Inside a hall blazing with lamplight, the atmosphere hung thick and oppressive.
At the center of the hall, a small green jade bottle sat upon the table. A faint, medicinal fragrance wafted from its mouth.
Many people sat in the hall. Judging by their attire, they were clearly the senior members of the Jie Lie family, and among them sat Jie Lie Ku, the same man glimpsed that morning at the Market Stalls.
In a seat to the left of the head of the table, a young man in white robes reclined lazily against the back of his chair. He was quite handsome, though the occasional flash of lewdness in his eyes utterly ruined the effect of his features. At this very moment, one of his hands was creeping slowly beneath the clothing of a pretty maid standing nearby, his behavior utterly unabashed, as if the presence of so many watchers troubled him not in the slightest.
Under the young man's groping, the pretty maid's cheeks grew slightly pale. Her eyes brimmed with gathering moisture, and her delicate body trembled faintly as she convulsed, yet she dared not make a single sound.
"So this is the 'Blood-Staunching Powder' that the Xiao Clan suddenly produced," Jia Lie Bi said, his face dark and overcast as he stared at the little green bottle on the table, apparently choosing to ignore the white-robed youth's unseemly conduct. "The popularity of our Market Stalls has already begun to plummet."
"How could the Xiao Clan possibly have healing medicine? Surely they haven't managed to hire an alchemist of their own?" Jie Lie'ao, who harbored no small grudge against Xiao Yan, cast a sidelong glance at the white-robed man beside him and frowned.
Jia Lie Bi narrowed his aged eyes, his expression far from pleasant. "Do you still remember that mysterious alchemist we encountered at the auction house last time? Judging by his attitude toward the Xiao Clan, he seemed quite favorably disposed toward them. If this 'Blood-Staunching Powder' was refined by him, then we are in real trouble— that man might well be a Third-Rank Alchemist, you know."
Hearing the weighty title of Third-Rank Alchemist, the white-robed youth finally halted the hand roaming over the servant girl. Reluctantly withdrawing it, he stepped forward, lifted the small green bottle, and brought it beneath his nose for a light sniff. Then he tipped out a little, rubbed it between his fingers, and sneered. "What a load of nonsense about Third-Rank Alchemists. This Blood-Staunching Powder is indeed somewhat stronger than Rejuvenation Powder, but judging by the quality, whoever refined it is clearly a rank below me. If it has this much potency, it's most likely due to some unusual formula they stumbled upon."
At these words, everyone seated in the hall let out an inward sigh of relief. Had the Xiao Clan truly secured the services of a Third-Rank Alchemist, the Jie Lie family would have no hope of ever turning things around.
"From my experience," the white-robed youth continued, a faint sneer gracing his lips, "the alchemist the Xiao Clan has hired is probably nothing more than a novice who just entered the craft, one who refined this Blood-Staunching Powder largely thanks to a formula he obtained from heaven knows where."
"Hehe, Brother Liu Xi can discern the true caliber of its maker from a single tiny bottle of pills. Truly sharp eyes." Jie Lie'ao laughed, a hint of flattery threading through his smile.
"Merely the fundamental skills of an alchemist." The white-robed youth, who was called Liu Xi, shook his head in mock modesty, though the faint, veiled smugness that crossed his face did not escape the sharp gaze of the string of old foxes seated in the hall.
"Although Rejuvenation Powder is indeed somewhat inferior in potency to this Blood-Staunching Powder, the gap between them is not large," Jia Lie Bi mused slowly after a moment's thought. "The sudden drop in foot traffic at our Market Stalls is mainly due to how drastically we raised our prices in the past period. Once we adjust them back down, the crowds should gradually return. Still, returning to our former glory will prove difficult— this Blood-Staunching Powder will siphon off no small number of customers, and from now on, the Xiao Clan will be carving out a share for itself in Wutan City's healing medicine market."
"Pull the prices back down?" Liu Xi frowned at that, clearly reluctant. He had grown accustomed to selling at inflated prices; the sudden prospect of a price cut rather grated on him.
Seeing Liu Xi's reaction, Jia Lie Bi cursed the man for his brainlessness under his breath, then forced a pleasant smile and explained, "The market has changed since the past, Master Liu Xi. Before, we could monopolize Wutan City's healing medicine trade. Now, that is no longer possible. So we must lower our prices to win back our customers."
Shaking his head with a resigned sigh, Liu Xi curled his lip. "Do as you please. But hold on to what I said earlier about my share. Even with the price reduction, you'll still split my portion at three times the original rate."
