Chapter 210 “A Similar Story”
“Century old Crane Grass and fifty-year-old Centipede Vine.” After a careful examination of these herbs, excitement surged through Ling Yue’s vein.
What’s being sold here are all very hard to come by plants with poisonous properties, and to top it off they are only found near the dens of some poisonous insects, making them extremely difficult to harvest. To say even Master Longyu’s inventory paled in comparison was no understatement here today.
Under normal circumstances, these poisonous plants would be considered treasures of extreme value. Sadly, it’s all wasted away on the Black Grade floor where most customers are martialists with no insight of toxicology.
Finding no response from Ling Yue as she flipped the herbs around, He Lao San mistakes it as disappointment instead: “Madam Lai, the Treasure Cave will no longer take your herbs so don’t scare my customers. Quickly take your possession and leave.” Using the least amount of words, the hunchback attempts to send the grotesque woman away.
“Boss Shan, why are you in such a rush when your customers behind you didn’t say a thing yet. My stuff are the real deal. I personally cultivated them and can guarantee the quality is as good as the wild ones.” Since she’s in need of money, there’s no way Madam Lai would just miss the sale at a few harsh words.
“Let her come over here.” Noticing Ling Yue’s change, Feng Shen stops the old man from making anymore unwarranted gesture.
It also helped when He Lao San was sympathetic towards the ugly woman. Standing silently on one side, he waited for further instruction.
Madam Lai was originally a four-cauldron alchemist. If her story must be said, it’s quite the sad one.
She used to be someone with a family and a great future, but due to an incident one day where her husband suffered a serious wound with poison, everything’s changed.
In order to cure her husband, she sought out all the famed doctors and alchemists in the city for help, but none could save her husband. No other choice, Madam Lai steeled her resolve and delved into the art of poison. Using herself as a test subject, she eventually managed to cure her husband at the cost of her own appearance.
Unfortunately, though she made such a big sacrifice for her man, the husband not only didn’t show gratitude, he turned on her as soon her grotesque appearance became known. Kicking Madam Lai out, she was divorced within the same day.
No home and no family left to turn to, plus the accumulation of various toxins in her body, Madam Lai became despondent and wanted to end it all by committing suicide. However, fate likes to play its hand at the strangest times. At her lowest, she unexpectedly found out she’s pregnant. For the soon to be born children, she lived on. Not for herself, but for her flesh and blood.
Since her focus and expertise lied with poison, no normal pharmacy shop would dare take her into their fray. As for the alchemist community in the capital, none would admit her status because of her ugly appearance. No way left to make a living, that’s when she turned to begging on the streets and relied the goodwill of the kindhearted people in the city. Through much hardship and endurance, she finally gave birth to a pair of twins.
Resolved to care for her newborn babies, Madam Lai turned back to her specialty of growing poisonous herbs at home. Occasionally she would also refine some drugs if the customers requested it, but those are rare.
He Lao San can’t be called a saint, but he’s definately a good person at his heart. Taking pity on the woman and his misfortunes, he made an exception and allowed Madam Lai to set up shop in the plaza.
“Although her life experience is pitiful, but you mustn’t buy her herbs just because of compassion. If not careful, those stuff will cause a lot of harm back to the buyer.”
He Lao San was advising out of experience. Through compassion, he had purchased some of the woman’s herbs at a low price out of kindness. Unfortunately, the act came back to bite him. Forget about selling it back out for a profit, his higher ups ended reprimanding him for wasting the organization’s fund without permission.
Maybe it’s due to the misery she faced in life thus far, but the poor woman didn’t react at all to the hunchback’s claim. Likely due to all the hardship she’s faced so her heart was also as strong and hard.
“Boss Shan, don’t you think your words are a bit much? That’s the same as trying to ruin my sale. I can say for certain these herbs are of superior quality. If used properly…”
“If used properly, they can be turned into excellent poisons. Boss Shan, the world may be afraid of poisonous ingredients, thinking it’s always bad, but sometimes it’s precisely these poisonous ingredients that can be the miracle cure needed to save a person’s life.” Ling Yue cuts in and finished the sentence for her.
If Madam Lai can cleverly use the Organ Ruining Dan pill to save the kindhearted Mr. Gu, then that’s perfect proof of the claim.
From that wart ridden face, the light grew brighter and brighter in Madam Lai’s pupil as she eyed the young boy. This was the sort of gaze that can only be found between people capable of understanding each other’s profession. Not lovers, not friends, only the type between one art form to another.
“Are you also a dual practitioner of poison and healing?” The woman asks, amazed by Ling Yue’s young age.
Ever since she came to the Treasure Cave to sell her herbs, Madam Lai had encountered a few experienced alchemists before. Sadly, no matter of their age or origin, not a single one wouldn’t pale in fear at her poisonous plants.
“Not just understanding, I also want to buy all of your stock.”
Talk about hitting the jackpot, well worth the visit today. Ling Yue has been trying to turn Yanche into a poison human so she needs plenty of poisonous herbs which was very rare and difficult to find in the capital. But this Madam Lai, she knows how to grow them in her home! To be clear, poisonous plants are much harder to cultivate than regular ones.
Take her pocket dimension for example. Ling Yue can grow just about anything inside, except the poisonous types for some odd reason. This has seriously affected her practice of the (Five Poison Manual) left behind by Lady Jade Poison Hand.
This Madam Lai, she’s a walking, breathing, living treasure trove!
“These poisonous herbs aren’t cheap. Each will cost you fifty gold and they must be all bought together.” Upon hearing the young boy’s will to take her products, she not only didn’t get happy, her expression turned stern and serious.
Fifty gold each and won’t cover refinement into pills, it can’t be that Madam Lai got scared so hard earlier that her brain’s not working right? The strange bargaining had left He Lao San flabbergasted because he’s never heard such crazy haggling in his life.
“Madam Lai, you know our rules. You cannot over raise the price on the spot. Just several days ago you sold me the exact same stuff and it costed me only five hundred silvers in all.”
“Boss Sha, there’s a saying called an expert will know when they make the move. Although its both selling, but the value of these herbs in your hands and his hands are totally different. To you they are worthless, but to him they can be the most lethal and life-threatening weapon.”
What Madam Lai did here was to tell everyone that this youngster here was very dangerous, more dangerous than anyone she’s seen because he knows how to use poison like a true master. If not for the two children at home, she herself wouldn’t be willing to release such poisonous plants into the world either.
“How amusing. You have a hundred pieces here so that makes it five thousand gold in total. Sir Ten, I didn’t bring enough money today so mind lending me some?” Against the sky-high asking price, Ling Yue didn’t mind. On the contrary, she was very fond of that straightforward attitude from the woman.
Although this was their first encounter, plus the appearance and temperament varied too, but the ugly madam in front reminds Ling Yue of her own mother in a lot of ways.
Also abandoned by their husband and forced to raise the child alone. There was a difference though, Madam Lai had her face ruined and no family to turn to. It can be said the ugly woman had it much worse, yet, Madam Lai never went astray with her poison skills. Just this virtue alone was enough to warrant admiration from Ling Yue.