Gu Zuo looked at this person.
He was a very handsome man. He wore a full-length robe with sapphire-blue brocade, and a white-jade crest on his head. Although the anxiety in his eyes could hardly be concealed, he still looked very different from the others. From his temperament to his looks and even to his stature, he looked like a Prince Charming.
It was just that he didn’t look as handsome as his big brother.
The sapphire-blue robed man quickly walked over and cupped his hands: "May I ask if these two Junior Sect Brothers do indeed have the prescription to the Steadfast Heart Pill?"
Gongyi Tianheng smiled, but didn’t speak.
Once more, Gu Zuo gave a confirmation: "Yes, I have it."
The man’s fingers curled up with force, as if calming his emotional state. After his closed his eyes, he wore a smiling expression and sat across from the two people.
Likewise, the purple-clothed Xu Lingxiu, as well as the young man wearing a full-length jade-green robe, both sat down beside the man.
After being nudged by the young man, Xu Lingxiu realized his indiscretion and didn’t speak again. On the contrary, his gaze fell upon Gu Zuo like he was carefully scrutinizing something.
The jade-green clothed young man was also watching attentively.
It could be seen that every one of them deemed this matter to be extremely important.
The expression of the man wearing brocade clothes was cordial: "This one is Inner Sect disciple Xi Yangyun. I urgently need the Steadfast Heart Pill to save a person’s life. I ask that this Junior Sect Brother part with it. The price can be negotiated."
Gu Zuo’s expression was a little subtle.
Weren’t the words of this Senior Sect Brother Xi clearly making Gu Zuo out to be the gluttonous lion? Still, the urgency really made it untenable.
Speaking too much had the suspicions of taking advantage of someone’s difficulties, but he was also unwilling to speak too little.
He thought about it, and felt that this guy was very cunning.
Under this hesitation, Gu Zuo glanced at Tianheng.
From the beginning, his dear big brother hadn’t said anything, clearly letting him take the lead. If there was anything amiss, Tianheng would certainly warn him in secret...
After that, Gu Zuo said: "How much is Senior Sect Brother Xi willing to take out?"
Who wouldn’t be able to kick a ball!?
Xi Yangyun paused before probing: "Three thousand contribution points?"
When these words were uttered, the jade-green clothed young man’s mouth thinned, while the purple-clothed teenager Xu Lingxiu only furrowed his brows. Neither spoke to interrupt.
Gu Zuo suddenly understood.
The three thousand contribution points were probably what they antic.i.p.ated to be the highest price. Of course, looking at such worried appearances as theirs, if the asking price was even higher, the other party definitely wouldn’t agree. Only those sorts were truly too greedy.
Gu Zuo calculated. The three thousand contribution points should’ve been enough for him this time around to go to the Black Prison and get test subjects. Any more than that wouldn’t be used for the time being. As for the Consultation Pillar’s fragmented prescriptions, they were generally hundreds of points. Relatively speaking, the precious ones were over a thousand. With regards to the Steadfast Heart Pill, three thousand was considered a price that was more than reasonable and somewhat on the high side.
Merely, such an answer was also a bit too straightforward.
As a result, Gu Zuo asked again: "If you don’t mind, would Senior Sect Brother Xi be willing to clearly state what this prescription will be used for after acquiring it?"
After his voice fell, Xi Yangyun’s expression suddenly relaxed: "It seems this Junior Sect Brother really is a new disciple of the Inner Sect. Therefore, you wouldn’t know about this matter."
Gu Zuo had a helpless expression.
How easily was he seen through?
Xi Yangyun said: "This disciple doesn’t need to take offense. If a disciple stayed in the Inner Sect for long enough, most would know that this Xi worries about the congenital heart disease of his younger sister. When she was just sixteen, her apt.i.tudes were even superior to my own, and she practiced martial arts with all her heart. And yet...
