Free Web NovelChapter 51: Chapter 51: Delivering the Token
Several members of the Miaofa Sect were gathered together, whispering amongst themselves.
Bai Mo watched them for a moment before looking away.
Admittedly, the Miaofa Sect was a behemoth.
But as a Pill Master, he was no longer a nobody either.
With the Pill Pavilion backing him, they wouldn’t dare make any serious moves. It would amount to nothing more than petty harassment.
Everything was different now.
After seeing off a few customers, a number of new faces suddenly appeared in the afternoon.
They arrived in a hurry and were quite reserved upon seeing Bai Mo.
Some addressed him as "Shopkeeper Bai," while others called him "Alchemist Bai."
They were all Loose Cultivators, and their gazes held a certain reverence as they looked at Bai Mo.
He was a Pill Master, after all. To those unfamiliar with him, he exuded an air of profound mystery, no matter how he acted.
Bai Mo glanced at the sky, attended to his customers in an orderly fashion, and began putting up the door panels when it was time to close.
As he was lifting one, a burly figure appeared at the shop’s entrance and reached out to lend a hand.
"Thanks for the help."
The man was incredibly strong. With his help, Bai Mo easily and steadily set one half of the door panel in place before turning to look at him.
He was a very burly man with a turban on his head and a scar over his right eye.
The scar tissue pulled at his right eye, making it droop and giving him a perpetually cold and indifferent look.
The man forced a smile, lifted the item in his hand, and said to Bai Mo,
"Elder Tong is occupied, so he sent me to see if you need any help, Shopkeeper Bai."
The man spoke somewhat unnaturally, as if he wasn’t accustomed to using such polite words.
Bai Mo froze for a moment before it dawned on him: the ’Elder Tong’ the man spoke of was the old gentleman from the merchant caravan.
"Please, come in!"
Bai Mo invited the man into the shop, taking the item from his hands as he did.
It was a very large, fat, dark-grey fish with a potbelly, its surface covered in a layer of slime.
At a glance, it looked rather grubby—not an ideal choice for a gift.
But Bai Mo didn’t see it that way.
"This is..."
The man quickly explained, "A Jumping Dolphin!"
"If raised well, they can become Demon Beasts. They’re excellent for nourishing the body."
"They go for eleven or twelve Spirit Stones apiece on the market."
Bai Mo was taken aback; he had never bought such a valuable ingredient for himself.
"How could I possibly trouble Elder Tong with such an expense!?"
The burly man waved his hand dismissively.
"The Tong family Commerce Association raises these very things!"
"Even us top-performing guard captains often get one to nourish our bodies."
Bai Mo had never looked into the Tong family Commerce Association’s business, and his curiosity was piqued.
"I’ve never heard of anyone in Immortal Arrival City being involved in aquaculture..."
The burly man thought for a moment, then said, "I suppose you just haven’t inquired, Shopkeeper Bai. It’s not that there are none, just that they’re very rare."
"The few fisheries that do exist are all controlled by a handful of powers, including the Tong family Commerce Association."
Understanding dawned on Bai Mo, and his interest grew.
"There are a few rare Spirit Medicines that grow where the fry hatch. They’re just what I need for my Alchemy. Does the association sell them?"
"The price is negotiable!"
Seeing Bai Mo’s expectant expression, the burly man hurriedly said,
"You’ve misunderstood, Shopkeeper Bai. Although the Tong family Commerce Association sells Jumping Dolphins, we don’t produce the fry ourselves."
"As soon as Elder Tong got back from Celestial Mountain City, he left again without a moment’s rest to go purchase the fry."
’So that’s how it is. No wonder the Tong family Commerce Association hasn’t joined the ranks of the city’s top factions.’
’Since they don’t produce the Jumping Dolphins themselves, their profits must be getting skimmed by several middlemen.’
The burly man shook his head and said,
"To be honest, part of the reason Elder Tong had me visit you, Shopkeeper Bai, is that he’s looking to explore other avenues."
"The association is short on funds. The profits from selling Jumping Dolphins in Celestial Mountain City were substantial, but that capital may not be enough."
"Elder Tong took all the Spirit Stones we recouped and left. I’ve never seen him do anything like it..."
