Bai Mo returned empty-handed.
As he walked back with the old man, others were rushing over to inquire about what had happened.
The street had grown much livelier.
"Brother Bai, don't be too disappointed. No one could have known they were just common items. Only someone with your skill and keen eye could spot it at a glance."
Bai Mo shook his head.
"I wouldn't call it a disappointment. Actually, not everything on that man's stall was common. Some of it had a bit of value."
Those peculiar flowers and plants… even if they couldn't be considered high-quality medicinal herbs, they could at least be called exotic flora.
It wouldn't be surprising if he sold them for a high price to someone who loves plants.
Bai Mo shared his assessment with the old man, and before long, they arrived at his shop.
They both stopped in their tracks.
Standing before Bai Mo's storefront were several disciples from the enforcement team, clad in azure attire.
The surrounding pedestrians kept their distance, not daring to speak above a whisper.
On the otherwise bustling street, the area around Bai Mo's shop was eerily quiet.
"B-Brother Bai, I... I won't go with you. I'm going to go... watch the commotion from back there!"
the old man said, his body rigid and his words coming out in a rush.
Bai Mo nodded. He narrowed his eyes, sizing up the enforcement team members before speaking softly,
"There will always be a spectacle to watch. It's better to take advantage of the crowd and make a few more sales."
"Right!"
The old man spun on his heel and hurried off, whether he'd actually heard Bai Mo's advice was anyone's guess.
Bai Mo relaxed his posture and walked toward his shop, letting a perfectly measured look of nervousness show on his face.
"Are you the Shopkeeper here?" a disciple from the enforcement team asked.
'Clearly, they've done their homework.'
Bai Mo nodded and cupped his hands. "That's right."
"May I ask what business you officers have here?"
"Open up. We're conducting an investigation!"
"Of course." Bai Mo took out his key, deftly unlocked the door, and took down the door panels.
"After you, officers!"
After they entered, Bai Mo intentionally set the door panels aside, leaving the entrance completely open.
"Have you seen a severely injured person in the last few days? About this tall, and not particularly well-built."
As he spoke, the disciple stared intently into Bai Mo's eyes.
Bai Mo was very cooperative. "No, I haven't. As for injured people, the only ones have been Senior Lanshan and his group."
"They just returned from Celestial Barrier Mountain. They're all upstanding people with clean backgrounds."
Bai Mo's expression was utterly sincere as he spoke.
The disciple couldn't find any tells. His gaze grew even colder, and he snorted.
"Your shop's Healing Elixirs are rather well-known around here. Are you telling me no one has come to buy a Pill for their injuries!?"
He suddenly bellowed, "The fugitive is involved in a major crime! How dare you try to hide and conceal things!?"
Bai Mo flinched, his face twitching as if wronged, and he immediately cried out.
"I've been framed! No other injured people have come to my humble shop, I swear! My Pills may be good, but I haven't had anyone with severe injuries come to buy them."
"As for other sales, I've sold more than ten Condensed Dew Pills. How am I supposed to know what every customer uses them for!?"
The enforcement team disciples exchanged glances. Realizing they weren't going to get anything more out of him, one said coolly,
"Your word means nothing. We'll know the truth after a search."
With that, one of the disciples took a silk pouch from his waist. He opened it, and a grayish-white mouse leaped out.
Once out, the mouse's nose twitched furiously as it scurried around the room, paying special attention to the gaps in the walls and floorboards. It didn't miss a single crack.
Before long, the grayish-white mouse leaped back into the disciple's palm, and he returned it to the pouch.
"It's a bit too clean in here."
The disciple's long, narrow eyes narrowed, giving him a cold and severe look.
Bai Mo quickly cupped his hands. "Officer, you must understand. This is where my shop's Alchemy takes place. It has to be cleaned regularly…"
The disciple only heard the first part of the sentence before losing interest. He and the others shook their heads and headed for the door.
The shelves were lined with numerous pill vials. The last disciple to leave noticed them and was about to say something, but then he caught the stares of the onlookers outside.
He gave a cold snort, flicked his sleeve, and stormed out.
Once he had finally seen them off, Bai Mo breathed a sigh of relief.
