"I see. It’s fine... I was just asking casually anyway." Pan Biya stated, trying to wave off his concern with a reassuring smile.
Even so, despite her best efforts to sound entirely unbothered, the sharp sting of disappointnt in her tone was absolutely impossible for her to hide.
"Senior Sister Pan, what exactly is that item used for?" Bai Xifeng asked from her side, feeling sowhat curious about her senior sister’s rare herb request.
"Oh... It is an essential ingredient for my new poison research project." Pan Biya explained softly, her brow furrowing slightly as she thought about her stalled work back at the academy. "The unique properties of the leaf are supposed to stabilise the volatile components I am currently experinting with. Without it, the mixture simply dissolves."
"I see... But doesn’t the school’s internal resource hall have any in its vaults?" Bai Xifeng asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Usually, the academy kept a vast, nearly endless supply of rare materials specifically for its disciples to use.
"They did have so before, but the overall stock has been running dangerously low recently. Because of that sudden shortage, the sect elders have started strictly controlling the distribution quantity for everyone across all divisions. I happen to need a large and continuous supply for my specific research, so they ultimately rejected my request to withdraw them." Pan Biya explained helplessly, letting her shoulders slump slightly at the mory of the rejection.
"Then why don’t you just create a formal mission quest at the school’s Quest Building?" Bai Xifeng asked again, offering another practical alternative to solve the problem.
"I already have, but unfortunately, no one has accepted the quest yet. The reward I offered was quite decent, but I am still stuck waiting around for soone to take it. If there is still absolutely no response after so more ti passes, I will probably have no other choice but to go out into the wild and gather it myself." Pan Biya let out a heavy, exhausted sigh at the re thought of the tedious, ti-consuming journey ahead.
The storekeeper quietly listened to their back-and-forth conversation from the side, keeping his distance while remaining completely attentive to their needs. Based on their highly technical discussion, it seed highly likely to him that these two young girls were elite students from the academy’s famous Poison Master Division.
Seeing her senior sister looking so downcast, Bai Xifeng’s eyes flashed with sudden amusent.
"Well, Senior Sister Pan, since they don’t have what you ca here for, you can take your ti and look at the other items available in the store. If you find absolutely anything else you like, just take it. Don’t worry about the price tag at all. I will completely cover the bill for you." Bai Xifeng grinned mischievously while puffing out her chest playfully to look grand.
Pan Biya froze for a second, staring blankly at her junior before bursting into a lodious, ringing laugh. She shook her head in sheer amusent, and her earlier disappointnt seed to completely evaporate into thin air.
"My dear, you sound exactly like a wealthy, flirtatious young master trying to lure an innocent young lady into a trap using nothing but money." Pan Biya laughed as she teased her junior, her mood instantly brightening up.
"Well, I am always happy to spend my money if it can make my senior sister happy." Bai Xifeng laughed right back, matching her playful energy.
Both girls laughed together, the lighthearted sound echoing through the quiet shop. Bai Xifeng repeatedly urged Pan Biya to browse the shelves and pick whatever caught her eye, reiterating that there was absolutely no need to worry about the cost.
While they were browsing through the various rows of glass jars, a rowdy group of people suddenly entered the store from outside.
Bai Xifeng glanced over at them once before casually returning her attention back to the displayed herbs. Judging from the incredibly arrogant manner in which the man at the front carried himself, she could already guess that he was probably so spoiled rich young master from an influential local family.
She had absolutely no interest in getting involved with troubleso people like that, so she chose to ignore them.
Unfortunately, things did not go the way Bai Xifeng wanted.
The rowdy group imdiately noticed the two beautiful girls standing by the counter. One of the n, the exact sa person Bai Xifeng had correctly assud was the rich young master, smirked and walked over, approaching them directly without an invitation.
"Hey, ladies. Do you have so free ti on your hands? Let’s go sowhere nice nearby and have a drink together." The rich young master spoke, flashing what he clearly thought was a confident, charming smile.
Bai Xifeng and Pan Biya slowly turned around, glancing at the rich young master with unimpressed expressions before responding.
"No need. We are not interested." Pan Biya replied, her voice naturally smooth and sweet.
The mont the group heard her pleasant, lodic voice, their eyes lit up, and they beca even more intensely interested than before. The rich young master was suddenly far more determined to force his way into sitting down and having a drink with the two girls.
"Co on, don’t be like that... You will have a really good ti hanging out with us." The rich young master pressed.
"Yeah... You girls probably don’t even have ti to enjoy yourselves properly." Another man from the group chid in, snickering. "You don’t even have ti to change out of your work uniforms since you are so busy working all day."
Bai Xifeng and Pan Biya paused, exchanging a thoroughly amused and baffled glance with one another.
***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that ans it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shaless author, ZerahNeko***
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