Chapter 8: Life-Saving Elixir
Dinner was a joyous affair. Everyone revelled in the delight of their abundant harvest.
Even Fan Er Si, who seldom smiled, wore a faint grin, as fragile as a cracked eggshell. Though his smile was subtle, everyone could sense the joy within him.
Xia Zuo and Sneck routinely cleared the plates to the kitchen before joining together at the ticketing carriage.
Audrey circulated the account ledger among them. Once all members agreed without dissent, she withdrew pre-allocated bags of coins from the money chest.
The Fire Breather's performance was spectacular, selling the most tickets and earning nearly 900 copper coins.
The Clown Siblings and Pole Pie earned over 500 coins, intending to further divide their share later.
The Snake Dancer Sneck and the eldest sister received just over 200 coins each.
With less than 400 coins left, reserving over 300 as operational expenses, Xia Zuo received 30 coins.
Although his share was lesser than the rest, he was content.
This job provided income, simplicity, and a chance to gain experience. Audrey was amiable, willing to guide new members. There was no reason for discontent.
"Sister, could you hold onto this for me?" After the others departed, Xia Zuo discreetly passed the money bag to Audrey.
"Sure thing. I'll keep it safe for you."
Audrey affectionately pinched the boy's cheek. "Come with me. Let's take a stroll in the streets."
"Sister, are you planning to buy clothes again?"
Audrey segregated 300 copper coins into a separate bag. "Oh no, not at all. We're purchasing supplies. This task will be yours in the future."
After inventorying the carriage, they ventured onto the streets.
Rosac City at night remained bustling, with the circus adding to the liveliness.
Accompanied by her assistant responsible for accounting, Audrey navigated through the crowd, entering shops, leaving deposits, and taking delivery orders, visibly depleting the coins in the bag.
The circus expenses were indeed substantial.
The 300 coins were just a fraction; they'd have to pay twice the amount during the pickups.
Their final stop was the Starry Night Apothecary.
As the only wizarding academy in the kingdom, the Starry Night Academy primarily taught alchemy, thereby monopolizing most of the potion business nationwide.
Audrey negotiated prices with the apothecary owner at the counter.
Meanwhile, Xia Zuo leisurely strolled through the store, observing exquisitely packaged glass bottles.
The variety of potions here was extensive, ranging from pain relievers and coagulants for minor injuries to elixirs mending internal damage.
Xia Zuo employed his detection abilities, scrutinizing each potion, noting their purposes and names.
Beside the potion bottles lay small cards. The written descriptions on these cards transformed into detailed data with the aid of his detection abilities.
"Minor Revival Elixir: Restores 10 health within 60 seconds. Gaining knowledge of the potion's name and use grants experience. Information stored in knowledge reserves."
"Universal Antidote: Clears or immunizes against most toxins within 1 hour of consumption. Successful detox or immunity grants experience..."
"Weak Recovery Elixir: Instantly restores 20 health. Experience granted based on restored health..."
Instantly restores 20 health?
Xia Zuo squatted down, fixated on a hexagonal glass bottle containing bright red liquid resembling fresh blood coursing through veins.
This was a fantastic find; a bottle could fully restore health.
Xia Zuo checked the price.
20 silver coins per bottle.
Oh gosh.
Even if I were sold, I couldn't afford it. No wonder it's a life-saving treasure.
Eyes gleaming, Xia Zuo set a small goal to save up and purchase one bottle for emergencies.
His gaze then moved up, scanning through other potions in the same series.
Standard Recovery Elixir: Instantly restores 30 health, priced at 30 silver coins per bottle.
Intermediate Recovery Elixir: Instantly restores 50 health, priced at 50 silver coins per bottle.
Potent Recovery Elixir: Instantly restores 80 health, priced at 80 silver coins per bottle.
Silver coins of varying denominations were palm-sized. Xia Zuo had only seen silver coins with a denomination of 1 so far.
His attention shifted to the opulent velvet box at the top.
Perfect Recovery Elixir: Instantly restores 100 health, priced at 1 gold coin per bottle.
Gasp... My goodness, 1 gold coin equals 100 silver coins. This single bottle of Perfect Recovery Elixir costs 100,000 copper coins. That's jaw-dropping.
For such an expensive potion to be casually displayed, the apothecary owner must be extraordinary.
Xia Zuo turned to glance at the apothecary owner, an ordinary middle-aged person with a kind appearance. The detection abilities showed no extraordinary information; their attributes were entirely that of a commoner.
At that moment, the apothecary owner retrieved several potions from a special display case.
The potions priced in silver coins Xia Zuo saw earlier were for common consumption without any side effects.
The ones displayed in the deep red case were exclusively for practitioners who had trained in breathing techniques.
Weak Strength Burst Potion: Consuming it boosts strength by 1 to 3 points within 30 seconds. One can drink a maximum of three within an hour, else suffer mild poisoning. Those untrained in breathing techniques would suffer moderate poisoning with no added effects. Experience granted upon successful use.
Price: 200 copper coins per bottle.
Similar were the potions in other displays; commoners drinking them would get poisoned, and practitioners couldn't drink many without risking poisoning.
