Chapter 1 The Medicine Seller

  Name: Zhou Yi

  Sex: Female

  Age: Unknown

  Occupation: Drug Trafficker

  Address: No. 1 Xi Kou Street, Bo Mei Ji

  "Come and buy! Top-quality fabrics, exquisite silk, tribute from foreign lands, treasures of the royal family!"

  "A moment missed is a moment lost, an opportunity that will never come again. An absolutely unmissable piece of jewelry, the spiritual stone from the depths of the ocean..."

  "Gun ammunition rocket artillery, freshly launched light sword, aiming device with an accuracy rate of two hundred percent..."

  Zhao Lin looked around in surprise - this bustling market, under the night sky's reflection, was brightly lit and extraordinarily lively, but no matter what, it couldn't hide the feeling of being out of sync, strange, and even eerie! Under the dazzling lights, all sorts of goods were on display before her eyes, intersecting stalls and counters, people of all kinds, everything seemed like a mirage in the middle of the water, dizzying and lacking a sense of reality.

  "Bo Mei Ji Xi Kou Jie 1 Hao." Looking at the nameplate in her hand, Zhao Lin didn't have time to linger in front of other stalls and began searching for her destination. To be honest, although she had lived in this city for so long, she had never heard of such a market existing. If not for her friend's repeated assurances, she would not have believed that by following the path of the setting sun at dusk, she could reach such a mysterious market, let alone actually arrive here - after passing through a deserted residential area on the outskirts of the city, when she almost thought there was no way to go!

  She clutched the brand name in her hand, determined to find that pharmacy called Zhou Yi Medicine Hall. "48th, 49th..." A sense of fear suddenly gripped her heart tightly. How could this be? She had been walking for at least two hours but had never left this street! What should she do? Should she go back? Her fearful heart began to retreat, and Zhao Lin started considering giving up the purpose of this trip. The purpose...? Thinking of this, a determined look reappeared in her eyes. No way, absolutely cannot give up! Swallowing hard, she plucked up the courage to enter a nearby shop and ask for directions.

  It was a renovated old storefront, with a dimly lit hall inside shining with a faint yellow oil lamp, forming a strong contrast with the bright lights around it. A person sat hunched over in a bamboo chair, carefully drawing something stroke by stroke.

  "First... sir, may I ask..." Zhao Lin's voice was trembling noticeably.

  "What?" The man raised his head, an old man wearing black-framed glasses. "What do you want?" His icy tone sent a chill down one's spine.

  "I..." couldn't help but shudder, Zhao Lin's sharp eyes caught sight of the old man holding a paper doll with features that looked exactly like those of a high-ranking official who had recently fallen ill for no reason and had yet to recover, as seen in the newspaper a few days ago. "I..." Zhao Lin was shocked speechless.

  "What do you want?" The old man asked again in a calm and icy tone, "Our store provides various coffins, funeral goods, burial objects, if you want special services, feel free to ask!" The old man hinted with a swing of the puppet in his hand, "We also take on business like this."

  "I, I just wanted to ask for directions." Zhao Lin stiffened her scalp and handed over the paper in her hand.

  "The Zhou Yi's shop." The old man furrowed his brow, "You're determined to go?" He pushed his glasses down and revealed a pair of unexpectedly clear eyes that stared intently at Zhao Lin.

  "Yes, yes." Zhao Lin muttered, lowering her head, and at that moment, something was rolling in her eyes.

  "It's right across." The old man hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up.

  "Across the street? But I just passed by...". The old man had already lowered his head to continue carefully drawing the facial features of the puppet, so Zhao Lin could only leave the store with a huff.

  Across from them was a weapons store. Zhao Lin shook her head and turned around to walk away.

  "Medicinal herbs, all kinds of medicinal herbs and patent medicines. Auntie, do you want to buy some medicinal herbs?" A clear childish voice rang out, abruptly stopping Zhao Lin's footsteps.

  "Impossible!" Zhao Lin turned around in surprise, her wide eyes staring at the four golden characters of "Zhou Yi Medicine Shop". Inside the spacious and simple hall, behind a half-person-high counter sat a beautiful girl about eleven or twelve years old on a high stool. On the door pillar outside, the signboard "Bomei Ji Xikou Street No. 1" shone with a faint red light under the reflection of the red lantern. What... when did I come here? Zhao Lin thought hard, just now it was clearly No. 48, No. 49...

  "Auntie, what would you like?" The girl asked with a faint smile, revealing two lovely dimples.

  "Little sister, I'm looking for the owner of this store, Zhou Yi. Is he in?" After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Lin still walked into this ancient and simple shop.

  "I'm Zhou Yi, Aunt Zhao!" The little girl slightly raised her face and spoke in a clear and gentle voice.

  "You, you're Zhou Yi?!" Zhao Lin was really surprised. Her friend had only said that the shop owner was very young, but she hadn't expected her to be such a lovely little girl. Wait! "You, how do you know my last name?"

  "Aren't you a friend of Huang Ayi?" Zhou Yi jumped onto the counter, his two feet swaying on the high counter. "She mentioned you to me."

