Chapter 169: Meeting Prince Xue Xing
Three days later, a luxurious carriage appeared outside Shi Lin's courtyard. A young man dressed in a white tailcoat stepped down from the carriage and gently knocked on the gate of Shi Lin's courtyard.
Shi An quickly opened the door and let the person in.
"Prince Xue Xing has decreed that Young Master Shi Lin should come to the Prince's residence for a talk," the young man said, nodding slightly to Shi An.
Shi An was taken aback, not expecting that quite a few people had come looking for his young master recently.
"Please wait a moment, esteemed guest, I will go find my young master right away!" Shi An bowed slightly to the young man and said.
"Please go ahead." The young man nodded.
Shi An immediately went to Shi Lin's room and gently knocked on the door.
"Young Master, someone is looking for you outside," Shi An said loudly to Shi Lin.
Shi Lin was writing his Gu-training notes in his room when he heard Shi An's voice.
Shi Lin put down his pen and asked Shi An a question.
"They're from Prince Xue Xing's mansion," Shi An said to Shi Lin in a low voice.
Upon hearing Shi An's words, Shi Lin slowly raised his head.
"It's only been three days, and Prince Xue Xing has already contacted me? Could it be that he's already gathered all those medicinal herbs? That's incredibly fast," Shi Lin muttered, raising an eyebrow.
"Okay, Brother An, tell him to wait for me, I'll be right out," Shi Lin said to Shi An, then put the notebook back into his personal space.
After a quick wash, Shi Lin changed into a rather glamorous suit before leaving his room.
After all, the person they were going to face next was Prince Xue Xing, a prominent figure in the Heaven Dou Empire.
As soon as Shi Lin stepped out of his room, he saw a young man of about eighteen or nineteen standing in the middle of the courtyard, with Shi An standing beside him holding a cup of tea.
"Greetings, Envoy! I apologize for keeping you waiting." Shi Lin bowed slightly to the young man.
"Yes, you must be Young Master Shi Lin. Come with me, Prince Xue Xing wishes to see you." The young man said to Shi Lin with a warm expression.
You can tell from the voice that this person is not a eunuch.
"Yes, sir!" Shi Lin said respectfully.
Then, the young man led Shi Lin into the carriage and headed towards Prince Xue Xing's residence.
"May I ask your name, brother?" Shi Lin struck up a conversation with the young man.
"My name is Qing Ye, and I am the son of the steward of Prince Xue Xing's mansion. From now on, you will be the prince's advisor. If there is an opportunity, please be sure to give me a helping hand," Qing Ye said with a smile to Shi Lin.
Upon hearing Qing Ye's words, Shi Lin smiled and nodded.
Then Shi Lin and Qing Ye inquired about Prince Xue Xing's preferences and the etiquette required for their upcoming meeting with him.
...
Half an hour later, the carriage stopped at the entrance of a magnificent courtyard.
"Young Master Shi Lin, please get out of the carriage." Qing Ye got off the carriage and helped Shi Lin down from it.
"Thank you." Shi Lin bowed slightly to Qing Ye and then said.
In just a short while, Shi Lin and Qing Ye have grown much closer.
Then, the two entered Prince Xue Xing's residence.
It has to be said that Prince Xue Xing is one of the most important people in the Heaven Dou Empire, and this courtyard covers an area of 100,000 square meters.
Although there were no pavilions or towers in the courtyard, it was still magnificent, with carved beams and painted rafters, expensive murals on the walls, and countless rare carvings on the roof beams.
Although it can't compare to the imperial palace, it's still one of the top five residences in Heaven Dou City.
As Shi Lin walked inside, he looked around curiously.
Although Prince Xue Xing's courtyard was magnificent, it was far smaller and less functional than the Shi family's manor.
But this is already quite impressive. This is the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, where every inch of land is incredibly valuable!
Shi Lin looked around curiously as he followed Qing Ye to the front yard of the Prince's mansion.
Soon, the two stopped at the door of a study.
At this moment, Prince Xue Xing was reading in his study.
"Your Highness! Shi Lin has arrived." Qing Ye bowed to the study and then said.
"Come in!" Prince Xue Xing's voice came from the study.
Upon hearing Prince Xue Xing's voice, Qing Ye quickly stepped forward, opened the door, bowed, and gestured for Shi Lin to enter.
Shi Lin straightened his formal attire, then bowed slightly and walked into Prince Xue Xing's study.
"This humble subject, Shi Lin, greets Prince Xue Xing!" Shi Lin bowed deeply to Prince Xue Xing and then spoke.
