What Was I Doing Here Again?

Not too far ahead of him, Meng Hao saw someone screaming for help. Before the person could get off of the plateau, the huge man's flying sword hit him, piercing his neck. He fell twitching to the ground in a shower of blood, rattled out a last breath, then died. The huge man grabbed his victim's bag of holding, then turned and headed back into the Public Zone.

Meng Hao watched the grisly scene unfold, then further observed what was happening on the plateau. The sounds of slaughter drifted along with the wind, which carried the scent of blood, narcotics, and gore into Meng Hao's nostrils.

"You can get rich overnight in this place, but it's also extremely dangerous. For the high, for Sniff Stones, people put their lives on the line. To some, it is really worth it." Meng Hao frowned. He was almost at the peak of the third level of Quelling Conscience, but what was happening up there was just too chaotic. It would be too easy to be injured, and if he were robbed, it would have a long-lasting effect.

Meng Hao thought about the lack of Sniff Stones in his bag. If he depended on receiving Sniff Stones distributed by the Sect, who knew how many years he would have to wait. Muttering to himself, he looked up at the Cultivators on the plateau. They fought fiercely, each and every one having suffered injuries. Suddenly, Meng Hao had a flash of inspiration, an idea.

His idea grew more and more clear, and his eyes began to shine. He turned and hurried off, not to the Immortal Crackhouse in the Southern Mountain, but rather down to the Outer Sect. He skirted the main square, and eventually arrived at a building.

The building appeared to be ancient, and was surrounding by the fragrant aroma of medicine. Inscribed above the doorway were characters which read: Medicinal Cultivation Workshop.

It wasn't his first time coming here. Actually, in his first month after being promoted to the Outer Sect, he had come here once to check out the various medicinal pills which were for sale. That was when he had learned about the Fasting Pills you could buy which would prevent hunger for several days.

The only currency used here was Sniff Stones and Suppressing Conscience Pills. Unfortunately, the exchange rate was very unfair. For example, one Suppressing Conscience Pill could be traded for ten Fasting Pills. These pills were also actually medicinal pills with no narcotic properties whatsoever, so it was very unpopular.

When he arrived, Meng Hao didn't hesitate. It wasn't large inside, and sitting cross-legged right in the middle of the room was a sickly looking middle-aged man. Surrounding him on the interlocking wooden shelves were an assortment of gourd bottles, inscribed upon which were the names of various medicines.

There were Blood Coagulation Pills which could treat external injuries, Skeletal Relaxation Pills to relieve fatigue, Spirit Refreshment Pills to temporarily increase energy and of course Fasting Pills and Appetite Control Pills. There were even Marrow Growth Pills which could treat broken and crushed bones.

There were many types of medicines, but all of them were considerably costly. For most, the cost of three to ten pills was one Suppressing Conscience Pill. To most disciples of the Inner Sect, a Suppressing Conscience Pill was worth fighting over, so few were willing to come here and trade them away.

Meng Hao strolled around the Medicinal Cultivation Workshop muttering to himself, his eyes glittering. Then, he pulled out five Suppressing Conscience Pills and exchanged them for a handful of different types of medicines.

It seemed the sickly man didn't see customers like Meng Hao very often. He brightened up immediately, handing over the bottle gourds of medicine.

Placing all the bottles gourds into his bag of holding, Meng Hao left, carefully taking a circuitous route through the mountainous forest back to the Immortal's cave. By the time he arrived, night had fallen.

He sat down cross-legged, looking at the four bottle gourds.

"The sages said, if you do not expend, you will not profit. I will set up a shop near the Public Zone and sell medicinal pills many times more than their value to desperate cultivators in battle!" He stood and left the cave, returning shortly with a long tree branch about the thickness of his arm, along with a large pile of leaves.

He pulled a green robe out from Zhao Wugang's bag of holding and tore the seams apart, then laid it out in front of him. It seemed the right size, so he pulled another robe out, tore the seams, and placed it with the first. He looked down, contented.

Next, he crushed up the leaves to produce a thick sap. Then, he dipped his fingers into the makeshift ink and wrote several large characters onto the cloth in sweeping calligraphy.

