Free Web NovelChapter 137: Chapter 137: Fame
Though it wasn’t yet dusk, Cultivators were still walking into the shop, talking and laughing.
The stream of customers never stopped.
Bai Mo couldn’t step away. Many customers had come specifically for him, so he had to be present to greet them.
With Lanshan and his men occasionally chiming in to help, the scene was a form of organized chaos.
More so than his Pills, word of Bai Mo’s identity as a disciple of the Xuandao Sect spread even faster among certain circles.
Sun Qiao’s gaze flickered, watching the Cultivator in the distance being led away by men from a Demon Hunting Team.
Others might not know what was happening, but he could see there was more to it.
"Who are these people now?"
"The Alchemy Dao is such a lucrative business. Someone must have gotten greedy."
His friend beside him murmured, "Why worry about it? With Alchemist Bai’s current status..."
He shook his head.
It wouldn’t be surprising if someone ended up dead once the Demon Hunting Team found out who was behind this.
These Cultivators live a dangerous life. If they want to get on a Pill Master’s good side, they’ll absolutely be willing to get their hands dirty.
Sun Qiao looked at him, rubbing his hands together.
"That must be a Demon Hunting Team that knows Shopkeeper Bai. They act with discretion."
"But Li Duan, I’m surprised to see you out. Rumor had it your family had you confined at home. How about we go out for a few drinks when we’re free?"
The man beside him, Li Duan, was gaunt and appeared frail, yet he stood ramrod straight with a distinctive bearing.
He was silent for a moment.
"The last time someone drained my essence, I only managed to nurse my body back to health thanks to a Fire Marrow Pill from Shopkeeper Bai."
"I’m afraid I have to stay away from both wine and women for the time being."
After that terrifying experience, it was like he’d pulled back from the brink of a cliff, desperately struggling to keep his body from falling apart.
Li Duan was a changed man.
Now that he had settled down to cultivate, thinking back on his past follies felt completely different.
"Getting out wasn’t a problem. We can talk later. Lend me three Spirit Stones; I’m going to buy another Fire Marrow Pill..."
Sun Qiao stared at the expression on his face for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Who would’ve thought? One of our band of degenerates actually decided to turn over a new leaf. That’s a rare sight."
Three Spirit Stones landed in Li Duan’s hand. With a flick of his wide sleeves, he strode into the shop.
"Clerk, one of your precious cultivation Pills..."
Sun Qiao stood there watching for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands.
"Sheesh, what am I doing just standing here gawking?"
He waved at Bai Mo in the crowd and quickly headed back.
Riding this wave of popularity to sell a few more Talismans—now *that* was the proper thing to be doing.
...
As the sky began to darken, the crowd in the Pill Shop finally started to disperse.
The last rays of the setting sun cast a warm, golden glow on Bai Mo.
Wei An was busy tidying up the Pills, neatly arranging the bottles on the shelves.
"Alright, you can finish cleaning up tomorrow. No one will come by at night in Immortal Arrival City."
Bai Mo called out.
Without turning his head, Wei An continued to flick the beads on his abacus.
"You should rest first, Shopkeeper. I’ll just look over a few more things."
Bai Mo didn’t press him, simply waiting for him to finish his calculations.
A moment later, Wei An spoke, his tone somewhat heavy:
"All told, we only sold just over a hundred of the various types of Pills today..."
The bulk of the sales came from those few jars of Pills.
This pill, a simplified version of the Qi Absorption Pill, was what Bai Mo had named the Qi Replenishing Pill.
A paper strip with black words on a red background was pasted on the jar.
Wei An had wanted to say something, but seeing Bai Mo’s calm expression, he just said sheepishly,
"The shop’s income... doesn’t seem to be very much?"
Considering the turnout today, he had thought the profits would be more substantial.
"A Pill Shop’s business is a long-term game,"
Bai Mo said lightly.
"If we keep at it for the long run, even a trickle will eventually gather enough wealth to live on."
