Divine Level Witch Doctor

After listening to Fang Yi’s story, which was half brag and half complaint, Zhao Yuan finally realized that the Soul-Stabilizing Incense he created had become so popular it was nearly impossible to obtain. And to think, he’d spent the past few days worrying if the price of ten thousand yuan a box was too high and whether the six boxes he had given Fang Yi would ever sell...

Now it seemed his worries had been a complete joke.

While he was still taking it all in, Fang Yi’s voice urged him again from the other end of the line. ”Zhao Yuan, Little Brother Zhao, I’m begging you, please, hurry up and bring over the new batch of Soul-Stabilizing Incense! If you don’t, the buyers who’ve been cornering me for it are going to tear me to shreds!”

Fang Yi was, for the most part, exaggerating.

It was true that people wanting to buy the Soul-Stabilizing Incense had cornered him over the past few days. But far from tearing him to shreds, they hadn’t dared utter a single threat or intimidation. Instead, they were all fawning over him, trying to get on his good side. It couldn’t be helped. After all, who was to blame for Zhao Yuan appointing him as the sole distributor? If they angered him, they wouldn’t be able to buy any Soul-Stabilizing Incense at all. In a market where demand far outstripped supply, the buyer became the beggar, and the seller became the king.

Previously, Fang Yi had been a minor figure in Rongcheng City’s business circles, a third-rate player at best. Outside of the pharmaceutical industry, no one even knew he existed. But things were different now. His name, along with the Soul-Stabilizing Incense, had spread throughout the city’s entire business community. Many big shots whom Fang Yi could only have admired from afar were now seeking him out, all smiles and flattery, just for a chance to buy a single box of Soul-Stabilizing Incense from him.

These last few days had been the most glorious, prestigious moments of Fang Yi’s entire life. Thankfully, he hadn’t let all the flattery go to his head. He knew perfectly well that his newfound fame and his status as a guest of honor among the city’s elite were all thanks to the Soul-Stabilizing Incense—and all thanks to Zhao Yuan. Thus, his attitude toward Zhao Yuan hadn’t changed one bit; he was as warm and friendly as ever, treating him like a friend and a brother. He understood that only by sticking close to Zhao Yuan and serving him wholeheartedly could he continue to enjoy his current position and possibly find even greater opportunities.

”Brother Fang, my mistake,” Zhao Yuan said. ”I underestimated the appeal of the Soul-Stabilizing Incense. Tell you what, I’ll bring you the new batch tomorrow afternoon.”

In truth, the new batch of Soul-Stabilizing Incense had been ready for a while. Zhao Yuan just hadn’t expected it to sell out so quickly and become so popular, so he hadn’t been in a rush to get it to Fang Yi. His original plan was to bring it over on Sunday when he went to visit Fang Ling. ’Good thing I didn’t tell Fang Yi that,’ he thought. ’He’d probably have a heart attack.’

Hearing that a new supply would be available tomorrow, Fang Yi breathed a sigh of relief. ”How many boxes this time?” he asked.

Zhao Yuan did a quick mental calculation. ”Thirty boxes,” he said.

”Thirty boxes? That’s it?” Fang Yi’s headache returned. The number of people who had called him or shown up at Hundred Herbs Hall to corner him for Soul-Stabilizing Incense over the past few days was somewhere between three and five hundred. And that didn’t even count the many others who were waiting to buy but hadn’t reached out yet. Thirty boxes was a drop in the ocean. Even if he continued the one-box-per-person limit, it was nowhere near enough!

”I actually made about forty boxes over the past few days,” Zhao Yuan explained, ”but I need to keep ten for myself. I don’t want to run out before I can make the next batch.”

His words nearly made Fang Yi drop his phone. ”Ten boxes for yourself? Do you really use that much?”

