Even under the sunlight from the window, the mole remained fast asleep.

Qinghe stared at it doubtfully.

"Just to make it clear, you do own this mole?" she asked with a frown.

"You could say that..." Baiyun scratched his head.

"What's with that shaky answer?" Qinghe huffed. "Whatever. I'm not sure what you want to do with the mole but I won't push you. Just know that it will be difficult to keep your hands on the mole once you return to the sect, given your status."

Baiyun could only agree in silence.

She was right; it wasn't as if a servant could stop the sect from confiscating the mole, nor did he have a herb garden for it to tend to. The light spirit did own a garden she let the servants use freely, though it was only for mortal crops. Any spirit herbs planted there would outcompete and kill the ordinary plants.

But Baiyun had his own plans for the mole.

"So, what are you here for then?" Qinghe asked.

"I'm here to sell some of the mole's herbs."

Qinghe stared at the herb pouch between its paws and looked rather bemused.

Baiyun smiled awkwardly and coughed.

"But you might have to pretend to rob them from me... if the mole knows I'm willingly selling its herbs, all my efforts taming it would go to waste."

Qinghe looked at him in silence for a moment, then turned away and covered her mouth.

"Okay, I'll play along this time." she said, her voice strangely light. "Go lie over there and do your best to act unconscious."

She pointed to a spot on the floor and Baiyun stared at it speechlessly. But he nodded helplessly and placed the mole bowl on the ground before flopping over and rolling his eyes over.

In mere seconds, his state was now identical to a truly unconscious person, similar to how he slept with his soul still awake.

Qinghe nodded to herself, then squatted down and snatched the pouch from the mole.

"Kr?"

The mole was confused for a moment as it roused. But just as quickly, it let out a furious cry and charged at her! Its claws swiped at her shoes but glanced off harmlessly; even the clothes of a young master were no simple items.

Qinghe sweated a little at the sight of the creature unleashing its fury.

"Aren't you going to activate the binds on it? I'm starting to feel bad for the poor thing." she asked.

Urgh. Still lying on the ground limply, Baiyun scrunched his face.

"I'm just a mortal, I can't use qi." he lied.

"Don't give me that nonsense! I recognise that artefact, it's voice activated!"

"...then I shouldn't let you know the keyword, shouldn't I?"

But the real reason was that Baiyun absolutely refused to say any of the keywords Fei An came up with in front of anyone else. What was she thinking, coming up with keywords like "big monkey" and "giant squid"?

"Fine."

Qinghe pulled a small cage out of her bag and shoved the mole in as it let out shrill cries.

She began to shove the cage into one of the inn closets, but paused for a moment. Then she stuffed a pill into its mouth and flicked down the mole's throat.

It froze for a moment before rolling over, fast asleep.

Baiyun had to admit he was slightly relieved. If Qinghe had left the mole to panic and squirm in the closet, he worried it would get traumatised.

He silently apologised to the critter, promising he would make up for this in the future.

Qinghe shook her head and returned her attention to the herbs in the pouch.

Her hands moved with blazing speed as she pulled them out, blurring as she placed the herbs on the table and sorted them. Every new herb would be sorted into a new line, while herbs of the same type would be arranged top-down by quality.

"So, how much for these herbs?" she asked.

Qinghe's voice was casual as if she were merely buying roadside vegetables. She seemed to smile faintly for a brief moment, but just as quickly, it faded.

Baiyun frowned. Was that tone an attempt to make him falter, worrying the herbs weren't worth much after all?

But even if he didn't know the exact exchange rates of the herbs, he understood just how useful the essences in them were.

He did attempt to ask for their pricing during his visit to the market previously, but unlike the mushrooms, the mortal merchants didn't recognise them.

Baiyun let out an awkward laugh.

"Well... I admit I don't actually have much clue how much these herbs are worth. I'll be honest, I came here in hope of trading some of them for your old alchemic equipment."

A risky move! But Baiyun had a plan.

"Oh?" Qinghe raised an eyebrow.

"I've always been curious about alchemy, you see."

Outside the door, Mohei put his hands to his face.

"Well, if you want to take a look, I won't stop you. But just know that alchemy is beyond that of mortals."

Qinghe spoke as she reached into her bag. Several things came out to the wooden floor in a tumble: various cauldrons, old textbooks and strange glass apparatuses.

