Mo Wen walked towards those bottles and cans in front of him and pretended to look interested. At times, he would pick up a bottle to have a closer look, even occasionally asking about the price before putting it back.
He realized that those pills in the store, though badly priced and somewhat coarsely produced, did have a little effect and were not exactly fake pills. However, to him, they were useless, so he wouldn't even accept them for free!
He had turned his nose up at those pills in the Redemption main hall, so naturally he wouldn't think highly of these pills in the small store. Although they had little effect, the price for the pills was not little at all, ringing up at a whopping five thousand Contribution Credits at least, with some even costing tens of thousands! Compared to the rest of the items, the price of the pills seemed to be on the high end.
However, the medicinal herbs used to concoct such pills were not simple at all. Mo Wen casually smelled them and realized that some pills contained seven to eight medicinal herbs. Using those medicinal herbs to concoct pills of such a low grade was simply a waste of resources!
That so-called Ghost Physicians Hu Clan was one of the eight big aristocratic families of the ancient martial arts world. Their tactics were reckoned to be a bit shady.
In the eyes of Mo Wen, those so-called medicinal aristocratic families of the ancient martial arts world's concocting such pills was simply wasting the resources of this world. There were so many precious and rare medicinal herbs that he was sure had already been destroyed at their hands.
After viewing the merchandise for a long time, Mo Wen still didn't have any intention of buying anything. Upon seeing this, the store owner's enthusiasm instantly decreased drastically. He even secretly was thinking that this person was without a deep pocket and couldn't afford anything, even if he wanted it.
This kind of shopper was common, those who yearned for the pills but actually couldn't afford them. Hence, they would frequently linger in some of the pill stores in hopes of getting cheaper pills.
However, the pills themselves were precious and rare commodities, so their prices were impossible to be lowered to a discount. Even though there were some cheap ones offered occasionally, one would get what one paid for. Yet, these people would normally turn their noses up at the pills with discounted rates, as they were known to be of poorer quality.
After the store owner had figured Mo Wen out, he took a seat on the side and looked on coldly. He certainly didn't expect this youngster to increase his sales for the day.
Mo Wen wandered around, not finding anything that caught his eye. But, just when he was about to leave, he suddenly seemed to discover something that made him halt abruptly, then quickly walk to the other side of the store. That side surprisingly contained a huge quantity of medicinal herbs!
"This flower is quite beautiful. Do you like it?"
Mo Wen held some white flowers in his hand casually, then turned around to ask Chen Zi.
"Er…"
Chen Zi glanced at the white flowers in Mo Wen's hand, not reacting for a moment.
Why did he ask me this, could it be…
Her face blushed involuntarily, as she couldn't help but think of an awkward question. Then, her heart began to palpitate uncontrollably.
"Don't like it?"
Mo Wen winked at Chen Zi, asking again.
"Ah…I like… I like…"
Since Mo Wen had inquired once again, Chen Zi couldn't avoid him any further, but could only lower her head and acknowledge her affection for the flowers softly. Her ten slender fingers were clasped together, while her heart was pounding rapidly.
What was he doing?
All sorts of thoughts galloped through Chen Zi's mind. Her state of mind was disturbed, her emotions were perturbed, and her entire body felt uneasy.
However, she soon thought…
That's not right! I don't seem to have the charm that would make Mo Wen love me at first sight. Furthermore, Mo Wen has only seen me twice, so how could he fall for me so soon?
As all of these thoughts swirled in her head, Mo Wen then turned around to look at the store owner and asked, "Boss, how much are these?"
"I can sell them to you, but these are no ordinary flowers, so the price is a little high."
The store owner uttered hesitantly, secretly lamented that the young people these days were getting more superficial. There were so many pills that could help in practice that they didn't choose to buy. Instead, this guy had his eyes on a stalk of medicinal herbs! Moreover, they were most likely being bought to win a girl's heart!
In the eyes of the store owner, Mo Wen's action was undoubtedly done to ingratiate himself to the girl beside him. There were men who often bought roses for women to profess their love, after all. However, this Fruitless Flower was not a rose, but a precious medicinal herb, so it could be said that even ten thousand stalks of roses couldn't compare to this one stalk of Fruitless Flower.
"Price is not a problem."
Mo Wen quipped in a gutsy manner, as if he would buy it for the girl he loved regardless of any price.
"This Fruitless Flower is a medicinal herb that can be concocted into pills. The standard price can be inquired on the Huatian Palace's purchase list, but if I am to sell it to you, it has to be slightly above that standard price."
