Chapter 181: The New Potion
Chu Feng teleported with Illya to the capital. When Zhuang Feixue saw the two of them, she was surprised.
“Illya, are you here for the event?”
Illya shook her head. “No, I’m here to sell something.”
Zhuang Feixue asked curiously, “Selling something? Elixirs?”
Illya again shook her head. “No.”
Hearing that it wasn’t elixirs, Zhuang Feixue was a bit disappointed. Elixirs had been out of stock for some time now, and her backlog of orders was growing every day.
“Do you know someone named Jiang Yuening?” Chu Feng asked.
Zhuang Feixue frowned slightly. “Jiang Yuening? What about her?”
Chu Feng furrowed his brows and said, “She keeps calling. Originally, Illya didn’t want to bother with her, but she claimed to be your friend.”
“She’s a young lady from the Jiang family, which has long-standing ties with our Zhuang family. Jiang Yuening recently awakened a water-type ability and said she wanted to discuss cultivation insights with Illya. But I didn’t give her Illya’s number.”
Chu Feng narrowed his eyes and thought to himself: For someone like her, if she really wants Illya’s number, even without Zhuang Feixue giving it, she’ll find her own way.
Lately, Illya had received quite a few spam calls—maybe it was time to change her number.
“He’s not interested in Jiang Yuening, right?” Zhuang Feixue asked, clearly concerned. Jiang Yuening was known as one of the great beauties of the capital.
Chu Feng tilted his head and smiled, “Of course not. Illya found her annoying and blocked her.”
“Blocked her?” Zhuang Feixue laughed. “That does sound like something Illya would do—always unpredictable.”
“Sis, you mentioned water-type powers. What exactly can she do?” Chu Feng asked curiously.
Zhuang Feixue tilted her head and said, “She can produce a stream of water from her fingers—about one bucket’s worth each time.”
Chu Feng shook his head. “That’s pretty average.”
Illya looked at him and said, “Even among ability-users, the differences can be vast.”
“Over in our area, there’s a very powerful water-type user. Their ability isn’t offensive, but they can release a huge amount of water. They often go to drought areas and refill dried-up rivers—gained quite a reputation.”
“There’s also an ice-type user who can instantly freeze prey, making hunting incredibly easy.”
“So even within the same element, abilities can manifest very differently. Jiang Yuening is just an E-rank ability-user. She’s far from being on the same level as Illya,” said Zhuang Feixue.
Chu Feng nodded. “Exactly. Not every random rich girl can compare to Illya.”
Zhuang Cheng gulped down a large mouthful of juice, thinking to himself: So it’s not just me he’s harsh with—he’s even harsher with others. Jiang Yuening was a goddess to many rich heirs in the capital, but to his second brother, she was just another “nobody.” He wondered what kind of face Jiang Yuening would make if she heard that.
Chu Feng glanced at Zhuang Cheng and said, “What’s with that expression? Did I say anything wrong?”
Zhuang Cheng chuckled, “No, Second Brother, you’re right. Compared to Illya, Jiang Yuening’s ability is trash.”
Zhuang Feixue shook her head and said, “Forget Jiang Yuening. If you’re not here to sell elixirs, then what are you selling?”
Zhuang Cheng, who had been sitting properly on the sofa, perked up his ears the moment he heard this and stared with shining eyes.
“It’s right here.” Chu Feng opened the case, revealing over a hundred test tubes.
“What’s this?” Zhuang Cheng asked curiously.
Chu Feng picked up one and played with it.
“It’s a potion that enhances physical fitness. It can boost someone’s physical ability by about 10%, and it also has some effect on ability-users.”
“Seriously? There’s such a good thing?” Zhuang Cheng asked excitedly. “If I take enough of it, can I become a strength-type ability-user?”
Nowadays, with the world constantly changing, the wealthy no longer chased luxury cars or mansions—they chased powers.
And powers couldn’t be bought with money. It was all about luck, which was very frustrating.
Chu Feng shook his head. “Of course not! There’s a limit to how much your body can improve. After about two doses, you’ll stop seeing any benefit.”
Zhuang Feixue added, “Yeah, two doses per person is the max.”
“Big Sis, what do you want this for?” Zhuang Cheng asked.
Zhuang Feixue smiled. “In the new era, women should be able to handle both careers and creeps.”
Zhuang Cheng muttered, “And then stay single forever. There are rumors all over the place about Sis, but our family knows the truth—she’s never had a proper relationship.”
Chu Feng glanced at Zhuang Cheng and said, “Watch what you say! It’s good that she thinks like this. When she finds a man, she won’t be easily taken advantage of.”
“Sis, take a few of these. Being a bit stronger isn’t a bad thing.”
Zhuang Feixue looked at the potion and asked, “Are you planning to sell this for money?”
Chu Feng waved his hand. “No, I plan to trade it for rare herbs.”
The government had apparently collected quite a few mutated herbs, and he planned to trade for them.
Of course, with his abilities, gathering herbs deep in the forest would be easy—but it was too time-consuming. Right now, he wanted to focus more on finding witch stones.
