Chapter 232

A small plan

Translated by Rara

Yan City was ruled by many forces, but there was only one business district. The business district was the four streets that surrounded the Lei Tian platform. Each street was wide and long, so massive that you couldn’t finish strolling around one street within a day. Business district was a well-known place where all sorts of people gathered.

Right now, You XiaoMo was standing at the beginning of South Street.

South Street had a long established history, its architecture changed everyday. Compared to the other cities You XiaoMo had travelled to, this place’s architecture was completely different. Not only did they bring an ancient aspect such as carved balustrades and jade steps (t/n: the typical structure of wealthy chinese ancient buildings), which were very splendorous and majestic, but they also had added a drop of modern ambience in between.

Even with such fascinating architectural design, since South Street was extremely large, one couldn’t see the end.

Liu Yue took them to a magic pill shop located on the South Street. Although it was not the largest shop here, it was the place that offered the most reasonable prices. Qingshuang Pavilion was the name of the shop. Besides selling magic pills, they also offered buying them. Liu Yue had heard about the good reputation of this shop. A lot of outsiders and travellers also came here to make deals.

Liu Yue also told You XiaoMo about how he used to receive low rank level 3 magic pills from them as rewards for bringing guests in.

Hearing that, You XiaoMo’s expression lit up. He quickly pulled Liu Yue toward him, “Liu Yue, let’s say, if you pretend to introduce us to Qingshuang Pavilion, and since we are going to spend a lot, will they give you rewards after?”

Liu Yue didn’t even flinch, “Possibly, but the amount depends on how big the transaction is with the guest. If it is a good deal, then there is a possibility they will reward me with a low grade level 4 herb, or a low grade level 4 magic pill.”

You XiaoMo immediately remembered the two missing types of herbs for the Golden Sand pill recipe. “Good, well then, later you should tell the people of Qingshuang Pavilion that you introduced us here, act like you don’t really know us, understand?”

“This Liu Yue understands.” Liu Yue immediately figured out You XiaoMo’s intention. Although he was a little surprised, since in his eyes, young master You didn’t seem like one who was lacking in magic herbs, but since young master had said so, then he would obey.

And so, Liu Yue very proficiently took them to the Qingshuang Pavillon. Coincidentally, the shop manager happened to be there as well. Since Liu Yue had introduced them to several guests in the past, the manager remembered him.

The manager saw Liu Yue bringing two people in, guessed that he meant to introduce new guests to them, so he silently looked and judged their clothes, and apparently these two new guests were not common folk. He knew today he might be able to pull in some good deals, so he quickly switched to his unique profiteering smile and walked over.

“Manager Li, I bring you two new guests.” Liu Yue slid over to Manager Li’s side, revealing a flattering smile, like he was the person on the bottom of the social pyramid. He was the type of person that had to cater to others who had a better life. Besides, to fulfil his young master’s wish, only by doing so would the manager not be able to see through the act.

“Ok ok, you go to the lounge and wait there.” Manager Li waved a hand to shoo him away, his eyes falling on Ling Xiao and You XiaoMo’s figures. He immediately put on a respectful smile. “Sirs, may I know what magic pill you want to buy?”

Qingshuang Pavillon mostly sold magic pills, while they only had a few magic herbs, but it didn’t mean they didn’t have any in possession. Since Qingshuang Pavilion was not their only property, they also had a branch selling magic herbs.

“Do you also buy magic pills?” You XiaoMo looked at the interior design of the Qingshuang Pavilion and judged.

Manager Li was stunned for a moment, he then carefully looked at You XiaoMo again. Now that he realized it, this little boy was a mage, but he didn’t know his level.

“Sir, Qingshuang Pavilion does also buy magic pills, but we won’t buy low grade magic pills.”

Since Qingshuang Pavilion had a strict policy, usually they only took large transactions, and only their mages could refine low grade magic pills. This was why they only collected mid grade or high grade magic pills.

You XiaoMo took out a jade bottle of magic pills from his magic bag, “I know you don’t buy low grade pills, Liu Yue has told us about this. What I want to sell are high grade types, level 3 and 4 ones. So, care to make a deal?”

Manager Li was petrified. He then stared at the bottle in You XiaoMo’s hand. After careful observation, they were indeed high grade magic pills. Through the transparency of the jade bottle he could see that the color of the pills was very pure. Who would expect that this boy could give him such a grand surprise.

High grade magic pills cannot compare to the mid and low grade ones. Regardless of the level, all high grade pills will always be able to be sold. Unlike low grade pills, only some small shops would buy them.

Manager Li saw You XiaoMo take out a bottle of level 3 pills and a bottle of level 4 pills, and on top of it all, every single one of them was a high grade. Naturally, he was overjoyed, and quickly nodded, “We will! We will! Of course we will buy them!”

Manager Li quickly took them to the back. Since the hall had all kinds of people there, a little precaution is always better, because even though level 3 and 4 pills were less valuable than level 5 and above, high grade pills were a different story.

Stepping inside, You XiaoMo didn’t worry about Manager Li’s greed would wait, because having Ling Xiao beside him reassured him a lot. You XiaoMo directly gave the jade bottle to him, “You can check them to your liking, if you accept them, we will discuss the price.”

Manager Li took the bottles, and said he wanted to have the Qingshuang’s mage check them, because he himself was not a mage.

After a while, the curtain was lifted and a girl wearing pink clothes with an engaging aura walked in.

