CH 13 - 14

Chapter 13: Short on Money

Xiao Qingyang cautiously cradled the golden dragon in his arms. It was the perfect size, but it was surprisingly heavy. For his frail and thin frame, carrying it home would surely strain his arms.

Nevertheless, Xiao Qingyang couldn't bear to leave the adorable golden dragon on the ground.

This was the first time he had seen a dragon, the legendary creature. And it was so small, making it even more rare. He wondered if this dragon would grow into a majestic and powerful being like those in his mother's world or if it was a unique species that didn't grow larger in this world.

Regardless, the golden dragon was currently cute, and he couldn't help but hold onto it dearly.

With each step he took, Xiao Qingyang had to pause and catch his breath due to the weight, but he had no intention of letting go. He persevered until he reached his doorstep.

This was undoubtedly the longest journey Xiao Qingyang had ever taken to get home.

"Grandpa Du, quickly bring the medical kit," Xiao Qingyang shouted loudly as soon as he entered the house.

The wound on the golden dragon's body needed disinfection. Xiao Qingyang wasn't sure when the healing potion he had made would fully heal it. After all, the potion's effectiveness was limited. He needed to research and develop higher-level potions as soon as possible.

"Where are you injured, Young Master? Let me take a look," the old butler replied with concern and urgency as he hurriedly brought the medical kit, his face filled with worry.

Xiao Qingyang realized that the butler had misunderstood and quickly lifted the golden dragon in his arms to show him. He explained, "It's not me who's injured, it's this little one."

Relieved that it wasn't Xiao Qingyang who was hurt, the butler finally shifted his gaze to the golden dragon in his arms, his eyebrows slightly furrowing.

"What is this?" The butler looked at the appearance of the golden dragon with some confusion, forming a conjecture in his mind, but finding it hard to believe.

"I encountered it in the forest. It's injured, so I brought it back. Grandpa Du, can I keep it?" Xiao Qingyang asked anxiously.

The butler stared intently at the golden dragon, and the thought resurfaced in his mind.

The creature in Young Master's arms resembled the dragon race so much. The only beings in the entire empire with a beast form as dragons were the royal family.

The royal family was the most mysterious and powerful family in the Huaxia Empire, with each member incredibly formidable and possessing an S-rank constitution since birth. They were the family with the highest potential in the entire empire.

Of course, the royal family's mystery was not only due to their strength but also because of their beast form. Aside from their partners and children, hardly anyone had the chance to witness the true form of a royal family member.

It was widely known that the reason why superhumans were stronger than ordinary people was because their beast forms were more powerful than their human forms.

However, the offspring of the royal family could easily surpass other superhumans in their human form alone, without even having the opportunity to transform into their beast form. How could anyone have seen the true form of a royal family member?

Therefore, it was common knowledge that the beast form of the royal family was a dragon—imposing and powerful, but no one could provide a detailed description of its appearance, only a general description that closely resembled the little creature in front of them.

But setting aside the immense power of royal family members, how could this small creature get injured to such an extent? Moreover, the crown prince of the current royal family was already an adult, unmarried, and had no offspring. Other branches of the royal family with children wouldn't have such young ones either. So, it was even less likely for this little creature to be a member of the royal family.

Perhaps it was just an animal that bore a strong resemblance to the royal family's beast form. After all, the empire was vast, with numerous planets. It wouldn't be surprising to find wild beasts similar to superhumans' beast forms.

"Young Master, you can keep it if you want," the butler kindly smiled and replied.

Ever since Young Master was discovered to have weak psychic abilities and physical strength, he had become increasingly silent and uncommunicative. These past few days, he had finally regained his childhood liveliness. The butler didn't want to disappoint him further. Life had already been quite challenging here, so if Young Master could be happy, what reason did he have to object?

"Thank you, Grandpa Du," Xiao Qingyang happily smiled. He carefully tended to the golden dragon's wounds and placed it on his own bed. 

After completing these tasks, Xiao Qingyang decided to continue making the curative potions. Although the potions had limited effectiveness on the golden dragon's wounds, something was better than nothing.

However, if he wanted the golden dragon to recover sooner, he would need higher-level healing potions. To make those, he needed higher-grade spiritual plants, which couldn't be found in the wild. He would have to buy them from cultivated sources or grow them himself from seeds.

And what he lacked right now... was money to purchase the spiritual plants. Sigh...

