At Dawsbury City, there was an unending flow of humanity moving about in the streets. The city was bustling with noise and excitement. The originally spacious streets were suddenly rather packed and narrow.
The city was filled with activity, groups of people either surrounding the street merchants or endlessly pouring in and out of the entrance of different kinds of shops.
The surroundings were filled with the shouts of merchants hawking their wares.
Among the hustle and bustle of the city, stood a silhouette, contemplating his surroundings with extreme caution. He had his face covered with a cloth, but one could see that he was relatively young.
The young man was, of course, Claude Rayforth, who moved along with the crowd, walking alone. The further one walked, the more flourishing and prosperous it was. Small street vendors lessened while large shops increased in number.
Claude observed his surroundings as he walked, finally stopping in front of a simple-looking medicine shop.
"It's here," he evaluated while looking at the shop; It had an old sign hanging in front of the door, which said 'Edward's Medicines', and Claude knew that he had arrived at the right place.
Claude walked inside. Inside of the shop, there was a counter on one side, and on it were bottles filled with various kinds of medicine.
Different from the other shops, it was silent in here. He crossed the main hall and reached for the reception desk.
"Welcome to my medicine shop. The name is Edward. What can I do for you?" A middle-aged man spoke to Claude as soon as he reached the desk.
"I came here for your medicinal drugs," Claude said as he looked around the shop.
"Well lucky for you I have a lot of them. What would you like, kind sir?" Edward asked with a kind and innocent smile.
"Actually, I was wondering.." Claude learned forward and whispered slowly, "If I could get your 'special' medicinal drugs.."
As he finished speaking, Claude leaned back a bit and placed ten gold coins on the table. Back when he killed Aldrich, Claude had actually gone to his room afterwards, and 'borrowed' a bit of his money that he had kept lying outside. After all, a dead man doesn't have any use for it. However, he knew he couldn't take more than that, because that could cause the elders to launch an investigation. Which will only spell more trouble for Claude. The Second Elder can only protect him so much.
Edward looked at the gold coins in front of him and stood in place for a while, before he turned around and spoke. "Follow me."
Claude followed him, and soon they reached a small corridor that had many doors on its sides.
Edward then opened one of the doors, revealing a dark staircase that led towards an underground basement. At the bottom of the stairs, he could see a wide table and lying on it were a bunch of pills, medicine bottles, and tablets.
"I've got all kinds of drugs. I've got drugs that make you see stuff, drugs that make you delirious, drugs that make you feel happy. I've got nothing that's too dangerous though, if that's what you're looking for.. What do you want, kid?" Edward asked, as he grabbed a long smoking pipe, and took a puff.
"I'm going to need the drugs that make you happy," Claude said, and Edward nodded his head. He grabbed two of the medicine bottles on the table, and threw it in Claude's direction. He stretched his hands forward and caught it.
"There's fifty of them in those two bottles. The dosage is two per day. Anything more than that isn't good for your body. It might slow down your cultivation progress if you take too much, alright? Don't forget that," Edward pointed at the bottles in Claude's hand as he warned him.
"What if I diluted it with water?" Claude asked, and Edward shook his head.
"Don't. Mixing it with water will actually make its effects worse. So be careful," he walked towards the door as he continued, "And don't tell anyone about this place. I don't know how you found this place, nor do I wish to know. Just keep it a secret. I don't know you and you don't know me. That's how I do business. Got it?"
"Got it!" Claude nodded his head. His face was still covered with a cloth, so he knew that his identity was safe.
After leaving the Medicine Shop, Claude returned to his room.
He first calculated the money he had left from Aldrich, it was a total of five hundred silver and fifty gold coins. It wasn't even to buy any high rank cultivation skills…
"I wonder how strong this medicine will be." Claude was full of expectations as he looked at the medicine bottle in his hand. He had bought the medicine so that he could mix it in Colton Grey's water supply system.
"Colton.. I hope you're ready to be happy," The youth had a cold smile on his face.