Someone had to be doing it, after all. Without a marketing and salesperson, how would they ever get a noble demon to come down to such a run-down, impoverished, edge-of-the-city apothecary?!
And so, while Qiu Yunru's days were spent idling away at the apothecary, Liao Li spent his days standing on street corners and waving pamphlets. It seemed to be something that almost came naturally to him. He had a very likeable and charming air about him.
Of course, a likeable and charming air wasn't enough to convince demons going about their day to try some new magical medicine.
"New cures for common diseases at the Three Herbs Apothecary! Common cold, syphilis, migraines, fractures! Just come and see!"
"Oh, shut up!" A demoness shrilled, making a rude gesture at him. "Can't you tell we all know it's a scam?"
"Who cares about broken bones?" Another demon grumbled. "Common cold? Just get over it, or die! That's how we live. Stop shouting!"
"Well, your quality of life can be greatly improved if you take medicine," Liao Li tried with a charming, awkward laugh. "So if you'll just go down the street and take a look..."
"Hell no!"
Every day, it was like this. When Qiu Yunru and Liao Li came together for dinner at the end of the day at the Red Lotus Pavilion, they were thus both exhausted, with no new leads.
"I'm really not the salesman type..." Liao Li sighed over a bowl of dumpling soup. He looked paler than usual, his thick, dark eyebrows furrowed together. "This is why I never wanted to be a salesperson."
Qiu Yunru felt extremely awkward, hearing this. He chewed and swallowed a dumpling as guilt roiled in his stomach.
It wasn't good that Liao Li was getting so exhausted by this work. Of course he would be--in the real world, being a salesperson was hellish, requiring skin thicker than brick and mortar. In the Demon Realm, it was entirely something else!
But...what solution could he offer? It...it wasn't as if he was about to offer to take on the sales role himself! Hell no!
In his past life, he had always told himself that he would rather stab his eyes out than work as a salesperson. With his introverted personality, constant migraines, and fear of angry customers, that would be as good as a personal hell for him!
"Ah...sorry..." He managed, smiling weakly. "Let's give it another few days. Maybe there's another way to market. We could hang up posters. Madame Red said she would also try to contact some people..."
"Don't worry too much," Liao Li smiled. Even exhausted, there was a charming twinkle in his eye. "I can handle it."
"Still..."
Thankfully, Liao Li didn't have to handle it for too much longer.
On the tenth day of working at Three Herbs Apothecary, Qiu Yunru was grinding herbs alone in the back. Shao Chang was away for the day, off to visit his son that lived in a separate district of Leng Mo City.
As he was crushing Violet Boneseeds into a dust, there came the peal of a bell. Someone had entered the shop.
"This humble apprentice will be with you shortly!" He called out from the back room. Quickly, he wiped his hands and covered the dust, hurrying out into the parlor. Thankfully, he knew exactly where all of the classic Three-Herb remedies were now, so he wasn't worried. Those were the only things anyone had ordered since he'd started here, after all.
Looking up, Qiu Yunru stumbled a little.
Sitting on a wooden stool by the door was a demon unlike any other he'd seen before. If he had to compare her to anyone, he would say that she was most like Madame Red.
Her skin was as pale as snow, so white that it seemed almost translucent. Blue and green veins threaded beneath it like roots. Her body was tall and lithe. It was a little too lithe, in fact. If one looked closely, her ribs were visible through the silken white fabric of her robes. One of her hands elegantly held a pipe from which she smoked languidly with pale lips. Her wrist was far too thin; the bones pressed against the skin, and each knuckle could be seen poking out. Peering out at him through curtains of long, black hair that fell all the way to the floor were two glittering black eyes.
Most importantly, along her throat, there glowed a strange marking. It was like a tattoo, carved into her skin with intricate lattices and points. Like the heart of a furnace, it glowed red.
Qiu Yunru nearly choked on his spit.
The mark of a noble demon!