The corners of Jia Lie Bi's eyes twitched involuntarily. A thread of anger rose within him, but he drew in a deep breath and kept a warm smile plastered over his face— though the smile somehow appeared rather cold at the edges. "Hehe, naturally. Master Liu Xi's share will be paid in full, exactly as agreed."
"Mm." Nodding with satisfaction, Liu Xi settled back into his chair and, even more brazenly, drew the pretty maid into his arms, his hands roaming freely.
"Master Liu Xi, our stock of Rejuvenation Powder is running low," Jia Lie Bi said with a smile, adding by way of reminder, "I've already sent people to the Mitel Auction House to purchase the medicinal ingredients. When the time comes, I'm afraid we'll need to trouble you for your efforts once more. Oh, and— by a stroke of luck, yesterday we acquired a pair of rare snake-women from the Tagor Desert. I've had them delivered to your quarters."
At the mention of having to practice alchemy again, clear impatience flickered across Liu Xi's face at first. But the moment the words 'snake-women' reached his ears, that impatience was instantly transformed into lecherous delight. His eyes gleaming, he nodded and declared with grand confidence, "So long as the ingredients are sufficient, you need have no concern about the quantity of Rejuvenation Powder, Clan Leader."
Seeing how easily Liu Xi had been won over, Jia Lie Bi essayed a smile tinged with both satisfaction and contempt, sneering inwardly: A brainless fool, stuffed to the brim with nothing but lust. Useless in every way except for refining pills.
He shook his head with a cold laugh, then raised a teacup for a sip, and turned to regale Liu Xi with idle chatter about the very topics that most stirred the young man's interest— wine, women, and song.
They had been conversing pleasantly for a while when a clansman burst urgently into the hall. Hurrying to Jia Lie Bi's side, he bent low and whispered something quickly into the elder's ear.
Smiling genially as he listened, Jia Lie Bi's smile gradually froze upon his face after a moment. With a sharp crack, the teacup in his hand crumbled into powder, and the powder, mingling with the tea, trickled in droplets over his palm.
"Curse that Mitel Auction House! They dare play this trick on me!"
He shot to his feet, his face contorted with cold fury, and let loose a furious roar. A violent aura exploded outward from his body, and miniature whirlwinds traced hushed, whistling howls through the air.
Jie Lie'ao, who stood closest to his father, had his chest squeezed painfully by the suffocating pressure. He hastily stumbled back several steps and cried out urgently, "Father!"
Jie Lie'ao's shout partially roused his father from his rage. Jia Lie Bi's face twitched, then he sat back down with a cold, sinister expression. "The Mitel Auction House has refused to sell medicinal ingredients to our Jie Lie family any longer!"
At the announcement, the hall erupted into clamorous uproar. Everyone exchanged bewildered, horrified glances.
"How is that possible? Hasn't the Mitel Auction House always maintained its neutrality? Why would it single out our Jie Lie family like this?" Jie Lie Ku asked, his face going pale and his voice trembling as he stammered it out.
"Hah! Before a sufficiently tempting profit, who would cling to worthless neutrality?" Jia Lie Bi snorted and slowly exhaled. He cast a cold sidelong glance at Liu Xi, who looked somewhat disheveled after being buffeted by his earlier outburst, and said grimly, "I suspect this has something to do with the Xiao Clan."
"The Xiao Clan doesn't have that kind of influence to make the Mitel Auction House cut off our supplies, does it?" Jie Lie'ao muttered.
"Hmph. Who knows what terms they used to win over the Mitel Auction House." Jia Lie Bi stroked his aged face. For no discernible reason, a tendril of unease coiled up within his heart.
"What do we do now? Without enough ingredients, our Rejuvenation Powder will soon be sold out. Then it will be our turn to see our Market Stalls empty of visitors," Jie Lie Ku fretted anxiously.
Gritting his teeth, Jia Lie Bi spoke in a cold, sinister tone. "There are still quite a few herbalist shops on our side. Send men to gather up all of their remaining ingredients to buy ourselves some time. If that isn't enough, then we'll purchase supplies at high prices from other cities. I refuse to believe the Xiao Clan can stretch its reach beyond this city!"
As he spoke, Jia Lie Bi reached for another teacup— only to notice that his own hand seemed to be trembling faintly. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, gripped by a strange and inexplicable sensation: the Jie Lie family had, it seemed, stirred up something it had no business touching...