The store owner introduced this explanation, afraid that Mo Wen didn't know the price of the stalk of Fruitless Flower. It was a total waste of resources to buy a precious and rare medicinal herb as a gift for a girl. However, since the person was willing to pay the price, he wouldn't say no to earning a little profit.
Normally, the medicinal herbs were sold directly to the Huatian Palace. However, since someone was willing to buy them from him here and now, he naturally would be delighted to oblige. After all, an individual purchase would have a higher price than an acquisition of the Huatian Palace, so naturally, the profit would be more, too!
"How much?" Mo Wen's probing question sounded softer than before, not seeming quite as gutsy.
"The Huatian Palace offered the standard price of eight thousand Contribution Credits for the Fruitless Flower. If you are willing to buy it, I can offer it to you a little cheaper. What about nine thousand Contribution Credits?"
The store owner didn't offer Mo Wen a very high price. After all, looking at Mo Wen, who didn't look like a rich person, he reckoned that the deal might not be possible if the price was offered too high.
"Are you sure you want to buy it?"
The store owner tried to ascertain his motives and position again. This youngster didn't look like a rich person, so he thought that it was unbelievable that he could spend nine thousand Contribution Credits on a stalk of Fruitless Flower.
As to why he thought it was useless for Mo Wen to buy the Fruitless Flower, it was based on his common sense that the only person who could practically use a medicinal herb would be either a doctor or an Alchemist, neither of which did this youngster appear to be!
"Buy!"
Mo Wen glanced at Chen Zi, who was next to him, then glanced at the Fruitless Flower in his hand, nodding his head with some reluctance.
"Alright. Foot the bill now, then this stalk of Fruitless Flower is yours."
The store owner heard him and instantly became enthusiastic, as being able to sell it at nine thousand Contribution Credits would naturally be better than selling it to the Huatian Palace.
After footing the bill, Mo Wen immediately pulled Chen Zi out of the store.
"Have a great day. Your girlfriend is very beautiful."
After closing the deal, the store owner was naturally in a good mood. After sending Mo Wen and company out of the store, he even said something that he thought would make Mo Wen very happy.
Looking at their receding figures, the store owner muttered to himself. He was contemplating whether or not he should put more beautiful flowers and plants in the store in the future, as perhaps there would be more foolish youngsters coming to the store!
.....
"He has misunderstood us."
Chen Zi's hands were clasped together, her lowered head, as she was following behind Mo Wen. Then, she mentioned the elephant in the room softly.
"I know."
Mo Wen nodded his head, while hiding the Fruitless Flower cautiously.
"Did you do it because of these flowers?"
Chen Zi asked, while looking at Mo Wen. In the store just now, she had noticed that Mo Wen's purpose might be due to the flowers. After all, Mo Wen's true purpose for going to the Free Trade Zone was to look for medicinal herbs.
"That's right. Didn't you know?"
Mo Wen looked askance at Chen Zi weirdly.
Then, why did Chen Zi behave like a different person after getting out of the store?
"I know."
Chen Zi nodded her head silently, not uttering another word. She was secretly scolding in her heart, "Basta*d…!"
Mo Wen and Chen Zi wandered around the Free Trade Zone for a while, but didn't find any spiritual medicines. This fact had proven that the spiritual medicines were rare commodities indeed. However, the Free Trade Zone was so big, Mo Wen was unable to finish going to all the places, so he could only wander for a while before leaving.
Regardless, the day was a success, as he would still be able to concoct the Vigor Cultivating Pill with the Fruitless Flower. With the Vigor Cultivating Pill, he would be able to supplement his practice for a long time. Therefore, the need for spiritual medicines was not as urgent as it had been before, so he could search for them later.
"Chen Zi, thank you for your company. I have gained quite a lot today."
Both of them walked out of the Free Trade Zone and stood outside the Redemption main hall. Then, Mo Wen looked at Chen Zi and spoke smilingly.
"So, you owe me a favor?" Chen Zi's eyes moved agilely, while she pursed her lips and said smilingly.
"Yes, I will treat you to an ice cream in the future."
Mo Wen chuckled, nodding his head.
"No sincerity at all."
Chen Zi rolled her eyes at Mo Wen.
...
After buying the Fruitless Flower, Mo Wen left the Huatian Palace. He had quite a lot of matters to handle on the outside, so it was impossible to stay.
To Mo Wen, this trip to the Huatian Palace was actually quite fruitful. Not only had he broken through to the later stage of the Qi Nucleation realm, he had also found a stalk of Fruitless Flower, which meant that he had the possibility of breaking through to the acme of Qi Nucleation realm within a very short period of time!