"A sharp turn right... then at the... fourth... this one over there?" Peering into the distance, Wu Tian saw a swing sign with some green painted onto it. From so far, it was difficult to make out a specific shape, but it most definitely was their target.

Walking, they ignored the busy passersby, the shouting stalls and rare brawls. The city was quite desolate in some sense, especially to the naked eye. Run down houses and streets, broken windows and stalls, withering trees and flowers. The sky was quite gloomy as well, on the verge of rain faintly descending.

"Even though it is so poor, I can't say I don't appreciate the cozy feeling."

"What cozy feeling kid? Do you mean the feeling of home? Because you're just a poor bloke?"

"..."

"Come on, don't take a little tease to heart, your house wasn't bad at all."

"Please master, let's not talk about stuff like that. I don't want to remember anything."

"Aiz, kid. Acceptance and whatnot, the important part for you is to let go of your fear and face it. Maybe not now, but hopefully tomorrow."

Almost halting his steps, Wu Tian tightened his closed eyelids for a bit.

"Tomorrow? Do I look like I can overcome these nightmarish thoughts in a day?!"

"Wow! Calm down kid, that was not to be taken literally, I simply meant that, while you could probably not do so now, you could try in the future. The goal here is to still remember. You can't overcome what you cannot remember."

Making a long face, Wu Tian scoffed.

"Isn't that great? To not remember it. Wouldn't it be better?"

"Aiz, you don't know kid. Your consciousness might forget, but your subconscious most definitely won't. It will secretly haunt you, ruining your life bit by bit. Turning dreams into nightmares, pleasure into pain and the world into a giant shadow."

"Sometimes master, I wonder if you are crazy- ack!"

"Shut up brat! You still don't understand?"

"No I do, but would that make a difference? So what if my subconscious remembers?"

"..." Guizou could not help his hand from shielding his face from such stupidity.

Kids will be kids I presume... I expected too much.

"All I will say..." Entering the small wooden house with the herb painted on the swing sign, Wu Tian listened half-heartedly to Guizou.

"Welcome!"

"...is that a sound mind resides within a sound body. By having both, you will have nothing to fear in the dark of the mind and the unknown of the flesh. To be healthy... hey! Are you listening to me you brat?"

"Yes, yes." Ignoring Guizou's twitching eyelid, Wu Tian headed to a counter. Everywhere he looked, long and thick tables of wood were spaced out, some soil and herbs planted into the rectangular cavities. Some glass panels with uneven holes were protecting them from outside influences. However, most of these glass panels were cracked, some missing pieces, leaving behind sharp edges.

What a hazard...

"Brat! Are you listening to me?! Do you remember what I said?"

"Yes..."

"No you don't, stop lying to me. What has gone into you since earlier? You're never like this."

"It's just... I'm still angry at that four eyed bastard!"

"Sir, is everything alright?"

"I understand kid, but why lash out on me?"

"I'm just angry, that's it."

"Sir if you need some time for yourself, or if the staff here has been rude to you in any way, I do apologize on their behalf."

"Sir?"

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"He just didn't know any better, don't worry about it. By the way, are you gonna leave that lady hanging?"

"Huh? Ah! Sorry miss, I was in my own bubble."

A dry laugh escaping her mouth, the woman waved her hand.

"It's fine sir, I'm happy that nothing is wrong."

"So anyway, we are here to sell and hopefully buy some herbs."

Her face beaming a professional smile, she gestured toward a counter deeper into the shop.

"Over there, let me guide you."

"Sure."

Greeted by an old lady, they went right to business.

"So, heard you wanted to sell and buy some herbs? Go ahead. We have quite the variety here."

"First of, we wanted to sell Nature Seeds and Blood Powder, but the last shop said we had something else. I have a... reliable source, so I know what I have and what they think they have."

"Hmm?" Resting her chin atop her palm, the old lady narrowed her wrinkly eyes.

"Young man... never mind, just show me."

"Here." Taking out the sachets, Wu Tian deposited them on the pristine wooden counter. And opening them carefully was the old shopkeeper.

"I see... I can understand the confusion. What you have isn't-"

"Alright, I get it." Since she was about to repeat the other shopkeeper's words, Wu Tian did not want to hear it.

"So, since it's apparently not what it actually is, would you buy... actually let's just move on."

"Are you sure young man?"

"Yes. I was thinking about something else, about my plans for what to do, but decided to just go and buy anything available here that I fancy."

