Chapter 6: Selling Medicine

Evan Norman wandered around for a bit and spotted a big yellow dog nosing through a trash pile beside the academy dining hall. It was the academy's resident bully. The mutt was not a Fierce Beast, and its strength was limited, but it was infamous for its vicious temper. It bullied the weak and feared the strong. The moment it met someone dangerous, it bolted. The moment it saw a newcomer, it lunged with bared teeth. Out of every ten students who had just entered the academy, nine had been harassed by this yellow menace. *You'll do.* Evan fixed his gaze on the dog and crept closer. When only about thirty feet remained, he drove off with his left leg. His whole body shot forward like an arrow, so fast it blurred. With a burst of twelve thousand jin of strength, how could he not be fast? The yellow dog finally sensed danger and tried to run, but it was far too late. Evan snatched it up in one hand. "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you," Evan said with a smile. Then he took out a small knife and sliced the dog's leg. The yellow dog: "..." *Are you insane? That's your idea of not hurting me?* Evan quickly pulled out Hemostatic Powder and pressed it onto the cut. A shocking scene followed. The wound not only stopped bleeding immediately, it even scabbed over at a visible speed. It worked like magic! Evan's face lit up. His very first attempt at mixing medicine had succeeded. He really was a genius. "Woof, woof, woof!" The yellow dog kept barking. If it could talk, it probably would have cursed Evan from head to toe. "I can't let you go yet. Come with me for one more trip," Evan told it. He planned to take it to a pharmacy and run another test. Nothing convinced like hard proof. The yellow dog let out a miserable whine. What had it done to deserve this? Evan did not even bother with breakfast. He headed straight into the city with the dog in tow. The dog, of course, refused to cooperate. In its eyes, Evan was no different from a demon. Unfortunately, Evan was holding it by one leg, and it could not get away no matter how it struggled. "Don't look so wronged," Evan said, chuckling. "Once I have the materials, I'll refine you some pills to awaken your intelligence. Your dog life will never be the same." That was not empty talk. Wild beasts could indeed awaken their intelligence and become as powerful as Fierce Beasts. At that point, they were called Spirit Beasts. Not long after, Evan entered the city and arrived at the doors of Spring Revival Pharmacy. Spring Revival Pharmacy was the strongest pharmacy in Sunrise City. It had more than a dozen branches, and this location was only one of them. Evan paused at the entrance, then walked in. "Welcome, sir. What medicine do you need?" A cheerful shop assistant hurried over, then froze when he saw the yellow dog dangling from Evan's hand. *This is a pharmacy. We don't buy dog meat.* *Is something wrong with this guy's head?* If Evan had not been so good-looking, the assistant might have thrown him out on the spot. Evan smiled and got straight to the point. "I'm here to sell medicine." Sell medicine… at a pharmacy? Fine. Spring Revival Pharmacy did buy from outsiders sometimes, but why was he carrying a dog like that? The assistant's eyes flicked toward the yellow dog despite himself. It was weirdly mesmerizing. The dog was vicious. It immediately bared its teeth at the assistant in warning. *What are you staring at? This dog has nothing to do with that lunatic.* "Sir, please come inside," the assistant said with a bow. "I'll go invite the shopkeeper." Evan was led in. There were quite a few customers inside. Buying medicine was not something a lowly assistant could decide. The shopkeeper had to make the call. The assistant had Evan sit off to the side, then ran to fetch the shopkeeper. Even as he went, he kept glancing back. In all his years working here, he had never seen someone stroll around with a dog hanging from his hand. Before long, the shopkeeper came out. He was a middle-aged man around forty, of average height with a slightly well-fed build. His hair was slicked to a glossy shine, and he carried himself with stiff authority, his face set in a constant frown. His name was Raymond Joslin, the person in charge of this branch of Spring Revival Pharmacy. "What are you selling?" he asked, impatience written all over his expression. The reason was simple. The young lady from headquarters had suddenly come to inspect the place that day, and he needed to hurry back to attend her. "A hemostatic Golden Wound Powder," Evan replied, not taking the man's attitude to heart. He set a small bottle on the table. "Please appraise it." Raymond's face immediately filled with disdain. The bottle had no packaging at all. It was as plain as could be. Any reputable medicine master cared even about the bottle, marking it with special seals. That had even spawned a whole business of buying marked bottles to pass off as a master's work. So when someone brought in a bottle like this, you had to be careful. It was very likely fake medicine. And this one was so ordinary. How could it be anything good? Raymond could not even be bothered to pull the stopper and take a look. He waved his hand dismissively. "Spring Revival Pharmacy doesn't buy trash!" Evan's temper flared. If his Hemostatic Powder truly did not work, he would have swallowed any mockery and endured it. But this man had not even looked. He had rejected it on sight. That was too much. "You didn't appraise anything," Evan said, his voice turning cold. "On what grounds do you say my medicine is no good?" Even with Colin Umpleby's memories in his head, Evan was still only sixteen, still hot-blooded. Raymond did not care in the slightest. One look at Evan's clothes told him everything. They were cheap, and they had been washed until they were almost faded. And what was with the dog? The mutt's coat was uneven, and its tail had a bald patch. It was clearly no prized breed. All of it screamed humble origins. Someone like that could not possibly have a powerful backing. So why should he bother? Especially when the young lady from the main hall was inspecting today and seemed deeply dissatisfied with the store's performance. He needed to get back and flatter her. He had no time to waste on some ordinary boy. "Go, go," Raymond snapped, shooing him away. "If you don't get out, I'll have someone throw you out." Evan's brows lifted. He was about to speak when a commotion erupted outside. "Murder!" "Murder!" After a wave of panicked shouting, a child was carried in. He was only six or seven years old, but there was a terrifyingly deep wound in his lower abdomen. Blood poured out in a steady gush. The moment Raymond saw it, his face darkened. "This is a pharmacy, not a clinic. Why are you bringing someone in here? Get him out!" "Shopkeeper, that's the City Lord's Young Master!" an assistant blurted out. "What?" Raymond's face drained. He rushed over to check. "What happened?" The City Lord's son. People said the City Lord only had that one precious child. How could something like this happen? "Someone attacked in the street," the assistant said. He had been at the door and had witnessed the horrifying scene. "Two of the young master's servants were killed, and the young master was badly wounded. The attacker escaped in the chaos." "The injury was too severe. If we carried him to a clinic, it would be too late, so we had no choice but to bring him into the pharmacy." Raymond frowned hard. As a pharmacy shopkeeper, he was not skilled in Medical Art, but he had eyes. He could tell at a glance the boy had been stabbed in the abdomen with a sharp weapon. Blood was flowing nonstop. If they did not stop the bleeding immediately, the child would die from blood loss. And if the City Lord's Young Master died here… Raymond knew the City Lord was moody and violent, the kind who killed at the slightest provocation. If that happened, Raymond would be finished too. The thought sent a shiver through him, cold spreading from head to toe.