As a modern person, Shi Lin did not have much respect for Prince Xue Xing. However, in order to obtain the title in this era, Shi Lin had to bow his head.
Otherwise, if Prince Xue Xing were to offer even the slightest resistance, his title might be lost.
For the sake of the title, he had no choice but to endure it temporarily.
"No need for formalities. I have prepared the medicinal herbs you need these past few days, and they are all here." Prince Xue Xing's voice was gentle, giving people a refined and elegant feeling.
However, Shi Lin could tell from Prince Xue Xing's words that he was deeply disgusted with him. Shi Lin thought to himself, "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"
When Shi Lin has enough power in the future, a mere Prince Xue Xing will not dare to look down on himself for being unsophisticated.
"Yes, Prince Xue Xing." Shi Lin lowered his head, walked to Prince Xue Xing's desk, and took a soul tool.
Upon inspection, Shi Lin realized that this soul tool was old and would break down soon.
"Here are the medicinal herbs needed for one hundred prescriptions. Give me the first batch of healing pills in a month; I need to test their specific effects." Prince Xue Xing stood up, walked around the desk to Shi Lin, and patted Shi Lin on the shoulder as he spoke.
Prince Xue Xing's tone lacked any warmth, which made Shi Lin very uncomfortable.
"Rest assured, Your Highness, I will deliver the pills on time," Shi Lin nodded to Prince Xue Xing.
These pills don't require Shi Lin to refine them personally; all he needs is enough healing Gu.
Once I return to my own courtyard, I can refine some more healing Gu, which will be more than enough to meet the orders from the Heaven Dou Empire.
"If you handle this matter well, you'll be well rewarded with gold soul coins and a noble title," Prince Xue Xing tempted Shi Lin again.
Shi Lin could only remain skeptical of Prince Xue Xing's words.
After all, there aren't many people in positions of power who can keep their promises.
However, titles are different from gold soul coins, and this is not the territory of the Heaven Dou Empire, so the possibility of Emperor Xue Ye granting a title is much greater than that of gold soul coins.
Shi Lin felt that he would be quite happy if he could get even a little bit in the future.
"Thank you, Prince Xue Xing," Shi Lin said respectfully to Prince Xue Xing once again.
"Is there anything else you need?" Prince Xue Xing found a place to sit down and asked Shi Lin.
"No, thank you for your kindness, Prince Xue Xing," Shi Lin said loudly to Prince Xue Xing.
"There will be a royal banquet in two weeks. Would you be interested in attending?" Prince Xue Xing asked gently.
"I obey Prince Xue Xing's orders without question," Shi Lin said without looking up.
"Alright, since that's the case, you should go back now and refine more pills. The Heaven Dou Empire will certainly not treat you unfairly," Prince Xue Xing said to Shi Lin, waving his hand.
"Thank you, Prince Xue Xing. I'll take my leave now!" Shi Lin thanked Prince Xue Xing and then slowly withdrew from the prince's study.
Watching Shi Lin's retreating figure, Prince Xue Xing narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze filled with disdain.
"A country bumpkin from the countryside… I don't know what His Majesty saw in him, hmph!" Prince Xue Xing snorted coldly, his tone full of disdain for Shi Lin.
Shi Lin was unaware of Prince Xue Xing's disdain; he was simply pondering the banquet invitation Prince Xue Xing had extended to him.
How could a nobody like me, with only the ability to refine pills, possibly attract the attention of a prince?
"It must be that my talent has been discovered." Shi Lin muttered to himself, stroking his chin.
Then, led by Qing Ye, Shi Lin walked out of Prince Xue Xing's courtyard.
Someone picked me up when I arrived, but no one cared when I left.
Shi Lin pursed his lips helplessly, and then began to stroll around Heaven Dou City.
However, as he passed by the Dugu family's pharmacy, Shi Lin stopped and turned around to go inside.
After Shi Lin entered the pharmacy, a waiter quickly came to serve him.
"Young master, what would you like to buy?" the waiter asked Shi Lin softly.
"I have a treasure here that I would like to ask your esteemed manager to appraise," Shi Lin said, handing a bottle of second-tier antidote pills to the waiter.
"This..." The waiter was stunned for a moment, but still subconsciously took the pill from Shi Lin's hand.
"Please wait a moment!" The waiter bowed to Shi Lin and then took the pills to find the shopkeeper.
Shi Lin found a place to sit down, closed his eyes to rest, and began to ponder the reason why Prince Xue Xing had invited him.
