After nearly an hour of quiet sitting, a pretty maid finally walked in from the door, carrying a small silver tray in her hands. On the tray lay a light red ring. Taking the silver tray and dismissing the maid, Yaphira personally handed it to Xiao Yan with a smile, “Sir, all the medicine cauldron and medicinal ingredients you need are within the Nalan Ring.” Reaching out to pick up the Nalan Ring from the tray, he turned it around in his palm, and Xiao Yan slightly nodded. The voice of the Pharmacist Elder was also quite timely, “Mm, after the success of the Qi Gathering Powder, I will bring it over to you.”
Her beautiful eyes containing a hint of joy, Yaphira quickly nodded. “Alright, no need to see me off. I’ll go out by myself.” Waving his hand, Xiao Yan casually slipped the Nalan Ring onto his finger and, without turning back, headed towards the waiting room. The blue jade card on the table, not wanting to owe too much gratitude, he left it behind as well.
Watching the figure disappear behind the door, Yaphira lightly bit her red lips, stepped forward, and took the blue jade card into her hand. After a brief moment of contemplation, she softly asked, “Uncle Gunny, the success rate of refining the Qi Gathering Powder isn’t very high, right?”
“Mm, it’s said that even the great Master Gu He, the Pill King, has a success rate of only about seventy percent for the Qi Gathering Powder. A normal fourth-grade alchemist might have a success rate of less than fifty percent,” Gunny said gravely.
“But this old gentleman managed to refine it successfully in one try…” Yaphira said, frowning slightly.
“Who knows, maybe he just got lucky…” Gunny shook his head, not too concerned. After all, when alchemists refine pills, a large part of it relies on luck. If they’re lucky, they might succeed several times in a row.
“Do you think… he might be more than a fourth-grade alchemist?” After a slight hesitation, Yaphira said doubtfully.
“Hehe, how could that be possible? There are only a few fifth-grade alchemists in the entire Jia Ma Empire. At that level, even the empire and the powerful forces like the Yunlan Sect would treat them as honored guests. Why would they come here to auction pills?” Gunny smiled.
Hearing this, Yaphira also nodded slightly, sighed, and said bitterly, “It seems I still lack experience. My earlier hesitation probably made this mysterious alchemist lose some favor towards us.”
“That can’t be helped. That kind of sum is something even I wouldn’t dare to give away easily. You’ve done well to get this far. As for the relationship, we can slowly build it up in the future, as long as he doesn’t have any bad feelings towards us,” Gunny comforted.
Nodding with a bitter smile, Yaphira lazily sat in the chair, her curves fully visible. She blinked her long, narrow eyes and said softly, a little puzzled, “What does he want with so many low-level medicinal ingredients?”
“Those herbs have the effect of stopping bleeding and regenerating bones. He probably intends to refine some healing medicines,” Gunny pondered for a moment, furrowing his brows. “But with his status, why would he refine such cheap healing medicines?”
Yaphira’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and her slender jade fingers tapped on the table. After a while, she suddenly stopped, saying softly, “It seems this old gentleman is quite considerate of the Xiao family…”
Frowning, Gunny looked surprised, “Are you saying he wants to refine healing medicines for the Xiao family?”
“I heard recently that the Galle family hired a first-grade alchemist, and their cheap ‘Rejuvenation Powder’ has already taken away most of the popularity in the city’s market. If the Xiao family doesn’t take action, they might end up in an embarrassing situation with no customers in their market,” Yaphira’s eyes twinkled as she said with a faint smile, “The last time, that old gentleman mentioned that if there was a chance, he would cooperate with the Xiao family. And now, he’s buying so many healing herbs at this time, which seems to indicate his intention.”
“Heh, it seems the Xiao family has really found a strong ally this time. The Galle family is in trouble.” Hearing Yaphira’s analysis, Gunny grinned, his face showing a bit of envy. To have the help of a fourth-grade alchemist was not a privilege that other families could enjoy.
Nodding slightly, Yaphira said with a light smile, “Let’s also try to contact the Xiao family more often. While adding flowers to brocade is pleasant, providing charcoal in the snow will strengthen our relationship even more.”
Gunny nodded in agreement. With a fourth-grade alchemist supporting the Xiao family, they were already worth taking seriously.
…
After leaving the auction house, Xiao Yan, as usual, cautiously circled around for a while before turning into a secluded alley to change his clothes. Tossing the light red Nalan Ring in his hand, Xiao Yan felt a bit pleased. This type of ring, made from a rare material called ‘Nalan Stone,’ had a special small space inside that could store anything without a life force, making it extremely convenient. However, due to the scarcity of ‘Nalan Stone,’ these rings were quite valuable. The cheapest Nalan Ring in Xiao Yan’s hand had a space of only three or four square meters, but even so, its price was close to one hundred thousand gold coins. In the Xiao family, Xiao Yan had only seen his father and the grand elder have such a Nalan Ring.
Fiddling with the ring, Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment and did not put it back on his hand. Instead, he carefully tucked it into his chest. These rings were expensive, and if his father saw it, it would be hard to explain where it came from.
Kicking the black cloak into the gutter, Xiao Yan carefully walked out of the secluded alley and then sprinted all the way back to the family residence. Walking along the small path through the family compound, he passed by the council hall, where his father’s furious shouting could be heard. His eyelids twitched, and Xiao Yan leaned in, peeking through the crack in the door.
“Damn it, that old bastard Galley Bi is too arrogant, daring to openly snatch our business!” Inside the hall, Xiao Zhan was angrily slamming the table, splashing tea all over it.
“Right now, the number of people in the Xiao family’s markets has drastically decreased. The remaining merchants are panicking, and many have secretly moved to the Galle family’s market. If this continues, in another half month, our markets might go bankrupt,” the second elder, sitting below, said grimly, gritting his teeth.
“Why don’t… I take some of the family’s elite and secretly kill that first-grade alchemist?” The third elder, with a vicious look in his eyes, suggested.
“Right now, that alchemist has at least two Great Fighters guarding him. It’s not that easy,” Xiao Zhan waved his hand, saying helplessly.
“But if we keep this up, our losses will be too great. The profits from the markets in Wu Tan account for a large portion of our family’s income,” the third elder said unwillingly.
Xiao Zhan’s mouth twitched, and he could not think of any other solution at the moment.
“The mysterious alchemist at the auction the other day said he would have a chance to work with us, right? From Gunny’s respectful attitude towards him, his rank must be very high. With his help, the Galle family definitely won’t be able to cause much trouble,” the silent grand elder suddenly spoke softly.
“Ah, who knows if he was just saying it casually. What would someone of that rank gain from working with us? Would he care about such a small profit?” Xiao Zhan shook his head with a bitter smile, slumping into a chair and sighing.
The three elders fell silent. Indeed, someone of that rank was difficult for the Xiao family to reach.
“Damn it, let’s wait a few more days. If the Galle family doesn’t show any restraint, then we’ll have no choice but to fight to the death!” Licking his lips, Xiao Zhan tightly gripped the back of the chair, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.
Outside the door, Xiao Yan, hearing this, shrugged slightly, his hand touching the Nalan Ring in his chest, a cold smile appearing on his face as he slowly backed away.
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