He walked over to put the door panels back in place, then called out to the crowd outside,
"Just a misunderstanding, folks! A misunderstanding!"
"The shop is open for business as usual! Please, come on in!"
After a few of these platitudes, the people outside realized the show was over and began to disperse.
Bai Mo returned to his seat and propped up his Pill Book, but he found he couldn't focus on it.
'The disciples from the enforcement team really do have sticky fingers!'
'In that case, it's no surprise they meddle in all sorts of city affairs.'
'There's no reason the enforcement team would care about the life or death of some vicious servant. They must be looking for something he was carrying.'
'Or perhaps they just wanted to confirm whether he was dead or alive.'
'As for that last-minute attempt to solicit a bribe... I had no intention of indulging them.'
'That's why I deliberately left the shop wide open.'
'Once I'm certified as a Pill Master, I won't have to fear their intimidation.'
Forcibly pushing aside his distracting thoughts, Bai Mo focused on formulating the recipe for the Qi Blood Pill.
This was his top priority. Besides, the two vials of Mountain Bear essence blood wouldn't last much longer.
'If I let it sit for a few more days, it'll spoil.'
Therefore, Bai Mo had to use these scattered moments of free time to figure out how to infuse the essence blood into the Qi Blood Pill.
'Essence blood can't withstand direct heat during refinement. Forcing it would just destroy most of its medicinal properties…'
Half a day went by. Aside from a few customers who interrupted his train of thought, there were no other disturbances.
Just as he was about to get up for a meal, two young gentlemen in fine silken robes walked in.
'They look completely unfamiliar. They probably have never bought Pills from his shop before.'
Bai Mo walked up to them. "What can I get for you two gentlemen?"
"My humble shop has Qi Absorption Pills for cultivation, Condensed Dew for healing…"
"Shopkeeper!" one of the young men interrupted Bai Mo, snapping his folding fan open with a sharp SNAP.
"We are not here to buy pills!"
He tilted his chin up and said softly, "We've come to discuss a certain matter."
"It's about what happened a few days ago!"
Bai Mo's expression faltered for a moment. He said in a low voice, "The enforcement team has already come and gone. It has nothing to do with my shop!"
At these words, both young men stiffened. They exchanged a look of utter disbelief.
"The enforcement team? They're handling neighborhood disputes now!?"
'Huh!? So they're not here about the servant?'
Bai Mo quickly recovered and said,
"It seems there's been a misunderstanding. Could you please explain exactly what brings you here? Take your time."
No matter how he wracked his brain, Bai Mo couldn't think of any connection he had with these two.
Seeing that Bai Mo was being reasonable, the two young men's expressions softened as well.
"My surname is Wei, and this is my good friend, Young Master Wang."
"We both live in the residences behind the Shopkeeper's store."
Young Master Wei said softly.
Bai Mo nodded. He looked at them, still somewhat bewildered.
Seeing his blank expression, Young Master Wang grew impatient.
"For days on end, you were refining pills! The smoke drifted back and filled our homes for days!"
Young Master Wei quickly pulled him back and cut in.
"For those few days, we hardly dared to leave our rooms! The smoke was incessant. It was, frankly, an affront to civilized decency."
"You, Shopkeeper, are a resident of Immortal Arrival City, not some uncouth brute. You should know better."
Hearing this, Bai Mo finally understood. He said quickly,
"Ah, so that's what this is about. My apologies to you two gentlemen."
"The ventilation duct must have broken. I'll have a carpenter come fix it in the next day or two!"
'I can't believe it was about that. It really is my fault.' Bai Mo felt a little embarrassed.
"It's just about time for dinner. I have a couple pounds of Demon Beast meat here. If you two don't mind, why not join me for a meal?"
"You can consider it my apology."
Seeing Bai Mo's sincere expression, Young Master Wang's anger subsided. He also suddenly realized he was quite hungry and was about to accept.
Seeing his friend was tempted, Young Master Wei at his side immediately spoke up.
"Shopkeeper, we appreciate the kind offer. Let's just let this trivial matter blow over. We can simply be better neighbors from now on."
"However, we do have important business today, so we'll take our leave!"
With that, he practically dragged his friend out of the shop.