Shrugging, the old lady took out a worn book from beneath the countertop, opening it for him.

"You can browse this. It has our herbs and else. If something isn't in stock you can wait a few days for new shipments, otherwise, if you need something that a small shop like this can't obtain, I can try to talk with other branches or to higher ups of our group. How does that sound?"

Group? This shop is just a shitty branch? Not bad, not bad. Stroking his beard was Guizou, intrigued by her words. Clearly, this old lady was part of a much bigger force in the Mortal Land.

"Alright, sounds good. I'll just browse then."

"Good, I'll leave you to it young man. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call out to some staff or even me." Taking her leave, the old lady disappeared behind a velvet curtain.

Fancy...

Taking a look with Guizou, Wu Tian flipped pages after pages, often hearing his good old master complain.

"What kind of herbs are these? Don't they have anything decent? Also, Moon Guiding Seven Forms Herb? Who needs this? This is one of the most useless herbs to ever be discovered across the Lands! The only people willing to buy this at this price would be lazy young masters without the ability to judge right from wrong!"

"Well, it sure is pretty. Even if it is as useless as you claim it to be, I wouldn't mind it as a decoration." The pale blue crescent shielded with a thick cobalt edge was most definitely gorgeous, its moonlight glow striking, even through a rough drawing.

"And that's exactly how they get you to pay for this. Oh, it's pretty! And nobody tells you that this shitty herb withers all day long."

"Oh." Pursing his lips, Wu Tian flipped the page. Looking at the few drawings without bothering with names, he was about to flip again as Guizou intervened.

"Hold on kid! Look here!" Following his fingertip, Wu Tian traced the path toward a purple flower. It looked very common, however there was no price.

"Is it not in stock?"

"Go find out, this is a Purple Foundation Herb! And look! Right next to it is the Blue Foundation Herb! Too bad they don't have a cyan one as of yet, maybe in the next pages."

"I would be more interested if they also had a Yin Flower..."

Wanting to smack the back of his head as usual, Guizou abstained, not wanting people to see Wu Tian's head move so strangely out of nowhere. At least for now.

"Hey over there! Sir!" Calling out to a middle aged man, Wu Tian awaited as said man arrived.

"Yes, customer? Can I offer my assistance?"

"Yes, you see, I don't see a price tag on that herb."

"Ahhh! The Blessed Purple Flower. The reason is that it is out of stock, and has been as such for a couple of years now. Mostly because no one buys it."

"Well... I want to buy it..."

"Do not worry customer! I can get in touch with distribution inside our group and get one here within a few weeks! However, because of this hassle, I must apologize as we must receive some down payment on it first. Half would be ideal."

Seriously? You want me to leave money here? In this shit hole of a town?

"I know that this is a big task for mister customer, but I guarantee, as part of the Flowery Vines Group, that there is nothing to worry about! We are here to make money, and so with a business. We can't continue if our reputation is stuck in the mud, right?"

"I guess..." Signaling to Guizou with his eyes, Wu Tian heard a few words.

"At least ask for the price first. If it's a few silver coins, it's fine even if it's a scam."

"Good idea."

"So, at least, before I make a decision, how much is it?"

Blinking a couple of times, the middle aged man chuckled.

"Nothing mister customer would be unable to afford I am sure!"

I don't like where this is-

"It costs only ten gold coins!"

What the fuck!

"Herm... I must consider this purchase still, thank you for your time sir."

"No worries mister customer! Then, I will excuse myself to my duties."

Once the man left, Wu Tian hushed to Guizou.

"Master, how much should it be normally?"

"I'm not sure, but nothing above two gold coins that's for sure! Actually, I wouldn't even be willing to pay anything above forty silvers."

A bunch of scamming monkeys in this place! Sometimes I miss the Wu Clan! At least, when I was being beaten like a dog on the street, I was being beaten honestly! They were direct in making my life an unfair mess, and they did so with pride. But what is this?! Every damn shop wants to scam me!

"Come on kid, let's reopen that book! There could be some Yin Flowers in there. Remember, if you can gather these herbs, I can make pills to promote you to the Warrior Realm on the spot!"

"Really?"

"No. I was playing with you. Well, just on the last part. The pills can't do all the work, you have to train still."

Little do you know, but one of the two methods is just for laying some foundation for your breakthroughs throughout the Meridian Opening Realm. With these pills, your meridians will be easy to locate, unlock and use. Only the [Spiritual Body Refining Method] can let you reach and complete the Warrior Realm.