A quarter of an hour after Hua Tianxiong and Murong Qiudi entered the private lounge, the attendant Xiaoli and a dozen other staff members finished counting all the herbs Hua Tianxiong had brought. They knocked on the inner door.
"My Lord, all the Spirit Medicine has been inventoried."
"Very well. Senior, let’s go out and verify the total." Murong Qiudi made a polite gesture, inviting him to proceed first.
"This gentleman brought a total of [X] Qingling Grass, valued at two taels of silver; [X] Silverleaf Grass, totaling two taels; and [X] Blood Origin Grass, totaling two taels. The total value is two taels of silver," the attendant Xiaoli stated clearly, then looked at Hua Tianxiong.
"That's fine, as long as you've counted it correctly," Hua Tianxiong said with a knowing nod.
"Since this gentleman is already a Silver Card member of our Continent Chamber of Commerce, he receives an additional five percent reward. That brings the total to two taels of silver—let’s round it to two taels. Does the gentleman have any other needs?" Murong Qiudi took over the conversation.
"Yes, how much are the storage bags? I need to prepare a few for my useless disciples."
"The 50-cubic-meter bags are 400,000 taels of silver each, the 10-cubic-meter ones are 30,000 taels, and the 5-cubic-meter ones are 10,000 taels. I assume you don't need the 1-cubic-meter ones?" Murong Qiudi said with a smile.
Hearing this, Hua Tianxiong thought to himself that the 1,000-cubic-meter storage bag he used must be worth over ten million taels. Thinking of this made him miss his mother, Consort Duan, even more. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke in a low voice:
"I'll take two of the 50-cubic-meter ones, ten of the 10-cubic-meter ones, and one hundred of the 5-cubic-meter ones. Also, do you have seeds for Blood Lingzhi, Blood Ginseng, and Longevity Grass?"
"We do. Blood Lingzhi seeds are 15 taels per portion, and both Blood Ginseng and Longevity Grass are 25 taels per portion. How many does the gentleman require?" Murong Qiudi replied patiently.
"I'll take one portion of each for now." Ever since discovering that the Spirit Medicine inside the Star Domain Cauldron could produce seeds, Hua Tianxiong had no intention of buying large quantities. He only needed a little bit of each; as long as they could continue to grow, he could obtain countless seeds. He only asked for one portion of each to avoid raising any suspicions.
"Very well, I will have them prepared for you immediately. The storage bags total 2.1 million taels. With a ten percent discount, that is 1.89 million taels. You still have two taels remaining, and the seeds cost 65 taels, so we will gift those to you. Would you like the remaining balance deposited into your Silver Card, or would you prefer cash?"
"Give me the cash," Hua Tianxiong said without a second thought. It wasn't that he didn't want the card, but he had already decided; the Shicheng construction projects currently had many expenses, and having liquid silver on hand was more convenient.
"Sir, here are the items and the silver you requested. I have placed everything in this storage bag. Please check it." Murong Qiudi handed him a storage bag prepared by Xiaoli.
Hua Tianxiong took the bag, performed a quick check with his divine sense, and said there was no problem. After transferring the silver and seeds into his own storage bag, he left the Continent Chamber of Commerce.
Once outside, he did not hesitate. He walked directly toward the east gate of Shicheng. After exiting, he carefully checked his surroundings with his divine sense. Finding no one following him, he found a secluded spot and transferred all the storage bags and items into the Star Domain Cauldron. He circled halfway around the city wall, took several back streets from the west gate, and, after changing his clothes and cloak, returned to the Prince's Mansion.
After seeing Hua Tianxiong off, Murong Qiudi lay back on the sofa in the lounge alone. Had anyone been watching, they would have seen the charming Miss Murong lost in thought, frowning one moment and smiling the next, as if she had realized something or was puzzled by something else. Finally, with a soft "Oh," she murmured something startling: "Little guy, I refuse to believe you have no feelings for me!"
Back at the Prince's Mansion, Hua Tianxiong observed the soldiers and officials rushing to prepare for the enthronement ceremony. He returned to his living quarters. Because the old eunuch had died, Wu Tian was concerned about Hua Tianxiong’s safety, so all the staff in the Prince's Mansion were selected from the six hundred veterans who had followed him. Only with the protection of these men, who had endured countless assassination attempts and beast attacks, did Hua Tianxiong feel truly at ease.
The city magistrate, Li Gang, had suggested several times that Hua Tianxiong select some maids. On the Huaxia Continent, men and women were considered adults at fifteen and could marry and have children. However, fearing his secrets might be discovered too early, and given his young age and low martial cultivation, Hua Tianxiong—who was focused on martial progress and his grand ambitions—did not want to concern himself with women yet. This led Li Gang to wonder if the fall off the cliff had caused Hua Tianxiong to suffer from some form of male dysfunction.
After moving all the storage bags and silver out of the Star Domain Cauldron, Hua Tianxiong placed the seeds of the Blood Lingzhi, Blood Ginseng, and Longevity Grass inside. These three herbs, along with the Qingling Grass, were the raw ingredients for the first-tier "Small Restoration Pill," which could help low-level martial artists quickly recover spiritual energy and also had longevity-enhancing properties.