The moment the two entered, the smell of medicine grew stronger.

Lanshan was sensitive to the scent and felt quite uncomfortable.

As soon as they stepped into the courtyard, they heard a loud, grating voice.

"Sister-in-law! Go on and get some rest. I’ll entertain our two distinguished guests!"

Lanshan paused at the sound and tilted his head.

"That’s Huan Xiyi’s voice. He’s the other owner of the books."

"Their families have known each other for generations. I heard their ancestors moved here together..."

The door to the inner room opened, and a large, stubble-faced man walked out.

He was holding half a beast’s leg, his face greasy from gnawing on it. He just grinned when he saw Lanshan.

The woman reminded him, "They’re guests, Master Huan. Behave yourself..."

Huan Xiyi just waved his hand. "I know, I know. Sister-in-law, you go on and get busy. Otherwise, my brother and I will have nothing to eat with our wine tonight!"

Although the man had a woman’s name, his build was just as imposing as Lanshan’s, if not more unkempt.

Bai Mo glanced toward the inner room and said,

"With an injury like that, you should be careful about what you eat. Try to avoid certain foods..."

Huan Xiyi looked at him.

"What does a kid like you know? If you don’t drink wine and eat meat, how are you supposed to build up your strength?"

"Brother Lanshan, is this a junior of yours?"

Lanshan quickly cleared his throat.

"This is Alchemist Bai. I borrowed the books for him to look at!"

Huan Xiyi’s eyebrows shot up.

’I can’t believe Lanshan actually got involved with a Pill Master.’

’And judging by the way they’re standing side-by-side, they seem quite close.’

"Look at me, that wasn’t right of me."

He took a bite of the beast leg, waved his huge, fan-like hands repeatedly, and then opened the front yard door to air the place out.

The medicinal smell lingering in the courtyard immediately thinned.

Bai Mo had just heard neighbors outside shouting curses when Huan Xiyi led the two of them into the house.

The room was small, piled with many strange instruments and some medicinal herbs for stanching blood and making poultices.

It was very messy, with no one to tidy it up.

Tai Ming was there, one of his bloody legs resting in a wooden basin. The basin contained chopped herbs, and the rising steam was making him dizzy.

A wine gourd lay on the ground beside him.

Huan Xiyi took a few steps forward, tossed the beast leg aside, and shook Tai Ming forcefully.

"Brother, wake up."

Tai Ming struggled to open his eyes. He exhaled and shook his head, taking a moment to come to his senses.

Seeing that he wasn’t fully conscious, Bai Mo handed over a Righteous Qi Pill.

The blood flowing from the wound on Tai Ming’s leg was purplish-black, a clear sign of severe poisoning.

’But for some reason, the two of them didn’t buy medicine or find a doctor. Instead, they’re holed up in here, trying to expel the poison themselves with a steaming method.’

Huan Xiyi took the Pill, sniffed it, and chuckled.

"This Pill smells amazing! Must be worth a lot of money, huh?"

Bai Mo shook his head. "It’s not as valuable as you think, my friend."

Huan Xiyi pointed at the surrounding herbs, looking somewhat smug.

"This stuff of ours has the same effect, and we just picked it up from the roadside. Doesn’t cost a thing!"

With that, he stuffed the Pill into Tai Ming’s mouth.

The latter felt a cool sensation flow through him. His spirits lifted, and he slowly regained full consciousness.

Lanshan finally couldn’t stand the smell in the room any longer.

"You get Tai Ming fully awake. We’ll wait for you outside."

The great man who’d waded through the muds of Celestial Barrier Mountain hastily led Bai Mo out of the room.

After only a moment’s wait, Huan Xiyi came out, supporting Tai Ming.

He closed the door, finally sealing the smell completely inside.

Lanshan sighed.

"With such a good physique, I told you long ago to come with me. Now look at the sorry state you’re in..."

Huan Xiyi pursed his lips.

"It’s true I’m built sturdily."

"But thirty or forty years ago, my grandpa had someone check me out. They said my body isn’t suited for fighting."

"Selling a bit of my strength is fine, but I’ll pass on the rain of blades and spears."

The four of them sat down on stools in the courtyard.

