Chapter 30: This Place Cannot Remain Long

Gold-rimmed Glasses had said not to worry about a few flowers by the roadside, assuring them there would be plenty once they reached the right spot. Based on what he said, Li Banfeng had expected the Snake Bane Chrysanthemums at the "good spot" to be as plentiful as wheat, ready for easy harvesting.

However, now that they were at the designated spot, Li Banfeng discovered there weren't as many flowers as promised. After searching for over two hours, he had only managed to collect five. Some Snake Bane Chrysanthemums had long stems that could be easily cut with a sickle. Others had no visible stems; their petals grew directly on the ground, requiring a shovel to carefully dig them out.

Li Banfeng estimated that finding even one Snake Bane Chrysanthemum within a ten-meter radius was a stroke of luck. The mountain fog was growing increasingly dense, severely reducing visibility, to the point where ten meters was almost the limit of sight.

The flowers were not only hard to find, but competition was also fierce. The people from the medicine trade were nearby, and their greater experience meant they were faster. Beyond them, there was also competition within their own hastily assembled team.

Old Smoker was a genuine smoke cultivator; his claim of being a first-level practitioner was likely true. Smoke was his eyes; wherever it drifted, he could see. In two hours, he had collected thirteen Snake Bane Chrysanthemums. The young girl, Caoye, was also skilled; as a medicinal cultivator, she had a special sensitivity to herbs. She collected ten. The curvaceous beauty, Youtao, was slightly less skilled, having gathered only three plants in two hours—even fewer than Li Banfeng.

But what was the deal with her constantly swaying in front of me? Dressed in a qipao, bending and bowing with her "peaches" facing me, swaying back and forth like that, how was I supposed to focus on picking chrysanthemums? Was she actually inviting me to "pick chrysanthemums" in a different sense?

Gold-rimmed Glasses, despite being an "insider," proved to be only average in skill. He had collected six flowers, just one more than Li Banfeng. Tiger Cub had also collected five flowers, the same as Li Banfeng. The least effective was Qin Xiaopang, who had only found one flower and was now anxiously stomping his feet in the grass.

Tiger Cub mocked Qin Xiaopang from the side: "Just one flower? That's not even enough for half a pill! I'm really worried you won't be able to sell it when we get down the mountain!"

Xiaopang retorted angrily, "Of course it'll sell! It's not like my one flower has to be refined into a pill by itself. He'll definitely refine all the collected flowers together!"

Li Banfeng asked, "One flower isn't even enough for half a pill?"

"No, it's not enough," the young girl Caoye replied, still picking another Snake Bane Chrysanthemum. "I heard that one high-grade pill requires five Snake Bane Chrysanthemums to refine."

The beautiful Youtao interjected, "I heard you also need to add a lot of auxiliary ingredients."

Caoye thought for a moment before saying, "I remember that refining Snake Bane Pills doesn't require auxiliary ingredients, but the heat control is exceptionally difficult. You need to change the heat four or five times, and each time the intensity is different. Plus, every medicine trade uses a different refining method."

Youtao sighed upon hearing this. "Pill recipes are either priceless secrets or utter nonsense, depending on whether you know them or not. We don't have that skill, so we can only risk our lives for this meager sum. Sister, since we've met and become friends, you should really study pharmacology. In the future, when we collect pills, we'll sell them to your establishment, and you can at least give us a bit more money."

Caoye blushed, a smile on her face, and continued her search for Snake Bane Chrysanthemums. Youtao's words had struck a chord with her; opening a pharmacy was her dream.

Li Banfeng quickly calculated in his mind: five flowers to refine one pill. At eighty-five units per flower, just the raw materials would cost four hundred twenty-five units. The cost of Snake Bane Pills wasn't low; even without auxiliary ingredients, labor alone would bring the price to nearly five hundred units per pill. The medicine trade wasn't an easy business after all!

"How much does one Snake Bane Pill sell for?" Li Banfeng asked.

"Ten thousand," Xiaopang replied curtly.

Ten thousand? Ten thousand!

Li Banfeng froze on the spot. Was this a joke? A single pill selling for ten thousand! That was an outrageous profit!

Li Banfeng stood dumbfounded. Sister Youtao chuckled and said, "What, think it's expensive? The medicine trade is all about making enormous profits. At this price, only wealthy families can afford it; ordinary people can't even get their hands on it. Think about it: ten thousand units buys you a day of cultivation. Three point sixty-five million buys you a year of practice. Thirty-six point five million buys you ten years of cultivation. Ten years of cultivation equates to one level of attainment. Three hundred million can get you ten levels of attainment, and ten levels of attainment can triple your lifespan. Do you still think that money isn't worth spending?"

