Chen Yue was on his way to the front hall to deliver elixirs when he happened to overhear a few snippets of conversation. He paused, his brow furrowing.
’Ladling out congee? And giving out eggs?’
Refugees, chaotic times, a benefactor of unknown origin, generous charity... These elements combined to make Chen Yue instantly think of an evil cult.
Or perhaps it was a faction with ulterior motives trying to win people over and gather refugees? Either way, it meant danger.
But Chen Yue just walked past in silence, not saying a word to warn anyone.
’My cultivation is still incomplete, the threat of the black spot on my chest follows me like a shadow, and Chen Yuqing’s attitude in the shop is unclear. With my meager strength, even protecting myself is like walking on thin ice. What right or ability do I have to meddle in other people’s business?’
Chen Yue quickened his pace, wanting only to return to the Alchemy Room faster and complete his cultivation for the day.
However, that very afternoon, while Chen Yue was processing medicinal herbs, Chen Yuqing once again arrived at the small courtyard of the Alchemy Room.
"Chen the Pill Master."
Chen Yuqing got straight to the point. "Sales of the Blood Circulation Pill have surged recently, and our inventory is running low. Starting tomorrow, you must guarantee a supply of twenty Blood Circulation Pills each day."
’Twenty?’
Chen Yue’s brow furrowed slightly. The shop’s usual requirement for him was only eight pills; this was more than double that.
"Steward Chen,"
Chen Yue began carefully, "Although the Blood Circulation Pill is a basic elixir, the refining process still requires my full concentration and is quite time-consuming. My skills are still new, so refining every day..."
"The other Alchemy Masters have also had their refining tasks increased accordingly. You’re not being singled out," the servant girl Cui interrupted crisply before he could finish.
Chen Yue looked at Chen Yuqing, but she merely watched him calmly, her phoenix eyes betraying no emotion.
Chen Yue was silent for a moment, then said, "How about twelve? I will do my best to guarantee a supply of twelve Blood Circulation Pills each day."
"This isn’t a negotiation!"
Chen Yuqing’s voice grew a shade colder. "It is a task that must be completed. The medicinal ingredients will be supplied in full. You just need to hand over the elixirs on time."
Chen Yue met her gaze for a moment. Chen Yuqing’s face was cold, leaving no room for compromise.
Chen Yue said no more and simply nodded. "Yes, I understand."
With that, he turned away from Chen Yuqing and her servant, walked back into his small Alchemy Room, and shut the door.
"Miss, I thought he was going to start shouting like some people do."
"What good would shouting do? It’s not just our shop. The Alchemy Masters at the other clinics and apothecaries in the city have probably all received similar tasks by now. Given the circumstances, one’s personal feelings are irrelevant."
The sound of their footsteps gradually faded away.
Inside the Alchemy Room, Chen Yue stood before the Pill Furnace. The firelight flickered across his face, the annoyed expression from before now completely gone.
With his Blood Circulation Pill technique at the Perfection Realm, he could produce four pills per batch with a one hundred percent success rate.
For Chen Yue, refining five batches a day to complete the task wasn’t actually difficult, though it would take up more of his time.
’My earlier attitude was mostly an act. If I hadn’t reacted that way, Chen Yuqing’s demands would only have been higher.’
Just as Chen Yue was pouring all of his heart and spirit into alchemy and cultivation, a piece of news suddenly swept through all of Youlin County, even finding its way into the back courtyard of Huichun Hall.
"Did you hear? The Zhao Family in the west of the city! Last night... they were wiped out!"
"What? The Zhao Family? Which Zhao Family?"
"Who else could it be? The Zhao Family that runs the clothiers! The entire household, including the guards and servants—more than thirty people—not a single one escaped! All dead!"
"Heavens! For real? Didn’t the Zhao Family have a few experts working as guards?"
