The Martial Artists of This World Part II

“Well, all right then. Oh, my friend wants to buy you a meal. Tell your parents that you will get home late. I will have my driver drive you home,” the old man said.

“Yes, sir. Thank you so much,” answered Bai Zhe.

After Xi Lua hung up, Bai Zhe went straight to an herbalist’s shop downtown near his school. There were customers shopping in the shop; most of them were elderly. The shop staff was busy taking care of them.

The shop owner, who was overseeing orders in the shop, saw a young boy of about 15 years old, enter his shop. He greeted Bai Zhe by himself because all of his staff was busy.

“Hello, what is it that you are looking for? We have herbs in the form of capsules, stems, roots, and leaves. Our shop has them all.” The shop owner inquired about the needs of the boy in front of him. The owner knew that this teenage boy was not part of his main customer base. Asking the boy directly helped him finalise the sale faster and made the shop less busy.

“I want all the herbs on this list. Could you please also check their quality as well?” Bai Zhe handed him a list of more than 30 herbs.

The shop owner read the list before taking another look at Bai Zhe. Bai Zhe knew from the look that the owner was insulting him. That was because these 30 herbs were cheap. Though they were bought in a large quantity, the shop would not make much profit.

“Just a moment, I will tell my staff,” he told Bai Zhe, then called the staff who had just become available to pick up this order. He handed the staff the list and started to calculate the price.

While Bai Zhe was waiting, he felt qi power. It was not the power that was around him but belonged to two martial artists. The boy immediately disguised his qi power.

The shop door opened; an old man and a teenager entered. The old man was wearing a suit that fit him perfectly. Though his face was wrinkled, he was tall and large. He stood with his back straight, like he was in his thirties. The boy beside him had blue hair. He was wearing sleeveless athletic wear that exposed his shoulders and biceps, which showed that he was on a strict training regimen. He wore a pair of famous brand-name sweatpants that Bai Zhe had seen when he did research on clothing brands in this world.

The two newcomers wore iron bangles. The iron had been distilled by qi power. It was called first-level qi iron. If it was smelted by qi that was used for medicine fabrication, it would turn into mid-level qi iron. Its level would be upgraded to high-level qi iron when it was smelted using qi fire in accordance with the principles of Wen Wu fire. The high-level qi iron could be turned into a superior personal weapon. Bai Zhe could sense that they were the two martial artists that he became aware of earlier.

The old man was at the heart level of qi, while the boy was at the primary level. Bai Zhe was still at the first step of the earth level, and he was here to buy herbs to make medicine to strengthen qi.

If he could fully reach the heart level of qi, he would be able to use his qi power and this treasure that he had concealed in his soul, and it would be easier for him to practice higher levels of qi.

“Master Li, what can I do for you today?” The owner greeted the two immediately, leaving his staff to calculate the bill.

“Give him the list bestowed by the elder, Xiao Li,” the old man told the boy who had accompanied him.

The boy pulled out the list and handed it to the shop owner. Even though Bai Zhe was standing at a distance from them, he could see that the herbs on the list had rather strong yang power. When he carefully observed them, he smelled the yang herbs on them. Bai Zhe guessed that one of their family members must have been poisoned by yin power or have a pure yin body, which sometimes could happen from their martial arts practice. If mistreated, the chances for survival were very slim.

“Master Li, I do have an amount of these herbs in stock, but I’m afraid if the amount is this large, we may not have enough,” said the owner.

“Give us all you have,” the boy said harshly.

At this time, a staff member brought Bai Zhe the herbs he ordered along with the bill from his colleague, in order to ring up the purchases.

“May I inspect the products first?” asked Bai Zhe.

“Of course, sir,” the staff member answered. He showed the boy the products and went through the list on the receipt.

“Could I trouble you to change this one and the one next to it? Do you see that they are moldy? Not only are they useless, but they could also poison people who eat or use them. And change that entire bunch of herbs as well. They are so old they likely don’t have medicinal use remaining. Look at this. When you touch them just slightly, they crumble to dust. For this grass, please separate it from the normal grass that has been mixed in with it, you should be able to tell which is normal grass and which is herbal grass. Let me tell you something. Moldy herbs mean that your preservation method is not as good as it should be. People eat and use these things. How can you be this careless?” Bai Zhe frowned. This shop was big, but the management and the preservation of the herbs were not as good as they should have been.

The reason why Bai Zhe was mad was because when he was in Da Xian, his master, Tai Si Kong, had been very strict about herbs and medicine fabrication. He still vividly remembered his words: “Medicine is used to cure, not to kill.”

“This boy! Do not be fussy. We are one of the top medicine shops in this city and have been in business for decades. We know what we are doing. They can be used just fine. You don’t have money to pay for them, is that it? Are you trying to get a discount with all your criticism?” yelled the owner because after Bai Zhe said his herbs were lacking in quality, many customers immediately left the shop.

Bai Zhe pulled out his phone to take pictures of all of the problematic herbs. Naturally, the sign on the front of the shop was unintentionally included in the pictures. He sent them to Xi Lua before looking at the owner’s face. His eyes showed that he hated swindlers. The boy blinked, releasing his deadly psychic power at the man.

“Ahhhh, please, I’m scared now! Don’t kill me! Please!” He clasped his hands together in entreaty to Bai Zhe in the midst of the astonished gazes of his staff and the customers.

“What are you doing? Go replace the herbs for the customer!” he shouted at his staff when he saw they were standing still. The owner was on the floor, sweat bathing his face and clothes, the crotch of his pants soaked with his urine. The old man and the boy who were standing near the owner looked at Bai Zhe with anxious eyes.

“Grandfather, what was that coldness that pierced the length of my body just now?” whispered the boy to his grandfather.

“That was called deadly psychic power. Normally, a person who has been through many fights and battles will have it. But to use it at will, without affecting other people, as far as I know, that person must be a member of the five Divine Sects. Maybe that young boy is one of them,” the old man told his grandson.

“You two whisper loudly. I’m just an ordinary person who happened to come buy some stuff from this shop. Just ignore me.” Bai Zhe smiled before the staff gave him the herbs he had asked to be replaced and started to ring up his purchases. The boy handed over his debit card to pay for them. He then tied all 30 herbs together securely before throwing them upon his shoulder. He called a taxi and eventually left.

“We have to pretend like we didn’t see anything then,” said the old man. If the boy was a member of the Divine Sects, the boy's words meant that he wanted the two to act like they had not met him and not be nosy about his business. His grandson could not do anything but feel confused.

“Owner, what did he order?” the old man asked. The owner handed Bai Zhe’s list to him.

“Grandfather, what would the Divine Sects do with this large amount of cheap herbs? Aren’t they trying to find that herb?” asked the boy.

“We shouldn’t talk about it here,” the old man warned the boy.

“I understand,” the boy responded. He turned to the owner to rush him to prepare the herbs they had ordered.

The next day, that herbalist shop was investigated by authorities because they sold low-quality herbs; the herbs were also dangerous to those who bought them to eat. The government closed the shop for further investigation of all of the herbs in the shop and the purchase orders. They found a large quantity of expired herbs. Thus, they immediately revoked the shop's license. Xi Lua was the one behind this. He contacted his friend to permanently close the shop down after he received messages and pictures from Bai Zhe.