"Go now!"
Ye Liuxing's cold shout interrupted Wang Cai, giving him no chance to retort.
Seeing his resolute demeanor, Wang Cai knew there was no point in saying anything more.
He had followed Ye Liuxing for so many years and understood his young master's temperament.
Though Ye Liuxing appeared frail, he was actually someone who never easily abandoned his goals once set.
"Alright then, young master, take care. I'll hurry back and rendezvous with you."
Wang Cai said with resignation, then prepared to leave.
"Where are you going without properly taking care of the young master?"
A voice echoed in the air, reaching their ears.
A hint of joy appeared on Ye Liuxing's face as he exclaimed, "Uncle Ji!"
As he called out, a man in his forties appeared. He cupped his fists towards Ye Liuxing and said, "Young Master, Ji Ran is late!"
Ye Liuxing quickly stepped forward, helped Ji Ran up, and said with a beaming smile, "Uncle Ji, why are you here?"
Ji Ran looked at Ye Liuxing with a kindly expression. "The Patriarch feared those old fools might trouble you again, so he specifically sent me to assist you."
A warmth surged through Ye Liuxing's heart.
Although his physique was unsuitable for cultivation, his father had never given up on him. He had even overruled many objections to place him in the position of young patriarch.
Seeing Ji Ran arrive, Wang Cai's eyebrows curved into a smile. "Elder Ji, it's wonderful that you're here!"
Ji Ran flicked Wang Cai's forehead and playfully chided, "Is that so? Then why did I just hear someone planning to sneak away?"
"Ouch!"
Wang Cai clutched his forehead, feigning hurt. "Not at all! The young master just asked me to gather some information!"
Ji Ran looked surprised. "Gather information? What information?"
Wang Cai vividly recounted what had just happened. "The young master only asked me to find out if that young lady was indeed the trash of the Zi family... that person."
He had initially intended to say "waste," but remembering that she had just saved his young master, calling her trash immediately would be ungrateful.
After listening, Ji Ran looked at Ye Liuxing with a hint of disbelief, as if seeking confirmation.
Ye Liuxing nodded, indicating that Wang Cai had spoken the truth.
"Oh! If that's indeed the case, then an inquiry is certainly in order."
Ji Ran stroked his chin and pondered for a moment. "How about this? Wang Cai isn't particularly skilled at gathering information. Why don't this old bone of mine make a trip for the young master?"
He wanted to see for himself if the woman who saved the young master was truly the "waste" everyone spoke of. If so, it would be quite interesting.
"That's great!"
Before Ye Liuxing could even agree, Wang Cai was already clapping his hands in approval.
Both Ye Liuxing and Ji Ran looked at Wang Cai with knowing glances. Wang Cai then realized he had overstepped. He chuckled awkwardly and stepped aside.
Ye Liuxing turned back to Ji Ran and said, "Then I'll trouble you for this trip, Uncle Ji."
"You are too kind, young master. I'm off!"
Ji Ran cupped his fists towards Ye Liuxing and immediately circulated his spiritual energy, vanishing back into the air.
Watching him disappear, Ye Liuxing turned to Wang Cai and said, "Didn't you say you didn't have time? Hurry up and go!"
Without waiting for Wang Cai's reply, he started walking forward.
By the time Wang Cai came to his senses, Ye Liuxing was already a hundred paces away.
"Young master, wait for me!"
Wang Cai shouted and quickly caught up.
...
Water Moon Merchant House.
The shopkeeper of the merchant house looked at the list of herbs handed over by Zi Lingling, his astonishment growing with each item.
Not to mention that several of the herbs on the list were exceedingly rare, and they simply didn't have them in stock.
Even among the herbs they currently possessed, the quantities required by Zi Lingling already accounted for one-fifth of their entire inventory.
If this transaction were to go through, the Water Moon Merchant House and he himself would profit handsomely.
Moreover, purchasing such a large amount of medicinal ingredients clearly indicated someone was planning to refine medicine.
However, Zi Lingling was only twelve or thirteen years old. The shopkeeper naturally assumed that a alchemist must be backing her.
If he could establish a good relationship with an alchemist through Zi Lingling, why would he worry about not making money in the future?
Thus, a glint flashed in the shopkeeper's eyes. "Miss, our merchant house has most of the herbs you require, and in sufficient quantities. It's just..."
"Just what?"
Zi Lingling's dark eyes fixed on the shopkeeper, making him feel uneasy. He sensed that although the young lady was not old, she was by no means to be trifled with.
Therefore, he said with a fawning smile, "Nothing much, it's just that these few herbs are quite rare. It's hard to find them not only in our merchant house but likely anywhere on this East Street."
As he spoke, he pointed out the rare herbs: Soul-Returning Grass, Ghost Lotus, Coiled Dragon Ginseng, Crimson Flame Fruit, Bone-Scouring Flower, and Blood-Congealing Grass.
Zi Lingling frowned. She had already visited over a dozen merchant houses, and the answers she received were largely the same as the shopkeeper's.
Soul-Returning Grass, Ghost Lotus, and Coiled Dragon Ginseng were essential ingredients for refining Muscle-Molding Pills. Crimson Flame Fruit, Bone-Scouring Flower, and Blood-Congealing Grass were the primary ingredients for Refining Marrow Pills.
Without these six herbs, the remaining ingredients would be useless.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. The shopkeeper had said they were "hard to find," not impossible to find.
This implied that the shopkeeper knew where these six herbs could be found. And the fact that he knew but didn't explicitly say so clearly indicated he had an ulterior motive.
With Zi Lingling's intelligence, she couldn't fathom what the shopkeeper was after.
She smiled faintly and said, "Does the shopkeeper know where these six herbs can be found? If you can point me in the right direction, I will conduct the rest of today's transaction with your merchant house, and we can also establish a long-term cooperation."
Almost all alchemists found it troublesome. When purchasing herbs, they preferred to complete all transactions in one place. This was why Zi Lingling had visited over a dozen merchant houses without buying a single herb.
This was exactly what the shopkeeper wanted to hear from Zi Lingling.
He said with a full smile, "Since the young lady has put it so, I won't hold back. Although these six herbs are rare, there is one place where they can definitely be found."
"Oh? Where?"
"The Wind and Cloud Merchant House!"
"The Wind and Cloud Merchant House?"
A hint of confusion crossed Zi Lingling's face.
She didn't understand what was special about the Wind and Cloud Merchant House, nor why the shopkeeper was so certain that those six herbs could be found there.
"Precisely! It is the Wind and Cloud Merchant House! The backer of the Wind and Cloud Merchant House is one of the four great families of the Azure Dragon Empire, the Ye family, unlike these small merchant houses of the Heavenly Revelation Kingdom."
"The Ye family?" Ye Liuxing?
Zi Lingling remembered the token Ye Liuxing had given her. It seemed she had inadvertently climbed onto a powerful tree.
"Indeed! The Heavenly Revelation Kingdom is, after all, a remote and impoverished place. How can it compare to the Ye family's vast wealth and abundant resources?"
Zi Lingling nodded, committing the shopkeeper's words to memory. She then asked, "How do I get to the Wind and Cloud Merchant House?"
"Go west from here. The most luxurious merchant house you see is it."