Half an hour later, a burly middle-aged man came out of the room and stood in front of Shi Lin.
"Young Master, how many of these pills are there?" the shopkeeper asked Shi Lin with a smile.
"More than a hundred, I suppose," Shi Lin said with a smile.
"I'm willing to pay 10,000 gold soul coins for the prescription," the shopkeeper said to Shi Lin.
"No need, this prescription is quite simple, it just requires my martial soul to refine it." Shi Lin smiled slightly, then handed a prescription to the shopkeeper.
The materials needed for first- and second-tier detoxification pills are not that rare, and their effects are relatively average, so there's no need to go out of your way to sell the prescriptions.
"Well... young master, please leave your address. I need to go home and discuss this with the head of the family," the shopkeeper said to Shi Lin.
"Okay, here's my address." Shi Lin left a note and handed it to the shopkeeper, then stood up and left.
He wanted to use the antidote pill to get in touch with Dugu Bo, since Shi Lin needed to be of value to others if he wanted to survive.
Only when several forces compete together can Shi Lin's interests be maximized, and his safety can also be guaranteed.
"Yes, young master, we will inform you as soon as the patriarch has a reply." The shopkeeper said to Shi Lin and then nodded.
Shi Lin waved his hand, then left the pharmacy and returned to his courtyard.
Now all that's left is to wait for Dugu Bo to come looking for him.
Although the second-tier detoxification pill didn't seem to be very effective, it could perfectly solve Dugu Yan's problem.
After all, Dugu Yan is only around level 20 right now.
After returning to his courtyard, Shi Lin went straight to the basement, activated the soul tool that Prince Xue Xing had given him, and emptied its contents.
Dozens of bags filled with medicinal herbs, and two hundred corpses of century-old spirit beasts.
These were all requested by Shi Lin. In any case, the Heaven Dou Empire was a large and powerful country, and it had many more ways to obtain these materials than his own family, and they were given to Shi Lin for free.
After dissecting the spirit beast corpses, they were categorized and stored in the Small Manor Gu.
Then these medicinal herbs are placed in the Healing Gu Manor, allowing the Gu worms to consume the herbs and produce Healing Gu.
After settling everything in, Shi Lin fed the soul tool he had just obtained to his little manor Gu, and then took out some healing pills to begin refining healing Gu.
With so many medicinal herbs, if Shi Lin didn't refine some healing Gu, they would probably all spoil.
After finishing these tasks, Shi Lin sat down in the basement and began to cultivate.
Shi Lin is currently only level 28, but he estimates that he will be able to break through to level 30 in another three months. At that time, he will start to think about the next level 3 Gu worm.
As time goes by, the Shi family's heritage will only grow stronger.
Suddenly, Shi Lin wondered if he should also train some loyal and talented children. After all, with the Wine Gu around, there were many things Shi Lin could do.
With this in mind, Shi Lin immediately exited his cultivation state and went to his desk to begin making plans.
We need a location, which can be found by digging a hole underground; we need plenty of food and training equipment, which can be obtained with money; we need a large number of spirit rings, but Shi Lin can easily cultivate some spiritual treasures and plants...
Shi Lin began to write down everything that was needed, one by one.
After all that fuss, Shi Lin finally emerged from the basement in the afternoon.
"Young Master, although you have a lot to do, you should still take a break from work," Shi An said to Shi Lin as he sat down next to him.
Shi An also sensed Shi Lin's exhaustion and gently offered some words of comfort.
"Hehe, it's not a big problem. Once this busy period is over, everything will be fine again," Shi Lin said with a smile to Shi An.
"Things will definitely get better and better," Shi An said to Shi Lin with a smile.
Shi Lin responded and then continued eating.
But just then, there was a knocking sound at the door.
"Young Master, please eat first, I'll go take a look." Shi An put down his chopsticks, stood up, went to the door, and opened it.
The person standing at the door was none other than the manager of the Dugu family's pharmacy.
"Shopkeeper? What brings you here?" Shi Lin saw the shopkeeper at the door and put down his chopsticks to ask.
"Young Master, my patriarch said that one silver soul coin equals one pill, and we will provide the medicinal materials ourselves. We will order ten thousand pills in advance!" the shopkeeper said earnestly to Shi Lin.
"Okay, come pick it up in three months," Shi Lin said with a smile to the shopkeeper.
"Young master, do you have any other pills?" the shopkeeper asked Shi Lin again.
"Haha, that stuff isn't exactly cabbage, we're out of it," Shi Lin said to the shopkeeper with a smile.
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[end of the chapter]