"If you really want to strike it rich, ordinary Pills won’t cut it. That would require me to spend significant time and effort refining some truly premium Pills..."
Wei An recalled the two young masters who had purchased ten Fire Marrow Pills earlier that day. The pouch of Spirit Stones they handed over had felt very heavy.
"You have a point, Shopkeeper."
Bai Mo took out the gift registry, a long list filled with the names of guests and the gifts they had brought.
’I have to keep this safe. In the future, whenever the people on this list have a major or happy event, I’ll have to send a gift in return.’
"Come on, let’s go get something to eat!"
Wei An started to refuse, but Bai Mo cut him off.
"If you don’t help, how long will it take me to do it all by myself?"
They still had the beast meat Lanshan had sent. They boiled some and ate it with white rice, making for a simple meal.
At the dinner table, Bai Mo mused.
"I’ll stick around and supervise for another two days. After that, I need to enter seclusion to focus on Alchemy."
"You’ve met Daoist Xu and his group. They’re all reliable. When it comes to purchasing herbs, just judge them by their quality."
"I’m leaving one thousand Spirit Stones in the shop for you to use as needed."
That many spare Spirit Stones was more than enough to ensure the shop’s daily operations.
Wei An was a little nervous.
He had never handled such a large sum in his entire life.
"Alright, I’ll do my best."
Bai Mo nodded in approval.
"Things at the shop are actually pretty slow. You’ll realize that in a couple of days."
"If any Cultivators show up asking questions, don’t panic. Just mention my name."
Hearing these words, Wei An looked up and asked tentatively,
"You’re giving so many instructions... are you going to..."
"After this, I also need to take a long trip, and I won’t be back for some time,"
Bai Mo explained. Brother Shui didn’t have many days left in the city, so his own schedule was naturally packed.
"Focus on recovering. When the time is right, I’ll take you to get officially registered."
Refugees like Wei An who had drifted into Immortal Arrival City were still under an observation period and had yet to obtain official residency.
They were practically no different from Dao Slaves.
After a quick meal, their stomachs were full, but the two of them still had no time to rest.
They opened the gift boxes, large and small. Whether valuable or simply a token of goodwill, each one represented the complex web of social obligations.
Among them, the gifts from the three fellow Pill Masters in the city were especially precious.
The gift consisted of three pieces of jade, each engraved with an Array, corresponding to the Three Powers: Heaven, Earth, and Man.
When combined, the three pieces formed a Jade Disc that could clear the mind and suppress evil.
Even a Cultivator afflicted with a Blood Curse would find it has a suppressive effect when worn.
This item might not be that precious to an ordinary Cultivator, but for an Alchemy Cultivator, it was perfect.
The rest of the gifts were mostly curios. Though not expensive, they each had their own interesting features.
For example, Elder Pu of the Chaoyun Commerce Association had sent a puzzle box covered in a patina of bronze.
Array Patterns covered its surface, incorporating complex mechanisms.
This was a toy from a bygone era. A Cultivator could inject Spiritual Qi into it, and if they channeled it through the correct Array Patterns, the mechanism would open.
The item hidden inside would fall out.
Bai Mo looked at the very complex puzzle box in his hand and tossed it to Wei An.
"If you get bored of reading in your spare time, you can try opening this. Who knows, there might be something interesting inside."
Of course, all he might find inside was dust.
Few things could withstand the erosion of time.
It took an hour to sort the gifts by category, move them into the storage room, and lock the door. With that, they were more or less finished.
Wei An sealed the large jars in the shop to protect them from moisture, then joined Bai Mo in locking up the front door.
His living quarters weren’t large—just a small side room, separated from the main hall of the shop by a single wall.
After returning to his room, he didn’t pick up the book on his desk as he usually would.
Instead, he washed up briefly and collapsed onto his bed, falling into a deep sleep amidst a crushing wave of exhaustion.
And so, the busy day came to an end.
Bai Mo sat cross-legged on his bed and paused his meditation. He jotted down a few thoughts before casually pushing down the lamp’s cover.
The flame went out.
