When the rooster crowed for the third time, Su Jinxiu opened her eyes on schedule.
It was a biological clock formed through years as a surgeon. Even after transmigrating into this era without alarm clocks, it remained stubbornly accurate.
She moved slightly—and immediately felt her entire body protesting. Every joint ached. Especially her head; the aftermath of overusing her mental strength last night still lingered, her temples throbbing as if someone were tapping inside with a small hammer.
She turned over.
The spot beside her was already empty.
Su Jinxiu’s heart jolted.
Did that tyrant run away?
She didn’t even bother putting on shoes and jumped straight off the bed, rushing outside barefoot.
In the thin morning mist, Huo Chen was sitting in that broken wheelchair, holding a sharpened wooden stick, sketching something on the muddy ground of the courtyard.
Hearing her movement, he turned back. His expression was as cold as ever, but his eyes were slightly bloodshot—clearly he hadn’t slept all night.
“Practicing calligraphy this early?” Su Jinxiu finally relaxed and walked over.
Only to find the ground covered with winding lines.
It was a terrain map of the surrounding mountains.
This man—even injured and amnesiac—still had a brain that never stopped working. Always thinking about escape routes… or killing people.
“Get ready,” Huo Chen said, tossing away the wooden stick and wiping the marks off the ground with his foot. His movements were smooth and decisive. “We’re going to town.”
“To town for what?” Su Jinxiu yawned while splashing cold water on her face. “We don’t even have a grain of rice at home. Going there means starving.”
“You don’t want to sell the herbs you collected yesterday?” Huo Chen looked at her.
Su Jinxiu paused.
Right. She had indeed dug up several herbs yesterday—Panax notoginseng and Paris polyphylla. She originally planned to convert them into system points, but then reconsidered.
The system’s medicinal supplies were good, but necessities like blankets, food, and clothing still required real silver. More importantly, if she wanted to survive in this world, she couldn’t rely entirely on that money-hungry system. She needed a legitimate income source.
“Sell them! Of course we sell them!” her eyes lit up. “Husband, you really are a genius. If we don’t sell these herbs soon, they’ll wilt and lose value!”
Su Jinxiu quickly ran back inside, wrapped the herbs in a damp cloth, then pulled out two old pieces of fabric from under the bed and tightly wrapped Huo Chen’s legs—so no one would notice how quickly his injuries were healing.
“Let’s go!”
The road to town was nothing but uneven dirt paths.
Pushing the completely wooden, shock-absorption-free wheelchair, Su Jinxiu felt like she wasn’t just pushing a person—but doing weighted cross-country training.
Huo Chen sat in the chair, face pale from the bumps, but he didn’t utter a single complaint. Only the hand gripping the armrest showed whitened knuckles from exertion.
“When we have money,” Su Jinxiu panted while painting a grand future, “I’ll get you a carriage with spring suspension. And I’ll hire two maidservants—one to massage your legs, one to feed you grapes.”
Huo Chen let out a cold laugh.
“You’re quite good at arranging things.”
“Of course. Everyone needs dreams.”
After nearly two hours of travel, the somewhat bustling Qingstone Town finally appeared ahead.
It wasn’t large, but it had everything. The streets were lively with vendors calling out. The smell of steamed buns, mixed with the fragrance of rouge from cosmetic shops, filled the air with human warmth.
Su Jinxiu headed straight for the largest pharmacy in town—Ji Shi Hall.
Inside, the strong scent of herbs hit them immediately. Behind the counter, a goat-bearded shopkeeper was lazily dusting things off with a feather duster.
“Do you buy medicinal herbs?” Su Jinxiu placed the basket on the counter.
The shopkeeper glanced at their ragged clothing, a flash of disdain in his eyes.
Peasants from the countryside—what good herbs could they possibly have?
“We do, but we don’t take ordinary weeds or bark,” he said casually, lifting the cloth cover.
Then he froze.
Inside the basket lay several cleanly washed herbs.
The Paris polyphylla roots were thick and well-formed—excellent quality. Even more impressive were the wild Panax notoginseng specimens, large and clearly over five years old.
The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes, picked one up, examined it for a long time, then casually tossed it back with feigned disgust.
“Average quality. At most a few dozen copper coins. Seeing how pitiful you are, I’ll give you one hundred copper coins for the whole basket. Take it and leave.”
One hundred copper coins?
Su Jinxiu almost laughed.
