It was covered with the names of various medicinal herbs.
Zheng Yan glanced at it and smiled.
The notice was simple: it was a search for someone who could name the two missing herbs in the Golden Formula.
The funny thing was, there was already a mistake among the listed ingredients.
‘How could anyone possibly find the right answer?’
Zheng Yan read on.
Below that was the notice for the reward.
Anyone who could complete the Golden Formula would be gifted a Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng as a reward.
Zheng Yan sucked in a sharp breath.
He didn’t know who had posted this, but a Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng was an absolutely massive prize.
‘This Golden Formula must be incredibly important to them; otherwise, they wouldn’t be offering such a reward.’
‘A thousand-year-old ginseng…
such a thing is nearly impossible to come by these days.’
A Centennial Ginseng would have been sufficient for the pill Zheng Yan needed to make, but using a Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng would result in a much more potent medicine.
‘Since the opportunity has presented itself, I might as well step in and claim the ginseng.’
He spotted a pen nearby, picked it up, and crossed out one of the incorrect ingredients on the notice, writing in the correct one.
Then, he prepared to fill in the two blank spaces.
But just then, the clerk who had gone into the back room emerged.
Seeing Zheng Yan scribbling all over the notice, he immediately rushed to stop him.
“Hey!
What do you think you’re doing?
Stop messing with our boss’s notice.”
“So this notice belongs to your boss?
Isn’t he looking for someone to complete this formula?” Zheng Yan said dismissively.
The clerk frowned, looking at Zheng Yan with disdain.
“Our boss is indeed publicly seeking help to complete this formula, but that doesn’t give you the right to scribble all over it.
If you don’t know what you’re doing, then don’t write anything at all.”
“But if I don’t correct the formula, it’s impossible to fill in the two empty slots,” Zheng Yan explained.
The clerk grew exasperated.
“Are you just trying to cause trouble?
Get out of here!
We don’t have the herbs you’re looking for.”
With that, he stepped forward and snatched the pen from Zheng Yan’s hand.
Zheng Yan couldn’t be bothered to argue with an ignorant person.
Since the shop didn’t have the herbs he needed, he would just have to find another way.
Not long after Zheng Yan left, a beautiful young woman walked over.
She wore a pale pink dress under a small black blazer, her hair falling loosely over her shoulders.
Her limpid eyes seemed to hold a boundless tenderness, captivating anyone who met her gaze.
When the clerk saw the beautiful woman arrive, he hurried to greet her.
“Boss Su, you’re here today!”
This was the owner of Huichun Hall, Su Han.
Su Han nodded, her expression somewhat dejected.
But when she glanced at the notice by the door, she froze.
“Who wrote on my notice?”
Seeing that his boss was holding him accountable, the clerk hastily explained, “Some fool insisted on scribbling on it just now.
I already chased him off.
I was just about to replace it with a fresh one.”
Boss Su stepped forward for a closer look, her beautiful eyes widening slightly.
‘If this crossed-out ingredient is replaced, the entire formula seems like it would be more effective.’
‘Could the original formula have been wrong all along?’
Moreover, with this correction, Su Han could suddenly identify one of the two missing ingredients.
It was Paris polyphylla.
But she still didn’t know what the other one was.
“The person who wrote this…
where did they go?” Su Han turned around and asked anxiously.
‘If this person could see that the formula was wrong, then they must know the final missing ingredient.’
Hope ignited in Su Han’s heart.
This was the formula that could save her sister’s life.
Only with the complete recipe could she be cured.
Now, someone could finally provide the answer.
How could Su Han not be excited?
The clerk, completely bewildered, pointed in a direction and said, “He just left.
He can’t be far.”
Hearing this, Su Han immediately tore the notice down and chased after Zheng Yan in the direction he had gone.
…
Zheng Yan walked slowly down the street, pondering how to acquire the herbs.
‘Otherwise, my only options are to make a trip to Yanjing or ask Bai Zhi.’
‘But it’s best not to involve Bai Zhi.
That would mean I’d owe her a favor.’
Just as he was thinking, an anxious female voice called out from behind him.
“Wait a moment.”
Zheng Yan turned to see Su Han running toward him, notice in hand.
He was speechless.
‘Is she serious?
It’s just a piece of paper.
Did she really have to chase me down for it?’
Su Han caught up to Zheng Yan and stopped to catch her breath, her chest heaving.
With her stunning figure, the sight was truly alluring.
“I just made a small correction to the formula, and you’re this persistent?
Look, I’ll pay you for the piece of paper, okay?”
Su Han paused, realizing he had misunderstood her.
She quickly said, “You’ve misunderstood.
I didn’t come after you to cause trouble.”
“Then what is it?” Zheng Yan asked curiously.
“Did you make the correction on this formula?”
Zheng Yan glanced at it.
“I did.
Your original prompt was wrong.
Without the correction, it’s impossible to answer.”
Su Han said apologetically, “Yes, you’re right.
After seeing your correction, I was able to figure out one of the missing ingredients, but I still don’t know the other one.”
Su Han looked up at Zheng Yan.
“If you can provide the final answer, I will honor my promise and give you the Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng.”
Zheng Yan looked at Su Han, slightly surprised.
‘So she’s the owner of Huichun Hall.
I had assumed the boss would be some middle-aged man, not a beautiful woman.’
Zheng Yan did indeed want the Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng, so he said, “The last one isn’t difficult.
It’s saffron.
It has a sedative effect.”
‘Saffron?’
Su Han froze for a moment, then, after a moment of thought, said excitedly, “Yes, yes!
It’s saffron!”
“Thank you…” She looked at Zheng Yan, unsure how to address him.
‘Calling him Master seems inappropriate since he looks about my age, but I don’t know his name.’
“Just call me Zheng Yan.”
“Mr.
Zheng, you are truly amazing.
I will keep my promise and give you the Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng.
Please, follow me back to the shop to retrieve it.”
Zheng Yan turned and followed Su Han back toward Huichun Hall.
As they walked, Su Han asked, “Were you at Huichun Hall to buy medicine earlier?”
“Yes, but it seemed you didn’t have what I needed.
Then I happened to see the Golden Formula, and just as I was about to write on it, your clerk chased me out.”
Su Han felt a little embarrassed.
No wonder Zheng Yan thought she was coming after him to cause trouble when she chased him down.
“On behalf of Huichun Hall, I apologize.”
Zheng Yan waved his hand dismissively.
“It’s fine.
It’s not like I suffered any loss.”
Soon, the two of them arrived back at the shop’s entrance.
The clerk froze when he saw Zheng Yan return.
“Boss Su, that’s the guy who was scribbling on the notice!
Why did you bring him back?”
“Scribbling?
This is Mr.
Zheng, the one who actually knew the answer to the formula.”
“What?
He solved the Golden Formula?”
The clerk’s eyes went wide.
He couldn’t believe that someone so young had actually completed the formula.