He looked at it, feeling quite satisfied, then closed his eyes and began doing sniffing exercises. Eventually, he sniffed himself to sleep.

The night passed, and early the next morning, he picked up the tree branch and left the cave hurriedly.

It didn't take long to reach the plateau, and despite the early hour, there were already a few disciples there locked in battle. The fierceness of the fighting was readily apparent. Ignoring the other Cultivators, Meng Hao passed the large stone tablets and walked onto the plateau. His eyes scanned the surroundings, until falling to rest on a boulder which stuck up out of the ground along the border.

He walked over and sat down cross-legged on the boulder, looking every bit the peaceful and harmless scholar.

"Wait a minute... What am I doing here again?" Meng Hao was a bit disoriented from the previous night. He sniffed something funny in the air during his sniff sessions the night before and it had been bothering him ever since.

Not far off from him were two Cultivators of the second level of Quelling Conscience, locked in combat, their eyes red. No one knew whether it was from being high or the heat of battle. One of them had a shoulder sliced open by his opponent's flying sword. Blood showered out, and he seemed to be in quite a difficult position.

The injured cultivator turned to Meng Hao.

"You... I can smell the fragrance of medicinal pills on you. Please give me some... I'll make it worth your while." He said weakly.

"Uh sure..." Meng Hao replied. He took out a Blood Coagulation Pill and gave it to the man. This wasn't the brightest move as he should've asked for the payment first. However, Meng Hao was clumsy to begin with and now that he was taking drugs, these bad habits got even worse.

However, the man was a sincere one. After receiving the Blood Coagulation Pill he handed Meng Hao an entire Sniff Stone.

"This is..." Meng Hao was shocked.

"Don't care! My life is on the line here and I don't have time to sweat over the details! I need to get back into combat!" The cultivator said as he immediately sprang back to meet his opponent.

Meng Hao sat down pondering what had just happened. He fiddled with his bag of medicinal pills as he continued to think.

"Hmm... What was I even doing with all these medicinal pills in the first place? That guy gave me a Sniff Stone for a single Blood Coagulation Pill... Gah, this is taking too much brain power!"

Suddenly, the cultivator that had just bought the Blood Coagulation Pill landed a severe blow to his opponent. The rival cultivator fell like a shooting star as blood flew out from his wounded chest. He coincidentally landed next to Meng Hao, who was spun a Blood Coagulation Pill in his hand.

"Hey you! Is that Blood Coagulation Pill?!" The cultivator asked aggressively.

"Uh yeah?" Meng Hao replied with a blank expression.

"Give it to me! If you do it right now, I'll give you a Sniff Stone for it! I know its a rip off, but I don't have time to sweat the details right now!"

Meng Hao's eyes widened. This was the second time someone offered him a Sniff Stone for such little in return.

"Deal!" He said happily.

"Hold on a second, give it to me!" said the Cultivator who had originally held the upper hand. Hearing the other man demand the medicine caused him to grit his teeth and open his mouth.

"I'll give three Spirit Stones!"

Meng Hao's eyes widened.

"He's offering three. If you can't top that, I'll have to give the medicine to him. Take care!"

"I'll give four!" The injured cultivator roared.

"Five!"

"Six!"

"Damn it. I give up. Die!" The Cultivator who had originally held the upper hand turned on Meng Hao, furious. At first, the battle had been quite simple. But once Meng Hao got involved, everything got complicated. He flew toward Meng Hao, murderous intent filling his face, clearly aiming to exterminate him.

Just before the Cultivator reached him, Meng Hao took a step forward, his right palm slapping forward. Narcotic energy poured out with a bang.

The Cultivator flew back with a shriek, overwhelmed by the narcotic energy of Meng Hao's third level of Quelling Conscience. The attack had struck him unconscious.

Meng Hao snatched his bag of holding, and then his somber, stern expression changed, and he was once again the weak scholar. All the onlookers were shocked.

"So... Do I still get my six Sniff Stones?" he asked shyly, looking a bit embarrassed.

The other Cultivator's face paled, and his body trembled. He stared at Meng Hao with astonishment and terror. How could he ever have imagined that things would turn out this way? How could this apparently weak and feeble person have changed so much? It was almost as if what he had just witnessed was a dream.