Immortality Starts With Selling Pills

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: The Mysterious Young Genius

”Wait!” Hearing the sharp voice, Derrick looked over his shoulder and saw a young woman standing a couple of feet away from him.

The moment Derrick turned around, his footsteps came to a halt.

A young woman stood several feet behind him.

She was the kind of beauty that could make an entire street fall silent.

And it happened.

Everyone around them was looking at them silently.

Derrick looked at the young woman carefully. She seemed to be quite young. Possibly even younger than his current body.

If he had to guess, then he would say she was around fourteen or fifteen years old.

She had long blonde curls that spilled down her back, each strand arranged into perfect ringlets. There wasn’t a single hair out of place.

It was obvious that maintaining such a hairstyle required hours of careful attention.

Her eyes were the first thing that truly caught him. They were striking shades of red. So beautiful that it seemed like the whole world was encased within those eyes, and they reflected heaven itself within them.

Her skin was pale and flawless, the kind untouched by manual labor or sun.

Branded designer clothes layered over her frame. Her outfit alone might have been worth more than everything combined in the store, screaming of wealth that had no business being in a place like this.

She was beautiful.

And she knew it.

Judging by the way she carried herself, chin tilted up, eyes half-lidded like she was doing everyone around her a favor just by existing, she thought of herself as the center of the whole world.

From the corner of his eyes, Derrick noticed two guards, blended into the crowd, protecting her from a distance. From the way they maintained their distance, he was sure they were only there to protect her.

He did not even wait for me to speak and turned back to the vendor and snatched the box from his hands. ’Ugh... I already know where this is going. What a waste of such beauty, though. I wonder whose life she would ruin after growing up and getting married.’

The rich girl noticed his actions and narrowed her eyes sharply. Her lips curled into a frown and her body tensed.

”That cauldron.” The young lady finally opened her mouth and said, pointing a delicate finger toward the box tucked under Derrick’s arm, addressing the old vendor as though Derrick himself weren’t standing right there. ”I’ll take it. I’ll pay double whatever he offered.”

The vendor’s eyes lit up instantly, mouth already curling into a greedy smile, hand twitching like he wanted to snatch the box back—

But.

Derrick swatted his hand like he was a bug.

”I have already bought this,” he said, voice flat, cold enough that the vendor’s smile faltered halfway through forming. ”It’s mine now, so shoo away, little girl. Find someone else to snatch a candy from.”

The woman’s red eyes narrowed a fraction, a flicker of disbelief crossing her delicate features.

She wasn’t used to such treatment.

She? The same girl who could get many powerful men and women to kiss her hands and feet if she wanted. That young princess was being rejected?

Even the bodyguards in the back looked at Derrick in disbelief. They had expected him to fold before money or else fawn over their young mistress’s appearance.

But never in their wildest dreams did they expect such a response from him. But even as he disrespected her, they showed no intention of moving.

One of the men had reached for something on his waist, but the oldest among the men shot him a look, making him stop.

”100,000,” she said, taking a step closer, silk robes swaying with the motion. ”For a rusted piece of junk. I’d say that’s more than generous, don’t you think?”

”Not interested.”

Her eyebrow twitched. ”200,000.”

A ripple of murmurs spread through the small crowd that had begun to gather, drawn by the commotion.

”Did she just say two hundred thousand—”

”For that old thing? Are you kidding me—”

”Must be one of those rich brats with nothing better to spend their money on.”

Artifacts from the bygone times were useless in this era. Everything was advanced and had much more precious technology.

It was only used for decoration these days, and the max it would go for was 100,000 social credits.

Seeing her offer this much made them wonder what was so special about the item.

Derrick didn’t so much as glance at her again. He simply turned and started walking, the box secure under his arm.

”500,000!” Her voice cracked through the market like a whip, sharp and demanding, silencing the chatter around them in an instant.

For a moment, dead silence.

Then the whispers exploded all over again, louder this time, disbelief evident in every voice.

”Half a million?! For a rusted cauldron?!”

”She’s lost her damn mind—”

”That’s more than some people make in years...”

”Rich people, I swear, they don’t know what to do with their money—”

”Wait! Is that thing some sort of Enchanted Artifact no one knows about? It looks like those plain old cauldrons used to make pills hundreds of years ago.”

Derrick paused mid-step. He was starting to wonder if this scene might end up getting him the wrong sort of attention.

For a fleeting second, a small, triumphant smile tugged at the corner of the woman’s lips, thinking she’d finally gotten through to him.

’Nah. I better leave here as fast as I can. The best thing to do here is... run!’

Then he kept walking, like she hadn’t spoken at all. Derrick did not instantly run, but he did increase his pace little by little.

Her smile vanished instantly, replaced by something far uglier.

”You!!” She surged forward, closing the distance in a few quick strides, reaching out to grab his arm. If she could not get something she wanted with words alone, she was ready to use a physical approach.

Her fingers closed around his biceps, and she pulled hard. But much to her bewilderment...

He didn’t move.