8 Chapter 8 The Life-Saving Potion

The dinner was a joyful occasion. Everyone was immersed in the joy of the bountiful harvest.

Even the taciturn Farns was wearing a faint smile, like a cracked egg. Although the smile was light, everyone could feel his joy.

Xia Zhou and Sneck, as usual, collected the dinner plates into the kitchen, then they came together to the front of the ticket sale carriage.

Audrey passed the account book around among everyone, and after all members had no objection, she took out the money bag that was pre-divided from the money box.

The most brilliant performance was the Fire-breather, who sold the most tickets and received nearly 900 copper coins.

The Clown Siblings and Bo Pai got more than 500 coins; they would discuss internally how to further divide it up.

The Snake Dancer Sneck and the boss both got more than 200 coins.

Of the remaining less than 400 coins, over 300 coins were to be left as operating expenses, leaving Xia Zhou with 30 coins.

Although the amount was less than the other members, he was already very content.

This job had money to earn, was simple and even had experience to gain. Audrey was very good and willing to guide new members. There was no reason to be dissatisfied.

"Boss, you help me keep it." After the others had left, Xia Zhou quietly handed the money bag to Audrey.

"Alright~ then I'll keep it for you."

Audrey affectionately pinched the boy's cheek, "Follow me, let's go around the street."

"Boss, are you going to buy clothes again~"

Audrey put 300 copper coins into a separate money bag, "Well, of course not. We are going to purchase supplies. This work will be handed over to you in the future."

They checked the stock on the carriage and then went out into the street together.

The city of Rosak was still bustling at night, and the arrival of the circus added to the liveliness.

Audrey, along with the small follower in charge of accounting, pushed through the crowd to enter the shops, leaving deposits and taking the pickup orders, and the copper coins in the money bag visibly dwindled rapidly.

The circus did have significant expenses.

The 300 copper coins were just the tip of the iceberg. When picking up the goods later, they would have to pay twice the amount before they could take the goods away.

Their last stop was the Starry Night Potion Store.

As the only Mage Academy in the kingdom, the Starry Night Academy naturally took on the majority of the potion businesses in the country through its alchemy course.

Audrey negotiated prices with the shop owner at the counter.

Xia Zhou slowly walked around the shop, looking at the beautifully packaged glass bottles.

The potions here were of a complete range, from painkillers and hemostatic drugs for treating sprains and bruises, to potions for repairing internal injuries. They had everything one could want.

Xia Zhou didn't skimp on using the Detection Spell either. Every time he approached a display, he would pause for a moment, checking all the potions and taking note of their purposes and names in passing.

Small cards were placed next to the potion bottles. The system, aided by the Detection Spell, converted the textual descriptions into detailed data.

"Small Revival Potion, recovers 10 HP within 60 seconds, gains experience when successfully recovering HP. Successfully remembered the name and purpose of the potion, information has been entered into the Knowledge Reserve."

"Universal Antidote Potion, can remove or immunize most poison states within 1 hour after consumption, gains experience when successfully detoxifying or immunizing against poison..."

"Weak Effect Recovery Potion, immediately recovers 20 HP after consumption, gains experience according to the HP recovery value..."

Immediately recover 20 HP?

Xia Zhou squatted down, staring intently at the hexagonal glass bottle, the bottle was filled with bright red potion, just like the fresh blood flowing in the veins.

This was a good thing, one bottle down and you're back to full HP.

Xia Zhou looked at the price.

20 Silver Coins per bottle.

I'm out.

I can't afford it even if I sell myself. , It's no wonder it's a life saving treasure.

Xia Zhou's eyes sparked, setting a small goal for himself to save money and buy a bottle to keep at hand for emergencies.

His gaze gradually moved upwards, scanning other potions in the same line in turn.

..

Secondary Recovery Potion, instantly recovers 30 HP, priced at 30 Silver Coins per bottle.

Medium Recovery Potion, instantly recovers 50 HP, priced at 50 Silver Coins per bottle.

Strong Recovery Potion, instantly recovers 80 HP, priced at 80 Silver Coins per bottle.

..

Handle-sized silver coins have different denominations. The coin that Xia Zhou discovered on Evil Old Man had a face value of 1 Silver Coin. He had not yet seen a coin with a higher value.

Xia Zhou's gaze moved to the luxurious velvet packaging box at the very top.

..

Perfect Level Recovery Potion, instantly recovers 100 HP, priced at 1 Gold Coin per bottle.

..

Oh my, 1 Gold Coin is equal to 100 Silver Coins, the price of this Perfect Level Recovery Potion would be 100,000 copper coins. My teeth are almost sour from this.

Such expensive potions are just displayed in the shop, it seems that the potion shop owner is no ordinary person.

Xia Zhou turned his head and glanced at the potion shop owner.

The other party looked like a straightforward ordinary middle-aged man. The information feedback from the Detection Spell was nothing special, completely on the level of ordinary citizens.

At this moment, the potion shop owner was taking out a few potions from a special display case.

The potions that Xia Zhou saw earlier, priced in Silver Coins, were for anyone to drink, all without side effects.

All the potions on display in that deep red case were potions that only those who have practised breathing techniques could drink.

..

Weak Effect Strength Explosion Potion, after consumption increases strength attribute by 1 to 3 points for 30 seconds, a maximum of 3 bottles can be consumed within 1 hour or risk falling into mild poisoning. When consumed while not practising breathing technique, it would lead to moderate poisoning and there won't be any other effects. Gains experience after successful use.

Price: 200 Copper Coins per bottle.

..

