"That's simple. I'll measure the Great Sage."
Subsequently, Ryan pulled out a golden ruler from his Bolsa Qiankun.
Scissors, a file, a ruler—he had a complete set of matching golden-yellow tools.
Xiao was silent for a moment, but considering that Ryan wanted to confirm the elixir's effects, he nodded in agreement and did not refuse.
The golden ruler was no ordinary item; it gradually extended with the blessing of adeptal power, and the markings on it increased accordingly, ensuring the measured height was accurate.
Soon, Ryan finished measuring.
"The Great Sage's original height was… wait, six centimeters? How could he have grown six centimeters…?"
When the measurement results came out, Ryan compared them to Xiao's original height, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Is the medicinal effect incorrect?"
Xiao knew nothing about alchemy, so seeing Ryan's reaction, he could only ask.
"No, the medicinal effect is very correct; it's just a bit too correct…"
Ryan gently shook his head.
'A total increase of seven centimeters over the rest of his life… how could this be…?'
'Rest of his life…?'
Ryan couldn't help but silently recite the Growth Pill's effect in his mind, feeling a bad premonition.
"Then why do you react this way?"
Xiao still couldn't understand Ryan's reaction.
"Because… Great Sage, you are now taller than me!"
Ryan suddenly said with a sorrowful expression.
Although, counting his ears, he was still taller than Xiao.
Xiao: "…"
Did he also care about height so much?
But he gave the first Growth Pill to me… Xiao fell silent due to Ryan's sorrowful words.
However, at this moment, Ryan interrupted his silence again.
"Oh, Great Sage, have you felt any discomfort in your body recently?"
Ryan first looked Xiao up and down, then tentatively asked.
"Bodily discomfort… Are you referring to the elixir's side effects? I don't feel anything."
Xiao pondered for a moment before answering truthfully.
"I see…"
Ryan nodded slightly, taking out a pen and recording this Growth Pill, including its formula and effective cases, into the Grand Pill Compendium.
After Ryan put away the Grand Pill Compendium, he carefully looked left and right, confirming that no one was around.
"There's one more thing, Great Sage, could you give me another strand of your hair?"
Ryan requested softly, then looked at Xiao expectantly.
"Take it."
Xiao was not surprised by Ryan's request, as this was not the first time.
He raised a hand, and a green strand of hair, emitting a faint Anemo element, appeared floating above Xiao's palm.
"Thank you, Great Sage!"
Ryan quickly took out a glass bottle and put the hair inside.
After all, there was only one strand; if he didn't put it in a container, he wouldn't find it next time.
"Alright, with both matters taken care of, Great Sage, I should be going, or I won't reach Liyue Harbor by night and will have to sleep outdoors. I'll come see you again next time~!"
Putting the glass bottle into his Bolsa Qiankun, Ryan then bid farewell to Xiao.
"Do you need me to see you off?"
"No, no, I can travel by myself. I still need to gather herbs along the way."
Refusing Xiao's kind offer, Ryan left Wangsheng Inn.
Afterward, he followed the road south back towards Liyue Pilon, walking on the main road towards Liyue Harbor.
Along the way, Ryan took out the Grand Pill Compendium, looking at the newly recorded "Growth Pill" and falling into contemplation.
"A total of seven centimeters, but the Great Sage grew six centimeters directly after taking it…"
"Now there are two possibilities: one is that the Great Sage is too old, already having used six-sevenths of his entire lifespan."
"The second is that his body is not as healthy as it appears… Hiss! It seems just growing taller isn't enough; to make the Great Sage smile, I still need to nourish his body!"
Muttering and pondering, Ryan quickly thought of this point.
"I remember there's an elixir formula that can prolong life, but the elixir has already been given to little Shenhe. It seems this time, if I can meet the Geo Archon, I'll have to ask him for materials…"
Ryan quickly made a decision and hastened his steps towards Liyue Harbor.
Following the main road that crossed Liyue Pilon, along the way, he conveniently gathered some materials from the monsters by the roadside without killing them, and thus Ryan arrived at Liyue Harbor.
For him, traveling was quite time-consuming, and with the added task of collecting materials along the way, it was already getting late when he entered Liyue Harbor.
He remembered the first time he came to Liyue Harbor, Cloud Retainer carried him from Jueyun Karst, and it only took a quarter of an hour to arrive.