Seeing the girl, Manager Li was in a cheerful mood, “Miss Qing Qi, I have to trouble you with some more magic pills.”

The pink clothed lady had bright and limpid autumn water eyes (t/n: a way to describe beautiful soft and clear eye, like in Memoir of a Geisha, how the author described the mc’s eyes), a beautiful feature ‘like flower like jade’ (t/n: it means beautiful) that gave off a very tranquil feeling. Hearing Manager Li’s word, the beautiful face showed a “beautiful girl from a humble family” expression while she gave a faint smile, “It’s okay, Manager Li.”

The moment You XiaoMo saw her, the image of “soft girl” came straight into his mind. At long last, he finally managed to meet another typical woman, but You XiaoMo had lost interest in the soft girl.
(Ra’s note: well he’s all out for Ling Xiao’s hard D now.)

But with a glance, You XiaoMo immediately recognized that this girl was a level 5 mage. Her age was probably somewhere around twenty. Being a level 5 mage at this age, clearly her natural cultivation wasn’t low. You XiaoMo didn’t expect that his first time in the business district he would end up encountering a young level 5 mage. A female to boot.

Yan city is really a crouching tiger, hidden dragon (T/n: hidden talent) region.

“I am Qing Qiu, may I know your name?”

Qing Qiu stood in front of them, even though her voice was soft, it gave a very rare benevolent vibe.

“My surname is You, thank you Miss Qing for examining the magic pills inside the bottles.” You XiaoMo once again took out the jade bottles inside his magic bags. He didn’t introduce Ling Xiao though, after all they came here for business, not to make friends.

Qing Qiu didn’t talk back, she just picked up the jade bottle You XiaoMo had placed on the table. When she did, her eyes couldn’t help but reveal a trace of surprise. They were all high grade magic pills. She carefully looked at them, then she talked to Manager Li, “Manager Li, they are all genuine high grade magic pills, 20 level 3 pills, and 30 level 4.”

Manager Li gave a squinty eyed smile, ” Sorry for troubling miss Qing Qiu.”

Qing Qiu faintly smiled, “Not really, it is my obligation.”

After that she didn’t bother with their discussion anymore, she put down the bottle and went away, but before she left she also secretly stole a glance at You XiaoMo. If she was not wrong, this You fella was also a level 4 mage. He was so young and already had such high achievements, it looked like they would meet again in the future.

After she had left, You XiaoMo finally negotiated the price with Manager Li.

Because You XiaoMo was in lack of money, he didn’t intentionally give a high price, and Manager Li didn’t disregard You XiaoMo’s young age and give him a false price.

Just like Liu Yue had said, they offered a fair price. One level 3 pill is 80 crystal coin, one level 4 pill is 200 crystal coin.

Level 4 prices compared to level 3 was more than double, which was something You XiaoMo had estimated. He remembered before when he was at the Danxin shop, a single mid grade herb already cost 20,000 gold coins, and since the mid grade was already expensive, you even have to mention the high grade ones.

You XiaoMo sold fifty magic pills for 14,000 crystal coins. He once again deeply appreciated the fact thst being a mage was a very profiteering career. Moreover, he only needed to pay for the herb seeds he needed.

The two of them left the Qingshuang Pavilion, and not long after, Liu Yue also came out.

You XiaoMo immediately went up to him, “So? Did you get the Stone herb seeds and Ichthyosaurs herb seeds?”

Liu Yue said, “Manager Li said only the Qingcao Court would have them, so he told me to go there to receive the reward, and he also sent the message to the manager of Qingcao Court.” Although he was really curious about why young master only needed the seeds and not the full grown herbs, he didn’t ask.

“Quick, quick, go there.”

Manager Li was a man of his word, not only had he asked Manager Zhou to reward Liu Yue with the Stone herb seeds and Ichthyosaurs herb seeds, he was also willing to give him more seeds of different types. Liu Yue took the opportunity and asked for some more. Since Liu Yue only needed a few seeds, and Manager Zhou appreciated the fact he had helped them bring in big customers, and not to mention, such few seeds were not worth much money, he gave Liu Yue a very generous award.

After he got the seeds, Liu Yue quickly ran to You XiaoMo to win his young master’s favor.

You XiaoMo was really surprised, because Liu Yue was very clever, knowing that he may not need the common level 4 seeds, so he specifically chose uncommon ones, and indeed there were several seeds he didn’t have.

Before the sun started setting, they arrived back at the inn.
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t/n: 小家碧玉 (beautiful girl from a humble family) is a saying to describe a beautiful girl who is charming but not wicked, brightful and not cold, a lively, smart and cute personality.

t/n: soft girl (软妹) is an internet slang, to describe the girl with gentle big eyes, tender voice, soft waist, with a gentle personality, considerate and have an innocent aura. Derived from the Japanese term Moe girl, and a cosplay video with the same title “soft girl” in which portrayed a girl with the exact description.

t/n: Ichthyosaur (鱼龙) , or literal translated as Fish dragon in Chinese (or fish lizard in Greek). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyosaur

Ra note: basically this his how people classify a magic pill:
Rank: within a level, a pill can be classified into low – mid – high rank, to compare the usefulness of the pill, the higher the rank, the more efficient it have.
Grade: classified into low – mid – high grade, which indicated the pill’s quality. The quality is affected by the quality of the herb, and of course, by how you refining it. A carefully crafted pills (high grade) obviously would be more valuable.
While herb is much simpler, depend on its quality , it can be either low – mid – high grade/quality.