The other potions in the deep red case are in a similar situation – a regular person who consumes them would be poisoned, whereas those who know the breathing technique would also be poisoned if they drink too much.

The only exception was the kind of potion the potion shop owner had in his hand.

..

Weak Effect Body Repair Potion, after consumption, very slowly repairs hidden injuries on the body, can reduce the negative effects caused by breathing technique, effects last for 30 days, repeated consumption during the duration will not enhance the therapeutic effect. Gains experience when effectively repairing hidden injuries.

Selling price: 200 copper coins/bottle.

..

"Has our fire-breather from the circus ever come here to buy medicine? Big baldhead, no beard, the one with a burn on his throat."

As Audrey asked, she used her own money to buy 5 bottles of body repair potions.

"Hmm, he's been here. He bought a decent amount of pain relief potion."

The potion shop owner paused his calculations, emphasizing, "You should remind him not to drink too much. The pain relief potion can be quite addictive."

A momentary change flickered across Audrey's face. She quickly recovered her smile, held the boy's hand, and left the potion shop.

Xia Zhou could relate to Audrey's worry — he had the same feelings too.

When a person takes an addictive substance alone, without someone else to monitor, it's easy to increase the dose under the potion's influence to get a greater sense of satisfaction.

Thinking of Farns stealing three silver coins and possibly being expelled from the original circus, Xia Zhou empathetically felt the burden on Audrey's shoulders.

"Little guy, is there anything you want to buy? Snacks? Toys?"

Audrey stopped in front of a sizable, nicely decorated general store.

"I don't want to buy anything. I want to save the money. I'm fine with reading books in my spare time."

Xia Zhou glanced at the goods in the store and found none of them interesting.

A row of clay figurines that would "pee" when watered, several toys that would quack like a drake when squeezed... He was already bored with these toys.

And those adorable, colorful lollipops... Xia Zhou, who was over thirty years old when adding up his two lives, would not be obsessed with these kiddie gimmicks.

"Such a well-behaved boy. Let's return to the inn, then."

Audrey held the boy in her arms, gave his arm a pat, and complimented him.

This was exactly what Xia Zhou desired.

Hehehe...

...

The bright moon hung high in the sky, its frosty light cast on the floor. In the three-person room, the sound of snoring came in waves.

Xia Zhou and Sneck, along with the big guy, shared a room. After a full day of work, the other two fell asleep as soon as they hit the bed.

Only Xia Zhou was flipping through a newly purchased book using the bright moonlight.

"Geography of Rosak Province" and the "Field Survival Handbook" were both selected by Audrey. The two books complemented each other, making reading them together much more efficient.

Xia Zhou let out a silent gasp as he read something on one of the pages.

It turned out that his encounter with the group from the circus was purely a stroke of luck, entirely based on conjecture and a bit of logical reasoning.

Rosak Province is located in the southernmost part of Starry Night Kingdom. To its south is a wilderness ravaged by bandits.

While in the forest, it's not reliable to determine directions by observing the sun. It's easy to get lost.

The best method is to head in the opposite direction of that of light or white trees. The more brown tree trunks around, the closer to inhabited areas within the Rosak Province.

If it weren't for the evil old man arranging the boys' bodies on the south side of the hole... Xia Zhou would not have gone north.

"Let's stop here and get some sleep."

Xia Zhou stretched lazily, placed the two books away, and quickly fell asleep on his bed.

...

The following days were pretty much the same.

Xia Zhou manned the ticket window to attend to visitors while the others performed in the big top tent.

The daily pay was settled on the spot after dinner. Audrey never deducted the crew's earnings under any pretense.

On the seventh day at noon, the group packed up the site, returned the big top tent and carriages to the parking lot, and enjoyed free time after.

Xia Zhou read books in the room until the next morning when the caravan set off, at which point he finally left his room.

"Successfully memorized 'Geography of Rosak Province' and 'Field Survival Handbook', earning a total of 4.5 experience points."

"Current level progress 15/15, leveling up... level up successful!"

[Level] LV.3

[Experience] 0/20

After this level up, he only gained one free attribute point.

Xia Zhou was not worried about the number of free attribute points he could get, as things are different now.

With a steady leveling up path and no longer having to worry about a livelihood, getting more free attribute points is just a matter of time.

He didn't allocate the newly gained free attribute point to any aspect yet, and will consider it when needed in the future.

Now he has a total of two free attribute points.

The circus's caravan set off, slowly exiting the city gate alongside the outbound merchants.

"Good lad, hehe... I've got a gift for you."

His carriage buddy, Bo Pai, took out a small rubber ball from his pocket.

"Thank you, Bo Pai."

Xia Zhou held the ball in his hand and squeezed it with both hands.

Bang! The rubber ball shot out from the gap between his fingers, bounced off the carriage wall and came back.

"Ah..." Xia Zhou raised his arm to protect his face, frightened it would hit him.

Bo Pai caught the rubber ball with a "slap", laughed, and said, "I'll teach you how to use it. Interlace your fingers and grip the ball... yes, that's it..."

Following the strongman's guidance, Xia Zhou successfully flattened the rubber ball in his palm.

"Yes, yes, yes, hehe, just keep it like that. You need to hold for at least 10 seconds." Bo Pai brought out his own ball and started exercising.

After 10 seconds, Xia Zhou released his hand, and a piece of message popped up in his mind.

"Completed 1 round of Mini Elastic Ball Grip Training, earn 0.0001 experience point, and gain 1/100,000 of strength."

Gaga... Xia Zhou was thrilled.

Perform the exercise 100,000 times and he'd gain 1 point of strength, along with 10 points of leveling up experience. How wonderful!

The boring journey now had a new way of killing time.