Zhuang Feixue took one potion and drank it.
The taste wasn’t great, and it made her cough.
Zhuang Cheng looked at Zhuang Feixue with some curiosity and asked, “Sis, how do you feel?”
Zhuang Feixue frowned slightly and said, “It feels kind of itchy.”
Chu Feng nodded and said, “It’s normal to feel itchy right after taking the potion. It’ll pass in a bit. You probably need to take a bath too.”
Zhuang Cheng said excitedly, “Is this the legendary purification and bone-refining process?”
Chu Feng glanced at him and said, “Something like that.”
Zhuang Cheng blinked. “That’s amazing! I can’t believe something like this actually exists.”
Zhuang Feixue’s eyes shifted. “The person who made this potion… are they an ability-user?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yes.”
Zhuang Feixue also nodded. “I figured as much. If they can make potions, they must be a healing-type ability-user, right?”
Chu Feng replied, “Sort of, but not exactly. The shaman is a plant-type ability-user who just happens to be good at potion-making. Speaking of which, there’s been a really powerful healing-type ability-user appearing recently — even the Ability User Association was alerted and they’ve placed that person under strict protection.”
Chu Feng asked curiously, “A healing-type ability-user? What ability do they have?”
Zhuang Feixue squinted slightly and said, “Symptom transference.”
“Symptom transference?” Chu Feng asked with some confusion. “You mean transferring one person’s illness to another?”
Zhuang Feixue shook her head. “That’s possible too, but they can transfer it to small animals instead.”
Chu Feng blinked. “What a terrifying ability…”
“Those high-ranking officials afraid of death would worship this person.”
“Can they transfer terminal illnesses too?”
Zhuang Feixue shook her head. “Not sure. Maybe — but the cost must be high. Early-stage abilities usually aren’t too powerful. I’d guess they could only treat one or two people a day.”
Chu Feng narrowed his eyes. “That’s an ability worth cultivating. If developed, this person could put traditional miracle doctors out of work.”
Zhuang Cheng muttered enviously, “If it’s that powerful, I want it too.”
Chu Feng gave him a side glance. “What would you do with it? If you awakened that ability, you’d probably be locked up like a mascot.”
Zhuang Cheng thought for a moment. “You’re right. Offensive abilities are still better.”
“Having an ability comes at a price,” Chu Feng said.
Zhuang Cheng looked at Chu Feng curiously. “Really? What kind of price?”
Chu Feng shrugged. “You’ll find out eventually.”
(He thought to himself: If I tell him now that ability-users can’t have children, I’d be swarmed.)
Zhuang Cheng said casually, “It’s only fair to pay a price to gain powers.”
Chu Feng nodded. “True.”
Zhuang Feixue was getting itchier and couldn’t sit still anymore. She stood up and said, “I’ll go take a bath first.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Alright.”
Zhuang Cheng looked at Chu Feng eagerly and asked carefully, “Second Brother, can I have two bottles of that potion?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Sure! Five million per bottle.”
Zhuang Cheng said awkwardly, “I don’t have money right now.”
Chu Feng shrugged. “No problem, you can write me an IOU and pay me back later.”
Zhuang Cheng puffed out his cheeks and wrote an IOU for fifty million, taking ten bottles in total.
Chu Feng put the IOU away, patted Zhuang Cheng on the shoulder, and said, “Kid, debts must be repaid. Work hard and pay it back, understand?”
Zhuang Cheng looked at Chu Feng full of resentment. “Got it…”
He sighed. He had just managed to save up some pocket money recently, but every time he saw his second brother, he ended up in debt. Still, it was worth it. Even if he couldn’t become an ability-user, improving his strength was still valuable.
Shen Yutong was shocked when she received a call from Chu Feng — especially when he brought up the yang-boosting elixir. She’d been thinking about it constantly. But since Chu Feng said it was out of stock, she had no choice.
She hadn’t expected him to reach out to her first.
After inspecting the potion, Shen Yutong asked, “You want to use these potions—?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yes. Also, there’s news about a newly emerged ability-user.”
Shen Yutong frowned. “Research reports are classified. If you want access, you need approval from the higher-ups.”
Chu Feng smiled. “That’s not a problem.”
“That potion… does it really do what you said it does?”
Chu Feng smiled. “Miss Shen, you can take one back to confirm the effects. As for the rest, we’ll talk later.”
Shen Yutong nodded. “Thank you.”
Chu Feng waved his hand. “No problem.”
Zhuang Cheng watched Shen Yutong leave with longing. “Second Brother, are you really going to give all those potions to the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah.”
Zhuang Cheng puffed his cheeks. “Isn’t that kind of a waste?”
Chu Feng shrugged. “Ability users are popping up all over the place. Who knows when another potion-maker might emerge? Better to trade these now for more herbs.”
Now that spiritual energy was reviving in many places, all sorts of medicinal herbs were appearing mysteriously. Rare herbs that were once expensive were becoming cheaper on the market.
In theory, the revival of spiritual energy was a good thing… but Chu Feng couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling it brought.
