Journey to the West: Starting from the Imperial Horse Stable

In the Heavenly Court, battles requiring the use of weapons are indeed extremely rare. Even when immortals occasionally have disagreements, they usually stop short of serious conflict. If someone is injured, they can usually recover after a period of recuperation.

Therefore, wound-healing pills like Golden Wound Medicine were not considered rare commodities in the Xuanzhu Collection, and their prices remained average.

But Wang Chen still decided to buy, and to buy in large quantities.

He knew that it wouldn't be long—most likely within the next few days—before the Jade Emperor issued an edict ordering Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, to lead celestial troops and generals to the mortal realm to conquer Flower Fruit Mountain. At that time, the demand for wound medicine—the most basic and practical external medicine—would inevitably increase dramatically, whether for frontline combat or post-battle healing.

Wang Chen held the bottle of wound medicine and looked at the stall owner. The stall owner was a middle-aged official with a sallow complexion, his eyes carrying the usual sorrow and a hint of a businessman's shrewdness.

"How much?" Wang Chen asked again, his tone as casual as if he were asking about a cabbage.

"Twenty-five spirit stones a bottle," the stall owner quoted, adding, "This is a blend of top-quality blood-clotting herbs and muscle-regenerating powder. It's highly effective and of the highest quality."

Wang Chen nodded, not commenting on the price, but instead asked, "How many bottles do you have? I mean, the ones you can get right now?"

The stall owner paused, glancing at Wang Chen's attire—the unremarkable coarse cloth robes of an ordinary wandering immortal. He hesitated, then said, "I have about forty or fifty bottles in stock. What, do you need a lot, fellow Daoist?"

"Forty or fifty bottles..." Wang Chen hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Are there many stalls selling wound medicine in this market?"

"Not many." The stall owner shook his head, a hint of pride in his voice. "At most, only three or four stalls. To be honest, a lot of their stock comes from me. I have a brother who works at Baicaoyuan, so he can get some scraps, which lowers the cost."

Wang Chen gave an "Oh," and said casually, "Since they also get their goods from you, why don't you sell them all to me? If I buy a lot, can you give me a discount?"

The stall owner's eyes lit up, and he leaned forward slightly: "How many do you want, fellow Daoist? If you want a hundred or two hundred bottles, I'll give you a price of twenty spirit stones per bottle, how about that?"

Wang Chen didn't respond to that question. Instead, he asked, "With all the materials you have right now, if you work at full speed, how many bottles can you make approximately?"

The stall owner quickly calculated in his mind: "The materials... there's still a batch in the warehouse, plus what I just received, if all of them were made into wound medicine, it would probably... yield around three thousand bottles. But that would require working day and night, and the losses would be considerable. Fellow Daoist, what do you mean by asking this? Could it be...?"

Wang Chen put down the medicine bottle in his hand, looked at the stall owner, and said in a calm but clear voice, "Three thousand bottles won't do, but four thousand bottles are fine with me."

"All of them?" The stall owner's eyes widened suddenly, the worry and shrewdness on his face instantly replaced by shock. "Four thousand bottles? Fellow Daoist, you're not joking, are you?"

"I'm not joking." Wang Chen's tone remained calm. "Give me a fair price. If it's reasonable, I'll pay the deposit now, and once the goods arrive, I'll give you all the spirit stones."

The stall owner swallowed hard, his hands trembling slightly. He'd been running a small business for so many years, and had never received such a large order. Four thousand bottles of wound medicine, at a price of twenty-five each, that was a hundred thousand spirit stones! He scrutinized Wang Chen again, trying to find any trace of joking or mischief on his face, but Wang Chen simply looked at him calmly, his eyes devoid of any mockery.

"This...this..." The stall owner stammered a few times, forcing himself to calm down.

"Fellow Daoist, if you really want this much, then the price can certainly be negotiated. But what do you need so much wound medicine for? This is no small sum..."

Wang Chen smiled faintly: "Of course it's useful. What, does Xuanzhu Market need to ask customers what they're buying for?"

"No, no," the stall owner quickly waved his hand, but his doubts and wariness hadn't completely disappeared.

"But... the amount is too large, I need to be prepared. If something goes wrong, I can't afford the consequences."

"What could possibly go wrong?" Wang Chen retorted. "We've entered into a contract, a fair transaction where money and goods are exchanged. What I do with it is none of your business and won't affect you. If you're worried, I can pay a 30% deposit upfront, with the balance due upon delivery."

The stall owner's heart pounded. The immense temptation and potential risks battled in his mind. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Fellow Daoist, can you really produce so many spirit stones?"

Wang Chen didn't speak, but simply took out the dark blue storage bag from his pocket, leaving the opening slightly ajar. A pure and rich spiritual energy fluctuation, characteristic of high-grade spirit stones, emanated from it. Although it only lasted for a moment, it made the stall owner tremble, and his eyes widened even more.