  "It turned out to be like this." Zhao Lin smiled relievedly, having been startled too many times today. However, just a moment later, worry again shrouded her brow, "So, about my situation, you..."

  "Hmm, I see. The little girl looked somewhat embarrassed as she tilted her head and said, 'If you were like this, what do you think you would need the most?'"

  "I..." Zhao Lin couldn't help but touch the face that had already climbed up to the fish tail wrinkles, skin no longer radiant and elastic. At thirty-seven years old, this was no longer an age with youth and vitality. It's only natural for a husband in his prime to like younger girls! "I just want to win back my husband's heart."

  "Is that so?" Zhou Yi looked at Zhao Lin with a strange expression, suddenly jumped down from the counter and walked into the inner room. After a while, he came out holding a piece of dead wood, "Use this!"

  "What is this?" Zhao Lin asked with some curiosity, this withered wood somehow had a shape that resembled a newborn baby.

  "This is the Tree of Youth." Zhou Yi replied softly, and began to cut the withered wood. At that moment, Zhao Lin felt an inexplicable sense of oppression from the girl in front of her, as if a thick death aura surrounded her, which seemed even more intense than the coffin shop she had just passed by. She shook her head, and secretly laughed at her own foolishness - after all, this was just a little girl, wasn't it?

  "Legend has it that in the past, there existed a magical and fertile land on earth - the Great Western Continent. At the end of the Great Western Continent, there was a Tree of Youth. Its flowers could make people radiant and refreshed, its fruits could restore youth, and its leaves could cure all diseases. What I'm giving you now is the fruit of the Tree of Youth." As they spoke, the medicine had been cut into slices, divided into five small packets, "After returning home, decoct it like ordinary Chinese medicine, one dose divided into three decoctions, once a day, and the effect will be seen within five days. You can regain your appearance at twenty years old."

  "Is this, is this true?" Zhao Lin was so excited she could hardly speak.

  "Yes! This is Bohai Market, the largest market in the world, selling unbelievable goods. You take care." Zhou Yi stuffed the medicine package into Zhao Lin's hand.

  "Money, I haven't paid yet." Zhao Lin opened her purse. She didn't know how expensive the medicine was here, so she brought a dozen gold cards and a stack of cash when she went out, and even brought a checkbook. She had a rich husband, didn't she? Although he no longer loved her after he got rich and she grew old.

  "We don't accept cash here." Zhou Yi said with a smile, his innocent and cheerful expression easily won Zhao Lin's favor.

  "That gold card..." Zhao Lin started rummaging through her purse.

  "I think you've misunderstood me!" Zhou Yi jumped back onto the counter, "Material measurements don't apply here. I'll deduct the cost of the medicine from your body myself, you can leave now."

  "What's being deducted from me?" Zhao Lin couldn't help but feel puzzled, but was immediately replaced by a joyful mood. Never mind, as long as she could win back her husband's heart, whatever she wanted would be fine! Even if what she wanted was ten or twenty years of life, or even if her life only had one day left, as long as she could win back the heart of the man she loved, it didn't matter! Thinking this, Zhao Lin smiled happily. She lightly said goodbye and turned to leave.

  "Old lady, you're cheating people again?" A muscular man with a thick build shouted at the short figure behind the counter.

  "You little stinker, make another peep and I'll smash your skull to pieces!" An aged voice emerged, and the face that appeared from behind the counter was shockingly withered, eerie and terrifying. "The death god opposite seems to be intentionally making things difficult for me. If he hadn't been deliberately obstructing, that woman should have found my shop by now!"

  "That's also your fault for being too wicked, always cheating others!" The muscular man said with a laugh.

  "Ah——" Zhou Yi's voice rose to a high pitch, his sharp and hoarse tone was strange, "She wants youth, I give her youth, two silver coins, how did I cheat her?"

  "Did you tell her that the price she has to pay is her youth in every life, and that from now on, no matter which life she's born into, she'll always look like an 80-year-old woman from birth?"

  "I did remind her, but it's up to her if she didn't ask clearly, that's her own business, nothing to do with me." Zhou Yi replied lazily.

  "Old lady, you..." The muscular man wanted to say something more.

  "Canglong, you don't understand those foolish humans," Zhou Yi said in a low voice. "You also don't understand human love! For a woman who would stop at nothing to win back her husband's heart, even if I told her what I wanted, there wouldn't be any change."

  "Old..."

  Zhou Yi waved his hand lightly and the shop door creaked shut. "I'm going to rest now, you can leave!"

  Cang Long wanted to say something else, but finally closed his mouth, and his sturdy body slowly disappeared into the darkness.

  Zhou Yi sighed. In the candlelight, her figure gradually withered and rotted, then turned black, like a piece of human-shaped dry wood. Accompanied by a crisp cracking sound, the dry wood suddenly burst open, and inside, a beautiful girl of eleven or twelve years old was sleeping peacefully. The tree of youth, isn't it? The tree of youth that gives people youth, relying on human youth to sustain life and the tree of youth.

  Come on, come on! The world's largest market, selling the unbelievable Bomei collection. Just follow the sunset westward at dusk and you'll definitely arrive!