Business had its ups and downs; that was normal. Bai Mo didn’t think much of it, other than that the man before him wasn’t a particularly suitable envoy.
When Bai Mo voiced this thought, the man let out a hearty laugh.
"I only became the association’s guard captain because I owe Elder Tong a personal favor. I don’t owe the association a thing!"
’Still, for Elder Tong to send a man with such a disposition, he must be a true confidant.’
Bai Mo cupped his fists. "I understand Elder Tong’s intentions. I received a great deal of kindness from the elder during the trip to Celestial Mountain City, and I remember it well."
"When you next see Elder Tong, please give him my regards."
"Will do." The burly man slapped his thigh, then jutted his chin toward the outside.
"There are a few people who’ve been watching your Pill Shop for a while now, Shopkeeper Bai. Want me to take care of them?"
Bai Mo was a little surprised. He looked at the man and asked,
"How strong are the people outside?"
The man replied, "Fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining. It wouldn’t be difficult to deal with them."
Bai Mo believed him. One look at the man was enough to know he was not someone to be trifled with. His aura was different from the members of a Demon Hunting Team, yet similar in intensity.
’As for the Miaofa Sect members outside, with that level of strength, they were probably just outer disciples.’
’They’re a far cry from the Enforcement Team, nothing to worry about.’ Bai Mo was even less concerned now.
After a moment of consideration, Bai Mo politely declined,
"Thank you, but there’s no need for you to trouble yourself."
"They may be insignificant, but I fear they’re all disciples of the Miaofa Sect. Provoking them rashly would be troublesome."
The burly man paused. "It’s those brats?"
"They certainly are a pain to get rid of."
Then, his eyes fell on the jade pendant at Bai Mo’s waist, and realization dawned.
"I was worrying for nothing. In the Cultivation Realm, the status of a Pill Master is certainly not lower than that of a few nameless sect disciples."
Bai Mo just smiled and said nothing. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
After chatting a bit more with the man about how to prepare the Jumping Dolphin, he finally departed.
This was Bai Mo’s first time handling such an ingredient.
The man had said the Jumping Dolphin had been out of water for a while and shouldn’t be left to sit, so Bai Mo immediately got to work with a knife.
He gutted it, removed all the inedible parts, sprinkled on a bit of salt, and put it in a pot of water to simmer.
To suit his own tastes, Bai Mo also prepared some chopped scallions.
Although the Jumping Dolphin was only the size of his forearm, the broth it produced was exceptionally white and filled the entire room with its fragrance.
"Worthy of an ingredient that costs more than ten Spirit Stones!"
Bai Mo marveled, raising the ladle to his lips to taste the seasoning.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Two knocks sounded at the back door. The ladle stopped just before his lips, and Bai Mo paused.
’Besides regular customers and his landlord, Elder Tao, only the two young masters, Wei and Wang, had ever knocked on his back door.’
’The knocking was rather restrained. It probably wasn’t them.’
Bai Mo walked over. "Who is it?"
"I’m here to deliver a Token. Alchemist Bai, would you please open the door?"
The speaker’s voice was quite respectful.
The sky wasn’t dark yet, but the sun had already set.
Bai Mo opened the door to see a man standing outside with his hands tucked in his sleeves and his head bowed.
"And you are?"
The man smiled.
"I am a menial disciple from the Xuandao Sect. I have come specifically to deliver your Token, Alchemist Bai."
Bai Mo’s spirits lifted, and he quickly said,
"Ah, a fellow Daoist! Please, quickly, come in!"
"I’ve just finished simmering a Jumping Dolphin; it’s wonderfully fresh!"
Hearing this, the gray-robed menial disciple looked up, revealing a plain, unremarkable face. He swallowed, looking quite tempted.
But after a moment of internal struggle, he still said,
"I’d better not. If I were to actually eat it, my Martial Uncle would surely scold me for being impolite."
"It’s not worth it, not worth it."
Bai Mo wouldn’t hear of it and insisted several times, but even with a tempted expression on his face, the man remained stubbornly unmoved.
He took an object from his sleeve and handed it to Bai Mo.
"Please keep this safe, Alchemist Bai. With this Token, things will be much more convenient whenever you’re out and about and run into one of our own!"
