Chapter 67: Selling Medicine

Just as He Zheng was about to lower his head again, everything went dark.

The entrance above him had been sealed off!

The scene was straight out of a horror movie.

He Zheng started screaming.

Meanwhile, the culprit, Ning Mingmei, said from outside, “Some things can only be seen in the dark.”

See what in the dark? The sheer darkness of Ning Mingmei’s heart?

Ning Mingmei: “Light.”

Light, my ass!

Though he was screaming internally, He Zheng still lowered his head.

Not by choice.

It was just that… he had a feeling that if he didn’t look, Ning Mingmei would never let him out.

But this time, He Zheng actually made a sound.

“There’s… light inside the coffin… little specks of light…”

Ning Mingmei: “What color?”

Green.

“T-this… what is this? Ghost fire?” He Zheng’s voice cracked.

“Radium.”

He Zheng: “There’s thunder in the coffin?” |31|

What thunder? Was it going to strike someone down?

Thick mist shrouded the mass grave. A pale hand, almost tinged with green, reached out and extinguished a lantern.

A lone figure stood in the distance, silently watching them.

The night was cold and the person’s clothing was thin, yet they seemed completely unaffected by the chill.

Everyone knew that the western part of Ye Province was a mass grave, a burial ground for the unclaimed dead.

But no one knew that, just beyond the nearby mountains, there was another cemetery whose name had been erased.

The hem of their robe swayed as they carried their unlit lantern and turned to leave.

But they were unaware that, on the other side of the graveyard, someone else was watching them.

A figure with a deformed left face and a normal right face.

Six fingers clung to a broken wall as they hid behind it. Their two eyes, one misshapen and one ordinary, stared fixedly at the lone figure.

That pitiful gaze was truly heartbreaking.

***

The next morning, Gui Ruoxue knocked on Ning Mingmei’s door.

“You came back so late last night. What were you doing?” He sneered. “Don’t try to fool me. You took someone out. There must have been a reason.”

Ning Mingmei pushed open the window, looking as if he had no interest in responding.

Gui Ruoxue’s expression darkened further. He was about to press the issue when—

“Something’s happened!

“There’s a corpse at the front gate. A massive pile of it! A twenty-foot-long snake monster’s body! There’s blood everywhere and it’s blocking the entrance!”

Gui Ruoxue: …

Got it. This was definitely Ning Mingmei’s doing.

Ning Mingmei: “Although the cross-project communication failed, since we are guests at the host’s home, we should act like guests. So, we’re giving him a little something from yesterday’s research results.”

Gui Ruoxue: This so-called research result looks no different from a cat leaving a dead cockroach on its owner’s pillow.

Ning Mingmei noticed Gui Ruoxue’s shifting expressions before the long-haired beauty finally said, “I’ve identified the ingredients of the medicine you asked me to analyze yesterday.”

Ning Mingmei turned to the system and said, [Look at him. First thing in the morning, he reports his latest research findings to his boss, significantly increasing his work visibility. An employee like Gui Ruoxue, who submits a daily morning report, could reach L4 in one year, L5 in two years, and VP in four. But you? If I don’t push you, you won’t submit your coding results. No wonder you’re still stuck at L3 in your seventh year.]

L3, L4, and VP were employee levels, with L3 being entry-level.

The system was deeply frustrated. […What about Gui Ruoxue in his seventh year?]

Ning Mingmei: [In his seventh year, Gui Ruoxue was drained of all his health value, reduced to an exhausted shell. His entire product line was cut and he fell from a highly-paid VP to a commoner. You, on the other hand, survived because you were still an L3 with the lowest salary, making no impact on the company budget.]

The system: …

Gui Ruoxue had no idea what kind of tragic fate Ning Mingmei had just predicted for him. He continued reporting the pill’s composition and finally concluded, “Although some of the ingredients differ, I believe that…

“This prescription is a copy of mine.

“The rare Dragon Beard Grass from the immortal realm has been replaced with Foxtail Grass, which is common in the mortal realm. A special treatment was added to make their effects similar. The other differing ingredients follow the same logic and they serve as substitutes for rare and expensive herbs. This allows the medicine to retain about 80% of its original efficacy, which is quite impressive. Aside from that, the rest of the ingredients and processing methods are completely identical, especially the core prescription…”

Ning Mingmei interrupted him. “It retains 80% of its efficacy?”

Gui Ruoxue: “Yes, but there are some differences. The medicine inside that little brat’s body is also of the same prescription. I was careless yesterday and didn’t notice…”

Ning Mingmei interrupted again. “By how much did the cost per pill decrease?”

Gui Ruoxue frowned, unsure why Ning Mingmei was asking this. “At least 90%. But…”

What’s the point of a medicine that isn’t perfected?

Ning Mingmei: “A full 90% reduction!”

