Chapter 14 - Being Followed

Even in the midst of class, Liu Peng couldn't calm the excitement bubbling within him.

He glanced at the teacher on the podium, making sure he wasn't being watched, and stealthily took out his phone, hiding it inside his desk drawer. He quickly typed out a message to Su Mu: "How many boxes have we sold?"

Feeling the vibration in his pocket, Su Mu pulled out his phone and glanced at it before responding: "Including the pre-orders, over 800 boxes."

"Holy crap, we've sold over 800 boxes already?"

Liu Peng had guessed that they sold quite a few, but he didn't expect the number to be this high. The shock gave him quite the jolt.

Over 800 boxes, that's over 3 million yuan!

Liu Peng had never seen so much money in his life.

Even if most of that money had to go to the mysterious grand alchemist, he and Su Mu should still make a decent profit.

"Should be enough to net me a few thousand, maybe even ten thousand yuan, right?" Liu Peng thought, feeling happy.

He wasn't greedy; it was enough to sip the broth while the big shots feasted on the meat.

After all, he didn't do much—just invested a couple thousand yuan and helped maintain the order of the queue. If he could actually make a few thousand, or even ten thousand yuan, it would be incredibly satisfying.

Cheerful, Liu Peng sent another message to Su Mu: "This business is so profitable. If we could keep this up, we're going to be rich! Amu, ask the grand alchemist if he can supply us regularly?"

Su Mu replied: "Don't dream too big. The special effect qi refining pills can only sell for a high price these days. Normally, they can't fetch such a price, and average families can't afford to spend tens of thousands each month."

He wasn't blinded by the booming business and saw things very clearly.

If it wasn't for the upcoming examination for cultivation, the special effect qi refining pills wouldn't be able to command such a price.

Unless they could set up a pharmaceutical factory for mass production, he wouldn't consider dealing in special effect qi refining pills again.

After all, making these pills by hand was not only time-consuming but also mentally taxing.

Liu Peng felt a sense of regret after reading Su Mu's reply.

However, he knew Su Mu made sense. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be the senior students buying the special effect qi refining pills—the juniors and sophomores were just onlookers, none of them took any action.

He thought for a moment, then made another suggestion: "We could stock up more from the grand alchemist and sell them to other schools. It's bound to be a hit there too."

Su Mu could only offer a wry smile.

With the current pre-orders, it would take several days to fulfill them all.

With production unable to meet demand, expanding the market was simply unrealistic.

Of course, Su Mu didn't share these concerns. He simply replied: "The grand alchemist probably won't agree. He has other, more important matters to attend to and can't possibly produce too many special effect qi refining pills."

"That's a shame. But making a bit of extra cash is already great. One shouldn't be too greedy."

Liu Peng's words were as much a consolation to himself as they were meant to comfort Su Mu.

Su Mu saw the message, smiled, and didn't reply.

He didn't need anyone's comfort.

With a pay-to-win cheat at his disposal, was making money a concern?

If there was anything to worry about, it would be not having enough money to spend...

In the blink of an eye, morning classes were over, and it was time to dismiss for the day.

During the break, waves of people came to scan QR codes and pay, reserving their special effect qi refining pills.

The sales had reached over 1,000 boxes, with the money received exceeding 4 million yuan!

Liu Peng had planned to leave with Su Mu, but he heard him say, "You go back first; I still have some things to take care of."

"Things to take care of?" Liu Peng was slightly taken aback, then guessed that Su Mu was going to get more stock from the mysterious grand alchemist, and made an 'I understand' expression. He advised, "Be careful, and call me if you need any help."

Su Mu nodded.

Stepping out of the school gate, he hailed a taxi. Just as he got in, he heard a voice speaking rapidly, "Young man, where to?"

"Shut up, or I'll tear you apart!" the taxi driver roared in anger, cutting off the incessant advertisement, and only then did Su Mu notice that those words were coming from the rune advertisements plastered in the car.

"Ever since these damn ads were put up, they've been a headache, and customers complain all the time. I really don't know what those officials in the company are thinking, they're all damn money-eyed," he grumbled before asking Su Mu, "Where are you headed?"

Su Mu gave him a sympathetic look and then gave an address.

He didn't go to the same stores where he bought the medicine yesterday but changed locations and first entered a large clinic. After wandering around inside, he left through another door.

It turns out his cautiousness was justified.

As he left the clinic, three people were lurking inside, looking around.

They were from Su Mu's school, also seniors, who had lined up wanting to buy the special effect qi refining pills. But because they were at the back of the line, they couldn't get any. Later, when everyone else went to pay in advance, they didn't; instead, they had the idea to follow Su Mu, hoping to find the mysterious grand alchemist.

Buying the special effect qi refining pills directly from the grand alchemist would definitely be cheaper than buying from Su Mu, a middleman, right?

Maybe they could also get stock from the grand alchemist and become middlemen to make a profit?

If Su Mu could do it, there was no reason they couldn't, right?

So, the moment school was out, they kept an eye on Su Mu, tailing him all the way here.

However, the clinic was so large it was almost the size of a small hospital. Moreover, since they were afraid of being discovered, they didn't dare to follow too closely and didn't notice that Su Mu had already left through another door.

"Where did he go?"

"I just saw him; how did he vanish in the blink of an eye?"

"Damn, we've lost him!"

"Don't panic. Since he came straight to this clinic, maybe this is where he gets the special effect qi refining pills."

"Right, let's ask around. We might get some information."

The three immediately approached a receptionist in the clinic and asked, "Do you have a grand alchemist here?"

The receptionist, with a professional smile, replied, "All of our alchemists here have profound theoretical knowledge and rich clinical experience. May I know what specifically you are looking for?"

She deliberately ignored the word 'grand.'

Yes, there were alchemists here, but they were only Level 1 alchemists.

A Level 1 alchemist could be anyone, but to become a grand alchemist, one must be at least a Level 4 alchemist and a cultivator!

The three of them had no idea about these distinctions and did not pick up on the receptionist's vague response. They asked anxiously, "So, do you have someone here who can make the special effect qi refining pill?"

"You've come to the right place," the receptionist said with a smile, "We indeed have someone who can do that."

She glanced at the three of them and said, "You all look like you're in your senior year of high school, right? The special effect qi refining pill is perfect for you—it's guaranteed to increase your spiritual qi value much more than others!"

Her words nearly caused the group to jump for joy.

"It really is here!"

"We've come to the right place!"

Then, they asked a crucial question: "How much is a box?"

The receptionist shook her head and said, "I'm not sure about that. You'll need to ask Elder Zhang himself."

"Please take us to Elder Zhang," the three urged, clearly impatient.

Soon, led by the receptionist, they met the supposed creator of the special effect qi refining pill, Elder Zhang, the alchemist.

The old alchemist was quite aged, with not a hair left on his head.

The three exchanged glances, feeling confident they had found the right person. Their attitude became even more respectful.

Without saying anything else, just the bald head alone was enough to convince them that he was no ordinary individual!

"Do you want to buy the special effect qi refining pill?" the bald old alchemist asked with a smile, appearing very approachable.

All three nodded in unison: "Yes, how much for a box?"

The bald old alchemist held up a finger: "One thousand yuan a box."

"What the...?!"

They were all taken aback by the price.

They were genuinely shocked by the cost.

The special effect qi refining pill was only one thousand yuan a box? So five boxes would only cost five thousand yuan?

That bastard Su Mu dared to sell them for twenty thousand, a fourfold price increase!

And he had the nerve to call it a 'limited time offer'!

What a rip-off! He was way too black-hearted!

It's a good thing we followed him here, or we would have been totally scammed!