Chapter 381

The trouble with underground conduits is that they are labor-intensive to build and maintain, but the Beijia Nation has plenty of monsters capable of digging, so this is not an issue in Fufeng City.

What surprised him even more was that there was even running water here.

By connecting bamboo poles with their inner nodes cleared out to form pipes, spring water from Bai Yun Mountain north of the city could be transported directly into homes, saving people the trouble of queuing for water or buying it.

Of course, those qualified to use Bai Yun spring water were not ordinary families.

In addition to wholesale, the Stone Gate Caravan also engaged in group-buying business, and at this time, they had to go to the market to open for business. He Lingchuan knew that their main products were sandalwood and a type of balm known as "Lover's Tears." This was an amber-like resin collected from a fragrant wood unique to the Fu Nation. By adding just two more natural spices, it could be blended into a deep, lingering fragrance. Most importantly, it was long-lasting, making it perfect for use in sachets and hanging ornaments.

Not to mention the strange and bizarre items sold in the market, there were also many shops and stalls run by monsters.

It was rare to see monsters running shops elsewhere; He Lingchuan had found it unusual to see a monkey from the Thousand Hearts Flow performing in Shi Huan, but in the Monster Nation, this was simply a matter of course.

He saw a weasel selling insect-repellent sachets, claiming they could kill all mosquitoes, flies, mice, and ants in a home at once, and were non-toxic and harmless to humans. But the note added in bold, enlarged text read:

Close doors and windows tightly, and leave immediately after puncturing.

The packaging was bulging, filled with a pig bladder inflated with gas.

Good grief, the moment He Lingchuan saw this familiar packaging, he knew exactly what was inside.

There was also a labor market in the bazaar, and the job seekers included many monsters.

Bear monsters and giant apes were common laborers; their ability to carry heavy objects was several times greater than that of humans, and many caravans would hire them for odd jobs. He Lingchuan even saw two elephants here...

There were also many small monsters waiting to be hired, such as two pairs of cat monster couples He Lingchuan saw out looking for work with their children. Their specialties were catching mice, driving away snakes, and guarding the house, with a minimum employment period of one year.

Hiring long-term or permanent workers here required an employment contract provided by Fufeng City. The format was standardized, specifying food, job content, duration, and so on, and it became effective once a palm (or claw) print was stamped on it.

He Lingchuan clicked his tongue in wonder, missing his own Medicine Ape even more.

On the way back, he also saw that several temples had brand-new bright red couplets posted, and stages were being built at the entrances, specifically for performances in honor of the Treasure Tree King's birthday.

He Lingchuan was curious: with so many stages performing plays at the same time, how many could the Treasure Tree King actually see? The old trees by the roadside were hung with many bright red cloth strips, just for the sake of festivity.

Finally, he went to attend to his own business, purchasing ingredients for refining the God-Slaying Pill at a large pharmacy next to the inn.

According to the suggestion of the Great Alchemist Helian Chen, he could first refine these auxiliary materials into semi-finished products, and then simply fuse and process them after obtaining the Imperial Flowing Plasma, which would result in a higher success rate.

Saving steps meant saving accidents.

He did not hide his tracks either, walking into the pharmacy openly.

Half a day later, his list of purchased medicinal herbs was copied and sent to the Grand Tutor's Mansion. Because the contents were strange, it was presented directly to Grand Tutor Sha.

Grand Tutor Sha took time out of his busy schedule to take a look, and his brows furrowed:

"Why is there arsenic?"

This prescription only had a few ingredients in common with the one he had instructed Wu Jingsong to give to He Lingchuan; the others had all been replaced. Most outrageously, over thirty percent were highly toxic, with arsenic prominently included.

Is this an Imperial Flowing Plasma formula, or is he planning to poison everyone in the hotel?

Furthermore, the list He Lingchuan purchased was exceptionally long, and it even included—"He also wants skunk glands?"

What is the meaning of this? Grand Tutor Sha naturally had his own pharmacist, who took the list, glanced at it, and laughed: "This person is probably planning to refine several types of medicine and just bought the herbs all at once, right? Not to mention anything else, these skunk glands absolutely cannot be ingested."

Grand Tutor Sha glared at him; did he need to be told that?

"And there are many conflicting medicinal properties in here; it's impossible for them to be used in the same formula." The pharmacist added, "If he isn't planning to refine many medicines at once, then he must be using this list to confuse us."

Grand Tutor Sha gave a hum: "He has become guarded?" The boy surnamed He discovered he was being watched in secret? "Regardless of what medicine he wants to prepare, there is no formula we gave him in here." The pharmacist reminded him, "The prescription you gave him is the general formula for Imperial Flowing Plasma, right? That at least includes Earth Screws, Bitter Eye Lotus, etc., which are not on this list."

Only then did Grand Tutor Sha give an "Oh?": "He can formulate it himself?"

Without certainty, no normal person would mess around with an Imperial Flowing Plasma formula; that would be gambling with their own life.

The pharmacist spread his hands: "That, I don't know."

Grand Tutor Sha pondered, then asked Wu Jingsong: "You told him there is no location in the suburbs to receive the Imperial Flowing Plasma, right?"

"Yes!"

Grand Tutor Sha then said: "This boy has no small ambition."

"Grand Tutor?" Why do you say that?

"The territory in the suburbs of Fufeng City has already been divided up. If He Xiao only intended to stay in the city to receive the Imperial Flowing Plasma, he wouldn't need to go to such great lengths." Grand Tutor Sha laughed, "He intends to go far, which is why he is making so many preparations."

