Chapter 14: A Small Fortune, Re-entering the Demon Academy
Temporarily closing his Spiracles, he held his breath.
A translucent Mayfly darted through the lush thickets of Pitcher Plants, happily collecting the Sugar Frost.
This Sugar Frost was not sugar or rock candy boiled from sugarcane, but the sweet juice secreted by the pitchers.
Ordinary insects do not recognize the trap.
Some Insect Demons are easily entranced by the fragrance.
Fu Shaoguang, however, could collect the juice with a clear mind, never landing on the pitchers at all, and was not deceived by appearances.
However, he could not keep his Spiracles closed for long and had to fly a distance away to catch his breath every so often.
Though it was a hassle, the thought of the heavy copper coins filled Fu Shaoguang with motivation.
As the setting sun cast its final glow, he returned to the Demon Market, never staying out overnight to avoid unnecessary worry and mental exhaustion.
Taking out half of the poisonous herbs and exchanging them for ten copper coins at the Five Poisons Shop, he went to find Gongyang Yang.
The Little Sheep Demon had been waiting for a while; seeing his good friend flying toward him, his eyes immediately curved into crescent moons, and he couldn't help himself:
"Baaa~!"
Realizing his lack of decorum, he immediately covered his mouth.
Seeing the innocent and naive bookworm Little Sheep Demon, Fu Shaoguang also felt refreshed. He picked up a small stick and began to write and draw:
【Before a friend, there is no need for formalities. Release yourself; be true, straightforward, and unrestrained.】
Gongyang Yang's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously.
【You've been waiting a long time, haven't you?】
After becoming familiar, Fu Shaoguang often appeared right on time; usually, when he arrived, Gongyang Yang had just picked up a stick to write new characters.
Today was a bit early, and the characters were already written.
Five Demon Script characters, and five Human characters.
Gongyang Yang nodded happily and said candidly, "I did arrive early today."
【Something good happened?】
Gongyang Yang nodded again, his voice crisp: "Learning characters is more important. I'll tell you after the lesson."
Fu Shaoguang naturally had no objection. He quickly learned the ten characters, memorizing both their strokes and meanings.
After finishing the lesson, Fu Shaoguang flapped his wings and flew onto Gongyang Yang's head. The latter explained as they walked, "Grandfather said today that I have mastered three hundred Human characters and three hundred Demon Script characters, so I can try reading books to seek knowledge."
Fu Shaoguang suddenly understood.
No wonder the Little Sheep Demon was so happy; for a bookworm, this was indeed a momentous occasion.
He flapped his wings and danced, feeling happy for him.
Gongyang Yang stopped and stood on his hind legs, taking out a Bamboo Slip from the Identity Bamboo Token hanging around his neck.
"Shaoguang, including today's ten characters, the number of characters you know has also reached three hundred. This is a gift for you; it introduces some of the local customs and geography of the nearby Human Race.
I hope you can read widely and become a man of great learning."
Receiving a gift made Fu Shaoguang joyful.
Moreover, this item was exactly what he needed.
Happily accepting the gift, Fu Shaoguang landed on the ground and sketched with his stick: 【I'll give you a gift next time.】
Gongyang Yang waved his hoof, saying it wasn't necessary.
But Fu Shaoguang wouldn't listen. After seeing his friend off near the Demon Academy, he flapped his wings and returned home.
Slumping onto his bed, Fu Shaoguang closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
He only woke up at midnight. He dissolved a few small pills, and after drinking them, Fu Shaoguang channeled the moonlight.
The Spirit Gathering Array operated, gathering Spiritual Qi.
He was already well-acquainted with the path of cultivation.
After finishing his daily Qi collection, Fu Shaoguang didn't soak his feet as before; instead, he boiled water for a bath.
In his past life, he had remembered many medicinal bath recipes. During this period of gathering herbs in the mountains, Fu Shaoguang had accumulated many Materials and now had the conditions for a health-preserving medicinal bath.
While the water was still boiling, he crushed herbs like Astragalus, Goji berries, and Dong Quai, tying them tightly in gauze.
Most herbs in the world are not friendly to insects, having either insecticidal or insect-repellent properties. These specific herbs and their proportions were what he had obtained after experimenting on a large number of insects.
With the proper dosage, they were beneficial and harmless to insects.
Once the water boiled, he poured it into a Bathtub he had bought for twenty copper coins and added the medicinal bath bag. After the water temperature was right, Fu Shaoguang flapped his wings and flew in.
The warm water opened his Spiracles, and strands of medicinal power seeped into his body, conditioning his insect form and soothing his spirit. His entire being felt opened up.
"So comfortable!"
Fu Shaoguang sighed inwardly.
Amidst the rising steam, he felt drowsy.
This Astragalus health formula could supplement Qi and nourish blood, strengthen the physique, calm the mind, remove irritability, and aid sleep.
After the soak, Fu Shaoguang had a night of sweet dreams.
The next day, he was full of energy. His magic power flowed smoothly, and even the efficiency of collecting Morning Sun Purple Qi had increased.
The health-preserving bath was beginning to show its effects.
However, he always felt something was slightly missing, including when he soaked his feet; it felt like being stuck in the middle, neither here nor there.
As for the specific reason, he couldn't figure it out for the time being.
He could only keep moving forward like this. After all, something was better than nothing, and soaking was better than not soaking.
For the next three days, Fu Shaoguang went about his business as usual.
Not until the evening of the fourth day did he set up his stall again.