"Alright! Alright!" The stall owner no longer hesitated, a blush of defiance rising on his face. "Since you're so straightforward, I'll be frank! Four thousand bottles. If you give me two or three days to prepare, I can cut the cost. I'll give you... eighteen spirit stones per bottle! How about it?"

Wang Chen shook his head and held up three fingers: "Fifteen spirit stones. I need it the day after tomorrow morning."

"Fifteen? The day after tomorrow morning?" The stall owner gasped, his face contorting in a grimace. "Fellow Daoist, this...this is impossible! Fifteen spirit stones! I barely make any profit! And it's in such a rush! I'd have to use all my materials, ask for help, and the losses would be at least 20%! This...this is really impossible!"

Wang Chen remained calm and said slowly, "Fifteen spirit stones, you can still make a profit, it's just a matter of how much. Time is tight, you can hire a few more trustworthy rogue immortals to help, and the wages will come from this deal of mine. I can give you an extra five hundred spirit stones as a rush fee. But the condition is that I need to see all the wound medicine by the morning after tomorrow."

He paused, looking at the stall owner's conflicted expression, and added, "If you find it difficult, then forget it. I'll ask around at other stalls. But this business might not be yours."

After saying that, he made a move to get up.

"No! No!" The stall owner was so anxious he almost jumped out from behind his stall, grabbing Wang Chen's arm.

"Fellow Daoist, wait! Wait! I'll do it! Fifteen it is! The day after tomorrow, four thousand bottles, I... I won't sleep, I'll find a few more helpers, and I'll get them done for you!"

The huge order and potential profits ultimately overwhelmed all concerns. He gritted his teeth, a fierce glint in his eyes: "Let's do it! I'll use all the spiritual herbs in my inventory, and find a few skilled workers to help! Even if there are significant losses, I'm doing this deal!"

A satisfied smile finally appeared on Wang Chen's face: "Alright. Let's draw up the contract then."

The two signed a simple sales contract on the spot, and Wang Chen paid a deposit equivalent to 30% of the total price, which was 18,000 spirit stones.

When the stall owner took the heavy bag full of high-grade spirit stones, his hands were still trembling slightly, a mixture of excitement and unease.

After leaving his stall, Wang Chen didn't linger at Xuanzhu Market and headed straight for his residence.

Walking down the deserted street, he silently calculated in his mind. The cost was fifteen spirit stones per bottle; four thousand bottles would cost a total of sixty thousand spirit stones. According to his calculations, once news of Li Jing's troop deployment spread, the price of the wound medicine could very well double or even more. At that time, reselling this batch of medicine would yield extremely substantial profits.

However, a more practical question immediately came to mind.

He did not possess a celestial talisman.

Without a Celestial Scroll, even if he possessed highly sought-after goods, he couldn't openly sell them in a legitimate market like the Suspended Pearl Market. Selling them privately? Wang Chen quickly dismissed the idea. In his years in the Heavenly Court, he had carefully observed and never seen any rogue immortal dare to do such a thing. Clearly, the Heavenly Court's oversight and punishments for this were extremely severe, and the risks far outweighed the rewards.

So, it seems there's only one way left: find a way to get a Celestial Scroll.

That's why he only used 60,000 spirit stones to buy wound medicine. He deliberately kept 12,000 spirit stones for himself from the beginning.

This money might be useful for "getting things done".

"Perhaps I should go to the driver's office tomorrow," Wang Chen thought to himself.

The Carriage and Chariot Office is an office above the Imperial Horse Administration. Now that the Imperial Horse Administration's Keeper of the Horses has left, and many officials and servants have been arrested, there must be many vacant celestial registers.

Although Wang Chen himself was a wandering immortal without a talisman, he was still working at the Imperial Horse Administration and "coincidentally" performed "outstandingly" before and after Liu Changyun's incident, and also properly managed the funds... With some maneuvering, there might be an opportunity.

But as soon as the thought arose, a chill followed.

risk.

Where would a destitute wandering immortal like him get so many spirit stones to "lobby"? Although the officials of the Prison Administration had already used secret methods to prove that the usury debt was unrelated to him, thus blocking Boss Zhang's overt pursuit.

But this doesn't stop others, like the driver or other people with ulterior motives, from questioning the origin of his spirit stones. If he were targeted and labeled as having "unknown origin," he would truly have lost more than he gained.

"I still need to sound them out first before I can act rashly." Wang Chen was cautious. Having made up his mind, he quickened his pace, thinking that he should perhaps go and talk to a well-informed and relatively reliable old official in the Carriage and Driver's Office tonight.

However, before he could even reach the entrance of his alley, several figures emerged from the shadows and blocked his way.

They were all dressed in the standard robes of low-ranking celestial officials of the Heavenly Court, with serious expressions and cold, businesslike eyes.

The leader sized Wang Chen up and down to confirm his identity, then spoke:

"Wang Chen? Come with us."