Chapter 39: Cold Sun Mother Grass

"By the way, do you have any Cold Sun Grass here?" Zhang Xuan asked, shaking his head to clear his mind of random thoughts.

This stall sold not only various sundry items but also some medicinal herbs.

After finishing his research in the Library Pavilion, he now knew the solution to Zhao Ya's problem: her Pure Yin Body required cultivating gentle and neutral cultivation methods to resolve the issue of accumulated yin energy.

However, since she had practiced the Pure Yin cultivation method for so long, her meridians had already adapted to it. A sudden change could lead to severe injuries and a significant drop in her cultivation. To prevent this, preparations were necessary.

One such preparation was to nourish her meridians with medicinal herbs.

Cold Sun Grass, which grew in cold, yin-rich places yet also loved sunlight, contained spiritual energy where hot and cold clashed, and yin and yang intermingled. It was precisely the ideal choice for nourishing her meridians. Since he was already at the market, he decided to ask about it.

"Cold Sun Grass? You picked the right person to ask," the stall owner chuckled. "No exaggeration, I guarantee I'm the only one in the entire Tianyu Market who has this. I harvested it myself a few days ago from a dangerous spot in Tianxuan Forest. I have ten stalks in total, 100 gold coins each. How many do you want?"

The stall owner smiled, turned around, and retrieved a box. When he opened it, several vibrant plants lay inside.

They had red stems, leaves, and snow-white flowers.

"Let me see first!"

Zhang Xuan only knew about Cold Sun Grass from books; he had never actually seen it. He reached out, took a stalk, and placed it in his palm.

Hum!

The Library vibrated, and a book appeared.

"Cold Sun Grass, harvested from an unnamed valley 200 kilometers into Tianxuan Forest, two years old... disadvantages..."

The book listed the herb's name, origin, and various disadvantages.

"It is Cold Sun Grass; this guy wasn't lying to me!"

Seeing that the name in the book was correct, Zhang Xuan knew the man wasn't deceiving him and that it was genuine medicinal material. He nodded, about to speak, when his eyes suddenly landed on the innermost part of the box.

"Why does this stalk of Cold Sun Grass look somewhat withered and yellow? Did you harvest it incorrectly and kill it?"

Harvesting medicinal herbs required proper technique; if done incorrectly, it was difficult to preserve their efficacy, and the price would be significantly reduced.

The stalk of Cold Sun Grass he pointed to was withered, yellow, and stunted. It looked immature, lacked any vibrancy, and appeared droopy, as if it could dry up at any moment.

"Young master, you jest," the stall owner said. "This is how I make a living; how could I make a mistake? This particular herb wasn't in good condition when I harvested it. If you want it, I'll give you half price for this one—you can have it for 50 gold coins!"

"Hmm," Zhang Xuan then picked up the withered, yellow stalk of Cold Sun Grass.

Hum!

"Cold Sun Mother Herb, the root of all other Cold Sun Grass, harvested from an unnamed valley 200 kilometers into Tianxuan Forest, fifteen years old..." He flipped open the book, which listed its name and other details.

"Cold Sun Mother Herb?" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

He had read about this item in books before; it was extremely precious and incredibly rare. As the fundamental essence of Cold Sun Grass, if used in medicine, its effect would be at least ten times stronger than that of regular Cold Sun Grass!

He hadn't expected to stumble upon something like this while casually buying Cold Sun Grass, especially one that was fifteen years old. This single item alone was priceless!

If Zhao Ya were to use regular Cold Sun Grass to nourish her meridians, many other measures and continued maintenance would be required for her to successfully switch cultivation methods. However, with this Cold Sun Mother Herb, the problem could be easily resolved, and not using other methods wouldn't have a significant impact!

It was absolutely the most suitable medicine for Zhao Ya, bar none!

"Wrap this one up for me!"

Though excited internally, he remained outwardly calm as he handed it to the stall owner.

If the stall owner knew this was a Mother Herb and not just a diseased plant, the price would likely increase tenfold instantly, and it might not even be available for purchase!

As a modern-minded, well-rounded youth, he naturally wouldn't pass up a bargain.

"Fifty gold coins!"

The stall owner saw the young man's fine clothes and had initially expected him to buy several stalks at a high price. Unexpectedly, he only bought the diseased one. The owner pursed his lips, wrapped it up carelessly, and lost all his previous enthusiasm.

Selling things also depended on the customer. This young man, who couldn't even bring himself to buy a good medicinal herb, was clearly a pauper. Talking more would just be a waste of time.

"Alright!"

Taking the herb, Zhang Xuan reached into his pocket, and his expression immediately turned awkward.

He had been preoccupied with thoughts of the Library and had forgotten about money... His predecessor was a low-ranking teacher whose salary was already meager. Because he scored zero on the teacher qualification assessment, a large sum of money had been deducted from him... To be honest, he couldn't even pull ten gold coins from his pocket, let alone fifty!

"What's wrong?" Seeing his unusual expression, the stall owner looked over.

"Ahem, can you... sell it to me for eight gold coins?" Zhang Xuan pulled his hand from his pocket and counted carefully; there were only eight coins.

"Eight coins? Are you dreaming? If you don't have money, why come out to buy anything..."

Seeing the few coins laid out in the young man's palm, the stall owner nearly stumbled backward.

He had seen cheapskates before, but never one so utterly stingy!

Eight gold coins for Cold Sun Grass? Are you still asleep? Even if this one is diseased, there's no way I'd sell it for that!

He snatched the herb back, waving his hand impatiently, a look of annoyance on his face. "If you don't have money, leave! I don't have time to waste on you!"

"Ahem! I may not have money with me, but are you sure you won't sell it to me?"

Seeing the other man's attitude, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Nonsense! Even if this stalk of Cold Sun Grass doesn't look great, its medicinal efficacy is certainly still there. At worst, it could sell for thirty or forty gold coins. Eight gold coins? What kind of joke is that?! Get lost, or I'll call the law enforcement team!"

Seeing that this penniless fellow was still loitering and refused to leave, the stall owner angrily waved him away.

To prevent forced sales, scams, or disturbances, large markets had special law enforcement patrols. They would come over with just a shout, and even a martial artist at the fifth-level Dingli realm would be directly expelled!

Furthermore, resisting the law enforcement team was equivalent to resisting the entire market, and ordinary people wouldn't dare do that.

The stall owner saw that this guy had no money yet wouldn't leave, concluding he was causing trouble, so he spoke directly.

"Don't call the law enforcement team; I genuinely want to buy it!" Zhang Xuan interrupted him, looking utterly composed. He chuckled softly. "Even though I don't have money, I'm not here to cause trouble. Do you believe me if I say that if I just open my mouth, not only will you willingly sell it to me shortly, but you might even give it to me for free?"

"Give it for free? Are you still asleep?"

The stall owner was so furious that he burst out laughing when this penniless fellow said that, looking at the young man as if he were an idiot. "If I truly give it to you for free, I'll call you grandpa!"

In his opinion, this kid was simply brain-dead. Not only did he come to buy something without money, but he also thought the owner would give it to him for free...

Was he crazy? Why would he just give it away?

Who did he think he was?

"Call me grandpa? There's no need for that!" Zhang Xuan shook his head, smiling at the owner. "I said you'd give it away for free, and you will. If you don't believe me... take a couple steps... ahem, just throw a punch and see!"