Why are the Talismans I Drawn Banned Again?!

Chapter 322: Chapter 248: Extremely Dangerous Sect Mission_2
 

Jiang Cheng used his Disciple Jade Badge to contact the person in charge of the Spirit Plant Garden, “Hello, is this Senior Zhou Tong? My name is Jiang Cheng, and I’ve just taken on the task of promoting elixirs published by the Spirit Plant Garden.”

There was an obvious hesitation from the other side of the Jade Token.

“Does the Spirit Plant Garden have elixirs? Hold on, let me check.”

After a bout of rummaging, Zhou Tong said, “You’re right, there are indeed some, but they’ve been stored for quite a while, and their potency is only about half left.”

Jiang Cheng listened in silence, thinking to himself that the Spirit Plant Garden really knew how to pile on the pressure.

It was the Recovery Pills that were already hard to sell, and now with their effectiveness halved, they would be even harder to sell.

However, he was prepared for this; if the task had been easy, how could it have hung there for so long without anyone taking it?

“How many are there?”

“Around six thousand.”

“Okay, I got it. I’ll head to the Spirit Plant Garden right away to discuss this in person with the senior.”

After speaking, Jiang Cheng, together with Liu Qing, boarded a flying boat and set off toward the location of the Spirit Plant Garden.

The Spirit Plant Garden was located quite remotely, and at the speed of a public flying boat, it would take about a day and a night to reach.

Luckily, Jiang Cheng wasn’t alone on this trip. When he got tired of flying, he could let Liu Qing take over.

Liu Qing handling the flying boat was a piece of cake; the only thing to watch out for was not to use too much force and break the flying boat.

“So slow,” Liu Qing said.

Jiang Cheng earnestly taught her, “Running fast doesn’t always mean winning; not stumbling is what truly counts.”

Liu Qing: ?

“Just kidding. How about we play an exciting game of Go?”

“Okay.”

Go was a game that Jiang Cheng had taught Liu Qing very early on.

The reason for it being Go was simple because Jiang Cheng didn’t know any other games.

Outside the flying boat, the rapid wind and waves were repelled by Liu Qing’s spell, and the two of them sat inside the small flying boat, face to face, playing Go.

In the game, Jiang Cheng had already set up his deadly three-in-a-row formation; with Liu Qing’s next move, he could lock in a victory with four pieces.

However…

Seeing Liu Qing’s furrowed brows and her careful moves, Jiang Cheng sighed silently and then, “accidentally” placed a piece incorrectly, missing the chance to win.

You should be able to win now, right? Jiang Cheng thought.

Sure enough, Liu Qing saw the opportunity to win. Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Jiang Cheng, you lost,” Liu Qing declared, pointing at the board.

Jiang Cheng looked at her with a smile in his eyes and said helplessly, “Yes, I lost to you.”

“Again,” she said.

“Alright.”

…

In the warehouse of the Spirit Plant Garden, Jiang Cheng saw neatly arranged Recovery Pills stored in jade vials, about six thousand of them.

“They’re all here. If you can sell them, I can offer you a 20% commission on the selling price,” Zhou Tong explained.

Jiang Cheng glanced at the dusty jade vials, “How much do you intend to sell these Recovery Pills for, senior?”

“Three thousand Spirit Stones, or thirty contribution points.”

“Three thousand?” Jiang Cheng exclaimed in surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

“Three thousand seems like the price for fresh elixirs. These are stockpile elixirs; how can they still sell for three thousand?”

Zhou Tong said, somewhat embarrassed, “We can’t sell them too cheaply! These elixirs are the Spirit Plant Garden’s stock, and if we sold them cheaply, the Enforcement Hall would come asking questions.”

Jiang Cheng understood; it seems that they really couldn’t sell them at a low price, or else it would be suspected as misuse of authority.

The Spirit Plant Garden would take the loss if the elixirs didn’t sell, but if they used their power for personal gain, it would be Zhou Tong himself who would be ruined.

Yet like this, the pressure was transferred onto Jiang Cheng. Who would buy stockpile elixirs at full price when they could buy new ones for three thousand?

“Am I able to take these elixirs now?” Jiang Cheng asked.

“Of course,” was Zhou Tong’s immediate response. He wasn’t afraid of Jiang Cheng running away; in fact, if Jiang Cheng did run away, it would be even better. That way, the Spirit Plant Garden could simply report the elixirs as stolen, which would be better than watching them expire.

…

Jiang Cheng got this batch of elixirs. Next, he needed to figure out how to sell the stock of six thousand pills, which were only half as effective, at the original price of three thousand Spirit Stones.

The fastest way would be for Jiang Cheng to buy them himself.