"It’s absolutely true! The County Yamen’s constables have already cordoned off the Zhao estate. The forensic doctor went in, and the bodies they’re carrying out are all covered in white cloth, one after another... I heard they didn’t even spare the swaddled baby! It’s horrible... All the gold, silver, and valuables in the house were plundered, and there were words written in blood on the wall..."
"Words in blood? What did they say?"
"’A world without order, delivering punishment for heaven’... something like that. It’s really sinister!"
Although the Zhao Family wasn’t a top-tier clan in Youlin County, they were well-off, running a clothiers and employing several Martial Artist guards year-round. Their residence was considered heavily guarded. Yet, in a single night, they were slaughtered to the last, with no one left alive.
Such ruthless methods were definitely not the work of common burglars or wandering refugees.
Inside the shop, a shadow of gloom fell over everyone’s face.
In these chaotic times, any family fortune, or even just a relatively stable life, could prove to be incredibly fragile. Nerves, already frayed by the rebels and refugees outside the city, were now stretched to their absolute limit.
Hearing the apprentices’ hushed discussions from the Alchemy Room, Chen Yue’s hands, which were sorting herbs, paused for a moment.
He subconsciously glanced at his panel.
’I’m only a few dozen experience points away from attempting a breakthrough. But even if I break through and become a Refining Flesh Realm Martial Artist, it won’t be enough. The Zhao Family had Refining Flesh Realm guards, and what was the result?’
’On the panel, my Mountain Shattering Technique is at Great Success, bringing a considerable increase in strength, but the path of the Martial Dao is about far more than just brute force. I’ve never dabbled in weapon techniques, and my body technique for movement and evasion is an even greater weakness.’
’If I were to face a dangerous situation, my clumsy body technique could become a fatal flaw.’
A powerful sense of crisis seized Chen Yue. Simply relying on alchemy and burying his head in fist practice wouldn’t be enough to truly shore up his weaknesses and face this increasingly treacherous world.
「That night, the moon was dark and the wind howled.」
After leaving the apothecary, Chen Yue found a place to change into a set of common, dark gray coarse-cloth clothes. He used a wide-brimmed, worn-out conical hat to hide most of his face and covered his mouth and nose with a piece of rough linen, leaving only his eyes exposed.
He had learned of Youlin County’s black market from some of Lin Quan’s occasional idle chatter. It was located deep within a seedy, old neighborhood in the eastern part of the city. By day, it was just a collection of dilapidated residences, but on certain nights, a market would quietly form in the shadows.
All sorts of illicit or dubiously sourced items were traded here, and it was also an excellent place to gather secret information.
After navigating a winding path and avoiding the Night Watchman, Chen Yue arrived near a building with a dilapidated wooden sign that read "Yizhuang." The lights here were sparse, and shifting shadows of people flickered about, yet it was unnervingly quiet.
Chen Yue pulled his conical hat lower, slowed his steps, and blended into the sparse flow of people like a genuine customer. He wasn’t in a hurry to buy anything; instead, he pricked up his ears, catching the scattered words that drifted through the darkness.
"...That business with the Zhao Family is weird. It doesn’t seem like it was just a simple robbery..."
"SHH! Keep your voice down! I heard Fast-sword Liu from the south side mention it once when he was drunk. Said he thought he saw a few shadowy figures that night, and their body technique was so fast it didn’t seem human..."
"Not human? You don’t think it was..."
"Who knows. But a while back, the Zhao Family apparently had a run-in with that new group of refugees that popped up outside the city. They were complaining that the refugees were blocking the road for their cloth shipments..."
"That’s not all, is it? I have a cousin who’s a constable at the County Yamen, and he said the scene was too clean, like the work of veterans. But then they went and left words in blood, almost like it was a deliberate show of force..."
"...A new batch of goods has hit the market recently. They’re in pristine condition, look like they came from a wealthy household, and the price is low. Wanna go take a look?"
"Better not to ask. Some things, once you get mixed up in them, you can’t shake loose..."