Then, let's wait and see.

He was also a man of a thousand duties, and this small matter was cast to the back of his mind in the blink of an eye.

For the entire next day, He Lingchuan stayed behind closed doors at the inn, focusing on refining the auxiliary materials and doing some odd jobs.

Refining medicine was not his strength, and he could only use a small furnace bought from the pharmacy. He ruined four or five batches of raw materials before he brushed up his proficiency and obtained the semi-finished products he was satisfied with.

Fortunately, the difficulty of refining itself was not high, otherwise he would have had to think of another way.

Second Master Shi claimed to know the surroundings of Fufeng City like the back of his hand. He Lingchuan discussed it with him for an hour or so, and then said he was going out of the city to wander around and would return in three days.

Fufeng City was one of the important stops for any caravan. The Stone Gate Caravan originally had to unload, sell, and settle goods here, so they had to stay for a period of time. Fufeng City had many specialties needed by the Fu Nation, but the Stone Gate Caravan had to continue northwest, so they didn't buy spot goods for the time being. However, they had to place orders now for the other party to prepare the goods, and pay the balance to pick them up when the Stone Gate Caravan returned from Lingxu City, similar to futures trading.

Now, catching up with the Treasure Tree King's birthday, Second Master Shi had been busy running around these past few days, so how could he care where He Lingchuan went? Not long after, he received great news: a large deal was originally handled by the Gan Family Caravan, but the Grand Tutor's Mansion, moved by He Xiao's kindness, transferred this deal to the Stone Gate Caravan.

The volume of the deal itself was not important, and how much money the brothers could make from it was also not important. What was important was that the Stone Gate Caravan had made a connection with the Grand Tutor's Mansion and gained their trust!

What kind of glory was this, and what kind of benefit? This was the career turning point the Shi brothers had been longing for.

Big Brother's judgment was indeed correct; there were great benefits to be had from getting involved with He Xiao.

Second Master Shi was ecstatic when he received the news and wanted to find He Lingchuan for a drink, but the man just gave a "Heh" and said, "I'm busy," and wouldn't even let him in the door.

Second Master Shi poked his head in and saw that his room was full of women of almost all ages, and he didn't know what kind of medicine He Lingchuan was selling in his gourd.

It wasn't until the afternoon of that day that He Lingchuan rode out of the city alone, heading straight northeast.

The Imperial Flowing Plasma predicted by the Grand Tutor's Mansion would first appear tomorrow night.

Fufeng City was truly worthy of being the capital of the Treasure Tree Nation; the towns in the suburbs were very prosperous, full of farmland, orchards, timber yards, and workshops, with monsters and humans working everywhere, and it was almost impossible to find a place without people.

He Lingchuan walked further and further, observing carefully along the way.

Finally, the human presence gradually decreased, and the wild forests gradually increased.

He tried to urge his horse toward a small hill. It looked like an ownerless wild hill with no traces of human activity.

However, before He Lingchuan reached the foot of the hill, he heard two rustling sounds in the forest, and several huge Black Water Deer emerged to block his path, speaking in human tongues:

"Prime Minister's Order: This place is temporarily designated as the territory of the Black Horn Clan; no strangers allowed within three days."

The several large deer looked down at him from a high position, as if they would start kicking if there was any disagreement.

He Lingchuan did not linger and turned to leave.

Next, he tried several other locations, all of which had been occupied, sometimes by monster clans, sometimes by humans, which showed that Wu Jingsong's information was correct.

Being a newcomer, he, an outsider, naturally didn't want to clash with the local bullies. He Lingchuan then continued to head northeast, sleeping in the wild at night, and walking from dawn to afternoon the next day.

Then, he finally arrived at his destination for this trip.

This place was already more than two hundred li away from Fufeng City, and it was an open space by a lake.

In fact, he had already walked out of the suburbs of Fufeng City last night, leaving the strongholds of various forces. But for the sake of safety, he walked for another half day, even moving far away from the official road.

This place was rarely visited, more than forty li away from the nearest human settlement, and there were almost no traces of human activity nearby. As for whether there were monsters, this was the territory of the Monster Nation, so who could say for sure? But the monster cluster forces in the mountains and wilderness were limited, unlike Fufeng City.

Of course, Zhu Xiuer and other great monsters in the Demon Nest Swamp were exceptions.

He Lingchuan's choice of this place was also deliberate. The sparkling large lake in front of him was called "Three Hearts Lake," meaning it had three lake surfaces, one large and two small, which were usually connected to each other.

The largest lake surface was hundreds of hectares, while the smallest was only about four mu, a stark contrast.

Second Master Shi knew this place because he was greedy for progress and traveled at night while trading, going further and further off course, and ended up breaking into this place. It took him two days to find the road to Fufeng City, leaving a deep impression.

He Lingchuan stood by the small lake and looked, secretly saying, "Heaven helps me."

It turned out that it hadn't rained here for a long time, the water level had dropped significantly, and the channel connecting it to the large lake had almost been blocked by mud and sand, forming a natural low dam.

Unless there were a few heavy rainstorms, the fish from the large lake couldn't swim over.

The saying goes that deep water raises big fish and deep pools produce dragons; what kind of climate-forming monster would like to stay in a four-mu small lake? And there was a circle of mud by the small lake, where one step would sink to the knees, and the forest retreated more than ten zhang away.

No matter who it was, they wouldn't be willing to receive the Imperial Flowing Plasma here.

(End of chapter)