He had just paid the rent yesterday—spending a hundred copper coins made his heart ache. Right now, he had less than three hundred copper coins in hand.
As for the string of coins that had been exchanged for one tael of silver, Fu Shaoguang subconsciously ignored it, reluctant to break it!
Not long after opening, several Insect Demons hurried over. They were all regular customers, and they asked why he hadn't set up his stall for the past few days. Fu Shaoguang simply took out a prepared wooden board:
【Materials are precious and require preparation.】
Some Insect Demons were illiterate. After being told by a literate Insect Demon, one asked, "Demon Friend, how often will you set up your stall?"
【It depends on the situation. There is no fixed time. I will set it up when Materials are available and close when they are lacking.】
Once the explanation was out, the Insect Demons came to a realization. An Insect Demon from a well-to-do family said, "Then I must buy more this time. After taking some back last time, everyone in my family, young and old, was full of praise for this One Heart Pill. I've been craving it for several days too."
Other Insect Demons nodded in agreement.
Striking while the iron was hot, Fu Shaoguang took out a sign:
【10% off for new customers, 20% off for regulars. Buy ten Spirit Pills and get one free; buy five Half-Spirit Pills and get one free.】
【Spirit Pills: 10 copper coins. Half-Spirit Pills: 5 copper coins.】
The language was concise and smooth, the meaning easy to understand.
He took out Half-Spirit Pills for the Insect Demons to sample.
The biggest difference between a Half-Spirit Pill and a Spirit Pill was that the former was made from ordinary Pitcher Plant juice. Its disadvantage was insufficient energy, but its advantage was that it used plenty of Pitcher Plant Sugar Frost.
One was high-end, the other low-end.
Fu Shaoguang was not disappointed; because they were high quality and affordable, the Half-Spirit Pills were quite popular, and the Insect Demons opened their purses generously.
Even though there were more of them, they sold out before the Spirit Pills.
"Demon Friend, I've finally managed to wait for you."
The chief musician of the Flower Pavilion, a Cicada Demon, hurried over.
After reading the explanation sign, he made a large purchase of two bottles of Spirit Pills and four bottles of Half-Spirit Pills.
Before leaving, he said:
"Demon Friend, the female Insect Demons in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion really like these One Heart Pills, and the customers also enjoy them to add to the fun. Half of the Spirit Pills I bought from you last time were shamelessly snatched by them.
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion wants to place a special order for a batch of One Heart Pills. I wonder what you think?"
With money to be made, Fu Shaoguang naturally agreed. He nodded immediately, and after a date was agreed upon, the Cicada Demon hurried away.
He had slipped out of the pavilion during a break, as there were more performances later.
Happily packing up his stall, Fu Shaoguang returned home.
Ankang Alley, Ancient Pine Courtyard.
The clinking of copper coins sounded like heavenly music. Fu Shaoguang counted them six times before stopping with lingering satisfaction. He picked up a miniature carving knife and a blank Bamboo Slip and began to keep accounts.
These two items were purchased by him two days ago. Originally, he intended to do some literary copying and give Gongyang Yang an ancient poem, but he hadn't expected to use them here first.
Today, he produced sixty-three Half-Spirit Pills. Nine were for samples, nine were given away for free, and forty-five were sold. Five regular customers, four new ones. Revenue: 190 copper coins. After deducting costs, a net profit of 150 copper coins... After some calculation, he had made a net profit of half a string of coins tonight. Fu Shaoguang was overjoyed.
After finishing his Qi collection, soaking his feet, and drinking dew, his thoughts surged. He knew that tonight's situation wouldn't last long.
Although he had used some marketing strategies, he hadn't lied completely. Wood Heart was precious and indeed not easy to obtain. Besides, this formula wasn't difficult; with careful study, someone would eventually figure it out.
He had to make the most of this wave of profits.
For the next half month, besides his usual mountain herb gathering, Fu Shaoguang set up his stall twice, specifically selling Half-Spirit Pills. With a larger quantity, he made a net profit of 630 copper coins.
As for Spirit Pills, he only sold a batch when delivering goods to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. Combined with over a hundred Half-Spirit Pills, he made a net profit of over 800 copper coins. The remaining Wood Heart, Fu Shaoguang intended to use for himself to assist his cultivation.
Because some demons were already selling "One Heart Pills: Mortal Version" the last time he set up his stall, he sold the One Heart Pill formula to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion when he delivered the goods. Although the formula didn't have much technical complexity, he still received two taels of silver.
From then on, Fu Shaoguang no longer sold One Heart Pills.
The weather grew increasingly cold. By mid-September, he stopped going out to prevent being targeted by other demons preparing winter supplies.
During his final trip to the mountains to gather herbs, he actually found a fifty-year-old Blood Ginseng, also known as Sanqi.
It could be considered a perfect conclusion to his autumn herb gathering.
Resting at home and conditioning his spirit, Fu Shaoguang balanced his accounts and found that after deducting expenses, he had accumulated five taels and seven mace. After a season of hard work, he could be considered to have a small fortune.
Three days later, Fu Shaoguang intended to re-enter the Demon Academy.
Firstly, he now had money.
Secondly, he truly considered Gongyang Yang a friend. Having already relied on him to finish his basic studies, he couldn't keep sponging off him.
Thirdly, the Advanced Coursework was more profound, involving the secrets of breaking through realms and the teaching of Spells. It was better for him to attend himself.
What Fu Shaoguang didn't expect was that as soon as he entered the Demon Academy and prepared to pay his Tuition fees, he was told he could study for free for a month.
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