Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Junior Sister, practice the sword

Over the next two days, Rong Shu kept refining Tendon and Bone Pills and used up all the spirit herbs she had on hand for refining that pill.

From thirty furnaces of Tendon and Bone Pills, she produced two hundred and twenty-three pills.

As for the previous twenty furnaces of Spirit Gathering Pills, because of inexperience, only one hundred and thirty-three pills formed.

She sold one hundred Spirit Gathering Pills, that is, ten bottles of Spirit Gathering Pills, to the Alchemist Guild branch and brought back two hundred and fifty Spirit Stones. Subtracting the two hundred Spirit Stones in herb costs, she netted fifty Spirit Stones.

For this batch of Tendon and Bone Pills, she sold twenty bottles, earning one thousand Spirit Stones. Deducting six hundred Spirit Stones in herb costs, her net profit was four hundred Spirit Stones.

Flush with coin once more, she waved her small hand and bought another thirty sets of Tendon and Bone Pill herbs and twenty sets of Spirit Gathering Pill herbs.

She now had no shortage of Tendon and Bone Pills for herself, but since alchemy could turn money into more money, she would certainly continue refining.

Although the net profit on Spirit Gathering Pills could not compare to that of Tendon and Bone Pills, Spirit Gathering Pills were a must-have for cultivators when traveling outside to temper themselves. Rong Shu planned to stock more rather than sell them this time.

As for the net gain of four hundred and fifty Spirit Stones, together with the forty-nine Spirit Stones she had left originally, making a total of four hundred and ninety-nine Spirit Stones, she decided to hold onto them for now in case of emergencies.

Because the profit margins on pills were so tempting, Rong Shu’s heart stirred fiercely. She could cultivate at any time, but selling pills for money was only feasible at the moment; once she returned to the sect, it would be inconvenient to sell her stock.

So she steeled herself, sacrificed some cultivation time, and threw herself wholly into pill refinement.

She finished refining all fifty sets of pill materials in just two days.

From the Tendon and Bone Pills, she obtained two hundred and forty finished pills, worth one thousand two hundred Spirit Stones.

From the Spirit Gathering Pills, she obtained one hundred and sixty finished pills, worth four hundred Spirit Stones.

If not for worrying that refining too many furnaces in a single day would exhaust her and lower the yield, she felt she could have handled all fifty sets in one day.

After selling all the Tendon and Bone Pills to the Alchemist Guild branch, she immediately bought another fifty sets of Tendon and Bone Pill herbs, spending one thousand Spirit Stones.

Since she now had too many Spirit Gathering Pills on hand, she also bought a batch of porcelain pill bottles, five hundred in number, at the cost of nine Spirit Stones.

After this round of buying and selling, she still had one thousand five hundred and ninety Spirit Stones. Once those fifty sets of Tendon and Bone Pills were refined, she would have another inflow of funds.

Leaving the Alchemist Guild branch in high spirits, she passed a weapons shop and, remembering that she owned only a dagger, decided to buy another weapon for self-defense.

Once inside, the dazzling array of weaponry left her eyes swimming. All kinds of weapons rested on the display racks: ordinary arms, treasured weapons, and even spirit artifacts more advanced than treasured weapons.

Rong Shu glanced at the price tag on a spirit artifact: … Spirit Stones.

Rong Shu: “…”

Sorry to disturb you.

All of a sudden, the one thousand-odd Spirit Stones in her purse no longer felt so fragrant.

A good treasured weapon ran into the tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, and at most her funds could barely buy a middling one.

She felt she had no business staying here. Why had she come at all? [Forget it, forget it… ordinary weapons are fine too.]

At that moment, a familiar voice reached her ears, and when she turned, she indeed saw Qin Yuan and Yu Ruan Ruan. Beside Yu Ruan Ruan stood a man she did not recognize; judging by his attire, he was richly dressed and clearly of unusual status.

Schooling her expression, Rong Shu walked over a few steps and greeted them: “Third Senior Brother, Senior Sister Yu, what a coincidence.”

Yu Ruan Ruan’s eyes carried a flicker of barely visible pride as she made an introduction to Rong Shu: “This is the young city lord of Scarlet Sun City, Yan Zi Mo.” Then she turned with a smile: “Brother Zi Mo, this is my junior sister, Rong Shu.”

Rong Shu inclined her head to Yan Zi Mo and said: “A pleasure.”

Yan Zi Mo seemed somewhat aloof and answered only, coldly: “Mm.”

Qin Yuan looked Rong Shu up and down and asked: “Junior Sister Rong, are you here to choose a weapon?”

“Yes,” Rong Shu said. Since she had been seen, there was nothing to hide; it was normal for a cultivator to purchase a weapon. “I only have a dagger on me. I wanted to buy something else for self-defense.”

At her words, Yu Ruan Ruan’s gaze dimmed, and a sense of crisis rose in her chest. She immediately asked her System in her heart: [System, is Rong Shu best with a whip?]

The System replied: [Yes. You must prevent her from choosing a whip-type weapon; use that to reduce her fortune.]

So even that could sap Rong Shu’s luck. Yu Ruan Ruan’s spirits lifted, and she asked again: [What weapon is she bad at?]

[She is not good with the sword.]

A plan formed at once. Wearing a gentle smile, Yu Ruan Ruan said to Rong Shu: “Junior sister, Master and Eldest Senior Brother are both formidable sword cultivators. Why not try buying a sword?”

“Indeed,” Qin Yuan nodded, adding his support: “Most disciples of Heaven’s Evolution Sect use the sword. Junior Sister Rong, if you take a liking to any sword, senior brother will buy it for you.”

Rong Shu hesitated visibly: “Third Senior Brother, is that really appropriate…”

“There is no need to refuse,” Qin Yuan said with a mild smile. “You are my junior sister. Spending a few Spirit Stones for you is nothing at all.”

Seeing this, Rong Shu had no choice but to accept his kindness: “Many thanks, Third Senior Brother.”

Unlike Rong Shu, who was painfully tight on coin, Qin Yuan would not even look at ordinary weapons; he took her straight to select Spirit Swords of treasured quality. Yu Ruan Ruan hovered nearby, eagerly recommending options as if she wished Rong Shu would buy seven or eight Spirit Swords in one go.

“Junior sister, how about this one?” Qin Yuan asked.

“Mm, that will do,” Rong Shu said. Unable to tell the fine differences among the Spirit Swords, she let Qin Yuan choose for her.

After Qin Yuan paid for the Spirit Sword, the shop steward, seeing that Rong Shu was a beginner, specially gifted her a free introductory sword manual for novices.

Holding the Spirit Sword acquired at no cost to herself, Rong Shu excused herself on the pretext of going to practice and took her leave of Qin Yuan and the others.

After she left, Yan Zi Mo suddenly spoke, his tone thoughtful: “This junior sister of yours is diligent and pragmatic.”

He had thought that once he revealed his identity as young city lord, Ruan Ruan’s little junior sister would try to curry favor with him. Unexpectedly, aside from the polite “a pleasure” at the start, Rong Shu did not even glance in his direction, much less look for an excuse to stay and get close.

Because of his status as Scarlet Sun City’s young city lord, Yan Zi Mo was no stranger to women’s admiration and flattery. He had not thought that in just a few days he would meet two unusual girls who were unimpressed by his position.

Hearing the hint of interest in his words, Yu Ruan Ruan’s heart tightened, though her face did not change as she said evenly: “Yes. Back in the sect, junior sister trained the most diligently, out at dawn and back at dusk. If her talent of mid-grade dual spiritual roots were just a little better, she might already have broken through to the second level of Qi Refining by now.”