The recovery potions sold in shops all had a 5-second cooldown; the only difference between them was how much they restored. A Minor Recovery Potion restored 100 HP at once, an Intermediate one 200, an Advanced one 400, and the highest grade 1,000 — and as the amount restored increased, these potions’ prices climbed several times over as well. But a potion with no cooldown… so long as you had enough of them, then no matter how powerful the enemy, as long as they couldn’t kill you in a single blow, you could absolutely stay safe and unharmed. Such a heaven-defying potion shouldn’t have existed at all; no amount of money could buy one.
Though there were only a scarce 20 bottles, Ye Tianxie was infinitely satisfied. He stowed the special potions away and said gratefully, “Thank you, village chief. With your help, I’ve gained a few more measures of hope.”
“The horror of the Abyss trial far exceeds what you imagine; this help of mine can only offer a meager, modest bit of aid. Brave young man, I suggest you go see old Yuan at the pharmacy — some of the things he’s collected ought to be no small help to you… Here, take this. It’s my letter of introduction. With it, he should bring out those strange things he’s made over the years.”
“Ding… You have obtained the special item ‘Letter of Recommendation from the No. 60001 Novice Village Chief.'”
A thin sheet of letter paper appeared in Ye Tianxie’s backpack. Ye Tianxie thanked the chief in earnest and headed toward the pharmacy, once again exclaiming inwardly that the favorability attribute was truly… so very lovable!
The owner of the No. 60001 novice village pharmacy was a dried-up old man, frighteningly thin, so much so that people instinctively had to tread carefully when speaking with him, afraid that too heavy a breath might blow him clean away. This old man’s name was Yuan Que… quite possibly an admirer of some famous physician from Huaxia’s ancient past.
Old men who were well along in years and had some real skill up their sleeves generally put on a lofty, superior air when looking at people, keeping their eyes open only halfway. This Yuan Que was one of that sort — no matter who came to buy something or turn in a quest, he wore a lazy, couldn’t-be-bothered look. Even faced with Ye Tianxie and his Charm of 20, he did no more than spare him an extra glance.
“Hello, Master Yuan…”
“Hello my foot — say what you’ve got to say, out with it, quit your dawdling, damn it! And who told you to call me Master!” No sooner had Ye Tianxie offered his greeting than Yuan Que impatiently cut him off, a great spray of spittle flying out. Ye Tianxie shifted his feet back a touch and silently dodged it.
“Then what should I call you?” Ye Tianxie said, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t you know it’s the fashion these days to call people ‘bro’… Call me Bro Que!” Yuan Que set his face and said with utter seriousness.
“…Bro Que.” Ye Tianxie was suddenly seized by an urge to turn on his heel and leave… There was that nugget of truth about how the longer you spend around a lunatic, the more easily you get assimilated into one yourself.
“Mm.” Yuan Que nodded in satisfaction, his face still set like stone. “So what important business brings you to Bro… seeing as you’re a fairly agreeable kid, if you’re buying medicine, Bro can give you a nine-point-nine-eight discount today.”
Your sister… a 99.8% discount, and you call that a discount?! Ye Tianxie sneered inwardly, though his expression was as earnest as earnest could be. Unhurried, he took out the “Letter of Recommendation from the No. 60001 Novice Village Chief” and set it before Yuan Que. “It’s like this: the chief said you possess peerless skills, that you’re the foremost extraordinary figure in this village across all the ages, and told me I absolutely had to seek your counsel before setting off on my journey.”
Yuan Que, who hadn’t had his rear kissed in eight hundred years, was secretly delighted by Ye Tianxie’s flattery — the kind even a fool could see through — and his gaze toward Ye Tianxie turned markedly gentler. “Oh? So it was that old codger of a chief who sent you to Bro. Let Bro have a look.”
“Ding… Yuan Que’s favorability toward you increases by 5.”
Ye Tianxie inwardly disdained the old man’s intelligence and handed the chief’s letter of introduction to him. Yuan Que took the letter paper, his narrowed old eyes reading over that thin sheet in earnest for a good long while, then lifted his head and stared fixedly at Ye Tianxie for a good while more, before finally popping a few words out of his mouth: “The first moment Bro laid eyes on you, Bro figured you were a kid with a future — looks like Bro’s judgment isn’t bad, if even that old codger of a chief went so far as to dig out Bro’s whole stash for your sake… All right, all right, who told Bro to owe that old codger a favor. There, take a look — this is everything Bro’s collected over the years. Have a look and buy for yourself.”
A small cabinet by Yuan Que’s side was opened, and a little row of odd, curious things appeared before Ye Tianxie’s eyes; at the same time, a chime sounded in his ears: “Ding… You have triggered one of Novice Village No. 60001’s hidden elements — the special items of Yuan Que’s pharmacy.”
Before him were five compartments in all, each holding a scatter of one kind of item, and a pungent smell hit him full in the face at the same time. And it was these five simple items whose attributes left Ye Tianxie more and more shocked as he looked them over.
Unnamed Special Recovery Potion — A special recovery potion of Yuan Que’s own making, possessing a property ordinary recovery potions lack. Only 30 exist in all; half a year ago the No. 60001 novice village chief made off with 20, so only 10 remain at present. Effect: after use, instantly restores 300 HP, with no cooldown. Price: 5 gold/bottle.
Unnamed Special Magic Potion — A special magic potion of Yuan Que’s own making, possessing a property ordinary magic potions lack. Only 30 exist in all, with 30 remaining at present. Effect: after use, instantly restores 300 MP, with no cooldown. Price: 10 gold/bottle.
Special potions with no cooldown — so these heaven-defying potions had actually been made by this dried-up old man. Though their price was dozens of times higher than even an Advanced recovery potion that restored more per use, their special no-cooldown property made them absolutely worth it. Ye Tianxie had already decided to buy those last 10 bottles as well… As for the special magic potion, with no skills to his name at present beyond “Detection” and “Gathering,” he simply had no use for it. Had he enough money, he’d have bought them all without hesitation, because out in the wider world these were things money couldn’t buy — but for now, every last copper of his had to be spent where it counted.
Reading further down, Ye Tianxie couldn’t help beginning to doubt whether his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Double-Bang Firecracker — A double-report firecracker Yuan Que made using his own homemade gunpowder; 20 were made in all. Effect: once lit, thrown to attack a single target, delivering two consecutive defense-ignoring blasts to that single target, each dealing a fixed 150 damage. Price: 10 gold each.
Great Firecracker String — A great string of firecrackers Yuan Que poured his heart and soul into making with his own homemade gunpowder; 5 strings were made in all. Effect: once lit, thrown to attack all targets within a certain range, dealing a fixed 300 defense-ignoring blast damage to all enemies within a 5-meter range. Price: 30 gold/string.
(End of Chapter 35)