urge to claim the bottles for himself and asked hesitantly. It wasn't that second-grade elixirs were unavailable on the mainland; in fact, there were many, but most were pre-ordered by officials' sons or the Sage Aristocratic Families, with very few really making it to the open market.
To say it cost four hundred gold coins per pill, one would need to spend at least five hundred gold coins to get one's hands on them, and that's with pulling strings and finding connections. Yet here he was, faced with three bottles of medicinal liquid, three bottles of Primordial Essence Liquid that both Sages and commoners could take. How did he get so lucky to have such a pie fall from the sky?
"Indeed, as long as you prepare all the herbs for me, there's no harm in trading with Primordial Essence Liquid." Zhiyan nodded. These bottles of Primordial Essence Liquid were all obtained from a single batch; she had taken one bottle herself, given one to Ouyang Peng, and only these three were left. Although the effects of the liquid were good, it was still lacking in refinement, according to Master Fei, so she planned to sell them in exchange for herbs to continue her alchemy.
"In that case, I won't take advantage of you, young lady. I'll buy one bottle of medicinal liquid for five hundred gold coins. As for the herbs listed, as long as our store has them, I'll offer them as a token of goodwill. And for those we don't have, I will look in other drugstores, ensuring everything is gathered within three days!" The elder glanced meaningfully at Zhiyan, then declared generously with a wave of his hand, causing the clerk next to him to jump in fright, having never seen the boss make a loss-making deal in all their years. Those medicinal herbs were worth several hundred gold coins!
Buying a bottle of medicinal liquid for five hundred gold coins plus giving away the herbs indeed sounded like a loss. However, the mind of the pharmacy owner was preoccupied with another calculation.
If she were just an alchemist, it would be another matter, since although alchemists weren't abundant on the mainland, gathering around a thousand was plausible. Alchemist, on the other hand, was a mythical existence; had he not been fortunate enough to encounter her today, he would hardly have believed that alchemists really existed in the world.
An alchemist could strengthen a nation, a continent, but an alchemist could fortify a myth, a legend, or perhaps was about to stir up a storm across the mainland. Just the thought was enough to make his blood boil. What he needed to do now was to build a good relationship with this pharmacist who was about to dominate the world.
"We'll have more than one opportunity to collaborate, so let's just calculate it as it should be. In the future, I hope you'll take care of me more," Zhiyan shook her head. Several hundred gold coins might seem like a large sum to them, but for her, it was just a matter of concocting a few more bottles of medicinal liquid, so she didn't want to take advantage of anyone.
"Haha, good, the young lady is indeed extraordinary. I am Wang Sheng, and today I'm fortunate to make your acquaintance. If you need anything in the future, just let me know. As long as it's within my power, I'll give it my all!" Wang Sheng, the pharmacy owner, laughed heartily three times, thumping his chest in guarantee. Alchemists are revered, sought-after by major families and elites; it's usually hard to even get close, and now here he was, forming a close bond with a legendary alchemist, a privilege he alone might enjoy on the entire mainland.
Zhiyan watched this exuberant excitement with a cold sweat, thankful that the elders of this era were pretty hearty. Otherwise, had something happened, she would have been unjustly blamed.
Next, Wang Sheng organized the herbs and calculated the prices, totaling seven hundred and fifty gold coins. Out of over a hundred kinds of herbs, there were still five missing. One bottle of medicinal liquid was priced at four hundred and fifty gold coins, so three bottles amounted to one thousand three hundred and fifty gold coins. After deducting one hundred gold coins for the remaining herbs, Zhiyan ultimately received five hundred gold coins.