Chapter 24: I Hope Next Time I Don’t Get This Instantly

“These should be enough, right?”

Thanks to her rapport with Miao Miao Niya, Meng Linna borrowed the guild’s alchemy workshop again.

Looking at the twenty-odd bottles of Marigold Potion she made in an afternoon, she felt a harvest’s joy.

She also resolved to stay on Miao Miao Niya’s good side.

One milk tea, and she got to borrow books and the workshop?

Too good.

To bond with the catgirl, she’d buy a Miao Miao Special daily!

A necessary social cost.

Not because she wanted milk tea.

Packing the potions back to her dorm, a new problem hit.

How to sell them?

Yanan was a medical city.

Doctors dissected corpses, making conventional medicine advanced.

Then there was blood therapy.

Blood therapy infused blood to heal the body.

Oddly effective and fast.

Hugely popular.

Downsides? Expensive and potentially addictive.

Selling a wound-healing potion on the streets?

She might get arrested for unlicensed practice.

But the potion, made from nettles and marigolds, was cheap to produce.

A perfect low-end substitute for blood therapy.

After some thought, she targeted adventurers.

Adventuring was dangerous.

Fighting monsters or exploring dungeons meant injuries.

Death was a real risk.

Per church stats, adventurers had the second-highest death rate, after frontline soldiers.

Injured adventurers usually bandaged themselves.

Or relied on team priests for healing spells.

In Yanan, blood therapy vials replaced priests.

But low-rank adventurers couldn’t afford it.

They’d patch up and keep fighting, healing later.

By the way, healing adventurers with spells was one of Miao Miao Niya’s side hustles.

Meng Linna and Na Naya, new to Yanan, hadn’t seen it.

Selling potions to adventurers could be a goldmine.

No side effects.

Only flaw: weak potency, good for minor wounds.

Enough for most adventurers.

If injuries were too severe for the potion, they’d better retreat.

Time to act.

Meng Linna packed the potions and headed to the guild’s front desk.

Miao Miao Niya was mixing milk tea.

“One Special!”

Thinking of the money she’d soon make, Meng Linna got bold.

She broke her budget, ordering two milk teas in one day.

Seeing frugal Meng Linna order twice, Miao Miao Niya looked shocked.

“Actually buying milk tea? Did you win the lottery?”

“Don’t mention that…”

The lottery stung.

Her ticket was a dud, a waste of money.

Na Naya’s ticket proved the lottery was rigged—she won.

Realizing she hit a sore spot, Miao Miao Niya didn’t press.

She handed over the tea.

“Money’s nice, huh? That last job paid well. You’re practically rich.”

“Rich? With that little?”

Miao Miao Niya squinted like a cunning hunter.

“You can afford milk tea now, can’t you?”

Her wallet felt targeted.

“Oh, a question.”

Meng Linna paid, feeling bold to ask.

“The guild hall allows item trading, right?”

Adventurers didn’t always turn in materials to the guild.

The hall often had hunters selling their loot.

Trading was permitted.

“Of course.”

“Planning a side hustle?”

Miao Miao Niya was a pro at side gigs.

“Good.”

With her answer, Meng Linna left, tea in hand.

***

In the guild’s tavern, adventurers gathered.

Some celebrated their feats.

Others just surviving another day.

Some numbed their pain with alcohol.

“Alright, everyone, look over here!”

Meng Linna stood in the tavern’s center, shouting as loud as she could, tea in hand.

“Today, I’m recruiting five lucky folks! Free healing for their wounds!”

The tavern was noisy.

But her shout drew attention.

She was the guild’s famous curvy big sister.

More regal than bustier girls.

Bustier than regal ones.

A minor celebrity.

Everyone knew she was a faith warrior with healing spells.

No one doubted her.

They figured she was competing with Miao Miao Niya, drumming up business.

Her teammate ditched her.

A support without a team?

This was her way to earn.

“I’ll try!”

A shield warrior stepped up.

Her massive shield marked her as the team’s tank.

With everyone watching, Meng Linna put on a calm, professional air.

“Where are you hurt?”

As a “doctor,” she needed trust.

“My finger’s broken. Can’t use it. Miao Miao Niya’s healing is too pricey. I’ve been waiting for it to heal on its own.”

The warrior showed her right hand.

Meng Linna wasn’t a medical expert.

But she inspected the finger like one.

“How’d you hurt it?”

“My girlfriend crushed it.”

“Crushed it?”

Meng Linna looked up.

“Why’d she use pliers?”

The warrior shook her head.

“Not pliers.”

“Then what?”

The warrior winked.

“Can I say that?”

“…Forget I asked.”

‘I hope next time I don’t get this instantly!’