Having crossed the Bridge of No Regrets and walked out of the poison fog’s range, the four of them gasped desperately for fresh air.
Oil Peach vomited twice, while Qin Xiaopang sat on the side of the bridge, gasping continuously, sweat rolling down his pale face.
Cao Ye took out all the Cooling Powder she had and shared it with everyone. After resting for over half an hour, Oil Peach finally got up, able to walk on her own with some difficulty.
A Cultivator’s physical constitution was indeed good, but just because external injuries healed quickly didn’t mean the poison fog inside the body could be cleared out just as fast.
The group staggered along. The journey was immensely difficult. Even Li Banfeng, who had only recently left his Portable Residence, felt his legs grow weak.
Cao Ye reminded everyone, "Brothers and sisters, when you get home, you must rest well for a while. This poison fog is very harmful to the body; you can’t afford to take it lightly."
Li Banfeng sighed. "Is it worth it for just a few thousand pieces?"
Oil Peach snorted. "If you were rich, you wouldn’t need to risk your life with us. We’re just lowlifes, yet we still talk about such useless things."
Qin Xiaopang looked at Oil Peach. "We risk our lives because we have no capital. With your looks and figure, do you even need to risk your life? There are plenty of men willing to provide for you for a lifetime."
"I don’t need anyone to provide for me!" Oil Peach retorted coldly. "I can not only take care of myself, but I can also earn money to support my partner."
Li Banfeng frowned. "Your partner needs you to support her?"
"I’m willing, and I have the capability!" Oil Peach glared at Li Banfeng. "If you were able to support your partner, would *he* have to come out here and risk his life with you?"
Sweat broke out on Little Fatty’s forehead. "I am a Food Cultivator... How should I explain this to you..."
"We know you’re a Food Cultivator; it’s not something to be ashamed of," Oil Peach smiled. "My partner isn’t a Lust Cultivator; she’s a Home Cultivator."
Cao Ye suddenly understood. "No wonder you asked me about Home Cultivation, Sister. It’s indeed a hardship for you; a Home Cultivator can’t easily go out to earn money."
"Earning money is secondary," Oil Peach shook her head. "She’s a young lady, and I don’t want her to be exposed to the public."
Li Banfeng had a sudden realization. "So your partner is a girl."
The others nodded. "Turns out she’s a girl."
After a few more steps, Li Banfeng turned to look at Oil Peach. "Your partner is a girl!"
"What’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with her being a girl?" Oil Peach’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. "You think round is better than flat, and I think flat is better than long. Is there anything wrong with that?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "No, there’s nothing wrong with that."
Oil Peach turned and pinched Cao Ye’s cheek. "Am I right, Sister?"
"Sister, well... you’re right..." Cao Ye moved away from Oil Peach.
Qin Xiaopang seemed a bit dazed. "I, um, am a Food Cultivator."
As they walked, the number of people on the road gradually increased. Li Banfeng heightened his alertness, worried someone might try to snatch the flowers.
Oil Peach appeared quite relaxed. "Don’t worry. Once we get down the mountain, everyone has to follow the rules. At least they can’t do it openly, otherwise, they’ll never be able to set foot in Medicine King Valley again!"
Various flags fluttered within the dense fog.
The major medicine shops were right in front of them. It was time to make money.
Both Qin Xiaopang’s and Oil Peach’s eyes sparkled, and even the shy Cao Ye couldn’t hide her excitement.
The shopkeepers of each medicine shop had set up their stalls to buy flowers, but as Li Banfeng approached, he heard bursts of arguing.
"Twenty-five a stalk? Do you think you’re buying cabbages?!"
Cao Ye glanced at the Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums in her bag, unable to believe it.
Qin Xiaopang went forward to ask around and returned shortly after, grinding his teeth.
"Let’s go! We’re not selling!"
The surrounding crowd also started shouting, "We’re not selling! We won’t sell even if they rot in our hands!"
"This is downright bullying! We absolutely won’t sell!"
The shopkeeper of the Liu Family Medicine Shop, grinning to reveal his yellow teeth, said, "If you don’t sell, so be it. If you think my price is too low, go try the other shops."
The other medicine shops were indeed the same. The proprietress of the Chu Family Medicine Shop, while dabbing powder on her face, said, "Twenty-five pieces per plant. That’s the price this year. Sell quickly if you want to; otherwise, I’m closing up shop."
