Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

Moonlight shines on the pasture, and flames blaze fiercely.

"Awooo!", "Woof...", "Woof!"

Three gray wolves looked at their master, urging him to have dinner.

Liu San Niang seemed not to hear, but simply spread out her account book, chuckled dryly as she examined her notes, and then threw them into the stove.

"Hehe... Hahaha! Ahahaha..."

The woman's sharp, mournful laughter echoed in the night, silencing the three giant wolves.

"So that's how it is! I'm not myself anymore."

"The Nian beast that appeared during the Lunar New Year seemed completely inexplicable at the time. Looking back now, I realize it was definitely targeting me."

"Everyone said that black rabbit was very scary, and I thought so at first too. But the more I looked at it, the more I felt... it was very ordinary and docile."

"The elder said that guy wants to replace me. Heh heh heh..."

The woman's soliloquy grew increasingly low and empty.

"No, no! It just came to play with me."

"I cannot be replaced, because I have already replaced Liu San Niang!"

"Is that so!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

"Then what am I?"

The woman's mutterings gradually ceased, and a scarlet light flickered at the bottom of her pupils.

The power that had been suppressed for so long was released at this moment.

Numb fleshy lumps rose on the fair skin, then burst open, revealing cold, blood-stained scales covering the entire body.

Thick, long tendons bulged out, as if countless long snakes were writhing in the flesh, twisting the limbs into bizarre shapes.

"I'm so hungry! I'm so hungry!"

The strange woman stood up, her blood-stained, tattered clothes illuminated by the firelight, making her look like a demon from hell.

The three gray wolves huddled together, trembling as they watched the horrific scene unfold.

The bright moon hangs high, casting its cold, silvery light across the mountains and forests.

……

The next day, the loud crowing of roosters echoed throughout the entire city.

Liu Xingmo lifted the covers, blinked, and saw that the bedroom was somewhat dim.

Looking out the window, a thin mist enveloped the surroundings, everything shrouded in a hazy, grayish-white hue.

Liu Xingmo got up, washed up, and prepared a simple breakfast.

"Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!" The copper bell rang.

Liu Xingmo put down the dried fruit in his hand, quickly went downstairs to the hall, and opened the small door on the city gate.

Some thin boys stood in the gray fog, dew clinging to their eyelashes and hair, their trousers and shoes completely soaked. They must have walked there.

He smiled and said, "Mr. Liu Xingmo, I'm here to pick up the goods."

"Daoyuan, I've improved my medicine again. What do you think?" Liu Xingmo handed over a small bamboo bottle.

The moment Bai Daoyuan held it in his hands, his expression changed drastically: "This is... a spiritual herb? Or was it personally refined by an alchemist?"

"Quite clever, you can sense that at your age and with that kind of strength." Liu Xingmo opened his medicine box, showing a row of bamboo bottles. "This is the latest research result from Mushroom Castle, and it's called Blood Qi Potion. It's three yuan a bottle, suitable for most Tier 1 consumers."

"Three yuan a bottle? At this price..." Bai Daoyuan closed his eyes and pondered, then gritted his teeth and said, "Please let me be an agent for this precious potion! What's their purchase price?"

"Don't worry, I know this stuff is a bit hard to sell. I'll wholesale it to you for 2.8 yuan a bottle, making 0.2 yuan profit per bottle, so 50 bottles would make 10 yuan. That should be enough for a young man like you."

"Okay!" Bai Daoyuan said without saying a word, took out his money bag and started counting the money.

Liu Xingmo glanced at it briefly and laughed, "Very good! All the previous goods have been sold. You've truly inherited the connections of the large merchant caravan; your future is limitless!"

"The potion is of good quality after all." Bai Daoyuan handed over 10 copper coins and 40 iron coins. "Mr. Liu Xingmo, thank you for trusting me!"

"Keep it up, kid. Before I became a storyteller, I was just like you."

The young man smiled and patted the boy on the shoulder.

The boy bowed deeply, then picked up the two boxes of medicine and disappeared into the thick morning fog.

Liu Xingmo closed the door and, guided by his senses, walked up the dark stairs back to the attic.

Just as I sat down at the table, the bell rang again, "Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!"

Liu Xingmo went downstairs with a wry smile.

After the door opened, a neatly dressed young woman stood in the doorway.

Her clothes were dry, so she must have come by car.

She said cheerfully, "You're Uncle Liu's son? You've grown so much! I used to hold you when you were little."

Liu Xingmo scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly: "Let's not talk about the past. You're Uncle Bai's daughter, Bai Youyun, right?"

"It's me. Compared to before, don't I look completely different?" Bai Youyun spun around in place.

"The change is significant. You used to wear pigtails, now you wear a ponytail."

"My God! You really remember me?" Bai Youyun stared at the young man in disbelief. "You couldn't even walk back then, could you!?"

"I have a good memory, so I can handle paperwork now. Okay, enough catching up, let's get back to business."

Liu Xingmo placed the medicine box on the ground, opened it, and revealed the emerald green bamboo bottle filled with the aura of blood.

"New-style Blood and Qi Potion, wholesale price 2.8 yuan, retail price 3 yuan. How about I sell you 50 bottles?"

"This thing is different from the ones I've seen before!" Bai Youyun picked up a bamboo bottle, played with it briefly, and then put it back in the wooden box.

The daughter of Liu Xingmo's father's friend put her arm around the young man's shoulder and said, "Hey little brother, we're acquaintances, can you give me a discount?"

Liu Xingmo glanced back, then leaned close to Bai Youyun's ear and whispered, "My wife set the price! She's a second-tier alchemist, equivalent to a third-tier expert. I'm just a little boy; I have no say in this family!"

Liu Xingmo spread his hands, looking miserable, like a real doormat.

"Okay, okay, I understand." Bai Youyun deftly pulled out 140 yuan.

She clicked her tongue, both amused and exasperated, "Little brother, are you alright?"

Liu Xingmo pretended to look back again to make sure his wife wasn't there, then said, "Mary is very good to me. She only has one flaw: she's stingy! Let me tell you, all foreigners are like that!"

"Well, if things really don't work out, then forget it. We men of Black Dragon Village won't let women from other places bully us."

The businesswoman reached out and patted the young man on the shoulder.

The young man nodded with a wry smile.

The businesswoman carried two boxes of medicine and disappeared into the thick morning fog.

After everyone had gone far away, Liu Xingmo closed the door while shaking his head and muttering to himself, "Good friends and relatives, don't hand them over money, once you do, you'll cut off all ties. Luckily, I'm smart enough to fool them."

He was about to go up the stairs and have breakfast. But one person hadn't arrived yet, so he decided to wait.

He sat on the cold stone steps, waiting and waiting, but Tie Shengcai never appeared.

He grew impatient and turned back upstairs. Just as he entered the attic, he heard the annoying doorbell ringing again.

"How come Murphy's Law works in this world?!"