He continued: "Although she’s now a perfected Houtian, her heart’s already frail to the point where she can’t advance one step further. Moreover, because she had previously practiced martial arts excessively, if she can’t obtain a Steadfast Heart Pill, I’m afraid she won’t live past the next few years and will die young. For my sister, this Xi has been bitterly seeking a prescription to extend one’s lifespan for several years to no avail. Only now have I met this disciple and obtained such good news."
Gu Zuo understood in a flash.
It really was in order to save someone.
Moreover, it turned out that the entire Inner Sect knew about it... If it was big brother, he would’ve been thinking that Xi Yangyun’s matter would’ve let the majority of the Inner Sect disciples realize that his position wasn’t low and that there were benefits in making friends with him.
Then, this was also very good for him.
Hence, Gu Zuo nodded: "Then let’s exchange."
This time, it was Xi Yangyun’s turn to stare blankly: "Junior Sect Brother...agrees?"
Gu Zuo nodded again: "I agree."
Xi Yangyun asked tentatively: "Junior Sect Brother has nothing else to demand?"
Gu Zuo looked at him with confusion: "Wasn’t it you who said all that? I actually find it very appropriate. If you feel it isn’t enough and you’re thinking about giving me a bit more, I also won’t oppose it."
Xi Yangyun completely relaxed, and his smile also carried some warmth: "So it’s like this. In that case, many thanks, Junior Sect Brother..."
The two were determined to make a deal.
Gu Zuo took out a tablet as well as a set of paper and brush. Amid the sound of rustling paper, he started to write. At this moment, the purple-clothed teenager Xu Lingxiu got up in astonishment and stood behind Gu Zuo.
The green-jade clothed young man said: "I hope this Junior Sect Brother doesn’t mind..."
Gu Zuo didn’t raise his head: "I don’t mind. You guys can check the necessary procedures."
The green-jade clothed young man: "..."
Gu Zuo continued to write, and behind him, Xu Lingxiu recalled the medicinal herbs he knew about in the fragmented prescription while reading the content that Gu Zuo wrote down.
The destroyed prescription they got actually had twenty-eight kinds of medicinal herbs, which lacked seven herbs. There should’ve been thirty-five kinds in total. They had only put ten herbs on the Consultation Pillar. If the people who came to sell the prescription didn’t write thirty-five herbs, or if any didn’t match the twenty-eight, it would’ve certainly been a fake.
At first, Xu Lingxiu had pinched eyebrows. He watched with a critical gaze and judgmental att.i.tude.
As he watched, his brows slowly loosened.
To the side, Xi Yangyun and the jade-green clothed young man carefully observed Xu Lingxiu’s expression. When they saw him like this, their high-strung hearts were slowly put down at last.
— Gu Zuo spoke well, but if the prescription was wrong, it would’ve been useless.
And it clearly wasn’t that kind of situation right now... It truly couldn’t have been better.
Xu Lingxiu left his position beside Gu Zuo when he had only the last medicinal herb to write.
This was also considered acting natural, in a way.
Off to the side, Xi Yangyun quickly transferred three thousand contribution points over to Gu Zuo’s disciple token just as Gu Zuo finished writing the final herb.
Both parties were very pleased with this first-time business transaction.
As Gu Zuo looked at the 3,000 displayed on his disciple token, he recalled the test subjects he was about to obtain and his heart was very happy. After thinking about it, he took out another piece of paper and scribbled some more.
What he wrote this time was the pill refining process.
If it wasn’t for Xu Lingxiu’s intent to not deliberately read the prescription to cheat him, if it wasn’t for Xi Yangyun’s willingness to spend this kind of price for his close relative, and if it wasn’t for them giving the "money" so straightforwardly, he wouldn’t have taken the initiative to give them this.
But since the other party explained things honestly, he was also kind and generous on this point.
Gu Zuo handed the paper over: "Although I don’t know if my Senior Sect Brothers had also received this when obtaining the fragmented prescription, I’ll gift what I got at that time to you guys. Senior Sect Brother Xi, I hope your sister gets well soon."