"Here, take your pick."

She arranged them neatly in rows as if she were selling goods at a bazaar. Baiyun found it quite strange. If she was capable of arranged herbs and items in such an orderly manner, why was her room such a mess? Youths truly perplexed him sometimes.

He put on a perplexed face as he looked through the various items, frowning and musing to himself as he poked at the various tools and flipped through the textbooks.

Finally, Baiyun picked one of the cauldrons, all the alchemical textbooks, several glass containers, 2 metal filters of sorts and a mortar with its pestle.

The cauldron's insides were stained a blackish-blue by some kind of pill explosion. Contaminated essence like that would affect the quality of pills but he could easily make a solvent to remove it.

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As for the textbooks, they were worn and tattered, evidence of the countless hours Qinghe had studied them.

He could have easily read them all on the spot with divine sense, but Baiyun figured they'd make for a good cover up. Besides, he liked to read alchemy manuals page by page and without spoilers; he enjoyed reading them more than he did novels. Mere fundamentals were unlikely to be of any use to him, but he was interested in seeing how alchemy was taught in this world.

Baiyun pretended to fidget nervously as he gathered the last of his items.

"Um, so these are the items I want. Will these herbs be enough to pay for it?"

Qinghe's eyes seemed to shift for a moment but she smiled.

"Hm... you're cutting it close, but I'll make an exception for you. It's barely enough."

This girl!

But she fell right into his trap. Other than his idea to make use of Mohei's eavesdropping, he still had many schemes!

His nervous facade faded and he marched to the table of herbs with confident strides.

"Silver Leyleaves, golden veined mudroot, crimson truffles. Blackened mugwort, twisted-head codonopsis, rockskin ginger," Baiyun spoke.

Qinghe's eyes widened incredulously as he slowly recited their names. One by one, all 30 herbs were named; he even reordered the herbs while he was at it.

She had secretly arranged them by aesthetics, not quality! Baiyun's new arrangement was far more accurate, but he intentionally made mistakes for those with internal damage hidden from sight.

"Tsk, tsk tsk. Did you really think I'd come here to negotiate without prior knowledge? Please, let's have a fair trade, shall we?" Baiyun smiled.

Outside the door, Mohei widened his eyes in disbelief, then jumped in excitement.

Qinghe let out a sigh and held out her palms in resignation.

"Fine, fine. You had me fooled this entire time, well played. So, what's your actual price then?"

"Well..." Baiyun coughed. "I'd like you to make the offer instead."

Qinghe raised an eyebrow.

"It's the least you can do after that fiasco, isn't it?" Baiyun said awkwardly.

He knew if he named an actual price, he would likely make a mistake and ruin all his prior efforts.

"Okay. Fine. For the items you've chosen, how about all the crimson truffles and the purple brackets?"

Baiyun began to feel the tension. Now that his cards had been played, it would come down to Mohei now! If the kid proved unreliable, he would have to find an excuse to make contact and use Intention Reading.

He reached out with divine thread and found that outside the door, Mohei was frowning.

This... Baiyun felt a really bizarre feeling he couldn't describe. His ridiculous idea might just work!

"That's a bit expensive for an old defective cauldron, basic tools and outdated textbooks, isn't it? I can tell the cauldron has suffered some essence damage."

Baiyun spoke with a smile.

"They're not outdated." Qinghe grumbled. "Fine, what about that chunk of Golden Mudroot?"

Outside the door, Mohei's frown lessened but he didn't seem impressed.

"Still too expensive."

Baiyun stared at her with piercing eyes.

Finally, Qinghe raised her hands and shook her head before laughing.

"Alright, alright! It was just one final test! I give up." she said. "Just the silver leyleaves and the iron bloodroot then, alright? I'll give you a good deal to make up for the discourtesy."

Mohei seemed to get excited. Baiyun smiled.

He had been a little worried about how reliable the kid would be, but it worked out surprisingly well! Mohei was still a young master in the end; even if he wasn't an alchemist, his clan would make sure he had a well-rounded education in all fields.

Despite how playful and childish Mohei was, it seemed he still did his lessons properly.

"Thanks, I accept."

Qinghe and Baiyun traded their items and began stashing their bags. But Baiyun couldn't hide his excitement as he reached for his last item, the cauldron.

