Everyone’s faces were etched with exhaustion. It was clear their efforts had been in vain; they hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the culprits’ shadows.
Chen Yuqing’s pretty face was frosted with cold, even icier than when she had left. She walked straight to Chen Lin and listened as he gave another detailed report of the losses, especially the news that three Alchemy Masters had been abducted.
With every sentence she heard, the chill in her eyes intensified. By the time Chen Lin finished, the very air around her seemed to have dropped several degrees, causing those nearby to subconsciously hold their breath.
After a moment of silence, Chen Yuqing said coldly, "Leave two teams behind to help guard the pharmacy and clean up the site. Chen Lin, you will return with me to the main family estate immediately. We will report tonight’s events to the Patriarch in full detail."
"Alright!" Chen Lin nodded.
Chen Yuqing said no more and turned to leave. Chen Lin quickly called for a few guards to follow. The group departed in a hurry, soon vanishing into the night.
The crowd gradually dispersed, each person going to deal with the aftermath.
Before leaving, Li Lie seemed to glance back inadvertently, casting a look from afar in the direction of Chen Yue and Lin Quan. Then, clutching his chest, he walked toward his own room, supported by two of his subordinates.
When he reached the door, Li Lie waved away the subordinates who wanted to help re-bandage his wound. Not daring to say more, they retreated and closed the door behind them.
The moment the door shut, the listlessness and anger on Li Lie’s face, born of blood loss and pain, vanished instantly. His eyes became sharp and calm.
He listened intently for a moment, confirming no one was outside the door. He then moved to the window and carefully observed the activity outside through a crack. The guards who had stayed behind were patrolling in the distance; no one was approaching.
Without further hesitation, he gently pushed open the back window and slipped out as silently as an agile cat. His landing didn’t even startle the nocturnal insects in the corner of the wall.
He moved swiftly through the shadows of the pharmacy’s backyard with practiced ease. After a few leaps, he arrived in the back alley of a residence separated from the pharmacy by a single wall. The residence seemed to have been uninhabited for a long time, with overgrown weeds covering the top of its wall.
Li Lie scanned his surroundings, once again confirming he wasn’t being followed. With a single leap, he placed a hand on top of the wall and vaulted neatly into the courtyard.
The courtyard was cleaner than he expected, obviously swept on a regular basis. A dim, steady, yellow light shone from the window of the main building.
Li Lie straightened his slightly disheveled collar and bandages, his face returning to its usual expression, before pushing the door open and walking inside.
The room was sparsely furnished: a table, a chair, and a wooden couch.
A man in a dark gray robe sat at the table, unhurriedly arranging a crude pottery tea set. The copper kettle on the small red-clay stove was making a soft GURGLE GURGLE sound; the water was boiling.
Hearing the door, the man didn’t turn around. He simply picked up the copper kettle and poured the boiling water into a pottery teapot already filled with tea leaves, releasing a slightly bitter, fragrant aroma.
He poured two cups of tea and pushed one toward the empty seat across from him. Only then did he slowly turn around, revealing the ordinary face of a middle-aged man.
He looked at Li Lie, whose chest was stained with blood, and smiled faintly, gesturing toward the teacup across from him.
"You’ve worked hard, Leader Li. The night is cold and the wind is sharp. Have a cup of coarse tea to warm yourself."
Under the dim yellow light, the fragrance of tea drifted through the air.
Li Lie ignored the cup of coarse tea pushed in front of him. His eyes were fixed on Gu Bei, who sat opposite him. He got straight to the point, his voice hushed to a low whisper:
"Where are my elixirs?"
No pleasantries, no nonsense—straight to the heart of the matter. Tonight, he had willingly taken a huge risk, coordinated with the operation, and even feigned injury, all for what the other party had promised him.
The gentle smile on Gu Bei’s face didn’t falter in the slightest, as if he wasn’t at all surprised by Li Lie’s impatience.
He unhurriedly set down his teacup and slowly retrieved a flat, palm-sized box from the wide sleeve of his robe.
The box was smooth to the touch. Gu Bei used his thumb to press a hidden clasp on the lid, then turned the box toward Li Lie and gently opened it.
Inside the box, six longan-sized elixirs were arranged neatly on a soft, deep-red velvet cloth.
The elixirs lay there quietly, emitting no overpowering fragrance. Yet, just looking at them made one feel a faint thrumming, as if their Qi Blood was being drawn in.
Li Lie’s breathing quickened imperceptibly for a moment, but he immediately reined it in. He reached out, took the wooden box, and brought it under the light to inspect it carefully.
He leaned in to smell the elixirs, touched one lightly with his finger, and used his nail to scrape a nearly invisible speck of powder from the edge. He then placed it on the tip of his tongue to taste it, his movements practiced and expert.
After a moment, his tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed, and a smile of satisfaction finally appeared on his face. With a flick of his wrist, he tucked the box of elixirs into a secure spot close to his body.
"Good quality stuff."
Li Lie’s voice softened slightly, but then it tensed up again. He looked up at Gu Bei. "But why isn’t that Chen Yue dead? What kind of trash did you send? Weren’t you supposed to be foolproof?"
The gentle smile on Gu Bei’s face finally faltered slightly when Li Lie mentioned Chen Yue’s name, then slowly faded. He picked up his own cup of long-cold tea and took a sip.
"We sent two experts at the Skin Refining Realm."
Gu Bei set down his teacup. His voice was flat, yet it carried a hint of coldness. "The one sent after Lin Quan was also at the peak of the Skin Refining Realm.
According to the information you gave us, dealing with an Alchemy Master who just broke through to the Skin Refining Realm and an old, weakened Pill Master should have been child’s play."
Gu Bei raised his eyes, his gaze calm as he looked at Li Lie. "But in the end, all three of them are gone. Not a single one came back. Leader Li, the information you gave me was false!"
"False?"
Li Lie looked as if he had heard the world’s biggest joke, the gloom on his face deepening. "Are you trying to tell me Chen Yue killed all three Skin Refining Realm experts by himself? Gu Bei, that kid only broke through to the Skin Refining Realm a few days ago! Do you really think that’s possible?!"
The movement aggravated the wound on his chest, sending a sharp stab of pain through him. Li Lie couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath, but the fury in his eyes only burned hotter.
Gu Bei watched Li Lie quietly, not arguing back immediately. He just gently rubbed the rim of the coarse pottery teacup with his finger. A brief silence fell over the room, broken only by the faint CRACKLE of the lamp’s flame.
"Calm yourself, Leader Li."
Gu Bei finally spoke again, his tone returning to its previous calmness. "I have no intention of shifting blame, but the facts are plain to see: our men were lost, yet the targets are unharmed. That leaves two possibilities."
He held up one finger. "First, this Chen Yue has been hiding his true strength. After all, to go from an apprentice to an Alchemy Master in just over a month is suspicious in itself."
Then, Gu Bei raised a second finger. "Second, he is truly a one-in-a-million martial arts prodigy. Such individuals are rare, but they do exist. After you return, Leader Li, you might want to observe him more closely. Perhaps you can reach a more accurate judgment."
"A martial arts prodigy? Him? A pharmacy apprentice who came from nothing?"
Li Lie looked as if he’d heard the most absurd joke, the corner of his mouth twisting into a sneer. But deep in his eyes, an image of Chen Yue’s calm demeanor from tonight flashed involuntarily.