"A hundred thousand Mora? Baizhu, since when did Bubu Pharmacy become a robbery?"
"Should I be thanking you for your kindness? You could have just taken my Mora directly, but instead you left me some Eternal Fragrance."
Su Bai was shocked by the price. Robbing people wouldn't be this brazen. Even though the Mora wasn't coming out of their pockets, making Northland Bank pay such a large sum would definitely raise suspicion. It wouldn't be good if the Fatui started investigating.
"A hundred thousand Mora is indeed a lot at first glance. But speaking generally, a hundred thousand Mora is a bit expensive."
"Moreover, the scent of Eternal Fragrance dissipates easily. By the time it reaches the Golden House from here, the fragrance would likely be half gone. A hundred thousand Mora doesn't seem appropriate."
Zhongli had somehow entered Bubu Pharmacy. Even he felt the price was a bit steep. A hundred thousand Mora was enough for him to spend lavishly for quite a while. Spending it on Eternal Fragrance was rather wasteful.
"I know. But due to some unforeseen circumstances at Bubu Pharmacy, all precious herbs and products made from them have increased in price."
Baizhu clutched his lower back and smiled bitterly. He didn't actually want to charge so much. But if he didn't raise prices to curb demand, he might die young.
Ever since Su Bai introduced Klee to Qiqi, Qiqi had never gone herb gathering with him again. Now he was handling all the collection of precious herbs alone.
That wouldn't have been a problem if nothing had happened. But recently, the places where he used to gather herbs had been completely stripped—not a single herb remained. With no choice, Baizhu had to search for herbs on dangerous cliffs. The workload was much heavier than before. His back constantly ached, and with his already poor health, he now looked thoroughly drained.
And Eternal Fragrance was extremely tedious to make, requiring many precious herbs. If not for the rumor of Rex Lapis's assassination, Baizhu wouldn't have bothered making such troublesome products even if you paid him.
"But even so, the herbs I gather still aren't enough to meet demand. So I had to raise prices."
"Then why not hire people to help you gather herbs? There are plenty of idle adventurers at the Adventurers' Guild."
"No. People without pharmacological knowledge might damage the herbs with their rough handling."
Baizhu directly rejected Su Bai's suggestion. Zhongli, standing nearby, fell into thought. If he hadn't seen it wrong yesterday, the little finch beside Qiqi—the one he had nourished with his adeptal energy—seemed much more spirited. And the bird carried a faint medicinal scent. Perhaps the places where Baizhu used to gather precious herbs had been cleaned out by Qiqi.
Watching Baizhu apply medicinal patches to his back, Su Bai sighed. He would have to look elsewhere for Eternal Fragrance. This item must be important—Zhongli had even come personally.
"Oh, friends. Having some trouble? Perhaps I can help."
"Isn't this the fox adeptus of Liyue Harbor? Pleased to meet you. I've long admired you from afar."
Childe's casual voice sounded in their ears. Seeing Su Bai in Bubu Pharmacy, Childe smiled warmly and wanted to get acquainted. Su Bai narrowed his eyes—perfect, the deep pocket had arrived.
"You must be Childe? I don't have much good will toward the Fatui."
"Haha, don't be so cold. I genuinely want to be friends with you."
Childe laughed and his eyes showed sincerity. An ordinary person might have fallen for it. But Su Bai knew there were no good people among the Fatui Harbingers, so he wouldn't easily trust Childe's words. That didn't mean he couldn't let Childe be the one to foot the bill.
"Since you say you came with sincerity to be my friend, I'll have to see how sincere you really are."
"Then watch closely, fox adeptus. When it comes to sincerity, I, Childe, am second to none."
Seeing Childe's confidence, Su Bai raised an eyebrow at Baizhu. Baizhu understood and handed the bill to Childe with a beaming smile.
"Thank you for your patronage. One hundred thousand Mora. Will that be cash or pick up from Northland Bank?"
Childe's eye twitched. Damn it. Another hundred thousand Mora? Was he fated to be this closely associated with the number one hundred thousand?
"Of course, if Lord Childe is short on funds, Bubu Pharmacy also accepts barter. Snezhnayan goods should be worth quite a bit of Mora."
Baizhu's face held an expectant smile. In Liyue's current market, aside from the locked-down Inazuma, Snezhnayan specialties were the most expensive. If this man called Childe could produce some Snezhnayan goods, Baizhu might make a small fortune.
"Heh, you jest, Mr. Baizhu. Just put it on Northland Bank's tab."
To avoid revealing anything, Childe reluctantly tossed his token to Baizhu. Baizhu pocketed it with slight regret. He had hoped for something good.
"Say, Zhongli, why aren't you still drinking tea? You came looking for us."
After getting used to her jaw, Paimon asked Zhongli. This man who wandered around all day didn't seem like the type to offer help voluntarily.
"Speaking generally, I was somewhat worried about you, so I came to help."
If not for seeing little Hu Tao working so hard preparing for the Rite of Parting, Zhongli wouldn't have wanted to run around busily. Who could blame him? He had watched Hu Tao grow up. She was like a daughter to him. Even though he had lived for thousands of years, seeing his "daughter" so busy she barely ate broke his heart.
"Came to help us? Then Zhongli, come buy scented balm with us."
"The note says we need very high-quality scented balm. Lumine and I have been looking for ages and can't find the right one."
Paimon scratched her head. She felt something was off about Zhongli, but couldn't put her finger on it. After thinking for a moment, she gave up. Having one more person wasn't a bad thing.
"Scented balm?"
"Mr. Zhongli, don't look at me. Bubu Pharmacy doesn't sell that. If you need sleep-aid incense, I can give you some."
"But scented balm, I truly don't have. You could ask some of the young ladies from noble families—they're experts in such things."
Zhongli's gaze made Baizhu nervous. Silently, Baizhu complained—did they really think of him as a supplier? How could a pharmacy carry such things?
"Speaking of scented balm, I do know an expert at making it. But this person's... how should I put it... temperament is a bit harsh? That doesn't seem accurate either."
"Hmm, this person's speech is a bit colorful? That's not quite right either."
"Never mind. I'll just take you to her directly."
Su Bai thought for a moment about how to describe that older sister. Not a single word fit. After struggling with it, he gave up. Maybe having Lumine and the others experience it directly was the best choice.