This grade of notoginseng would be sold by gram in the modern world—practically gold. Even here, it was worth at least two to three taels of silver. This old fox was clearly trying to scam them.
Huo Chen, sitting in the wheelchair, lightly tapped the armrest. His gaze instantly turned cold.
Though he didn’t understand herb pricing, the greed that flashed in the shopkeeper’s eyes earlier told him everything—this price was wrong.
Just as he was about to speak—
Bang!
Su Jinxiu slammed her hand on the counter, shaking the abacus beads above it.
“Shopkeeper, doing business requires honesty.”
Her smiling expression vanished instantly, replaced with a sharp, cold demeanor.
“This notoginseng has a conical main root, grayish-brown surface, stem scars at the top, and wart-like protrusions around it. The texture is firm, and the cross-section is gray-green. This is top-grade ‘Copper Skin Iron Bone Lion Head’ variety. And you’re telling me it’s average?”
Su Jinxiu casually picked up the herb again.
“This Paris polyphylla—its rhizome is used medicinally. It clears heat, detoxifies, reduces swelling, and relieves pain. Right now, the border wars are intense and wound medicine is in short supply. This thing is a hot commodity. One hundred copper coins? Your abacus is so loud it’s probably echoing all the way to the frontier.”
The shopkeeper was stunned by her words.
What kind of village woman was this? Her jargon was even smoother than his!
“You… you’re just spouting nonsense!” the shopkeeper said, a little embarrassed and angry. “Am I the shopkeeper or are you? Take it or leave it. If you won’t sell, get out!”
“Fine, I’ll go ask the Huichun Hall across the street then.”
Su Jinxiu immediately picked up her basket.
“I heard Doctor Li from Huichun Hall is kind-hearted and knows his goods best. Someone like him would probably dream of getting herbs like this quality Panax notoginseng.”
At the mention of Huichun Hall, the shopkeeper panicked.
This was top-grade medicinal material—if it ended up in a competitor’s hands, it would be like supplying the enemy!
“Wait! Wait!” The shopkeeper rushed out from behind the counter, forcing a smile. “Little lady, no need to be so fierce. We can negotiate. How about this—two taels! Two taels of silver!”
Su Jinxiu raised three fingers.
“Three taels. Not a single coin less.”
“You’re robbing me!”
“This Panax notoginseng is not only high in age, but also harvested with exceptional skill—the roots are intact, and its medicinal properties are perfectly preserved. Shopkeeper, this can save lives. Three taels of silver to save several lives—isn’t that cheap?”
Her eyes carried a sharpness and calculation completely unlike someone her age.
The shopkeeper gritted his teeth.
Finally, he slammed his hand down.
“Fine! Three taels it is! Let’s call it making a friend!”
Holding the heavy silver taels as she walked out of Ji Shi Hall, Su Jinxiu was in a great mood. She tossed the silver ingot in her hand, enjoying its crisp sound.
“How was that, husband? Am I impressive or what?” she asked, winking at Huo Chen expectantly.
Huo Chen looked at her money-loving expression and couldn’t help but curve his lips slightly—not a cold sneer, but something faintly amused, even he himself didn’t realize.
“Copper skin, iron bones, lion head?” he repeated what she had said earlier. “It seems your ‘dream immortal’ knows quite a lot.”
“Of course. He’s an immortal, after all—versed in all things ancient and modern.”
Su Jinxiu shamelessly accepted the praise.
“Now that we have money, we handle the important things first.”
She pushed Huo Chen deeper into the market.
“We need rice, flour, quilts, and we also need to buy you a proper weapon for self-defense. I think Su Daqiang’s group isn’t going to give up so easily—we need backup plans.”
At the mention of a weapon, Huo Chen’s fingers moved slightly.
A blade.
He did need a blade.
As long as he had a weapon in hand, even with his current condition, he still had a seventy percent chance of dealing with those scum.
Just then, a commotion erupted ahead.
“Hit him! Beat him hard! Debts must be repaid—it’s only natural! If you have no money, then take that young lady to repay it!”
A familiar voice slipped into Su Jinxiu’s ears.
“Please, stop hitting me! I’m a scholar… this is humiliating!”
Su Jinxiu stopped in her tracks.
That voice… sounded suspiciously like the pretty-boy scholar who had tricked the original owner into losing everything.
A cold light flashed in her eyes.
So he showed up.