”Of course I do!” Zhao Yuan replied. ”I go through more than half a box a day.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. He needed the Soul-Stabilizing Incense for his Four Saints Technique Cultivation and to activate his Concentration Technique. All told, he used at least half a box a day, and on some days, he’d go through an entire box.

”Little Brother Zhao, you’re something else. I’m seriously impressed,” Fang Yi said with a sigh. ”More than half a box a day… that’s thousands of yuan right there!”

Zhao Yuan chuckled. ”Brother Fang, others might not know, but surely you do. The Soul-Stabilizing Incense sells for ten thousand yuan a box, but the production cost is nowhere near that much.”

”You can’t think about it in terms of production cost,” Fang Yi said. ”You have to think in terms of the retail price. Every box you use is ten thousand yuan you’re not earning.”

”Compared to making money, using it myself is more important.” This wasn’t just posturing from Zhao Yuan. To him, money was a tool to aid his Cultivation. He certainly wouldn’t put the cart before the horse and hinder his progress just to make more money.

Fang Yi sighed. ”Believe me,” he said resignedly, ”if word gets out that you burn through more than half a box a day, people will be cursing your name behind your back. You have to understand, flexing in Rongcheng City’s business circles isn’t about cars and watches anymore—it’s about Soul-Stabilizing Incense! The people who bought those first six boxes can’t even bear to use them. If they absolutely have to, they’ll break a single stick into several pieces. It’s not that they’re stingy; it’s because your incense is so scarce that they’re terrified they won’t be able to buy more once they run out. As far as I know, the black market price has been driven up to a hundred thousand yuan per stick! And even at that price, you can’t find any for sale!”

Zhao Yuan gasped. Then, his shock turned to excitement. ”A hundred thousand a stick? Seriously? We can’t let other people get in on that action. We should sell a few sticks on the black market ourselves!”

Fang Yi let out a sly chuckle. ”Heh heh, that was my plan exactly. As soon as the new shipment arrives, I was going to sneak a little to the black market.” He paused, then his tone changed. ”Hey, wait a minute, your priorities are all wrong! Shouldn’t you be reflecting on the supply shortage and sparing, I don’t know, five, six, or maybe even eight of those ten boxes you’re keeping for yourself?”

To this reasonable request, Zhao Yuan had a two-word answer: ”Dream on!”

His firm tone made Fang Yi drop the idea of getting any more boxes. With a wry smile, he said, ”Fine, fine, thirty boxes it is. It’s not much, but at least it gives people something to hope for. But Little Brother Zhao, you’ve got to step up your game and increase production. Otherwise, I’m afraid it won’t be long before I’m actually torn apart by angry customers.”

”Don’t worry, I promise I’ll get you a bigger supply next time,” Zhao Yuan assured him.

”Okay, then. I’ll be waiting for the delivery tomorrow.” Then, Fang Yi suddenly remembered something. ”Oh, right! A lot of prominent figures in Rongcheng’s business community want to meet you. They’ve asked me to make an introduction. What do you think? Are you interested?”

”Not interested. And I don’t have the time,” Zhao Yuan refused without a second thought.

He had no desire to waste time on superficial pleasantries. He’d rather use that time to study the medical knowledge on the Information Leaf. This was, after all, the very reason he had Fang Yi handle the sales while he remained behind the scenes.

”In that case,” Fang Yi said, ”let’s not meet at Hundred Herbs Hall tomorrow. People looking for Soul-Stabilizing Incense are staking it out every day. If you show up, you’ll definitely be swarmed. How about this: there’s a Maan Coffee outside the traditional medicine market. We can meet there for the hand-off.”

”Deal.” Zhao Yuan nodded, then couldn’t help but tease, ”Brother Fang, you keep saying ’hand-off.’ You make it sound like we’re doing a drug deal in a cop movie.”

Fang Yi paused. ”You know, you’re right.” Then he joked, ”So, for our ’transaction’ tomorrow, should we wear suits and sunglasses?”

”Now you’re just asking for trouble!” Zhao Yuan couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.