As a dedicated researcher, Gui Ruoxue suddenly felt irritated. He scoffed, “So what? My prescription is perfect, while theirs has significant side effects! And yet, this thing dares to be called a divine medicine by the locals?”

Ning Mingmei: “What kind of side effects?”

“Dragon Beard Grass and Phoenix Feather Flower are immortal plants unattainable in the mortal realm. So, the person who made the pills used similar herbs from the mortal realm as replacements. For an ordinary person, they did quite well,” Gui Ruoxue emphasized that the other party only had ‘ordinary capabilities.’ “However…”

Ning Mingmei: “Is this medicine poisonous?”

Gui Ruoxue: “No. It’s still a rare and valuable remedy. It heals pain, soothes the spirit, and brings pleasant dreams. Even for cultivators at the Foundation Establishment realm and above, it’s beneficial. However…

“While a small amount can heal wounds, ease pain, and calm the mind for ordinary mortals, their souls and bodies are far weaker than those of cultivators. If they take too much, they will experience increasing mental detachment, dream excessively, and eventually become dependent on the medicine to function. If their original pain level was 1, once they grow accustomed to the medicine, their pain perception will amplify. What was once a 1 will become 3, then 4, and even 5.”

Gui Ruoxue continued, “For example… Do you remember when we entered the city, there was a person clutching their body and saying that everything hurt?

“There’s a layer of soft cartilage between human bones. When people move, this cartilage acts as a cushion against the friction between bones,” Gui Ruoxue explained while pointing with his fingers. “Unlike cultivators, mortals’ cartilage wears down easily. Normally, they don’t feel significant pain from this wear and tear until they grow old.

“But for those who have overused the medicine and become increasingly sensitive to pain, it’s a different story.”

“As their level 1 pain grows into level 3, they will need larger doses of the medicine to relieve their pain. But as the medicine’s effects weaken, the 3 will turn into a 5, pushing them to consume even more. This vicious cycle…” Ning Mingmei said, “…is what you mean, right?”

Gui Ruoxue: “Yes.”

The crimson-red pill still lay quietly between them on the window ledge.

Bright red, like a ripe fruit.

Ning Mingmei asked, “If mortals keep taking this medicine without any restrictions, what will happen in the end?”

“If they consume large amounts of it, they will eventually sink into endless dreams. Just like its name ‘One Dream of Huaxu’,” Gui Ruoxue replied.

Ning Mingmei pinched the pill between his fingers and held it up to the sun. The pill blocked the sunlight like a celestial dog eating the sun.

“You said that for mortals, taking a small dose has no side effects,” Ning Mingmei said. “How small is ‘small’?”

Gui Ruoxue: “Once a day, a quarter of a pill is enough.”

Ning Mingmei recalled that all those pills were uniform in size. The people of Ye Province took one pill at a time.

One pill was four times bigger than the safe amount.

A full three times over the limit!

Gui Ruoxue said, “I asked around last night. This medicine appeared a few years ago, at the same time my prescription was stolen. They also said that the people of Ye Province had long suffered from chronic headaches, which improved after taking this medicine… Hah! A worthless counterfeit. If I find the thief who stole my prescription, I will tear them to pieces.”

Ning Mingmei said, “Impressive.”

Gui Ruoxue flew into a rage. “Impressive? They are just a petty thief! They stole my work, altered it again and again, and now any random cat or dog can take my medicine. And in the end, I’m the one left with the reputation of testing drugs on mortals!”

Ning Mingmei said, “I meant, the person selling this medicine is impressive. A medicine that should last as four doses was combined into one and sold as a single pill. With business sense like that, they make medicine sell faster and in larger quantities, don’t you think that’s impressive?”

Gui Ruoxue sneered. “They created new illnesses with only 80% of the original medicine’s efficacy and you call this impressive?”

Gui Ruoxue still only thought about the medicine’s properties. He never considered the business side. No wonder he ended up as nothing more than Ning Mingmei’s postdoc.

The pill did cause new illnesses. But even if some outsiders realized something was wrong and demanded compensation, it wouldn’t matter.

Outsiders were always a minority. No matter how much was paid in compensation, could it outweigh the money saved by mass-producing the simplified version of the prescription?

Besides, mortals could never have produced Gui Ruoxue’s luxury-grade medicine in the first place.

Ning Mingmei said, “Alright, I understand everything now. Go back to your work.”

Gui Ruoxue: “You’re just sending me back like that? I have to find that thief profiting off my prescription!”

Ning Mingmei was a little surprised. “Didn’t expect you to care so much about justice.”

Gui Ruoxue: “If anyone is going to test medicine on mortals, it should be me doing it personally. Who do they think they are, meddling in my business?”

Ning Mingmei: “Good point. You do it for free, while they charge money. Clearly, you’re superior.”

…The system, listening to those two talks like members of an actual evil organization, felt it could hardly bear to watch.

