During their conversation along the way, Lillian Carter was also carefully observing William Carter. She had only a vague impression of him from their previous encounters. But now, in her eyes, this man seemed shrouded in mystery—he was the first man to accompany the young lady for the night and not only survive, but even gain his freedom.

In the Chunshui Empire, it was extremely difficult for a man to obtain free status. Thinking about how William Carter now possessed such freedom, Lillian Carter couldn’t help but think to herself:

“Now that he has free status, according to past practice, getting a bit closer to him shouldn’t violate imperial law…”

“Lillian Carter, the card reader you mentioned—where can I buy one? Lillian Carter?” William Carter looked at Lillian Carter curiously, raising his voice.

“Ah… the card reader, you can buy it at the Chuan Gong Bookstore up ahead.” Lillian Carter was momentarily stunned, then quickly snapped back to attention.

By this time, the two had arrived at the entrance of the pharmacy.

The pharmacy was large, with three floors. This was William Carter’s first time here, and he had been worried that some of the herbs he remembered for treating corpse flower poison might not be available. But once inside, he was relieved to find that all the herbs he needed were in stock.

After selecting the necessary herbs, William Carter also picked out some extra medicines. This way, even if someone found out what herbs he had bought, they would never be able to concoct the antidote for corpse flower poison.

If that third young lady learned from Lillian Carter what herbs he had purchased, she’d better not try to mix them herself, because the extra ingredients he bought all appeared to be highly toxic.

Coincidentally, among the essential herbs for treating corpse flower poison, there really was one that was extremely poisonous. This made it even harder to tell truth from falsehood—aside from William Carter, no one else would be able to figure out the formula, no matter how hard they tried.

When it came time to pay, the shop owner—a beautiful woman in her thirties—glanced at William Carter and said, “You’re buying quite a lot of blue ant powder. I don’t have that much in stock. Would you like to substitute something else?”

William Carter’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes took on a faintly mocking look as he glanced at her with deep meaning. Blue ant powder was the most obviously poisonous of the extra medicines he’d chosen. The shop owner’s question seemed normal, but in reality, it was a bit suspicious.

Under William Carter’s gaze, the beautiful woman suddenly felt as if he had seen right through her, and she was startled.

“Just give me as much as you have,” William Carter said casually, a flash of ridicule in his eyes.

After Lillian Carter finished wrapping up the medicines, the two of them left.

At that moment, someone came down from the second floor of the pharmacy. It was the old woman Mrs. Carter, who had appeared in the third young lady’s room.

“You’ve written down all the herbs he picked, right?” The old woman coughed lightly and spoke.

“He bought a total of seventeen medicines—eight traditional Chinese herbs and nine biological agents. As for their properties, aside from six, the rest are all highly toxic. The medicines this young man chose are so strange—this isn’t a prescription for treating mandrake disease at all. It looks more like he’s mixing up poison.” The beautiful woman raised her elegant brows, and couldn’t help but recall William Carter’s faintly smiling expression from earlier. Her heart trembled as she continued, “Mrs. Carter, it seems he’s already noticed something unusual. What do you think about these herbs…”

“This young man is very clever. There are probably a few ingredients in there just to confuse us and prevent us from figuring out the formula. You know a bit of medicine—try to mix them and see what you get. As for the blue ant powder, I think he really does need it, so include it as well.” The old woman frowned, her dim eyes flashing with a strange light, and she thought to herself:

“There are actually traditional Chinese herbs among the medicines. This kind of formula is unique to that three-thousand-year-old ancient country, and not many people know it nowadays. It seems this young man really is a bit mysterious.”

Thinking of this, she remembered that William Carter had been bought by the young lady from Prison Island. The male slaves from Prison Island were all created using bio-genetic engineering—was she just being paranoid?

Mrs. Carter sighed and stopped thinking about it.

After leaving the pharmacy, William Carter, guided by Lillian Carter, went to the Chuan Gong Bookstore. He lingered there for a while, then returned to the Purple Residence with Lillian Carter, his arms full.

After Lillian Carter accompanied him back to his courtyard, she left. William Carter sat alone in his room and took out the two sets of cultivation techniques and the card reader he had bought at the bookstore.

Internal Ascension Technique, E-level DD basic, can be cultivated up to Level 3 Yuan Power.

Spiral Thrust, E-level DD basic.

William Carter had originally thought that the Chuan Gong Bookstore would have all techniques from A-level to E-level, but once inside, he learned that they only sold E-level techniques, and only the public versions that anyone could buy and practice.

Fortunately, thanks to Lillian Carter, William Carter now understood a bit about cultivation techniques and knew that the higher the level, the slower the cultivation speed.

For example, if two people with equal talent each practiced an A-level and an E-level technique, after a year, the one with the E-level technique could reach Level 2 Yuan Power, while the one with the A-level might only reach Level 1.

It was a strange phenomenon, but no one could explain why.

Using the card reader, William Carter finally understood the so-called top-level cultivation technique the third young lady had given him: DDD Yellow Springs Aperture Opening Technique, D-level DD basic.