Chapter 184: Xingren Tang in Fucheng: Exotic Snake Venom

As I strolled along, I realized I had reached the commercial district; the entire street was lined with shops.

A rich, bustling atmosphere washed over me, and my ears were filled with the enthusiastic cries of vendors and the calls of those soliciting customers.

Tailors, porcelain shops, goldsmiths, and sauce shops were packed tightly on both sides of the street.

With exotic clothing and all sorts of delicious and beautiful things on display, even though Zhou You was considered to be from a well-off family in Gongliang City, he still felt like a country bumpkin entering the big city.

I finally managed to suppress the urge to impulse buy!

Leaving the street of daily necessities, I arrived at a district filled with medical shops.

The number of martial arts halls in Fucheng was as numerous as the stars, and the corresponding bone-setting industry was also very prosperous; medical halls and pharmacies could be seen opening everywhere.

Zhou You noticed that many of the plaques on these medical shops bore the three characters "Medicine King Sect."

These three characters were very eye-catching and were usually placed above the shop's name.

Whenever these three characters were present, it was as if the shop had received some kind of industry certification; they had more customers than other shops and did better business.

"Hmm, Xingren Tang!"

Zhou You's gaze swept past, and he saw a shop plaque that read, "Medicine King Sect Xingren Tang."

Hua Youxing had said that his father came from a sect called the Medicine King Sect, so this matched up.

The familiar name stirred his interest; he hadn't expected Hua Youxing's family to have a branch in Fucheng—well, it was possible that this Fucheng location was the main store!

The storefront of this Xingren Tang was a size smaller than the one in Gongliang City, which was normal considering that land here was worth its weight in gold.

On a wooden sign hanging in front of the shop, it read, "Dr. Hua is seeing patients today," and it was imbued with a faint baleful aura.

"What would the guest like to see?"

At the entrance was a greeter at the Qi and Blood Stage 1, a faint smile on his face.

This place was definitely the main store!

Zhou You entered the pharmacy and caught a glimpse of a handsome middle-aged man with a black beard and long whiskers in front of the medicine cabinet, who was currently diagnosing a patient.

There was no need to ask; this uncle was Hua Youxing's father, Dr. Hua.

This was the first time Zhou You had seen him, and at a glance, he felt a massive gap between them.

This Dr. Hua was undoubtedly a powerhouse at the Martial Master level.

No wonder Hua Youxing had remained unmoved when the flower-picking thief was causing chaos; his father was a Martial Master!

The greeter was very perceptive and saw that Zhou You didn't look like he was suffering from any injury or illness, so he guessed he had come to purchase Secret Medicine for martial arts.

"The guest is at the Qi and Blood stage; our shop has several types of suitable Secret Medicine."

"Mysterious Valley Pill, refined from the essence of the five grains; one pill can replace three days of meals, leaving you neither hungry nor thirsty."

"When we practice martial arts, we sometimes get a flash of inspiration and can't stop in one go; eating and drinking are troublesome. With the Mysterious Valley Pill, you can replenish your Essence Energy at any time without interruption."

"One tael per pill."

Zhou You recognized the Mysterious Valley Pill; it was the kind he had eaten while climbing the mountain, and its effects were surprisingly good.

But at the price of one tael of silver per pill, to be honest, it was truly expensive.

Although one Mysterious Valley Pill could replace three days and nine meals of food, even for a big eater, nine meals wouldn't cost one tael of silver unless one was binge eating.

Therefore, the purpose of the Mysterious Valley Pill was for emergencies in extreme environments.

Although a bit pricey, it was a must-buy! "I'll take 100 pills."

The greeter nodded with a smile, "The guest should just stock up a little; if you have too many, they will go to waste. You must know that medicinal pills also have a shelf life and will be discarded once expired."

This reminder made Zhou You think more highly of him; what a conscientious merchant!

The amount of Secret Medicine unearthed from Moyun Stronghold was large and varied, and it even included poisons and aphrodisiacs; those bandits certainly played wild.

Besides his main body, he had two other avatars that needed to practice, so there was a large demand for Secret Medicine.

Xingren Tang opened for business with the backing of the Medicine King Sect, and most of the people coming and going were martial artists, so the quality was solid.

"And also..."