"Whether it's worth it is debatable, but Sister, please don't point your 'peaches' at me when you talk."

Youtao turned around, squinting her eyes at Li Banfeng with a smile. "Do you like them? So plump and pale. Want to give them a squeeze? Give Sister a flower, and I'll let you squeeze as much as you want."

One pill, twenty times the profit.

Li Banfeng found a Snake Bane Chrysanthemum, stared at it for a moment, and then asked, "Instead of buying such expensive pills, wouldn't it be better to just buy and eat the Snake Bane Chrysanthemums directly? One plant is only eighty-five units."

Caoye immediately called out, "Brother Baisha, you absolutely cannot do that! These aren't edible. Snake Bane Chrysanthemums are highly poisonous; eating just one will kill you!"

Li Banfeng paused, startled. "Snake Bane Chrysanthemums are poisonous? Are Snake Bane Pills not poisonous then?"

Both Caoye and Youtao stared at Li Banfeng as if he were completely uneducated.

Caoye explained, "Snake Bane Pills are also poisonous, though their toxicity isn't as severe. Still, you can't take too many."

Youtao added, "Brother Baisha, how can you know so little? Do you truly have cultivation? If not, you should leave the mountain immediately; don't risk your life here. And also, what I said earlier about exchanging three hundred million for ten levels of cultivation was just an analogy. Don't take it literally. If you actually consumed that many Snake Bane Pills, nobody knows how many times you'd die."

Xiaopang, standing by, reminded Li Banfeng, "Just find the flowers! Why so much talk? We have more important things to do!" He was subtly telling Li Banfeng not to reveal his ignorance again.

But he was right; serious matters were at hand. Snake Bane Chrysanthemums only bloomed for a single day before wilting. And that wasn't even the most pressing concern. Li Banfeng was starting to feel dizzy, struggling to withstand the bitter fog.

Old Smoker, meanwhile, was diligently focused on the task. While they were talking, he quietly gathered another Snake Bane Chrysanthemum. He put the flower into his cloth bag, then exhaled a plume of yellow smoke. The smoke lingered for a moment, and sensing something, Old Smoker quickly moved forward, finding another Snake Bane Chrysanthemum before him.

Old Smoker took out his scissors, expertly clipped the flower stem, and was about to put the flower away when the bald man who had snatched flowers on the roadside earlier suddenly appeared and lunged for it. Old Smoker calmly used his pipe to block the bald man's hand, searing a patch of skin from his hand with a sizzling sound.

The bald man cried out in pain, yelling at Old Smoker, "You old coot, have you had enough of living?"

Old Smoker chuckled, "Trying to steal from me? I think you're the one who's lived enough."

"Who's stealing from you? I saw that flower first!"

"Don't care who saw it first. The flower is in my hand, and if you're capable, come and get it!" Old Smoker didn't waste words, pocketing the flower and calmly facing the bald man with his pipe in hand.

The bald man whistled, and three more people appeared near Old Smoker. He had brought backup. Now it was Old Smoker's turn to panic.

"Old man, drop your bag. I'll let you live today." The bald man drew a machete, and the three men behind him also pulled out their weapons.

Old Smoker hesitated for a moment, not intending to fight head-on. He opened his bag and told the bald man, "There are twenty-two flowers here. I'll give you half, and we'll call it even."

"I told you to leave *all* of it. Didn't you hear me? Will you sacrifice your life but not your wealth?" The bald man chuckled, then, without another word, raised his machete and lunged.

The young girl Caoye was terrified and hid behind Gold-rimmed Glasses. Gold-rimmed Glasses called out, "My friend, let's talk this over!" Tiger Cub also walked over: "Let's be reasonable. Don't start anything yet!"

The two stepped forward to intervene, but the bald man completely ignored them, swinging his machete repeatedly, aiming each blow at Old Smoker's head. Under siege by four men, Old Smoker didn't even have a moment to smoke. Just as a machete was about to strike Old Smoker's head, the bald man suddenly recoiled, a bloody gash appearing on the back of his hand.

Xiaopang had made his move. Once a team was formed, they had to look out for each other. Xiaopang was a stickler for rules, and he had wanted to teach that bald man a lesson for a long time. Seeing only Xiaopang charge forward, the bald man signaled his companions to continue the assault.