He wasn’t short on Spirit Stones.

But by doing so, he would lose eighteen million low-grade Spirit Stones, only to earn ten thousand Contribution Points.

It was too much of a loss.

He wasn’t that wealthy yet.

Since the task involved elixirs, Jiang Cheng invited Shen Menghan to North Forest Peak to discuss the matter.

Although it wasn’t Yue Linger’s business, as a Jiang Cheng fanatic, she wouldn’t miss any chance to stick to Jiang Cheng. Thus, unsurprisingly, the Dayan Sect team successfully established a new base at North Forest Peak.

“Is there a way to restore the efficacy of the pills?”

Jiang Cheng looked towards Shen Menghan.

“Yes, but it will require new ingredients and reforging in the cauldron. The cost won’t be much lower than making new elixirs,” Shen Menghan said.

Jiang Cheng stroked his chin, “It seems that this method won’t work.”

Yue Linger grinned, “No worries, we can always come to North Forest Peak and discuss strategies with you. If we can’t figure it out once, we can just come back a few more times.”

Jiang Cheng, “Yue, I can hear the gears turning in your head all the way from Liang Kingdom.”

Yue Linger stuck out her tongue and, still unsatisfied, pulled another face at Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng looked at Yue Linger fondly, not angry at all, letting her be mischievous.

It wasn’t a bad thing for Yue Linger to be lively. In Dayan Sect, Liu Qing was aloof, Shen Menghan reserved, and Liang Lu dignified. They all relied on Yue Linger to liven up the atmosphere.

As for Lin Yao, Jiang Cheng still didn’t know what she was like in front of others.

According to Liang Lu, Lin Yao was quite serious when not around him, so serious that she was a bit of a loner. She couldn’t imagine Lin Yao being that… shameless around him.

These were Liang Lu’s exact words, not Jiang Cheng’s.

The Dayan Sect pooled their thoughts on how to sell elixirs, but that didn’t include Liu Qing.

Liu Qing wasn’t involved in their discussions. She was focused on pouring tea for Jiang Cheng, occasionally attending to Yue Linger and Shen Menghan.

Sometimes Yue Linger envied Jiang Cheng so much. Liu Qing appeared cool and distant, but she was actually very warm-hearted and sensible, extremely stable emotionally, and never got angry.

If Liu Qing showed even the slightest flaw, Yue Linger—the daughter with ulterior motives—would find a way to outdo her.

But the problem was, Liu Qing had no flaws.

It was hard to even start criticizing her.

Jiang Cheng looked at the elixirs on the table and had a moment of inspiration: “Liu Qing, do you have any ideas?”

Liu Qing blinked, not understanding.

Jiang Cheng continued to prompt, “Any ideas, just say them. How to sell these elixirs.”

Liu Qing shook her head and said to Jiang Cheng, “I don’t know, I’ll listen to you.”

Yue Linger sighed deeply, thinking how could they fight this?

It wasn’t the empress governing the six palaces that she feared, but an empress who was too compliant!

Yet, Jiang Cheng still wanted to hear Liu Qing’s opinion, not wanting to exclude her from their discussion.

“Just say one.”

Liu Qing thought for a moment, then raised her fist.

A delicate little fist, seemingly without any offensive power.

Realizing something, Yue Linger exclaimed, “Liu Qing means let’s organize a competition. That way, there will naturally be a demand for the elixirs.”

Shen Menghan also guessed, “Could it be forceful buying and selling, like what Miaodan Workshop did before?”

Liu Qing looked at Jiang Cheng, Yue Linger, and Shen Menghan, none of whom had guessed her intention.

Jiang Cheng had guessed right, but he shook his head.

So Liu Qing silently put down her fist.

Her intention, if Jiang Cheng hadn’t guessed wrong, was to go hammer the Tongtian Sect a bit, then after Tongtian Sect had been hammered, they would certainly be nervous, thinking the Mahayana from the Demonic Tao were attacking, and they’d rush to prepare for battle, which would sell the Recovery Pills.

Although it sounded outrageous, Jiang Cheng did not doubt that was the snake’s intention; she had always been so simple, direct, and effective.

As for Jiang Cheng’s reason to dismiss her idea, it was simple: he wasn’t sick, he was mentally healthy, and it was a response any normal person would have to her suggestion.

But Liu Qing’s idea still provided Jiang Cheng with a whole new line of thought.

Stockpiled elixirs weren’t the problem; as long as the timing was right, they could completely be sold.

“Yue, holding a competition won’t work, because the cost of organizing one would exceed the profit from selling the elixirs, and others would prefer to use new elixirs. But your line of thinking is correct. We can sell the elixirs by creating a demand, only we need to find the right kind of demand.”