Under the greeter's introduction, Zhou You bought some more general-purpose Secret Medicine, as well as medicine for internal and external injuries.

Next was... "Do you have any exotic snake venom? I want to buy some."

This was to increase the power of his Seven Step Poison Sand Palm.

The greeter's expression changed slightly, then returned to normal, and he said apologetically, "Please wait a moment, guest."

He walked over to Dr. Hua and whispered a few words to him.

Dr. Hua glanced at Zhou You and nodded at him, seemingly agreeing.

"Please forgive me, guest, but highly toxic substances are a serious matter. You must leave a name so that if there is any investigation into a poisoning case in the future, our shop will have an explanation."

Poison has been a controlled substance from ancient times to the present, especially highly toxic ones; even a three-year-old child holding poison and dumping it into a well or lake could easily poison hundreds or thousands of people.

The lives of the nobles and high-ranking families in the city are worth more than heaven; once poisoning is discovered, they are bound to trace the source.

Fucheng is a complex place with all sorts of people, and various relationships and networks are intertwined, so the relevant regulations are even stricter.

It's nothing like Gongliang City, where one could buy snake venom so easily.

"Lu Zhigang!"

Zhou You picked up a brush and wrote down the name.

The greeter's eyes lit up, "Fine calligraphy! The guest must have studied under a famous master, right?"

Not far away, Dr. Hua said coldly, "Don't be a chatterbox; go and get the items for the guest."

The fist-sized bottle was made of a composite material, and it felt heavy in his hand, even heavier than a gold bar.

"The inner wall is lined with the peritoneum of a strange fish from the East Sea to prevent the poison liquid from leaking or corroding."

"From inside to outside, it is made of Western heavy lead, Beast Charm bone fragments, and refined copper tempered for five years by an expert in the later stages of Qi and Blood."

"With the poison liquid stored inside, not even a wisp of Qi can leak out."

Zhou You clutched his chest; the bottle alone was this expensive! He didn't know much about the other materials, but that layer of refined copper was already priceless and unavailable on the market.

When a Qi and blood expert cultivates to the later stages, the Qi and blood throughout their body compresses to the point of triggering a qualitative change, allowing them to break through the barrier between living flesh and inanimate objects, and infuse Qi and blood into weapons or wood and stone to wash and refine them.

Qi and blood have peculiar effects and can bring about layer upon layer of wondrous changes.

The heirloom sword of Head Constable Qu was refined by his ancestor for several years after breaking through to the later stages of Qi and blood, making it as sharp as if it could slice through iron like mud.

"Tell me about the characteristics of this snake venom."

Zhou You gritted his teeth; something kept in such a good bottle certainly wasn't ordinary snake venom, so even if he had to empty his pockets, he had to buy it.

"Grey Jade Snake, one of the extinct ancient venomous snakes, is extremely poisonous and difficult for even a Monarch to guard against."

"This snake is accustomed to harming people from the shadows, and its venom is as persistent as a shadow; even if you were to cut away the flesh and skin from your body, it could not be eradicated."

"Because it was too vicious, this type of venomous snake has long been extinct, with only scattered traces of venom remaining in the world."

The receptionist introduced the situation of the snake venom and explained, "Due to the passage of time, the potency of this bottle of snake venom has faded over the years, and now only thirty percent remains; even so, anyone below the level of a Martial Master who comes into contact with it cannot be cured by any medicine."

"Since it's expired, sell it to me for cheaper!"

Zhou You's words left the receptionist unable to recover for a long while; ah, this, they had let him explain for nothing for so long.

He put on a smiling face and patiently explained, "After all, it is a rare, lost snake venom; our shop only has this one bottle, and it is impossible for a guest to find a second bottle in the entire Fucheng."

"Therefore, there is no bargaining; the fixed price is 10,000 taels."

Zhou You shook his head, "Too expensive, 5,000 taels."

The receptionist disregarded the danger and sighed while stroking the bottle, "Guest, that is not how you bargain; this price isn't even enough for the craftsmanship of the bottle."

"I'll lower the price, 9,000 taels."

"I am buying the snake venom, not the bottle; at worst, I will return the bottle to you after I finish using it. How about 6,000 taels?"

"I'll sell it at a loss, 8,000 taels!"

"7,000 taels."

"Deal!"

(End of this chapter)