Fang Rui didn’t break his stride after parting ways with Gao Yao.

Gao Yao had indeed guessed wrong. He wasn’t playing hard to get, nor was he dead set on acquiring the teachings on Feng Shui and Geomancy.

’I can’t use it right now anyway, and I’m not going to spend Tribulation Points to upgrade it anytime soon.’

’If it was cheap, it would be great to get it and store it away. If not, I’ll just find another opportunity later!’

He was an Immortal. He had all the time in the world, and patience was the one thing he’d never run out of.

He rented a stall, returning to his old trade of selling pre-made medicine packets himself.

How was business?

Not bad.

Fang Rui estimated that he would probably make a profit of a little over two taels of silver for the month.

It was significantly less than what he made working with Gao Yao, but perhaps because Gao Yao had recently built a reputation as the "pioneer of pre-made medicine," business was still a little better than when he first started.

Fifteen minutes later.

Fang Rui packed up his unsold medicine packets, then went and bought fifty pounds of Sorghum Flour. On the way, he got lucky and ran into someone selling soybeans, so he bought a pound.

Afterward, just as he was about to leave the Black Market, a familiar figure blocked his path.

"Lord Fang, I finally found you!"

Gao Yao said with a shameless grin, "Well... after you left, I gave it some thought. I decided I should do you this favor. Your price it is. One tael of silver, and the teachings on Feng Shui and Geomancy are yours!"

Fang Rui shot him a cool glance. "Shouldn’t you have just done this from the start? What was the point of all that?"

He wasn’t one to throw a tantrum and refuse the deal out of spite.

As an Immortal, he knew that with enough patience and searching, he would eventually find another opportunity.

But if he passed this up now, even if he found another suitable source later, the price would certainly be much higher. It would be at least three to five taels, maybe even seven or eight... On top of that, he’d have to worry about its authenticity.

Compared to that, wasn’t it much better to lock it down now?

Gao Yao didn’t seem embarrassed in the slightest. With his usual thick skin, he acted as if he hadn’t heard a word. He only cared about one thing. "Then we have a deal! One tael of silver. You can’t go back on your word!"

"Heh. Don’t worry."

Fang Rui, now holding the upper hand, had no intention of going back on his word either.

For one, even if he could negotiate further, he’d at most shave off another ten or twenty large coins. That small amount wasn’t worth risking his reputation, not to mention the wasted time and effort of more haggling.

For another, he had already dealt Gao Yao a significant blow today. The man was shrewd and mercenary, true, but trying to bargain further might just provoke him and create unnecessary complications.

It came back to the same thing: for him, spending one tael of silver on a future Divine Power Seed was absolutely worth it.

The two exchanged cash for goods, completed the transaction cleanly, and went their separate ways.

After leaving the Black Market, Fang Rui took a detour. He walked for a while before abruptly slipping out of a small alley and looking behind him. There was no one there.

"No surprises, huh?" he said faintly.

"Right. The kind of thing where trouble immediately comes knocking right after a breakthrough, giving you a chance to show off, only happens in novels."

"But this is reality. When are things ever that convenient?"

Fang Rui shook his head and picked up his pace, hurrying home.

He hadn’t forgotten that back home, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family was waiting for him.

...

「The Fang Residence.」

Candlelight flickered, faint glimmers passing through the window like fireflies. In the cool night, they blossomed with a gentle warmth, guiding the traveler home.

CREAK!

Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family opened the door to welcome the returning Fang Rui. "Brother Rui, you’re back? You’re quite early tonight!"

"I’m back."

Fang Rui replied with a smile.

He had to admit, the feeling of having someone wait up for him truly put his heart at ease.

As for why he was home earlier than usual?

It was, of course, because he had only sold just over half of his medicine packets before he estimated the time, hastily packed up his stall, and came home early.

After all, Fang Rui hadn’t known he’d be parting ways with Gao Yao tonight. He hadn’t mentioned anything to Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family before he left, and he was afraid that if he was delayed and came home late, she would be worried sick.

Of course, he didn’t say any of this out loud.

Because Fang Rui knew that if he told her, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family would think she had caused him to cut his work short and would blame herself for no reason.

It was just like how Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family had never mentioned how worried she was every night he went out.

"By the way,"

Fang Rui brought up the matter of his split with Gao Yao. "...I could tell that man is reckless. I’m afraid he’ll cause some trouble in the future and drag us into it, so I took the opportunity to cut ties."

"That’s right. If he’s not a good person, it’s best to cut ties early. Our family’s peace and safety are more important than anything!"

Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family was very understanding and supportive of Fang Rui’s decision.

"Yes, peace and safety are more important than anything,"

Fang Rui repeated, then gave a wry smile. "It’s just that, now that the partnership is over, the profits from the medicine business will plummet. I’m afraid I’ll be dragging you and little sister into a hard life with me."

The profits from the medicine had shrunk, he had broken through to the Seventh Grade, his appetite had grown again, and he still needed to stockpile grain... and crucially, there was the two-tael expenditure for the teachings...

With all these factors combined, the Fang Family was truly about to return to days of eating Sorghum Flour as their staple.

"Silly child!"

Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family smiled and shook her head. "As long as you and Ling’Er are safe, I’m not suffering."

Hearing her words, Fang Rui’s heart warmed.

’He didn’t consider himself an emotionally sensitive person,’ but these simple words had touched his heart.

Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family didn’t notice Fang Rui’s reaction. She was busy counting on her fingers. "We have plenty of grain stored up, over a thousand pounds! We’ll make sure you get enough to eat first. Ling’Er and I can eat a little less, it’s no big deal..."

"If that’s not enough, we can just eat wheat bran... Other families get by like that..."

"Mother, you’re overthinking things."