Observing the unfolding situation, Tiger Cub glanced at Gold-rimmed Glasses. Gold-rimmed Glasses scanned the others. The young girl Caoye was huddled behind him, too frightened to move. Miss Youtao watched the bald man, her intentions unclear. Li Banfeng spotted a Snake Bane Chrysanthemum and was about to pick it, seemingly oblivious to the fight unfolding around him.

Tiger Cub glanced at Gold-rimmed Glasses again, then whispered, "It's almost time." Gold-rimmed Glasses kept his gaze fixed on the bald man.

It was four against two, and the bald man's group initially had the upper hand. But for some unknown reason, their attacks grew increasingly erratic. Their knife handles trembled in their hands, and each swing was crooked and clumsy, as if they were novices who had never fought before.

What was going on? Why were they so flustered? The situation didn't seem to warrant such panic.

The bald man's eyes were gleaming, and his cheeks were flushed. He wasn't flustered; he was excited. Overly excited, to the point where his body was somewhat out of control.

Seeing this, Gold-rimmed Glasses rushed forward, kicking the bald man squarely in the chest, sending him stumbling back several steps. Tiger Cub also charged in, knocking down a man with a machete with a single punch. He then yelled at the group, "So you want to be difficult, huh?! Do you think we're easy targets?!"

The bald man, holding his machete, said, "I advise you not to meddle in our business."

Gold-rimmed Glasses' face was grim as he adjusted his spectacles. "We've formed a team and agreed to look out for each other. We're definitely getting involved in this."

Xiaopang opened his pouch, wolfed down a pound of dry rations, and yelled at the men, "Come on, fight! Let's see if Grandpa can hack you to death!"

Old Smoker picked up his pipe, took two long draws, and a yellowish-white smoke slowly diffused into the air. Seeing the unfavorable turn of events, the bald man and his companions turned and fled.

Gold-rimmed Glasses let out a long breath, then turned to the others and said, "Everyone, hurry up and collect the flowers. They won't dare to come back."

Old Smoker put away his pipe, sat on the ground to catch his breath for a moment, then resumed picking flowers.

Xiaopang came over to Li Banfeng, sat down with a huff, and whispered, "Brother Li, why didn't you help me out?"

Li Banfeng handed the freshly picked Snake Bane Chrysanthemum to Xiaopang. "Hurry and pick a few more flowers, then let's go. Something isn't right." After speaking, Li Banfeng placed a stone he had been holding onto the ground. He had been clutching the stone the entire time. Only then did Xiaopang realize that Li Banfeng had been ready to act.

Gold-rimmed Glasses spotted a Snake Bane Chrysanthemum and had just picked it when Tiger Cub quietly approached him. "Why didn't you let Old Third take the first grab earlier? If he'd made a move, they would have exerted more effort. Besides that old man, the rest of these people are useless anyway."

Gold-rimmed Glasses put the chrysanthemum into his cloth bag and said in a very low voice, "That guy called Baisha... something isn't right with him."

"What could be wrong? He's just a greedy, cowardly good-for-nothing."

"He's a pleasure cultivator. They have techniques to disrupt people's minds, so we need to be extra cautious."

Tiger Cub dismissed the idea. "I don't think he's a pleasure cultivator. I've never seen one team up with a man."

Gold-rimmed Glasses frowned slightly. "There are many things you haven't seen."

Tiger Cub remained unconvinced. "When Xiaopang was getting beaten just now, I didn't see him do anything. How could a pleasure cultivator just watch their partner get attacked?"

"How do you know he didn't do anything?" Gold-rimmed Glasses clapped the dirt from his hands. "Old Third was just affected by a pleasure cultivator's technique. Didn't you notice? He couldn't even hold his knife steady!"

"That was a pleasure cultivator's technique?" Tiger Cub was startled. "I thought Old Third was just flustered. So what's your plan? Are we abandoning this venture?"

"We're definitely going through with the business. We'll move to a different spot soon. Pleasure cultivators are physically weak and can't last long, so he'll surely descend the mountain early. Once he's alone, we'll have Old Third take care of him, and our side will finish off the rest of their group." Gold-rimmed Glasses stood up and began searching for the next Snake Bane Chrysanthemum.

P.S. Two updates today! Dear readers, please send more monthly votes and comments. Salad will make an effort to post an extra update tomorrow.