He held it with trembling hands and couldn't help but stroke it with a grin. Qinghe furrowed her eyebrows slightly at the sight.

These were but the simplest of tools, but he had finally gotten his hands on alchemic equipment once more!

Perhaps 8 years was not technically a long time to a prior immortal, but even a mortal would find it unbearable to be locked away from their interests for months or even weeks. Baiyun had to take a deep breath before he composed himself enough to stash it into his bag. It was almost as if he was being forced to say goodbye to a friend he had seen for the first time in years.

Qinghe sighed.

"Your name is Baiyun, right? I didn't know you had this side to you.

Since you've already done your research, you should already be aware, but I'll still remind you as a formality. It's impressive how you've honed your theoretical knowledge to such an extent despite your lack of education, but ultimately, alchemy is built upon qi control.

Even if you know exactly how to process a medicine, what's the point of that if you can't use a cauldron? I assume you're trying to forge your path regardless despite that. But the truth is, sometimes, we just weren't born with the talents for the things we pursue.

Forcing yourself against the tides for years before realising your efforts are in vain... there's no greater pain than that."

Qinghe looked off with a forlorn look and Baiyun's eyebrows twitched. This from a girl who couldn't even keep her own room clean? From how she appeared around 15, it should be at least another decade before she could say such things!

Still, she was right for the most part. They didn't exactly apply to Baiyun, but he still appreciated her sentiment despite his complaints.

"I'll manage somehow." Baiyun smiled.

"Good luck with that." Qinghe shook her head. "Well, if it's ultimately futile, let me know and I'll refund your purchase. I can even recommend you as an instructor for basics at the Myriad Herbs clan. An instructor without meridians... Hah, that would make for quite the story, wouldn't it?"

It seemed something about a servant learning alchemy despite the limitations resonated with her somehow.

The world of barter was cutthroat, but with the hard fought battle over, pleasantries returned to the table.

Baiyun shook her hand and thanked her before heading out.

Mohei suddenly rushed away from the door as he heard the footsteps. As Baiyun opened the door, he turned away and whistled badly, pretending he hadn't been eavesdropping.

"O-oh, you're finally out! Did things go well?"

"Haha, it went perfectly! I'm in a good mood today, so let's play for the rest of the day!" Baiyun smiled.

"Really?" Mohei's eyes lit up. "Wait no, don't call it play, that's for children! We're hanging out!"

Baiyun laughed.

"Why are you holding that anyway?"

Mohei pointed to the cauldron in Baiyun's hand, the mole placed in it instead of the wooden bowl.

Baiyun coughed.

"It seemed like it would be more comfortable for the mole, wouldn't it?" he made an excuse. "And the lid is more convenient than rags."

"But isn't it heavy?" Mohei seemed puzzled.

"Just think of it as weight training."

"Well, okay..."

Baiyun wasn't going to admit the real reason was because he wanted to hug the cauldron.

The two of them headed downstairs as they chattered.

Mohei took Baiyun and showed him around town, introducing him to various snacks. Baiyun wanted to pay for them as a token of gratitude, but Mohei refused, saying he had a huge allowance, so he should be the one treating instead. Baiyun could only relent helplessly. It seemed he would have to repay Mohei's favour another day.

The afternoon passed in an instant and the sun soon began to set.

The two of them sat by the canal with the elderly fishermen.

Mohei splashed in the waters and laughed as he swung at the fish with his net wildly. The old men seemed to have fun as well, chuckling at the antics of the young.

Baiyun was the only one who didn't understand. Wasn't what made fishing enjoyable sitting by a tranquil lake, taking in the scenery and the sounds of nature peacefully? He had once thought that it was strangely similar to meditation.

But he still played along.

As the sun fully set and night followed, the fishermen waved goodbye and left.

The mole finally began to stir and Baiyun passed it to Mohei. It stared at him in confusion, not understanding why it was being "abandoned" and tossed to another giant. But it still had its herb pouch so it didn't complain.

"Mohei, can you help me take care of the mole tonight?" Baiyun asked.

"Tonight? Are you doing something?"

Mohei began to pat the mole as he spoke and it squirmed in his arms.

Baiyun made a few excuses before hurriedly fleeing from the confused boy. After his preparations this afternoon, it was time for another trip to the forest!

With the mole's ingredients, once he got his hands on the blackhorn root, there was something he planned to make.