Xiao Qingyang felt the hardship of being short on money for the first time. He had never worried about these things in the past.

Oh well, making the healing potions was the priority for now.

*******************

Chapter 14: Selling Healing Potions

After his first successful attempt, Xiao Qingyang's success rate in refining healing potions significantly improved. Although occasional explosions still occurred, it was much better than before.

When the refining process was complete, Xiao Qingyang had several bottles of healing potions lying beside him. He poured one of them into Jinlong's mouth, his golden dragon, and stared absentmindedly at the remaining bottles.

Previously, Xiao Qingyang had seen people selling various potions directly on the Star Network, and they seemed quite popular. However, he was unsure if there would be a demand for the healing potions he had created, considering they were of a lower grade.

Since he had produced a considerable quantity this time, he decided to list them all online. He thought of setting the price lower and, if they sold, he would make a profit and have enough money to buy spiritual plant seeds.

Xiao Qingyang immediately took action and went online to check the prices of other potions, especially healing potions. The healing potions available on the Star Network were mostly low-grade and mid-grade ones, priced at ten star coins and one hundred star coins per bottle, respectively. They were ten times more expensive than his potions. It indicated that the higher the grade, the higher the price.

However, the healing potions he made used gradeless spiritual plants, resulting in gradeless potions. Although their effects were slightly better than regular gradeless healing potions, they probably did not reach the level of low-grade potions. So he decided to price them at five star coins per bottle.

He currently had a total of seven bottles of potions. If he sold all of them, he would earn thirty-five star coins, barely enough to buy seven low-grade spiritual plants. If he wanted to acquire the materials to make low-grade healing potions in larger quantities, he needed to refine more gradeless potions.

Fortunately, he could find gradeless medicinal plants for refining these potions in the forest without any cost. As long as he could sell them, he would make a profit without losing anything.

After calculating the figures, Xiao Qingyang applied for an online store on the Star Network, naming it "Yang Yang's Shop," and uploaded all the potions he had on hand.

Luckily, in this era, there was no need to pay a deposit when applying for an online store. Otherwise, Xiao Qingyang would undoubtedly have been rejected again and closed off from this opportunity.

"I hope they sell quickly," Xiao Qingyang prayed after closing his store.

...

Qiao Xiaomeng was a freshman at the Imperial Capital Royal Military Academy. He had sustained minor injuries during a spar with his classmates, and his friends advised him to buy some healing potions to treat the wounds.

"These injuries are nothing. They will heal quickly," Qiao Xiaomeng said, not planning to spend money on potions since the injuries were not severe.

"If it was a normal injury, using a treatment device would be fine. But you were sparring with a supernatural, and it's highly likely you have internal injuries. It's safer to use healing potions," his friend continued persuading him.

When injuries occurred due to conflicts with supernaturals, it was common for people to buy healing potions for treatment. After all, the prices of low-grade potions were affordable for most people.

"I used my monthly allowance to buy enhancement potions. I'm out of money," Qiao Xiaomeng admitted truthfully, aware of his friend's concern.

For supernaturals, enhancement potions could improve their abilities, making them one of the ways to enhance their strength. In comparison, healing potions seemed less important, especially low-grade ones.

"I'll lend you the money. Have you forgotten the tragedy of a senior in our third year?" his friend said with a serious expression.

Qiao Xiaomeng recalled the story circulating in the school. He had intended to refuse again but couldn't find the words. Instead, he joined his friend in logging into the Star Network to see if there were any suitable healing potions available.

As his friend had mentioned, most of his monthly allowance had already been spent on buying enhancement potions. After deducting the expenses for food, drinks, and other daily necessities, he had very little budget left. He had to be thrifty and had no intention of borrowing money from his friend.

Qiao Xiaomeng continuously browsed through various healing potions on the Star Network's online store page, hoping to find the store with the best cost-performance ratio. In the end, he decided to use the price filter, sorting from low to high. The first store that caught his eye was Xiao Qingyang's store, which had a simple layout and only one product.

"Are you considering buying this?" Qiao Xiaomeng's friend looked at him with hesitation and continued, "The price is half of what others are offering. The effect must be inferior. Let's buy from another store."

"Let's go with this one. Aren't low-grade potions all the same? The difference shouldn't be too significant.” 

And the most important was its cheap price. Qiao Xiaomeng replied in his mind. He clicked to purchase a bottle.