However, the apothecary owner held a different type of potion.
Weak Body Repair Potion: Slowly repairs internal injuries caused by breathing techniques, reducing adverse effects. Lasts for 30 days, repeated consumption within this period doesn't enhance effects. Experience granted upon successful repair.
Price: 200 copper coins per bottle.
"Our circus's Fire Breather, the bald one without a beard with throat burns, did he come here?" Audrey inquired while purchasing five Body Repair Potions with her own money.
"Yeah, he's been here. Bought quite a few pain relief potions."
The shopkeeper at the apothecary paused in his calculations, emphasizing his words, "You must remind him not to drink too much at once. The pain-relief elixir can be quite addictive."
Audrey's face flickered with a hint of concern but swiftly returned to a smile as she took the boy's hand and left the apothecary.
Xia Zuo could sense the worry in his elder sister's heart, feeling a similar concern himself.
Taking addictive substances alone could lead to an increase in dosage driven by the drug's effects, especially without anyone nearby to supervise, seeking a greater sense of satisfaction.
Thinking of Fan Er Si's past theft of three silver coins and his apparent expulsion from the original circus, Xia Zuo empathized with the burden on Audrey's shoulders.
"Little one, is there anything you want to buy? Snacks? Toys?"
Audrey paused in front of a moderately sized store with decent decorations.
"I don't want to buy anything. I prefer saving money and reading books in my free time."
Glancing at the store's merchandise, Xia Zuo found nothing that piqued his interest.
Rows of clay figures that urinated when watered, toys that squealed like ducks when squeezed... He'd outgrown these toys long ago.
"And you're really responsible. Let's head back to the inn."
Audrey hugged the boy, patting his arm and praising him.
This was what Xia Zuo liked.
Hehehe...
...
The bright moon hung high, casting its frosty light upon the floor as snores filled the shared room.
Xia Zuo, Sneck, and the burly man shared one room. The others, exhausted from the day's work, fell asleep as soon as they touched the beds.
Only he, bathed in the moon's glow, flipped through the newly acquired books.
"The Geographic Chronicles of Rosake Province" and "Wilderness Survival Handbook," both chosen by Audrey. The content of these books complemented each other, making the reading twice as effective.
A soft exhale escaped Xia Zuo as he perused a certain page.
Encountering the circus troupe seemed pure luck, relying on chance and a bit of logical deduction.
Rosake Province lay at the southernmost end of the Starry Night Kingdom. Its south was a wilderness plagued by bandits.
In the forests, relying on the sun's position to discern directions was unreliable, easily leading to getting lost.
The best method was to move away from clusters of dark or brown trees. The more brown tree trunks around, the closer one was to inhabited areas within Rosake Province.
Had it not been for the old man's mention of burying the boys' bodies to the south of a cave... Xia Zuo wouldn't have ventured north.
"Let's call it a night and get some sleep."
Stretching lazily, Xia Zuo placed the books away, lying down and swiftly drifting into dreams.
...
The following days were much the same.
Xia Zuo manned the ticket booth, welcoming visitors while the others performed in the peaked tents.
Daily earnings were settled immediately after dinner. Elder sister never withheld anyone's payment with excuses.
On the seventh day at noon, after clearing the venue and sending the peaked tents and carts back to the parking area, they had free time.
Xia Zuo read in his room until the next morning when the caravan departed.
"Successfully memorized 'The Geographic Chronicles of Rosake Province' and 'Wilderness Survival Handbook,' gaining a total of 4.5 experience points."
"Current leveling progress: 15/15. Leveling up... Success!"
【Level】LV.3
【Experience】0/20
This time, leveling up only awarded 1 free attribute point.
Xia Zuo wasn't worried about the rate of acquiring free attribute points, given the current circumstances.
With a stable path for leveling up and no worries about sustenance, gaining more free attribute points was only a matter of time.
He didn't allocate the newly acquired point to any attribute for now, saving it for future needs.
With 2 free attribute points in hand, the circus caravan set off along with the departing merchant caravans.
"Hey, lad, hehe... I've got a little gift for you."
His room companion, Pole Pie, pulled out a small rubber ball from his pocket.
"Thank you, Pole Pie."
Squeezing the ball between both hands, Xia Zuo exerted pressure.
Bang! The rubber ball shot out from his fingers, rebounding off the walls of the carriage.
"Ah!" Xia Zuo raised his arm to shield his face, fearing the ball might hit him.
With a "snap," Pole Pie caught the rubber ball, chuckling, "Let me teach you. Cross your fingers over the ball, yes, just like that..."
Following the strongman's guidance, Xia Zuo successfully flattened the rubber ball between his palms.
"That's it, hehe, just keep it like that for at least 10 seconds." Pole Pie demonstrated with his own ball.
After 10 seconds, Xia Zuo released his grip, a message appearing in his mind.
"Completed 1 session of Micro Resilience Ball Squeeze Training, gained 0.0001 experience points, gained 1/100,000th of Strength."
Grinning, Xia Zuo thought: 10,000 such exercises for 1 point of strength, plus an added bonus of 10 experience points. Sweet.
A mundane journey now had a new pastime.