The fish that slipped away

"Sir, That girl doesn't know what she's talking about, this version cannot compare to those sold by others, while it's true that others might sell it at a little cheaper price, our version is much more complete and has been written by a master in the technique, just look at the power contained in these words they will surely help you breakthrough quicker. In fact since you seems like such a valiant young man, I'll sell it to you at 1 gold, no wait 50 silver coins as a favor" the shop assistant frantically tried to save the sale. The commission he would earn for selling a cultivation manual would be quite significant and he felt as a fisherman that had a big fish on the hook but just before he was able to reel it in, the fish slipped away.

Bai Hao levelled a gaze of contempt at the shop assistant turned around and walked away. "Ugh I can't believe I was almost ripped off by these greedy merchants". Bai Hao navigated the busy shopping floor as if it was his second home, after all he frequently came here to sell his healing salves, and he just so happened to be on his way to sell a new batch when he got caught up in the moment and decided to buy a cultivation manual. He walked straight to the Luo Herb Emporium, Bai Hao had been selling his healing salves there since the beginning since he would never forget the treatment he received from the other shopkeepers during his first attempt. The small shop was just as busy as it always was, which is not busy at all. He didn't know if it was because of the old man always sleeping in his chair, or because of the herbs lying haphazardly on the shelves under a layer of dust, however in all the time he had spend at the shop he didn't see a single other customer, neither did any of the customers walking past take a single glance at the shop. "Grandpa Luo, wake up, how come you are always sleeping when I come here" he said loudly, Bai Hao had become quite friendly with the old man from Luo Herb Emporium and had started calling the old man Grandpa as a sign of their friendship. "What, who?" the old man shook awake, "Are you trying to shock me to death boy, you don't have to scream like a pig in the slaughterhouse, you are going to give this old man a heart attack". Bai Hao chuckled. "Grandpa I'm here to sell another batch of healing salve, here have a look". Bai Hao put several pots of healing salve on the counter. "Hmmm same as always, I can give you 23 coppers each, say you look a bit unhappy, did you hit any roadblocks while creating these healing salves" the old man responded. "Humph what roadblock, my success rate has already hit 70%. It's just that earlier today I was looking for a cultivation manual and innocent me was almost ripped off by a greedy merchant" Bai Hao sadly stared off, "I just wish to cultivate, why does it have to be so difficult". A glint flashed through the eyes of the old man, "Say Bai Hao, since you are such a loyal customer I might be able to help you. I have this cultivation technique that was passed down by my ancestors that is especially helpful for concocting medicine and might be suitable for you, why don't you have a look." Bai Hao suspiciously looked at the old man as he walked through the store opening small cabinets left and right "Where is that damned book, it's always gone when you need it" the old man cursed "Ah there it is". The old man turned around and threw a small book on the counter". Bai Hao couldn't help being suspicious, the book looked nothing like the cultivation manuals that he had seen in the other stores, it had no aura of heroicness or strength, in fact it didn't even have anything written on the cover. It just looked like one of those cheap notebooks that one could buy at any supply store to scribble notes in and had at most 20 pages. "Grandpa are you trying to scam me, why is it so plain, I'll let you know that I'm the foremost expert in cultivation manuals, so I'll immediately know if it is fake" Bai Hao said completely shameless about the fact that he almost had been ripped off not even an hour ago. Opening the cultivation manual he saw rows upon rows of words written in a small script, the style of the characters was completely unimpressive, in fact it was the complete opposite of impressive. Anyone looking at it would assume it to be some cheap romance novel or maybe the diary of a young girl, filled with nonsense that only few would enjoy. Quickly glancing over the first few lines the text seemed unimpressive.

"Grandpa, are you sure this is a real cultivation manual?" Bai Hao asked with quite a bit of suspicion hidden in his voice. The old man chuckled, "Yes of course, it's been passed down through my ancestors for generations, tell you what. I'll lend you this manual for now, if you like it you can come back on Monday and we will discuss the price, if not you can just return it to me". Bai Hao suspicion shot up even more at these words, which shop would lend you a cultivation manual and tell you to come back later to pay for it. He gazed at the old man for any sign of deceit, however the old man looked as friendly and unperturbed as he had always looked. Not being able to pass up a freebie, Bai Hao found himself agreeing to the terms, after all if it turned out to be worthless he could just return the manual later, and if he was lucky this manual could at least teach him some of the basic knowledge for cultivating that he could use to choose a suitable cultivation technique for himself. Satisfied with that thought, Bai Hai said goodbye and walked away with the notebook in his hand.

Not long after Bai Hao had left the shop, a smile could be seen on the face of the old man, it was a friendly smile, a smile of someone of the senior generation looking at the younger generation with expectation. The old man straightened his back as an impressive aura radiated from him that could move heaven and earth, however not a single one of the customers walking around Green Cloud Pavilion noticed this, in fact it seemed as if they didn't notice the shop at all. The old man turned around, took one step and then just disappeared as if he was never there, the sign as well as the different herbs and cabinets were completely gone with no sign of the shop ever being inhabited.