'Once I get there, I'll find a place to stay first, and I must hide my Mora well…'
Walking on the streets of Feiyun Slope, Ryan recalled Cloud Retainer's admonition.
This made him immediately take out his Bolsa Qiankun and rummage through it.
Then he switched hands and rummaged again.
Next, he opened his Bolsa Qiankun to its widest, sticking his entire head inside to look around.
"Oh no! I've run out of Mora!"
Ryan's exclamation came from inside the Bolsa Qiankun.
After retracting his head from the Bolsa Qiankun, Ryan closed it with a heavy expression.
'It's fine, it's fine, Ryan, you are an adeptus's disciple after all; a mere amount of Mora won't stump you…'
'Hmm, the last time I came to Liyue Harbor was about ten years ago, I remember there was an herbal pharmacy in Liyue Harbor; I can sell some herbs there to exchange for some Mora…'
Calming down and pondering for a moment, Ryan quickly came up with a solution.
Before going to Cloud Retainer to explain that he was going down the mountain, he specifically tidied up the things in his cave dwelling, putting the Grand Pill Compendium and some ordinary materials into his Bolsa Qiankun.
Although he could use any material for alchemy, his cave dwelling always had various medicinal herbs on hand, because these things could be refined relatively quickly.
While he usually took a day to refine a batch of elixirs, if he used only ordinary herbs to refine elixirs without adding anything indiscriminately, half a day would be enough.
"Hello, excuse me, how do I get to the hospital… uh, I mean… the herbal pharmacy?"
Seeing that it was getting late, Ryan quickly stopped a brown-haired Damselette with a plum blossom branch decorating her hat, who was passing by, and asked for directions.
"The herbal pharmacy? You must mean Bubu Pharmacy. It's over there; you'll see it on your right after crossing the lotus pond."
The Damselette who was asked for directions nodded and pointed to another fork in the road from where Ryan had come.
"Alright, thank you, little sister!"
Ryan thanked the Damselette he had asked for directions, then turned and hurried in that direction.
"Little sister? This person isn't much older than This Master, is he…?"
The Damselette muttered to herself because of Ryan's words.
Returning to the previous fork in the road, Ryan passed through the archway and arrived at the lotus pond the Damselette had mentioned.
Following the covered bridge by the lotus pond, Ryan quickly found the herbal pharmacy he remembered, as he could already smell the scent of medicine in the air.
Under Cloud Retainer's guidance, he was familiar with all sorts of medicinal herbs.
Following the steps at the entrance of the herbal pharmacy, Ryan arrived at the pharmacy named Bubu Pharmacy.
"Hello, are you here to see a doctor or buy medicine?"
Inside Bubu Pharmacy, the receptionist A Gui asked Ryan as he entered.
It was dinnertime, and there were no patients in the pharmacy, so he was holding a bowl of fried rice and eating.
Upon seeing Ryan, he quickly put down the fried rice in his hand.
"Do you buy medicinal herbs here?"
Ryan said, reaching into his Bolsa Qiankun and pulling out a handful of Pure Heart.
Pure Heart often grew on mountain peaks, making it difficult for ordinary people to pick, but for Ryan, who lived in Jueyun Karst, he could basically grab a large handful just by reaching out.
"Pure Heart? Sir, please place it on the medicine tray, and I will confirm the quality of the herbs."
A Gui nodded. Bubu Pharmacy not only sold medicine but also consistently purchased medicinal herbs, especially common ones like Pure Heart.
Ryan nodded and placed the handful of Pure Heart on the tray on the counter. A Gui picked it up and examined it for a moment under the lamp light.
"These herbs are very fresh… Sir, if you don't mind, Bubu Pharmacy can purchase them at a price of 400 Mora per plant."
Having confirmed the quality of the herbs, A Gui held up four fingers, proposing to Ryan.
"Four hundred Mora…"
Ryan stroked his chin and pondered for a moment.
He had also sold herbs when he came to Liyue Harbor ten years ago; at that time, one plant seemed to be around 500 Mora… "Hmm… I'll sell them for five hundred Mora."
After thinking for a while, Ryan decided to raise the price a bit.
He wasn't very good at bargaining; instead, he was accustomed to sticking to a fixed price, meaning whatever the price was before, he hoped it would be the same now.
"This… Given how fresh these herbs are, we'll go with your price."
A Gui hesitated for a moment before agreeing…