Here’s what happened.
Several major medicine shops had sent people up the mountain and found a cliff edge covered in Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums.
They harvested these chrysanthemums and brought them back, with each shop receiving over a thousand stalks.
With this many stalks as a baseline, the medicine shops weren’t worried and conspired together to drive the price down.
But they had driven it down far too harshly.
Twenty-five pieces per plant. Four plants to refine one Snake-Patterned Pill. The cost was one hundred pieces, but they sold for ten thousand—a hundredfold profit.
Oil Peach sat on the ground, not speaking for a long time.
Cao Ye lowered her head, tears uncontrollably streaming down her face.
Little Fatty stomped his foot in anger. "I won’t sell! I just won’t sell! I refuse to believe we can’t find another buyer."
"Don’t be ridiculous!" Oil Peach gritted her teeth. "Who else can you sell to if not them? All the major medicine shops in Medicine King Valley are here!"
Qin Xiaopang glared. "Then we won’t sell in Medicine King Valley! We’ll go further afield!"
Oil Peach scoffed. "Stop talking nonsense. Where else could you go? Have you ever even been outside Medicine King Valley?"
Qin Xiaopang slumped to the ground. "Then I’ll wait for a Peddler!"
"Wait for a Peddler?" Oil Peach laughed bitterly. "That man, Gold-rimmed Glasses, said Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums rot in less than a day. If they’re not sold today, by tomorrow they won’t be worth a single copper."
Qin Xiaopang snorted. "That Gold-rimmed Glasses isn’t a good person either."
Cao Ye sobbed. "He’s telling the truth. If we don’t sell the chrysanthemums today, by tomorrow they’ll really be rotten and utterly worthless."
Oil Peach sighed. "Forget it. Let’s just sell them. Earning a little is better than nothing. I have thirty-eight plants here; I can get nearly a thousand pieces for them. That’s better than nothing. This is just our rotten luck!"
"Well, I’m not selling!" Little Fatty threw his pouch to the ground, growing angrier the more he thought about it.
After pondering for a moment, he suddenly looked towards Li Banfeng.
He approached Li Banfeng and asked in a low voice, "Brother Li, do you still have that Elixir?"
Li Banfeng nodded and handed a Snake-Patterned Pill to Little Fatty.
Little Fatty looked around, led everyone to a quiet place, and handed the Snake-Patterned Pill to Cao Ye. "Sister Cao Ye, can you tell if this is real?"
Cao Ye was a Medicine Cultivator. She couldn’t refine Snake-Patterned Pills herself, but she could distinguish a real one from a fake.
After a moment, Cao Ye’s eyes widened. "Fatty Brother, this really is a Snake-Patterned Pill! Where did it come from?"
Little Fatty glanced at Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng said, "I saw an old woman on the mountain. She said she wanted to trade an Elixir for my chrysanthemums—one pill for ten plants."
"Ten plants?" Cao Ye couldn’t believe it; neither could Oil Peach.
"This Elixir... it must be fake..." Cao Ye started to doubt her own judgment.
Little Fatty said angrily, "Didn’t you just say it was real?"
"I’m afraid I was mistaken. Where in the world could you find such a price? I think I should just..." Cao Ye looked towards the flags of the medicine shops.
"I trust you!" Oil Peach handed her bag to Li Banfeng. "You saved my life, and you enabled us to get these chrysanthemums. Real or fake, I trust you! Even if I lose everything, I’ll accept it!"
Little Fatty also handed his bag to Li Banfeng.
After a moment of hesitation, Cao Ye also handed her bag to Li Banfeng.
Little Fatty looked back at Kuwu Mountain. "I don’t know if that old woman is still on the mountain. Brother Li, could you help us..."
Asking Li Banfeng to make another trip to Kuwu Mountain made Little Fatty feel bad. "Brother Li, let me go with you."
Li Banfeng shrugged. "I’ll go try my luck. You should stay here and not cause trouble."
Li Banfeng retraced his steps. Deep within the thick fog, he opened his Portable Residence.
Once inside the Portable Residence, Li Banfeng took out the Snake-Patterned Chrysanthemums. He was about to see how the Copper Lotus Flower opened when he found it was already open.
Upon the Seven-Hole Lotus Heart, there were three Lotus Seeds.
Li Banfeng froze.
Holding the candle, he looked around and noticed that something seemed to be missing from the room.