Just then, someone arrived.

The eleventh disciple entered from outside. “Master, Deputy City Lord Qin requests an audience with you.”

It was only the second day and the Deputy City Lord was already restless.

***

On the way to the Qin family’s residence, Ning Mingmei paid special attention to the most luxurious mansions in Ye Province.

From east to west, they were the Royal General’s mansion, the Tian family’s residence, the Hu family’s residence, the Liu family’s residence, the Jiang family’s residence, and finally, the Qin family’s residence, where the Deputy City Lord lived.

Those mansions once belonged to the Royal General and his deputy generals.

Among them, the Tian, Hu, and Jiang families’ residences were particularly desolate.

The Tian family had nearly died out, leaving only a few survivors. The Hu family was reduced to a single deformed man who now lived in the mass graveyard. The Jiang family had moved away years ago, their whereabouts unknown.

The Jiang family was also the descendants of the deputy general who had led the execution of Wu Yun.

Those three families had declined so much that their homes still retained the architecture and decor from four hundred years ago. Clearly, their descendants hadn’t been able to afford renovations over the centuries.

The outcome was to be expected. People forget quickly. The passion with which the Royal General and his deputy generals once expanded the borders had long since faded. Their achievements had made them too powerful and they were ‘honorably retired’ and sent back to their hometown village, where they were soon forgotten.

The wealth they had accumulated from their past glories had long since run dry.

The other two residences, however, were extravagant.

The Liu family’s residence, nestled between the Hu and Jiang families’ residences, was unexpectedly luxurious. It seemed that over the past four centuries, the Liu family had found its own way to prosper in Ye Province. The grand entrance of the Liu family’s residence had been renovated within the last few decades, showing traces of past grandeur. But now, it too had gone many years without upkeep.

The Liu family was also the first to die out. The last member of the Liu family died ten years ago, completely toothless by the time of his death.

The Hu and Jiang families, located near the Liu family’s residence, didn’t fare well either.

Ning Mingmei paused outside the Liu family’s residence and stepped inside for a brief search. Not long after, he emerged.

As expected, he had found what he was looking for.

The next residence belonged to the Deputy City Lord.

Although the Qin family’s residence had been neglected in recent years due to the tense political climate, a closer look at the interior decor revealed an unmistakable display of wealth; sumptuous and ornate, with lavish floral arrangements. It was clear that the household had been thriving financially.

When Ning Mingmei entered, he saw a corpse covered with a white cloth being carried out through a side door.

The deceased was likely a trusted aide of the Qin family. A gust of wind lifted the edge of the cloth, revealing his face. To Ning Mingmei’s surprise, the corpse bore an eerie smile.

His complexion was ruddy, as if he had passed away in the midst of a beautiful dream.

If not for the fact that his exposed hand had twisted into a grotesque claw, like a chicken’s foot, one might have thought it was a peaceful death.

Ning Mingmei followed a servant through the richly decorated halls to the study, where the Deputy City Lord was waiting.

After just one day, the Deputy City Lord looked even thinner. His eyelids drooped and he seemed utterly drained.

As Ning Mingmei entered, the Deputy City Lord was about to take some medicine. Seeing his guest, he put the pill down.

“Immortal Master Ning, my wife and I discussed the matter yesterday… but this issue really cannot wait any longer.” Deputy City Lord Qin gritted his teeth. The muscles in his face trembled with pain; pain not of the body but of parting with his wealth. “So… how about 9.62 million? Along with that bone token. I truly have nothing more to offer.”

As if slicing off his own flesh, the Deputy City Lord named his price but Ning Mingmei remained unbothered. ”Deputy City Lord Qin, your sincerity still falls short.”

“Immortal Master Ning, 9.62 million is all we can muster. We really… truly cannot offer more,” the Deputy City Lord pleaded. “If you won’t do it for us, then at least consider the people of Ye Province. If this problem can be solved, you’ll be performing a great act of virtue, which will greatly benefit your cultivation…”

Deputy City Lord Qin tried to appeal to morality and reason but Ning Mingmei simply set his teacup down.

“I have a clear understanding of the Deputy City Lord’s financial capacity. Surely, I don’t need to spell it out and make things awkward between us?” Ning Mingmei said.

Deputy City Lord Qin’s face stiffened. “I… I don’t understand what you mean, Immortal Master Ning.”

Ning Mingmei said, “Deputy City Lord Qin, in these past years, both you and the Liu family have made a fortune. Though your methods differed, you both profited immensely from Ye Province.”

The Deputy City Lord froze, his face going pale. “Why would you say that…?”

“Must I make it even clearer, Deputy City Lord?” Ning Mingmei continued. “These past years, you’ve made quite a sum selling the medicine, haven’t you?”

He tapped the table lightly. “How about this? Hand over all of that money.”