Tai Ming was still weak, but he was very grateful toward Bai Mo.

"Thanks to Alchemist Bai’s Pill, I’m already feeling much better."

"It was nothing," Bai Mo said calmly.

"I was just wondering, what injured your leg, my friend?"

Now Bai Mo could see it more clearly.

The wounds on Tai Ming’s leg were numerous, a dense collection of lacerations.

"Heaven knows. I wasn’t watching my step and sank into a mire. When I pulled my leg out, it looked like this."

Huan Xiyi cut in, "It was even more terrifying when I pulled him out."

"Brother Lanshan, you can’t go to the Baiyang River area anymore. The mires on the outskirts have expanded a lot."

Lanshan nodded. "I’ll remember that."

As they spoke, Bai Mo took out the two books and returned them to their owners.

He also handed over a few Righteous Qi Pills and Condensed Dew Pills.

"Consider this payment for borrowing the books. It just so happens they’ll be useful for our friend Tai Ming."

Huan Xiyi wasn’t one for pleasantries; he took the Pills and put them away.

"Looks like our families’ old heirlooms are actually worth something."

With that said, his expression turned serious as he looked at the two of them.

"Alchemist Bai, I imagine you didn’t come all this way just to return the books. I wonder..."

As soon as he said this, Tai Ming also looked at Lanshan, trying to get an answer from his old acquaintance.

Lanshan remained impassive, moving his stool back half a step.

"This time, it was Alchemist Bai who wanted to pay you a visit. He wants to hire some ’pickers’ to gather herbs!"

These so-called "pickers" were people who specialized in finding herbs and treasures in the mountains for an employer.

These people didn’t engage in trade themselves; they only followed their employer’s orders, and the Spirit Stones they received were more generous than what people like Xu Ruyuan earned.

Huan Xiyi and Tai Ming exchanged a look, their expressions unreadable.

Seeing this, Bai Mo quickly explained:

"Brother Lanshan is just joking."

"To talk about hiring ’pickers’ is really overestimating me."

Only then did Huan Xiyi nod and smile.

"If we wanted to be ’pickers,’ we would have been hired by someone long ago."

"That line of work really wears you down. You follow the employer’s orders, and before you know it, you could lose your life in the mountains."

"Our two families are small. We really don’t dare."

Lanshan grew irritated listening to this and couldn’t help but rub his face vigorously.

’These two have missed out on so much wealth and ended up in this state, yet they still don’t know when to change.’

"Heh, to each their own. Brother Lanshan, you don’t need to force the issue!"

Bai Mo pondered for a moment before stating his own idea.

"I have no one to help me right now."

"But acquiring and sorting medicinal herbs is a truly complicated task. Therefore, I’d like to ask you two to help me out."

"I’ll pay you in Spirit Stones every ten days, with a commission based on the quantity and quality of the herbs. I wonder if you two might be interested?"

With their experience, their knowledge of medicinal herbs was no less than that of an ordinary pharmacy apprentice. They were more than qualified for the job.

Lanshan spoke up at the right moment.

"Shopkeeper Bai is a Pill Master. He won’t treat you two unfairly."

Tai Ming and Huan Xiyi exchanged a look, pondering for a moment.

"The offer itself is good, but the two of us don’t really have many connections with others in the trade..."

Bai Mo smiled. "There will be an old, experienced slickster working with you."

"Alright," Tai Ming agreed.

Huan Xiyi was about to say something more but was stopped by the other man.

"We’ll give it a try for a month first and see how we do..."

"However, there are many rules in this trade. We hope Alchemist Bai will let us act on our own authority!"

Bai Mo clapped his hands.

"Of course. If I had to waste my energy micromanaging you, why would I have sought you two out in the first place?"

After negotiating in the courtyard for the better part of an hour, Bai Mo and Lanshan finally got up to leave.

Tai Ming’s wife wanted to keep them for dinner, but the two of them declined.

Night had fallen.

The two walked through the dark alley.

"Shopkeeper Bai, this business might infringe on the interests of those other Pill Masters in the city. You should be careful."

Bai Mo wasn’t concerned.

"It’s fine. We’re all Pill Masters. They’ll have to give me face!"