Xu Lingxiu took that piece of paper. After his gaze rapidly swept over the words, he faced Xi Yangyun and said: "It’s the specific medicine refining process. With this, we can save a lot of time."
— Normally, a prescription would be a complete body comprised of the medicinal herbs and the medicine refining process. But in the Qingyun Sect, Gu Zuo discovered that the "prescriptions" here only pointed to prescriptions that clearly wrote all the herbs.
Although one could normally figure things out so long as the list of herbs and quant.i.ties were clear, it would waste a lot of medicinal herbs. In addition, the time spent would be hard to determine.
If the prescription that Gu Zuo gave previously made Xi Yangyun look at it with high hopes, now that he got the medicine refining process, he had extreme confidence!
After ascertaining things with Xu Lingxiu, the gaze Xi Yangyun directed at Gu Zuo was filled with gratefulness. Without the slightest hesitation, he took out a stack of golden banknotes from his inter-spatial tool and handed them over: "A mere three thousand contribution points isn’t enough to express my grat.i.tude to my Junior Sect Brother. My Junior Sect Brother must accept it."
In fact, as early as when Gu Zuo was being honest and straightforward, Xi Yangyun had already decided that if Xu Lingxiu verified the prescription’s authenticity, he would’ve given him five million more gold as a reward. But now, not only was the prescription real, he was even willing to give the medicine refining process as a gift... He naturally wanted to increase his expression of thanks.
An insignificant twenty million gold simply couldn’t compare to his little sister’s position in his heart!
Gu Zuo looked at Xi Yangyun’s sincerity, and took the offered golden banknotes: "Then, I’ll take it. Senior Sect Brother Xi also doesn’t need to take it too seriously."
Xi Yangyun’s face didn’t have a fretful look, and his smiling expression was even more unconstrained: "By the way, this Xi still doesn’t know my Junior Sect Brother’s honorable name..."
Gu Zuo glanced at Gongyi Tianheng and replied: "I’m called Gu Zuo. This sir is my young master."
Tianheng shook his head and couldn’t contain his laughter. He also said: "This one is Inner Sect disciple Gongyi Tianheng. Greetings, everyone."
At this moment, Xi Yangyun and the others discovered that after coming to the tea shack... At first glance, they undoubtedly thought that this sir was the leader. Who would’ve thought that after discussing with Gu Zuo, they had almost forgotten this person. Now that they heard him talking, they remembered him again.
Of course, what surprised them even more was that Gu Zuo, who possessed the prescription, was actually Gongyi Tianheng’s attendant. As for Tianheng, he unexpectedly let Gu Zuo negotiate with them?
It was strange.
However, this wasn’t the important point.
After Xi Yangyun and the others got acquainted with the two, they were itching to go back and try refining the pills.
Before leaving, they all left with a few parting words.
Xi Yangyun said: "In the future, if the two sirs have any trouble, you can go to Chongyuan Mountain to find me."
That Xu Lingxiu eyed Gu Zuo: "You’re a pharmacist. If you have any questions later on, you can go to the Violet Tower to find me. I’ll cover for you."
The jade-green clothed young man smiled at the two, and also closely followed the others out.
In the back, Gu Zuo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
And this was the second time Xu Lingxiu, this great young master, said these words.
Xu Lingxiu hadn’t remembered him...
After they walked away, Gongyi Tianheng and Gu Zuo took their seats.
Gu Zuo looked over a little nervously: "Big brother, you didn’t say anything. I didn’t know if I did alright..."
Tianheng eyes crinkled: "Ah Zuo did well, so I didn’t speak at all."
Gu Zuo set aside his worries. After that, he directly put the pile of golden banknotes into Tianheng’s hand: "Big brother, take this and go circulate it. The pocket money I made from before is enough."
Although Gongyi Tianheng didn’t know what "pocket money" meant, he still accurately received Gu Zuo’s meaning. His gaze also carried some warmth. He ruffled Gu Zuo’s hair, and gently said: "Okay."
